《Netherworld Investigator》


 Chapter 1

    <h4>Chapter 1</h4>


    Have you ever met a cook who minced his customer¡¯s flesh to a paste, then used that as filling for his famous steamed buns?


    Have you ever met a doctor who performed a surgery on his love rival and turned him into a pig, then locked him up in a pen likemon livestock?


    Have you ever met a man raised by bats who then sucked human blood for sustenance?


    I have. All of them, and more.


    My name is Song Yang. Officially, I am the Chief Consultant of the Public Security Department in Province H. My real profession, however, is a Traditional Coroner.


    You might wonder: What does a Traditional Coroner do?


    Well, it is in fact an ancient profession with a long and illustrious history. In Ancient China, a Traditional Coroner was a government official who would examine dead bodies and investigate crimes. Over time, they developed a unique body of knowledge,plete with sets of skills and techniques, that aid and guide their practice.


    Rice wine, silver needles, red umbres, rosins ¨C these might just be normal everyday objects to themon folk, but to a Traditional Coroner, these are tools to be used to pry open the secrets of the dead and gather the clues to pin down the murderers.


    In the thirty years that I have worked with the Public Security Department, I have relied on the techniques of a Traditional Coroner that had been passed down from one generation to the next in my family to crack the hardest, most puzzling cases in China¡¯s history. Some cases were debauched, some were horrifying, some were utterly inhumane, and some were so ghoulish they could curdle your blood just hearing about it.


    I take pride in my profession. So, in order to make sure that the generations toe learn of this ancient profession of mine, I have decided to chronicle my life and experiences as a Traditional Coroner here for everyone to read.


    Due to the confidentiality policy of the Public Security Department, though, I have changed the names of the people and the cities involved.


    Now, back to the main subject!


    I was born in a small provincial town in the South. I have no memories of my own parents. Instead, I was raised by my grandfather, and we lived in an old house on an old plot ofnd that the Song family had been inhabiting for countless generations before us.


    Though I was orphaned, Grandpa loved and spoiled me more than enough to fill the void that my deceased parents might have left. I never felt that Icked anything ¡ª I lived a full life and had a wonderful childhood.


    All my life, Grandpa had only ever demanded one thing of me.


    ¡°My boy,¡± he said, ¡°remember this: I will not stop you from doing whatever you want when you grow up. I only ask you to never enter into these three professions ¨C never be a government official, never be a police officer, and never be a medical examiner!¡±


    I was only a young boy at the time, so I didn¡¯t have a clue what a medical examiner was. But all the same, I nodded my head to show my obedience.


    As I grew older though, suspicion gradually crept up on me ¨C I began to suspect that Grandpa was not just the cut-and-dried old man that I knew him to be.


    Why? Because Grandpa never seemed to work a day in his life ¨C he almost never even stepped out of our house! And yet, he had no problem raising me, providing me afortable home to grow up in, feeding me good food, and sending me to good schools.


    What was even more curious was how I distinctly remember a man of high position along with an entourage of police officers paying my grandfather regr visits. Their were highly respectful around Grandpa. They would often give himvish gifts, gifts like expensive aged liquors, premium brand cigars, and the like.


    Every time Grandpa received special guests like that, they would all be huddled up in a room, talking and discussing, sometimes for a few hours, sometimes even for a whole day. By then I had also noticed an odd pattern about these visits ¨C usually, a few days after the visits, I would hear of horrific murder cases in the news, infamous cases like the ¡°Hell Money Murder in a Sichuan Restaurant¡± and the ¡°Crushed Body in Xinan University¡±. Each of these cases rocked the whole country and became the talk of the town, so much so that even ordinary townsfolk would gossip about them.


    That got me connecting the dots. I knew then that Grandpa must¡¯ve had something to do with those cases, but I could just never get a word out of him about it.


    Because of Grandpa¡¯s mysterious connections with the higher-ups, the whole family benefited from it. My aunt opened her own business in town and it had always flourished. Once, a truck of her goods was wasted due to a car crash on a highway, but for some reason the police spent a whole day collecting those goods and sent them back to her in a neat package.


    Even I benefited too. My grades in the middle school entrance exam were a few dozen points short, but I was still epted into a prestigious middle school regardless.


    When I was twelve, the town council had decided to build a new highway, and ording to the blueprint it would pass through our old Song family estate which stood there for generations. Our neighbours all sumbed to the bribery and intimidation of the contractors and they all left their homes. Only Grandpa refused to give up thend that had belonged to the Song family for generations. He would not give in, even if it meant that our house would end up as an isted pocket ofnd in the middle of the highway.


    The head contractor of the highway project was a match for Grandpa¡¯s tenacity though. Once the bribes and persuasion didn¡¯t work, he knew he had to turn to a more violent approach. To demonstrate their power, he drove a bulldozer right into our gates and crashed straight through our walls!


    I was there at the time, and thatmotion terrified me so much that I almost buckled under my knees and broke into sobs.


    Grandpa, on the other hand, simply let out a heavy sigh, picked up the phone, and dialled a number. In a calm voice, he spoke to the person on the line, and a few minutester, the bulldozer rushed back to where it came from.


    The very next day, a group of local leaders and that same contractor from before paid us a visit, bearing gifts and full of apologies. That contractor even offered us a hundred thousand yuan for the damages. In a small town like ours, that amount of money was no measly sum at all, but Grandpa merely waved his hand indifferently and declined the gift.


    The highway did get built eventually, only that when it neared our house, the highway turned in a sharp curve,pletely circumventing ournd and house.


    This incident stood out vividly in my memory. It left a strong impression on my younger self, and it roused my suspicion of Grandpa even further. The thought began to nag at me ¨C how could an old man like him have so much power and influence?


    When I was fifteen, I identally found an old, wooden chest in an old section of our house. Two tattered, yellowed books spilled out of it. One of them was called Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified, written in 1247 AD by someone called Song Ci. The other one was titled Chronicles of Grand Magistrates, but the date it was written in and the author¡¯s name were both missing.


    Based on my limited knowledge of ssical Chinese at the time, I had great difficulty understanding the contents of the books. At first, all I could do was study the diagrams which detailed the anatomy of human bodies and the methods of examining corpses.


    I didn¡¯t know why, but I felt a strange maic pull towards the books. The moment I started flipping through them, I was entirely absorbed into their world and just couldn¡¯t put them down. So, I sunk my teeth into it and kept on trying to decipher the books little by little. And just as even dripping water could hollow out a stone, by slowly working on word by word, then page by page, I eventually learned the entire contents of those books.


    To me, these two books worked like a gateway that transported me to a new and exciting unknown world. Although the books discussed the work of a Traditional Coroner, basically chronicling the methods of dead body examination and different approaches to crime-solving, I did not feel even a trace of fear or repulsion, only an intoxicating mix of excitement and intellectual fascination.


    The year I turned sixteen was the first time an opportunity quite literallynded at my door, an opportunity that would allow me to utilize what I had learned from those books in real life.


    It was one of those dog days at the height of summer, and Grandpa had some business to attend to outside so he wasn¡¯t home. School was off, so I stayedzing around at home with nothing to do. To kill time, I stuck a piece of sticky rubber to a long bamboo pole and used that to chase and catch some birds in the trees.


    Then suddenly, a ck Volkswagen Jetta sedan screeched to a halt outside of our door.


    A big burly man almost exploded out of the car with urgency. His face was square and angr, his eyebrows were bushy and his eyes big and piercing, his skin had been baked by the sun until it had the sheen of copper. He strode headlong into our courtyard with obvious hastiness. I recognized him as one of the special guests of Grandpa¡¯s ¨C a policeman, in fact. Wasn¡¯t his surname something like... Sun?


    Officer Sun was not in uniform that day. Instead, he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and in his hand he carried a ck briefcase. He was soaked in sweat, and I could almost see steam rising from his head due to the heat.


    ¡°Hey kiddo,¡± he yelled when he saw me, ¡°is your grandpa home?¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± I answered. ¡°He¡¯s out.¡±


    Officer Sun¡¯s expressions turned sour and creases started to appear on his forehead.


    ¡°This damned heat,¡± Officer Sun grumbled, ¡°I could get roasted alive at this rate!¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t youe inside?¡± I asked. ¡°You can cool off here for a bit with a ss of drink.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good boy!¡±


    Without skipping a beat, he then sauntered through the front door, and once he got inside, he pulled a chair out and made himselffortable as if he was in his own house.


    What a character, I thought.


    I then brought him a tall ss of iced soda. He grabbed it and gulped down the contents of the ss in seconds. Then he sighed contentedly and wiped his lips with the back of his hand before lighting himself a cigarette.


    ¡°Are you in high school now, kiddo?¡± he asked me.


    ¡°I¡¯m a freshman,¡± I replied.


    ¡°And how are your grades?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re fine.¡±


    ¡°Anyone bully you at school?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°If anyone tries to do it with you, just give me a call,¡± said Officer Sun. ¡°I¡¯ll go deal with the rascals myself!¡± He then burst intoughter.


    I sensed that an opportunity to learn more about Grandpa had just fallen myp, so I decided I wasn¡¯t going to waste it.


    ¡°Uncle-Officer,¡± I said, ¡°how do you know my grandpa?¡±


    ¡°Your grandpa?¡± replied Officer Sun. ¡°Why, he¡¯s a genius that onlyes once in a century! Too bad his temper is just as singr! Did you know how many people in the higher rungs have been inviting him to work with the government all these years? And he refused them all! Justst year a certain department director offered him a deal, where he had only to work with the police for one short year and he¡¯ll be getting fifty thousand yuan of pension a month! But even that didn¡¯t move the old man. That is why we have to co-operate with him in this manner instead.¡±


    ¡°Co-operate?¡± I asked. ¡°How? What do you mean?¡±


    Just as Officer Sun was going to answer, he suddenly stopped himself as if realizing that he¡¯d spoken too much.


    ¡°Oh boy,¡± he said, one hand grabbing at his belly, ¡°looks like I gulped down that cold drink too quickly, now my stomach isining! Where¡¯s the toilet, kiddo?¡±


    ¡°Over there,¡± I said, pointing at the direction. ¡°Near the backyard.¡±


    Officer Sun clutched at his belly with both hands and rushed to the toilet like a gust of wind. Not long after I could hear the sound of water flowinging from that direction.


    Unbeknownst to him, as he threw his briefcase onto the table in his rush to get to the toilet, the button that kept it closed hade undone, and from there a photograph tumbled out, immediately drawing my eyes towards it.


    I made sure that I was alone and reached out my hand to get the photo, but I could feel my heart thumping my chest like a drum. I knew that looking at ssified police documents without permission is a crime, but on the other hand, the photograph was almost screaming at me to look at it.


    It¡¯s fine, I told myself. I¡¯ll just take a quick nce, that¡¯s all. Nothing¡¯s going to happen.


    I slid the photograph out of the briefcase, and immediately recognized a dead body in it. I had seen countless corpses in films before, but I knew that those were just props. This was different. Seeing the real thing for the first time actually sent a shiver down my spine.


    The corpse in the photograph was that of an adult male. He was wearing a business suit with a white cored shirt underneath, although it was already stained red with blood. The corpse was leaning on an opened safe, his head hung lifelessly from his neck while his eyesses still clung to him by his right ear. There was a deep and long gash on his throat where all the blood spilled out from.


    A huge number of banknotes scattered about the corpse, each of them also stained red with blood.


    My total concentration was honed in to the photograph, and I was not afraid of the grisly scene in front of me at all. Instead I felt an inexplicable exhration surging up inside me, like what a starving person might feel when they got a whiff of delicious food, or when a pervert saw a luscious woman pass by ¨C okay, I know that they might be inappropriate metaphors, and that I should be more respectful towards the dead, but there it is! It was just how I truly felt.


    Just when my mind waspletely sucked into the picture, a big strong hand appeared from behind me, and violently snatched the photograph away.


    I spun around and saw Officer Sun standing behind me, staring at me with those scrutinizing eyes.


    ¡°Who gave you permission to look at my things, you little brat?¡± he barked. ¡°Don¡¯t you know what you¡¯re doing is against thew?¡±


    ¡°B-But I was just...¡± I struggled to exin,pletely shaken. ¡°I was just ncing at it... Just a quick look, I swear!¡±


    Officer Sun narrowed his eyes, and suddenly a sly smile materialized on his lips.


    ¡°How about this,¡± he began. ¡°I¡¯m going to test you, and if you can answer my question, then I¡¯ll let this go. But if you can¡¯t, then I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to spend a few days of your summer vacation in jail!¡±


    Those words calmed me down straight away, because I knew exactly what he was going to ask me.


    I nodded.


    ¡°Okay then,¡± began Officer Sun, ¡°what was the murder weapon used to kill this man?¡±


    Just as I expected.


    ¡°Give me that photograph.¡±


    He handed it to me. I swept my eyes over it for a moment, then I was ready to give my answer.


    ¡°That cut on the throat was the fatal wound,¡± I said confidently. ¡°Based on its conditions, I¡¯d say it was caused by a sharp object, but if it was just a knife, a dagger or any other ordinary weapon like that, I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t waste your time asking me this question. Therefore, the murder weapon must be something extraordinary!¡±


    ¡°Not bad at all, kiddo!¡± eximed Officer Sun. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you tell me what you think it is?¡±


    I handed the photograph back to him and said, ¡°It¡¯s right there, in the photo.¡±


    Officer Sun stared at the photograph, he blinked and blinked before turning back to me and said, ¡°In here? You¡¯d better not be kidding me, kiddo! I led the investigation myself and we¡¯ve scoured every inch of the crime scene and found nothing! We¡¯ve even got the prime suspect, but without the murder weapon...¡±


    He stopped suddenly, then cleared his throat and looked straight at me.


    ¡°Out with it, kiddo!¡± he said. ¡°Tell me where the murder weapon is!¡±


    ¡°The banknotes on the floor.¡± I replied casually. ¡°These banknotes, to be precise.¡±


    ¡°Those banknotes?¡± he asked incredulously. ¡°But that¡¯s impossible!¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± I replied. ¡°Just bind a stack of banknotes together tightly and you can fashion a de that¡¯s sharp enough to cut someone¡¯s throat. And when the job¡¯s done, just scatter them all over the floor and the murder weapon is gone!¡±


    Officer Sun drew a sharp breath.


    ¡°Impressive! Not bad at all!¡± he eximed. ¡°As expected from Song Zhaolin¡¯s grandson!¡±


    What Officer Sun didn¡¯t know was that I didn¡¯t exactly solve the crime with my own deduction. Instead, this case had reminded me of something I read in The Chronicles of Grand Magistrates, where there was a murdermitted using a knife made of paper. Based on what Officer Sun had said, the police had probably found the perpetrator, but couldn¡¯t make a good case against the suspect in court because they couldn¡¯t find the murder weapon, which was why Officer Sun had rushed here to get Grandpa¡¯s help.


    ¡°Well, kiddo,¡± said Officer Sun, ¡°thanks to you, I won¡¯t be going back empty-handed! Anytime you¡¯re in the city, just give me a call, you hear? I owe you a meal at KFC. Oh, and my daughter¡¯s around your age, you¡¯re wee toe hang out with her. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll both be friends in no time.¡±


    He then put the photograph back into his briefcase and was preparing to leave, although I could still hear him mumbling something to himself.


    ¡°That old man Song Zhaolin!¡± he said. ¡°Always saying no member of the Song family will ever work as a Traditional Coroner ever again. Who would¡¯ve thought that he¡¯s been secretly training his grandson all this time? Still, it¡¯s good to know that there will be a sessor from the Song family after him!¡±


    ¡°Sun Laohu! What sessor are you talking about?¡±


    That thundering voice came from outside the door. I turned around and almost jumped out of my skin when I saw Grandpa standing there. Cold sweat beads began to form on my forehead. I knew my ass was going to get whooped because A, Grandpa had always forbidden me to get involved in these kinds of things; and B, he didn¡¯t know that I had secretly read those books!


    Grandpa¡¯s prating eyes slowly turned from Officer Sun to me, and he looked as if he¡¯d figured everything out. Words could not describe how petrified I was in that moment!


    1. Roughly about 15 000 USD.


    2. This book .


    3. So does the .


    4. Roughly about 7000 USD.


    5. His name literally means tiger, so he was in fact Officer Tiger.

 Chapter 2

    Grandpa slowly entered the room, holding his hand behind him. He asked Officer Sun what we were talking about.


    I tried my best using eye contact to warn Officer Sun not to say anything. But hepletely ignored me, or perhaps didn¡¯t understand me, so not only did he spell out all the details, he also blew everything out of proportion as he praised me.


    ¡°Old Song!¡± he began, ¡°this grandson of yours sure takes after you! We wasted half a month¡¯s time on this case and got nowhere ¡ª we searched through every inch of the crime scene and found no sign of a murder weapon. But this boy just looked at the crime scene photograph and solved the whole case! This boy¡¯s got a bright future ahead of him. He shouldn¡¯t be going to college after high school! College graduates are a dime a dozen, and most of them end up unemployed anyway. How about I write him a rmendation letter and let him enter the police academy straight after high school? Better not waste a talent, right, Old Song?¡±


    ¡°You are overestimating him,¡± said Grandpa with a cold voice while waving his hand at Officer Sun. ¡°He must¡¯ve read a few pages of the books passed down to us by our ancestors and thought himself a detective! But we have a strict rule in our family ¨C never be an officer or a judge, and your life will be safe. I thank you for your praises, but I¡¯ll never hand my grandson over to you!¡±


    As he spoke his terrifying eyes swept over me, scaring me enough that I had to lower my head to avoid eye contact.


    Officer Sun sighed.


    ¡°Oh,e on, old man!¡± said Officer Sun. ¡°It¡¯s the twenty-first century! Weren¡¯t you sent to work in the stables for a while? Shouldn¡¯t that be enough repentance for the Song family?¡±


    He then turned to me and pressed his hands on my shoulders.


    ¡°Kiddo,¡± he said, looking straight into my eyes, ¡°don¡¯t you want to be a policeman when you grow up and hunt criminals down with me?¡±


    I had an answer for him, but Grandpa was right there, so I just shook my head.


    ¡°Sun Laohu,¡± said Grandpa, ¡°You will never understand the predicament that the Song family is in. My decisions regarding this matter will never change. All I want is for my descendants to live quiet, peaceful lives, safe from any cmities.¡±


    Officer Sun was about to say something, but Grandpa raised his hand before a word came out of his mouth.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably time for you to leave,¡± said Grandpa. ¡°If you intrude upon our family matters any further than this, then I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re no longer wee in this house!¡±


    Officer Sun swallowed up all the words he was about to utter back into his throat and began packing up his briefcase.


    ¡°All right then, Old Song,¡± the officer relented. ¡°I¡¯ll be back for a visit the next time we hit a wall with a case.¡±


    He then briskly left through the front door and drove away.


    When Officer Sun left, the atmosphere in the living room grew tense. Grandpa sat down in the old carved wooden chair reserved for the head of the Song family, holding a teacup in his hand. I stood in front of him, dreading what was toe.


    ¡°My boy,¡± said Grandpa, ¡°how much of those two books have you read?¡±


    ¡°A... All of them,¡± I answered.


    In truth, not only had I finished reading the two books entirely, but I¡¯d done so many times over because there wasn¡¯t much else to read in the house. So whenever I had some free time on my hands, I would flip through those books, reading them over and over again. By then, I had read the books so often that the pages were quickly crumbling due to my handling.


    Grandpa took a sip of tea, then suddenly recited, ¡°The most severe punishment for a crime is the death sentence, but before sentencing someone to death, the most important thing is to find out the clues and facts of the case, and to find the clues and facts of the case, the most important thing is to rely on the proper means of inspection.¡±


    I froze for a moment, but soon regained myposure.


    ¡°Whether a suspect will live or die,¡± I said, ¡°whether a case is straightforward orplicated, whether injustices are prolonged or rectified, everything hangs upon the inspection of the dead body.¡±


    He continued. ¡°A fetus is like an autumnal dewdrop in the first month; it resembles a peach blossom in the second month...¡±


    ¡°Difference in gender can be identified in the third month;¡± I continued after him, ¡°the whole body structure forms in the fourth; nerves and bones are formed in the fifth month; hairs grow in the sixth; the fetus is able to move right hand in the seventh month, if a boy, it is situated on the mother¡¯s left; a fetus is able to move their left hand in the eighth month; if a girl, it is situated on the mother¡¯s right.¡±


    These were lines from the Collected Cases of Injustices Rectified. I knew Grandpa was testing me, and my performance did not fail to impress him. The teacup slipped through his fingers and crashed onto the floor.


    ¡°Have you memorized the entire book?¡± he asked, astonished.


    ¡°More or less...¡± I confessed.


    ¡°You are indeed a worthy member of the Song family!¡± eximed Grandpa while slowly shaking his head. Though the words implied a sense of pride, his expressions were more in line with pain and sadness.


    I was shocked by this strange reaction. I thought he would explode in anger and give me a lengthy lecture, yet none of that happened. Looking back, I now realize that he must¡¯ve felt a mixture of conflicting emotions that day. He must¡¯ve felt pride and was d that there would be a sessor who would inherit all of Song family¡¯s secret knowledge. But he was just as concerned that I might be destined to walk down a path full of danger and difficulties, a path he knew too well and tried so hard to protect me from.


    ¡°Fate is ying a cruel game with us!¡± said Grandpa. He then heaved a heavy sigh.


    Without looking at me, he got up to his feet and walked slowly back to his study with his hands behind his back. I stood there, equally shocked and relieved. Was my ass safe from whooping after all?


    Late after midnight on that very same day, Grandpa woke me up and told me to get dressed because we would be going somewhere. Still dazed from the sleep, I quickly grabbed a coat and rushed downstairs to the courtyard. Grandpa gave me a pickaxe and wordlessly walked out the gate. I had no choice but to follow him closely from behind.


    The provincial town we lived in was not a big city at all. If you walked southward from the town, you would end up in a section of wilderness. It was a moonless night, even the stars were scarce in the sky. I trailed behind Grandpa as he walked into the isted chestnut grove. All along the way the only sound I could hear was the crunching of dry leaves underneath our feet. As we got deeper into the woods, I could hear the strange cry of an unknown bird that sent shivers down my spine.


    Soon, we were past the woods and reached a clearing. I identally tripped on something and almost fell. I looked at it and realized that I had tripped over a human bone! It had turned as ck as charcoal, probably due to exposure to the elements for a long time.


    Then I suddenly remembered how this ce was the infamous mass grave. ording to legends, during the Peasants Revolt at the end of the Ming Dynasty centuries ago, a rogue decided to conquer this area and became its leader. He ughtered tons of people and threw all the bodies in a mass grave right in this spot. After some time, this ce turned into an eerie and unlucky ce where there were frequent reports of strange supernatural urrences.


    I saw a faint glow of green light in my surroundings as if there were spectres all around me.


    I first thought they were fireflies, but then I realized that they couldn¡¯t have been fireflies, because this mass grave was a barren ground where no nts or weeds grew. So what would fireflies be doing here? It was then that I was reminded of something called ¡°Soul¡¯s Light,¡± also known in other parts of the world as will-o¡¯-the-wisp. In reality, it was a natural phenomenon caused by the phosphorus in the decaying corpses escaping into the air, reacting with the atmosphere and thus glowing faintly in a greenish light.


    Even so, the knowledge I had of this natural phenomenon did nothing to lessen my fright when I witnessed it in real life for the first time.


    I understood the scientific principles behind this phenomenon perfectly, but still, it was my first time witnessing it in real life so every hair on my body stood on end.


    Just as my heart was thumping in my chest, I saw something move in the direction of the horizon. It stopped about ten meters away from me, and I could see its two green glowing eyes reflecting the light. I was scared stiff and let out a muffled cry.


    Grandpa picked up a stone and hurled it towards that moving thing. That managed to scare it off, and I saw the thing run away before it disappeared into the darkness of the woods.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be rmed,¡± said Grandpa. ¡°It¡¯s just a dog.¡±


    ¡°What are we doing here, Grandpa?¡± I asked, swallowing a lump in my throat while still trying to steady my racing thoughts.


    ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡±


    Grandpa led me to a pile of rocks, then nonchntly pointed at it with a finger.


    ¡°Dig,¡± he ordered.


    ¡°Dig?¡± I asked in a shock. ¡°B-But isn¡¯t this... Someone¡¯s grave?¡±


    ¡°What else could it be, my boy?¡±


    ¡°B-But isn¡¯t grave robbing... Illegal?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not telling you to rob the grave, my boy!¡± Grandpa replied. ¡°I¡¯m telling you to examine a body. Now stop dawdling and get to work! Dig!¡±


    Reluctantly, I rolled up my sleeves, stooped down in front of the stone grave, and started digging. Since it was a stone grave, it took me a lot of effort and time to do it. You might think that a country boy who grew up in a small provincial town like me would be used to physicalbour, but I regret to report that all my life I never lifted anything much heavier than a pen. This task soon proved to be too much for me, and my hands started to blister.


    Grandpa made no move to help me, though. He stood towering over me, watching me dig the grave while smoking a cigarette. The cloud of smoke might¡¯ve annoyed me under normal circumstances, but it was strangely reassuring then, knowing that I was not truly alone in the ghoulish forest. In fact, Grandpa¡¯s second-hand smoke somehow lifted the oppressive, dark atmosphere of the dark forest.


    I kept digging for who knows how long, but by then I was soaking with sweat. After a while, I could feel the de of my pickaxe hitting something hard and brittle ¨C human bone. I tossed the pickaxe aside and started lifting the stones with my hands one by one, until a pile of ck decaying bones was revealed.


    I looked at Grandpa, but he said nothing and kept on smoking his cigarette, so I proceeded toy out the bones one by one ording to human anatomy.


    Although I¡¯d never seen a real corpse before, I had read the Collected Cases of Injustices Rectified where there was a detailed chapter on the human skeletal system called ¡°Bone Examination.¡± It took me no time at all toy out all the bones as I knew exactly where each bone should be.


    But just as I was doneying out the bones, I realized that something was horribly wrong!

 Chapter 3

    <h4>Chapter 3</h4>


    Just as I was beginning to grasp exactly what was wrong with this skeleton, Grandpa interrupted my thoughts with a question.


    ¡°Tell me, my boy,¡± he said, ¡°what do you think this person¡¯s life was like before death, and what was the cause of death? Was this person a male or female? If female, did she bore any children? And how old was this person at the time of death? Did they have any illnesses? Tell me everything you know.¡±


    ¡°Is this a test, Grandpa?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You can put it that way,¡± answered Grandpa inly, blowing a puff of smoke.


    What a strange method of testing, I thought. Did he have to wake me upte at night and drag me here to this old graveyard just to test me? I couldn¡¯t think of any other grandfather in this world who would do such a thing!


    ¡°Hurry up,¡± said Grandpa, tapping his foot with impatience. ¡°This ce has a lot of yin energy. If we stay here too long my bones will get chilled.¡±


    I calmed myself down and focused my attention on the bones. Once in a while, some mysterious sounds woulde out from the woods, and I could feel how heavy and oppressive the yin energy in this ce was. Either way, I really had a hard time! However, my nerves slowly calmed down, and all of these distractions in the surrounding environment were gradually pushed to the back of my mind.


    The bones I had just connected into a body had a height from head to toe of about 180 centimeters, which meant that the person used to be tall. Yet their thigh bones were small, which made that scientifically impossible. The proportion between the length of the foot to the height would always be about one to seven in human beings. So the taller the person was, the bigger their feet. A notable exception, of course, was the case of foot-binding practiced by Chinese women in the past.


    I temporarily pushed the fact to the back of my mind and started to analyze the person¡¯s sex. From the size of the joints, this was definitely a male, but when I turned my attention to the diastolic pelvis bone, it was obvious that there were scars left by childbirth!


    I lifted up the skull to determine the age at the time of death. Judging from the degree of wear on the teeth, this should be an adult in their thirties. But when I lifted up the thigh bone, it was so noticeably light ¡ª a sign of calcium loss due to old age. In fact, because of the bending, it was obvious that the person had experienced a hard life and did a lot of physicalbor, which must¡¯ve put a lot of pressure on his thigh bones. These characteristics matched that of a body belonging to a very old person, so how could that be?


    What¡¯s even more puzzling was that the joints of the arms were coarse and big, characteristic of the joints of the legs ¡ª did it mean that this person used to walk on four legs then?


    This skeleton, from head to toe, just made no sense at all. The more I analyzed it, the less I was sure of what to make out of it. But I suddenly realized that it must have been Grandpa¡¯s intention all along! It was just like him to test me with somethingpletely out of the ordinary! Knowing that, I finally had an answer in my mind!


    I had been squatting for a long time, so when I finally got back up on my feet, I felt a little dizzy and I couldn¡¯t see anything for a moment. My feet went numb. They felt as heavy as boulders. Grandpa tossed his cigarette butt onto the ground. I checked the time and realized that I had been at it for half an hour.


    ¡°How is it then, my boy?¡± asked Grandpa.


    ¡°This person was about thirty years old at the time of death,¡± I answered. ¡°This body was both male and female, and lived in a harsh environment all its life. It walked on four legs, and ate crude food. It even gave birth to seven or eight children. The cause of death is both drowning and decapitation.¡±


    ¡°Is that your final conclusion?¡± asked Grandpa, cackling.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I answered, ¡°because this isn¡¯t a body of one person!¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± Grandpa was intrigued. ¡°Then tell me why it couldn¡¯t be just one person.¡±


    Apart from the skull, there was not a part of this skeleton that was human. Everything was all ¡®borrowed¡¯ from some animals. The legs were from a goat, the arms were from a pig, while the pelvis was from another sow. The bones that formed the hands and feet were made up of conjoined bone fragments, probably from cats and dogs.


    As for the cause of death, judging from the fracture on the neck bone, this person was decapitated with a sharp weapon.


    As I was exining, Grandpa nodded along silently with a content smile on his face.


    ¡°You¡¯re a worthy student, my boy,¡± he said. ¡°There is an old saying ¡ª better not teach someone at all than to teach them to follow the books blindly. If you couldn¡¯t even differentiate animal bones from human bones, then it¡¯s pointless for me to teach you anything about being a Traditional Coroner. Excellent, now the Song family will have a worthy sessor!¡±


    ¡°But, Grandpa... What happened to this body?¡±


    Grandpa inhaled his cigarette and began to rte the history of this corpse in detail.


    It all began thirty years ago.


    At the time, in a vige near the provincial town, there was a viger called Huang San. He was a good-for-nothing loafer who couldn¡¯t do anything except drinking, gambling, and fooling around with women. Before he even reached twenty years of age, he¡¯d already worried his mother so bad that she died.


    No one would marry the bastard, of course. Apart from that, he¡¯d always be running around begging to borrow some money from the vigers, but they knew the money was as good as burnt if they gave it to Huang San so they just ignored him. Huang San couldn¡¯t find any work within the vige, so he had to move elsewhere. He finally found work at a restaurant, but after only working for two days he immediately used the little money he earned to gamble.


    Then he owed the gambling house 5000 yuan and fled, and the mafia came to the vige asking for the money, but that amount of money was no measly sum at all. It was enough to cover a few households, so Huang San¡¯s friends and family all pretended they never knew anyone with that name.


    A few dayster, someone found a ck stic bag beside the road to the hills, and inside was the bloody head of a man! It was reported to the police immediately and they took photos of the severed head and posted a notice in the newspapers to let anyone who knew this face toe up and give more information. One of Huang San¡¯s distant rtives saw it on the newspaper and recognized him, but he thought that Huang San only had himself to me and got what he deserved, plus the vigers all agreed that it would be safer not to report anything, for fear of any trouble from the mafia. Therefore, no one provided any further information to the police other than the identification and Huang San¡¯s murder was archived as an unsolved cold case.


    Huang San¡¯s head was sent back to the vige. Everyone felt that he was a pitiable man who led a sorry life and died so soon and so horribly. He didn¡¯t even have his whole body intact ¡ª and the vigers were worried that this might cause his ghost to haunt the vige!


    Someone found out that Huang San¡¯s mother was a Teochew person, so they formed a ¡®surrogate body¡¯ for him by patching up body parts from different farm animals and gave him a proper funeral ording to the Teochew tradition, in the hope that he could find peace after death.


    As Grandpa finished the story, he told me to ce the bones back into the grave and bury them just as I found them before. After I was done with that, he took out a stack of joss paper from his jacket and struck a match to burn them.


    ¡°Forgive me, Huang San,¡± said Grandpa. ¡°I had to trouble you again. I know you died a gruesome death and you had no children to give you any offerings in your afterlife, so please receive this meagre offering for now. On your death anniversary next year, I¡¯ll make sure to invite monks and Daoist priests to perform ceremonies for you so your soul can ascend to a higher ce.¡±


    Just as Grandpa finished his sentence, a sudden cold gust of wind blew the me that was consuming the joss paper. I thought I heard a faint sobbing sound, and just like the ashes of the burnt joss paper, it was carried by the wind up into the sky.


    I was so shocked and afraid that I didn¡¯t know how to react. Grandpa pressed on my head to make me bow and ordered me to apologize to the dead person.


    When I finally got up to my feet, the eerie, chilly wind was gone.


    ¡°A-Are g-g-ghosts real, Grandpa?¡± I asked, not exactly in my most courageous moment.


    ¡°They are if you believe them to be,¡± answered Grandpa vaguely. ¡°Always remember this, my boy ¡ª examining a corpse the way coroners do is an affront to the dead person. Never take the task lightly and never forget to pay your respects!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Grandpa,¡± I nodded.


    Suddenly, it urred to me that Grandpa¡¯s words just now implied that he would allow me to be a coroner and work with the police now!


    ¡°Grandpa,¡± I said, ¡°since I passed your test, does that mean that I can catch criminals with Uncle Sun now?¡±


    ¡°Never!¡± answered Grandpa. ¡°This is a strict rule of the Song family! All members of the family must obey it!¡±


    1.

 Chapter 4

    <h4>Chapter 4</h4>


    Grandpa tapped his back with his fist over and over again, trying to massage the pain away.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go home,¡± he said. ¡°This ce is too gloomy, and my arthritis is acting up again because of the chill. We¡¯ll talk when we¡¯re back home, okay?¡±


    An hourter, we were both safe and warm at home. Grandpa brewed a pot of ginger tea to warm himself up.


    ¡°You must be curious, my boy,¡± he said. ¡°We, the Song family, have always been coroners for generations, so why is there such a rule against bing a police officer or a judge? Well, there is a very concrete reason.¡±


    During the Southern Song dynasty in the thirteenth century, there was an outstanding official who served as a presiding judge in criminal courts whose name was Song Ci. All his life, he efficiently solved many difficult cases and he was a talented official who surpassed all his predecessors.


    Song Ci was determined in avoiding miscarriages of justices. When he served as a presiding judge, he solved countless cases of wrongly punished crimes and got the right perpetrator. He solved many cases that seemed to have dead end and managed to capture more than two hundred criminals in just eight months. There were noints of misjustice after his tenure, and his achievements astounded both the court officials and themon folk.


    But no matter how great Song Ci was, he understood that the power of one person was limited ¡ª he couldn¡¯t makesting changes if he worked alone. He knew that there were still many other Coroners who never cared for a fair investigation and trial, but instead relied on using violence to extort a confession out of the suspects with utter disregard for human lives. It was just as the ancient saying went ¡ª a drop of ink on an official document can cost a sea of blood.


    Hence, Song Ci recorded everything he learnt from his studies and experiments in the Collected Cases of Injustices Rectified. To call this book revolutionary would be an understatement ¡ª with this book, Song Ci single-handedly founded the science of forensics, three hundred years before the scientific advances that happened in the west. Because of this, he was now globally acknowledged as the forefather of forensics.


    After Song Ci, members of the Song family had always served the Imperial Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple generation after generation. Gradually, the contents of the Collected Cases of Injustices Rectified kept expanding and the body of knowledge in crime solving and detection grewrger andrger, until it was all recorded in the Chronicles of Grand Magistrates.


    But when you were as outstanding as the Song family back then, you could just as easily fall into a precarious position where you became the target for vengeance from the criminals or the family of the punished murderers. Our profound knowledge turned out to be a double-edged sword. Not only that, our out-of-this-world skills became an attractive thing to be used by other people. In the Ming dynasty, a member of the Song family investigated a strange case involving a nine-tailed fox, but eventually he sniffed out a n for a coup d¡¯etat. He was eventually used as a scapegoat and was punished to death together with the nine generations of his family.


    Then there was a member of Song familyter who was proficient in numerology. He theorized that the knowledge the family wielded was simply too profound that it disrupted the bnce of good and evil in nature, tempting the wrath of the gods and the spirits. Therefore, any member of the Song family who became a judge, a police officer, or a coroner would all be met with cmities! From then on, the rule was set: no member of Song family should ever dabble into those professions in order to preserve their lives.


    This ount frustrated me for a bit. I was slightly incredulous too.


    ¡°But Grandpa,¡± I protested, ¡°aren¡¯t you co-operating with the police yourself even now?¡±


    Grandpa sighed.


    ¡°When I was young,¡± he said, ¡°I loved solving crimes, just like you. I helped the police break many cases that shocked the whole country, and earned reputation and fame in the process. I had no idea that cmity would soon fall upon me. Not long after solving a big case, someone informed me saying that my method of dead body examination was a superstition left over from the feudal society. I was immediately thrown into abour camp where I had to live and work in the stables for three long, bitter years. If I had been exonerated and released anyter than that, I would¡¯ve ended up apletely broken man.¡±


    Grandpa turned stonily silent for a moment after recounting this part of his life. He then took a sip of the ginger tea and continued.


    ¡°I was too eager to show off my talents at a young age,¡± he said, ¡°and Ipletely ignored the warnings of our ancestors because I was too set in my own ways, just as iron is brittle because it is too hard and can¡¯t be bent. I decided to just hide at home after that and heed our ancestors¡¯ warning, but my reputation had spread too far. Every few years I would get an invitation to work with the authorities. I had to refuse them, not because it was my wish, but for our own good. In the end, I had topromise and start co-operating with the police secretly. I thought that our family would finally be safe after my generation, but now it turns out that you are trying to walk down the very same path that I did. Perhaps it is a cruel game that fate is ying with us, perhaps it is a curse our family has to endure, but perhaps it is also our mission and purpose!¡±


    At this point, Grandpa¡¯s words started to confuse me. Did he wish that I would follow his footsteps and be a Traditional Coroner, or was that still out of the question?


    ¡°Now that you¡¯ve passed the test,¡± he continued, ¡°from this day onwards I will pass on everything I¡¯ve learnt all my life to you. Do you want to learn them, my boy?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do, Grandpa!¡± I answered, all fired up.


    ¡°Now, now,¡± he said, ¡°don¡¯t get carried away. I¡¯m only doing this because you¡¯ve been solely relying on those two books when in fact, they are only the tip of the icebergpared to the mountain of knowledge our Song family has umted over generations. You are like a toddler with a sharp sword in his hand ¡ª sooner orter you will injure someone, if not yourself! I don¡¯t want you to die young, my boy, but I¡¯m too old to watch over you for the rest of your life. All I can do now is to teach you how to wield this ¡®sword¡¯ properly and let that protect you as you walk your own path.¡±


    ¡°Besides,¡± he continued, ¡°the knowledge in forensic techniques has always been our family¡¯s most treasured inheritance for centuries. If I die as thest person to learn or to know of them, I wouldn¡¯t be able to face our ancestors in my afterlife. But with you as the sessor, I can finally die in peace...¡±


    Grandpa¡¯sst sentence rubbed me the wrong way. I didn¡¯t like the sound of it at all. It felt as if he was telling me hisst wishes ¡ª his will, so to speak.


    Nevertheless, I shook off this thought and just nodded at Grandpa.


    From then on, any free time I had was spent with Grandpa, learning how to examine dead bodies, learning how to deal with crime scenes ¨C these were all mysterious and fascinating skills, and it would be hard to describe them in words. Of course, it was quite a challenge for a teenager to learn all of this, but I gritted my teeth and fought on with determination, and like a sponge, I soaked up all the knowledge from Grandpa with enthusiasm.


    In a blink of an eye, three years had gone by. My high school grades weren¡¯t spectacr, so I doubted if I should even attempt to apply for the Polytechnic University of the province. But Grandpa convinced me to just give it a try, and he assured me that I would get epted.


    I believe that it was due to his influence and machinations that I was eventually epted into the polytechnic university of my first choice. For a man like him, this was probably an easy task that didn¡¯t require him to do more than lift a finger or make a few phone calls.


    My aunt wanted me to study economics so I could help her with her business in the future, but to be blunt, that although crimes and dead bodies fascinated me to my very core, matters ofmerce and businesspletely and utterly bored me. Perhaps it was Grandpa¡¯s genes in me.


    After much consideration, I finally decided on applied electronics. I heard that it was an honest profession with good demand and a decent job market, so I thought that it was a sensible choice. What I didn¡¯t anticipate was that on the first day in college, I realized that out of all the students in my faculty there were only three girls in total. But s, it was toote to do anything about it.


    After the university entrance exam there was a long holiday when I spent all the time doing nothing at home, maybe I would surf the or watch the television sometimes, or sometimes I would be ying chess with Grandpa. Even to this day, I look back on this period of time as the most carefree and happy period of my life.


    One day, I went to a party at a friend¡¯s house. We probably downed barrels full worth of beer that day. We were all childhood friends who¡¯d been together all our lives till then, but now we were all at a crossroads where everyone would be separating and each of us would be walking our separate paths, moving to different parts of the country and doing different things, so we decided that since it could be ourst party together in a long time, we might as well party hard.


    After the party at my friend¡¯s house, we decided that the night was still young and went into town to sing karaoke. In the end, it was already eleven o¡¯clock when we finally parted ways and went home.


    As I approached my house, I noticed that the light in Grandpa¡¯s study was still on. That surprised me, because in our town everyone went to bed early in the evening, the only reason the lights would still be on at this hour would be if something terrible had happened, like for example when an elderly person had died...


    I sobered up in an instant and began to hasten my footsteps. I pushed open the front door, anticipating and dreading what I would see, but all I saw was an empty house without a soul in it.


    I rushed to Grandpa¡¯s study, but only found an envelope on his desk. There were no stamps on the letter, only a hand-drawn picture of a blood-red dagger on the bottom corner.


    I could feel that there was something in the envelope.


    Curious, I picked up the envelope when something sticky fell out of it and onto my hand ¨C it was an eyeball!


    1. Not an actual temple but the name for the Supreme Court in Imperial China.

 Chapter 5

    <h4>Chapter 5</h4>


    I almost jumped out of my skin when the eyeball fell out of the envelope. Could it be Grandpa¡¯s? No, that wouldn¡¯t make sense. Grandpa must have received this envelope first, and then went out somewhere. This eyeball had to be someone else¡¯s.


    Aside from the gory eyeball, there was nothing else in the envelope. This was a strange development indeed. What was the sender trying to tell Grandpa, sending him such a ghastly object like that? Why did Grandpa disappear suddenly, and where did he go?


    The more I thought of these questions, the more muddled my thoughts became. I thought it¡¯d be best to sit down for a moment and clear my head.


    Grandpa taught me to always analyze the clues avable from the surroundings to deduce what was happening. If something became too confusing or puzzling, I¡¯d always have to go back to the fundamentals.


    I looked around. Everything in the study was in order ¡ª the windows were closed and not broken in, so Grandpa did not leave the house by force. He went out on his own volition, most probably after seeing the envelope.


    Since the eyeball was sent here in an envelope, the sender must¡¯ve had the desire to send a certain message to Grandpa. If Grandpa could understand this message, there was no reason why I couldn¡¯t either ¨C and the message must¡¯ve been on the eyeball!


    I turned on the writingmp and began to examine the eyeball very closely. Judging by the opacity of the lens, it must have been cut off from its owner no less than three hours ago. There was a single tiny nerve behind the eyeball. After examining it for about a minute, I made two conclusions: firstly, the eyeball was removed from its owner when the person was still alive. Secondly, the perpetrator was a dangerous professional, because even though they took out the eyeball while the victim was alive, it was done so cleanly and precisely that there was no damage to the eyeball whatsoever. These kinds of skills wereparable to a surgeon¡¯s!


    I noticed there were some granr objects sticking to the surface of the eyeball. Upon further inspection, I realized that it was sawdust, and when I sniffed it, there was a faint pine scent.


    Then I was reminded of a wood processing factory in the north of the provincial town where pinewood shipped from other ces were polished into wooden boards and turned into furniture. Clearly, this eyeball hade from that ce. The sender was obviously using this to lure Grandpa out by sending this message: there was a man in dire danger at the wood factory, and if Grandpa didn¡¯t hurry there, it would be toote!


    I had no time to consider anything else right now ¡ª I just grabbed a shlight and rushed out of the house. The streets were pitch ck and sometimes I could hear the sound of dogs barking, but it was all a blur as I hurried my steps north of the town. Finally, I saw the wood factory in the thick of the night.


    A wall surrounded the factory, and there was an iron gate that had been pried open at the entrance. In fact, there were still signs of iron wire in the lock.


    This proved that my deduction was correct. The sender of the envelope really was in there, and perhaps Grandpa was too. I debated whether I should rush inside ¡ª considering the high possibility that the envelope sender was a dangerous person, I wondered if I should call the police before barging in on my own.


    But I didn¡¯t have a cell phone with me at the time, so even if I rushed back to call the police, each second wasted could mean life and death for Grandpa.


    In the end, I picked up a wooden stick I found around there and went past the factory gates. As I walked in, I noticed a warehouse had a light on, so I turned off my shlight and gripped the wooden club tightly with both hands and slowly inched towards it.


    There were lots of wood and boards in the warehouse, all stacked such that they were almost touching the high warehouse roof. They were all covered with a tarp. I walked in and the whole ce was covered inplete silence, so much that I could hear my racing heart beating against my chest very clearly.


    I turned the corner and suddenly saw the figures of two people ¡ª one looked like a fat middle-aged man sitting on a chair. His head was hanging limply aside on his neck and his body was stripped of his clothes. I saw a big green dragon tattoo on his chest, his mouth was stuffed with a piece of cloth, and his eye sockets were both hollow. The strange thing was that although his eyes had been gouged out, there was not a drop of blood around his empty eye sockets or anywhere else on his face at all!


    He was holding a ck stic bag in his hand, and it seemed like there was something in it!


    The other person was lying on the ground not far from this body ¡ª he was wearing a very familiar red Tang suit jacket and a pair of cotton shoes. There was no doubt in my mind ¡ª that must be Grandpa!


    I didn¡¯t bother to check whether the fat man was alive or not ¡ª I just rushed towards Grandpa and knelt beside him. His hands and feet were so cold, and I couldn¡¯t detect his heartbeat any longer as even his pupils had started to dte. I ced a finger underneath his nostrils and sensed a weak breath every few seconds.


    ¡°Grandpa!¡± I yelled, already starting to well up. ¡°Please stay strong and hang in there! I¡¯ll call for help right now!¡±


    I kept repeating the sentence, hoping that it might wake him up. Suddenly, his lips trembled slightly and he uttered with a faint, weak voice, ¡°Yang, my boy...¡±


    ¡°Grandpa, please don¡¯t die!¡± I pleaded. ¡°I¡¯ll call for an ambnce right now, I¡¯ll call for the best doctor to save you!¡±


    ¡°No...¡± he struggled to reply. ¡°It¡¯s toote...¡±


    Those words pierced through my heart like a sharp dagger, and hot tears began to pour out of my eyes.


    As he spoke, it seemed to take him a mountain of effort to utter each word. I wanted to stop him so he could conserve energy, but he seemed determined to tell me something so I didn¡¯t dare to interrupt.


    ¡°I have to go now, my boy,¡± he said. ¡°If you want to be a coroner, I won¡¯t stop you anymore... But if you hear the words Jiangbei Daggers... Promise me you¡¯ll run as far away as you can.¡±


    ¡°Jiangbei Daggers?¡± I asked with an off-pitch voice due to sobbing, holding his hands tightly. ¡°Is that the bastard who did this to you, Grandpa? I will seek your vengeance ¨C I swear to you!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Grandpa replied as firmly as he could, using his wrinkled hands to hold me tightly with his eyes looking straight at me. ¡°Promise me you will run!¡±


    I wordlessly nodded.


    The ghost of a smile appeared on Grandpa¡¯s lips ¡ª he looked almost at peace as he took hisst breath. My whole body copsed to the ground as I fell, wailing bitterly.


    As I cried, I sensed a shadow moving along the ground. The fright stopped my tears immediately. Judging from the shadow¡¯s movement and the distance of the light source from my position, it was clear that there was someone approaching me from behind.


    But this moving figure was so silent and quick that I didn¡¯t sense any breath or sign of a living thing at all, as if it was not even a living person who was approaching me. I even suspected if it was the fat man¡¯s reanimated corpse!


    No, that was impossible.


    This mysterious figure was tall andnky, unlike the fat man. Just then, I saw the figure¡¯s right hand slowly lift up, and in that hand, there was something that glinted in the light ¡ª it looked like a curved sword!


    I hurried up onto my feet, but the piercing cold de was pressed against my waist.


    ¡°Don¡¯t turn back,¡± said the voice. ¡°If you see my face, it will be thest thing you see.¡±


    It was a weird voice, neither male nor female, neither deep nor high-pitched. It sounded unnatural somehow, as if it had been artificially modified.


    I was full of terror and anger at the same time. This was the person who had tricked Grandpa out of the house and murdered him, but I waspletely helpless and unarmed. If I were killed right here right now, no one would ever find out what happened, and both Grandpa and I would just disappear without a trace.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± the shadow asked.


    ¡°Song... Yang!¡±


    ¡°Ah, you must be Song Zhaolin¡¯s grandson. Did he pass on any special knowledge to you?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± replied the strange figure, who then broke into the most bone-chillingugh I had ever heard. ¡°Do you want to live?¡±


    I said nothing and just nodded.


    ¡°Good,¡± the voice said. ¡°Then answer my question correctly, and I¡¯ll let you go. If you don¡¯t, then get ready to meet your old man in hell!¡±


    I shuddered, ashamed of my own cowardice in that moment. My grandfather¡¯s murderer was right here within my grasp, but not only was I so helpless and afraid that I wouldn¡¯t dare to look at his face, that murderer was even toying with me, just as a cat would y with the mouse it had caught.


    I had to do anything I could to survive, so I nodded my head.


    ¡°The question is very simple,¡± he said. ¡°If you can tell me your grandfather¡¯s cause of death, then you are free to go!¡±

 Chapter 6

    <h4>Chapter 6</h4>


    When I heard this sentence, I froze for about ten seconds.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± the shadow asked mockingly. ¡°Are you afraid of letting me see what your grandfather has taught you?¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t teach me anything!¡± I insisted.


    ¡°Then how did you know your grandfather is here?¡±


    I began to panic and sweat. This mysterious figure was too smart. In a few minutes, he¡¯d seen through my lies.


    ¡°Hmph, not bad!¡± he said. ¡°For such a young boy you are pretty smart.¡± As he talked, he kept running the cold de across my skin.


    Was he Grandpa¡¯s enemy? Why was he trying to test me? If I could really answer his question correctly, would he really let me go?


    My thoughts were running in circles, I had never encountered anything remotely like this ever in my short seventeen years of life. At that moment I couldn¡¯t think of what to do at all, cold sweat kept soaking through my clothes, ironically chilling me to the bones.


    ¡°Hurry up!¡± the dark figure said. ¡°There¡¯s a limit to my patience!¡±


    I had no choice but to start examining Grandpa¡¯s body. I put my index finger on his skin to measure the temperature, and found that it was about ten degrees. I checked his knuckles, his fingers, and found no signs of struggle. Then I pry open his eyelids and checked the eyes, and found no turbidity...


    Once I put my whole concentration into the task, my nerves gradually calmed down.


    There were no obvious cuts or wounds on Grandpa¡¯s body. He didn¡¯t show any signs of being poisoned either, and there was even a faint rosy flush under his skin. If his vital signs hadn¡¯tpletely stopped showing signs of life, he would look just as if he was sleeping.


    Could the fatal wounds be underneath his clothes?


    Forgive me, Grandpa, I thought, as I began to unbutton his Tang suit. Although my emotions were in disarray, my mind was still surprisingly clear. I slowly examined every inch of Grandpa¡¯s skin and all the joints and bones of his body.


    I found nothing.


    There were no signs of cuts or bruises, no open wounds, and no signs of bone fractures at all.


    I put my ears on Grandpa¡¯s chest and tapped my fingers on his diaphragm. There was no sign of internal bleeding.


    I found no signs of suffocation, no signs of strangtion, and no signs of illnesses.


    None of this made any sense. I couldn¡¯t determine the cause of death at all. In that moment, I doubted everything that Grandpa had taught me, but more than anything else I doubted myself, thinking that I was the most useless grandson that ever existed.


    Seconds passed, then minutes... The wind that was blowing in the warehouse was bitingly cold, yet I was soaking in my own cold sweat.


    I kept wiping away the sweat on my forehead with my hand, and the figure behind me started tough again.


    ¡°Can¡¯t Song Zhaolin¡¯s grandson find out how his own grandfather died?¡± he mocked.


    I stayed silent.


    ¡°Speak up!¡± he barked. ¡°Tell me what was the cause of your grandfather¡¯s death! Or else I¡¯ll reveal it to you by killing you the exact same way I killed your grandfather!¡±


    I clenched my fist. I knew there was no way I could make an escape right now. I waspletely in this person¡¯s mercy and there was nothing I could do about it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± I finally admitted.


    ¡°Is that your answer?¡± the shadow asked.


    If I was going to die, I wanted to at least die fighting. Perhaps I could even find an opening to escape. The chances were slim, but it was better than doing nothing. Even if I couldn¡¯t defeat him, at least I would see what he looked like before I die. Even if I had toe back as a ghost, I would definitely find him and seek revenge!


    I rushed up onto my feet.


    He was no more than half a meter away from me, so I turned around abruptly and threw my fist straight ahead, but my fist was caught and gripped by a hand that was wearing a leather glove.


    I can see clearly now that the figure was about 1.8 meters tall. He was wearing a ck trench coat. His whole body was covered, not even an inch of his skin was exposed. He was wearing a ghastly mask, the lips curled up into a cruel smile, and out from the mouth were two blue fangs.


    The eyes behind the mask were pitch ck, it didn¡¯t reflect light the way normal human eyes would somehow. That made me wonder if this figure was even human!


    The ck shadowy figure twisted my wrist effortlessly. It made a clicking noise and suddenly an unimaginable pain reverberated throughout my body,pletely incapacitating me.


    ¡°Your courage ismendable!¡± the shadowy figure nodded. ¡°But you¡¯re nothing but a stupid boy! I won¡¯t waste my time and energy killing a clueless suckling like you! Maybe I¡¯ll let you live till the day that you find out how I killed your grandfather, then I¡¯lle back and strike you down! Remember this: I will always be the bane of the Song family!¡±


    As he finished the sentence, he started making a strange gesture and came for the point right in between my eyebrows. I felt dizzy instantly, and everything turned ck before my body even hit the ground...


    I was woken up by the sound of sirens. A big heavy hand kept pping at my face. I looked around groggily and noticed that I was surrounded by strangers. The only familiar face was Officer Sun, who was kneeling in front of me, and it was his hand that had been smacking my face. Memories of what happened before I cked out rushed back to me, and I started to panic.


    ¡°Grandpa!¡± I blurted. ¡°What happened to Grandpa?¡±


    ¡°Kiddo,¡± said Officer Sun dejectedly, ¡°your grandpa¡¯s already...¡±


    So the nightmare was real, I thought. I wasn¡¯tpletely shocked by it though, I just felt numb and depressed. Anger, shame, humiliation ¨C all these emotions run through my mind and were entangled together,pletely clouding my mind. I bit my lips so hard that I didn¡¯t realize I was bleeding.


    Officer Sun dropped a coat over my shoulder. Only then did I notice that I had caught a slight cold, which was unsurprising considering I¡¯d spent a whole night in the chilly warehouse.


    The two bodies had been taken away, and Officer Sun told me that my aunt was looking for us the whole night, but now that she knew I was fine, she was relieved.


    Officer Sun asked me to apany him to the police station in the city to record my statement. I told him everything I knew, then asked him a few questions that had been troubling my mind like who was Jiangbei Daggers, how did Grandpa die, and who was that fat man?


    ¡°I know there must be a thousand questions running through your head right now,¡± replied Officer Sun, ¡°but since your Grandpa advised you to stay away from these matters, I think it¡¯s best that you don¡¯t involve yourself in this case any further.¡±


    ¡°How can you expect me to do that?¡± I stood up in anger, gnashing my teeth. ¡°My grandfather was murdered! I have to seek justice and vengeance!¡±


    Officer Sun sighed heavily.


    ¡°All right,¡± he finally said, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you everything I know. But you must take this to your grave and never mention it to anyone else!¡±


    He then lit a cigarette and was about to speak, when suddenly a police officer arrived at the door, holding a document. He saw me in the office and began to step back, but was stopped by Officer Sun.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± said Officer Sun. ¡°Say what you have to say.¡±


    The officer took a quick doubtful nce at me, but then obeyed Officer Sun¡¯s order anyway.


    ¡°Sir...¡± he muttered, ¡°the coroner¡¯s report is here.¡±


    ¡°Give it to me.¡±


    Officer Sun nced over the report and his face suddenly turned stony and severe.


    ¡°So it really is the same person,¡± he said.


    He handed me the report, and I proceeded to read it. Although it was my first time reading an official coroner¡¯s report, and there was, in fact, many technical and medical jargon in it, I could nevertheless grasp the content without much effort, because the main principles of modern forensic science werergely simr to what I had been learning from Grandpa.


    ording to the report, the first victim, meaning the fat middle-aged man, showed no signs of injuries on his body and no signs of poisoning. In fact, apart from the eyes being gouged out while he was still alive, causing a break of the nerve at the back of the eyeballs, his body was in almost perfectly normal conditions. Apart from that, his heart was missing in his chest, suspected to have been removed using a sharp instrument. But the skin around the chest and all the bones showed no signs of cuts or injuries at all. The heart that he was holding in his hand had been analysed in theb, and it was shown that it was his own heart.


    I drew a sharp breath when I reached this point in the report. Was it really possible to gouge out a human heart without damaging the body?


    Meanwhile, Grandpa¡¯s death was caused byrge perforations of the heart valve, suspected to be done by a sharp object. The direct cause of death was the stopping of the heartbeat, and just as it was for the first victim, there were no other injuries found on his body, no signs of struggle, and no signs of poisoning.


    I was so shocked that I couldn¡¯t speak. Officer Sun took the report back out from my hands.


    ¡°The only person who could do this,¡± he said, ¡°is the same Jiangbei Daggers from ten years ago. It seems that he¡¯s returned to take revenge on the Song family.¡±


    And so Officer Sun began the ount of the as yet unsolved case from ten years ago...

 Chapter 7

    <h4>Chapter 7</h4>


    Officer Sun told me that it happened ten years before. At the time, he was still only the captain of a crime scene investigation team. He climbed all the way up to his high position now, and it was all thanks to Grandpa.


    Grandpa was a remarkable person, said Officer Sun. He would not bother getting involved in any trivial cases, and it would take much persuasion to convince him to help the police. But once he was involved, it was basically guaranteed that the case was as good as solved!


    It all began on a dark, moonless night. At the time Officer Sun was at the provincial police headquarters to deliver some important documents. A middle-aged man suddenly walked in carrying a stic bag in his hand. He was wobbling and unstable on his feet, and his face was red like he was drunken. The moment he got in he shouted and pleaded for help, saying someone was trying to kill him. But just as he uttered his sentence, he fell st on the floor.


    Officer sun thought he was just a drunken passed out on the floor, but when he went over to check the man¡¯s breathing, he realized that he was already dead.


    Officer Sun opened the stic bag in the deceased¡¯s hand, and lo and behold! It was a human heart inside!


    There were no injuries or wounds on the victim¡¯s body, he looked just as if he fell asleep. Neither were there any signs of struggle or of poisoning. In other words, the victim simply parked his car outside of the police station, got out of the car while the engine was still on, and died at the police station. Apart from his own fingerprints, none other was found in the car.


    The police checked his background and found that he was an esteemed judge working in the city.


    Because of that, the higher-ups in the police organization made solving this case a high priority. They arranged for the best police officers and forensic scientists and coroners to work on the case, forming a special task force that wouldb through every avable clue. But weeks passed and no results were gained, and the investigation went nowhere. Even the exact cause of death was not totally understood.


    The truth was that the task force was made up of people who were more eager to move up the rungs of the organization than they were to solve the case. In the meetings, for example, each of them was more concerned with being the one who got it right, no one was listening to anyone else¡¯s suggestions, and they all worked individually and separately with no real teamwork at all.


    Officer Sun was one of the most junior members of the task force, so when he first suggested contacting Grandpa to help them with the case, everyoneughed and mocked him, saying to hire an out of date Traditional Coroner like that, why not just ask a fortune teller to try to look for the murderer through the crystal ball?


    Just then, the second case happened. This time the victim was a woman. She was a rich businesswoman who had just returned from abroad.


    And just like the first victim, the police found a stic bag near her body that contained a human heart.


    Because there was absolutely no progress in the investigation, Officer Sun decided to go rogue and bring Grandpa in to help despite objections from his colleagues. Grandpa agreed, but just as Officer Sun took him to the police station, they discovered that the bodies had been dissected for autopsies.


    The coroner had dissected the bodies and examined every inch of them, but all they found out was that the heart in the stics bags belonged to the victims themselves. The murderer used a mysterious method that was able to extract the organ without damaging or leaving any damages on the body at all.


    Grandpa told Officer Sun that there¡¯s nothing he could do with this case any more, because there was one non-negotiable condition for him in order to co-operate with the police ¨C and that was that no one must be allowed to touch the dead bodies before he did.


    Officer Sun used all his abilities to persuade Grandpa to keep on working with the police, eventually Grandpa suggested that they went to the victim¡¯s house to find some clues.


    The victim¡¯s house had already been searched through plenty of times. But apart from the footprints and fingerprints of the forensic team, absolutely nothing was found. If there was one thing that could be said of this serial murderer, it was the word thorough!


    Criminal motives, killing method, evidence left at the crime scenes, none of this could be found out at all, and it seemed that the murderer knew exactly how to get rid of clues towards finding them out so that the police were leftpletely in the dark!


    But Grandpa was no ordinary man. Once they¡¯d reached the crime scene, he covered all the blinds and curtains of the windows, then lit up a bunch of dried wormwood until the smoke filled up the whole house. Then, from the fog of smoke the words appear on the wall ¨C Jiangbei Daggers, Protect the People, Condemn the Corrupt!


    Jiangbei Daggers was probably the name the serial murderer gave himself. And it seemed that he believed himself to be acting in the people¡¯s benefit by eradicating the powerful corrupt people from society! Officer Sun rushed back to the police headquarters to retrieve the victim¡¯s information. It turned out that the first victim, the judge, had received bribes and judged two innocent men to be guilty of murder. The other victim, the businesswoman, had invested in the pharmaceutical industry and had sold a cancer drug that cost ten yuan originally to be sold at an exhorting price of a few thousand yuan, getting rich on the pain of patients.


    The murderer must¡¯ve thought that because these people havemitted crimes, they must be punished, so he assumed himself to be the jury and the judge and executed them!


    By then, a third murder had happened. The victim this time was a renowned university professor. Like the previous victims, he hadmitted some morally questionable conduct, namely having sexual affairs with one of his research assistants. In fact, he even took photographs of her in inappropriate circumstances and used it as ckmail.


    This university professor died at an academic seminar where many reporters were present, so it was no longer possible to keep the news of this serial murderer under wraps.


    After extensive press coverage, some people on the inte turned this serial murderer into a sort of anti-hero who championed the people and help eradicate the corrupt out from society. They even said that the police had a skewed notion of right and wrong, that even though this serial murderer hadmitted crimes it was in the end for the good. This put a special pressure on the special task force that was investigating the case.


    No matter how many serious problems there were in society, and no matter how many crooks were bleeding the society dry,w and order were always there to continuously keep the peace. No one had the power to surpassw and order to be the jury, the judge and the executioner themselves. What the serial murderer did was still murder, and it was only right the police must catch him!


    This time Grandpa insisted to be the first person to examine the corpse. Officer Sun ignored all the objections from the other police officers and went to great lengths to let that happen. Grandpa cooped himself up in the corpse room for a whole day and night, and Officer Sun was there all the time, guarding the door, preventing anyone from interfering.


    Once, Officer Sun had to leave his position to use the restroom. One of the forensics intern identally opened the door and saw a scene that shocked him. He said that Grandpa and the corpse were both wearing a strange mask, and Grandpa had used two strings to tie the corpse up as if trying to recreate the crime scene.


    The day after that, Grandpa was suddenly heardughing in the examination room. Officer Sun rushed in to ask him what he had discovered. Grandpa said although this case had puzzled him to no end, and he still didn¡¯t know how the murderer killed the victims, and couldn¡¯t find any answers about how the hearts of the victims were extracted so cleanly.


    But it wasn¡¯t all for naught.


    ¡°The dead body told me,¡± said Grandpa, ¡°that the murderer is 1.8 meters tall, is tall andnky, his eyes are triangr in shape, has thick eyebrows and a high nose bridge.¡±


    ording to Officer Sun, those were his exact words.


    They had cooperated many times before, so Officer Sun naturally trusted Grandpa¡¯s words without question.


    Hence, Officer Sun took action straight away. He sent his officers all over H City to do a carpet search and find someone with the characteristics that Grandpa had described. They didn¡¯t find the murderer, but they did find a key witness. The man was called Zhang Bao, and he stated that he saw someone simr to the description of the suspect hanging about his house. He feared that he might be the serial murderer¡¯s next target, and pleaded with the police so that he might receive their protection.


    Grandpa requested to see Zhang Bao¡¯s statement andpared it with the information they got from the first three murders.


    He then drew up some strange symbols on the map of H City and ordered Officer Sun to do a search near the street he marked.


    Officer Sun asked him why and how he figured that out, but Grandpa only urged Officer Sun to hurry up and act before it was toote!


    And so the police rushed to the mentioned street to interrogate and question the people around there. As expected, thendlord of that lodging saidtely there had been a man renting one of his rooms, and this man looked exactly as Grandpa had described him. He even said that he had a contract with him that contained the tenant¡¯s information.


    Officer Sun was overjoyed by this revtion, he immediately sent two of his officers to go with thendlord to get that document, while the others would go to the mentioned rented room to search through the ce. What they found there was a huge surprise. There were many cut newspaper articles that contained news of the three murdered victims. What¡¯s even more rming was the picture of Zhang Bao pinned on the wall by a dagger!


    There was no doubt about it ¡ª the man living here had to be the legendary Jiangbei Daggers!

 Chapter 8

    <h4>Chapter 8</h4>


    Apart from the pictures of these four people, there were pictures of other people as well. Officer Sun assumed that these were the murderer¡¯s next targets!


    But they had been waiting for a long time, but the two officers and thendlord had not yet returned. They didn¡¯t even answer calls. Officer Sun knew then that something bad must¡¯ve happened, and he immediately sent a big team of police officers to follow them.


    But at the parking lot, they found the dead bodies of the two police officers, and in thendlord¡¯s house they found thendlord, dead as well. Even the house had been left in a state of chaos as if a storm had hit it. This time the murderer did not use his mysterious legendary killing method, but instead opted to sneak up on the two police officers and slit their throats from behind. Thendlord, on the other hand, was stabbed to death with a knife.


    This proved that Jiangbei Daggers had panicked, and had rushed to cover up his tracks. This meant that Grandpa had been on the right track!


    Even so, there was no denying that the police had taken a misstep which cost them the lives of two officers and thendlord. Officer Sun was hit hard by this and he shouldered all the guilt himself. When Grandpa arrived at thendlord¡¯s house, he chased everyone out of the house and was in there all alone for about an hour. After that, when the door was finally opened again, clouds of smoke spilled out, carrying a scent like that of Chinese medicine. In ces where there were no traces of anything at all previously, suddenly bloody footprints appear, there was even a bloody handprint on the wall!


    Now with footprints and handprints, there were more leads to follow ¨C the murderer¡¯s weight and height, the murderer¡¯s fingerprints, the murderer¡¯s habitual movements, even the kind of shoes that the murderer wore.


    Officer Sun mobilized all of his officers, and they worked all round the clock without rest, until in the end, they found an image of the murderer from a surveince video of a supermarket. Although the face of the murderer was obscured by his hat, he was with a woman who seemed to be in an intimate rtionship with him.


    The police were able to identify the woman through the image. She was a worker in a textile factory and was most likely the murderer¡¯s wife or girlfriend.


    Officer Sun led his team to find the woman immediately, but before they got to her, she was already dead. Her death¡¯s circumstances were exactly the same as Jiangbei Daggers¡¯ previous victims. Needless to say, the murderer had panicked again and in order to cover his tracks, he even went to the lengths of killing his lover!


    So Grandpa had now cornered the murderer twice. Although the police were not able to capture him, it could be said that in this race between Grandpa and Jiangbei Daggers, each side had both victory and defeat.


    This also proved one thing to the police: Jiangbei Daggers was not invincible. He had weaknesses and it was possible to defeat him!


    After that the members of the task force had their motivations fired up and they began to hunt down the murderer with new fervor.


    But just then, one by one the members of the task force were killed off mysteriously and brutally. In the end, a total of five police officers lost their lives, and they all died just like the victims did, with their hearts extracted from their chest in a clean, bloodless way while they were still alive. Not long after, Grandpa announced his withdrawal from the investigation. This incurred the wrath of Officer Sun, who not only was still determined to hunt down the murderer, but who had also lost too many of his officers. He tried all his might to make Grandpa continue on with the investigation, but Grandpa was unmoved in his decision to leave.


    Without Grandpa¡¯s help, the investigation basically ground to a halt, and the case became an unsolved cold case even to this day.


    When he reached the end of the story, there was already a small pile of ash umted in the ashtray in front of Officer Sun. I was suddenly reminded of a memory from ten years ago that sent shivers down my spine.


    One night, ten years ago, Jiangbei Daggers had visited Grandpa!


    At the time, I was only seven years old. I remember that someone visited Grandpa when it waste at night. I was curious, as it had never happened, so I went over to his room¡¯s door and asked him who it was. Grandpa had always been kind and gentle-mannered around me, but in that instance, he yelled at me to go back to my room and not to interfere with adult matters. I was so surprised by this treatment that the event stuck in my mind ever since.


    The mysterious person stayed at our house for about two hours before leaving. What were they talking about? Now that Grandpa was dead, this question would remain a mystery for the rest of my life.


    But the question remained: why did Jiangbei Daggers return after ten years? Why did he kill Grandpa? Was Grandpa killed by the same murderer from ten years ago? Or was it a sessor of some sort?


    This case was wrapped in a thick fog of mystery and questions, a fog so thick it was almost imprable. At the time, I could simply make no sense out of all the information I had.


    ¡°Was that fat man who was killedst night the same Zhang Bao who escaped ten years ago?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The very same man, yes,¡± answered Officer Sun, nodding.


    ¡°I think I get it now,¡± I said, ¡°Jiangbei Daggers had returned to put the question in front of Grandpa again...¡±


    ¡°Oh, you think so?¡± asked Officer Sun. ¡°Do you think your grandfather might have solved the mystery of Jiangbei Daggers¡¯ killing method?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I said, shaking my head.


    Officer Sun sighed and got up to his feet. He put a big hand of his on my shoulder and said, ¡°Kiddo, I am partly responsible for your grandfather¡¯s death. If I didn¡¯t persuade him to help us with the case ten years ago, none of this would ever happen. Now that he¡¯s gone, I hope you could concentrate on your studies and live a good life. Forget about all this and just move on. Let me be the one to catch the bastard. I promise you that I¡¯ll never stop hunting him down until the day that we got him!¡±


    ¡°Officer Sun,¡± I said, ¡°I want to ask you a favor.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°When the dayes when Jiangbei Daggers is at work again, please let me know. I want to be the one to catch him with my own hands!¡±


    ¡°But...¡± Officer Sun hesitated.


    ¡°My grandfather was able to force him into a corner ten years ago, this meant that the knowledge and skills that the Song family possesses made us the nemesis of Jiangbei Daggers. My grandfather had passed on everything he knew to me, so now it is my duty to drag him to justice myself!¡±


    ¡°You little brat,¡± he said, ¡°are you saying you don¡¯t trust the police?¡±


    I made no reply to that. After a few seconds of pregnant silence, Officer Sun suddenly burst intoughter.


    ¡°Like grandfather like grandson,¡± he said. ¡°Very well. When the dayes, I will let you know.¡±


    I turned solemn, bit my lip and swore to myself¡ªthe next time I meet Jiangbei Daggers, I would show him what I, Song Yang, was capable of!

 Chapter 9

    <h4>Chapter 9</h4>


    Three yearster, I was a fourth-year student in a polytechnic university in H City.


    Life as a fourth-year student wasrgely rxed and carefree. All we had to do was go to ss a few hours a week, and we were mostly left to our own devices for the rest of the time. For many, this time was spent ying League of Legends online, or luring innocent juniors to love hotels. In fact, I noticed that most of my dorm-mates were in pairs most of the time.


    But I was the notable exception, of course, because I spent most of my time in the library, learning and absorbing all I could about forensics through the books there. I spent so much time there that the bags under my eyes were no different from a panda¡¯s.


    I never forgot everything that happened the day Grandpa died. I remembered every word of exchange I had with Officer Sun afterwards, and the promise that I made to myself. When the dayes that Jiangbei Daggers returned, I will have my vengeance!


    But the present me, I realized, was still far from being Jiangbei Daggers¡¯ worthy opponent. That was what drove me to learn more and get stronger and better in every minute of my life.


    That day I was going to the library to return some books I borrowed that were due, but before I could step out of the door I was blocked by Wang Dali, the closest friend I had at university.


    ¡°Hey, dude!¡± he chirped enthusiastically. ¡°Did you hear? Someone died in our college today!¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Near that man-madeke!¡± he replied, in a tone a tad too jolly considering the circumstances. ¡°A guy in our college had hung himself there, apparently. There are a few police cars over there right now. And you know what? They say that he killed himself over a breakup or something! Geez, you¡¯d think that only girls would do sappy things like that!¡±


    Sensing his callous tactlessness, I thought he needed a bit of scaring to set him straight.


    ¡°I¡¯d advise you to watch your mouth, Dali,¡± I said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you know that the ghosts of people who died tragic deaths like that tend to hang around? Don¡¯t be surprised if the dead student decides toe hang out with you tonight.¡±


    ¡°Whatever, dude,¡± Dali brushed me off. ¡°Wanna go down there and take a look?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± I replied.


    We then made our way to the man-madeke on campus. It was quite a distance from our dorm and faculty where we went for our lectures. Apart from dating couples, rarely anyone would ever venture this far out on campus. But it was more crowded than usual today, apart from a crowd of students, there were also quite a few police officers there as well.


    The police had sealed off the area with yellow tape. I could barely see that there was a belt hanging on an old banyan tree on the shores of theke. The dead body had been taken down from the tree, it seemed. There was a man wearing a white coat, presumably the coroner, kneeling beside what seemed to be the corpse. I said what looked like the corpse because a thick grouping of trees surrounded the scene, plus there was quite a crowd gathered there too, so I couldn¡¯t see the corpse at all.


    ¡°That¡¯s strange...¡± I muttered.


    ¡°What is?¡± asked Dali, craning his neck to see better.


    ¡°This small thicket of forest is just steps away from theke,¡± I said, ¡°so why didn¡¯t he just drown himself in there?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s simple,¡± said Dali. ¡°The guy probably thought about drowning himself in theke, but when he stepped into the water, he must¡¯ve realized how freezing cold the water was. It is fall now, you see, and it gets really chilly at night in this season. The guy probably didn¡¯t want hisst experience in this life to be freezing cold and wet, so he must¡¯ve decided to just hang himself on the tree.¡±


    Dali then paused to admire his own deduction ¨C if you could call it that.


    ¡°How about that?¡± he asked me. ¡°Wasn¡¯t that a great deduction?¡±


    ¡°That was wless logic, dude,¡± I joked. ¡°If Di Renjie had heard that, he would just give up being a detective and go back to farming; and if Holmes was born in the same generation as you were, he would¡¯ve been jobless!¡±


    ¡°Damn right he would!¡± said Dali. It seemed that this idiot mistook my jeers for genuine praise. ¡°You look like you¡¯re eager to learn, so I might as well give you some guidance!¡±


    ¡°I should be so lucky,¡± I said.


    ¡°Man, this is a terrible spot!¡± Daliined. ¡°You can¡¯t even see anything from here. Let¡¯s find a better angle.¡±


    We went around the ce for almost half a day, weaving through the crowd. Finally, we found a spot that was not so far away from the police line. But even then, all we could see was the back of the coroner. Just as I was about to get a good look at the dead body, Dali tapped me on the shoulder.


    ¡°Whoa, dude, look at that smoking hot policewoman!¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± I asked.


    My gaze then followed the direction that Dali pointed, where I saw a female police officer standing near the police line. She did indeed cut a striking figure ¨C slim and tall, unblemished fair skin, and all the curves in the right ces. She was wearing a pair of skinny jeans that showed off her lean, long legs. On the upper half of her body, she wore the sky-blue button-up shirt of the police force underneath a leather jacket, her soft and shiny hair was cut short, and she was standing there with her arms akimbo. From what I saw then, the size of her breasts seemed to be C cup ¨C no, they¡¯re more likely D cup.


    In short, she looked just as if she was the heroine of a police drama who had stepped out into real life.


    She was observing the dead body in deep concentration, with her eyebrows wrinkled and her eyes unblinking. Her face looked like she couldn¡¯t be much older than twenty years old, at most only a few years older than me. With that face and that figure, one could easily believe that she was a celebrity had she been wearing more morous clothes.


    I turned back to Wang Dali and saw him quite literally drooling.


    ¡°You know,¡± he said, ¡°I¡¯ve always been an honorable man whose heart is not easily moved, but this policewoman is giving me an urge tomit a crime...¡±


    ¡°Yeah, go ahead,¡± I said. ¡°I bet she could break your ribs with a single punch.¡±


    Dalipletely ignored me and kept his eyes glued to the policewoman. I decided it¡¯s time to go find another spot to get a clearer view of the dead body. Perhaps I was wired up wrongly, psychologically speaking, but I¡¯d much rather stare at a corpse than at a pretty woman.


    After threading through the crowd again for a few minutes, I finally found just the right spot near the police line where I could clearly see the deceased¡¯s face.


    From what I could observe, the deceased was about twenty years old and his appearance was run-of-the-mill. He was wearing a sweater; his eyes were bulging out like that of a goldfish; there was a clear mark on his neck, and the skin above this mark was deathly pale, while the skin below it was dark purplish red. A stiff red tongue stuck out of his mouth and hung limply over his chin.


    ording to the Collected Cases of Injustices Rectified, the tongue wouldn¡¯t necessarily stick out just because someone died of asphyxiation. If the rope that killed the person constricted the area above therynx, then the tongue would not stick out; if the constricted area was below therynx, then it would.


    Because only a small part of the tongue was actually inside the mouth, while most of it was in the throat, the strong gravitational force that acted upon the neck would crush the neck bones and force the tongue to stick out of the mouth. The ghosts of hanged men depicted with long protruding tongues in horror movies weren¡¯t entirely artistic invention, after all.


    But although the dead body had a very scary look, not only was I not scared at all, there was even a hint of excitement rising up in me.


    Apart from the appearance of the tongue, there was the unmistakable stenching from the deceased¡¯s pants. Obviously, he lost control of his bowel movements right after his death. Based on these two points, the cause of death was clear!


    Still, I felt strongly that there was something wrong. I tried to take a better look at the body and the scene and inadvertently almost stepped over the police line, but a police officer quickly shoved me back.


    ¡°Stand outside the line!¡± he shouted.


    ¡°What do you think, Dr. Qin?¡± I heard the policewoman asked the coroner, ¡°Is it murder or suicide?¡±


    The coroner was a man of about fifty or sixty with greying hair. He looked as if he had a lot of experience. He took off his rubber glove before answering the policewoman¡¯s question.


    ¡°The cause of death is suffocation,¡± I heard him say, ¡°and there are no signs of struggle or marks from being bound, so I say it is suicide.¡±


    The policewoman sighed in relief.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s pack up and get the body ready for autopsy!¡± she ordered.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that,¡± the coroner proimed. ¡°I¡¯ve examined countless bodies and I¡¯ve never made a single mistake in my entire career. If I say it is suicide, then suicide it is. An autopsy would just be a waste of time.¡±


    ¡°Ah, what an impressive pair of honkers! I wish I could go up there and ask her name.¡±


    The familiar voice that floated into my ears belonged to Dali, of course. In my concentration, I hadpletely missed him being right next to me, leering and ogling at the policewoman.


    ¡°When did you get here?¡± I grumbled.


    ¡°Damn, were you so caught up in ogling that hot policewoman that you didn¡¯t even notice me right beside you?¡± asked Dali. ¡°That¡¯s pretty surprising,ing from you. Your face always get as red as a tomato whenever there are girls around!¡±


    ¡°I was only trying to look at the dead body!¡± I protested.


    ¡°Sure, whatever you say, dude,¡± said Dali. ¡°You go ahead and admire the corpse then. I, on the other hand, would prefer the hot policewoman any day. I wouldn¡¯t mind it at all if she put her handcuffs on me, and spank me, and¨C¡±


    I was in no mood for Dali¡¯s debauched fantasies, because at that moment a couple of police officers were preparing to wrap the dead body up and take it away.


    It was not my ns at all to get involved with the case, but I couldn¡¯t just let the coroner blunder without doing anything about it. I had no idea where I got the courage from in that moment, but I pulled up the police tape, and marched right into the police line.


    ¡°Holy shit, dude!¡± shouted Dali. ¡°What the hell are you doing? You can¡¯t just barge in there and ask for her number!¡±


    ¡°You there!¡± bellowed a policeman when he saw me crossing the police line. ¡°Turn around now! You¡¯re not allowed in here!¡±


    I took no heed of the warning. Everything in my surrounding just melted into a blur and I just kept heading straight towards the policewoman. I had but one thought in mind ¨C I must tell her they¡¯re making a grave mistake!


    ¡°He¡¯s got it all wrong!¡± I said, pointing at the coroner. ¡°That student didn¡¯tmit suicide; he was murdered!¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± asked the policewoman. Her eyes rounded as she stared straight at me with a mixture of astonishment and confusion.


    1. A from the seventh century AD who was a high-ranking official in the Tang and Zhou dynasties. He was often depicted in crime novels as a great detective, which is why he is now widely regarded as the Sherlock Holmes of ancient China.

 Chapter 10

    <h4>Chapter 10</h4>


    As soon as I spoke, a few police officers swarmed towards me and pressed on my shoulders.


    ¡°Who gave you the permission to be here?¡± the policewoman asked coldly.


    ¡°No one did,¡± I replied, ¡°I just noticed that he made a huge mistake, and I couldn¡¯t help myself from pointing it out.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense!¡± shouted the coroner. ¡°You mean to say that I got it all wrong? Hah! Don¡¯t you know that I am the most senior coroner in the country? I do admire your courage, though. I¡¯ve seen more than a few kids like you. You must¡¯ve read a few of those Sherlock Holmes novels and now you believe yourself to be a great detective! Let him speak, Xiaotao. Let¡¯s see how he¡¯s going to embarrass himself!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re too busy to be entertaining this kid, Dr. Qin,¡± the policewoman reminded.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± he replied. ¡°He won¡¯t be taking up much time. Brat, I¡¯m giving you a chance. Why don¡¯t you tell us why it¡¯s a murder and not a suicide? But I must warn you, obstructing police investigation is a crime. You can apologize to me now and I¡¯ll forgive your impertinence!¡±


    My impertinence, huh? I thought. Let¡¯s see who¡¯s going to be the sorry one in the end.


    ¡°What if I get it right?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What? That¡¯s impossible!¡± crowed the coroner, howling inughter.


    ¡°Let¡¯s say I get lucky, then. What happens then?¡±


    ¡°In that case,¡± said the coroner, ¡°I¡¯ll step down from the investigation, and you¡¯ll be the coroner for this case instead, how about that?¡±


    The other police officers on the scene erupted intoughter. They each eyed me up and down with curiosity as if anticipating how I would be making a fool of myself.


    ¡°Dr. Qin!¡± The policewoman whispered to the coroner.


    The coroner made a hand gesture to tell her not to interfere with this. By the looks of it, he probably had a higher rank than the policewoman.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hear it then,¡± he said. ¡°What¡¯s your theory?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll tell you!¡± I replied. When I was under the old tree where the dead body was hanging from, I noticed a big rock that the deceased probably used to get up to the tree to hang himself. But there was a slight indentation on the grass right beside that rock that was easy to overlook.


    ¡°Do you see these marks on the grass?¡± I said. ¡°It proves that when the deceased was mitting suicide¡¯, there was someone else there right beside him, hoisting him up. Have you ever heard of someone needing help whenmitting suicide? Isn¡¯t it clear that it¡¯s a murder?¡±


    The coroner reacted with augh.


    ¡°I even thought that maybe you¡¯ve found some important clues!¡± He said. ¡°That¡¯s just the footprints of the gardener who found the body this morning. There¡¯s nothing to it at all! How about that, brat? Are you speechless now?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°These marks aren¡¯t footprints.¡±


    The coroner fell silent. The policewoman looked at him questioningly, and he finally said, ¡°I remember it now. It was because I left my box of tools there when I was examining the body. That¡¯s all it was, and you thought you¡¯ve found a groundbreaking clue just because of that?¡±


    Unbelievable, I thought. This coroner wants me to be wrong so bad that he¡¯s willing to say the marks left by the murderer were made by himself!


    Nevertheless, the policewoman believed the coroner¡¯s exnation. I saw the interest in her eyes for me gradually turned back to doubts. Perhaps to her, Dr. Qin was a reputable and experienced coroner, so whatever he said would always hold more water than what I, a random college student she just met, had to say.


    To most people, the indentation on the grass might seem unworthy of any attention, but this wasn¡¯t so to me at all. When I was training with Grandpa, he used to make me drink a very bitter concoction of his that he called the ¡®Eye Opening Elixir.¡¯ After seven full weeks of drinking this daily, I suddenly lost my eyesight. I panicked, but Grandpa told me to calm down because it was only a readjustment period that my eyes were going through.


    Three dayster, my eyesight recovered. But it was far from being the same


    A sesame seed in front of me now seemed as big as a te. I could detect the flow of blood through the minimal changes on the skin. Even the movements of the bees¡¯ pping wings seemed slow to me. Because my eyes were too sensitive, I had to stay in a very dark room for the first few days, because even the me at the end of a lit matchstick could pierce through my eyes and gave me the worst headache.


    Eventually, I understood that Grandpa was training me. It took a considerable period of time before I got used to this terrifyingly sensitive eyesight and was even able to control it. Grandpa said that this was the ¡®Cave Vision¡¯ of the Song family that would be of great help to me when I would solve a case in the future.


    With my Cave Vision, I could detect the difference in the indentation that objects of different weights and shapes would leave on a bed of grass. In fact, judging by the degree of wilting of the grass that was pressed down, I could surmise that the mark was made about eight to ten hours ago.


    I was observing the coroner examining the corpse earlier, and judging from the marks on the deceased¡¯s neck, the stiffness of the corpse and the degree of pupil dtion, it was clear that the time of death was about eight to ten hours ago as well. That pompous coroner, however, determined the time of death to be more than ten hours ago, but I couldn¡¯t be bothered to correct such a basic mistake.


    Unfortunately, others couldn¡¯t see what I could clearly see, and so the policewoman gave up on me and started to order her officers to take me away.


    ¡°We¡¯ve wasted enough time,¡± she said. ¡°Somebody get this boy out of here!¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± I cried. ¡°But it¡¯s not just the marks left on the grass! The murderer left some handprints on the body as well. Didn¡¯t any of you notice it?¡±


    The policewoman froze, then used her eyes to wordlessly order the police officers who were restraining me to step back. The coroner, on the other hand, was chuckling.


    ¡°Look at him babbling nonsense again,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve just checked the body with UV light and found no fingerprints at all!¡±


    ¡°I never said there were fingerprints,¡± I said. ¡°I said there are handprints. Any object that was handled would leave some marks on the surface. And a human body, once it¡¯s dead, would be no different from a table or a rock since there was no more blood flow.¡±


    ¡°You brat,¡± said the coroner, eyeing me scornfully. ¡°Are you daydreaming? Even my high-tech forensics instruments couldn¡¯t detect anything, and you expect me to believe that you can see these marks with your naked eyes? Pah!¡±


    ¡°What if I can prove it to you?¡± I asked with a confident smile. ¡°What would you say then?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s absolutely impossible!¡± said the coroner. ¡°My instruments cost tens of thousands of yuan, there¡¯s no way a brat wet behind the ears like you could do anything they couldn¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°And you blindly believe your gadgets just like that?¡± I asked. ¡°Machines aren¡¯t perfect, nor are they omnipotent. Sometimes a simple piece of paper can aplish a task better and faster than a machine that costs tens of thousands of yuan.¡±


    The female police officer once again looked at me as if I piqued her interest.


    ¡°What are you studying in college?¡± she asked me.


    ¡°That has nothing to do with this,¡± I said. ¡°I may not be studying forensics, but at least I know I¡¯m still better than him.¡± I pointed at the coroner just to provoke him further.


    Dr. Qin predictably exploded.


    ¡°Let him examine the corpse!¡± he said. ¡°I want to see how he¡¯s going to make a fool of himself! I¡¯ve been working as a coroner since before this brat was born, I don¡¯t believe that a spoiled brat who¡¯s been reading some random books could detect something that even I couldn¡¯t! If I¡¯m wrong, I¡¯ll resign immediately!¡±


    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s a good idea, Dr. Qin?¡± asked the policewoman.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± the coroner said, ¡°This arrogant little brat needs to be taught a lesson!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d better not go back on your own words!¡± Iughed.


    ¡°That goes without saying!¡± he said. Then his cunning eyes stared straight at me. ¡°But what if your little experiment doesn¡¯t work?¡±


    ¡°Just arrest me then.¡± I shrugged.


    The policewoman let out a heavy sigh.


    ¡°Listen to me,¡± she said, ¡°you¡¯ve been dying our investigation for quite a while now, so I¡¯m afraid I will have to charge you with obstruction of justice if it turns out that you¡¯ve been wasting our time, do you understand? You seem to be in your third or fourth year of college. You do realize that with this kind of record you might never find a job, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m well aware of that,¡± I said calmly.


    It wasn¡¯t that I was conceited, by the way. Although I couldn¡¯t see any marks on the deceased¡¯s body with my Cave Vision, I knew that the clues to find the murderer was right in front of me, because unless if the murderer was able to make the victim¡¯s body levitate, there had to be some handprints on the dead body!


    From that knowledge, I know that with a little bit more inspection I would be able toe up with a solid and logical deduction, and it was with logic and deduction that I had full confidence in.


    ¡°Very well,¡± the policewoman said with a forced smile on her face. ¡°Go ahead and do whatever you have to do. Tell me if you need any tools from the forensics team.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said, ¡°but I don¡¯t use any of those.¡±


    I then turned my gaze towards the border of the police line and saw a very anxious-looking Dali standing there.


    ¡°Dali!¡± I shouted. ¡°Get over here!¡±


    He immediately stepped over the police tape,


    ¡°Dude, have you lost your mind?¡± he asked when he reached me. ¡°What were you thinking telling the police they¡¯ve got it wrong? You don¡¯t even dare to talk to girls normally! Oh, by the way, did you get to ask the policewoman her name? Is she single?¡±


    ¡°Look,¡± I said, trying to be patient with the idiot, ¡°I need your help. Can you run back to the dorm and get the red oil-paper umbre in my closet for me?¡±


    ¡°What do you need that for, dude?¡±


    ¡°This is not the time to ask questions,¡± I said. ¡°Just go get it for me, okay? And remember not to touch anything else in my closet!¡±


    ¡°Okay, got it,¡± said Dali. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a minute.¡± He then turned around and ran towards our dorm room.


    Dr. Qin casually lit up a cigarette and said, ¡°I think I¡¯ll just take a break for a minute while I wait to see what kind of circus show you¡¯re going toe up with.¡±


    ¡°Good!¡± I said, raising up my head. ¡°Then get ready for the greatest show you¡¯ve ever seen!¡±


    1. It may sound like a dull and ordinary object, but oil-paper umbres have a much than you might think.

 Chapter 11

    <h4>Chapter 11</h4>


    Not long after, Wang Dali arrived with a red umbre. He ran to me, almost breathlessly and handed me the umbre.


    ¡°It¡¯s this one, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± I said. Then I turned to the coroner and asked, ¡°Can I get some rubber gloves from you, old man?¡±


    The coroner was sitting on a little stool on the floor, holding a cigarette between his fingers. He indicated the direction of his toolbox with a raised chin and said, ¡°Everything¡¯s in the toolbox. Take whatever you want.¡±


    I took a pair of rubber gloves out from the toolbox, gave a pair to Dali and don a pair on myself.


    ¡°Why are you giving me this, dude?¡± asked Dali, his face getting pale.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to leave fingerprints on the body now, do you?¡± I answered.


    ¡°You want me to ¡ª to handle the corpse?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Who¡¯s going to help me if you don¡¯t?¡± I replied. ¡°Come on, stop wasting time! Let¡¯s get to work!¡±


    Dali looked like he was about to cry.


    ¡°Don¡¯t drag me down into the mud with you, dude!¡± he said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll buy you lunch, okay?¡±


    There were quite a number of police officers around us at the time who were closely observing us, so in truth, Dali didn¡¯t have much of a choice besides going along with me. I told him to lift up the upper half of the dead body, then I took a pair of scissors from the toolbox and began to cut the deceased¡¯s coat. Dr. Qin¡¯s gaze followed my every movement but he didn¡¯t say anything. I used the scissors to cut away the clothes because if we tried to take the clothes off by pulling it up through the head, the tongue that was sticking out of the deceased¡¯s mouth would be damaged.


    Once I was done with the coat, I began to cut the shirt underneath. The face of a dead person, especially one who died by hanging, was always quite frightening. Dali kept his eyes closed during the whole process, but he identally opened his eyes once and almost jumped out of his skin with fright.


    ¡°Holy shit, dude,¡± he eximed. ¡°Aren¡¯t you scared at all?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so scary about a dead body?¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s just an inanimate object¡ªlike a table. You¡¯re not scared of a table, are you?¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s still... a corpse... dude...¡± muttered Dali confusedly while staring at me as if I was an alien creature.


    In my mind, there was absolutely no difference between a dead body and another lifeless object like a table. This was probably due to the way Grandpa trained me on how to examine human bones by sending me to graveyards quite often. And we usually spent the whole night at ces like that, so it wasn¡¯t surprising that I waspletely desensitized to the sight of a dead body.


    There was quite a crowd around us at the time, so I thought it was best not to take off the deceased¡¯s pants. So I went ahead and told Dali to lift the dead body up.


    Dali took a deep breath and hoisted the body up.


    I slowly opened the umbre, a heady herbal smell began to spread through the air from it.


    ¡°Ugh, where did you get that umbre?¡± asked the policewoman while covering her nose. ¡°It stinks!¡±


    ¡°Sorry about that!¡± I said with an apologetic smile.


    I got the umbre while I was shopping one day. There were mentions of a method of examining dead bodies using an umbre even in Collected Cases of Injustices Rectified. The fact was that the ancients knew of how exposure to ultraviolet light would make marks and scars on the skin to appear. The great Song Ci himself made some modifications to the oil-paper umbre by treating it with a concoction of medicinal herbs, thereby creating an ¡®autopsy umbre¡¯ which can be used to make different kinds of marks on the skin to appear. I¡¯d made myself this very same ¡®autopsy umbre¡¯ using the instructions I found in the book.


    I opened my umbre and slowly rotated it. The chest area of the dead body became covered in a red shadow. To other people, the shadow might only seem red, but to me, I could see that it consisted of different shades of red.


    Just as I was focused on examining every inch of the skin on the deceased¡¯s chest, I saw that Dali was growing uneasy again.


    ¡°Dude, can you just start examining the dead body now?¡± he asked. ¡°It¡¯s not that sunny today. I don¡¯t need the umbre¡¯s shade!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m examining the body right now!¡± I said.


    ¡°What?¡± Dali asked,pletely befuddled. ¡°With that old umbre?¡±


    ¡°What old umbre?¡± I said. ¡°Do you know how much of my allowance I spent on medicinal herbs to prepare this special umbre? I wouldn¡¯t give it up even for a girlfriend!¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t trade a certain girl for anything in this world,¡± murmured Dali, staring dreamily at the policewoman.


    ¡°Where did you learn this strange method of examining the body, kid?¡± said the coroner. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just use a Ouija board and ask the ghost of the deceased what happened instead?¡±


    I ignored the man and thought to myself, this is yourst chance to mock me, so go ahead and knock yourself out. You¡¯ll be speechless soon.


    I turned the red umbre three times, and suddenly marks of half a palm appeared on the deceased¡¯s shoulders. Every there was stunned. Even Dr. Qin himself had dropped his jaw ¨C the cigarette butt in his mouth had fallen onto the ground and he didn¡¯t even notice it!


    ¡°That¡¯s... That¡¯s impossible!¡± shouted the coroner who was now standing up.


    ¡°Dali,¡± I said, ¡°flip the body over!¡±


    ¡°Roger!¡±


    Even Wang Dali got excited now. He flipped the body over and used his hands to support it by the shoulders.


    I continued to turn the red umbre, and wherever the red shadow of the umbre passed, it looked just like an infrared scan, and soon there were threeplete palm prints on the deceased¡¯s back which were much clearer than the ones on the shoulders. These palm prints were small, they looked like they were left by a woman.


    ¡°Stop!¡± ordered the policewoman. She then called for one of her police officers. ¡°Xiaowang, get me a camera!¡±


    A policeman swiftly handed her a digital camera. The policewoman then ordered me to keep turning the umbre as she took the pictures. Once images of all the palm prints had been captured by the camera, I told Dali to put the body down.


    The policewoman scrutinized over the images in the digital camera and furrowed her brows in confusion.


    ¡°That¡¯s strange,¡± she said, ¡°they don¡¯t look like normal palm prints at all.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not really palm prints,¡± I exined. ¡°they¡¯re the texture of the fabric of the clothes worn by the deceased. When someone dies, their yang energy will escape from their body instantaneously. If there is something blocking the path of this energy, it would leave these Yang Energy Prints that you see here. It will only be visible through a special procedure, though.¡±


    ¡°Yang energy?¡± asked the policewoman.


    ¡°It might sound oundish,¡± I said, ¡°but if you really think about it, it does make sense.¡±


    The policewoman nodded and turned quiet and ruminant for a while.


    ¡°Okay,¡± she said. ¡°But you really are something, kid! Where did you learn all these impressive skills? At this rate, it¡¯s pretty clear that this is murder!¡±


    ¡°It is definitely a murder!¡± I said.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong!¡± said the coroner. I saw that his face had gone very pale. ¡°This brat is ying a cheap trick, I¡¯m sure of it. I¡¯ve been a coroner for decades and I¡¯ve never seen anyone examine a corpse with an umbre! And this Yang Prints thing is simply nonsense! Where did you learn all this garbage?¡±


    ¡°You said I was ying a trick?¡± I asked. ¡°I think you¡¯re the one ying everyone a trick here.¡±


    ¡°You-you-you little brat!¡± the coroner yelled. ¡°How dare you? Don¡¯t you know who I am?¡± He was so angry that his lips were quivering. But I remainedpletely unimpressed with the type of people who used their position and power to belittle others.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are,¡± I said, ¡°but I know that you¡¯re wrong. You mistook this murder as a suicide, you were going to let a murderer go unpunished!¡±


    ¡°You... You little brat!¡± said the coroner. He rushed towards me suddenly and was about to grab my umbre, but I reacted quickly enough and managed to dodge away.


    ¡°Let me see that wretched umbre!¡± he yelled, now even angrier as he¡¯d made a fool of himself when he missed and grabbed a whole fistful of air instead of my umbre. ¡°You must¡¯ve used some kind of cheap trick!¡±


    ¡°Oh, and didn¡¯t you say that if I could prove it to you, not only would you hand over the investigation of this case to me, but that you would immediately resign as well?


    ¡°Yeah, I heard it too!¡± said Dali. ¡°Mister coroner, surely someone of your position would honor his own words, right?¡±


    The coroner rounded his eyes in anger and his face turned crimson red.


    ¡°But that¡ªthat was just a joke!¡± he muttered. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that you could prove it. If I did, I wouldn¡¯t have said what I said!¡±


    ¡°Just a joke?¡± I raised my eyebrows. ¡°Mister, if I happened to fail, I don¡¯t think you would¡¯ve taken it as a joke and not throw me in jail, would you?¡±


    The coroner was speechless, then turned to the policewoman for support.


    ¡°Look at this kid, Xiaotao!¡± heined. ¡°Look at how disrespectful he is! You have to get this kid out of here now!¡±


    But the policewoman merely shook her head.


    ¡°Dr. Qin,¡± she said, ¡°You put yourself in this position. Besides, everyone heard you say you would hand the case over if he could prove that he was right. I think you should honor your words.¡±


    The fact that shepletely ignored the issue of his resignation didn¡¯t escape me, but it was good enough that she acknowledged part of the coroner¡¯s promises. Besides, I had no interest in kicking someone when they¡¯re already down.


    But Dr. Qin didn¡¯t expect the policewoman not taking his side. He went speechless for a few seconds before speaking again.


    ¡°Huang Xiaotao!¡± he said. ¡°Even you are taking sides with this brat! Fine! Why don¡¯t you just go on investigating with him, then! I¡¯m out of here! If this brat can solve this case, I¡¯ll resign without any questions!¡±


    He then took off hisb coat and dramatically tossed it on the floor, then stomped away.


    I looked at this pathetic figure gradually growing smaller in the distance and couldn¡¯t help butugh. Did I hurt your fragile ego, old man? I thought.


    Just then, a fair dainty hand approached me. I looked up and saw that it belonged to the policewoman.


    ¡°My name is Huang Xiaotao, and you are?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m... Song Yang!¡±


    I shook her delicate hand, which felt incredibly soft. From that close distance, I could even smell the sweet scent that she emanated. I guarded my virginity well for twenty-two years¡ªwell, not that it ever came into any danger¡ªso I had never been so close to a woman, much less touch them. And to make it worse, this particr woman was undeniably and irrefutably beautiful, so you must not judge me when I tell you that all my blood rushed to my face and it felt so hot I could¡¯ve sworn I saw steam rising from it.


    ¡°This case is yours now, Song Yang,¡± she told me with a smile.


    ¡°Right!¡± I replied.


    Then we were interrupted by a sounding from the edge of the police line. It was the sound of a girl weeping.


    ¡°It was a ghost!¡± the girl said between sobs. ¡°My boyfriend was murdered by a ghost!¡±


    All three of us instantly froze on the spot when we heard those words.

 Chapter 12

    <h4>Chapter 12</h4>


    I looked out towards the source of the voice and saw two female university students there. One of them was slightly chubby, and the other one was skinny. The one who spoke was the skinny one. She was still pouting and tears kept streaming from her eyes.


    Huang Xiaotao approached them and asked, ¡°Do you know the deceased?¡±


    The skinny girl cried even harder when she heard the question.


    ¡°Of course she does,¡± exined the chubby girl. ¡°Fangfang has been dating Zhang Kai for two years!¡±


    The skinny girl was extremely sorrowful, she looked as if she couldn¡¯t keep herposure any longer, so Xiaotao ordered someone to get a chair for the girl to sit on and calm herself down. The girl refused to sit, though, so we waited until she finally stopped crying.


    ¡°When was thest time you saw the deceased?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°We all hung out togetherst night,¡± said the skinny girl. Soon, tears were rolling down her cheeks again. ¡°But I know for sure that what killed him was a ghost!¡±


    And so, she began to rte the events ofst night¡ª


    The girl was called Fangfang, her chubby friend was called Tiantian, and the deceased was called Zhang Kai. There was another guy too, called Deng Chao. The four of them were a tight-knit group of friends who always hung out together.


    Recently, Deng Chao won a schrship from the college, so he invited the other three to a big celebratory dinner. Everyone drank alcohol during the meal and the conversation turned quite rowdy. For some reason or another, they started talking about the legendary haunted abandoned building on campus.


    ording to the legends, a popr college girl had died there ten years ago. Her body was cut up into pieces and hidden in a piano there. From then on, during the quietest hours of the night you could always hear bone-chilling piano music ying in the building.


    When listened carefully, those who were familiar with ssical music realized that it was Beethoven¡¯s Moonlight Sonata ¨C a piano sonata that the popr girl loved to y the most!


    Once, there was a security guard who went into the building with a shlight to investigate the source of the piano music. But minutester his piercing scream rang through almost half the campus, and after that, he lost his mind and would only mutter the words, ¡°A ghost is ying the piano, a ghost is ying the piano.¡±


    Soon enough, the university found some random excuse to seal off and abandon the building, although it was an open secret that it was actually abandoned because it was haunted.


    As themon saying went, men would get more courageous with wine in their bellies. When Zhang Kai and Deng Chao got drunkst night, they suddenly made a bet between themselves that as long as Deng Chao dared to go to the legendary haunted abandoned building, Zhang Kai would give him five thousand yuan.


    And so, the four of them ventured into the old building together. They even found the exact piano that was said to have hidden pieces of the dead girl¡¯s body in a music room. Deng Chao proudly demanded Zhang Kai the money that he promised, but Zhang Kai refused, saying that it would only count if Deng Chao spent one whole night there.


    Deng Chao had always been a hotheaded and stubborn guy, so he agreed to Zhang Kai¡¯s terms despite protestations from the girls. Nothing the girls said could change his mind, so they eventually had to leave him there alone.


    But the minute they stepped out of the music room, that terrifying music started to y ¨C it was indeed Moonlight Sonata! They ran straight back into the music room and saw a ghost of a long-haired woman sitting on the piano bench ying the piano, while Deng Chao was standing right beside the piano with a nk expression on his face. Zhang Kai tried to rush to Deng Chao to help him, but he was prevented from reaching his friend because something had shed his arms!


    It turned out that the room was filled with countless piano wires, dancing in the pale moonlight as if they were the strands of hair of the ghost!


    Once thest note of the sonata was yed, Deng Chao¡¯s body suddenly trembled, and after that his head fell off his neck and rolled across the floor. The three was so shocked and scared they almost flew out of the building!


    The two girls were so petrified by they¡¯d seen that they went straight back to their room and huddled together under the nket that whole night. Until this morning when they were about to lodge a police report of the incident, they heard that a body was found on campus.


    Initially, they assumed that it was Deng Chao¡¯s body, but to their horror, it was Zhang Kai instead who was found dead hanging from a tree!


    Fangfang was so affected by this discovery that she almost copsed, but then when she saw how I discovered palm prints that seemed to belong to a woman on Zhang Kai¡¯s body, she became convinced that it was that ghost who had forced Zhang Kai tomit suicide. She had heard from her senior once that anyone who interfered with the ghost¡¯s performance of Moonlight Sonata would rouse her ire and alwayse to a horrifying end!


    Fangfang paused for a few seconds, then continued saying, ¡°First it was Deng Chao, and then Zhang Kai followed him to the grave. Next, I¡¯m sure she¡¯de for me and Tiantian too! There¡¯s no escape! There¡¯s no escape...¡± And then she wept again while Tiantian patted her back and consoled her.


    We were all in shock and speechless. This simple case of suicide had turned out to be such a mysterious andplex case with such a harrowing tale in the background.


    ¡°Are you sure you saw that ghost cutting off your friend¡¯s head with your own eyes?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°Yes!¡± answered Fangfang, firmly nodding her head.


    ¡°Do you think Deng Chao¡¯s body is still in that abandoned building?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it should still be there!¡±


    ¡°Song Yang,¡± said Huang Xiaotao, suddenly turning to me, ¡°let¡¯s go search that ce.¡±


    ¡°Can I go too?¡± asked Dali.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked bluntly.


    ¡°M-My name¡¯s Wang Dali. Um... I¡¯m Song Yang¡¯s...¡±


    ¡°Assistant!¡± I finished his sentence, poking him with my elbow.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right!¡± said Dali. ¡°I¡¯m his assistant! He never goes anywhere without me! I can¡¯t leave his sight for a second, that¡¯s how much he needs me!¡±


    I couldn¡¯t believe how naturally self-aggrandizing lies came to this idiot friend of mine. I secretly hoped that Huang Xiaotao didn¡¯t take Dali¡¯s word the wrong way and think that we¡¯re a gay couple.


    ¡°Oh, okay,¡± said Huang Xiaotao, ¡°You cane too, then. But both of you must remember that if you want to work on this case, you must always abide by my rules!¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said, nodding. ¡°What are the rules?¡±


    ¡°Three rules,¡± Huang Xiaotao began. ¡°Firstly, before the case is solved, you are not allowed to tell anyone that you are working on it. Secondly, you are not allowed to disclose any information about our progress to anyone, not even to another police officer. Andstly, you are not allowed to conceal any information or clues regarding this case from me! Understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± replied the idiot Wang Dali, mimicking the police officers in Hong Kong police dramas.


    Initially, I had the impression that this woman was rather bossy. But when I considered it from her perspective, it did make sense to act this way. After all, the both of us were civilians who butted into the case suddenly, and she was the responsible officer for this case. If any problems turned up, she would have to shoulder all the me.


    In any case, being able to participate in a criminal investigation excited me to no end. Although I had solid theoretical knowledge both through Grandpa¡¯s training and my own reading, I never had any opportunity to practice them, so I wasn¡¯t about to waste this chance.


    Huang Xiaotao called for a quick meeting with a few of her officers and then took official statements from the two girls. Meanwhile, I decided to take another good look at the dead body.


    Dali, on the other hand, didn¡¯t know anyone else there, so he followed my every step like a loyal caninepanion.


    I¡¯d never seen Dali stopped talking for more than a few seconds when he¡¯s not sleeping, so even when I was busy working, tapping gently on the deceased¡¯s ribs while simultaneously putting my ear on the deceased¡¯s chest and trying to listen through the body bag, he was bbering on right there beside me. Did I think that we should get help from another friend? Would we get free lunch from the police now that we¡¯re working with them? And, of course, was Huang Xiaotao single? It amazed me how much he could talk without ever saying anything of substance.


    I red at him and zipped my fingers across my mouth, signaling him to shut up. Thankfully, he got the message and co-operated.


    I kept tapping on the dead body continuously with my fingers and listening intently at the sound produced in the belly. After that, I turned the body over and repeated the process, this time tapping the spine.


    ¡°W-What are you checking for, dude?¡± Dali asked nervously. ¡°His heartbeat?¡±


    ¡°I just heard him say, ¡®Help me avenge my death...¡¯ Wanna hear?¡±


    ¡°No, no, no, no, never mind!¡± said Dali, waving his hands frantically. ¡°I¡¯ll leave that to you!¡±


    What I was actually doing was a secret technique of the Song family that I learnt from the book Chronicles of Grand Magistrates. It was called ¡®organ echolocation¡¯, and it involved tapping the ribs and spine of the deceased and listening to the echoing sound produced in the belly. Simr to the echolocation used by bats, this echoing sound produced in the belly would provide the priceless information about the condition and position of the internal organs in the deceased¡¯s body, which was infinitely helpful when solving a case.


    Judging by the sound produced, the time of death was about seven to eight hours ago; there were signs of contraction in the lungs, and tears in the spinal nerves. The cause of death was asphyxiation. I knew all of this, of course, I just wanted to verify it one more time. Grandpa had always emphasized the importance of seeing everything with my own eyes and hearing everything with my own ears beforeing to a conclusion. Only then could I be a good Traditional Coroner.


    Once I was done with that, I opened the body bag and examined the right hand of the deceased. I noticed earlier that there was a slight cut wound on the back of the deceased¡¯s right hand. There was even a trace of glue on the cut, possibly left over by a band-aid. Most likely that band aid had been removed by Dr. Qin.


    The first time I saw it, I didn¡¯t observe it very closely. But now that I re-examine it, I realized that the cut had been caused by a sharp object. Could it really be the piano wire that the two girls talked about?


    I ced the hand right in front of my eyes. Then I closed my eyes for a few seconds and then reopened them, this time adjusting to Cave Vision to examine the cut as thoroughly and as closely as possible.


    I¡¯d forgotten that Dali was right beside me and saw the whole process, and he was so startled he fell on his ass.


    ¡°Dude!¡± he eximed. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your eyes? I think I saw a sh of red light in your eyes! Are you tired? Should I go get you some eye drops?¡±


    ¡°Go away,¡± I said, chuckling. ¡°Stop bothering me.¡±


    I then observed the hand even more closely, and everything on the back of the deceased¡¯s hand rapidly got magnified to a degree where I could clearly see each of his pores and the details of the gash of the tiny cut wound. I saw then that the cut was filled with tiny particles, which looked rusty red on closer inspection.


    Now it was clear that what caused the wound was probably made of metal; and if it was indeed caused by a piano wire, then it made sense that it would leave rust particles on the wound.


    But what puzzled me was the depth of the wound. It was deep on one end and shallow on the other. Judging by the position of the wound on the hand and the direction of the difference in depth, it looked like the deceased was cutting himself!


    1. For even better reading experience, why not listen to Moonlight Sonata while you read this chapter and the next few chapters as well?

 Chapter 13

    <h4>Chapter 13</h4>


    Huang Xiaotao finished thest of her phone calls and turned to me and asked, ¡°How is it? Any new discoveries?¡±


    I shook my head. She called up a few police officers to prepare to go search that old abandoned building, but before we moved on, I suddenly thought of something and stared into the man-madeke while waiting for her. Huang Xiaotao noticed this and asked me what was wrong.


    ¡°Can you get some people to search through theke?¡± I suggested.


    ¡°Why?¡± she asked, eyebrows raised. ¡°Do you think something¡¯s in there? Are you sure about this?¡±


    ¡°Well, ording to my reasoning,¡± I said, ¡°if the murderer could hang the victim¡¯s body without leaving any signs of physical struggle, that means that the victim must¡¯ve been unconscious during this act, possibly due to some kind of drug. But the victim weighs at least about 60 kilograms, hoisting him up wouldn¡¯t be an easy task to anyone, no matter how strong. Plus, the murderer needed to make sure that no scratches or marks were left on the victim¡¯s body. Why go to such trouble? Why not just fling him into theke if you want to fake a suicide? That would be an easier method with less risk. It¡¯s impossible that the murderer didn¡¯t know this, but he or she chose not to do it because I surmise there must be something in theke that the murderer didn¡¯t want the police to find when salvaging the body.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a point,¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I think of that? You really are a clever one, Song Yang! What are you studying, anyway?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re both studying electronics,¡± Dali butted in before I could answer. ¡°But our Yang boy here has a special hobby of reading all the books on forensics and criminal investigation that he can find.¡±


    I was immediately put off by his use of the term ¡®our Yang boy¡¯ and subconsciously distanced myself from him slightly.


    ¡°What a massive waste of talent if you don¡¯t join the police!¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ll call headquarters immediately and get a team tob through theke.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao ordered a few police officers to stay at the crime scene while the rest would go with us to the old abandoned building. She made a phone call on our way there. At the time, she wasn¡¯t wearing the official police uniform, so I couldn¡¯t make out what rank she was in.


    ¡°You look like you have some authority over the other officers,¡± I said. ¡°What is your actual rank?¡±


    Huang Xiaotao then showed me her police ID badge, where the words ¡®First ss Superintendent¡¯ were written. I swept my nce over the whole badge and found out what her ID number was, and that she was only 24 years old. I guessed that she probably either had some connection through her family or had aplished a great feat in her short career to be able to rise up to her considerable rank at such a young age.


    ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie,¡± said Dali, not losing an opportunity to try to build rapport with the policewoman, ¡°you¡¯re so young but your rank is already First ss Superintendent? How high is your rank, really?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that high,¡± answered Huang Xiaotao with augh.


    Wang Dali then turned to me and discreetly asked, how high up is a superintendent? I exined to him that there are five ranks in the police force, and it went from Constable at the lowest level, to Superintendent, then Supervisor, then Commissioner, andstly the Commissioner General on top. A First ss Superintendent wouldn¡¯t exactly be a high-ranking officer, but for someone who had just graduated from the police academy not too long ago, Huang Xiaotao had clearly been soaring through the ranks at an impressive speed.


    Soon after that, we reached that abandoned building. There were a lot of banyan trees surrounding the building, wrapping the building up in a dark and gloomy atmosphere. We all felt an eerie chill the moment we approach the building.


    We found that the main door was locked with chains, so Huang Xiaotao ordered one of the police to go find someone on campus who could open this door, but I waved my hands and told her there was no need for that.


    ¡°Just lend me two of your hair pins,¡± I said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you know how to pick locks!¡± said Huang Xiaotao, although she was at the same time picking out two of her hair pins from her hair.


    I straightened the pins and inserted the ends into the keyhole. After a few twists, I managed to unlock it.


    ¡°Holy shit, dude!¡± eximed Dali, all amazed. ¡°I¡¯ve been your roommate for four years and never knew you¡¯re the kind of guy who can pick locks!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty simple,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll teach you sometime.¡±


    Lock-picking really was a simple skill, because all modern locks had the same internal structure. Naturally, I learnt all of this from Grandpa, who taught it to me when I was sick and bored at home. It only took me three hours to learn it.


    ¡°Hey, hey, hey!¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°You can¡¯t just offer to teach anyone how to pick locks! All locksmiths are supposed to be registered at the police station, you know!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I said. ¡°I won¡¯t do bad things with this skill.¡±


    I then returned the hairpins to her.


    ¡°Never mind, you keep it,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m a neat freak, and those pins are way too dirty to go anywhere near my hair.¡±


    ¡°Ah, then I¡¯d better pay you for that!¡±


    ¡°You really are inexperienced with girls, aren¡¯t you?¡± she said with augh. ¡°You¡¯re cute, but you¡¯ve got no clue how to talk to girls. You should¡¯ve said something along the lines of, ¡°I rece those hairpins with better ones¡± or something like that.¡±


    Those words hit a sore spot and I blushed instantly. In terms of emotional intelligence and social skills, I was indeed a fathead.


    But it was obvious that Huang Xiaotao was only joking with me. At first nce she might seem like the typical cold, distant and domineering police officer, but the more I knew her, the better my opinion of her became.


    Wang Dali saw his chance to be the chivalrous knight in shining armor.


    ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie,¡± he said in a cloying tone, ¡°I know a good ce selling girls¡¯ hair essories. Their stuff is of good quality and they¡¯re cheap too. I can take you there and you can buy new hair pins if you like?¡±


    ¡°No, thanks!¡± Huang Xiaotao replied bluntly.


    Dali made a deted hmph noise, and turned to my support.


    ¡°Dude,¡± he whispered, ¡°she was so warm and friendly with you, but why wouldn¡¯t she talk to me? I mean look at me, I¡¯m clearly a mix between Daniel Wu and Eddie Peng, right? You don¡¯t think she¡¯s got a problem with my bad-boy vibes, do you?¡±


    I nced at his messy head of hair like Eason Chan¡¯s and sighed.


    ¡°She probably hasn¡¯t warmed up to you yet,¡± Iforted him. ¡°It¡¯ll get better when she gets to know you.¡±


    ¡°You really think so?¡± asked Dali doubtfully while scratching his head.


    We reached the music room on the third floor. There was something ineffable about the hallway here ¨C it felt so gloomy and dark even when it¡¯s quite sunny outside. It evoked the atmosphere of a horror movie. I attributed it to the state of disrepair it was in due to being abandoned for such a long time.


    ¡°What is this legend about a piano-ying ghost?¡± I asked Dali. ¡°Why have I never heard of it before?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it either,¡± he said. ¡°I guess it¡¯s the kind of thing girls like to gossip about. But we never talked to girls, so maybe that¡¯s why we never heard of it. Besides, I¡¯m not the kind of guy to believe in ghosts.¡±


    ¡°Then why are you hiding behind my back?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not!¡± Dali denied. ¡°I-I was just... tying my shoces! That¡¯s why I fell a bit behind!¡±


    We then reached a door with the sign ¡®Music Room 314¡¯ above the door. A few police officers broke through the door, and soon enough there was a cry of horroring out from that room. We rushed in, and was met with the sight of a headless body slumped over the floor. The blood that spilled out of the neck and covered most of the floor had already congealed.


    Wang Dali gasped audibly and instantly hid behind me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch anything!¡± ordered Huang Xiaotao. ¡°You! Go outside and surround this building! You! Take pictures of the crime scene immediately!¡±


    The police officers began to scatter about with their tasks. Huang Xiaotao handed me a pair of rubber gloves and asked, ¡°Can you handle this?¡±


    ¡°I can do anything a coroner can,¡± I said, my gaze fixed on the corpse. ¡°I can do many things a coroner can¡¯t, too.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± she said, nodding. ¡°It¡¯s all yours, then.¡±


    We both put on our gloves, while the idiot Dali kept hiding behind my back, gripping my shoulders with both hands. I could feel that he was quaking with fear.


    ¡°Dali,¡± I said, ¡°if this is too much for you, then go wait outside.¡±


    ¡°Did you think I would leave a friend like you behind to deal with this on your own?¡± he asked. ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure you can handle it. I¡¯ll be right outside the door.¡± And then he was out.


    ¡°Your friend is such a clown,¡±mented Huang Xiaotao with a smile.


    I knelt down beside the corpse to examine it closely. Judging from the clothes, this looked like the body of a student in his early twenties. The body copsed chest down towards the direction of the door, and the head was neatly cut off from the position of the fourth cervical vertebrae. But that was still not enough information to determine the cause of death.


    Huang Xiaotao moved the corpse¡¯s arm and said, ¡°The time of death should be about ten hours ago.¡±


    ¡°You know how to do that, too?¡± I was honestly surprised.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen it done so many times,¡± she said, ¡°naturally I had to learn it too. You see, the patches of livor mortis on the body has fused together, and the fingers are showing signs of rigor mortis. Wouldn¡¯t that make the time of death about ten hours ago?¡±


    I was genuinely impressed. By the looks of it, she must¡¯ve been reading books on forensic science too. Her rise to the rank of First ss Superintendent probably had nothing to do with her connections, but more to do with her own effort. My opinion of her kept increasing the more I knew of her.


    I then put my ears on the corpse¡¯s back and started the process of Organ Echolocation by tapping gently on the spine.


    ¡°If Dr. Qin were here,¡± I said, ¡°he would¡¯vee to the same conclusion that you did.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean that I was right?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao confidently.


    ¡°Sorry to disappoint you,¡± I said, ¡°but the time of death is about 48 hours ago, with a margin of error of less than two hours.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s impossible!¡± eximed Huang Xiaotao. ¡°The corpse still looks so fresh!¡±


    ¡°No, you shouldn¡¯t judge things by their appearance on the surface,¡± I said. ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, I¡¯ll prove it to you!¡±


    As I said so, I took off the gloves on my hands.


    1. About 132 pounds.


    2. and . Methinks our Dali is a just a bit delusional.


    3. Eason Chan¡¯s .


    4. Also known as the vertebrae.


    5. Livor mortis, basically the purplish of the skin after death.


    6. Rigor mortis, or the post-mortem of the limbs.

 Chapter 14

    <h4>Chapter 14</h4>


    ¡°Dali!¡± I called out. When he walked in, I told him, ¡°I need you to get me some things. I need a towel, some hot water, a pail, some ropes, an iron te, an electric hob, white vinegar and some ginger.¡±


    ¡°What about cumin and spicy noodle?¡± Dali asked.


    ¡°What the hell for?¡±


    ¡°It sounds like you¡¯re going to have a hotpot meal. Cumin and spicy noodle go really well with a hotpot meal, you know?¡±


    I burst outughing.


    ¡°Just hurry up and go get those things, will you?¡±


    ¡°But the money...¡± said Dali, staring at me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll pay you back the money once the case is over. Just remember to keep the receipts.¡±


    ¡°Oh, one more thing!¡± I said. ¡°Aren¡¯t there a few pots of sulent nts in our dorm? Can you bring one of those with you as well?¡±


    ¡°Geez, dude,¡± said Dali, ¡°I know the atmosphere here is a bit gloomy, but do you think sulent nts are enough to liven up the mood?¡±


    ¡°Just shut up and go, won¡¯t you?¡± I said, waving my hand.


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± he said, and ran out the door.


    I searched through the clothes on the dead body and found an ID card, a student card, some change, some keys, a cell phone and half a pack of cigarettes. The name on the documents were all Deng Chao. I tried to ess the cell phone but found that it was locked with a password. Huang Xiaotao ordered a few bags to put all the evidence in.


    I stood up and looked around. The music room was actually quite spacious. There was a podium in front of the room, and beside it, there was a wooden piano that looked out a window facing the south. All of the windows in this room were opened. Because the building was built quite some time ago, there was no air conditioning. Instead, fans were installed on the ceiling.


    ¡°Where did the head of the body go?¡± I wondered aloud while staring at that headless corpse.


    I walked up to the piano and pressed a key. It made no sound at all. It turned out that this was one of those old-fashioned pianos where you had to step on the pedal to make a sound.


    ¡°Do you y the piano?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked, her eyes full of wonder.


    ¡°Absolutely not,¡± I replied.


    I swiped my fingers on a string of keys on the piano and discovered that some of them were stuck. I instantly knew that something was wrong.


    ¡°Quick!¡± I said. ¡°Open the lid! Something¡¯s inside the piano!¡±


    The moment the lid was opened, everyone gasped in horror.


    Most of the piano wires inside had been cut, and they all tangled up together into a cobweb-like mess, and nestled among that mess was a bloody head and a baseball cap beside it.


    I rolled up my sleeves and tried to get the head out, but it was so tangled up with the piano wires that I feared pulling it out would cause damage to the flesh.


    Huang Xiaotao ordered someone to get a plier. After a while, one of the police officers managed to get pliers from the security guards on campus. One by one the piano wires were cut and the severed head was finally freed from its tangled prison.


    Ipared the head to the body, and judging from the wound, they both matched each other. However, strangely enough, the stage of decay was drastically more advanced for the headpared to the body. The skin on the head had even grown slightly moldy, and the flesh had even started to smell putrid.


    There was also another bulging wound at the back of the head. When I pressed on it gently, I discovered that the skull beneath the skin was fractured, and the wound was swollen and festering. I pressed on it with slightly more pressure, and white pus flowed out of the wound. Some of it even got onto my hand and it flowed down to my wrist where my skin wasn¡¯t protected by a rubber glove.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± said Huang Xiaotao as she wiped the pus from my hand with a Kleenex. I thanked her.


    ¡°Did you find out anything?¡± she asked.


    ¡°This head and that body belonged to the same person,¡± I said. ¡°And the head was cut off using a sharp instrument.¡± I put my nose near the severed head and analyzed the smell. ¡°It seems that some kind of chemical was applied onto this head. The conditions inside the piano is also more conducive to bacterial growth, so the rate of decay had been greatly elerated. This head is nowpletely unrecognizable.¡±


    ¡°Is there nothing we can do about that?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°No, probably not,¡± I replied. The two girls had stated that they saw a ghost in a white dress ying the piano in this room, and the piano wires were flying all over the room as if they were her hair, and it was one of those piano wires that cut off Deng Chao¡¯s head.


    I didn¡¯t believe any of those actually happened, of course. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t be any point in keeping on investigating the case.


    But it was undeniable that the murderer had applied a sort of chemical onto the victim¡¯s head and put it inside the piano. This was most probably done to make it nigh impossible to identify the head.


    But the most important part in the case of a headless body was to confirm the identity of the victim. When the head was either missing or badly damaged, the first thing one had to consider was: what was the murderer trying to hide? There had been a number of cases even in Chronicles of Grand Magistrates where the murderers would try to mislead the investigators using this method. In that case, I reckoned the smartest thing to do next was to look into the background of this student named Deng Chao.


    ¡°Song Yang,¡± said Huang Xiaotao, ¡°do you really think that the victim¡¯s head was cut off using a piano wire?¡±


    ¡°The wound was very clean,¡± I replied, ¡°so all I can say is that it was done using a sharp instrument. As for piano wires, it is indeed possible to use them to produce this kind of result. I remember a case that urred about ten years ago. The victim would always ride a motorcycle home from work every night. The murderer made use of this knowledge by calcting the exact height of the victim¡¯s neck when riding a motorcycle and then tying a piano wire across the small alley where the victim had to pass by every night. The victim¡¯s head was cut off instantly as he passed through the piano wire, leaving only his headless body on his motorcycle which drove on and crashed into a food stall nearby, scaring the people there senseless. I heard that this case even stumped many experts in the field.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re talking about the ¡®Headless Rider¡¯ case from ten years ago!¡± said Huang Xiaotao, her face turning pale. ¡°I remember how the police couldn¡¯t solve the case until they invited a mysterious individual to assist them. Wait... this case had never been leaked to the public. How did you know about this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a story I heard from an old policeman...¡± I vaguely exined. That mysterious individual who solved the case was, of course, Grandpa.


    I examined the head even more thoroughly this time and noticed something strange. The skin and flesh of the head had been cut cleanly and neatly, but there were signs of friction and violent hacking on the vertebrae.


    I closed my eyes and readjusted it to Cave Vision, and then re-examined the vertebrae. There were tiny ck particles near the bones, and they looked like minuscule metal splinters.


    This meant that the skin and flesh were cut by a different instrument than the bones!


    At that moment, Dali rushed into the room enthusiastically, his left hand holding a big bag while his right hand was holding a kettle.


    ¡°Yo!¡± he said. ¡°Here¡¯s everything you requested, dude!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty impressive, dude,¡± I praised as I opened the bag. ¡°You¡¯ve got everything ready in such a short time.¡±


    ¡°Most of them were pretty easy to find,¡± said Dali, ¡°except for the iron te. I had to borrow that from the barbecue stall outside of campus. We¡¯ll have to return it to them once we¡¯re done with¡ª¡±


    Dali paused mid-sentence. His eyes rounded to the size of saucers and his gaze was fixed at the severed head on the floor.


    ¡°Wh-Wh-What the actual fuck!¡± he eximed, his face changing from pale white to a sickly green. ¡°Where did that thinge from?!¡±


    ¡°Just get out if you can¡¯t handle it,¡± I said. ¡°Oh, and bring me a ma and a piece of white paper too.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± he grumbled. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me that the first time? Now I have to go back out again...¡±


    ¡°Just treat it as a workout,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll treat you to a nice mealter.¡± With that constion, he was finally willing to go.


    Once Dali left the room, I poured the hot water into the pail. I soaked the towel in it for a while, then wrung it out and spread it across the dead body¡¯s chest.


    Seeing that I had begun examining the corpse, the other police officers came closer to observe me.


    ¡°What are you doing with the towel?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that I was going to prove the time of death to you? Just watch.¡±


    Once I¡¯ve softened the corpse¡¯s chest with the hot towel, I flipped it over and spread the hot towel on the back. I repeated this step three times to make sure that the muscle tissues softened, then I used a special technique to continuously poke and jab at the corpse¡¯s back.


    Suddenly, the headless body sat up, ¡®coughing¡¯ out bits of frozen blood and ice from the gash on the neck. Faced with this sight, all the police officers stepped away in horror!

 Chapter 15

    <h4>Chapter 15</h4>


    This ¡®reanimated¡¯ corpse had predictably shocked everyone.


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± asked the stupefied Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°There is death in life, and life in death,¡± I exined. ¡°Through some special methods, I can recreate a bodily function even in a corpse that had been long dead.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that... a bit too oundish?¡±


    ¡°Not at all,¡± I said. ¡°Unless if a person dies of asphyxiation, a certain volume of air always enters the lungs right before a person dies. What you saw just now might look as if I ¡®reanimated¡¯ a dead body, but in fact, it was just that volume of air being pushed out of the lungs.¡±


    I used the tongs to pick up the ice crystals on the floor and held it up near my eyes. There were traces of blood and bits of flesh stuck to the ice crystals.


    ¡°How did these ice crystals get into the corpse¡¯s lungs?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked the question that was on all of the police officers¡¯ minds.


    ¡°Because the corpse had been frozen for a period of time,¡± I exined. ¡°But there are no traces of water on the corpse¡¯s skin, so it can be concluded that the murderer used dry ice or a dry ice machine to freeze the body. This slowed down the rate of decay on the body¡¯s surface significantly, giving the illusion that the time of death was about ten hours ago. But you can¡¯t fake the rate of decay of the inner organs. I used Organ Echolocation to examine the inner organs of the deceased and found that the organs had decayed to a certain degree that puts the time of death at about forty-eight hours ago. And because the body was frozen, thest breath of air in the lungs condensed and froze into these ice crystals.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao stood there silently for a while, then suddenly patted my back.


    ¡°You¡¯re impressive, Song Yang!¡± she eximed. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not formally trained at all?¡±


    Iughed.


    ¡°It¡¯s not the time for chit chat,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s get back to work.¡±


    I asked a police officer to move a table to the middle of the room and ce it upside down, with the legs facing the ceiling. Then, I tied the rope around the legs of the table, forming a simple bed of rope.


    Then I put the electric hob in the middle of the table, connected it to a power source, and ced the iron te on top of it.


    ¡°You college students really do lead colorful lives,¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°You¡¯ve got all kinds of gadgets here. Oh, by the way, what are you going to do with these sulent nts?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll know soon enough,¡± I said. ¡°Now please help me strip the dead body and carry it there.¡±


    Two police officers then took off the pants on the dead body and then carried it onto the bed of ropes. When theher region of the dead body was exposed, I saw Huang Xiaotao blush and divert her eyes away. I wondered if she had never been in a rtionship before.


    I opened up the bottle of white vinegar, squeezed the ginger as hard as I could to extract its juices, then dropped the ginger juices into the vinegar bottle. Once the iron te was hot enough, I poured the vinegar mixture onto it. The mixture sizzled as it touched the iron te, and the whole room was instantly filled with vinegar steam. The steam stung the nostrils quite a bit, which was why some police officers had to cover their noses and step away from the room.


    I continued to pour the vinegar, while my eyesight never left the dead body.


    As the room was filled with a thick fog of steam, patches of purplish-red marks began to appear on the dead body. I turned off the heat. As the steam dissipated, everyone there simultaneously gasped!


    Numerous handprints could be seen clearly on the dead body. What¡¯s even more interesting was the fact that these handprints looked exactly the same as those that appeared on the hung body when I used the method of Autopsy Umbre earlier that day!


    ¡°Oh my god!¡± eximed Huang Xiaotao. ¡°They¡¯re handprints of a woman! Could the murderer really be the ghost of that pianist girl?¡±


    I smiled a little. These handprints were indeed smaller than the average man¡¯s, and the fingers were quite slender too, but these facts alone did not prove that they belonged to a woman, much less that of a female ghost! I started to wonder how exactly did Huang Xiaotao rise to the rank of first-ss superintendent.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there!¡± I said. ¡°Take pictures now!¡±


    ¡°Oh, right. Xiaowang, get me the camera!¡±


    A police officer rushed forward immediately after hearing Huang Xiaotao¡¯s order and they began to take pictures of the handprints.


    This technique was called Vinegar Steam, and it was developed by the Great Song Ci himself!


    The palms of our hands would always secrete a small amount of sweat, and this sweat is alkali in nature, so when it came in contact with the vinegar steam, handprints would appear. These handprints don¡¯tst very long, though. After a few minutes, they would gradually fade and disappear.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t ghosts supposed to be ethereal and non-physical?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao. ¡°How did this ghost leave a handprint, then?¡±


    ¡°Who told you these were left by a ghost?¡± I replied. ¡°These were clearly left by the murderer, and I can guarantee you that the murderer was a human being. Didn¡¯t you notice that there are handprints on the thighs of the deceased. Do you know what that means?¡±


    ¡°Handprints on both of the thighs...¡± Huang Xiaotao considered. ¡°Oh, I know! The murderer was a pervert!¡±


    I almost burst outughing at her answer. The true meaning of the handprints was a lot simpler.


    ¡°No, it means that the murderer dragged the dead body by the thighs to move it.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that makes sense!¡± said Huang Xiaotao, nodding. ¡°Wait, no, but if you¡¯re right that the time of death was about forty-eight hours ago, yet the two witnesses imed that they were drinking with Deng Chaost night, does that mean that he was... already dead by that time?¡±


    ¡°The eyes can be deceiving,¡± I said. ¡°When witness ounts and material evidence don¡¯t agree, I would always trust the material evidence. I don¡¯t think the deceased is Deng Chao. This corpse had been moved here from somewhere else.¡±


    ¡°Why would the murderer do that?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°It¡¯s too soon to say,¡± I answered. ¡°But if we keep on investigating, the truth will out one way or another.¡±


    At that moment, Dali ran into the room.


    ¡°Dude, I¡¯ve got everything you asked f-f-for...¡±


    He went silent and his eyes were fixed on the corpse, the naked headless body that was on the iron te, to be precise. Understandably, he was staring at it aghast for a few seconds before he could speak again.


    ¡°Well butter up my butt and call me biscuit if you guys don¡¯t start doing more and more ludicrous things while I was gone!¡± eximed Dali. ¡°Holy hell, are you steaming the corpse?¡±


    ¡°Nah,¡± I said with a shrug, ¡°we were debating whether it¡¯s better to steam it or to fry it.¡±


    Dali immediately shoved the stuff he brought for me into my hands and ran out the door while covering his mouth, trying to resist throwing up right then and there.


    Even Huang Xiaotao¡¯s face turned sickly green when she heard myment.


    ¡°Can you not talk about food when we¡¯re examining dead bodies?¡± she asked. ¡°It¡¯s disgusting! Are you really a college student, by the way? You¡¯re as stoic about this macabre business as a seasoned officer.¡±


    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± I said. ¡°I just happened to have some training in these matters, so it didn¡¯t affect me much.¡±


    Dali had evidently got the ma from an audio speaker. I hovered the white sheet of paper over the neck of the corpse and moved the ma over the paper to collect metal particles from the corpse. Then I turned the paper over and carefully held them with both of my hands and showed them to Huang Xiaotao.


    Although the particles were very small, and I could easily lose them all if I sneezed, but because of the stark color contrast with the white paper, anyone could see them with the naked eye.


    ¡°These are...¡± Huang Xiaotao said as she came in closer to examine it.


    ¡°They¡¯re tiny metal splinters,¡± I exined.


    Huang Xiaotao looked at me with scrutinizing eyes, then looked at those tiny particles on the paper.


    ¡°Unbelievable,¡± she said. ¡°These things are even smaller than little mites! How did you see them?¡±


    ¡°I eat lots of carrots so my eyesight is excellent!¡± I said with augh.


    ¡°Then where did this sharp metal splinter came from? The piano wire?¡±


    I wrapped up the white paper carefully to prevent the precious evidence I obtained from being blown away. Then I picked up a piano wire and showed it to Huang Xiaotao. It was as fine as a human hair, but when observed closely it was clear that it was a metal thread made up of bundles of microscopic metal wires. It was impossible for this type of object to leave sharp metal splinters behind, no matter how you used it.


    ¡°What can leave splinters like we saw,¡± I exined, ¡°would be a saw de. It ismonly made of iron, and due to the friction caused by sawing motions, metal residues are often left behind.¡±


    ¡°A saw?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao with widened eyes. ¡°You mean to say that the victim had his head sawed off alive?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too soon to make that conclusion,¡± I said. ¡°By the way, do you have a handkerchief?¡±


    ¡°One moment.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao then borrowed a handkerchief from one of the officers and handed it to me. I snapped a piece of the sulent nt from the pot and wrapped the handkerchief around it. I then squeezed out the juice of the sulent nt and used that to apply to the wound on the neck of the corpse.


    Gradually, the wound turned purple, and one could clearly see cut marks on the flesh and a different mark of friction that suggested sawing motion on the bones.


    ¡°Do you get it now?¡± I asked. ¡°This proves that the flesh of the victim was sliced off with a knife, but the bones were sawed off with a saw de!¡±


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao, still stupefied.


    ¡°It¡¯s all very simple,¡± I said. ¡°Sulent nts are very sensitive towards metal, so if I use its juice and apply it to the wound, I can easily see the trace left behind by the sharp metal instrument used to cut the flesh and bones.¡±


    ¡°Song Yang,¡± she said, ¡°I¡¯ve only known you for an hour, yet I¡¯ve already seen you do half a dozen miraculous and bizarre things that I¡¯ve never seen before ever since I became a police officer. Tell me, who are you really?¡±


    Huang Xiaotao stared piercingly straight into my eyes ¡ª the steely determination I saw told me that she would not back down unless she got an answer.

 Chapter 16

    <h4>Chapter 16</h4>


    It wasn¡¯t that I was so hell-bent on keeping the truth concealed from Huang Xiaotao, I just didn¡¯t care to reveal it in front of all these police officers. Grandpa had emphasized the importance of keeping as low a profile as I could when working outside, and I intended to follow his advice.


    But seeing her determination, I didn¡¯t think it would be polite to just brush her off, so Ipromised.


    ¡°The truth is,¡± I said, ¡°my family has been Traditional Coroners for generations and generations. The modern equivalent for that profession would be something like a forensic pathologist, or a coroner.¡±


    ¡°You mean to say that all these skills you learned were used by the Traditional Coroners in ancient times?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Of course,¡± I answered. ¡°What did you think? That I invented all of them? They¡¯re all knowledge passed down to me by my ancestors.¡±


    Some people might have seen Traditional Coroners in period dramas and movies, but very few actually knew the exact techniques they used to examine dead bodies. That was due to how secretive they used to be. In fact, it could be said that even Daoist priests are less mysterious and esoteric than Traditional Coroners.


    ¡°I guess the people of ancient China weren¡¯t so primitive after all!¡± said Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°What are you saying?¡± Iughed. ¡°Did you think that just because they didn¡¯t have televisions and smartphones, that they lived like monkeys and apes? Truth be told, ancient China used to be a pioneer in many fields of knowledge and technology. It wasn¡¯t until the Qing dynasty when Imperial China started to shut itself off from the rest of the world that culture and civilization began to deteriorate. But in truth, we inherited a wealth of spiritual knowledge, such as the I Ching and the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor, which contained a vast trove of knowledge that even modern experts have still not fully deciphered.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said Huang Xiaotao, shaking her head, ¡°I think those metaphysical texts are just superstitions left over from feudal society. I don¡¯t really believe in them.¡±


    ¡°What about the things I¡¯d done?¡± I asked. ¡°You didn¡¯t doubt the factual and scientific exnations that I gave you, did you?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± she relented. ¡°I must admit that you do have a point there.¡±


    I smiled. So she did admit that I had a point, but she didn¡¯t say that she agreed how the ancient people were much more than primitive. I knew that people in the modern age were heavily influenced by the advances in modern technology since birth. We took for granted that our way of life, with our airnes and cars, were the only civilized way of life. This kind of thinking was not going to be changed in a few minutes of conversation.


    Hence, I thought the best thing to do then was to just drop the subject.


    ¡°Do you need to examine the corpse again?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing left to examine,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s still pretty early now ¨C let¡¯s go check something out.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± said Huang Xiaotao, nodding.


    Just as we were about to leave the room, a man wearing a whiteb coat holding a big toolbox marched in, followed by two police officers.


    I knew at first nce that it was Dr. Qin, the coroner. I wondered why he was here. Didn¡¯t he agree to hand the case over to me?


    ¡°Nothing left to examine?¡± he mocked while eyeing me up and down scornfully. ¡°I guess that is to be expected from a so-called Traditional Coroner. There¡¯s no way for you to analyze the DNA or fingerprints now, is there? Look at what you¡¯ve done to the corpse! Huang Xiaotao! Did you think we¡¯re running a daycare? I can¡¯t wait to hear how you¡¯ll exin yourself why you brought this kid to a crime scene!¡±


    ¡°Dr. Qin,¡± said Huang Xiaotao, brows furrowed, ¡°what are you doing here? Didn¡¯t you agree to step down from this case?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I did agree to step down from the case of the hanged body,¡± he said with a deadpan expression, ¡°but I said nothing about stepping down from the case of this headless body.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± said Huang Xiaotao, hardly believing how shameless the coroner could be, ¡°but these cases are clearly rted ¨C they¡¯re most probably done by the same murderer!¡±


    ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡± asked Dr. Qin haughtily. ¡°If you have any problems with it, just talk to Captain Lin. He just called and asked me why I wasn¡¯t at the crime scene. I said you told me not toe because you¡¯ve found yourself a random college student to help you. He lost his temper when he heard it, and promptly removed you from your position as the head of this investigation team. Therefore, I am now in charge of this case. If you don¡¯t believe me, just call Captain Lin and ask him!¡±


    Dr. Qin looked very pleased with himself, while Huang Xiaotao¡¯s eyes widened in anger and disbelief, and she clenched both of her fists tightly.


    I marvelled at how petty and cunning this Dr. Qin was. What happened must¡¯ve wounded his pride and so he ran back to his superiors andined. It was obvious that he had lied to make Huang Xiaotao and myself sound irresponsible and painted himself as a mere victim.


    He then took out his phone from his pocket and offered it to Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°I think you¡¯d better give Captain Lin and exin yourself,¡± he said. ¡°If you¡¯re lucky, maybe he¡¯d let you stay on in my team.¡±


    He savoured the words ¡®my team¡¯, emphasizing them to make sure that both of us understood the predicament that we were in. Huang Xiaotao ignored him, so he put his phone back into his pocket and turned to me.


    ¡°Bastard,¡± he said, ¡°don¡¯t you know that desecrating the dead body is a crime?¡±


    ¡°Desecrating the dead body?¡± I asked. ¡°Is that what your slow brain thought I was doing? I should tell you that I was examining the dead body!¡±


    I restrained my manners earlier, thinking that he was after all much older and more experienced than me, so it wouldn¡¯t hurt to show him some respect. But now that he¡¯d shown his rotten stripes, it was clear that he deserved none of my respect anyway.


    ¡°Ha! Examining the body!¡± he derided. ¡°And what qualifications do you have to do that? I think it was just dumb luck that helped you find out the things you did!¡±


    ¡°And what if dumb luck helped me solve this case before you do?¡± I asked. ¡°What would that say about you? Wouldn¡¯t it prove that you¡¯re useless after all?¡±


    ¡°Nonsense!¡± he spat. He then walked up to me and sneered. ¡°Do you really think that your bizarre techniques are better than a professional team of coroner and police officers? Then maybe you should visit my house sometime. My grandson loves watching that childish cartoon called Detective Conan. Both of you will get along so well with each other!¡±


    ¡°Dr. Qin,¡± I said calmly, unperturbed by his provocations, ¡°is Huang Xiaotao officially out of the investigation team?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± answered Dr. Qin. ¡°And she has you to thank for that!¡±


    ¡°Does that mean that she can investigate independently now?¡± I asked.


    Dr. Qinughed.


    ¡°You brat,¡± he scoffed. ¡°You¡¯re not thinking about investigating the case on your own, are you? Let¡¯s ignore the fact that it¡¯s utterly pointless, disobeyingmands and acting arbitrarily is a serious misconduct!¡±


    ¡°Cut the drivel, will you?¡± I interjected. ¡°Let¡¯s make a bet: what will happen if I solve the case?¡±


    ¡°If you manage to solve the case...¡± Dr. Qin hesitated. He had seen what I was capable of earlier, so he was cautious against being too bold this time.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Dr. Qin?¡± I asked, trying to provoke him. ¡°Are you afraid of losing the bet? Are you scared of losing a bet against a nave bastard like me? I thought I heard you said that if I could solve the case, you would resign without questions, isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    ¡°You insolent brat!¡± yelled Dr. Qin. ¡°I¡¯m giving you my word right now ¨C if you solve the case, I will hand in my resignation immediately! But what about you? What happens to you if you failed?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the punishment for corpse desecration?¡± I asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Less than three years of imprisonment.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°if you solve the case before I do, then arrest me and I¡¯ll serve the terms ording to thew. I promise you I will not hire awyer to defend myself.¡±


    ¡°Song Yang!¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid! Corpse desecration is a serious offence, you know! It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll just step down from the case, it¡¯s no big deal at all!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a deal, then!¡± interrupted Dr. Qin. ¡°I give you my word, I ept all the terms just as you said.¡±


    ¡°Good!¡± I said, smiling. ¡°Then we¡¯ll see what happens!¡±


    ¡°Humph! We¡¯ll see all right!¡±


    The whole time this exchange happened, I kept my hand hidden in my pocket. In truth, I was recording the whole conversation with Dr. Qin using my mobile phone. That way he wouldn¡¯t be able to deny his own words when the time came.


    I¡¯m not one to be so boastful and conceited, but I hated how Dr. Qin used his own position to step over our heads. I could¡¯ve ignored his conduct if it affected me alone, but now that Huang Xiaotao was affected too, I felt like I needed to teach this guy a lesson.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go Huang Xiaotao,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll go talk to those two witnesses now!¡±


    I walked out of the room. Huang Xiaotao red at Dr. Qin, then followed me.


    1. An ancient .


    2. An ancient Chinese from more than two thousand years ago of which Chinese medicine is based on.

 Chapter 17

    <h4>Chapter 17</h4>


    Once Huang Xiaotao and I got out of the music room, we were immediately met with an angry-looking Dali.


    ¡°That old man Qin is a big fat liar!¡± he said, full of indignation. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Xiaotao-jiejie! Even though you¡¯ve been kicked out of the team, Song Yang and I will always support you!¡±


    ¡°Thank you, both of you!¡± said Huang Xiaotao with a forced smile. It wasn¡¯t easy for her, who was just minutes ago the head of the team tasked to investigate the case, yet now had be a lonely solo hero with whacky sidekicks like Dali and me.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t understand,¡± said Dali, ¡°how a mere coroner can have so much power to oust the head of the task force like you. I thought coroners are supposed to stay in the morgue all day, only dealing with the corpse and not living people. In fact, I thought most coroners are sexy, morousdies wearing whiteb coats.¡±


    ¡°Those only exist in movies and dramas, Dali,¡± I said. ¡°Coroners do have authority and power in real life, and they¡¯re not just cooped up in the morgue either. They¡¯re not only required to write a medical report on the deceased, but they would be at the crime scene with the police officers and participate in the investigation as well. Apart from that, they¡¯re the ones to present the evidence obtained and testify in court.¡±


    ¡°You really do know a lot, don¡¯t you?¡±mented Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Well, I am a Traditional Coroner, after all,¡± I said. Naturally, I¡¯d be motivated to find out all these things.¡±


    ¡°A coroner¡¯s rank is equivalent to a Commisioner¡¯s,¡± Huang Xiaotao exined. ¡°That¡¯s two whole ranks above me. Dr. Qin is basically the same rank as Captain Lin.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that exins a lot!¡± Dali said, nodding.


    ¡°So Captain Lin is your boss?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then who¡¯s his boss?¡±


    ¡°That would be the Chief Captain of the branch...¡±


    ¡°And his boss?¡±


    ¡°Director Sun!¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s Director Sun?¡±


    ¡°His name is Sun Hu,¡± Huang Xiaotao exined. ¡°Because his temper is a thing of terror, we all call him Sun Tiger behind his back.¡±


    When I heard that name, I couldn¡¯t help butugh. Thest time I met Uncle Sun was about three years ago. I didn¡¯t expect him to rise through the ranks so quickly, but there you have it! He was the Director now! These three years must¡¯ve been good to him.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± I said. ¡°I just thought the name Sun Tiger to be funny.¡±


    ¡°Thatugh is suspicious though!¡± she remarked.


    I didn¡¯t make any replies to that. Huang Xiaotao went silent for a while and then let out a despondent sigh.


    ¡°The police officers at the crime scene must¡¯ve informed Dr. Qin of your discoveries by now,¡± she said. ¡°That means that he knows as much as we do, but has more police officers at his beck and call, not to mention having ess to much more resources than we have. It¡¯s pretty clear that he¡¯d solve the case before us.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have any confidence in me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Of course I do,¡± she answered, pouting. ¡°But I thought you¡¯re only good at autopsies. Can you do investigations too?¡±


    ¡°I guess we¡¯ll find out soon!¡± I said.


    ¡°Why did you have to make that bold a bet anyway?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked worriedly. ¡°What¡¯s going to happen if you lose?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve solved most of the case when I was examining the corpse earlier. There are only a few minor questions left that I need to figure out.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± she asked. ¡°How confident are you that you will solve the case?¡±


    ¡°A hundred percent!¡± I answered with a confident smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely help you solve it, and we¡¯ll do it before Dr. Qin too!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao was visibly moved.


    ¡°We¡¯ve only known each other for slightly more than an hour,¡± she said. ¡°Yet you¡¯ve been of so much help to me. How can I ever thank you?¡±


    ¡°A dinner is enough!¡± I answered.


    ¡°What?¡± she asked, her eyes widened. She probably thought I was asking her to go on a date with me. Once she realized that I really meant just a dinner, she said, ¡°Okay, when we¡¯re done with the case, just name a ce! I¡¯ll treat both of you to a meal!¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± said Dali, pping his hands with excitement. ¡°Then let¡¯s have McDonald¡¯s!¡±


    I gave Dali the stink eye. To poor college students like us, McDonald¡¯s was a bit too fancy, especially since Huang Xiaotao volunteered to pay for the meal herself. A cheaper fare like barbecued meat or Haido hotpot would have sufficed.


    Once we reached the dormitory building that the two girls from earlier stayed, there was a big sign saying ¡®Girl¡¯s Dormitory, No Boys allowed¡¯ hanging at the gate.


    Dali said there was no way we¡¯d be allowed in, but I told him to go ask the dorm warden if Fangfang and Tiantian are here.


    After a while, Dali came stomping out with a face darkened by anger.


    ¡°That bastard!¡± he cursed. ¡°That scheming old cow! He snatched away the two important witnesses! Dude, why did you have to announce it to him that we¡¯reing here? Now what are we going to do?¡±


    I cracked up, holding my belly as I howled inughter.


    The other two looked at each other in puzzlement and asked me what was so funny.


    ¡°What a simple-minded old man,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯d intentionally said we were going to talk to the two witnesses so he would think that I meant these two girls. I can¡¯t believe he took my bait!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Aren¡¯t these girls important witnesses? Their ounts were so different from what we eventually found out, so doesn¡¯t that mean that they¡¯re hiding something from us? Something incredibly important?¡±


    ¡°Not at all,¡± I said. ¡°In fact, we could dopletely without them, because they didn¡¯t witness what had actually happened. What they witnessed was a scene in a y orchestrated by the murderer. Talking to them would only waste our time.¡±


    ¡°Then what are you going to do now?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll check out Deng Chao¡¯s dorm.¡±


    ¡°Holy shit, dude!¡± eximed Dali. ¡°You¡¯re really not bad at all! I¡¯ve known you for so long, but I feel I only got to know you today! You¡¯re like a mysterious puzzle that looks easy on the surface but is actually really hard to solve.¡±


    ¡°Dude,¡± I said, ¡°you¡¯ve been acting weird all day today, what with the praising and all. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve got the same preferences as Lao Yao?¡±


    ¡°No, no, no! No homo, bro!¡± said Dali. ¡°And don¡¯t associate me with that pervert!¡±


    ¡°What are you guys talking about?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao. She then let out a long sigh. ¡°Perhaps I¡¯ve been spending too much time working and not enough time socializing. I simply don¡¯t understand anything you guys are saying.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± I said. ¡°We were just talking about a friend of ours.¡±


    Lao Yao was somewhat of a legend in our faculty. He was a genius hacker who happened to be a pervert. Now, you might say that all men are to some extent a pervert deep down, but Lao Yao¡¯s perversion was slightly different from that of other men. He had absolutely no interest in pretty girls but was more into handsome young men. And that was why guys stay away from him.


    And so Lao Yao became our by-word for when any of us are acting a bit out of character.


    ¡°Speaking of Lao Yao,¡± I said to Dali, ¡°can you please go ask him a favor while Huang Xiaotao and I head to Deng Chao¡¯s dorm?¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Dali reacted as if he were a cat whose tail had been stepped on. ¡°No, no, no, dude! Don¡¯t do this to me! Don¡¯t you remember how he took a nude picture of you when you forgot to lock your door when you sleep?¡±


    I silently cursed at Dali for bringing up that dark and embarrassing chapter of my life. I¡¯d worked so hard to leave a good impression on Huang Xiaotao, but now that she¡¯d begun to think of me as a smart and reliable young man, the idiot Dali had to break the illusion with this revtion.


    And just as I feared, Huang Xiaotao began to look at me with a different expression...


    ¡°Shut up!¡± I stopped Dali from bbering on. ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about! Anyway... there¡¯s no one else who can help us with this. We have no other choice.¡±


    I then pulled out an evidence bag from my pocket, and inside the transparent stic bag was the deceased¡¯s cell phone.


    ¡°Song Yang!¡± Huang Xiaotao eximed. ¡°Did you sneak a piece of evidence out of the crime scene?¡±


    ¡°No, no,¡± I said, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to, I swear! I casually put it into my pocket earlier and just forgot about it! If it¡¯s going to cause you problemster, then I¡¯ll run to Dr. Qin and give it to him right now!¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she said, suddenlyughing, ¡°there¡¯s no need for that. We found this evidence, so it¡¯s only right that it¡¯s here with us. I just didn¡¯t expect you to be the kind of person to y dirty!¡±


    It was really an ident, though. There were so many police officers there, not to mention that boastful coroner, and I was no magician, so even if I wanted to, there was no way I could¡¯ve snuck a piece of evidence out without anyone noticing.


    Dali¡¯s face suddenly turned grave and even fearful.


    ¡°Dude,¡± he said, ¡°don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to ask Lao Yao to help you unlock the phone?¡±


    ¡°Not just to unlock the phone,¡± I said, ¡°This phone should be Deng Chao¡¯s, and I think there might be some information in there that had been locked or deleted, and these are invaluable clues to help us solve the case. I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s no one better to help us than the genius hacker himself!¡±


    After a long pause, Dali nodded and told me that he got it now. He grabbed the phone from my hand and took a deep breath.


    ¡°For you, my friend,¡± he proimed, ¡°I¡¯m ready to risk everything ¨C even my virginity!¡±


    1. As you might remember from Chapter 1, the Chinese character of Officer Sun¡¯s name literally means tiger.

 Chapter 18

    <h4>Chapter 18</h4>


    After Dali was gone, I then went to Deng Chao¡¯s dorm with Huang Xiaotao. As one might be familiar with, the boys¡¯ dorms were messy and dirty the boys¡¯ dorms as usual. Huang Xiaotao grimaced the whole way to the dorm.


    As we were walking past a room, the door suddenly burst open and out came a guy wearing only underpants yelling out to his friend in another room to borrow his shampoo. The guy saw Huang Xiaotao and was so shocked he froze for a few seconds before rushing back into the room, mming the door behind him.


    ¡°They¡¯re living like pigs in a sty...¡± said Huang Xiaotao, brows deeply furrowed. ¡°Are you just like them, Song Yang?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± I denied firmly. ¡°I highly value self-discipline and personal hygiene. You can ask Dali about it, and he¡¯ll tell you that I make my bed so tidily every day that it looks like a neat block of tofu!¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Then maybe I should pay your room a visit, and take a look for myself.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah, sure...,¡± I said. ¡°But let¡¯s just focus on the case for now.¡±


    It would be detrimental to my image if Huang Xiaotao found out that I was no different from that group of ¡°pigs¡± she just saw in this dorm.


    Huang Xiaotao snickered at my reply.


    We inquired about the room that Deng Chao used to stay in, and eventually we found it. We came to a room where there was a guy with long hair sitting at the desk plucking at his guitar. Perhaps it was because there had never been any girls in the dorm, or perhaps it was due to Huang Xiaotao¡¯s cool and serious demeanor, but the second he noticed us, the guy was so startled that he almost threw his guitar onto the floor and sprang up to his feet.


    ¡°What... What are you doing here?¡± he asked nervously.


    Huang Xiaotao pulled out her badge and showed it to the long-haired guy.


    ¡°Is this Deng Chao¡¯s room?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Ah, so you¡¯re a police officer!¡± said the long-haired guy. ¡°Come in, have a seat! Would you like a drink? I heard that someonemitted suicide this morning, and it turned out to be Deng Chao¡¯s best bud Zhang Kai. Deng Chao himself hasn¡¯te back sincest night. Did anything happen to him?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯d been murdered,¡± said Huang Xiaotao.


    Just then, a very muscr guy jumped out of the messy bed beside me, giving me the fright of my life.


    ¡°What?!¡± he yelled. ¡°Who killed Chao?¡±


    ¡°That is still under investigation,¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Do you have any idea who Deng Chao has gotten into trouble with?¡±


    ¡°Well...¡± the long-haired guy considered for a while. ¡°There are some guys in ss that aren¡¯t in the best terms with him. You see, Chao is the kinda guy... how do I put this? He¡¯s pretty good at rousing people¡¯s jealousy.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°He might not seem like it, but Chao has always been a genius and a top schr!¡± said the long-haired guy, full of admiration.


    ¡°You mean his grades are always perfect?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± And the guy continued, ¡°He rarely ever went to ss, but he¡¯d always score above 90% on every test! And he¡¯d always get awarded some kind of schrship money from the college every year too! To be frank, sometimes even I felt like it was unfair. I mean, he was always hanging out with us, and he¡¯d sleep just as much as the rest of us, but how did he manage to score so high on the tests when the rest of us didn¡¯t even pass? It made no sense! No, wait, don¡¯t take me wrong. I¡¯d never kill anyone just for that, I swear!¡±


    ¡°Can you give me the names of the people who had been in conflict with Deng Chao?¡± Huang Xiaotao had a pen and a small notebook ready in her hands.


    The long-haired guy contemted for a while, then gave Huang Xiaotao a list of names, which she then jotted down onto her notebook.


    ¡°No, none of those people would kill him!¡± the muscr guy suddenly interrupted. ¡°If there¡¯s anyone who would want to see Deng Chao dead, it¡¯s gotta be that bastard!¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    The muscr guy sat down and pulled out a pack of cigarettes from under the pillow. He lit one up and took a huff, before proceeding to tell us Deng Chao¡¯s history.


    ording to him, Deng Chao was indeed a highly intelligent individual. He scored 140 for an IQ test in high school, and had always been able to ace all the tests with minimal effort.


    Recently, Deng Chao wrote an academic journal paper that received high praise from a professor, who then rmended him for a schrship grant to the upper management of the college. Deng Chao eventually won this schrship grant which was only awarded to four students every year.


    But not long after that, there was a student from the same department as Deng Chao called Ma Baobao who reported to the upper management that the journal paper written by Deng Chao was in fact giarized. He even collected evidence to prove the im. Consequently, not only was Deng Chao disqualified from the schrship grant, but he was to return the money that he received, which was about 17,000 yuan.


    After that, Ma Baobao was awarded the schrship grant in ce of Deng Chao, which raised suspicions about his real motives for reporting Deng Chao¡¯s giarism.


    Besides, this Ma Baobao was a loudmouth who liked to keep bringing up this incident every opportunity he got. He even went so far as to raise doubts about the validity of Deng Chao¡¯s past exam grades, positing that those might be the result of cheating too.


    No one entertained his theories, though. Even the professors couldn¡¯t stand his smug behaviour. But when Deng Chao got wind of this, he punched through a ss window in a fit of anger, resulting in a wound that required five stitches.


    Deng Chao was a typical Scorpio. He didn¡¯t forgive easily, especially not someone who had so wounded his reputation. He was determined to have his revenge!


    On an evening right before this year¡¯s summer vacation, Ma Baobao walked back to his dorm alone after a group study. Suddenly, a dark figure rushed out from the bushes nearby and grazed his skin with a knife. Ma Baobao was so scared he tossed away the books in his hands and ran for his life. The knife merely scratched the surface of his skin, but he soon fell ill and contracted a high fever. He had to return to his hometown early, and had to receive intensive medical treatments for three whole months, which cost him tens of thousands of yuan before the illness subsided.


    When he returned to campus, he was a changed man. He became quiet and reclusive and never dared to spread unsavory news about Deng Chao ever again, although he would often post on Weibo that someone was trying to kill him!


    Was Deng Chao the perpetrator? The muscr guy couldn¡¯t say for sure, because Deng Chao would m up the instant this subject was brought up. But he strongly suspected that it was indeed Deng Chao, and that he might have applied some kind of infectious bacteria on the knife to make Ma Baobao ill. He might¡¯ve been infected by it himself, because Deng Chao had been wearing a pair of gloves all the time recently.


    The muscr guy spected that Ma Baobao probably suspected Deng Chao to be the perpetrator and hence murdered him for it.


    ¡°Which desk in this room was Deng Chao¡¯s?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°This one,¡± answered the muscr guy, pointing at a desk in the middle of the room.


    And so, we started to go through Deng Chao¡¯s stuff. There were some books and magazines on his desk and his small closet was crammed full of clothes. It seemed that Deng Chao had a hobby of ying basketball, because I found a picture of a basketball team. I asked the guy which one in the picture was Deng Chao, and he pointed at the thickset light-skinned guy in the middle who was wearing a jersey with the number zero on it. He was all smiles in the picture, and beside him was another guy who seemed really friendly with him. They were both putting one arm over the other¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°Who¡¯s that beside Deng Chao?¡± I asked.


    ¡°His bae, Zhang Kai, of course.¡± answered the guy. ¡°That¡¯s the guy whomitted suicide this morning.¡±


    ¡°Bae?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao asked. ¡°You mean they¡¯re... intimate?¡±


    ¡°No, no!¡± I said. ¡°The word doesn¡¯t imply a romantic rtionship. It can be used for best friends who are especially close to each other as well.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said the muscr guy. ¡°They really were best buddies. And Zhang Kai used to be such a bro too! He¡¯d always helped me cram before a test, he even lent me his own lecture notes so I could xerox them. I passed out drunk after a party once, and he carried me back to my room on his own back...¡±


    ¡°So you know him too?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Of course!¡± he said. ¡°we¡¯re all in the same department, and we used to y basketball together all the time! I used to be the star yer back then, but ever since that injury...¡±


    The guy went on to reminisce about his past athletic career, wistfully staring at the ceiling whilst doing so. But of course Huang Xiaotao and I had no interest in any of that, so we kept on searching through Deng Chao¡¯s possessions.


    I found something that caught my eye¡ªit was a brochure for a stic surgery clinic, stuck between the pages of a book. The services provided by the clinic was quite diverse¡ªliposuction, chin surgery, lip fillers, double eyelid surgery, hands cosmetic surgery, legs stic surgery and so on.


    It seems that this brochure was stuck between the pages as a bookmark.


    ¡°I still remember that match with the medical students,¡± said the guy, still reminiscing. ¡°It was the finals, and it was a fiercepetition, the scores were 57 versus 55 and¡ª¡±


    ¡°Have Deng Chao ever had stic surgeries before?¡± interrupted Huang Xiaotao bluntly.


    ¡°What? stic surgeries?¡± responded the guy. ¡°No, never. Why would he do that? He¡¯s not a woman! Besides, where would he get the money for it?¡±


    I swiftly put the brochure into my pocket¡ªthis was indeed an important clue!


    ¡°Did you say that you borrowed Zhang Kai¡¯s notes to copy them?¡± I asked the loud-voiced guy. ¡°Do you have it with you now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he answered. ¡°what do you want to do with it?¡±


    Before I could think of a good excuse, the guy had already climbed down of his bed.


    ¡°Whatever, I don¡¯t care,¡± he said. ¡°They¡¯re just a pile of waste paper anyway...¡±


    He then pulled out a stash of xeroxed paper from the drawer of his desk and even bothered to put them all in a stic bag for me. I thanked him. He then eyed me up and down and said, ¡°You don¡¯t look like a police officer, bro.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± I admitted. ¡°I¡¯m a fourth-year student here, and I¡¯m working with the police as a special consultant.¡±


    ¡°Whoa, that¡¯s awesome, bro!¡± he eximed, holding up his big thumb at me. ¡°You¡¯re like, the young detective! Just like Di Renjie! Cool, so our college has produced a great talent!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too kind! You¡¯re too kind!¡± I said, humbly nodding my head.


    Since there was nothing left to investigate here, we both left the room after that. But once we were outside, Huang Xiaotao turned to me and sneered.


    ¡°You know,¡± she said, ¡°I honestly thought that you¡¯re one of those rare men who are modest and don¡¯t like to boast about their talents. But it seems that you do like to bask in the limelight. I wonder if all men are like that.¡±


    ¡°You misunderstood me,¡± I said. ¡°I just came up with a n when I saw those lecture notes.¡±


    ¡°What n?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Never mind that for now,¡± I said, then confidently added, ¡°let¡¯s first talk about the case itself, because I¡¯m about 80 to 90 percent sure that I¡¯ve got the whole sequence of events for the case right!¡±


    1. was mentioned before in a previous chapter, but basically he¡¯s a famed detective/official who lived during the Tang and Zhou dynasties.

 Chapter 19

    <h4>Chapter 19</h4>


    I told Huang Xiaotao that the case was mostly solved now.


    The murderer was Deng Chao, and the headless body was Ma Baobao¡¯s. Deng Chao probably intended to kill Ma Baobao a long time ago, but his first attempt was unsessful. So, he took his time after that toe up with a murder n that was failproof and watertight.


    ¡°The sequence of events probably went like this,¡± I said, then cleared my throat before continuing. ¡°Firstly, Deng Chao killed Ma Baobao and preserved the body with dry ice. Then he used the excuse of being drunk to suggest going to the old building on a dare, just so that he could stage a y for the two girls to see. In reality, the two girls were his instruments that yed into his n. When the girls ran off in fear, he quickly substituted his body with Ma Baobao¡¯s, but because he couldn¡¯t kill him with such an oundish method like decapitation by piano wires, he used a knife and saw de instead.¡±


    ¡°Lastly, he used the probiotic tablets to dpose Ma Baobao¡¯s severed head so that it becamepletely unidentifiable. This way, not only would he be able to fool the police into thinking that he was the deceased, but they would also not be able to find Ma Baobao¡¯s body and conclude that he was a missing person instead of a dead one. I have to admit, this guy did trulye up with a brilliant n¡ªhe¡¯s no doubt a dangerous high IQ criminal!¡±


    ¡°Your praise for him is more of a praise for yourself,¡± said Huang Xiaotao, ¡°Because no matter how brilliant he was, he still didn¡¯t manage to fool you. That means that you¡¯re even smarter than him!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too kind!¡± I said, trying to brush off the glowing praise.


    ¡°So how did Zhang Kai die, then?¡±


    ¡°Deng Chao killed him off after he became useless to him!¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that Zhang Kai was Deng Chao¡¯s aplice in staging that haunted piano scene. Think about it. When the piano wires were flying around in the room, Zhang Kai ran inside to rescue Deng Chao and got wounded instead. This scene made it all the more convincing to the two girls that the ghost was real, so Zhang Kai did y an important role in Deng Chao¡¯s ns.¡±


    ¡°But Deng Chao must¡¯ve known that if Zhang Kai was still alive, the police would interrogate him, and Zhang Kai wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the pressure. So, his best buddy became a liability. He might cough everything up to the police. Therefore, to protect himself, he had to kill his own friend!¡±


    ¡°All that just for a schrship grant?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao. She shook her head slowly and let out a long sigh.


    ¡°To us, it¡¯s obviously not worth it,¡± I said. ¡°But it¡¯s different for these students. A man who hasn¡¯t had food for weeks might not hesitate to kill for a single bun. To Deng Chao, this schrship grant was his future, his lifeline.¡±


    ¡°But it has a lot to do with Deng Chao¡¯s psyche too,¡± I added. ¡°All his life, he¡¯s always been regarded as a genius. Because of his high IQ, he¡¯s probably never suffered any real setbacks in life before. When Ma Baobao exposed his giarism, that must¡¯ve been a huge blow to his fragile ego, something that he probably couldn¡¯t endure. Therefore, he gradually turned to the dark side and gave in to the vengeful thoughts he had against Ma Baobao. He had to do everything he could to destroy this person, even if it meant sacrificing his own best friend!¡±


    It was only when I was done analyzing Deng Chao¡¯s psychology that I noticed how Huang Xiaotao had been staring fixedly at me. I felt ufortable under her stares. Did she start to have feelings for me?


    ¡°Song Yang,¡± she said, ¡°I really don¡¯t think you are a normal college student. Judging by your actions today, it¡¯s really hard to believe that this is your first case!¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t know how to prove it to you,¡± I said with a shrug, ¡°but this really is my first case. You can ask around if you don¡¯t believe me.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, I believe you,¡± said Huang Xiaotao with a snicker. ¡°So, should we find a way to arrest Deng Chao now, Mr. Detective?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not the time yet,¡± I said. ¡°There is still one thing we need to verify.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Should we go to Ma Baobao¡¯s dorm?¡±


    ¡°No, absolutely not!¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°We must pretend that we don¡¯t know the real identity of the corpse is Ma Baobao.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao contemted for a while and said, ¡°Oh, I get it! You¡¯re ying cat and mouse with Deng Chao.¡±


    ¡°Very clever!¡± I said, nodding. ¡°Think about it. Deng Chao has gone to great lengths to stage the murders in a certain way. Now that there is a whole army of police officers on campus, there¡¯s no way he isn¡¯t secretly observing everything somewhere right now. Therefore, the best thing for us to do is to pretend to be taking his bait. That way, he might let down his guard.¡±


    ¡°Then what should we do now?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked.


    I handed the stic surgery brochure to her, to which she reacted with surprise.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the big idea?¡± she said. ¡°Why are you giving me this? Do you think I¡¯m not pretty enough and should have something fixed?¡±


    Iughed at the preposterous notion. Huang Xiaotao had rosy lips and perfect rows of white teeth; she was cool and elegant and all her features were almost wless, so the thought that I would think that she needed cosmetic surgery was simplyughable.


    ¡°You¡¯re too imaginative,¡± I said. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean anything like that at all. I just want you to check with this stic surgery clinic whether Deng Chao has ever been there, because I have one question that I need to verify.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao took that piece of paper and pouted.


    ¡°You could have said a pretty woman like me doesn¡¯t need stic surgery or something like that, you know.¡±


    I scratched my head,pletely unable to understand why women liked to hear themselves being praised so much.


    ¡°I was just teasing you, dummy!¡± said Huang Xiaotao. She then looked at her watch and said, ¡°It¡¯s 10 a.m. right now. I¡¯ll head out with my car ande back by noon to take you and Dali to lunch, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    I had nothing else to do then, so I went back to my dorm. I noticed that Dali was not back yet. Why was he taking so long? Wouldn¡¯t unlocking a phone be the simplest of tasks to Lao Yao? I picked up my phone and realized that he¡¯d sent me multiple messages telling me to go to Lao Yao¡¯s room as soon as possible. The thought of seeing that sly face of Lao Yao¡¯s made me shiver in horror, but I guessed there was no choice. I couldn¡¯t just ignore my friend¡¯s plea for help, so I gritted my teeth and headed to Lao Yao¡¯s dorm room.


    The minute I stepped into the dreaded room, my nostrils were assaulted by a stench. The room was filled with empty cans and bottles and dirty takeout boxes. There was a rope hanging across the room over the bed, where Lao Yao had hung his underpants to dry. All of Lao Yao roommates had moved out because they couldn¡¯t endure living with him¡ªtwo of them had moved outst year, and one of them moved back to his parents¡¯ house this year. This meant that the room was all Lao Yao¡¯s now. It was his own territory¡ªno, more like his own damp cave.


    I was met with the sight of Lao Yao, squatting on the chair at his desk like a monkey. He was as skinny as a stickman that children would draw. He wore a loose sweater, and I wasn¡¯t sure how long it had been since hest cleaned his feet, because the soles were ck and filthy.


    His messy hair sat atop his head like a bird¡¯s nest, and he had a cigarette between his lips while his whole concentration was focused on the game of Leagues of Legends that he was ying.


    The despondent Dali was standing right beside him, looking as if he was desperately pleading Lao Yao.


    ¡°Lao Yao, dude!¡± said Dali, ¡°can you please hurry up? You told me you were gonna get to it after one match, but you¡¯ve yed three matches now and you still haven¡¯t done anything!¡±


    ¡°Stop pestering me!¡± said Lao Yao impatiently. ¡°Do you expect me to just abandon my teammates? I¡¯ll get to it once this match is over, just wait a second!¡±


    Then he saw me, and his eyes lit up immediately and his lips curved into a smile.


    ¡°Little Song!¡± he said with a sharine tone, ¡°it¡¯s been such a long time! You¡¯ve grown even more handsome!¡±


    The minute I heard that cloying voice of his, my hair stood on end. Lao Yao stretched his hairy legs, then slipped into an old pair of flip-flops that he fished out from a pile of mess and rushed over to me.


    ¡°Did you miss me at all?¡± he asked. ¡°Come on, give me a hug!¡±


    ¡°Stop fooling around,¡± I said coldly, stretching my arms out to keep him away from me. ¡°We¡¯re all civilized adults. We can just talk, there¡¯s no need to touch.¡±


    ¡°Aww, look at you, acting all cool,¡± he said. ¡°I heard from Dali how you¡¯ve been ying detective the whole day, helping the police to solve a serial murder case! Is it true?¡±


    Then Lao Yao shamelessly and casually pped my butt. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that I wished I were dead at that moment.

 Chapter 20

    <h4>Chapter 20</h4>


    I silently cursed at Dali for being so reckless and unreliable. Had he forgotten his promise to Huang Xiaotao that he would not disclose any details about the case to anyone else?


    ¡°What serial murders you talking about?¡± I asked Lao Yao. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to Dali. There¡¯s nothing of the sort. It¡¯s only a simple case of murder.¡±


    ¡°Are you still trying to keep secrets from me?¡± he said with a sly smile on his face. ¡°Have you forgotten that I¡¯ve seen you butt naked?¡±


    ¡°Can you please never bring that up again?¡± I pleaded. ¡°And please delete that photo. It¡¯s hurting my reputation!¡±


    ¡°No can do, Little Song,¡± he said with raised eyebrows. ¡°What am I going to use as my screensaver if I delete it? Speaking of which, have your buttcheeks always been that cute, Little Song?¡±


    I almost coughed up blood when I heard that. In all his four years of college life, Lao Yao never had a girlfriend. In fact, he never seemed interested in girls at all. But with boys, he¡¯d try to get very close to them and touch them at every opportunity he could. Those who are even slightly attractive were in special danger. For that behavior, his homosexuality was pretty much an open secret among the students here.


    I had no problems with that, of course, since it was none of my business. But the point was that I wasn¡¯t gay, so when I thought of how another man would stare at my picture and fantasize about me, it just brought terrible shivers down my spine.


    ¡°Lao Yao,¡± said Dali, ¡°your Sona just got stabbed to death by Garen, dude.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you do anything, you moron!¡± Lao Yao said. ¡°Stand in for me!¡±


    Dali red at me but said nothing. He just meekly sat down and yed the game for Lao Yao.


    Lao Yao scratched his head, and kes of dandruff rained down from it. I quickly took a few steps away from him.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯m done teasing you,¡± he said. ¡°what exactly do you need me to do?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Dali tell you?¡± I asked. ¡°I need you to unlock that phone.¡±


    ¡°Sure, no problem.¡± Lao Yao then picked up the phone that was on theputer desk and nced at it.


    ¡°But do you really need me for that?¡± he asked. ¡°Just reformat the phone and you¡¯re good to go.¡±


    ¡°No, you can¡¯t do that!¡± I said. ¡°I need to see the files inside. That¡¯s why it has to be you!¡±


    ¡°Where did you get this phone?¡± Lao Yao asked.


    ¡°From the dead body,¡± I said.


    ¡°From the dead body?!¡± Lao Yao was so shocked that he dropped the phone, but before the phone hit the ground, he caught them with both his hands. That idiot then smiled and said, ¡°Did I scare you, Little Song? You look adorable when teased!¡±


    To be honest, that really did petrify me. I was sweating cold beads of sweat and now I was furious too!


    ¡°Stop fooling around, you idiot!¡± I scolded him. ¡°I have to return the phone to the policeter, you understand? It¡¯s a crucial piece of evidence goddammit!¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay,¡± he said, ¡°I¡¯ll get to it right away.¡±


    Lao Yao pulled out aptopputer from his closet and connected the cell phone to it with a USB cable. He then opened a software, and after a few taps on the keyboard, the phone was sessfully unlocked.


    ¡°There are probably a million different files in here,¡± said Lao Yao while browsing through the phone. ¡°Are you sure you can go through all of them?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to do that,¡± I said. ¡°Just check for deleted files and recover those for me.¡±


    ¡°Roger that!¡±


    Lao Yao then opened another software on theputer, lit up a cigarette, and went to work. When he hit the butt of his cigarette, all of the deleted files had been recovered.


    ¡°There are about forty files here, Little Song,¡± he said as he swept a nce over the list of files. ¡°Take a look at them yourself.¡±


    He then got out of his seat to let me take over.


    Most of the deleted files were discarded pictures and some downloaded applications, but one particr file stood out among the rest¡ªit was a file that contained a string of numbers and letters, and it looked a lot like an online purchase order.


    ¡°Can you check this file for me, Lao Yao?¡± I asked, pointing at the document. ¡°It looks a lot like a purchase order. I need to know what it¡¯s for.¡±


    ¡°Get up!¡± he ordered.


    It only took him five minutes to get the details for that online order, and we found out that the person making the order went by the name of Deng Chao, and his orders included probiotic tablets for pets, a human face mask, a dry ice machine, piano wires, and razor des.


    I couldn¡¯t help but smile, because this was exactly the watertight evidence that we needed to prove Deng Chao¡¯s guilt!


    ¡°Dude,¡± said Dali, turning away from the game, ¡°what the hell are these probiotic tablets for pets for anyway?¡±


    ¡°Is the game over?¡± asked Lao Yao, turning to look at Dali.


    ¡°Nah,¡± said Dali, ¡°your Sona just gotpletely wrecked by Garen again.¡±


    ¡°Shit!¡± cursed Lao Yao, ¡°I didn¡¯t know you¡¯d be so useless! Move over!¡±


    Lao Yao swiftly took over the game, freeing Dali.


    ¡°It¡¯s something the murderer used to elerate the dposition of the severed head,¡± I exined to Dali.


    ¡°Can it really do that?¡± Dali asked.


    ¡°What do the bacteria in our guts do?¡±


    ¡°They help turn the food we eat into poop?¡±


    ¡°And what do cats and dogs eat?¡±


    ¡°Cat food? Dog food? And... meat? Ah, I get it!¡±


    The bacteria in the guts of animals were called probiotics because they had a symbiotic rtionship with their hosts, but essentially, they were scavenging microorganisms that fed off from the organic matter present in the guts. One of the reasons why a corpse would dpose was because the bacteria would start to feed on the host¡¯s body when there was no more food left in the guts!


    I had to admire Deng Chao¡¯s ingenuity for having thought of this trick! He turned the probiotic tablets for cats and dogs into a paste and applied it onto the severed head to make it rot to a point where even coroners and forensic investigators couldn¡¯t identify it nor determine the correct time of death!


    However, there was another crucial clue on this order¡ªthe piano wires. I had been puzzled over the mystery of how Deng Chao could make the piano wires to fly around in the room as if they were strands of hair all morning, and I finally felt that I was edging closer to the truth.


    ¡°Ah, that was a narrow victory!¡± eximed Lao Yao as he won his game. He then came over to me and asked, ¡°How¡¯s it going, Little Song? Was I helpful at all?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, absolutely!¡± I said. ¡°By the way, can you photoshop something?¡±


    ¡°Can I photoshop?¡± Lao Yao chuckled. ¡°I used to photoshop a bunch of Jay Chou concert tickets and sold them for a fortune! And I did that when I was in high school!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impressive!¡± I praised. I pulled out the notes from the stic bag and handed them to him and said, ¡°Then I¡¯ve got two more favors to ask you. Firstly, I need you to photoshop a letter using this handwriting. I¡¯ll dictate the contents of the letter to youter.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± he said. ¡°What¡¯s the other favor?¡±


    ¡°I need you to spread the news of the two murder cases to all the forums, chatrooms, and WeChat groups that are rted to our college, with special emphasis on how I was involved in helping the police to solve these cases. To put it simply, I want you to make me the most talked-about person in our college by the end of the day!¡±


    Lao Yaoughed.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were the kind of guy who would go after fame,¡± he said. ¡°So your good looks didn¡¯t get you anywhere, huh? And now you¡¯re going to use your brains to capitalize your fifteen minutes of fame?¡±


    ¡°No more questions,¡± I said. ¡°Will you help me?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± said Lao Yao. ¡°I could do any of these things with my eyes closed.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about this, dude?¡± whispered Dali. ¡°Didn¡¯t Xiaotao-jiejie order us not to reveal any details about the case to anyone?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I replied. ¡°He¡¯ll only know a small part of the whole case, so it won¡¯t matter much. Besides, this is the only way we can solve the case. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll understand.¡±


    ¡°But, you know, Little Song,¡± said Lao Yao, ¡°you nevere and see me, and now that you showed up you just dumped a whole bunch of tasks on me! How are you nning to thank me?¡±


    ¡°Uh...¡± I hesitated. ¡°As long as it doesn¡¯t involve my body, I¡¯ll give you anything you like. How about lunch?¡±


    ¡°Nope, not interested,¡± he replied, shaking his head. ¡°If that¡¯s all I get, then I¡¯m out.¡±


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll pay you then!¡± I said, unable to think of anything else.


    ¡°How much?¡± asked Lao Yao with gleaming eyes.


    ¡°How about three thousand yuan?¡± I proffered.


    ¡°Deal!¡± replied Lao Yao. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking of buying a new graphics card for a while now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s uncharacteristically generous of you, dude,¡± said Dali. ¡°You always insisted on sharing the bills even when we¡¯re eating a small meal together.¡±


    ¡°You idiot,¡± I said, ¡°you know how little allowance I get from my aunt every month!¡±


    Although I dide from an affluent family, my aunt had read some lousy parenting book that said poverty enriches the character of a boy. This meant that I only got 1,500 yuan per month, leaving me with a very tight budget. It wouldn¡¯t be easy for me to fork out that 3,000 yuan, but whatever. If push came to shove, my aunt would probably lend me some money if I asked her on bended knees.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to pay me with money, you know?¡± said Lao Yao while still busy working at theputer. ¡°You can pay me with something else, like letting me take more pictures of you, just like I didst time. I¡¯m getting bored of staring at the same old picture, you know?¡±


    ¡°S-so you really are gay, then?¡± I asked, with beads of cold sweat all over my body.


    ¡°No, you¡¯ve got it all wrong¨CI¡¯m not gay,¡± he said, then he inched closer to me and winked, then said, ¡°I¡¯m just interested in you.¡±


    I felt like bashing my head against the wall right then and there, but just then I heard Idiot Dali¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Then, um...¡± he mumbled, ¡°I guess I¡¯ll leave both of you here. I don¡¯t wanna be the third wheel so... see youter!¡±


    I red at the moron and quickly grabbed his arm before he could get away.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare leave me!¡± I eximed. ¡°You are not going anywhere!¡±

 Chapter 21

    <h4>Chapter 21</h4>


    Lao Yao took his time doing what I asked him to do, eventuallypleting it when it was already noon. When Dali and I walked out of his room, we nearly copsed with exhaustion. I¡¯d much rather examine a corpse that had been rotting for two months than endure Lao Yao¡¯s obscene verbal and physical teasing.


    Then, I received a call from Huang Xiaotao, who invited us to lunch. So, we walked to the front gate of the college where we found Huang Xiaotao leaning against a ck BMW sedan. Thisbination of a stunning woman and equally beautiful car turned quite a few heads, but it seemed that Huang Xiaotao was used to being stared at and took no notice of it.


    ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie,¡± said Dali with a sharine tone, ¡°is this beauty your car?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ll take both of you out sometime. Come on, let¡¯s find a good ce to eat! My treat!¡±


    We finally settled on a grilled seafood restaurant. Dali and I ordered a huge pile of food that filled the whole table: grilled fish, fried shrimp, and some drinks too. Dali and I had been busy for the whole day, so we were both starving. The second we sat down with our food, our chopsticks flew and we wolfed down the food like there was no tomorrow.


    Huang Xiaotao, on the other hand, almost didn¡¯t touch any food. She merely drank her ss of milkshake and smiled at us. I noticed and suddenly felt terribly self-conscious.


    ¡°You must be thinking that we¡¯re eating like pigs, aren¡¯t you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m just a little envious of how big both of your appetites are, and how much joy good food brings you. We police officers lead hectic and stressful lives, which quite often causes the loss of appetite and insomnia.¡±


    ¡°Why would you choose to be a policewoman if it makes your life so difficult, Xiaotao-jiejie?¡± asked Dali. ¡°You look like youe from a rich family, so it can¡¯t be money, can it?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t make a lot of money as a police officer,¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°But I¡¯ve always dreamed of bing a policewoman ever since I was a little girl. You might not believe it, but I used to be a shy, introverted kid. It¡¯s only when I get to wear this uniform that I be much more self-assured and confident.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have guessed it!¡± I said.


    ¡°Well, I guess the work we do can change us drastically,¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Enough about me. I just visited the stic surgery clinic you mentioned, and would you know it, you were right again! Deng Chao did indeed undergo a stic surgery there.¡±


    ¡°Did it have something to do with his hands?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Bingo!¡±


    ¡°Who did what now?¡± asked the perplexed Dali. ¡°I don¡¯t follow you guys at all!¡±


    I then roughly exined the whole situation to him, especially about how the biggest question that I puzzled over, namely the feminine-looking handprints that appeared on both of the corpses, had now been answered, because it was clear now that those handprints belonged to Deng Chao. His roommate even said that he¡¯d been wearing gloves all the timetely, most likely to hide the fact that he¡¯d had surgeries done to change the way his hands looked.


    ¡°But I¡¯ve never heard of hand surgeries before,¡± said Dali. ¡°Is that even possible? Aren¡¯t the hands of a manpletely different from that of a woman?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not always the case,¡± I said. ¡°A man¡¯s hand can be small, and a woman¡¯s hand can be big. I¡¯ve seen a picture of Deng Chao, and I noticed that the bone structure of his hands aren¡¯t that big at all. With stic surgery, he could remove the fatty tissues in his hands and cut off parts of his hand muscles. Then he could easily be left with slender feminine hands.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said Huang Xiaotao, raising her fair and delicate hand in front of us. ¡°Look, my fingers are only slightly thinner than both of yours, and they¡¯re not shorter than yours at all.¡±


    ¡°Holy shit, that¡¯s awesome!¡± eximed Dali. ¡°I¡¯ve only ever heard of damaging your fingertips to prevent leaving fingerprints, but who knew you could just change the shape of your hands with surgery? Where do you reckon he got the money to do it anyway?¡±


    ¡°Probably the schrship he won,¡± I said. ¡°His roommate did say that he received about twenty thousand yuan of schrship money recently. If he didn¡¯t use this money to pay for college tuition, that¡¯s more than enough for a surgery.¡±


    ¡°Life is so unfair,¡± said Dali, bowing his head so low it almost went into his bowl. ¡°Vicious people like this murderer gets to have schrship money, while good old me never sees a dime.¡±


    Dali¡¯smentations cracked me up. It¡¯d be interesting to see how schrships awarded based on one¡¯s kindness would be like.


    ¡°There¡¯s one thing that¡¯s still bugging me, though,¡± said Huang Xiaotao while biting her straw. ¡°If Deng Chao went to such lengths as changing the shape of his hands to be more woman-like, then that means that he nned to divert the suspicions of the police towards that ghost with the cursed piano from the start! But isn¡¯t that too risky? There¡¯s no way the police are going to believe that ghosts would really kill people!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably apse of judgement,¡± I said. ¡°Even the smartest people are bound to make mistakes. And his was to underestimate the police.¡±


    ¡°No, dude! You¡¯re wrong!¡± Dali suddenly said. ¡°The cursed piano is real!¡±


    ¡°You think I¡¯d believe something as ridiculous as that?¡± said Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°But it is real!¡± Dali insisted as he wiped away the grease around his mouth. ¡°I had nothing to do at Lao Yao¡¯s ce earlier, so I searched for the cursed piano legend in the school forum just to see if anything woulde up, and would you know it, tons of people said they¡¯d seen the ghost of a girl with long hair wearing a white dress in that music room! Some people have even heard the piano ying Moonlight Sonata from that building! Think about it. Why would that building be sealed off for ten years? It must be haunted!¡±


    ¡°Come to think of it,¡± said Huang Xiaotao, ¡°what¡¯s the story behind this legend anyway?¡±


    ¡°Let me enlighten you, Xiaotao-jiejie!¡± said Dali.


    Ten years ago, exined Dali, there was a pair of lovers, both students of this college. The guy was a handsome young man who was also the president of the student¡¯s council; and the girl was famed for her beauty, and she was also a talented pianist. Everyone agreed that they were the perfect match for each other.


    But what they didn¡¯t know was that the girl came from a broken home, and she was incredibly reclusive and insecure. Because of that, she regarded her boyfriend as her everything and became overly protective and possessive of him. The boyfriend, however, was socially active and frequently participated in numerous activities connected to the student¡¯s council. For a charismatic and not to mention attractive young man like that, it was no surprise that he made many friends, including those of the opposite sex.


    But the girl felt threatened by those girls who befriended her boyfriend. She would often control his every movement and social interactions and act out on her jealousy.


    When the guy didn¡¯t answer her call immediately, for example, or when he talked to someone else just a minute too long, the girl would always lose her temper cause a huge scene. She even threatened tomit suicide to get her wish.


    Unsurprisingly, her behaviour suffocated the guy. When he finally felt he¡¯d had enough, he wrote her a breakup letter. But before he could give it to her, the girl somehow procured it secretly and read it herself. To her, it was as if her whole world had copsed and broke into a million pieces.


    She assumed that her boyfriend had met someone else, or that he never loved her in the first ce, so she nned to kill him that night and follow him to the grave bymitting suicide.


    And so she told him to meet her in the music room because there was something important that she must tell him. Then she waited for him there with a knife in her hands.


    That night, when the boyfriend arrived, he saw the girl ying piano with tears in her eyes. He knew immediately that something was very wrong. The girl stood up suddenly and demanded him toe clean about the breakup letter, so he confessed that he did indeed intended to break up with her. Shepletely broke down and asked him why, so he finally revealed all of his bottled-up feelings and how her behaviour had made him feel.


    Before he could finish, the girl pulled out her knife and was about to stab the guy. He managed to stop her, but they were both locked in a struggle, until the guy gained the upper hand due to his greater physical strength. He shoved the girl away from him, not realizing that the force of that shove was so strong that when she was pushed back, her head hit the piano behind her, and the impact killed her instantly.


    The guy panicked. He knew that even though he acted in self-defence he would still be imprisoned for what happened¡ªand that meant that his future was ruined!


    No, he wouldn¡¯t let this girl destroy his whole life! This rtionship had been a curse to him. Even now that the girl was dead, it felt as if she was still cursing him from beyond the grave!


    Thus, he picked up the knife and chopped the girl¡¯s body into pieces, feeling an inexplicable sense of relief as he did it. Perhaps there was some truth in the saying that love and hate are two sides of the same coin.


    The guy then stuffed the butchered pieces of his girlfriend¡¯s body into the housing of the piano. As he did so, the piano suddenly made a sound. He thought he might¡¯ve struck the piano wires, so he made sure not to touch anything the next time he stuffed the body parts into the piano¡¯s belly. But despite not touching anything, the piano would y a note each time the guy stuffed one body part into the piano, and when the guy listened to the notes carefully, he realized that they were those of Moonlight Sonata ¨C his dead girlfriend¡¯s favorite music!


    The guy almost copsed in shock, but he managed to keep his calm and continued to stuff all the body parts into the piano, cleaned all the blood in the room and fled the scene. As he was leaving, he could still hear the faint sound of the piano ying Moonlight Sonataing from the music room...

 Chapter 22

    <h4>Chapter 22</h4>


    The haunting sonata could scare the pants off of anyone who heard it, but the guy managed to escape back to his dorm room and hide under his nket while shivering in fear, but all that night, he could not get the melodies of Moonlight Sonata out of his head!


    Not long after that, someone discovered the dismembered body parts in the piano. The police started investigating, and the guy simply could not handle the pressure and the guilt, so he wrote a letter of confession before hemitted suicide by slitting his wrist.


    But the story did not end there. Though the girl¡¯s body parts had been cleaned out, the piano was no longer useful. It just wouldn¡¯t make any sound no matter how many times it was tuned. And when night came, the sound of Moonlight Sonata would always ring out from that old building. In fact, people nearby often witnessed the figure of a woman with long hair wearing a white dress around the music room in that old building. Sometimes, you could hear the sound of a girl weeping.


    The college was afraid that this kind of incident would negatively affect new studentsing in every year, so some people were hired to move the piano away. But strangely anyone who tried to move the piano would somehow have some kind of ident, some would identally cut their hands, some would identally get their foot under the piano leg. Eventually, no one dared to even touch the piano.


    Many students wouldn¡¯t dare step foot anywhere near the music room after that. The management of the college didn¡¯t know what else to do, so they decided to seal the building off and abandon it.


    The legend of the cursed piano became ever more mysterious the longer it spread among the students in the college. Some people im that the moment you heard Moonlight Sonata it meant that the girl would being to you to beg you to apany her to the end of time. Others imed that if you interrupted with her ying of Moonlight Sonata, you would die a horrible death within three days.


    Huang Xiaotao grew silent for a long while after hearing the tale.


    ¡°Do you believe that ghosts exist, Song Yang?¡± she asked when she finally spoke again.


    ¡°Since time immemorial,¡± I said, ¡°there¡¯s been countless things that humans could not understand. Science is merely an instrument that humans use to make sense of the world, and it is inadequate to exin the things that happen beyond the grave. I try to keep an open mind when ites to things like ghosts. I don¡¯t know if they¡¯re real or not, I only know one thing.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Ghosts can¡¯t directly kill people.¡±


    ¡°You mean to say that they can kill people indirectly?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said, ¡°and by indirectly killing someone I mean something like being frightened to death, for example, like how the guy in the legend couldn¡¯t bear the sound of Moonlight Sonata that kept haunting him, so hemitted suicide. In other words, I think the only people who can be frightened to death by ghosts are those that hide a ghost of guilt and shame in their hearts.¡±


    ¡°Ipletely agree with you on that!¡± said Huang Xiaotao.


    I then told Huang Xiaotao of everything that we found out with the help of Lao Yao.


    ¡°I guess there is no longer any doubt that Deng Chao was the real murderer,¡± she said. ¡°You solved a serial murder case in half a day, Song Yang! That is the best record in ten years in our division! I can hardly believe it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the case is solved yet,¡± I said, ¡°since we haven¡¯t caught the murderer.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s true,¡± Huang Xiaotao agreed. ¡°Do you have a n?¡±


    Before I could answer, my phone rang again. I said ¡®again¡¯ because all the time while we were having lunch my phone had been ringing non-stop.


    ¡°Did someone hack your phone and send you junk mails, Song Yang?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Why has it been ringing non-stop?¡±


    I opened the Weibo app in my phone and checked my ount. Within the period of time that it took for us to finish our lunch, I had gained two thousand ¡®fans¡¯ and received more than 300 private messages. Dali leaned over my shoulder and nced at my phone, then gasped at what he saw.


    ¡°Whoa, dude!¡± he eximed. ¡°You¡¯re famous now!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    I showed my phone to her.


    ¡°I asked Lao Yao to spread the news of my involvement with the case on Weibo,¡± I exined. ¡°I¡¯ve attracted a group of ¡®fans¡¯ apparently, and people are calling the Great Detective Song now.¡±


    ¡°Hah!¡± sneered Huang Xiaotao, with a hint of what I thought might be jealousy. ¡°So you¡¯re nning to gain fame and fortune by being famous online, huh? I guess it¡¯s not a bad idea since there aren¡¯t many young great detectives around. If you manage it well and take a few ttering publicity photos, I bet in half a year you¡¯ll be famous nationwide, and attract a host of crazed fans. Then your life is set and you won¡¯t need to worry about getting a job ever again.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps you¡¯re right,¡± I said, ¡°but I have no intention to pursue fame at all. When this case is over, I¡¯ll shut down my Weibo ount immediately. I¡¯m only doing this to lure Deng Chao into my trap.¡±


    ¡°How do you n to do that?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao. ¡°By calling him a cowardly turtle hiding its head in its shell on Weibo?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry,¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯ve set up a tempting bait for him. If everything goes ording to n, we should be able to capture him tonight.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao, her eyes gleaming. ¡°Then tell me what your n is right now! I¡¯ll make the necessary preparations.¡±


    ¡°About that...¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll have to keep it a secret for now.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao mmed the table angrily and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare keep a secret from me! Don¡¯t you remember the three rules that you promised to obey?¡±


    ¡°All right, all right!¡± I relented.


    It¡¯s not that I was trying to create suspense by keeping the n a secret from her or anything like that. I was just worried that the more people who knew of the n, the higher the risk of Deng Chao finding out about it. And when that happens all my nning will go to waste and there might never be a second chance to capture him ever again.


    But seeing how adamant Huang Xiaotao was in getting the details of the n, I had no choice but to dish it out.


    I used the handwriting in Zhang Kai¡¯s lecture notes to fake a letter that exposed all of Deng Chao¡¯s crimes. Then I spread two pieces of information on my Weibo. Firstly, I said that I had Zhang Kai¡¯s confession letter in my possession. Secondly, I said that I hadn¡¯t even informed the police about this!


    And the prime objective was to lure Deng Chao out of the darkness so that he woulde and find me. Then we¡¯d catch him!


    Huang Xiaotao and Dali were both shocked when they heard my n.


    ¡°That¡¯s a dangerous n, dude!¡± said Dali. ¡°What if he kills you?¡±


    ¡°There is that possibility,¡± I said, ¡°but we are currently at a disadvantage. Without this kind of n there¡¯s no way we¡¯ll solve the case before Dr. Qin.¡±


    ¡°Well, now that I think about it,¡± said Dali, ¡°with Xiaotao-jiejie on our side, we might be safe after all.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure that Deng Chao would notice your Weibo and fall into your trap?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that he was a formidable high IQ criminal?¡±


    ¡°The smarter he is, the more he contemtes,¡± I said, ¡°and the more he contemtes, the more worried he bes. This is a case of serial murder, after all, not a panty theft. I¡¯m sure the murderer is very nervous right now, and he¡¯s very likely to be paying close attention to what was happening on campus. I¡¯m positive that he will appear!¡±


    ¡°Song Yang, you really are impressive,¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely write you a rmendation letter so that you¡¯ll be epted into the police force after your graduation. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s no case that you can¡¯t solve.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great, Xiaotao-jiejie!¡± said Dali. ¡°In that case, would you mind writing me a rmendation letter too? You know how helpful I¡¯ve been and how much Song Yang needs me!¡±


    ¡°Sure, I can do that!¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Think about it, Song Yang! You¡¯re in the fourth year of college now¡ªsoon you¡¯ll need to find a job. You shouldn¡¯t be wasting your remarkable talent by ending up as a sryman working in a cubicle farm!¡±


    I merely smiled wanly in reply. There¡¯s nothing that I wanted more than to follow Huang Xiaotao¡¯s advice, but the rules of the Song family must be obeyed, so I had to politely reject her offer.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really want to be a police officer,¡± I said. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll just carry on being a consultant to the police, helping you the way I am now...¡±


    ¡°Dude!¡± said Dali. ¡°Why are you throwing away this golden opportunity?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right, Song Yang!¡± echoed Huang Xiaotao.


    There was nothing they could say to sway me, though that didn¡¯t mean that they didn¡¯t try. Eventually, they both gave up and changed the subject.


    ¡°So, what should we do next?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao, finishing thest drops of her milkshake.


    ¡°We wait!¡± I answered with a smile.


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t we go hang out at the cybercaf this afternoon?¡± asked Dali.


    ¡°There¡¯s a ss this afternoon!¡± I said, ring at him.


    ¡°You¡¯re still thinking of going to ss? With such a huge case going on?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m going anyway. You can do whatever you want!¡±


    ¡°What dedication!¡± Huang Xiaotao mocked. ¡°Solve a case in the morning; go to ss as usual in the afternoon.¡±


    Grandpa always taught me the importance of staying humble no matter how many people around you were trying to lift you up. Never forget your duties and responsibilities and always do what you had to do. Only modest and humble people could maintain a sessful life and good fortune; boastful people would always be met with cmities in the end.


    ¡°Do you have any tasks for me then, Mr. Great Detective?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind,¡± I said after considering it for a while, ¡°can you help me get the details of the murder in the music room from ten years ago? I¡¯d like to know the names of the murderer and the victim.¡±


    ¡°Roger that!¡± said Huang Xiaotao.

 Chapter 23

    <h4>Chapter 23</h4>


    The professor was giving a lecture in front of the electronics ss with a strangely lulling voice, and Dali was slumped over his desk, looking sapped of energy.


    ¡°What¡¯s so interesting about this ss, dude?¡± Dali asked. ¡°Look around! Only a handful of people turned up! We¡¯re fourth years now, so why are you still concerned with attendance at this point?¡±


    I rolled my eyes with impatience.


    ¡°If you had toin so much,¡± I said, ¡°then why didn¡¯t you just stay in your room and sleep like the others?¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± he said. ¡°Then I¡¯ll go to sleep now. Wake me up when the ss is over.¡±


    After saying that, Dali covered his face with a book then began to enter into his dreand.


    I, on the other hand, was using a textbook to cover the cell phone that I was holding in my hand. I was busy reading through all the private messages that I received today.


    Some people sent messages simply to praise and admire me. Some asked if I came from a family of police officers. Some bluntly asked me which dorm was I staying in, and if I was that guy that they went to ss with. Some doubted my capabilities and thought that I was overhyping myself, and they would assault me with a swarm of technical questions to test me. A girl even straight up sent a cute picture of hers to me and asked me if I wanted to be her boyfriend. I did seriously consider it, but I remembered a friend warning me about girls and their pictures. Most likely the picture had been doctored so much that the real person looked nothing like it at all!


    I guessed this was why there was a popr saying that went: pigs should be wary of growing strong and fat, and men should be wary of gaining fame and fortune.


    It was hard work sifting through more than three hundred private messages, but I finally stumbled upon an interesting discovery¡ªthere was one person whose avatar was that of a girl and whose username was ¡®Little Bear¡¯. This person kept sending me messages after messages that asked me to disclose some information about the progress of the case and whether the murderer had been identified.


    These messages caught my eye because they did indeed smell fishy, but I still wasn¡¯t sure if it really was Deng Chao. So, I sent a message to this person saying there has been a big discovery in the investigation of the case recently.


    Thirty secondster, ¡®Little Bear¡¯ sent a reply.


    ¡°Mister Great Detective, can you tell me what the big discovery is about?¡±


    I replied with, ¡°No, I¡¯m afraid not. This information is still ssified. You¡¯ll read about it soon when the murderer gets caught.¡±


    ¡°Who is the murderer?¡±


    ¡°Um... That¡¯s ssified too.¡±


    ¡°Come on, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s fine if you just tell me a little bit. What if I tell you my secret too? I¡¯m actually a ssmate of Deng Chao¡¯s, and I¡¯ve always been secretly in love with him. I¡¯m really saddened by the news of his death.¡±


    My interest was instantly piqued. This person really sounded suspicious!


    I began to type the reply, but stopped mid-sentence and deleted it. If this person really was Deng Chao, he would pay attention to every word and every punctuation mark that I sent him. I had to do all I could to prevent him from finding out my true intentions.


    Even though I was only sending Weibo messages, it felt as tense and nerve-wracking as if I was in that scene in Infernal Affairs where Andy Lau and Tony Leung were trying to find out each other¡¯s true identity through the telephone. Even my palms were started to get sweaty.


    After some thought, I finally sent the following message:


    ¡°Okay, but I¡¯ll only tell you one thing: I found a confession letter this morning at the crime scene.¡±


    I waited for about five minutes and nothing happened. Every minute dragged on and felt like hours. I was anxious about the possibility that he might sense that something was off. I had the urge to send him another message, but I gritted my teeth and told myself to be patient and not do anything reckless!


    I could almost picture how that person was poring over my every word, doubting and analyzing each one of them to make out how much of a threat I was.


    Eventually, I received a reply that contained an emoji that showed a doubtful expression.


    ¡°Confession letter? Who wrote it?¡±


    I almost cried out in joy¡ªthis was undoubtedly, undeniably Deng Chao!


    Why was I so sure? Because up to that point the only name I mentioned when talking about the dead body was ¡®Deng Chao¡¯, and there was no mention of Zhang Kai at all. Anyone else would¡¯ve assumed that Deng Chao was the one who wrote the confession letter, but this person asked me who wrote it instead. This meant that the person knew it could not possibly Deng Chao who wrote it, because he was Deng Chao!


    I would readily admit that Deng Chao was a high IQ criminal, but even the smartest people had blind spots in their thinking process, and that was how most criminals were caught.


    For example, in the Chronicles of Grand Magistrates, there was a case reported of a rich merchant who murdered his partner in business. After killing the man, he pretended as if nothing happened and went to the house of the deceased under the pretense to meet with him. When he reached the front door, he called out, ¡°Sister-inw, is big brother home?¡± The magistrate Song Ci then asked him, why did he assume that the deceased was not at home and called out for his wife instead? The reason, of course, was that he already knew that the deceased was already dead. He pleaded guilty on the spot. And that was how Song Ci solved a case by paying attention to the blind spots of our thinking process.


    I was so excited that my hands were shaking as I typed the next message:


    ¡°I found it in Zhang Kai¡¯s dorm room. There¡¯s a great twist to the case, you wouldn¡¯t guess who the real murderer is!¡±


    ¡°Really? Can I see it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I haven¡¯t even informed the police yet!¡±


    ¡°Hmm... I think you¡¯re just lying about it!¡±


    He took my bait! Now all I had to do was luring him in with more bait. I smiled and sent a picture of a fake letter produced by Lao Yao using photoshop. It looked so convincing that even Deng Chao might not know it was faked.


    But the picture only captured a small part of the letter, of course. You couldn¡¯t see the exact words that incriminated Deng Chao, you could only see that it was indeed Zhang Kai¡¯s handwritten confession letter.


    Once the picture was sent, there was no replies for a while. That didn¡¯t bother me though because I could imagine how nervous Deng Chao became when he saw the letter!


    I quickly sent another message.


    ¡°Do you believe me now? By the way, don¡¯t let anyone else see this. I¡¯m going to send it to the police tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°Can we meet tonight? I¡¯m so fascinated by the case and I really want to know who the murderer is!¡±


    Just as I predicted. He was probably nning to kill me now. It was time toy my trap.


    ¡°Tonight¡¯s no good. I still need to examine the crime scene tonight. Ah, it¡¯s a tough job and I¡¯m dog tired, but it¡¯s the life of a detective!¡±


    Then I received a cute emoji with a message saying, ¡°Take care! I hope you solve the case soon!¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± I replied.


    I shook Dali till he woke up, which caused him to mumble and grumble, ¡°Don¡¯t disturb me! I was on a date with a goddess!¡±


    ¡°Look,¡± I said, showing him my phone.


    Dali rubbed his eyes and suddenly got surprised.


    ¡°Dude, you really are something!¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you?¡± I said with a smile.


    ¡°That was quick of you!¡± said Dali. ¡°You just started to have fans this morning and now you¡¯re hooking up with one of your groupies?¡±


    I almost coughed up blood when I heard Dali¡¯s usations. But I probably should¡¯ve known, because to an outsider, this exchange seemed just like I was showing off an important clue to a fangirl.


    ¡°Dali, this is Deng Chao!¡±


    ¡°What? Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°One hundred percent!¡±


    Dali then went back to reading the messages, then said, ¡°but you told him to meet you at the crime scene tonight! He¡¯s obviously going to kill you there!¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s exactly my n to lure him out there!¡±


    ¡°But dude,¡± said Dali, ¡°you¡¯re using your own life as the bait! Isn¡¯t this a bit too risky?¡±


    He looked at me as if I¡¯d gone crazy.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I assured him, ¡°I¡¯veid down the trap, and I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll soon fall into it. You¡¯ll go with me too, of course.¡±


    Dali scratched his head and mumbled, ¡°I... I¡¯ve got some studying to do tonight...¡±


    I red at him. In all the years that I knew Dali, he¡¯d only ever study the night before a test, so I saw through his lies straight away. After a while he started to look like he felt guilty.


    ¡°Will... will it be dangerous?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Come on, Deng Chao isn¡¯t a monster with three heads and six limbs!¡± I said. ¡°He¡¯s a normal human being. I¡¯m sure there won¡¯t be much danger.¡±


    Dali looked like he was about to cry.


    ¡°Why does it have to be at the crime scene?¡± he asked. ¡°You know that ce is haunted!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be fine,¡± Iforted him. ¡°We¡¯re both grown men. Look at our names: I¡¯m called ¡®the sun¡¯, and you¡¯re called ¡®the strong.¡¯ We¡¯ll have plenty of Yang energy to counter the ghost¡¯s Yin energy! Why should we be scared of the ghost of a dead girl?¡±


    It didn¡¯t work. Dali was now on the brink of tears.


    ¡°Dude... Can¡¯t I skip this?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I insisted.


    The bell rang, and the students woke up from their afternoon nap and walked out of the lecture hall.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s still early, so let¡¯s go buy some things.¡±


    At that moment, Huang Xiaotao called me. I picked up my phone.


    ¡°Song Yang,¡± she said, ¡°You¡¯ve got it all wrong. The corpse belongs to Deng Chao.¡±

 Chapter 24

    <h4>Chapter 24</h4>


    I froze for a few seconds after hearing what Huang Xiaotao said.


    ¡°Dr. Qin went to Deng Chao¡¯s dorm this morning,¡± she added, ¡°and he collected some hair and skin samples from his room andpared it with the DNA samples from the corpse. Guess what they found out?¡±


    ¡°They matched?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes!¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°All of our theories were wrong. Deng Chao really was dead, and the murderer we¡¯re looking for is someone else... Hey, Song Yang! Are you listening?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±


    ¡°Look, don¡¯t feel bad about this. I do have confidence in you. We¡¯ll just start investigating from zero again and see where it leads us. I¡¯ll head to your college now.¡±


    She immediately hung up after finishing her sentence. Dali heard the whole conversation and we were now in shock.


    ¡°Dude! How did it end up like this? Does that mean that all our efforts have gone to waste?¡±


    To be honest, I faltered slightly after hearing this news, but I soon regained my calm.


    ¡°No,¡± I said, ¡°I didn¡¯t get it wrong.¡±


    ¡°Dude,¡± said Dali sympathetically, ¡°you have to face the truth. You can¡¯t deny the results of DNA analysis! You know that no two people have the same DNA! I know that you trust the knowledge passed on in your family, but I hope you don¡¯t hate me for this, but how could Traditional Coronerspare to modern forensic science?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t deny the validity of modern forensic science,¡± I said with a smile, ¡°it¡¯s Dr. Qin that I don¡¯t trust! Not only am I unbothered about the news, but I¡¯m actually even more confident now because Dr. Qin has fallen into the murderer¡¯s traps!¡±


    ¡°Dude...¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough. I need you to buy something for me.¡±


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Dali asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m going back to the dorm to take a short nap. It¡¯s going to be a long and busy night tonight.¡±


    So, I went back to my room and took a short nap. But not long after that, I was woken up by the sound of someone mming their hands on my bed. I opened my eyes and saw Huang Xiaotao and Dali standing near my bed. It appeared that she had rushed into the male dorm, so I could see people gathering outside the room to see what was going on.


    ¡°Get up, Song Yang!¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Neither of us have lost our confidence in you, so you must not give up on yourself at the most crucial moment!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean I gave up on myself?¡±


    ¡°Dali told me that you came back to your room to sleep,¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°How is that not giving up? We¡¯re falling behind Dr. Qin right now, so we have to double our efforts! This is not the time to take naps!¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± I sighed. ¡°Okay, look away for a moment, I¡¯m going to put on my clothes.¡±


    Once I was dressed, the three of us walked out of the dorm. I saw how depressed the two looked, and thought that it would be best to exin what¡¯s going on. Otherwise, they¡¯d keep thinking that I was wrong.


    ¡°Did you say that we fell behind Dr. Qin?¡± I asked Huang Xiaotao. ¡°The truth is, it¡¯s Dr. Qin who¡¯s fallen far behind us. In fact, he¡¯s fallen into the murderer¡¯s trap, and I don¡¯t think he knows how to climb up.¡±


    ¡°Song Yang,¡± said Huang Xiaotao with a hint of impatience, ¡°the DNA results clearly prove otherwise, so why are you still insisting on that? I know you believe in yourself, but you¡¯re bordering on being delusional right now, do you understand?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, dude,¡± said Dali. ¡°Just ept the facts. There¡¯s nothing embarrassing about making mistakes. We¡¯ll just start from square one again, it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°How do I make you guys understand this?¡± I said. ¡°Yes, the DNA results were correct, I know that, but that doesn¡¯t mean that my theories are all wrong. Huang Xiaotao, where did you say the DNA samples were taken from?¡±


    ¡°From Deng Chao¡¯s personal possessions. Why?¡±


    ¡°Those skin and hair samples actually belong to Ma Baobao,¡± I exined. ¡°Dr. Qin took the samples from Deng Chao¡¯s dorm room, which are all actually Ma Baobao¡¯s DNA, then hepared it to the DNA sample from the corpse, which is also Ma Baobao. Naturally, those samples would match, and that led him to the erroneous conclusion that the dead body belongs to Deng Chao.¡±


    The two stared at me with nk expressions.


    ¡°But why would Ma Baobao¡¯s skin and hair be in Deng Chao¡¯s room?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s only one possibility,¡± I said, ¡°Deng Chao must¡¯ve obtained them from the dead body and put them on his personal belongings. That way, he¡¯s set the perfect trap for the police. He¡¯s a high IQ criminal, remember? It¡¯s not so surprising to think that he¡¯de up with something like this.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± interrupted Huang Xiaotao. ¡°You can exin it away like that, but they¡¯re all your theories. You can¡¯t deny that there¡¯s a higher possibility that the DNA samples taken from that room belong to Deng Chao.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s absolutely not the case.¡±


    ¡°And how can you prove that?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have any ideas?¡± I asked.


    I pulled out Deng Chao¡¯s phone and showed that purchase order to them. Thest item on that list was a razor de.


    ¡°Why else would he buy a razor de if it wasn¡¯t to obtain Ma Baobao¡¯s skin and hair samples?¡±


    ¡°But why did he need to buy a new razor de?¡± asked Dali, still not quite understanding. ¡°He¡¯s a man, so wouldn¡¯t he have his own razor de anyway? What¡¯s the point of buying a new one?¡±


    ¡°Because it contains his own DNA, of course!¡± I said. ¡°He must¡¯ve discarded it.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao¡¯s countenance gradually improved.


    ¡°Your analysis is correct, Song Yang,¡± she said. ¡°Perhaps it really is as you said. If that¡¯s true, I can¡¯t think of how old Dr. Qin is going to react. I just met him at the police station just now and his face was full of conceit! If only he knew that he¡¯s now deep inside the trap hole that the murderer has set!¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you?¡± I said with a smirk. ¡°We¡¯re the ones who are far ahead of him!¡±


    ¡°Geez,¡± said Dali, ¡°in that case, how impressive is this Deng Chao guy? He even thought of such a small detail...¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not a small detail at all,¡± I said. ¡°This is the most important part of his n. It¡¯s no use just tricking the two girls ¡ª the key is to trick the police as well. Deng Chao had anticipated the police to investigate ording to the standard protocol, and Dr. Qinpletely fell right into his trap.¡±


    ¡°You know, Song Yang,¡± said Huang Xiaotao, ¡°I suddenly realized that you¡¯re a pretty dangerous individual. You followed the murderer¡¯s thought process perfectly; you could even understand his psychology. If one day you decide to use this big brain of yours tomit a crime, I¡¯m afraid no police officers in this world could ever catch you!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I said, smiling, ¡°I¡¯ll never do anything like that.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not worried anyway,¡± she said. ¡°Because I¡¯ll always be keeping an eye on you and I¡¯ll use your intelligence to solve as many cases as you can. You¡¯ll get your share of the bonus, too, of course.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± I said. ¡°Then I¡¯ll just be your consultant then. Oh, and speaking of the razor de, I suggested you to order some people tob through theke, did anyone find anything?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the power or authority to do that right now,¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°I might even get punished for acting on my own if Captain Lin finds out.¡±


    ¡°Nevermind,¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°We could do thatter.¡±


    ¡°Do you think that Deng Chao might have thrown the murder weapon into theke?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Yes, there¡¯s a high possibility for that,¡± I said. ¡°Besides, it will be the key evidence to convict him of murder in court.¡±


    ¡°Oh, and what about your n to lure Deng Chao out of hiding?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Any progress?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course!¡±


    I rted every detail of the exchange between me and ¡®Little Bear¡¯ on Weibo to her, then told her what my n was. Tonight, I would go to the music room alone, or at least seemingly alone. And when Deng Chao appeared, Huang Xiaotao and Dali would ambush him from the darkness and capture him!


    The minute the music room was brought up, Dali began to act up again. He insisted that he didn¡¯t want to go, but Huang Xiaotao said if he didn¡¯t join us tonight, then he would be forever barred from participating in any other investigation after this. Hearing that, Dali had no choice but to reluctantly agree to go.


    ¡°Oh, what about the case of the dismembered body in the piano? What did you find out about that?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the murderer¡¯s name was Cao Bufan, and the girl was Xia Mo.¡±


    ¡°Okay, thank you,¡± I said, then memorized the names.


    ¡°What do you want this information for, anyway?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao. ¡°It¡¯s not connected to this case, is it?¡±


    ¡°Technically, no,¡± I said, ¡°but in case we meet them tonight, I¡¯d like to at least know their names. It would be impolite not to.¡±


    ¡°W-W-What?!¡± cried Dali, his face as white as a sheet. ¡°You even n to go meet that ghost? I¡¯m not going with you! No way! Not even if you held me at gunpoint!¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao. She then pulled out her gun and pointed it at Dali¡¯s head. ¡°Then don¡¯t mind me if I shoot!¡±


    Although it was obvious that she would never actually shoot, Dali had never seen a real gun before, so that scared him even more than the distant threat of seeing a ghost.


    ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll go, Xiaotao-jiejie! Just please put the gun down, it might misfire.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao put her gun down.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to worry about that, the safety was on.¡± Then she pretended to check the gun and feigned surprise and said, ¡°Oh my, it wasn¡¯t on! I must¡¯ve forgotten about it! Sorry!¡±


    Dali was so scared that his knees buckled. If I wasn¡¯t there to hold him, he would¡¯ve definitely copsed.

 Chapter 25

    <h4>Chapter 25</h4>


    I told both of them that from now on the three of us should not be seen moving together. It was highly probable that Deng Chao was watching our every move all the time.


    I told Huang Xiaotao to drive out of campus, and then after a distance find a ce to stop and turn back. I myself went to the library alone and stayed there because it was a public ce with a lot of people around so it would be safe. Once it was dark outside, I skipped dinner entirely and rushed to the abandoned building straight away.


    The abandoned building was surrounded by a small wooded area, which made the ce even darker and creepier, especially as it was nighttime. I started to get a little uneasy with every step I took, because it would be so easy for Deng Chao to jump out of the thick darkness here and kill me.


    I wasn¡¯t afraid that the murderer would show up; I was afraid that he would be able to escape with vengeance on his mind ¡ª I learned this the hard way when Grandpa died.


    I entered the abandoned building, but somebody suddenly tapped on my shoulder! My heart almost stopped, but when I turned around, I heard a voice whispering, ¡°Dude, it¡¯s me!¡±


    ¡°Shit, Dali! You nearly killed me!¡± I said, my hand holding my chest as I sighed in relief.


    ¡°Did anyone follow you on your way here?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao. It seemed that they¡¯d both arrived earlier than me.


    ¡°No.¡± I had been listening intently for the sound of footsteps behind me when I walked here, so I was very sure that no one had followed me.


    Dali was about to turn on the shlight that he brought with him, but I hastily stopped him.


    ¡°No! You¡¯ll ruin the n!¡± I said. ¡°By the way, did you buy the stuff that I asked you to?¡±


    ¡°Here,¡± said Dali, handing me a bag. ¡°What do you need these things for?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll knowter.¡±


    We made our way up the stairs in the darkness. The two couldn¡¯t see at all, so they held on to my shirt as I used my Cave Vision, which made me able to see in the dark ten times better than the average person, to lead the way.


    I wasn¡¯t just bragging about my vision, by the way. I read in a human anatomy textbook that there were cone cells and rod cells in our retinas. Cone cells were concentrated at the center of the retina, and were responsible for vision in bright environment; while rod cells were found all over the retina, and they were responsible for vision in low light areas. Rod cells were very sensitive to light, however, so if someone went from being in a dark ce for a long time to a bright ce suddenly, the eyes would be over-stimted and they might hurt. I drank Grandpa¡¯s Eye-Opening Elixir for seven weeks, and I also underwent special training to enhance my eyesight, and because of that I ended up with ten times the number of rod cells on my retinaspared to the average person. I can also control the dtion of my pupils at will, so I could easily see even in a ce where there was hardly any light.


    ¡°How can you see so well in the darkness, dude?¡± asked Dali on our way upstairs.


    ¡°I trained for it,¡± I answered.


    ¡°What? You can train for that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, just eat lots of carrots.¡±


    We came to the third floor. I told both of them to guard the stairs and not to make any sound. There was only one staircase in this old building, so if Deng Chao wanted to kill me, he¡¯d have to pass through the stairs no matter what.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go now,¡± I said.


    ¡°Be careful!¡± said Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    I soon reached outside the door of the infamous music room. Police tape was still at the door, but the dead body had been removed. There were still dark traces of blood on the floor. Silvery moonlight shone through the window, while the curtains swayed to the night breeze. I felt inexplicably cold.


    I pulled out a small bag of wheat flour and sprinkled a thinyer of it at the piano legs and under the windows. It was my preparation in case the ghost in a white dress showed up. Wheat flour is warm in nature, and it contained yang energy. This meant that it could be used to detect the presence of spirits and ghosts, which contained yin energy, without harming them.


    Grandpa taught me these simple methods of dealing with ghosts. In truth, in ancient times it wasn¡¯t just Daoist priests and monks who knew how to deal with evil spirits and ghosts. All kinds of professions had their own ways of doing it. Carpenters would use a special chant; stonemasons would burn a special joss paper when they went into the woods to quarry for stone; butchers would recite a special chant from the ancient texts before they ughter an animal. But in present times modern industrialization made traditional professions obsolete, and these techniques gradually faded into obscurity.


    It would be a lie to say that I wasn¡¯t scared at that moment, especially after hearing Dali¡¯s recounting of the horrifying legend of the cursed piano. Would I meet Xia Mo¡¯s ghost tonight?


    I looked out the window and noticed the source of this room¡¯s incredibly creepy atmosphere. There was an intersection right outside the window, and a lot of old banyan trees that shaded the area from sunlight. This filled the room with high amount of yin energy ¡ª and that¡¯s why it was so conducive to being haunted.


    The moon was bright that night, so anyone looking in from the windows would be able to see the whole room, but anyone looking out from the room wouldn¡¯t be able to see anything because of the leaves of the banyan trees. If Deng Chao really came, I would be easily visible to him.


    That meant that it would be dangerous to just stand here doing nothing. And so, I pulled out a small brush and pretended to inspect the ce while keeping my eyes out for any movements outside the window.


    Seconds passed. Then minutes. These two hours dragged on so slowly that I became more and more impatient.


    Suddenly, there was a strange susurrus noise in the room. I sensed an unexinable cold presence behind my back. I slowly turned my neck to look behind me, and saw a slender figure in a white nightdress with long hair that covered part of her face standing right there in the middle of the room.


    Her body was partly transparent, and her legs were almost invisible. Now I could see why there was amon belief that ghosts had no feet. But this ghost did actually have feet, because I noticed very light traces of footprints on the thinyer of wheat flour!


    I stood there, stiff as a nk, while my heart was beating my chest like a drum. This was my first time seeing a real ghost! The ghost didn¡¯t look at me, though. She moved across the room to the piano and lightly touched the keys with her white bony fingers. Her skin was as white as a sheet without any trace of blood under it at all, but all across her body were ck cracks, signs that her body had been cut up into pieces.


    ¡°Miss Xia Mo? Is that you?¡± I asked. I was extremely nervous, so my voice was low and trembling.


    The ghost slowly turned her head and stared at me with eyes that were all white. I noticed bloodycerations on her deathly pale face.


    I put my palms together and bowed, then said with a respectful tone, ¡°Miss Xia Mo, please forgive me, but I must ask your permission to intrude upon your territory tonight to catch a murderer. I give you my word that my intentions are pure.¡±


    I then pulled out a stack of ghost money and a lighter, then tried to burn it as an offering to Xia Mo. But no matter how many times I tried to light it, the ghost money just wouldn¡¯t catch fire. A little bit of the edge would get burnt, but soon a wind would blow it out. I heard that when the ghost money wouldn¡¯t catch fire, it meant that the soul you were making an offering to would not ept your ¡®bribes.¡¯


    I made a few more attempts, but to no avail. I started to get slightly nervous, but in the end, I had no choice but to just give it up. When I lifted my head again, the ghost had disappeared. But secondster I heard a voiceing from outside the room.


    ¡°A ghost! There¡¯s a ghost!¡± yelled Dali in the hallway.


    I cursed under my breath and rushed out of the music room, but was immediately met with Huang Xiaotao who was pointing the gun at me. Meanwhile, Dali was cowering on the floor, so terrified that he was visibly shaking.


    ¡°Don¡¯t shoot! It¡¯s me!¡± I said, with both of my hands in the air.


    Huang Xiaotao squinted to look at me, and after a while she slowly dropped down her gun.


    ¡°Ah, dude, it¡¯s you!¡± said Dali, who sounded like he was about to break into sobs. ¡°I just got so scared my soul almost left my body! I saw a ghost wearing a white dress just now!¡±


    ¡°I saw it too!¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯d never believe it if I didn¡¯t see it with my own eyes! That ghost floated past us like the wind!¡±


    ¡°Go, now!¡± I ordered.


    ¡°Go?¡± they both asked with widened eyes.


    ¡°I mean both of you should go down to the first floor now, and prepare to ambush at the front door. I¡¯ll stay here. Call me if anything happens.¡±


    The two exchanged looks with each other silently. After a while, it was Huang Xiaotao who spoke up.


    ¡°Are you sure? Why don¡¯t we all go to the music room instead?¡± she asked.


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°Deng Chao is probably observing through the windows. He must not see both of you or our n will absolutely fail! Leave, now!¡±


    When they were gone, I returned to the music room and looked out the window. The branches of the trees outside were swaying in the wind, and the dim yellow light from the streetmp shone down on an empty street.


    From the corner of my eyes, I saw a figure in white standing at the door, but I couldn¡¯t see the face because it was obscured by long hair.


    The sight shocked me so much that I broke out in a cold sweat, but when I turned around, that figure was gone.


    I finally grasped what was wrong with the ¡®ghost¡¯. The figure that I saw was definitely a physical thing, not a spiritual one, and the body shape waspletely different from Xia Mo.


    I almost let out a cry, because the ¡®ghost¡¯ that Dali and Huang Xiaotao saw, and the ghost that I was seeing now, was actually Deng Chao!


    What a cunning bastard!


    And at that moment, I realized that he and I were the only ones on the empty floor!

 Chapter 26

    <h4>Chapter 26</h4>


    When I thought of how the murderer was right outside the door, possibly with a weapon in his hand, my back was soaked with cold sweat.


    I swallowed a lump in my throat and forced myself to think fast. Deng Chao was waiting for me outside the room, so if I popped out my head to check, he would definitely slit my throat with a knife in a heartbeat.


    But I couldn¡¯t just stay inside the music room either. It would take him no more than a few steps from the door to get to me before Huang Xiaotao could even get near the room.


    The window was open, so I did have a choice of jumping out and escaping, but that would defeat my purpose of capturing him!


    So, I put my hand into my pocket and secretly called Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t scare me like that, Miss Xia Mo,¡± I said loudly, pretending to be scared while dialing the phone. ¡°If you don¡¯t like me here, then I¡¯ll leave instantly.¡±


    Then I took two steps forward before circling back to hide behind the piano. If Deng Chao rushed in, I could just shove it towards him to buy me some time.


    Just then, Deng Chao appeared at the door. When he saw how I was hiding behind the piano, heughed.


    ¡°Stop pretending, bastard!¡± he barked.


    I could clearly see that he was holding a dagger, and those hands were white and slender, just as I expected.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked, feigning cluelessness. ¡°Why are you dressed like that?¡±


    ¡°Still not dropping the act?¡± he asked, then he began to walk towards me. ¡°Where is that letter?¡±


    ¡°The letter said...¡± I stepped to the other side of the piano. ¡°... that you¡¯re the real killer.¡±


    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have trusted Zhang Kai!¡± he snapped. ¡°And here I was regretting killing the bastard!¡±


    He took another step towards me. I was bathing in cold sweat by then, and my heart almost jumped out of my throat.


    ¡°You only have yourself to me,¡± I said. ¡°If you didn¡¯t kill him, the letter wouldn¡¯t have found its way into my hands.¡±


    ¡°Stop bbering! Give me the letter now!¡±


    ¡°The letter¡¯s not with me,¡± I told him. ¡°I gave it to the police a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°Fuck you! You tricked me!¡±


    Deng Chao rushed towards me, but a few milliseconds before he reached me Huang Xiao kicked open the door while holding a gun with both of her hands and pointing it straight at Deng Chao.


    ¡°Freeze!¡± she roared with an authoritative voice. ¡°Drop down your weapon!¡±


    Deng Chao¡¯s jaw dropped. But he soon regained his senses, he rushed towards me. He must be nning to take me as a hostage! I ran to the back of the music room, but he was on my heels. Huang Xiaotao shot her gun, and the deafening bang echoed throughout the building.


    Nothing was hit by that shot. Police officers would usually shoot nks the first time, just as a warning. But the loud bang of the shot did have an effect, because it frightened Deng Chao so much that he bolted out the door. He was in such a hurried state that his wig and costume fell off his body.


    Huang Xiaotao followed him out the door and into the hallway. I followed them too. Although the end of the hallway was a dead end, there were ssrooms on both sides ¡ª Deng Chao could easily sneak into one of them and hide there.


    We lost sight of Deng Chao. Huang Xiaotao called told me to catch up to her then she kicked open the door of a ssroom and pointed her gun into it while I scanned the room.


    ¡°He¡¯s not here.¡±


    We checked three rooms without sess, then I suddenly heard the sound of someone opening the window.


    ¡°Quick!¡± I eximed. ¡°He¡¯s going to jump out of a window!¡±


    We hurried to a ssroom where the sound came from, and saw Deng Chao standing at the window about to jump out.


    Huang Xiaotao stood very still and held up her gun with both hands aiming at Deng Chao, ready to shoot.


    Right at that moment, Deng Chao shouted and fell from the window.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me! Please don¡¯t kill me!¡± he pleaded.


    Huang Xiaotao immediately rushed forward. She kicked the knife in Deng Chao¡¯s hand away, pulled his hands behind his back and handcuffed him.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, Song Yang,¡± she said. ¡°He really did have a hand surgery.¡±


    I let out a long sigh. My whole body felt as if I was made of jelly.


    Only then did Dali run in from the hallway.


    ¡°Whoa, that¡¯s awesome!¡± he said. ¡°You guys caught him so quickly! Let me see what this bastard looks like.¡±


    Once he got near us, Huang Xiaotao gave his leg a nice kick. Dali yelped in pain and hopped on one leg.


    ¡°Were you tying your shoce at a crucial moment again? You¡¯re as useless as a pig!¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s not my fault that my shoces needed tying again,¡± said Dali. ¡°Dude, help me convince her.¡±


    I said nothing but just gave him a look.


    Huang Xiaotao made a call to the director so that Deng Chao would be taken into custody.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re Deng Chao, huh?¡± chided Dali, trying to fill the dead air. ¡°You¡¯re pretty impressive, you know? You killed two people, then you dress up as a ghost to scare us. But, s, you¡¯re not as impressive as our Song Yang here, right dude?¡±


    No one paid any attention to him, so he startedughing awkwardly. Deng Chao stared at me with piercing eyes and asked, ¡°Where exactly is Zhang Kai¡¯s letter?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fake,¡± I told him. ¡°I thought you¡¯d gotten it by now. I used it to lure you here.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± he objected. ¡°It was clearly in Zhang Kai¡¯s handwriting! I used an ingenious method to kill them! If there was no letter, there¡¯s no way you would¡¯ve figured out that I did it!¡±


    As it turned out, Deng Chao really believed that he was the smartest person on earth, that no one could be better than him, so he never doubted that the letter was real ¡ª and that was his downfall.


    I sighed.


    ¡°I faked the letter using the lecture notes I found in his room,¡± I said. ¡°If you think that no one can see through your murder scheme, then I¡¯m sorry to say that you¡¯re wrong. You¡¯ve met your match.¡±


    Deng Chao suddenly burst intoughter. That coldughter rang through the hallway, and it sent shivers down my spine.


    ¡°I will always remember you, Song Yang,¡± he said. ¡°I lost this time. I truly lost. You are a worthy opponent.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± ordered Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Now walk.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± I stopped them. ¡°Did you say that you lost?¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡± he scoffed. ¡°Do I look like I¡¯m winning right now?¡±


    ¡°There is no victory here,¡± I replied. ¡°Because it¡¯s not a game. You murdered two people. Two young men lost their lives and their families will mourn their deaths for the rest of their lives. How can you speak of winning and losing so casually?¡±


    ¡°But it is a game in my eyes!¡± he said with a creepy smile. ¡°It¡¯s a match of guts and brains!¡±


    ¡°You really are a sociopath,¡± remarked Huang Xiaotao. ¡°There¡¯s no saving a monster like you.¡±


    We escorted him out of the building, and not long after a police car arrived and took him away.


    ¡°Case closed!¡± Huang Xiaotao proimed. ¡°I¡¯ll treat you guys to a nice mealter.¡±


    ¡°Awesome!¡± said Dali, dancing with joy. ¡°Let¡¯s go out and celebrate with lots of beer! If we don¡¯t get wasted tonight then¡ª"


    Huang Xiaotao red at him, and Dali immediately shut up and left the rest of his sentence unsaid. He hung his head low, in fear that Huang Xiaotao might still be mad at him for his absence earlier.


    I too felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. But then we heard what sounded like a wailing sounding from behind the old building. When I listened to it closely, it turned out to be the howl of the wind.


    ¡°By the way,¡± Huang Xiaotao said, ¡°what did Deng Chao see just now that scared him so much? Did he really see Miss Xia Mo?¡±


    Dali immediately shivered, then hugged his arms close to his body.


    ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie! Don¡¯t scare me like that!¡±


    I looked around the hallway and found a portrait of Hellen Keller hanging on the wall. When the window was opened, it was at the perfect angle where the light from the window would be reflected on the ss surface of the framed portrait and then into Deng Chao¡¯s eyes.


    I smiled. So that was what Deng Chao saw.


    ¡°Yes, he saw a ghost,¡± I said, ¡°a ghost called guilt and remorse!¡±

 Chapter 27

    <h4>Chapter 27</h4>


    There was one more thing I needed to do, which was to burn a few sheets of ghost money as a sign of respect to the deceased. This was a rule that had been passed down in the Song family, and it had to be followed.


    Dali didn¡¯t like the sound of that at all. He kept pestering us to leave.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here,¡± he said. ¡°What if that ghostes back to haunt us?¡±


    ¡°You know,¡± said Huang Xiaotao, intent on teasing Dali, ¡°ghosts love people like you the most. Miss Xia Mo used to be a very pretty girl when she was alive. I guess you and her would be the perfect match!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao and I walked into the building while Dali was a few steps behind us. He stopped and hesitated for a while, but quickly shouted for us to wait for him and followed us in.


    Once we reached the third floor, we all heard a sound that creeped us all out. Dali gripped my arms instantly. Even Huang Xiaotao looked a bit pale.


    ¡°What is that, dude?¡±


    ¡°You know,¡± I said, ¡°I think ghosts aren¡¯t half as scary as humans are.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s deep, dude,¡± said Dali. ¡°But I¡¯m still scared...¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a Jay Chou song that perfectly describes a man like you, Dali,¡± said Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°What song?¡± asked Dali.


    ¡°What Kind of Man!¡± answered Huang Xiaotao, who then chortled.


    We soon reached the music room. The white curtains at the windows fluttered in the wind, casting shadows on the piano that was a witness to both passionate love and intense hate. The atmosphere was extremely gloomy. The sound that we heard just now was probably the wind blowing at the piano lid, causing it to fall.


    I was about to go inside, but Dali held on to my arms tightly and refused to let me go.


    ¡°Dude, let¡¯s just leave,¡± he said. ¡°If the piano suddenly starts ying, we¡¯re doomed.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all just a rumor,¡± I reassured him.


    ¡°But that night the two girls saw it with their own eyes...¡±


    I pointed at the four ceiling fans above our heads. Although I didn¡¯t climb up there to examine them closely, I had a pretty good idea as to how Deng Chao made the piano wires fly around the room.


    ¡°Deng Chao just bought some piano wires, cut them into various lengths, and tied them to the fan des. He then turned on the fan and bingo! You¡¯ve got flying piano wires that fill the whole room!¡±


    ¡°Shit, now that you exined it to me, it sounds so simple I can¡¯t I believe I hadn¡¯t thought of it!¡±


    I told both of them they could wait at the door if they were too scared toe inside. I then walked to the front of the piano, and soon after, the two followed me there too.


    I lit up the ghost money in my hand and recited the Reincarnation Mantra, hoping that it would soothe Miss Xia Mo¡¯s miserable soul. The ghost money slowly burned and turned to ashes, then a cold breeze carried the ashes away.


    Suddenly, I heard Huang Xiaotao gasp. I turned around and saw Dali copsed onto the ground, foaming at the mouth and convulsing. I was taken aback but quickly went down on my knees to help him. After pressing on his chest for a while, Dali suddenly opened his eyes and sat straight up.


    ¡°Dali,¡± I said. ¡°Is everything all right?¡±


    I suddenly found his expressions strange, and Huang Xiaotao probably did too, because we both simultaneously backed away from Dali.


    ¡°Why would he do that to me?¡± asked Dali, but his voice sounded more like a woman than a man. ¡°I loved him so much, he was everything to me! I gave him all I had! Why did he kill me? I¡¯ve been waiting for him here for so long!¡±


    Both Huang Xiaotao and I were stupefied. We hadn¡¯t expected anything like this to happen.


    ¡°Miss Xia Mo,¡± I said, ¡°that¡¯s not how love works. Just because you gave him everything you had doesn¡¯t mean that he can give you back just as much.¡±


    Wang Dali suddenly tripped on his own feet and fell to the ground.


    ¡°But I love him!¡± he cried. ¡°I love him with all my heart! Yet he told me that he was stressed and unhappy, and that he felt miserable when he was with me! He even killed me and dismembered my body and stuffed me into the piano! All I wanted was true love! Why can¡¯t I have it? Why is this world so unfair?¡±


    ¡°He was suffering because you gave him too much,¡± I said. ¡°So much that he felt trapped.¡±


    Dali red at me and gritted his teeth with anger.


    ¡°So you¡¯re just like him!¡± he said. ¡°You men are all evil! I¡¯m going to kill everyst one of you!¡±


    I froze in shock for a few seconds and broke out in cold sweat. I suspected that Dali had listened to the story of the ghost in the white dress too much, and coupled with the special environment of the music room, he temporarily lost his mind and forgotten his real identity, then believed himself to be the girl who died in this room years ago.


    This kind of phenomenon had happened before. Years ago, Grandpa encountered such a case himself. It was on the eve of Tomb-Sweeping Day, and a farmer¡¯s widow was cleaning herte husband¡¯s grave when she was suddenly possessed by her dead husband and violently dragged a neighbor of theirs to the police station, iming that it was this neighbor who had pushed the dead husband down a river and killed him. After some investigation, it was found that the widow and the neighbor had an extramarital affair with each other and they both worked together to kill the dead husband. The widow likely always felt guilty and shameful for her deed, so all the suppressed emotions exploded when she was cleaning her dead husband¡¯s grave and became ¡®possessed.¡¯


    Usually, when someone was under this condition, they would lose all reasoning. It was very likely that they might seriously injure or even kill someone.


    But then Huang Xiaotao slowly inched towards Dali.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go near him!¡± I whispered.


    Strangely enough, however, Dali did not react to her approach. As Huang Xiaotao moved closer and closer to him, she reached out her arms and held Dali in her bosom.


    ¡°Poor girl, I know how much pain you must¡¯ve gone through,¡± sheforted. ¡°Your life has been tough since you were little, but you finally found a man who loved you, so you held onto him tightly, afraid that you¡¯d lose him too. But even he betrayed you in the end. What a tragic, tragic life!¡±


    Streams of tears fell from Huang Xiaotao¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be sad,¡± she said, patting Dali¡¯s back. ¡°That bastard is dead now, so you must move on to your next life. Go find a warm and happy family to be born into where you¡¯ll find true love and friendship. Remember this: we women must always remain strong and keep our heads clear. If this guy turns out to be useless, then just move on and find a new one! You might have to kiss a bunch of frogs before you meet the real prince, you see.¡±


    ¡°But I can¡¯t forget him!¡± said Dali, now sobbing.


    ¡°He¡¯s a bastard and a moron!¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°You¡¯re way out of his league! You¡¯re smart and beautiful and gentle; you¡¯re the most popr girl on campus. You¡¯ve been through enough; it¡¯s time for you to move on and meet the right man for you!¡±


    Dali¡¯s sobs turned to bitter wailing. He wept and wept, then suddenly the look in his eyes changed, and he fainted.


    Huang Xiaotao gently put Dali down onto the floor, then wiped his tears.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t bad at all, was I?¡± she asked with pride on her face.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked, genuinely surprised. ¡°Was that all an act?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s much more convincing with tears, after all,¡± she said, wiping the tears dry. I was seriously impressed with her ability to turn her tears on and off at will.


    ¡°You¡¯re really bad at this, you know?¡± she added. ¡°Did you really think that reasoning with someone who¡¯s so ovee with emotions would help?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a point!¡± I said, nodding humbly.


    At that moment Dali suddenly drew a breath and sat up, his face nk full of confusion.


    ¡°What happened just now?¡± he asked. ¡°Why is my face all wet?¡±


    Huang Xiaotao and I looked at each other. I worried that if I told him he¡¯d just been possessed by the ghost of Xia Mo he would be so shocked that he¡¯d faint again. So, we both wordlessly agreed to keep it a secret and just told him that he fainted out of shock.


    Whether Dali was really possessed by the ghost of Xia Mo or not, I really couldn¡¯t say. But I was more convinced of the view that he¡¯d just been influenced by the eeriness of the atmosphere and temporarily lost control of his mind and hypnotized himself.


    Dali urged us to quickly leave the ce, but I said I still had something to do. I pulled out two sheets of ghost money and burnt them on the floor. The two asked me what that was for.


    ¡°One for Ma Baobao and one for Zhang Kai,¡± I said. ¡°Examining dead bodies is always an act of desecration. I must at least burn an offering for them as an apology.¡±


    ¡°Ma Baobao, Zhang Kai,¡± I said. ¡°I hope you move on to your next life peacefully. I¡¯ve cleared your names, so you have nothing more to worry about.¡±


    Under the clear moonlight, a gentle breeze lifted the ashes into the air and carried them out through the window and up towards the night sky.

 Chapter 28

    <h4>Chapter 28</h4>


    After the case was over, I rested for two days. Then, Dali rushed into my room with a newspaper in his hand.


    ¡°Dude, dude!¡± he yelled. ¡°We¡¯re in the paper!¡±


    ¡°What? Let me see!¡±


    I read the article that was supposed to be about the case and didn¡¯t know if I shouldugh or cry in response. The whole case was simplified into the murder of two students as personal revenge due to the loss of a schrship grant. There was no mention of the cursed piano, probably because the police thought it was too bizarre and oundish to disclose to the public.


    Huang Xiaotao was mentioned by name, but I was merely ¡®an enthusiastic college student with the surname of Song¡¯ who provided the police with some help. As for the rest of the article, it was just some nonsense about college students being unprepared psychologically to withstand the stress and how terrible it was for the families to lose their children.


    ¡°What a ridiculous article,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± replied Dali. ¡°I think even I could do a better job! And they didn¡¯t even mention my name at all! By the way, you must have more than ten thousand fans on Weibo by now, right dude?¡±


    ¡°Nah,¡± I said, ¡°I closed my ount. Who¡¯s got the time to answer all those stupid questions they sent me?¡±


    ¡°Shit, dude. Why didn¡¯t you use this golden opportunity to develop your fanbase? If you became famous on the inte, maybe I can share some of that attention too...¡±


    There was no way I would dare to be famous in any way, not even if it was just on the Inte. How many members of the Song family had lost their lives due to being well known for their skills in solving cases? No, I had to remain under the radar no matter what.


    Then I received a call from Huang Xiaotao who said that I should go to the police station. I asked her if it was because we were getting a bonus.


    ¡°That wille out in two days...¡± she muttered. ¡°It¡¯s um... It¡¯s Dr. Qin. He¡¯s trying to report you.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I said, almost cursing. How shameless was this old man? I should be the one to report him instead!


    Not only was he unable to solve the case before us, but he was even trying to harm us!


    ¡°What did I do now? What is he reporting me for?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ll see when you get here,¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°And make it quick! He¡¯s pestering Captain Lin right now. If you don¡¯t get here soon there¡¯ll be a police car going to your college to escort you here!¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m on my way!¡±


    Dali asked me what happened.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to the police station for a while,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon.¡±


    ¡°Should I go too?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    I got dressed in a hurry then got a cab to the police station. Huang Xiaotao was waiting at the entrance. She was wearing her full uniform that day, and she looked really cool in it.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Song Yang,¡± she said. ¡°I got you in trouble again.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault,¡± I said, ¡°it¡¯s that shameless old man. Let¡¯s go find him.¡±


    We went straight to an office, where I could clearly hear Dr. Qin¡¯s deafening voice. ¡°Captain Lin, if it wasn¡¯t for Huang Xiaotao who brought in that little brat, do you really think that someone with my experience can¡¯t solve such a simple case like this? Nonsense! You have to punish her!¡±


    I wanted tough at this logic of his. Did experience automatically mean capability to him?


    ¡°All right, Old Qin,¡± said the other voice, probably the Captain Lin that Huang Xiaotao mentioned before. ¡°There¡¯s no need to get carried away. Let¡¯s hear what he has to say first.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao knocked on the door. Captain Lin saide in and so we both entered the office.


    ¡°Captain Lin,¡± said Huang Xiaotao after a salute, ¡°I¡¯ve brought Song Yang here.¡±


    Dr. Qin held a cigarette between his fingers, and he was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed. When he saw me, his nostrils red and he let out a loud harrumph.


    Captain Lin was a lean and muscr man around the age of forty or so. He looked a bit like an actor in an action movie for some reason.


    ¡°So, you are Song Yang?¡± he asked, his eyes inspecting me.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said with a nod.


    ¡°You look very young,¡± he said, ¡°yet you managed to solve a case like this in less than twenty-four hours. Do youe from a family of police officers?¡±


    ¡°No, sir,¡± I said. ¡°Ie from a long line of civilians. It¡¯s only an interest of mine. I¡¯ve been reading books about criminal cases and investigations since I was very young.¡±


    ¡°So you are indeed a rare young talent, very impressive!¡± Captain Lin praised.


    ¡°Captain Lin!¡± said Dr. Qin. He tossed his cigarette butt into the ashtray and got up from his seat, fuming in anger. ¡°Why are you praising this impudent brat? He¡¯s been desecrating dead bodies and interfering with our investigation!¡±


    ¡°Old Qin,¡± said Captain Lin with augh, ¡°he was just examining the dead bodies, you can¡¯t use him of desecration for that! Besides, didn¡¯t he end up helping us solve a case?¡±


    ¡°How can you say that?¡± said Dr. Qin. ¡°He¡¯s not a police officer! He¡¯s apletely random outsider! How can you take his side like that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m only being reasonable,¡± said Captain Lin. ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen, there¡¯s really no need to make a big fuss about this. No need to report him at all.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I have something else to say!¡± interjected Dr. Qin, staring at me with darkened eyes. ¡°This brat stole a crucial piece of evidence and destroyed it!¡±


    I froze for a moment at this allegation,pletely clueless about what the old man was talking about.


    Even Captain Lin¡¯s expressions had changed, and he began to scrutinize me with suspicion.


    ¡°Is this true?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± answered Dr. Qin. ¡°There is a piece of crucial evidence in this case that he snuck out without the knowledge of the police,pletely derailing our team¡¯s investigation and causing us to waste a lot of time and effort.¡±


    ¡°What crucial evidence are you talking about?¡± I asked impatiently. ¡°Can¡¯t you just be clear about it already?¡±


    ¡°There was a brochure stuck between the pages of the murderer¡¯s book,¡± said Dr. Qin, ¡°and ording to the roommate it was you who took it away. Isn¡¯t that correct?¡±


    Huang Xiaotao and I looked at each other in shock. Is that what he called ¡®key evidence¡¯?


    After going to the stic surgery clinic, Huang Xiaotao didn¡¯t even remember where she put the brochure. But it was just a brochure,anyway. We could use other, much more convincing evidence to prove that Deng Chao had gone to the clinic and gotten himself a hand surgery. Dr. Qin had greatly exaggerated the importance of that brochure.


    ¡°Is the brochure that crucial?¡± asked Captain Lin.


    ¡°Very crucial indeed!¡± insisted Dr. Qin. ¡°It was probably where the most important clues were found. Otherwise, don¡¯t you think it¡¯spletely unbelievable how this rand brat could solve the case before our whole team?¡±


    This old man was an infinite well of usations. But he was a high-ranking officer after all, so I forced myself to maintain my cool.


    ¡°Dr. Qin,¡± I said, ¡°there was nothing on the brochure at all except what you¡¯d find at the clinic. You can find out the same information if you interviewed the roommates even without it. It¡¯s nowhere near a crucial evident at all!¡±


    ¡°How would I know that what you im is true now that you¡¯d destroyed the evidence?¡±


    ¡°What do you think could be written on the brochure?¡± I asked,ughing. ¡°The diary of the murderer recounting how he murdered the two victims?¡±


    ¡°That might even be true,¡± he said, ¡°that¡¯s why you were capable of solving the case before me. Who knew what other kind of clues and evidence you hid from me?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that,¡± I said. ¡°We actually uncovered fewer clues than you did, not more.¡±


    ¡°But how do I know I can trust your words?¡±


    ¡°Dr. Qin,¡± I said with a smile. ¡°It sounds like you¡¯re insisting that you and the whole investigation team uncovered less clues than me and Huang Xiaotao? In that case it was no surprise that you didn¡¯t solve the case.¡±


    Blood rushed up to Dr. Qin¡¯s face and he was so angry he went speechless for a few seconds.


    ¡°What... what nonsense are you talking about, you impudent brat?!¡±


    That was the perfect opening for me.


    ¡°Dr. Qin,¡± I said, ¡°Are you saying that you won¡¯t honor the bet that you lost?¡±


    ¡°What bet?¡± asked Captain Lin.


    I ryed the bet that Dr. Qin and I made during the investigation of the case.


    ¡°Dr. Qin,¡± said Captain Lin, ¡°I can¡¯t believe that you would make a bet about such an important thing like the investigation of a case!¡±


    ¡°No, no,¡± muttered Dr. Qin, ¡°the little brat tricked me into it!¡±


    Damn that Old Qin, it sounded like he would never admit that he was in the wrong no matter what. He was the kind of shady person that you¡¯d be worried about. They¡¯d bend facts to work in their favor and never admit anything that would not benefit them.


    ¡°Dr. Qin,¡± I said, ¡°I respect you as an elder, which is why I remained polite to you. But if you keep refusing to honor your words, isn¡¯t that a bit too dishonest of you?¡±


    ¡°You ignorant brat,¡± Dr. Qin eximed, ¡°You weren¡¯t even born yet when I first became a coroner! How dare you speak to me like that!¡±


    ¡°Obviously, all those years were wasted,¡± I said with a smile.


    ¡°You-you-you-you... Say it again if you dare!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± said Captain Lin. ¡°I¡¯ve heard both sides now. I don¡¯t think the brochure was of any significance at all. Dr. Qin, you¡¯re a senior officer, so why not take the high road and let both sides agree to apromise?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that!¡± said Dr. Qin, ready to walk away.


    But before he could leave, the phone rang, and Captain Lin picked it up. He said a few words, looked at me, then said, ¡°Great timing. He¡¯s right here, so why don¡¯t you talk to him?¡±


    He then handed the phone to me and said, ¡°For you, Song Yang.¡±


    I picked it up and immediately my ear was sted with a familiar booming voice.


    ¡°Hey, kiddo! I just read the report, and it wouldn¡¯t have been solved if you weren¡¯t there! You little brat, why didn¡¯t you tell me you¡¯re working with the police now? Are you afraid that I¡¯d tie you up and drag you with me to do my job?¡±


    ¡°Oh, Uncle Sun!¡± I said. ¡°I didn¡¯t n to get involved with the case, but it all happened so suddenly.¡±


    Officer Sun burst into a heartyugh.


    ¡°By the sounds of it, I¡¯d guess that you ¡®identally¡¯ solved the case just like your grandpa did all those years ago, didn¡¯t you, kiddo? When are youing over to visit me? We haven¡¯t seen each other for... what... three years? You shoulde over and we¡¯ll chat over a drink or two.¡±


    Dr. Qin eyed me suspiciously the whole time, so I intentionally said, ¡°Oh, by the way, I heard that you¡¯re the director now. Congrattions!¡±


    ¡°D-Di... Director Sun!¡± eximed Dr. Qin. His jaw dropped so low it almost hit the floor.

 Chapter 29

    <h4>Chapter 29</h4>


    ¡°I¡¯ve been a police officer for so long,¡± Officer Sun began, ¡°By experience, I should¡¯ve be a director years ago! To be frank, without your Grandpa¡¯s help, there¡¯s no way I would¡¯ve gotten to where I am today. I owe the Song family a great debt, so if there¡¯s anything that I can help you with, just tell me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, Uncle Sun,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to go and visit you when I get the chance.¡±


    ¡°Good boy!¡± said Officer Sun, then he broke into another heartyugh. ¡°By the way, my daughter has been asking me why you nevere to our house anymore. Just call me if you¡¯reing, I¡¯ll pick you up at your college.¡±


    I then chatted a bit more with Officer Sun, then handed the phone back to Captain Lin. They merely said a few words to each other before Captain Lin hung the phone up.


    The atmosphere in the room had changed now. Captain Lin, Huang Xiaotao, and even Dr. Qin all looked at me with different looks in their eyes.


    ¡°Y-You... You know Director Sun?¡± Dr. Qin asked.


    I almost burst outughing. Didn¡¯t he always call me an impudent brat or something along those lines? Why was his tone so much more polite all of a sudden?


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said nonchntly. ¡°I¡¯ve known him long before he became Director Sun.¡±


    Captain Lin cleared his throat, trying to smooth things over.


    ¡°All right, old Qin,¡± he said. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go back to your office.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± I shouted. He was bullying me only minutes ago; I couldn¡¯t just let him go without any rifications. ¡°Dr. Qin, what about our bet?¡±


    Dr. Qin was now soaking in sweat, he couldn¡¯t utter a reply for some time, but finally muttered, ¡°Well... you see... I¡¯m already in myte fifties, and I¡¯ll soon be retiring anyway. It¡¯s not easy being a coroner all these years, so why don¡¯t you consider letting this go?¡±


    ¡°Then why did you ept the bet earlier on?¡± I asked. ¡°Do you think that you can just forget your promises just because you¡¯re old? I¡¯ve got a question for you: if somehow I failed to solve this case, wouldn¡¯t I be in jail by now?¡±


    ¡°No, of course not!¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m an old man now, I¡¯ve gained so much experience in all these years. Do you really think that I¡¯d take that silly bet seriously?¡± He then tried to give me a warm and friendly smile, but all I thought was how shameless this person was.


    ¡°Old Qin,¡± said Captain Lin, ¡°if you gave him your word, then I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to honor it. Otherwise you¡¯ll bring the police force a bad name.¡±


    ¡°Captain Lin!¡± said Dr. Qin with pleading eyes. ¡°You know how old I am and how long I¡¯ve been working as a coroner. Maybe I¡¯m not that talented, but it¡¯s still true that I¡¯ve made a lot of contributions throughout all these years!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s rich of you to say that!¡± I interrupted. ¡°You¡¯re aw enforcement officer, yet you nearly let a dangerous murderer escape unpunished! It¡¯s likely that in five or ten years from now, he¡¯ll take another life. Would you be able to take responsibility for that?¡±


    Dr. Qin¡¯s face was now crimson red, and his head was soaking with cold sweat.


    ¡°You do whatever you want!¡± I continued. ¡°But don¡¯t cause me any more trouble from now on. I¡¯m only a normal civilian, so why should I be reported and punished just for helping the police solve a crime? This isn¡¯t just about me ¡ª what if the news spread and the general public hears of this? Would anyone ever be willing to co-operate with the police after that? Who knows how many false arrests and unsolved cases would follow after that? It makes me shudder just thinking about it!¡±


    Dr. Qin looked at Captain Lin, then lowered his head in dismay.


    ¡°I¡¯ll hand in the application letter to transfer from the post right away,¡± he said.


    I smiled, then turned to Captain Lin and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave then, Captain Lin.¡±


    ¡°Take care,¡± he said.


    After we got out of the office, Huang Xiaotao patted me on the back with so much gusto that I almost cried out in pain.


    ¡°What a scene that was, Song Yang!¡± she said. ¡°You looked like a hero in some police drama! Did you see how purple Dr. Qin¡¯s face got? He looked just like an eggnt! By the way, why didn¡¯t you tell me you know Tiger Sun? Geez, and I was so worried about you! I thought we were partners!¡±


    ¡°Well, you never asked me about it,¡± I said, massaging my shoulder.


    ¡°You should¡¯ve brought it up yourself, you dummy!¡± she said. ¡°Ah, what a great day! That old Qin is finally leaving! He¡¯s always been an arrogant and useless coroner who likes to use his power to order people around! You did a great deed to our department today by getting rid of him, Song Yang!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m d to hear it,¡± I said,ughing.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go grab a meal and celebrate! My treat!¡±


    ¡°No, never mind,¡± I waved my hand. ¡°You¡¯ve already paid for our meal once. I¡¯m not sure if that little sry you earned is enough to treat us again so soon. Maybe next time.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she said. ¡°Then let¡¯s invite Dali too next time.¡±


    We walked out of the police station together, then Huang Xiaotao was about to drive me back to college with her car, but I told her that it was much faster to just take the bus.


    ¡°Okay,¡± she said. ¡°by the way, can I ask you a question? And will you promise me to answer truthfully?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± I said.


    ¡°I always felt that you¡¯re hiding something from me,¡± she said. ¡°Plus, you know how to solve aplex murder case, and you even know Tiger Sun personally. Tell me, who are you exactly?¡±


    ¡°I really am just a normal college student,¡± I insisted.


    Huang Xiaotao eyed me suspiciously, so I felt pressured to reveal a bit more information.


    ¡°I met Tiger Sun a long time ago,¡± I said. ¡°He was working together with my grandfather...¡±


    ¡°Your grandfather?¡± she asked. ¡°Who is he?¡±


    ¡°Just a normal old man.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lying, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Why would I lie to you?¡± I said with a smile. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m going back now.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± Huang Xiaotao reached out her hand. I stood there confused like an idiot for a few seconds, then finally shook her hand.


    ¡°Thank you for helping the police solve this case,¡± she said with a serious and formal tone. ¡°I hope we have an opportunity to work together again.¡±


    ¡°Me too!¡± I said, smiling. To me, this case was an extraordinary event that was an important step in helping me grow and be a much better Traditional Coroner.


    But what was even more unexpected was how soon I would be working with Huang Xiaotao again!

 Chapter 30

    <h4>Chapter 30</h4>


    A week after the resolution of the Cursed Piano case, Huang Xiaotao called me and said that she received formal acknowledgement of her contribution to the case, and a thick stack of bonus cash too!


    In the report that Huang Xiaotao handed in, she made it a point to praise my autopsy methods and invaluable contributions to the resolution of the case. Thus, I received a bonus too. Since I wasn¡¯t a police officer, she applied for a position called Special Consultant for me, which I must admit sounded very cool.


    Soon afterwards, 18,000 yuan was transferred to my ount. For a poor college student, that was no measly sum at all. I gave half of it to Dali, who received it reluctantly.


    ¡°Dude, this is way too much! It¡¯s not like helped you much at all.¡±


    ¡°Think of it as an unexpected fortune. And as unexpected fortunes go, it¡¯s better to share them than to keep it to myself. By the way, I need to give Lao Yao a thousand yuan too.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no,¡± said Dali. ¡°Let me give him that out of my own share! Dude, you did most of the work. There¡¯s no way I can live with myself getting more money than you! No, stop arguing, I insist! As a matter of fact, I¡¯ll go get the money now.¡±


    Since Dali wouldn¡¯t relent, I had no choice but to agree to the arrangement. After a while, Dali came back and said, ¡°Lao Yao called you a wicked man.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked. ¡°Didn¡¯t he want the money?¡±


    ¡°He said he¡¯d been helping you since the beginning and that he should¡¯ve gotten more than a thousand yuan.¡±


    ¡°That greedy bastard,¡± I sneered. ¡°As if money is the main point of a criminal investigation...¡±


    9,000 yuan wasn¡¯t much at all, but it was enough for me to buy some materials and even to save some for when I needed moreter.


    I bought a pile of medicinal herbs, and borrowed ab from a professor at the chemical engineering department to concoct some secret elixirs. When it all boiled down, I ended up earning almost nothing for solving this case. But then again, it didn¡¯t matter to me, because all I really wanted was the chance to solve a case.


    The fact that I could now use what I learned to clear the names for those unjustly used just as my ancestor Song Ci did while also umting more experience and more knowledge was all I could ask for.


    Two dayster, I received a call from Huang Xiaotao in the middle of the night.


    ¡°Song Yang, can youe over now?¡± she asked. ¡°We¡¯re investigating an extraordinary case here, and we desperately need your help.¡±


    ¡°Right now?¡± I asked, surprised to hear the urgency. ¡°But it¡¯s already eleven, and there¡¯d be no more buses outside the campus gate right now.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that,¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°I can arrange for someone in my team to go pick you up immediately. Wait outside the campus gate half an hour from now.¡±


    Before I could say anything, she hung up.


    I sshed cold water onto my face to wake myself up and refresh my mind, then tried to wake Dali up. But the second I touched his nket I sensed that something off ¡ª I pulled his nket away and saw that the idiot wasn¡¯t even in bed! He stuffed his pillows under his nket to make it seem like he was sleeping there. I cursed Dali under my breath. I knew that he must be using the money he just got to sneak out and y League of Legends again.


    I put on my clothes and packed everything that I felt I might need into my backpack, then walked out of the dorm.


    When I reached outside the college main gate, I found the idiot in an inte caf that he often frequented. He was wearing headphones, chatting away with a girl without a care in the world. In front of him were empty paper tes with bamboo skewers on them and some more empty drink bottles.


    I tapped his shoulder. He turned around and was shocked to see me.


    ¡°Dude!¡± he yelped. ¡°What are you doing here? Oh, I bet you can¡¯t go to sleep so you came here to surf the, huh? Come on, there¡¯s a freeputer right here, I¡¯ll teach you how to y Demacia Championship!¡±


    ¡°Forget your freaking game, dude!¡± I said. ¡°There¡¯s going to be a random dorm room search any minute now!¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± eximed Dali. ¡°But it¡¯s going to be midnight soon, are they crazy?¡±


    ¡°Why else would they call them random room searches, you idiot?¡± I argued. ¡°Come on, hurry up! I heard that if they find out you¡¯re not in your room they¡¯ll never let you graduate!¡±


    Dali dropped everything and ran out of the inte caf with me. On our way he kept mumbling to himself about the excuse we could use to exin our absence. When we reached the main gate of the college, I saw a ck Mercedes parked there with a big burly man standing on the curb leaning on the car. He had a cigarette in his mouth, and it was flickering in the darkness.


    This had to be the police officer that Huang Xiaotao sent to pick us up.


    ¡°Get in the car!¡± I said.


    ¡°What car?¡± Dali asked. ¡°Aren¡¯t we going back to the dorm?¡±


    ¡°No, I lied,¡± I said. ¡°Huang Xiaotao just called and apparently there¡¯s a new case. I knew that if I didn¡¯t lie to you like that, there¡¯s no way you¡¯de with me.¡±


    ¡°Shit, dude!¡± he eximed. ¡°How could you betray your old friend like that? I didn¡¯t even say goodbye to the girl just now! No way, I gotta exin it to her.¡± He then pulled out his cell phone andunched the QQ app.


    When we got to the car, I saw a big burly man who was probably in his early forties. He had a cigarette in his mouth. His physique looked strong like that of a boxer¡¯s; his face was cold and jagged; his chin was full of stubbles; but the scariest things about him were his eyes ¡ª they were piercing, like that of a predator, and I knew when I looked at his eyes that he¡¯d killed someone before. If I didn¡¯t have that phone conversation with Huang Xiaotao earlier, I would¡¯ve assumed that he was a member of a triad.


    The second Dali saw the man, he immediately shuddered and hid behind me.


    ¡°Are you Song Yang?¡± the burly man asked, his voice hoarse and low.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I answered.


    I found that I didn¡¯t dare to meet his eyes, because it felt as if they were piercing through me like a pair of daggers. I could imagine him forcing confessions out of criminals without saying a word if he stared at them with those eyes.


    ¡°Team Leader Huang asked me to give you a lift,¡± he said, then stretched an arm to open the car door for us. ¡°Get in the car.¡±


    The end of his cigarette glowed in the darkness as he spoke, it looked almost like a tiny fireball.


    I was about to get into the car, but Dali grabbed my arms and stopped me.


    ¡°Dude,¡± he said, ¡°are you sure this guy¡¯s a police officer? Look at him! I sense something wrong with this guy. Why don¡¯t you ask him for his police badge before we go with him? He could be some criminal trying to get his revenge on us.¡±


    Iughed.


    ¡°We¡¯ve only solved one case, dude,¡± I said. ¡°And the only criminal we¡¯ve caught is Deng Chao, a college student. There¡¯s no way anyone would want to take revenge on us right now. You worry too much. Get in the car.¡±


    Dali reluctantly followed me into the car, sitting beside me in the back seat. I saw the police officer sweeping a nce at us through the rearview mirror before driving the car ahead.


    ¡°How should I address you?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°My surname is Wang.¡±


    ¡°Officer Wang,¡± I said, ¡°What kind of case are we going to investigate? Can you at least give us some rough details of what happened?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± echoed Dali, full of curiosity, ¡°you woke us up out of bed sote at night, so I¡¯m guessing it must be a huge case, right?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll see when you get there...¡± the burly officer replied monotonously.


    He said nothing else for the rest of the journey. I began to wonder why this man needed to be so terse and secretive. Then I suspected, just like Dali, whether he really was a police officer or not.


    Half an hourter, we were driving along a street with shops on both sides. Most of them were already closed, and the shutters were all densely covered with advertisements. I scanned through them and saw many signs that said ¡®adult healthcare¡¯ and ¡®sex supplies.¡¯ The street itself was littered with garbage and the dirty sewage flowed in the uncovered drain. Judging by my first impression alone, this was not a nice neighborhood at all.


    The car then turned into a narrow alley which was filled with many small hotels with bright neon signs. One of those was called the Yui Hotel. A few police cars were parked around this hotel, and the police beacon light illuminated the alley. There was a crowd gathered there too.


    ¡°Have you been here before?¡± Dali asked.


    I shook my head and said no. Although I¡¯d been studying here for four years, I rarely ever went out and explored the ce, so most of the area surrounding my college remained foreign to me.


    ¡°This ce looks really familiar...¡± Dali mumbled to himself. ¡°Right! It¡¯s a red-light district!¡±


    ¡°How did you know?¡± I asked him. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve been here before!¡±


    ¡°No way, dude!¡± he vehemently denied. ¡°I¡¯m not that kinda guy! I just heard about it from that fatso Sun ¡ª you know him, he stays on the same floor as we do! Haven¡¯t you noticed how shady that guy is?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say, I don¡¯t normally talk to people like that.¡±


    When Dali mentioned the words red-light district, I was reminded of a no man¡¯snd near Nanjiang City. It was near a bus stop, so there were many people there doing businesses, legal and otherwise. Violent fights among hooligans were amon urrence in that area, and they often ended with a few people dead. There were some really shady businesses there that scammed women from other countries with false promises of high-sried positions to go work there, but in the end, they were tricked into bing prostitutes. So that was the kind of ce that we were heading to.


    The burly officer finally stopped the car. The minute we got out, I saw Huang Xiaotao running towards me.


    ¡°Song Yang! Thank god you¡¯re finally here!¡± she said. ¡°We¡¯re at our wits¡¯ end about what to do!¡±


    ¡°What happened here?¡± I asked.


    ¡°A hotel customer found a woman¡¯s dead body under the bed in his room,¡± she exined. ¡°There¡¯s something strange about the way she died.¡±

 Chapter 31

    <h4>Chapter 31</h4>


    I wondered how strange a death could be. Was it because they couldn¡¯t determine the exact cause of death? But wait ¡ª that reminded me of a certain Jiangbei Daggers! Was he on the prowl again?


    ¡°Take me to the crime scene now!¡± I said.


    ¡°Okay,¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Follow me.¡±


    We went into the elevator and went up to the fourth floor. There were a few police officers in the hallway and a dark-skinned fat guy wearing big pants was squatting on the floor. He was stripped to the waist while wearing a pair of disposable slippers, and around his neck was a chunky gold chain. Beside him was a woman who was covering her body with a nket, also sitting on the floor, while both of her hands were holding her head and her long hair covered her chest area.


    If there was a reporter carrying a camera there as well, this scene would¡¯ve looked exactly like the raids of the brothels you¡¯d see in the news.


    The police officers were interviewing them, and the fat guy had a distressed expression on his face.


    ¡°I told you, Officer,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯re a couple. We love each other like Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai! We¡¯re not in the kind of rtionship that you use us of!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t just take your word for it. Show me your ID and your driver¡¯s license!¡±


    ¡°I told you I didn¡¯t bring them!¡±


    ¡°Who are you trying to fool?¡± replied the police officer. ¡°How would you check into your room without your ID?¡±


    ¡°Shit, dude,¡± said Dali, ¡°did we enter the wrong building? This is clearly a raid of the brothel, right?¡±


    Huang Xiaotao said these two were the ones who discovered the dead body. They came here and booked a room for the night but when they were about to do their business, the bed suddenly rocked. They checked under the bed and discovered that there was a corpse there! They were both scared out of their wits and they reported it to the police immediately.


    When the police arrived, they suspected the woman to be a prostitute and the man to be her ¡®client.¡¯ They asked for their IDs but neither would hand them over, so that was how they ended up stuck here with the police interrogating them. Huang Xiaotao said that they¡¯d already contacted the anti-prostitution team, so the two were in for some more interrogation.


    ¡°That guy has the worst luck,¡± I said. ¡°He came out to have fun but instead found a corpse underneath the bed! And now he¡¯s going to be interrogated by the police. I suspect that he¡¯ll be quite traumatized after this. He probably won¡¯t be able to get hard for a while.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao couldn¡¯t keep herself fromughing.


    ¡°Well he¡¯s only got himself to me!¡± she said. ¡°None of this would¡¯ve happened to him if he had just stayed at home.¡±


    Judging by the looks of it, I surmised that the murderer was probably not Jiangbei Daggers, because if it had been Jiangbei Daggers, the dead body wouldn¡¯t be hidden. In fact, he would go one step further and show the dead body off in a very public ce, just to mock the police!


    The fat guy was still stuck with the police officers. We passed by him and went into the room where they found the dead body.


    There were a few police officers who were examining the crime scene. Huang Xiaotao said they¡¯d collected a few dozens of unique fingerprints from the furniture and the walls. But that was to be expected since it was a hotel room where people came and went every day.


    I turned to the bed and saw that the mattress and bedframe had been removed, exposing the dead body underneath it.


    The dead body was of a slender woman. She had long hair that was trendily styled; she was only wearing bras and panties; her skin was so white it almost seemed to have a strange glow to it ¡ª it was clearly not a natural hue for human skin, but more like the white of bleached paper.


    She clearly died a horrible death. Her eyes were wide open, her hands were stiff like chicken ws, all the signs on her body showed that she suffered terribly before she died.


    Faced with this scene, Dali immediately hid behind my back. Huang Xiaotao saw it and red at him with contempt.


    ¡°Why did you bring this idiot here?¡± she asked. ¡°To act as the clown that ties his shoces during the crucial moment?¡±


    Clearly the memory of how Dali stopped to tie his shoces while she and I were trying to catch Deng Chao was still fresh in Huang Xiaotao¡¯s mind.


    ¡°But I¡¯m Song Yang¡¯s trusted assistant,¡± said Dali. ¡°He can¡¯t do anything without me!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± I said, nodding. Then I asked Huang Xiaotao, ¡°Did anyone move the dead body?¡±


    ¡°Just now Xiaozhou from the forensics team scanned the body with ultraviolet light to check for fingerprints,¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°But other than that no one has touched or moved the body.¡±


    ¡°Were any fingerprints found?¡± I asked.


    Huang Xiaotao was about to answer, but a man wearing dark sses with perfect slicked back hair walked in towards us and interrupted her.


    ¡°There was no trace of any fingerprints on the victim¡¯s body,¡± said the man in a haughty tone, ¡°and there was no skin tissue underneath the fingernails either.¡±


    ¡°This is Xiaozhou,¡± introduced Huang Xiaotao. ¡°He¡¯s a forensics expert, and he¡¯s solved numerous murder cases.¡±


    Xiaozhou slightly nodded then turned his eyes to me.


    ¡°So, you are Song Yang,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve heard so much about you from Team Leader Huang. I heard that you know of a traditional method to perform an autopsy. I would love to see that!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too kind,¡± I said.


    ¡°Still,¡± he said, smiling slyly, ¡°I would bet that you won¡¯t find anything no matter how much you try, because the perpetrator of this case is not a human being.¡±


    His provocations made me feel a bit ufortable. Police officers were people too, so there are numerous different types of them, and this Xiaozhou belonged to thepetitive group.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ll understand what I mean when you see it for yourself,¡± said Xiaozhou. ¡°Give them the rubber gloves.¡±


    A police officer handed us each a pair of rubber gloves, then we donned them on and walked up to the dead body. Xiaotao offered me a shlight to help me see better, but I told her I didn¡¯t need it.


    There were frightening teeth marks on the neck of the dead body ¡ª two distinct puncture holes that looked ck. I poked at them with my finger and was surprised to find that they were very deep. This meant that the teeth that bit the victim was very long indeed.


    ¡°Flip the body over,¡± I ordered.


    Once the body was flipped over, I noticed that there was no blood shade on the victim¡¯s chest and abdominal area. Blood shade was a term used by Traditional Coroners; in modern forensics it would be called livor mortis.


    Because there was no blood shade, this meant that the victim¡¯s body was sucked dry of her blood ¡ª and that was the reason why her skin was so white!


    ¡°Oh my god!¡± eximed Dali, his hand covering his gaping mouth. ¡°Whoever did this isn¡¯t a human being! A vampire killed her!¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t jump to conclusions before a thorough examination,¡± I said.


    This time Xiaozhou walked over to me and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Great Detective Song, but I scanned the dead body with ultraviolet light and aser spectrometer, and there were absolutely no traces of fingerprints on the victim¡¯s skin or clothes, so I think you shouldn¡¯t waste your time with another examination...¡±


    I detected the mockery in his tone, and it annoyed me very much.


    ¡°Just because you didn¡¯t find them,¡± I began, ¡° doesn¡¯t mean that they¡¯re not there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of you and your deeds,¡± he said. ¡°You somehow detected some handprints on the dead body using some kind of umbre, then Dr. Qin waspletely defeated by you and he had to apply for a transfer to another branch. Frankly speaking, Dr. Qin was not a good coroner at all, but he was old and had a lot of experience, so he could boss everyone around. He really brought shame to the police force.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao smiled wryly. Judging from the way Xiaozhou had been treating me, there was definitely something going on under the surface.


    ¡°Are you trying to say that you¡¯re much better than Dr. Qin?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Well, to be perfectly frank with you, yes,¡± he said. ¡°I studied in America and specialized in trace evidence analysis. I even attended a ss taught by Dr. Henry C. Lee! The equipment I use are all imported from America. There is no trace evidence under the sun that I cannot detect. To put it simply, if I didn¡¯t detect it, then there¡¯s only one reason for it ¡ª it does not exist!¡±


    I nced at the dead body. No corpse on earth would not have at least the tiniest trace of evidence on it. The only exception might be Jiangbei Daggers. But other than that, I was sure that I would find something on a dead body that would point towards the perpetrator. What Xiaozhou said just now was nothing but hot air.


    I sensed that this guy loved to boast about his own strengths ¡ª wouldn¡¯t it be fun to teach him a lesson?


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the definition of superstitious?¡± I teased. ¡°You put a hundred percent of your faith into these gadgets of yours. Crime investigations are like medicine ¡ª the most expensive drug isn¡¯t always the best drug. I¡¯m sure that as long as somebody touched the dead body, there will be some traces of the perpetrator left on it.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, what an impressive speech!¡± said Xiaozhou. ¡°How about you start proving it to me then?¡±


    ¡°And what if it turns out that I¡¯m right?¡± I asked with a smile. ¡°Do you want to bet on it?¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± answered Xiaozhou confidently. He looked around, then pointed to an ashtray on the bedside table. ¡°If you turn out to be right, I¡¯ll eat the contents of that thing. But if you¡¯re wrong...¡±


    ¡°If I¡¯m wrong,¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯ll eat the contents and the ashtray itself!¡±

 Chapter 32

    <h4>Chapter 32</h4>


    ¡°Did you hear that, everyone?¡± Xiaozhou announced to the room loudly. ¡°The great detective Song just said that if he can¡¯t find any traces of evidence on the dead body, he will eat the whole ashtray! The ashtray is made of ss, by the way.¡±


    The police officers who were busy working in the crime scene all turned their attention to Xiaozhou and started to murmur among themselves.


    ¡°That was bold, dude,¡± said Dali, getting nervous for me. ¡°What if you really lose?¡±


    ¡°And if I lose the bet,¡± continued Xiaozhou, ¡°then I¡¯ll eat the entire contents of the ashtray!¡±


    The crowd roared. But it was obvious that most of them were supporting Xiaozhou, not least because he was the leader of their team.


    I was confident with my grasp of autopsy techniques, but I still hated being provoked and challenged like this all the time. Just wait, I thought, you¡¯re in for a good show soon!


    ¡°Good!¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll take a look at the dead body for now. I¡¯ll tell you when I¡¯m going to start the inspection.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± said Xiaozhou. ¡°But don¡¯t you try to count your own fingerprints!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not so stupid or so shameless that I would do anything just to win...¡±


    Xiaozhou didn¡¯t miss the mockery in my reply.


    ¡°Fine,¡± he said with an undercurrent of anger in his voice, ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to the show you¡¯re about to put on.¡±


    After he left, Huang Xiaotao sighed and said, ¡°Song Yang, it¡¯s all my fault.¡±


    ¡°Why? What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked.


    Huang Xiaotao said Xiaozhou was a police officer who had studied abroad, and he was a little proud and arrogant because of that. He had just examined the dead body and reported the results to Huang Xiaotao. After reading the report, without thinking, she said, ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll just wait for Song Yang to examine the dead body too. He¡¯ll figure something out.¡±


    She didn¡¯t mean to belittle Xiaozhou¡¯s capabilities with thatment, but judging from his behavior, it was obvious that he took Huang Xiaotao¡¯s words to heart.


    Xiaozhou pestered her about the methods I used to examine dead bodies and where I learned them from, so Huang Xiaotao replied that I came from a family of Traditional Coroners. Xiaozhou felt insulted that he waspared to someone like me, and he set his mind up to show me what a real professional was like the moment he met me.


    ¡°It¡¯s all because I was a bad team leader,¡± said Huang Xiaotao, putting her hands up in the air. ¡°I should¡¯ve read the room and thought before I said anything.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault,¡± I said. ¡°I think it has more to do with his personality.¡±


    ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie,¡± said Dali, ¡°who has the higher rank between you and this guy?¡±


    ¡°Our ranks are equal,¡± she said. ¡°But I climbed up to this rank from the very bottom, while he obtained the rank of Superintendent the first day he entered the police force, which wasn¡¯t that long ago.¡±


    ¡°But why? That¡¯s unfair!¡± cried Dali.


    ¡°Because his credentials were much better than mine,¡± said Huang Xiaotao self-deprecatingly. ¡°He graduated from a renowned American university with a specialized degree while I was just a police academy graduate. How could I evenpare?¡±


    ¡°Geez,¡± said Dali, ¡°I never knew you need an academic degree to be a police officer. But he said he was Henry C. Lee¡¯s disciple, didn¡¯t he? I have to admit that¡¯s pretty impressive.¡±


    ¡°You heard wrong, Dali,¡± I said, ¡°he merely said that he was in a ss taught by Henry C. Lee. If he really was his disciple, we probably wouldn¡¯t hear the end of it!¡±


    I myself had read the books and journal papers that Henry C. Lee wrote. In fact, I¡¯d pored over all of the books about forensic science in the library during my college years. Theyplemented the knowledge that I learned from Collected Cases of Injustices Rectified, and thus I umted quite a bit of knowledge over the years.


    As the saying went, knowing oneself and knowing the enemy guaranteed a hundred victories in a hundred battles!


    ¡°Song Yang,¡± said Huang Xiaotao, ¡°I just heard Xiaozhou tell another member of the forensics team that there was something strange about the dead body. Perhaps the murderer did something to remove fingerprints. That¡¯s why he was so confident in betting against you. If you¡¯re not sure about this, I can sneak you out of here.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I said. ¡°Unless if the murderer really was a ghost, some clues must have been left behind!¡±


    I then pulled out a ck wooden rod that was about as long as the palm of my hand out of my backpack. Dali asked me what it was for.


    ¡°It¡¯s called an echolocation rod. It¡¯s made of cypress wood, and it¡¯s used for Organ Echolocation. This type of wood is dense, so it carries sound very well. I forgot to bring it with mest time. That¡¯s why you saw me putting my ear directly on the dead body.¡±


    I then double-checked that I had everything ready, then ced one end of the echolocation rod onto the victim¡¯s chest, abdomen, and back and listened from the other end while I tapped at the victim¡¯s skin. I discovered that the time of death was about seven days ago. I was d that I didn¡¯t forget the rod this time because without it, I¡¯d be cing my ears directly on a seven-day-old corpse.


    I paused my thoughts. Seven days?


    That would coincide withmon folk belief that the soul would return to the family on the seventh day after death. Didn¡¯t the couple who discover the body say that the bed rocked, which led them to look under the bed in the first ce? Could it be due to this reason?


    I had no authority on this subject, of course. A Traditional Coroner¡¯s job was to collect evidence and catch the murderer. As for spirits and ghosts and the like ¡ª well those things weren¡¯t my specialty.


    Back to the dead body. The victim lost a huge volume of blood, which significantly decreased the moisture content of the body. Plus, the dead body had been in an almost sealedpartment where the exposure was minimal. All that contributed to the fact that it had barely dposed, despite being a seven-day-old corpse.


    In truth, the dead body wasn¡¯t drained of all its blood, because I could hear residual blood clots in her chest cavity through Organ Echolocation. When the human body lost thirty percent of its total blood volume, the body would reach a state of shock. Once it lost about fifty percent of blood, the circtory system would shut down immediately and the person would experience paralysis, before dying shortly.


    Judging by various symptoms on the dead body, the total blood loss was at least seventy percent ¡ª more than enough blood to fill a couple ofrge Coke bottles! When I thought of that, my eyes subconsciously turned to the two huge puncture wounds on the victim¡¯s neck.


    Did she really die because a vampire had sucked her blood?


    I asked for a pair of scissors from Dali, then I cut up her bra and panties. Dali¡¯s jaw dropped.


    ¡°Dude!¡± he said. ¡°Can¡¯t you do thatter? Xiaotao-jiejie is still here!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± I spat.


    Huang Xiaotao herself was only observing with her arms folded,pletely unperturbed. She was probably used to this kind of thing, and she showed no reaction at all. The idiot Dali was the only one making a big fuss over it.


    It was absurd to me to still be concerned about a dead body¡¯s gender. In my eyes, they were merely inanimate objects.


    ¡°How do you n to examine the body, Song Yang?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked. ¡°Are you going to use vinegar steam likest time?¡±


    I shook my head. I did think of it, but I felt that the method wouldn¡¯t yield any results. As for Autopsy Umbre, well, it was past midnight by now, so it was out of the question.


    Autopsy methods should always be used and adapted ording to the time and conditions of the immediate environment ¡ª so I decided to use a new approach this time!


    I asked Dali to get me my bag. From the bag, I took a roll of good Xuan paper and a bottle of Camellia oil. Dali was curious and asked me what they were for.


    ¡°To check for handprints, of course,¡± I said.


    I didn¡¯t use the word fingerprints, because I had a suspicion that it might be impossible to detect fingerprints on this body after all.


    Xiaozhou heard us and immediately marched across the room towards us.


    ¡°Yo! Great Detective Song is beginning his autopsy! This will be a good spectacle!¡±


    ¡°Keep your eyes peeled then!¡± I said.


    I asked Dali to turn the body over. Judging from the puncture wounds, it was evident that the murderer held the victim face down as he sucked her blood. This meant that if there were any handprints to be found, it would be on her back.


    Besides, Xuan paper and Camellia oil were both ridiculously expensive, so there was no way I was going to test for handprints on the whole body. A four-square-inch Xuan paper cost 20 yuan per piece, while Camellia oil cost 100 yuan per gram, making this Oil Paper Test the most expensive method of autopsy passed down by Song Ci!


    I ced a sheet of Xuan paper on the victim¡¯s back, then very carefully dropped the oil onto it, making sure that the paperpletely absorbed it. The oil-soaked paper gradually became transparent, and now the skin below it was visible. I then ced a second piece of Xuan paper onto the first, repeating the same process.


    ¡°Hey! You shouldn¡¯t use oil on the dead body! Now we¡¯ll have to clean it u¡ª¡± Xiaozhou stopped mid-sentence, his widened eyes were fixed on the dead body.


    ¡°Look!¡± cried Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Something¡¯s appeared!¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I see anything?¡± asked Dali, squinting his eyes. The idiot was chronically short-sighted but hated wearing sses, so he needed a lot of effort to see anything that was not tantly in front of his eyes every single time.


    Outlines of handprints gradually appeared on the oil-soaked Xuan paper, but they were still indistinct, and to the average person they were only slightly darker than the color of the surrounding skin. But to my eyes, they were as clear as day!


    In fact, the positions of the handprints were exactly where I expected them to be.


    I thenyered a third piece of Xuan paper on the first two, then gradually soaked it with more Camellia oil. Then, I repeated the process with the fourthyer of Xuan paper, and then the fifth...


    At one point, the oil wouldn¡¯t turn the paper transparent anymore, and the color of the topyer of Xuan paper remained the same except in a few spots. Gradually, a distinct shape emerged ¡ª the ¡®dry¡¯ patch of the paper that didn¡¯t turn transparent formed the outline of two clear handprints!


    ¡°Holy shit, that¡¯s awesome!¡± cried Dali.


    ¡°How did you do that, Song Yang?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Th-that¡¯s... That¡¯s impossible!¡± eximed Xiaozhou. ¡°I got it! You¡¯re a fraud! It must be some kind of trick! You must¡¯ve done something to the paper!¡±

 Chapter 33

    <h4>Chapter 33</h4>


    I pulled out a stack of Xuan paper from my bag and shoved them into Xiaozhou¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Go ahead, check it yourself!¡± I said. ¡°Then tell me what kind of trick I used!¡±


    Xiaozhou¡¯s expression turned ugly and he stared fixedly at me.


    ¡°Go get my toolbox now!¡± he barked.


    He then took out some gadgets and tools and chemicals from his toolbox and began to scrutinize the Xuan paper. I couldn¡¯t be bothered with him so I went back to the dead body and examined the two handprints. Huang Xiaotao ordered a police officer to take pictures of the handprints as evidence.


    Each of the two handprints was very clear and they were both on the victim¡¯s shoulder des, which meant that the murderer pressed her down with immense force while sucking her blood.


    Ipared the handprints with my own palm, and found that they were slightly bigger than mine. Judging by the shape and size, the murderer was probably an adult male aged between twenty to thirty.


    There was one strange thing about the handprints.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t there any fingerprints on these handprints?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao. So she noticed it too.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The murderer probably damaged his fingerprints somehow, or maybe he wore a glove.¡±


    I shook my head and pointed at a few spots on the handprints, saying, ¡°Look at these. These are clear lines of joints, which meant that the murderer didn¡¯t wear gloves. And if they did damage their fingerprints, there would¡¯ve been messy folds and lines where the fingerprints should be, but instead, they¡¯re all smooth and featureless.¡±


    ¡°Then what could be the reason for it?¡± wondered Huang Xiaotao. She looked adorable as she leaned her head to the side as she was thinking hard.


    At that moment, Xiaozhou was done examining my Xuan paper. His face looked even worse than before, almost as purple as an eggnt.


    Naturally, there was no problem with my Xuan paper, but the bastard refused to acknowledge it.


    ¡°It makes no sense that this ordinary piece of paper is more effective than my high-tech American equipment!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re as stubborn as a mule!¡± I sneered. ¡°Just because you lost to me doesn¡¯t necessarily mean that my traditional method is better than your high-tech equipment. You just lost to your own conceit. You never bothered to learn these ordinary methods that our ancestors left for us, yet you¡¯re so eager to apud and defend these foreign gadgets.¡±


    ¡°Here you go,¡± said Dali. ¡°Piping hot ashes and cigarette butts, fresh from the oven!¡± He took the ashtray and handed it to Xiaozhou, but Xiaozhou refused to take it.


    I took the ashtray and held it in front of him.


    ¡°Come on,¡± I said, ¡°Honor your words. If you eat them, I¡¯ll tell you why you didn¡¯t detect any handprints earlier.¡±


    This time everyone in the room swarmed around us with excitement. Most of them were on Xiaozhou¡¯s forensics team.


    ¡°Go away!¡± he barked. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to watch me!¡±


    Then he grabbed the ashtray from my hand and dumped the whole contents into his mouth. Most of it missed his mouth and just fell to the ground, though, but I couldn¡¯t be bothered to point it out.


    His mouth was covered with ashes, and he forced himself to chew the cigarette butts in his mouth with a torturous expression on his face. I had to bite my lips very hard to stop myself fromughing because I didn¡¯t want to humiliate him any more than that.


    Dali had no such restraint, though. He openlyughed and tapped at my shoulder to say, ¡°Dude, look at his face! Do you think he likes the taste of cigarette butts?¡±


    Even Huang Xiaotao couldn¡¯t control herughter, but she at least tried to do it discreetly and covered her mouth with a hand.


    You didn¡¯t need to try them to know that the cigarette butts tasted horrible. Xiaozhou strained himself and forced them down his throat, then wiped his mouth with his sleeve.


    ¡°Now tell me why.¡±


    ¡°I have read Western books on forensic science before, and the methods you use to detect fingerprints is based on the principle that human sweat nds produce a certain amount of oil, so anytime our fingerse into contact with the surface of an object, there will be fingerprints left on that surface. So, you use aluminum powder and ultraviolet light to detect these fingerprints. Unfortunately, the murderer in this case is out of the ordinary...¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Xiaozhou asked impatiently.


    ¡°He has no sweat nds,¡± I answered. ¡°Or even if he does, their secretory function is defective.¡±


    ¡°But all humans have sweat nds!¡± said Xiaozhou, astounded. Everyone else was stunned as well, and they began to debate about it among themselves.


    ¡°You know, I have to thank you,¡± I said.


    ¡°Thank me?¡±


    ¡°Huang Xiaotao told me that you graduated from an American university,¡± I said, ¡°so I trust that you would¡¯ve used every method possible to detect fingerprints. That saved me a lot of time, because then I knew I had to use the oil paper test.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± said Xiaozhou. ¡°But if he has no sweat nds, then where did these handprintse from?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re yang energy prints,¡± I exined. ¡°At the moment of death, the electrical currents in the body will instantaneously escape from the pores of the skin. And if the skin was blocked by an object, an impression of the surface of the object will be left on the skin. So, it didn¡¯t matter if the murderer had any sweat nds or not. You¡¯ve heard that the weight of our body decreases by 21 grams after death, have you? Some people im that it¡¯s the weight of our souls, but in fact, it¡¯s the weight of the electric current in our body that dissipates the moment we die.¡±


    Xiaozhou¡¯s eyes widened. He let out a long sigh.


    ¡°You are truly extraordinary,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve underestimated our ancestors¡¯ knowledge ¡ª I¡¯m definitely wrong for doing that.¡±


    It appeared that this guy was much better than Dr. Qin. At least he was humble enough to admit his fault. My impression of him started to improve.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much about it,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ve been studying science for so many years. It¡¯s only natural that you¡¯d distrust me when you heard that I¡¯m a Traditional Coroner. I hope that we can work together as a team from now on.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep my mind open and ask for your advice from now on,¡± he said. ¡°And I¡¯ll try not to be so proud.¡± He hesitated for a while, then stretched out a hand to me. And so we shook each other¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get back to work!¡± I said to the police officers who were watching us.


    ¡°What more do we have to examine?¡± Dali asked.


    This was clearly not a straightforward case at all. I had to let go of how expensive Xuan paper and Camellia oil were and just examine the whole body with the oil paper test. With Dali¡¯s help, we managed to cover the victim¡¯s wrist, waist, thigh, and ankle.


    Oil paper test was a time-consuming method, and it took us almost an hour toplete it. There were signs that point towards the victim being bound by some kind of cloth on her wrists and ankles, and we found another pair of handprints on her waist.


    As we were hard at work, Xiaozhou stood beside the dead body and observed our every movement with fascination ¡ª he didn¡¯t seem to doubt my capabilities anymore!


    ¡°Give us a hand!¡± I said.


    ¡°Okay,¡± he said. ¡°How can I help?¡±


    ¡°You and Dali slowly lift the victim¡¯s arm up,¡± I ordered.


    As they lifted the victim¡¯s arms, I ced the echolocation rod on her shoulder de and listened to the sound, then repeated it on the other shoulder. If the victim had been fixed in a position before she died, her joints would secrete ayer of lubricant; when she died, this lubricant would solidify. Because of that, if the dead body was restored back to the position before death, the joints would produce a unique sound that can be detected using the echolocation rod.


    This was a technique that enabled the coroner to determine the exact position that the body was in at the moment of death, and it was called Corpse Positioning. It was developed by a member of the Song family who served as a magistrate at the Dali Temple, and his name was Song Tianyang. He perfected the technique of Corpse Positioning to such an advanced level that it was said that he could make the dead body move on its own back to the position before death by using maic acupuncture. ording to the records, the scene of a dead body moving seemingly of its own ord almost scared another official out of his wits!


    This ancestor used to demonstrate this technique in court, and made the dead body ¡®move¡¯ on its own, pointing out the murderer among several suspects. The murderer immediately confessed to his crime.


    We kept on adjusting and moving the limbs of the dead body carefully, until finally finding the original position that the victim was in before death.


    Both of her hands were held up above her head, just like the position of Jesus at his crucifixion, and it seemed that she was hung on the wall! It was truly a harrowing sight.


    I carefully observed every inch of the wall. It¡¯s very likely that there would be some kind of hook here that allowed the murder to hang up the victim¡¯s two hands. I touched the wall with my fingers, and discovered that the wallpaper was freshly pasted, and it felt like there was a peephole behind the wallpaper.


    ¡°Someone nailed something onto this wall,¡± I said, ¡°and it was recently patched up!¡±


    I used my Cave Vision to scrutinized every inch of the wall, and found a line on the wallpaper that was slightly bulging up from the t surface of the wall. I tore the wallpaper away and discovered that it was a ck wire.


    When electric wires were installed in a building, they¡¯re always buried in the wall and protected by a stic tube as a fire prevention and safety measure. The fact that this wire was hidden behind the wallpaper meant that someone deliberately installed an electrical device but wanted to keep it hidden.


    ¡°We have to find where it connects to!¡± I said.


    ¡°Everyone, give us a hand!¡±


    Xiaozhou ordered the members of the forensics team to tear down the wallpaper and pull out all the wires. They finally found a pinhole camera next to the main ceiling light of the room, and it seemed to be pointing at the bed below it.


    Everyone gasped.


    ¡°Must be some pervert! That¡¯s disgusting!¡± eximed Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°But this means that we might find a major clue from the camera!¡± I said.


    Huang Xiaotao nodded.


    ¡°Get the hotel manager here now!¡± she ordered one of the police officers.

 Chapter 34

    <h4>Chapter 34</h4>


    Not long after that, there was amotion outside the room. I thought it was the hotel manager being brought in, but Dali strained his neck and looked outside and said, ¡°It¡¯s the anti-prostitution team taking the fat guy and that girl away.¡±


    ¡°Judging by the victim¡¯s state of undress,¡± said Huang Xiaotao, ¡°do you think she and the murderer were in that kind of rtionship too?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t just make that assumption,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll have to verify it.¡±


    I drew in a breath.


    Frankly speaking, I was a virgin. Examining the genitalia of a seven-day-old corpse was a daunting task for me. But there were no other coroners in Huang Xiaotao¡¯s team, so if I didn¡¯t do it, no one else could.


    When she saw me hesitating, Huang Xiaotao said, ¡°Let Xiaozhou do it. He probably has more experience.¡±


    Xiaozhou waved his hands immediately.


    ¡°Nope,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m an expert in collecting physical evidence, I¡¯m not a coroner!¡±


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll do it,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s not a difficult thing to do anyway.¡± And so, I pushed the victim¡¯s legs apart, to which everyone in the room reacted by immediately taking a few steps backwards, then I bent down, gave myself a bit of encouragement, and inserted my fingers into that certain organ.


    I wouldn¡¯t describe what it looked like, how it felt, or how it smelled; suffice for me to say that after that I waspletely turned off to watching porn.


    I asked Dali for my shlight. I held it in one hand and examined the skin of the victim¡¯s inner thighs, then nodded and said, ¡°There was indeed that kind of activity going on.¡±


    I asked Xiaozhou for some cotton swabs, then pulled out a small bottle from my bag. Then, I dipped the cotton swabs into the bottle, covering them with the medicinal powder inside.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°A medicinal herb that I prepared myself,¡± I said. ¡°It contains peri extract, magnolia extract, wampee fruit, thorowax root, and kudzu root.¡±


    ¡°I know nothing about Chinese medicine,¡± she said, shaking her head. ¡°Just tell me what it does.¡±


    ¡°This medicinal powder can drain the bodily fluid out of the body.¡±


    And so, I inserted a few cotton swabs deep into the victim¡¯s vagina, I could hear everyone else¡¯s disgusted expressions immediately, especially Dali¡¯s.


    ¡°Dude!¡± he said. ¡°Are you really a virgin? You¡¯re acting like it doesn¡¯t bother you at all!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± I said. Did the idiot think that I was enjoying this? He didn¡¯t know that I was traumatized by it for a long time after that.


    When the time came to remove the cotton swabs, things would get even more... interesting!


    The hotel manager arrived, so Huang Xiaotao said, ¡°I¡¯ll go and talk to him. Song Yang, you stay here and continue with your, um, work...¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I replied.


    Huang Xiaotao then brought the hotel manager to another room to interrogate him. It wasn¡¯t to intimidate him, but more to prevent from making too much noise in the hallway while I was still working in the room. She understood that I needed the room to be quiet for me to be able to work.


    I used forceps to examine the two puncture wounds on the neck, and saw that the surroundings were growing a bit dark. It looked like a bacterial infection, and the human being¡¯s mouth was usually a host to a myriad of bacteria.


    ¡°Dude, do you think the murderer is a vampire?¡± asked Dali.


    ¡°Impossible,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m a hundred percent sure that the murderer is a human being!¡±


    Someone knocked on the door ¡ª it was the burly police officer that picked us up at college earlier. He looked around the room and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the team leader?¡±


    ¡°Interrogating,¡± I said. ¡°You can tell me what you¡¯re going to tell her.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve identified the victim. She¡¯s a prostitute working in a nearby salon, and she has been missing for a week. Since it¡¯s amon urrence, and their business isn¡¯t legal, they didn¡¯t report it.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Tell me about the victim.¡±


    ¡°Her name is Ma Lizhen, twenty-three years old, came from a family of farmers. She came into the city for work five years ago.¡±


    ¡°Whoa! She started bing a prostitute at the age of eighteen!¡± eximed Dali.


    I fixed my stare at him, and he shut up immediately and slowly lowered his head in shame.


    It was almost time to pull out the cotton swabs. I warned everyone that there was going to be an ¡®explosion¡¯ and that if anyone felt they wouldn¡¯t be able to stomach it they should leave the room now.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll be fine, dude,¡± said Dali. ¡°I¡¯ve got a heart of steel.¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself. But I warned you.¡±


    I then pulled out the cotton swabs. Instantly, a whitish sticky fluid sprayed out of her genitalia with considerable force. It even came in multiple waves, so after the first spurt, it stopped for a few seconds, then the fluid began spraying out again.


    Everyone there was understandably horrified. I heard groans and cries. Some people couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and ran out of the room. Dali himself covered his mouth and rushed to the bathroom to throw up, but it was already full of other people who got there first. He kept circling around aimlessly while covering his mouth, not knowing what to do. He finally found a paper bag and immediately threw up in it. The room was suddenly filled with a horrible stench. I could even detect the smell of chive omelet that Dali had for dinner earlier this evening mixed up in that rotten stench.


    By then even Xiaozhou¡¯s face had gotten green, but he could still hold it in and kept hisposure. The only person who waspletely unaffected was the big burly police officer from earlier. He stood there as if nothing happened, in fact he even looked slightly bored ¡ª I had mad respect for the man.


    I took the cotton swabs and held it near my face, then I sniffed them. I could smell different types of bodily fluids, but no semen.


    ¡°The murderer had sex with the victim,¡± I said, ¡°but there¡¯s no sign of direct contact.¡±


    ¡°Maybe he wore a condom...¡± Xiaozhou postted.


    I took another sniff. I could distinguish the smell of various kinds of bodily fluids ¡ª vaginal discharge, blood residue, urine and an overwhelming stench of rotted flesh ¡ª but no lubricant.


    ¡°No,¡± I said. The murderer didn¡¯t wear a condom.¡±


    ¡°Then... Is he impotent?¡± Xiaozhou asked.


    I nced at the dead body. The murderer didn¡¯t sweat, he engaged in sexual intercourse with the victim but didn¡¯t ejacte ¡ª all these observations pointed to one conclusion.


    ¡°The murderer has a rare disease!¡± I said. ¡°His body can¡¯t secrete any bodily fluid!¡±


    ¡°Is this relevant to the case?¡± asked Xiaozhou.


    ¡°Yes, very much so!¡± I said. ¡°The murderer doesn¡¯t sweat, so he can¡¯t be exposed to sunlight. He would have to wearyers of tight clothes that cover his whole body; he would wear sunsses and face mask all the time; and he would live like a vampire in this city. Oh, by the way, did you find any hair samples?¡±


    ¡°Only the victim¡¯s,¡± said Xiaozhou.


    ¡°Right!¡± I said. ¡°If the murderer¡¯s body cannot secrete any bodily fluids, that means all the hair would¡¯ve fallen off soon after it grew. That means that the murderer is alsopletely hairless!¡±


    ¡°Th-then...¡± Xiaozhou¡¯s expressions worsened. ¡°Then is he really a human being?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± I said. ¡°A human being who stands out starkly in a crowd. That makes finding him easier!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao knocked the door.


    ¡°Good, you¡¯re all here,¡± she said. ¡°Come on, there¡¯s a big discovery.¡±


    I pulled off the rubber gloves and realized that my hands were all sticky from the sweat after having worn gloves for so long, and my nose had been assaulted by the stench in that room for too long too, so I took out a box of mint candy from my pocket and popped one into my mouth to refresh myself with the cool minty taste.


    Having just thrown up, Dali looked very sickly, so I asked him if he wanted one too. He shook his head vehemently.


    ¡°Shit, dude, what¡¯s wrong with you? How could you eat anything after what just happened? I don¡¯t want to touch any food right now.¡±


    ¡°I wonder who it was that said he had a heart of steel.¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on! Stop mocking me!¡± Dali was on the brink of tears.


    Perhaps Dali was right about there being something wrong with me. I realized that my tolerance for the macabre had advanced a little after thest case we worked on.


    We then came to a room where a young man wearing porter uniform was sitting on the bed looking dejected.


    ¡°He¡¯s the one who put up the camera in the room,¡± said Huang Xiaotao in a stern voice. ¡°He spilled everything the minute we put pressure on him.¡±


    ¡°A-Am I going to get... arrested?¡± the porter asked.


    ¡°Are you? Viting the privacy of others is a serious crime ording to the Public Security Code, Act... uh...¡± Huang Xiaotao couldn¡¯t remember no matter how hard she tried to, and she stood there awkwardly scratching her head.


    ¡°Act 42,¡± said the burly police officer with a nk expression.


    ¡°Yes, Act 42! If anyone reported you then expect to be jailed and fined! And of course, we police officers have the right to report too, so it all depends on your behavior now.¡±


    The porter stood up and said, ¡°But it¡¯s only a hobby of mine! It was all for me alone, I never shared it with anyone else, and I never used it to ckmail anyone!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got the nerve to use the word hobby,¡± I said. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just rent some adult movies instead?¡±


    ¡°Ah, but they¡¯re not the same,¡± said the porter. ¡°Those are all scripted, unlike these footages which are raw, and real, and exciting. I¡¯d always watch the recordings before going to bed, otherwise I wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep...¡± At that point the porter realized that he¡¯d gotten carried away. He noticed how everyone red down at him with furious looks in their eyes, so he lowered his head down in shame.


    ¡°Did you stick the wallpaper on the peephole?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he answered. ¡°I was checking the room when I noticed the hole in the wall. If the boss saw that, he would¡¯ve taken the wallpaper down and saw my cameras, so I took the initiative to do it myself...¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you see someone died in their room seven days ago?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Mister, I¡¯ve got cameras in so many rooms!¡± said the porter. ¡°I¡¯ve got a hundred hours¡¯ worth of recording every day! There¡¯s no way I could¡¯ve seen them all! In fact, I only select a few of the best ones when I get a break from work, and only watch them on my days off.¡±


    ¡°Your life must be really interesting.¡± I mocked.


    ¡°I hate this kind of people the most!¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°They couldn¡¯t find a girlfriend so they use strangers to fulfill their filthy desires. It¡¯s disgusting!¡±


    Perhaps it was because Huang Xiaotao was a woman so this issue affected her especially. Plus, she was a very beautiful woman, it¡¯s possible that she had experienced something simr first-hand, so that it infuriated her even more.


    She kicked the porter¡¯s leg and yelled, ¡°Go get all your recordings now!¡±

 Chapter 35

    <h4>Chapter 35</h4>


    The porter stuttered out the words ¡®I¡¯ll be back in a minute,¡¯ then ran to his locker room to get his stuff.


    ¡°What if he runs away?¡± asked Dali.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry,¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t dare. I know this type of guy very well.¡±


    She smiled and gave Dali a knowing look.


    Then she noticed how terrible everyone looked, so she asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with all of you? You look like you¡¯ve all just seen a ghost! What happened just now?¡±


    I rted everything that happened to her. She sniggered and said, ¡°Is that what you grown men are scared of?¡±


    ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie,¡± said Dali, ¡°you weren¡¯t there, so don¡¯t act so tough! Why don¡¯t you go and take a look yourself? Maybe you¡¯ll throw up too!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not an idiot, so there¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to walk into that room.¡±


    Soon afterwards, the porter came back with an incredibly huge USB drive, as big as a wallet. It was probably what they call an external hard disk.


    ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve got a huge collection there,¡± Huang Xiaotao coldly said.


    The porter flinched.


    ¡°These are all raw recordings that haven¡¯t been edited yet. If you want the edited version, I can go back and get the other hard drive.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, bastard!¡± scolded Huang Xiaotao. ¡°No one wants to see your disgusting edited version!¡±


    There were noputers in the hotel, but there was a wall-mounted television with a USB slot at the back, so Huang Xiaotao ordered the porter to connect the external hard drive to the television and get her a remote control. We eventually found more than a hundred files of video recordings. I thought to myself if the police really wanted to report this guy, they had enough evidence to keep him in jail for months.


    There was a room number and the date under each file, so Huang Xiaotao found the appropriate one for this case and opened it.


    Dali hid behind my back again, which cracked me up.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked. ¡°Do you think that the murderer is going to crawl out of the screen?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Dali. ¡°But I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s gonna be anything gruesome in the video that I can¡¯t stomach. It¡¯s better to be safe than sorry!¡±


    I felt likeughing. What was there to be careful about? It was just a video recording, not one of those cursed videos where everyone who watched would die within three days or something. Although to be frank, I was never scared when watching horror movies anyway.


    The videosted for six hours, and the first part of it was pitch ck as the room was still unupied. Huang Xiaotao pressed fast forward to the middle part of the video, when something was finally happening. A young woman wearing a red minidress and carrying a small handbag walked into the room, and she was followed by a man.


    The man¡¯s clothes were a stark contrast to the young woman. He wore a ck sweater, a mask on his face, and sunsses.


    Xiaozhou gasped and said, ¡°He¡¯s exactly as Song Yang described!¡±


    ¡°This angle is terrible!¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°I can¡¯t see his face at all!¡±


    ¡°Be patient,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s watch on.¡±


    The woman in the video sat on the edge of the bed and chatted with the man in ck. Because the video did not record sound, we could only guess what they were talking about.


    They talked for about five minutes, then the young woman lit up a cigarette.


    ¡°When is she going to strip?¡±mented Dali with irritation.


    Everyone stared at him with contempt. Dali was so embarrassed he almost buried his head in his chest.


    Then the man in ck disappeared for a period of time. The young woman stayed on the bed, looking at her phone. Huang Xiaotao jotted something down on her little notebook and checked the young woman¡¯s phone number.


    After a while, the young woman finally began to take off her clothes. She stripped down to her bra and panties, then the man appeared once more, but this time he waspletely naked, and everyone drew in a sharp breath when they saw what he looked like.


    The man didn¡¯t have a single hair on his body, his skin was as white as paper and as skinny as a rail.


    ¡°Shit! It really is a vampire!¡± said Dali.


    ¡°No,¡± said Xiaozhou. ¡°That skin color is probably the result of not being exposed to ultraviolet light for a very long time, resulting in the loss of mnin.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯d be nice if my skin was that fair,¡± said Huang Xiaotao casually. In truth her skin wasn¡¯t dark at all, it just had a very slight healthy tan to it. She realized that everyone was staring at her, so she said, ¡°What? It¡¯s just a passing thought! Go back to watching the video!¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re doing it!¡± said Dali, full of excitement. I wish it wasn¡¯t toote for me to im that I didn¡¯t know the idiot.


    The young woman was lying on the bed, when suddenly the man took out two strands of ribbons from somewhere that was not captured in the camera. The victim¡¯s two feet were tied with one of those ribbons, while the other ribbon was used to tie both of her hands, and the ribbons were then hung somewhere that¡¯s outside of the camera¡¯s view.


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting,¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°The victim seemed to consent to being bound. I thought she would be struggling against it.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps the man increased the amount of money he would pay her?¡± I suggested. ¡°They were probably discussing it earlier on the bed.¡± As I spoke, the realization that the young woman waspletely oblivious to the fact that she had fallen into a death trap hit me. When I thought of how the person on the screen would soon die a horrible death, a wash of sorrow swept over me.


    I then noticed that the man in the video did not seem to be putting nails into the wall. Had he already done it before that day?


    Then the man climbed on top of the young woman¡¯s body and they started having sex. The room was mostly filled with men, so even though they were working on an official investigation, most couldn¡¯t help but be interested in what was happening on the screen. Only Huang Xiaotao was blushing, and she shoved the remote control into my hand, saying, ¡°Press fast forward!¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I said.


    The moment I pressed fast forward, I could hear the disappointment in the room. It felt as if I¡¯d snatched a cookie out of a child¡¯s hand.


    I must admit, though, that the mansted pretty long. I had to skip forward to about fifteen minutester when I saw him lean down suddenly. I stopped the fast forward, and exactly at that moment, the man bit the woman on her neck!


    The woman started to violently struggle and convulse due to the sharp pain. She seemed to try to free herself, but her hands and feet were tightly bound. The man pressed on her shoulders to pin her down, so her struggle waspletely in vain.


    Even though the video was silent, it took nothing away from the horror of the spectacle. Just as everyone¡¯s full attention was focused on the video, a grotesque face suddenly appeared right in front of the camera, as sudden as a jump scare scene in a horror movie. The face that appeared was as ck as the bottom of an old pot while the eyes were blood-red, and protruding out of the mouth was a long pair of sharp fangs!


    ¡°Ah!!!¡±


    Dali¡¯s scream drowned out the whole room. His loud cries shocked me even more than the actual face that appeared on the screen. The facepletely obscured the view of the camera. Suddenly I noticed something wrong about the face.


    ¡°This face does not belong to a human being!¡±


    ¡°Is... Is it a vampire?¡± asked Xiaozhou.


    I wondered if this guy really was a graduate from a foreign university. Why did he always think of vampires?


    ¡°It¡¯s a bat,¡± the burly officer said monotonously.


    It¡¯s only after that that everyone else noticed that it was indeed a bat. I continued the video, and saw the bat wrap itself up with its wings andpletely blocking the camera¡¯s view, which was really inconvenient for us.


    I pressed fast forward and skipped about an hour of recording before the bat finally disappeared. But by then, the whole room was pitch ck. The murderer had probably already checked out of the room, and the bed now seemed neat and tidy.


    ¡°The damned bat!¡± cursed Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Blocking the view at a very crucial moments! We didn¡¯t even get to see the murderer¡¯s face yet.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely a vampire!¡± said Xiaozhou. ¡°Why else would there be a bat in a hotel room? You guys have heard of the legend of Count Drac who lived in medieval Europe, haven¡¯t you? It is said that he could turn himself into a group of bats...¡±


    ¡°Can you be more realistic?¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Stop attributing everything to vampires!¡±


    ¡°But vampires are real!¡± said Xiaozhou. ¡°When I was studying abroad, I read a book about the history of vampires, and it said that vampires could be a tribe of people who preserve the wild ways of life and was afraid of sunlight who don¡¯t eat but suck blood instead. If they are real in the West, then they must be real here too.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll prove it to you that the murderer is not a vampire but just a human being that is a little bit different from other people.¡± Then I turned to Huang Xiaotao and said, ¡°Xiaotao, keep rewinding and see who got into this room before the murderer and the victim. Dali, let¡¯s go back to the crime scene.¡±

 Chapter 36

    <h4>Chapter 36</h4>


    Dali and I went back to the room where the murder happened. I looked up at the ceiling and saw some faint stains on it¡ªjust as I expected!


    Because the dead body was still on the bed, I couldn¡¯t just step on the bed to check the stains above. So, I asked Dali to get me adder. I then went through the forensics team¡¯s toolbox and got myself a bottle of alcohol and some cotton swabs.


    Soon, Dali came back with adder. I told him to set it up right next to the bed.


    ¡°What are you up to now, dude?¡± he asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡±


    I stepped on thedder and gently rubbed the stain on the ceiling with a cotton swab that I¡¯d dipped in alcohol. The alcohol dissolved the stain, lifting whatever substance it was onto the cotton swab. When the alcohol evaporated, the substance of the stain would remain on the cotton swab, which could then be tested. This was the method that modern forensic investigators used to collect liquid evidence.


    I took a sniff at the cotton swab, then told Dali to smell it too.


    ¡°I don¡¯t smell anything, dude,¡± he said, shaking his head.


    ¡°No, there¡¯s definitely the smell of eel blood,¡± I said. ¡°Someone sprayed it onto the ceiling to attract bats.¡±


    I then looked up at the ceiling again and noticed the stain pattern.


    ¡°It was probably sprayed on with a water gun...¡± I said.


    ¡°Song Yang,e here now!¡± That was Huang Xiaotao¡¯s voiceing from the other room.


    We ran back to the other room, and Huang Xiaotao showed us the recording of the same room on the day before the murder urred. There was a man wearing a mask dressed like a cleaner sneaking into the room. He nailed a nail onto the wall, then took out a water gun and shot some kind of liquid onto the ceiling.


    I told them about the eel blood I found on the ceiling.


    ¡°Bats are naturally attracted to the smell of blood,¡± I said. ¡°Especially eel blood which has a particry rich scent. This is the perfect way to attract bats!¡±


    ¡°This is enough proof that the murderer is a human being,¡± I added. ¡°Not a vampire.¡±


    Xiaozhou¡¯s face turned red.


    ¡°Maybe vampires can¡¯t turn into bats,¡± he said. ¡°But the rest of the legend is still true. There are always going to be some gaps between legends and reality.¡±


    I could see it now. Xiaozhou¡¯s mind was set on believing that the murderer was a vampire. He insisted on that when he made a bet with me, and he wasn¡¯t nning to change his mind anytime soon.


    ¡°If he really is a vampire,¡± I said. ¡°Then we shouldn¡¯t have seen him in the video.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Xiaozhou.


    ¡°Vampires cannot be reflected in the mirror and can¡¯t be photographed. You should have heard of this in the legend, right?¡± I asked. ¡°In that case, we shouldn¡¯t be able to see him in the video.¡±


    ¡°But that might just be a part of the legend that¡¯s not true!¡± Xiaozhou muttered.


    ¡°If this part is not true and that part is not true either,¡± said Dali, ¡°then are you sure if there¡¯s anything in the book you read that is true at all?¡±


    Xiaozhou looked embarrassed and firmly insisted, ¡°The mechanism behind a digital video camera is totally different from a reflection on the mirror or the lens of a camera, though! Maybe a video camera like this one could capture the image of the vampire, who knows?¡±


    ¡°If the man really was a vampire,¡± I said, ¡°I don¡¯t think that the victim is going to just lie there and let us examine her without getting up and biting everyone. You must¡¯ve heard that those who get bitten by vampires will be vampires themselves, haven¡¯t you? Isn¡¯t that enough proof?¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± said Xiaozhou, finally relenting slightly. ¡°Maybe the murderer in this case isn¡¯t a vampire, but that doesn¡¯t mean that vampires don¡¯t exist at all in this world!¡±


    There goes the stubborn mule again, I thought. If vampires did exist, and that they never aged and never died, the world would¡¯ve been filled to the brim with vampires and there would¡¯ve been no humans left.


    Huang Xiaotao repeated the video and watched it two more times. She furrowed her brows and asked, ¡°Can¡¯t the video be erged?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not a high-definition camera,¡± said the porter.


    ¡°Song Yang, did you find anything here?¡± she asked.


    I stared at the video hard.


    ¡°The cleaner is probably the murderer¡¯s aplice,¡± I said. ¡°His age is probably between 45 to 50, weighing around 80 kilograms, and is of a medium build. Judging by the way he¡¯s acting in the video, this isn¡¯t his first time here. He knew where to aim on the ceiling when he was spraying the eel blood with the water gun. He probably knew that there was a camera hidden there.¡±


    ¡°If he knows about the hidden camera, then that¡¯s suspicious!¡± said Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Maybe he used to work in a hotel before,¡± the burly officer postted. ¡°Small and shady hotels like this one usually have hidden cameras near the television and the mirror.¡±


    ¡°Also,¡± I said, ¡°he¡¯s had a stroke before.¡±


    ¡°How could you possibly know that?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Can your eyes see that too?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± I answered,ughing. ¡°The clues are right there on the screen. Watch carefully if you don¡¯t believe me.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao yed the video again and watched it twice, but she couldn¡¯t find anything.


    ¡°I still have no idea what you¡¯re talking about, Song Yang,¡± she said, scratching her head. ¡°What clues are there?¡±


    ¡°I noticed that he limps a little when he walks,¡± said the burly officer. ¡°Is that the clue?¡±


    I raised my thumb and said, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s one of the clues. But that alone wouldn¡¯t be enough. The other clue is...¡±


    I rewound the video using the remote control, and stopped it the moment the cleaner entered the room and was leaning the broom on the wall. I pointed to his wrist and said, ¡°Look, the left sleeve of his shirt doesn¡¯t cover his wrist.¡±


    ¡°So?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    I then fast forwarded the video a bit to the part where he was shooting the water gun with his right hand.


    ¡°Now look at how the right sleeve covered half of the man¡¯s hand,¡± I said. ¡°This means that his hands are of different lengths¡ªthat¡¯s an aftereffect of a stroke.¡±


    ¡°Not necessarily,¡± said Xiaozhou. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just that his clothes don¡¯t fit him well, or that the sleeves themselves are of different lengths.¡±


    ¡°Yes, there is that possibility,¡± I said, ¡°but whenbined with the limp he has when he walks, doesn¡¯t that make it more probable that he¡¯s had a stroke?¡±


    Everyone agreed.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a point,¡± Huang Xiaotao admitted. ¡°But it gets harder and harder for me to believe that you¡¯re just a normal college student, seeing that you know so much.¡±


    Dali waved his hands in front of my eyes and said, ¡°Dude, how is your eyesight so good? You saw so many things that we didn¡¯t even notice!¡±


    I smiled modestly. In truth, recognizing themon pathological features of various diseases was one of the basic skills of a Traditional Coroner.


    Now that we found out so many characteristics for the aplice, Huang Xiaotao easily found the check-in record of the hotel¡¯s guests. This cleaner was called Zhao Tieniu, a fifty-year-old farmer who lived in a vige near the city.


    Based on our investigation, he must¡¯ve booked a room for two days as a guest, then dressed up as a cleaner and snuck into the other room to do what he did. The next day the murderer and the victim arrived, the murderer managed to leave the crime scene without leaving any clues behind.


    In addition to that, the security cameras in the hallway had been turned away to another angle, and the staff of the hotel didn¡¯t notice it, so the face of the murderer was never captured. Huang Xiaotao suspected that Zhao Tieniu was responsible for this too.


    But I noticed something was wrong.


    ¡°This is strange,¡± I said. ¡°The aplice dressed up as a cleaner to sneak into the room, proving that he didn¡¯t want his face to be seen. But then why did he check in using his own ID?¡±


    ¡°You mean to say...¡±


    ¡°It must be a fake ID!¡±


    ¡°In any case, it¡¯s still a clue...¡± Huang Xiaotao then turned to an officer and said, ¡°Xiaoxu, you go to the Household Registration Department and find out about this Zhao Tieniu.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± she said, turning back to me, ¡°I asked Wang Yuanchao to take you and Dali back to your college.¡±


    ¡°Wang Yuanchao?¡± I asked.


    She pointed to that reticent burly officer.


    ¡°Officer Wang used to be the chief drill instructor in the Chinese People¡¯s Armed Police,¡± she exined. ¡°He was transferred to the Criminal Division because of an injury. Don¡¯t underestimate him because he¡¯s quiet¡ªhe¡¯s actually a dangerous fighter! I¡¯ll entrust the task of picking you up to him from now on¡ªyou¡¯re the precious gem of our team after all. I wouldn¡¯t want anything bad to happen to you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for that kind thought,¡± I said. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll be relying on you from now on, Officer Wang.¡±


    He coolly nodded.


    Dali went in and patted Wang Yuanchao¡¯s back.


    ¡°I thought you were just an average police officer!¡± he said. ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought that you were something as cool as the chief drill instructor! Isn¡¯t Panther Head from the Water Margin himself an instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards too?¡±


    ¡°Team Leader Huang,¡± said Xiaozhou, ¡°I think you¡¯re mistaken about something. Wasn¡¯t Drill Instructor Wang transferred to our department because he was punished for disobeying his orders and killing sixteen drug traffickers?¡±


    Dali¡¯s jaw dropped to the floor. He slowly lifted his hand off Wang Yuanchao¡¯s shoulder and backed away. Huang Xiaotao red at Xiaozhou and angrily spat, ¡°Is it so hard for you to shut up sometimes?¡±


    Wang Yuanchao waved his hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s all in the past now.¡±


    I looked at Wang Yuanchao and couldn¡¯t help but be in awe with the man. He appeared to be a big mountain of ice on the outside, but he was a fierce ball of fire on the inside. Although judging from what I¡¯ve seen, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising to hear that he had a tendency for violent outbursts.


    We returned to the crime scene. The police officers packed up the dead body while I burned a few joss papers and recited a few chants to help with the victim¡¯s soul¡¯s passing to the next realm.


    Huang Xiaotao pped her hands and said, ¡°All right, everyone! It¡¯s now 3 a.m. so you should all go back and take a rest. Tomorrow we¡¯ll have a meeting at eight in the morning. Anyone who¡¯ste will get a cut in their bonus!¡±


    ¡°Do I need toe too?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Absolutely!¡±


    ¡°But surely my bonus won¡¯t get cut if I¡¯mte, right?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to risk it?¡± threatened Huang Xiaotao, holding up her clenched fist in front of me.

 Chapter 37

    <h4>Chapter 37</h4>


    Early next morning, I was woken up by the ring of the rm clock, but getting out of bed turned out to be a pain in the ass. I got dressed and shouted at Dali to wake the hell up, but he covered his head with a pillow and adamantly refused to get up.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just let me sleep for a bit longer, dude?¡± heined. ¡°Why should a college senior like me live like a high school student? I don¡¯t wanna go to that meeting!¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself,¡± I said. ¡°But don¡¯t expect to get a share in the bonus!¡±


    Dali suddenly sat up in his bed, ¡°Hey, wait a minute!¡±


    We soon got dressed and called a cab outside the main gate of the college.


    ¡°You¡¯re both college students, aren¡¯t you?¡± asked the cab driver. ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard the news about the dead prostitutest night? I hear she died a really horrible death!¡±


    ¡°How did you know?¡± Dali asked.


    ¡°Haha, you can¡¯t beat us cab drivers when ites to the news,¡± he said. ¡°Last night, the hotel owner took a cab. He told the driver that the hotel operated without a license, and now that this happened there¡¯s nothing he could do but to close it down. Oh, and he said something about a college student invited by the police to help them with the case. He said the kid was cool and good-looking, and that he could quickly notice details that no one else could see...¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡± I asked, feigning surprise.


    ¡°Can¡¯t the police solve the case themselves?¡± asked Dali. ¡°Why did they need to invite this college student?¡±


    ¡°It sounds like he¡¯s no ordinary college kid,¡± said the driver. ¡°Wasn¡¯t there a murder with a headless body in the college recently? I heard that it was this very kid who solved the case. Ah, to think that my son who¡¯s probably the same age just spends the whole day ying video games!¡±


    ¡°Mister, you really are up-to-date with your news!¡± I praised.


    ¡°Of course!¡± he said unironically. ¡°By the way, what are you doing going to the police station so early in the morning? You¡¯re not helping the police solve a case, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ve just got some personal business to settle.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, and I thought that maybe I got lucky and one of you turns out to be that detective kid!¡± he said. ¡°If that happened, I would¡¯ve given you a free ride! Hahaha!¡±


    Soon we arrived at the police station, and as we were paying the fare for the cab, Huang Xiaotao walked out of the parking lot and saw us. She greeted us, ¡°Hey, Song Yang! Dali! You¡¯re on time! The meeting is on the third floor!¡±


    The driver¡¯s eyes widened. He pointed at me and said, ¡°So you really are the detective kid?¡±


    ¡°Yup,¡± I said with a smile.


    ¡°By the way, didn¡¯t you say you were gonna give us a free ride?¡±


    ¡°What are you guys talking about?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    When turned back to the cab, all we saw was dust and car exhaust, as the cab driver had sped away as fast as he could. Dali tried to chase him but it was toote.


    ¡°Come back!¡± shouted Dali. ¡°You greedy, dishonest scum!¡±


    ¡°Did he trick you or something?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked. ¡°I can help you call the traffic division and drag him back here!¡±


    ¡°No, no,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. We were only joking around.¡±


    ¡°Have you eaten breakfast?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Nope!¡± I shook my head.


    Huang Xiaotao pulled out her phone and dialed a number.


    ¡°Hello? Yes, two more sets of the same breakfast, please. The same address, yes, third floor conference room.¡±


    ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie!¡± Dali cried, full of joy, ¡°Are you buying everyone breakfast?¡±


    Huang Xiaotao smiled.


    ¡°You all stayed up verytest night, and you had toe so early today, so you need a good hearty breakfast to restore your energy. We humans tend to get moody and irrational when we don¡¯t sleep and eat well. I can¡¯t help with your sleep, so the least I can do is to make sure you eat well!¡±


    ¡°That is wise and experienced of you,¡± I said.


    ¡°I learnt it all from my master,¡± she replied.


    We arrived at the conference room on the third floor. It wasn¡¯t eight o¡¯clock yet, but there was already a group of police officers sitting around chatting casually to each other. My impression of the criminal division was of police officers seriously discussing cases. In reality, it was different. Police officers were human beings too, and they had mundane things to talk and chat about, like their kids or new television shows. Only Wang Yuanchao sat there in the corner all alone with a cigarette in his mouth.


    Dali elbowed me and said, ¡°Looks like our Mr. Drill Sergeant doesn¡¯t fit in much.¡±


    ¡°Maybe he likes sitting alone!¡± I said.


    After a while, the food arrived. A deliveryman came in carrying two huge bags full of food. Huang Xiaotao announced to the room that anyone who hadn¡¯t had breakfast yet could go and get the food. The atmosphere instantly brightened up. Some people even cheered.


    The food was almost luxurious. There were soy milk, fried dough, shrimp fritters, pot stickers and more. Huang Xiaotao cleared her throat and said, ¡°Okay, now that everyone¡¯s here, let¡¯s summarize all the clues we¡¯ve got.¡±


    She pulled out a whiteboard full of photos and wrote down all the keywords on the board. Then, she exined everything point by point. These were, of course, everything that I already knew.


    Once that was done, she asked, ¡°Does anyone have anything to add?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve checked the ID card of the cleaner,¡± reported a police officer, ¡°and it turns out to be a counterfeit. Some criminals who have faked ID cards in Nanjiang City are specialized in this. The identities used in the faked IDs are usually taken from uneducated farmers in rural viges, and this particr ID is no different.¡±


    ¡°I called the rtives of the victim, Ma Lizhen,¡± said another officer. ¡°She had not been in contact with her family for many years. The family didn¡¯t even know what she was doing in Nanjiang City, much less anything to do with her disappearance and death!"


    ¡°I went to the Ministry of Communications early this morning,¡± said another officer, ¡°and transferred the surveince camera at the intersection of the hotel. The man who photographed the suspected murderer left the hotel at 8 a.m. on October 4th, but the image was very unclear and the face was blurred.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao then assigned new tasks, and the forensics team analyzed the videost night to see if they could unearth new clues. Other police officers went to major hospitals to investigate a middle-aged man with a history of stroke and to find anyone who had close rtionships with the victim Ma Lizhen.


    After she finished speaking, she turned to me and said, ¡°Song Yang, do you have anything to say?¡±


    ¡°I suggest to check if there are any patients with external protein allergies in Nanjiang City,¡± I said. ¡°This is a very rare gic disease that may be rted to the murderer.¡±


    Everyone whispered among themselves after hearing what I said.


    ¡°External protein allergy?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao. ¡°What is this disease? I¡¯ve never heard of it before.¡±


    I exined that people with this disease are not able to absorb certain types of proteins and they would often suffer extreme allergic reactions. A moremon example was allergies to peanuts, in which case eating peanuts could even be life-threatening.


    I spected that the murderer suffered from this disease, that his body rejected most forms of protein in everyday food, except for blood. The body had also undergone some changes due to the long-term shortage of protein, such as fear of the sun, pale skin, and hairlessness.


    ¡°But if you can¡¯t eat food, then how does this person survive? asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°By sucking blood.¡± I said inly.


    ¡°Dude,¡± whispered Dali, ¡°didn¡¯t you sleep with mest night? When did you find this information?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean sleeping with you?!¡± I yelled. ¡°I couldn¡¯t go to sleep because I kept thinking about the casest night, so I climbed out of bed and flipped through my past reading notes. Fortunately, I found something out, otherwise I¡¯d be having insomnia all night.¡±


    ¡°Then how many hours did you get to sleep?¡± asked Dali.


    ¡°Not more than two hours.¡± Honestly, I was a little sleepy when I was sitting there. My eyelids felt heavy and I couldn¡¯t wait for the meeting to be over so I could find a ce to lie down and sleep.

 Chapter 38

    <h4>Chapter 38</h4>


    ¡°Those who are going to visit the hospitals,¡± Huang Xiaotao ordered, ¡°please also find out more about this strange blood-sucking disease.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± I interjected. ¡°I want to visit all the major orphanages in Nanjiang City.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Well, this is just my spection,¡± I said. ¡°If there are no officers avable to apany me, I can go alone. But you¡¯ll have to provide me an official document as proof that I¡¯m working with the police.¡±


    ¡°Never mind, I¡¯ll go with you,¡± said Huang Xiaotao. She then ended the meeting and let everyone go on about their tasks.


    Dali and I were soon in Huang Xiaotao¡¯s car. She looked up locations of orphanages in Nanjiang City on the GPS.


    ¡°The nearest one is the Loving Welfare Home,¡± she said. ¡°Let¡¯s go there and take a look.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± I chirped. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a short nap. I can¡¯t keep my eyes open any longer.¡± After that, I put the front passenger seat down and soon fell asleep.


    The next thing I knew, I heard Huang Xiaotao¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Get up, we¡¯re here.¡±


    I opened my eyes and saw a white building covered with green vines outside the car window. The sign that said ¡®Loving Welfare Home¡¯ was hung on the door at the courtyard. I yawned, then felt grateful that I took a nap because I was much more refreshed now.


    Huang Xiaotao took a wet wipe out of her purse and handed it to me so I could wipe my face. I thanked her.


    As I was wiping my face I said, ¡°You police officers really are hard working. You must get very little sleep. How can your skin stay so nice and clear?¡±


    Huang Xiaotao opened the glovepartment and I saw a lot of facial masks inside.


    ¡°When I do get to sleep, I¡¯ll cover my face with hydrating masks!¡± she said.


    ¡°Whoa, these are all imported brand facial masks, you usually spend a lot of money like it¡¯s no big deal at all. You doe from a rich family, don¡¯t you?¡± I looked at all the luxury brand masks that must¡¯ve cost hundreds of yuan, and I waspletely stunned.


    ¡°It¡¯s a secret!¡± she whispered with a naughty smile. ¡°Let¡¯s get going! Hey, Dali...¡±


    I heard snoringing from the back seat. When we turned around, Dali was lying in the back seat, sleeping soundly. Huang Xiaotao was ready to wake him up, but I stopped her.


    ¡°Never mind, let him sleep,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s go check this orphanage. I¡¯m not confident that we¡¯ll find anything in the first ce we look.¡±


    We walked into the orphanage and asked the person in charge if there was a child with very pale skin, afraid of the sun, and had no body hair. The person in charge led us to the medical office to find a thick medical record file. After reading it, we finally decided that there was never such a child here. We left and thanked the staff there.


    ¡°Why do you think the murderer used to be in an orphanage?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you for now,¡± I said. ¡°There are probably a few more orphanages in Nanjiang City. I¡¯ll tell you when we¡¯ve visited all of them.¡±


    ¡°And if we find nothing?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll treat you to a meal,¡± I said.


    Huang Xiaotao sneered, ¡°A meal paid by a poor student like you?¡±


    ¡°It would be my honor to treat a beautiful woman to a meal,¡± I said with a faint smile on my face.


    We soon went to three more orphanages, but found nothing. Luckily, Huang Xiaotao drove her own car. If it had been just me and Dali, we¡¯d spend most of the time just waiting for the bus.


    At noon, Huang Xiaotao drove to a drive-thru and ordered two set meals. As she was ordering, Dali suddenly sat up and said, ¡°I want fried chicken wings and arge Coke with lots of ice.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao red at him and snapped, ¡°How do you wake up so easily when it¡¯s time to eat?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how my biological clock works,¡± replied Dali with a wide grin. ¡°No matter howte I sleptst night, I would always wake up when it¡¯s lunch time the next day. Aren¡¯t I amazing, Xiaotao-jiejie?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re no different from a pig!¡± said Huang Xiaotao. She then asked the waitress for another set meal.


    After we finished eating, Huang Xiaotao searched on the GPS again.


    ¡°Song Yang, there¡¯s only one orphanage left in Nanjiang City,¡± she said. ¡°You better decide where we¡¯re going to have dinner because you¡¯re paying if we don¡¯t find anything here either.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± I nodded.


    ¡°Food stalls by the street don¡¯t satisfy me, you know,¡± she added with a smirk. ¡°So you¡¯d better be prepared to dig deep into your wallet!¡±


    After more than an hour, we came to thest orphanage. It was called the Sacred Heart Orphanage. The location of this orphanage was rtively rural, and it looked like a church that stood alone in a birch forest. The ce was quiet and peaceful, and there was a big white cross on the spire of the building.


    ¡°Is it a church?¡± Dali asked.


    ¡°I remember that this orphanage receives donations by Christians in Nanjiang City. That¡¯s why it was built this way,¡± Huang Xiaotao exined.


    We pushed the door into the orphanage. The courtyard was quiet, and leaves fell from the birch trees next to the road like a gentle rain.


    There was a nun sitting in the doorway, knitting a sweater. When we came in, she asked who we were looking for. Huang Xiaotao exined everything to her and the nun immediately gasped.


    ¡°Oh, I remember a child who was just as you described!¡±


    I exchanged a look with Huang Xiaotao. We¡¯vee to the right ce!


    The nun said that the child was adopted twenty years ago. At that time, he was only seven years old. Because he looked strange and was afraid of the sun, several nuns, pastors, and the director himself had heated arguments about him, suggesting that he was probably a demon child and that they should not have taken him in. Yet, the kind dean resolutely opposed it. He said that even if he was a demon child, the glory of God would influence him and he would be led to the path of faith and virtue.


    This child seldom ate any food. He would never touch food such as milk, meat, and peanuts. He had a bony face, and was as thin as a rake. He was in that state of malnutrition for a long time. He fainted once, and a nun injected nutrients into his body, but unfortunately that injection almost killed him. He developed ayer of blisters all over his body. He kept wailing in pain on the ground and it frightened everyone.


    There was something frightening about the child. When the nun was checking the garden one night, she found that all the chickens in the chicken coop had died. She thought that a weasel had snuck in, but instead saw that child in the chicken coop, blood still dripping from his mouth, and his eyes were even glowing like an animal! She was so terrified that she almost lost her wits!


    Because of this incident, the child was confined for three days, but he was born with an extremely introverted personality, so the confinement was not really a punishment for him. In fact, he even preferred to stay in the dark room.


    Later, he even bit a nun on her neck, almost killing her. Everyone felt that they couldn¡¯t endure it any more, and threatened to stop working there if the director did not take the child away. Some people even said that the child was a descendant of Cain and should be left under the sun to die.


    The dean vehemently disagreed. He said that the child should be pitied, not hated. If he was driven out, he was afraid that he would not survive a single day. He also said that when God exiled Cain, he said that ¡¯Everyone who kills Cain will be punished seven times over.¡¯ If this child was indeed a descendant of Cain, killing him would definitely bring on a curse!


    So, the director took the child to the atonement room, educated him all day, and used the Bible to influence him.


    The director was apassionate person. He had always been a saint in everyone¡¯s eyes. Eventually, even this child changed under the director¡¯s influence. Since then, he never bit anyone again, although everyone was on guard and extra cautious when he was around, and he was not allowed to go too close to the other children.


    That was until he was eighteen years old when he escaped from the orphanage, and then nothing was heard of him again. For the staff in the orphanage, it was as if this nightmare was finally over.


    After listening to the aunt¡¯s narrative, I am certain that this person was the murderer we were looking for!


    ¡°What is his name? And do you have any other details about him?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t know much about him,¡± said the nun. ¡°But I can take you to the director if you like.¡±


    ¡°Yes, please!¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°That would be so helpful of you!¡±


    On the way, Dali suddenly asked me, ¡°Dude, what the hell does the descendant of Cain mean?¡±


    ¡°Cain is a figure in the Bible,¡± I exined. ¡°ording to legends, he was the ancestor of all vampires. So, Count Drac, the Vampire Queen, and all the other vampires are said to be the descendants of Cain.¡±

 Chapter 39

    <h4>Chapter 39</h4>


    ording to the Bible, Adam and Eve gave birth to two sons¡ªCain and Abel¡ªafter stealing the forbidden fruit. Cain was responsible for growing vegetables, and Abel was responsible for rearing livestock.


    When the two brothers made sacrifices to God, Cain only used some of the fresh vegetables that he grew, but Abel sacrificed the most deliciousmb he had. Because of that, God preferred Abel¡¯s offerings, causing Cain to be jealous, and he eventually stoned his brother Abel to death because of this jealousy.


    None of this escaped the eyes of God. God called Cain to himself and asked where Abel went. Cain lied and said that he did not know. God became angry and cast a curse on Cain and his descendants. They were henceforth exiled and would never receive the glory of God ever again!


    Some theologians believe that since then Cain was driven out of the Garden of Eden and became a blood-sucking monster. His descendants also lived in ghoulish castles, and every time they appeared, legends of terrifying vampires would crop up, notably like the legend of Count Drac in Europe.


    ¡°Dude,¡± said Dali, ¡°you even read the Bible?¡±


    ¡°No, I haven¡¯t read the Bible,¡± I said. ¡°But I encountered these legends in other books.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it ironic that there is a vampire in the ce where God is worshipped?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Miss, it¡¯s not like that,¡± the nun said. ¡°Where there is light, there is always darkness as well. God and the devil are like the two sides of the same coin. Besides, the child had improved after he received the education from the director.¡±


    ¡°That child didn¡¯t improve at all,¡± said Dali. ¡°He just sucked a woman¡¯s blood a few days ago...¡±


    Huang Xiaotao gave Dali a look, and the aunt asked in astonishment, ¡°Is it true?¡±


    Huang Xiaotao had no choice but to say, ¡°We are still investigating the case. The identity of the murderer is still inconclusive.¡±


    The nun made a cross with her fingers across her chest and muttered, ¡°May the Lord forgive his sins.¡±


    She then led us to the door of an office and knocked on it.


    ¡°Come in,¡± said the voice of a man inside.


    The nun opened the door and exined, ¡°Director, these people are from the police. They¡¯re here to investigate a certain case.¡±


    We then went in. There was a desk in front of the door, and a man who was about fifty or sixty years old with salt-and-pepper hair and sses was sitting at the desk, typing. There were stacks of books on the desk, most of which were rted to the Bible.


    The director stood up and said, ¡°I apologize for the mess. Please have a seat. Ren-mama, will you go and pour a few cups of tea for the guests?¡±


    Dali¡¯s ears pricked up at the use of the suffix -mama. He leaned close to me and whispered, ¡°Ren-mama?¡±


    I smacked him with my elbow and told him not to talk indiscriminately.


    ¡°It¡¯s not what you think, idiot!¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s an honorary suffix for nuns, and totally different from what you see in the drama My Fair Princess.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao gave the director a brief exnation. He nodded, then said, ¡°I do remember a child that fits your descriptions! His name was Bai Yue. In fact, I was the one who gave him this name. White is his skin color, and the night is his favorite time of day. His life was incredibly tragic. I heard that his mother was a prostitute, but he was too young to remember his mother¡¯s appearance and name. For professional reasons, his mother abandoned him. He was a loner for a long time, and he rarely interacted with other children.¡±


    ¡°A... prostitute?¡± Huang Xiaotao was visibly surprised.


    It seemed like there was a reason why Bai Yue chose a prostitute as his victim.


    ¡°Director, do you know where Bai Yue went?¡± I asked.


    He shook his head.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± he said. ¡°After he escaped, we heard nothing of him at all. I was worried about him at the time, and I sent people around to find him.¡±


    ¡°How do the orphans who grow up here live once they get older?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We will teach them some basic knowledge,¡± said the director, ¡°which is equivalent to the nine-yearpulsory education, so that they can have the skill to support themselves after adulthood. Of course, some orphans are willing to stay and serve God after they grow up.¡±


    I saw that the director¡¯s office was very simple and praised, ¡°You are truly an admirable person! You¡¯ve built this orphanage and contributed so much to society!¡±


    The director smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re too kind. I was an orphan when I was a child, and I survived because of the grace of the Lord. Therefore, I am willing to dedicate my life to him! The orphanage has only been established for several years. It used to be extremely difficult, but gradually we¡¯re getting better as there are now government grants and donations from all walks of life, and some grown-up orphans asionallye back to help as well.¡±


    We finally said thank you and prepared to leave before we even finished the tea. But before I left, I suddenly remembered something and asked the director, ¡°By the way, have you seen Bai Yue recently?¡±


    When I asked this sentence, I used Cave Vision to observe his reaction. The dean was slightly surprised and then calmly replied, ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°Okay, thank you!¡± I nodded.


    After going out, Huang Xiaotao asked me, ¡°How did you know that we¡¯ll find clues to the murderer¡¯s identity in the orphanage?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s actually more like a wild guess,¡± I said.


    ¡°A wild guess?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Bai Yue looks strange and he has the propensity to suck blood,¡± I said. ¡°Whoever gave birth to such a child would be mortified to say the least. So, I guessed that there were two possibilities: one is that the parents took him to the major hospitals for medical advice, and the other is that he was simply abandoned."


    ¡°So you thought if there was no clue to be found in the hospital, there will be clues in the orphanage?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Bingo!¡±


    When I left the orphanage, I repeatedly thought about the director¡¯s reaction. When people lied, there would be some bare detectable reactions. They were called microexpressions in psychology, and examples included when the person¡¯s eyebrows were slightly raised, or when their eyes could not focus in one ce, and when their lips tightened.


    When I talked to the director just now, he did have some abnormal reactions. But I wasn¡¯t sure if it was because he was lying or if it was because he noticed that my eyes changed color. Besides, I¡¯d never used this technique in real life before.


    Huang Xiaotao saw me looking at the orphanage and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Song Yang?¡±


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s do a small test,¡± I said.


    After that, I suddenly turned on my Cave Vision. My eyes shocked the two, and Dali asked, ¡°Dude, your eyes just changed colors! You¡¯re not some kind of monster, are you?¡±


    ¡°Dali, how many times have you been beating the meat this week?¡± I asked.


    Dali widened his eyes, ¡°Dude, what the fuck?¡±


    ¡°How many times?¡±


    ¡°Zero! I don¡¯t do those kinds of dirty things!¡±


    I turned off my Cave Vision.


    ¡°You lied,¡± I said.


    Dali¡¯s face turned red. Beating the meat was no big deal at all among guys, and it¡¯s a subject that we joked about quite often, but it was a totally different thing when Huang Xiaotao was right there with us, so I understood why Dali would be hesitant to talk about it.


    ¡°Dude, why would you expose me in front of Xiaotao-jiejie like that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll buy you some ice cream when we go back,¡± I said.


    I exined that I was just testing to see the micro-expressions when people lied. Dali reacted excessively, yet the director looked calm, but they actually had the same kinds of reflex¡ªnostril ergement, pupil contraction, and slight redness of the ears. The reactions were fleeting, but it definitely did not escape my Cave Vision.


    Through this test, I was very sure that the director lied¡ªhe had definitely seen Bai Yue recently!


    Huang Xiaotao was shocked.


    ¡°I knew it! The saintlier someone¡¯s reputation is, the less credible they are! Song Yang, should we rush back and confront him about it?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said, ¡°I don¡¯t think that would make any difference. Since he is set on keeping it a secret, there¡¯s nothing we can do to make him say it. Also, we don¡¯t have a search warrant. I suggest sending a few police officers to monitor him here. For the time being, it¡¯s better to just let him believe that we don¡¯t suspect him at all.¡±


    ¡°Okay, then let¡¯s do that!¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°By the way, what did you mean by beating the meat?¡±


    ¡°It means...¡± I can¡¯t think of a way to answer her. I found it surprising that Huang Xiaotao was not familiar with the expression. But then again, it might not be so surprising if she had never had a boyfriend before.


    ¡°It¡¯s a game, a new mobile game!¡± Dali quickly interrupted. ¡°We boys love to y it!¡±

 Chapter 40

    <h4>Chapter 40</h4>


    It was already five o¡¯clock in the afternoon when we came back from the orphanage. Huang Xiaotao drove the car back to the city and found a grilled fish stall to treat us to dinner.


    She was on the phone the whole time we were eating. Being the task force leader seemed to be very busy job.


    When she put down the phone, I asked, ¡°Is there any progress?¡±


    ¡°No substantial progress at present,¡± she answered. ¡°The best time to investigate a murder case is within the first forty-eight hours. The time of discovery of this corpse is simply toote. I¡¯m worried that it might turn out to be a longsting battle!¡± Huang Xiaotao frowned.


    ¡°If only you had another body, then maybe it¡¯ll be easier,¡± said Dali without thinking.


    The two of us red at him, and Dali immediately tried to exin himself, ¡°But you see it in movies all the time! You get one body after another, and then the real killer gets caught!¡±


    ¡°You potty-mouthed idiot!¡± Huang Xiaotao snarled.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid what Dali said might happen,¡± I said. ¡°This isn¡¯t a case of personal vendetta. It¡¯s more like a targeted serial killing! In seven days, I am worried that a second victim will be found in another corner of this city.¡±


    ¡°Bai Yue wants to take revenge on his mother who abandoned him, so he targets prostitutes¡ªisn¡¯t that just like Jack the Ripper?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Yeah, I agree.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°Then like the case of Jack the Ripper, will it remain unsolved forever?¡± asked Dali.


    Huang Xiaotao gave him a look.


    ¡°Is it so hard for you to just shut up sometimes? Geez!¡± she said.


    ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll just shut up and eat now!¡± said Dali.


    At this time, the waiter brought a tall ss of milkshake that Huang Xiaotao ordered to the table. When Dali saw it, he remembered what the corpse spewed out at the crime scenest night and had to rush to the bathroom with his mouth covered.


    ¡°You idiot!¡± Huang Xiaotaoughed.


    After dinner, Huang Xiaotao intended to send us back, but it was already dark, and the police station was far away from our school. I didn¡¯t want her to get more tired than she already was, so I told her that we would take the bus back.


    Before she left, she said, ¡°We still need to unpack and analyze the clues at hand, so I¡¯ll call you when we need your help again.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± I replied.


    The next two days were uneventful, but on the evening of the third day, Huang Xiaotao suddenly called. Her tone was particrly serious.


    ¡°Song Yang, someone might get killed tonight, can youe and take a look at it?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? What happened?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I already asked Wang Yuanchao to pick you up. Wait for his car at the main gate.¡± After saying that, Huang Xiaotao hang up the phone before I could say anything.


    Dali had just gone to sleep. I woke him up and heined, ¡°Why does it have to happente at night...¡±


    ¡°Are youing? If you¡¯re noting, then I¡¯m going alone!¡± I said.


    ¡°Ah, wait... I¡¯ll just go get dressed now.¡± Dali then climbed out of his bed.


    We slipped out of the dormitory and waited for a while outside the college main gate. We saw Wang Yuanchao¡¯s car pull up. After I got into the car, I asked him what happened. Why did Huang Xiaotao say that someone might be killed tonight?


    ¡°You¡¯ll know when you get there.¡±


    As the car drove on, I found that we were heading towards the Sacred Heart Orphanage. After arriving at the ce, many police cars surrounded the orphanage, and the nun that we met that day was also there. Huang Xiaotao was screaming at two police officers.


    ¡°How could you let a middle-aged man escape? Who¡¯s going to take responsibility if someone died?¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± I asked.


    Huang Xiaotao said that they searched the hospitals in the city for two days and found dozens of stroke patients who met the characteristics. However, they were all found to be unrted to the case after questioning, so they expanded the scope and searched for people who received special treatments for stroke in the neighboring city. The hospital found the medical record of the orphanage director, and he suffered a stroke a year ago.


    Huang Xiaotao immediately realized that the director was probably the aplice!


    So, she called and ordered the policeman in charge of monitoring the director to quickly apprehend him. Unfortunately, the director had already escaped through the back door of the orphanage. ording to the people in the orphanage, the director never went out at all, so it was more likely that he just went out to go assist the murderer.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go check his office first,¡± I said.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    We went into the Dean¡¯s office and found that the light in the room was still on. The policeman who was just yelled at by Huang Xiaotao defended himself, saying, ¡°We saw the light from the distance and thought that he was always inside, so we got careless...¡±


    Huang Xiaotao shook her head and sighed.


    ¡°It¡¯s my fault,¡± she said. ¡°I should¡¯ve put more people around the orphanage.¡±


    I looked at the room. There was a Bible and a pen on the table. There was an ashtray with burnt paper inside it. A forensics team member was going to pick it up. I Immediately cried, ¡°Wait!¡±


    There might be important clues on this piece of paper. It had already burned into ashes, and I was afraid that it would be shattered if anyone touched it. I said to Dali, ¡°Go buy a squid with an ink sack and a bottle of linseed oil.¡±


    ¡°What? At this time of day? All the stores are closed, dude!¡±


    ¡°The nearest big supermarket is three kilometers away,¡± said Wang Yuanchao, ¡°I¡¯ll drive.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± I said. ¡°Thanks!¡±


    Wang Yuanchao went out with Dali. I stayed in the office but there was no other clue to be found there. Then, Xiaozhou came over and tapped me on the shoulder.


    ¡°Song Yang, I want to tell you something.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s a vampire in Nanjiang City!¡±


    I almost coughed up blood. What was this guy¡¯s problem? Why was he so insistent about vampires?


    When he saw how doubtful I was, he immediately took out a yellow file from his briefcase and handed it to me.


    ¡°Xiaozhou,¡± said Huang Xiaotao, ¡°don¡¯t tell me you haven¡¯t been analyzing the video these past two days but spent all your time researching vampires?¡±


    ¡°I believe that this is an important clue to solve the case!¡± said Xiaozhou, full of confidence.


    Huang Xiaotao¡¯s cheeks twitched, if it wasn¡¯t out of respect because the two were of the same rank, she probably would¡¯ve sworn at him.


    I opened the file, which recorded a bizarre murder case from 18 years ago. The deceased was a 37-year-old prostitute who was found dead in her rental house. Her blood waspletely drained out of her body.


    There were also some photos of the dead body in the file.


    The victim was wearing a red dress, she was lying on the bed, her skin was as pale as paper. The other photo was a close-up of the head and neck, and there were distinct puncture wounds her neck that looked like teeth marks, but it was small and not as big as in the case.


    When I saw these photos, my brain started to turn like clockwork. Red skirt... Prostitute... 18 years ago... Orphan...


    Xiao Zhou did not notice my abnormal reaction. He asked, ¡°What do you think? Prettypelling, right? This case is really important, because it proves that there have always been vampires in Nanjiang City!¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is very important, thank you!¡± I said, nodding at him again and again.


    Xiaozhou became very confused. He probably didn¡¯t expect that I would thank him. I said to Huang Xiaotao, ¡°If my guess is right, this victim from 18 years ago was Bai Yue¡¯s mother!¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°I¡¯m very certain that he killed his mother 18 years ago,¡± I said. ¡°Which means that the director lied to us that day. Bai Yue was not abandoned¡ªhe was escaping from a murder that hemitted!¡±


    ¡°But why would the director cover for him?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that he is the saintly man that people think him to be at all,¡± I said. ¡°If he was willing to cover up Bai Yue¡¯s past murder and even help himmit new murders, then there can only be one conclusion¡ªthe director is Bai Yue¡¯s biological father!¡±


    Everyone in the room was stunned. I pointed the facts out to everyone in an orderly manner. When the director was young, he broke the rules of the church and went out and met Bai Yue¡¯s mother.


    We might never know the true nature of the rtionship between the director and Bai Yue¡¯s mother, but one thing was true¡ªBai Yue¡¯s mother got pregnant and eventually gave birth to him.


    Because of his profession, the director absolutely couldn¡¯t recognize this son who was born out of wedlock; and Bai Yue¡¯s mother couldn¡¯t perform her motherly duties well because of her profession. A prostitute who got pregnant was abandoned by the man and she then gave birth to such a freak. Naturally, Bai Yue¡¯s mother was full of resentment, and Bai Yue himself became her target to vent off her resentment.


    It is unsurprising then, that Bai Yue, who grew up in such an environment, would grow into a cruel and malicious child who hated his mother!


    Until one day, he killed his mother.


    The director might have been secretly paying attention to him, and he appeared at that moment and brought him to the orphanage so that he would escape the punishment formitting murder...

 Chapter 41

    <h4>Chapter 41</h4>


    Bai Yue¡¯s body was strange in the fact that he could only ingest food in the form of blood. But when this bizarre ¡®eating habit¡¯ of his was discovered by the Christian nuns, he was regarded as a demon child!


    In order to allow him to stay here, the director might have reached a certain tacit agreement with Bai Yue. As long as Bai Yue would stop and refrain from biting anyone, the director would secretly feed him with the blood of animals, although to Bai Yue it was not nearly as delicious as human blood. But at the very least, Bai Yue would not die of starvation.


    When he grew up, Bai Yue escaped from the orphanage and lurked quietly for a few years before beginning to act out his hatred for his mother on the prostitutes! I was skeptical that he ever felt grateful to the director. Instead, he was resentful of him. He hated him for bringing him into this world and resented him for his tragic childhood. The director, however, had always been remorseful of the way he abandoned Bai Yue and his mother.


    This then turned to guilt, which drove him to be an aplice of Bai Yue¡¯s horrendous crimes, where the director would do anything in his power to protect Bai Yue from getting arrested by the police.


    These were just my spections, but I believed that the truth was probably not so different from them.


    After listening to me, Huang Xiaotao said with anger, ¡°But no matter what reason this father and son had for their crimes, we must arrest them for justice!¡±


    After a while, Wang Yuanchao bought in the things that I requested. I found a washbasin, cut the squid¡¯s ink sac with scissors, dripped the ink into it, and then poured the linseed oil into the mixture to mix the two.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there ink on the table? Why do you need to take the ink of a squid?¡± asked Dali.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you understand?¡± I asked. ¡°Squid ink is an ancient Chinese medicine called the belly ink. There is even a record of it in the Compendium of Materia Medica. This ink has two characteristics: firstly, it is light and will not destroy the shape of the ashes; secondly, it contains phosphorus and it can glow!¡±


    ¡°Glow?¡± Dali widened his eyes.


    I asked Xiaozhou for a straw, sucked up a little bit of the prepared squid ink, and then asked him to prepare a camera and set the light exposure to the highest, and finally ordered the police to turn off all the lights on the scene.


    After the lights were turned off, there was some faint lighting in through the window. I asked people to pull the curtains up too. The whole room suddenly looked like a dark room.


    ¡°Do you need a shlight?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°No, I can see!¡± I turned on my Cave Vision, and everything in the room was visible again.


    ¡°But I can¡¯t see anything!¡± said Xiaozhou.


    I guided Xiaozhou to a position and told him to lift the camera up in position, and be ready to take a picture when I said it was ready.


    Then I dripped the squid ink in the straw onto the ashes and waited for about ten seconds. Some of the glowing handwriting appeared slowly on the ashes. Everyone gasped, I said, ¡°Snap a picture now, it can onlyst for a little while!¡±


    Xiaozhou quickly took a picture, when he was done, I immediately asked someone to turn the light on.


    Xiaozhou used a digital camera. He checked the photos immediately and it seemed to give great results. So, he asked the people in the forensics team to transfer the photo to theputer and the piece them together using photoshop. Under the eager gaze of the people, the pieces were restored into a line, which was an address¡ªNo. 48, Nanqiang Road!


    ¡°This may be the ce where they aremitting a murder tonight!¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Xiaoxu, you take a few officers and stay here to guard this ce, as for the others, you¡¯ll follow me!¡±


    Our group rushed to No. 48 Nanqiang Road. This was a residential building. Huang Xiaotao was going to go door to door and ask, I said that this wouldn¡¯t work, because it would alert the murderer. I asked Xiaozhou for the UVmp.


    I handed the UVmp to Dali and taught him how to use it, then let him lift it up. I took out the red umbre from my bag, opened it, and slowly rotated it to an angle. The light from the umbre showed a messy set of footprints on the ground.


    ¡°I thought this umbre was only for autopsies?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked curiously.


    ¡°Absolutely not! There are many uses to the umbre!¡± I replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing!¡± said Xiaozhou with admiration. ¡°We should have one handy in the forensics toolbox too!¡±


    I thought that might not be possible. It took time to prepare this umbre, and some of the recipes in it are from the Song family, which I couldn¡¯t disclose, of course.


    Arge number of people came and went through the residential building, and there were correspondingly messy sets of footprints on the ground. Huang Xiaotao looked at the footprints and asked, ¡°Which ones belong to the murderer?¡±


    I looked at them and pointed to one of the footprints and said, ¡°This one is interesting: the left foot is heavy and the right foot is light, it is probably left by the director!¡±


    We followed the footprints all the way to the fourth floor, and the footprints disappeared in front of a door. I was about to unlock it, but Huang Xiaotao actually kicked it down with one foot, pulled out her gun, took the lead and rushed in, while the others followed close behind her!


    Everyone searched through the room, and suddenly there Huang Xiaotao¡¯s scream was heard from a room, followed by the sound of pping wings. I saw countless ck bats flying out of the door and which shocked me and Dali very much.


    ¡°Song Yang, we¡¯re a step toote!¡± said Huang Xiaotao.


    I walked into the bedroom and found a female body lying on the bed, wearing a floral skirt, the skin was as white as paper, and there were two blood marks on the neck, the same as that of the former victim.


    There were a lot of bats hanging on the roof. Although they had just been shocked by the police barging in, the number that remained there was still very impressive.


    Those bats seemed to be the messengers of hell: they were very close to each other, forming a ck surface that creeped and moved from time to time, their tiny eyes glowed with a strange green light, people with trypophobia would probably faint when they¡¯re faced with this sight.


    I was a little frustrated with myself. If I could find out that the director was an aplice earlier, the girl might¡¯ve not died.


    But the corpse still had to be examined. I said to Huang Xiaotao, ¡°Dali and I will stay here to examine the corpse. You should take everyone and do a search in the immediate vicinity of this ce.¡±


    ¡°Will you both be safe here?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the murderer won¡¯te back here.¡± I replied.


    ¡°But these bats...¡± Huang Xiaotao nced at the ceiling.


    ¡°These are ordinary bats that can¡¯t hurt people,¡± I said reassuringly.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll leave Wang Yuanchao here to protect you.¡±


    After that, Huang Xiaotao went out with the other police officers, and the forensics team began to collect evidence. I rolled up my sleeves, put on my gloves, and got to work too. I checked the victim¡¯s pupil dtion, and checked the body with Organ Echolocation. I decided that the time of death was about two hours ago.


    Even though I knew that we might not find any important clues this time, the dead body still needed to be examined. I asked Dali to take the Xuan paper and camellia oil from the bag, and used the oil paper test to detect any handprints.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just use your umbre?¡± asked Dali.


    ¡°Autopsy and evidence collection should be tailored to the immediate environment and conditions,¡± I exined. ¡°One method doesn¡¯t work every time.¡±


    But eventually, this test ended up giving me some clues too. This time, the handprints on the Xuan paper showed vague fingerprints.


    Xiaozhou rushed to take a photo.


    ¡°This is definitely not the same person!¡± he said.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Ipared the handprints. ¡°It is Bai Yue. He sucked too much blood during the murder, so his skin began to secrete oil again. Even Bai Yue himself might not realize this.¡±


    ¡°Is there a possibility that the murderer is actually trying to cure his own strange disease?¡± Dali asked.


    I thought about it and said, ¡°There is this possibility, but since we now know that his skin secretes a little oil, we can change to a simpler method.¡±


    I asked Dali to hold up the UVmp, then I opened the red umbre and gently rotated it. I was using ultraviolet light to simte the sun.


    The bats above our heads were stimted by ultraviolet light, so they pped their wings and flew out from the open windows. The people in the room screamed as they did so.


    We walked into the living room and shone the faint red light from the umbre onto every surface. Faint fingerprints appeared on the door frame, the table, and a water ss.


    Xiaozhou was about toe over, I said to him: ¡°Stay there. Check the water left in the cup to see if there is any DNA!¡±


    ¡°Oh... Okay!¡± Xiaozhou nodded.


    I continued walking out and found the same fingerprints on the stair railings, and they seemed to be going up.


    Dali gasped and said, ¡°The murderer didn¡¯t go downstairs, he... he¡¯s still in this building!¡±


    Wang Yuanchao, who was smoking at the door, immediately tossed away his cigarette. His hand was on the model 92 pistol on his waist, and he looked at me as if he was waiting for orders.


    We can¡¯t let this opportunity go to waste. I made a decision.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go up there and catch him!¡±

 Chapter 42

    <h4>Chapter 42</h4>


    ¡°Dude, have you lost your mind?¡± Dali shouted. ¡°We should call Huang Xiaotao and wait for her!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I said. ¡°The murderer can see everything clearly from upstairs. If arge number of policemen areing in, he must know that he¡¯s trapped and he might do something desperate and dangerous.¡±


    ¡°If you mean he mightmit suicide by jumping off the building, then maybe we should just let him do it,¡± shrugged Dali.


    ¡°No, I mean he might hold the residents here as hostages!¡± I said.


    Dali was lost for words for a while, and he finally asked with an uncertain tone, ¡°Will the three of us be okay?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll be fine,¡± I said. ¡°We have Wang Yuanchao¡¯s strength, and you have a weapon against him in your hands.¡±


    ¡°You mean the UV light?¡± asked Dali. Then he suddenly realized it and eximed, ¡°Yes, of course! He¡¯s afraid of the sun! Dude, you¡¯re really smart, did anyone ever tell you that?¡±


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go!¡±


    I did call Huang Xiaotao, though, and told her toe back, but not inrge numbers, so as not to alert the murderer.


    Huang Xiaotao said, ¡°Wang Yuanchao is a very experienced officer. You should follow behind him. Don¡¯t act rashly! If the criminals take hostages, don¡¯t irritate him. We¡¯ll be back immediately."


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    The three of us walked upstairs. I walked in front and tilted the umbre at an angle towards the stair railing so that the ultraviolet light in Dali¡¯s hand could shine through the umbre paper and onto the stair railing. Wang Yuanchao silently followed us with his hand on his gun.


    This building was not that high¡ªit only had six floors, so there was no elevator installed.


    Bai Yue¡¯s fingerprints were blurry and very easy to identify. Every time we reached a new floor, I was worried that the fingerprints would appear outside the door of a certain household¡ªin that case things could turn out really bad.


    But his fingerprints continued up to the sixth floor. I saw the door leading to the rooftop was ajar, and I could see a peek of the dark night sky outside.


    I waved my hand and said, ¡°Turn off the light, don¡¯t let Bai Yue know we¡¯re here!¡±


    Dali turned off the light, Wang Yuanchao pulled out the gun and moved into abative position and walked in front of us. He gently pushed the door open, and we followed him.


    The rooftop was not an empty open space. There were manyrge water tanks and pipes. In order to ensure smooth water supply, the residential building will pump the tap water to the top for storage. The three of us walked forward step by step, and Wang Dali held onto my shirt behind me. My ears were filled with the whistling night wind, and it was bitingly cold up there.


    Wang Yuanchao took extra care at every step, searching for the surroundings from time to time with the eyes of an eagle.


    As we walked and walked, I suddenly heard a noise. I looked up and saw a man in a ck sweater standing at the top of the water tank. His whole body almost blended perfectly with the darkness of the night, only his pale hands and feet betrayed his position. ¡°He¡¯s up there!¡± I eximed.


    Before I even finished the sentence, Wang Yuanchao fired a shot upwards. I didn¡¯t know if it hit anything.


    The man in ck jumped down onto Wang Yuanchao, trying to take him down with his falling momentum. The two men were locked in a fight. The man in ck grabbed Wang Yuanchao from behind and opened his mouth, aiming to bite his neck!


    The moment he opened his mouth, I was stupefied, because his pair of fangs were so sharp and long that they looked like that of a wild beast. My persistent views that vampires never existed was challenged in that moment. I began to think Bai Yue really was a vampire!


    Seeing that Wang Yuanchao was going to be bitten, I hurriedly opened the umbre in my hand and aimed it at Bai Yue¡¯s face.


    He let out a muffled sound, then he was knocked to the ground. He quickly got up and stabilized his body, and as lithely as a cat, he slinked into the darkness. Wang Yuanchao fired several shots in that direction, but the bullet hit the water pipe, and water burst out of it!


    Wang Yuanchao¡¯s head was bloody, but he did not seem to care at all. He was about to chase in that direction, but suddenly something flew in from the other direction and hit him on the back, and a stinking smell of blood suddenly spread through the air.


    I looked at the thing that fell on the ground¡ªit turned out to be a balloon filled with eel blood.


    Then there was the sound of pping wings in the night sky, and arge swarm of bats flew towards us. The eel blood had attracted them, and each pair of tiny eyes glowed with green light in the darkness just like fireflies. I shouted to Wang Yuanchao, ¡°Take off your coat, now!¡±


    Wang Yuanchao quickly took off his coat and threw it away. The coat scattered some of the bat, but the ground around us also sprinkled a lot of eel blood. The bats rushed to us like crazy, and each time their bodies touched mine my skin crawled.


    ¡°Dali, turn on the light!¡± I yelled as I tried to fight off the bats with my umbre. But I turned to him and saw him squatting on the floor with his head buried in his hands. He was trembling as he yelled, ¡°Go away! Go away!¡±


    The swarm of batspletely obscured our sight. At this time, the thing that I was most worried about happened¡ªBai Yue was rushing back towards us!


    His terrifying white face slowly rose from the water tank, and the cold eyes crossed over therge flying bats and cast it on us. A sneer appeared on his bloody lips, and he said, ¡°You mortals dare to kill me?¡±


    It seemed that he had truly lost his mind. I ducked down and rolled over to Dali and took the UV light then aimed it right at Bai Yue¡¯s face.


    The bats of the sky shrieked and scattered. Several of them ran into the wall and on the ground, and they were almost smashed to bits. The man in ck didn¡¯t expect that I would use this trick. He screamed and covered his face with both his hands. It seems that the ultraviolet rays hurt him a lot. I saw his skin get blistered in an instant.


    Bai Yue quickly ran away to the other side of the tank, but Wang Yuanchao chased him. Several gunshots shattered the silence of the night sky, and then momentster, everything seemed to calm down.


    I thought Bai Yue was killed, and I was so relieved that I kicked the Dali¡¯s foot and said, ¡°Get up, idiot!¡±


    ¡°O-Oh...¡± said Dali, still in a daze of fear.


    We ran over to Wang Yuanchao and saw him holding his gun with both hands, aiming it at a certain direction. We turned our gaze towards that direction and saw Bai Yue holding a man in his arms as he aimed his sharp fangs at the man¡¯s throat. The man turned out to be the director of the orphanage.


    ¡°Please don¡¯te any closer. He¡¯ll kill me!¡± said the director.


    I guessed that the person who threw the eel blood at us was probably this old man. He not only helped Bai Yuemit murder, but now he even volunteered to be taken as the hostage to help Bai Yue get away!


    ¡°Stop pretending, Director!¡± I said. ¡°We know your secret! You¡¯re Bai Yue¡¯s father, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    The director hesitated for a while, then nodded.


    ¡°You¡¯re really smart, boy,¡± he said. ¡°When I met you at the orphanage, I knew that there was something unusual about you. Yes, Bai Yue is my illegitimate child. I have wronged him and his mother. Now it¡¯s time I repent for my sins!¡±


    ¡°How is this repentance of your sins, director?¡± I asked. ¡°Not only did you not stop your son from murdering those women, you even helped him, and now you¡¯re trying to help him escape as well? What kind of a father does that?¡±


    ¡°No! My son did nothing wrong!¡± shouted the director. ¡°He merely killed them to get their blood! He needed blood to survive! His birth was God¡¯s way of punishing me. I now am willing to ept whatever happens to me!¡±


    What an extremely perverted version of fatherly love!


    ¡°Stop talking,¡± Bai Yue. ¡°I want you to block the bulletsing from that stinky policeman so that I can run away!¡±


    ¡°Yes, run, my boy!¡± said the director. ¡°My life no longer has any value. You run far away from here, and make sure you survive!¡±


    Wang Yuanchao put his finger on the trigger, his facepletely expressionless.


    ¡°Song Yang, can I kill both of them together?¡± he asked coolly.


    I didn¡¯t know how to answer. I didn¡¯t have the right to decide the life and death of others. The best idea that I could think of at the moment was to dy everything until Huang Xiaotao arrived.


    Unexpectedly, Bai Yue suddenly pushed the director aside. The director immediately rushed towards Wang Yuanchao. Wang Yuanchao took the initiative and fired a shot through his leg. The director mmed down onto the ground immediately.


    Taking advantage of this opportunity, Bai Yue sped towards the edge of the rooftop, and as I watched with stunned eyes, I saw him jump over the building.


    I was shocked to say the least. Who would¡¯ve thought that Bai Yue would rather die than surrender?


    But what happened after that shocked me even more, because Wang Yuanchao pursued after Bai Yue with the speed of a cheetah, and under my more stunned gaze, he actually jumped over the building after Bai Yue!

 Chapter 43

    <h4>Chapter 43</h4>


    I ran over to the edge of the rooftop and found that there was a five-story building on the other side, and the two buildings were separated by a three-meter gap. Bai Yue and Wang Yuanchao both jumped over to that building!


    At the time, the Wang Yuanchao was chasing after Bai Yue on the rooftop of that building like a cat pursuing a mouse.


    Three meters... If it had been on the ground, I thought I might be able to jump across this distance, but if it was between two buildings that were tens of meters high? No way. My bones and flesh would turn into a pulp if I fell from that height!


    I decided that I definitely wouldn¡¯t jump, so I took out my mobile phone and called Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Bai Yue escaped to the opposite residential building and Wang Yuanchao is now there too. You should surround him there.¡±


    ¡°Okay, got it!¡± replied Huang Xiaotao.


    I nced at the director who was on the ground with a broken leg and said, ¡°By the way, you should send a police officer here too, the aplice is here and he¡¯s injured.¡±


    I hung up the phone, then walked over to the director. When he heard my footsteps, his first sentence was, ¡°Did they catch Bai Yue?¡±


    ¡°Any time now,¡± I said, kneeling down near him. ¡°You and your son will soon be brought to justice...¡±


    The director suddenly grabbed my cor and said, ¡°Please let Bai Yue go! I was the one who killed those women! It was me!¡±


    The director¡¯s grip was very tight. I was so shocked by his sudden movement that I broke out in cold sweat. I didn¡¯t know at that point whether he had a knife hidden under his sleeve or not, so I didn¡¯t dare to do anything reckless. At that moment, Dali ran over and aimed the ultraviolet light at the director¡¯s eyes and said, ¡°Old man, let go of his cor, are you thinking about attacking a police officer?¡±


    The director was blinded by the light. He quickly let go of my cor and covered his eyes with both his hands.


    I kept a distance from him and asked, ¡°Why did you help Bai Yue to murder the two innocent women?¡±


    ¡°It was my son¡¯s request,¡± said the director. ¡°Of course, a father must find a way to fulfill it. After all, I never really did my duties as a father when he was young.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re a religious person. If you do this kind of thing, aren¡¯t you afraid of going to hell?¡± I said.


    ¡°Mosesmanded us to stone prostitutes to death,¡± said the director. ¡°Do you think that I will go to hell for killing those women?¡±


    I was dumbfounded.


    ¡°What the hell is this old man talking about?¡± asked Dali.


    He retorted me with something from the Bible. He¡¯d read the Bible all his life, so naturally he was familiar with all the passages, but I hadn¡¯t. All I read were some Bible stories.


    But in any case, I don¡¯t think that a religion that preaches love and kindness to your neighbor would encourage people to kill prostitutes. He must¡¯ve twisted the words in order to justify himself and his crimes.


    ¡°Magdalene was a prostitute too,¡± I said. ¡°But she washed Jesus¡¯ feet with her tears, and after being crucified at the cross Jesus immediately redeemed her. If your Lord looks down on prostitutes, then why would he also save Magdalene? A true Christian practicespassion and kindness, not murder and violence like you.¡±


    The director widened his eyes and said nothing.


    At this time, there was a burst of gunshots that rang through the night sky. The body of the director trembled fiercely, and he struggled to climb up to his feet.


    ¡°What happened to my son,¡± he asked. ¡°What did they do to my son?¡±


    Dali ran over to the edge of the rooftop and said, ¡°Officer Wang seized him.¡±


    ¡°Is he alive?¡± the director asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Dali nodded.


    It was as if a weight was lifted off of the director¡¯s shoulders. He heaved a sigh and fell to the ground.


    In a short while, a police officer arrived and took the director away.


    ¡°Dude, that was awesome!¡± said Dali. ¡°You said something to the old man and he went speechless! How did you know about all these things?¡±


    ¡°From the Bible, idiot!¡± I said, ¡°Magdalene was a prostitute, but she helped Jesus, so he redeemed her.¡± Well, to be frank, I saw it from the movie The Da Vinci Code.


    ¡°How are you so knowledgeable, dude?¡± Dali asked enviously.


    ¡°Well, you should y less games and read more books, then.¡± I replied.


    I suddenly remembered one thing, and caught up with the dean. He was being taken downstairs by the police officer. His leg was shot, so he was in a lot of pain.


    ¡°Why did you want to attract the bats to the crime scene?¡± I asked him.


    The director seemed dejected at the time. He seemed to have aged ten years since Ist saw him in that office.


    ¡°I thought that if the police believe the murderer was a vampire, then they will not track Bai Yue down...¡± he said.


    I was silent for a while. He read the Bible for his whole life, so he believed that other people also believed what was written in the bible. Unfortunately for him, the police force was a secr institution. Whether the criminal was a vampire or a devil waspletely irrelevant, because they will track them regardless.


    After a while, we were all downstairs. Huang Xiaotao patted me on the shoulder and said, ¡°Song Yang, this time you made another great contribution to the police force!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true. Credits should be given to Wang Yuanchao,¡± I said modestly.


    Wang Yuanchao was smoking by a police car. The wound on his forehead was bandaged and the leather jacket on his body was dirty. I went over to him and thanked him.


    ¡°Officer Wang, how did you know that there was another building on the other side?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know,¡± he replied.


    Isn¡¯t that a bit too reckless? I thought. In the unlikely event that the criminalmitted suicide by jumping off the building, wouldn¡¯t he be sacrificing himself in vain?


    But then again, if Wang Yuanchao did not take the opportunity to jump over the building, Bai Yue would¡¯ve escaped. So even though I found Wang Yuanchao¡¯s actions too wild, I secretly was grateful to him that he took the chance.


    ¡°Now that the case has been settled,¡± said Huang Xiaotao, ¡°the rest will be handed over to the forensics team. We are now bringing the suspect back to question him. I¡¯ve already asked Wang Yuanchao to send you back to college.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine,¡± I said. ¡°Officer Wang has done enough for the night. I don¡¯t want to bother him anymore. We¡¯ll take a cab back to college.¡±


    ¡°Then be careful on the road,¡± said Huang Xiaotao.


    A few days after the case ended, Dali searched for the news online every day, but this vampire case did not appear in any media. Perhaps the police felt that it was too bizarre and violent, so they sealed it up.


    Soon Huang Xiaotao called and told us that there was a celebration feast that night and that we were invited to attend.


    Naturally, Dali would not refuse when it came to anything that involved food. We took a cab and went to a restaurant. We were taken to a big private room by the waiter. The whole room was filled with members of the task force. When we came in, everyone enthusiastically apuded.


    The atmosphere of the house was very jolly. I was very embarrassed by the attention, so I awkwardly nodded and smiled to everyone until Dali and I found a ce to sit down.


    Just as we sat down, Xiaozhou came over, holding a ss. He was already a little drunk. After he was drunk, he waspletely different from the usual gentleman that he was.


    ¡°Song-ge,¡± he said, suddenly addressing me as a ¡®big brother.¡¯


    ¡°The murderer really isn¡¯t a vampire, he¡¯s just a weird human being. I was the biggest idiot! Without you, we definitely would¡¯ve hit a dead end. From now on, I¡¯ll respect you like a big brother,e on, let me pour a drink for you!¡±


    ¡°Never mind, Officer Zhou, I don¡¯t really drink alcohol.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll pour you some juice then!¡±


    He grabbed a ss and a bottle and poured me a ss of orange juice. The other police officers also came to toast but were stopped by Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Go wait at the bar, I still have something to say to Song Yang!¡±


    ¡°Ooooh, Team Leader Huang has something to say to Song Yang!¡± the police officers teased.


    ¡°I really do have something serious to say to him, you morons!¡± said Huang Xiaotao. Her face was red and she was stomping her feet with anger.


    ¡°The team leader has something serious to say to Song Yang! Ooooh!¡± teased another police officer, while pointing at her, to which everyone followed suit.


    ¡°You, you, you...¡± Huang Xiaotao¡¯s face was red to the ear. ¡°That¡¯s it! Your bonus will be deducted!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao sat down beside me and said indignantly, ¡°Geez, what a bunch of lunatics!¡±


    She wore a white shirt and ultra-short jeans tonight, and the sultry figure was perfectly revealed by the close-fitting clothing. Her two lean long legs were exposed, her shirt had a deep neckline, and her chest was slightly exposed. Although Huang Xiaotao had the looks of a model, she was not just slim and pretty like most models. Her arms and abdomen were clearly muscr, and her legs looked lean and strong. She looked healthier and stronger than most women. As I thought of her beauty, I found myself blushing, so I quickly bowed my head down and concentrated on my drink.


    ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie,¡± cried Dali. ¡°You look so beautiful tonight!¡±


    ¡°Haha, I can¡¯t help it, I guess.¡± replied Huang Xiaotao.


    She then tapped on my shoulder and said: ¡°Song Yang, yesterday Bai Yue confessed everything, and the truth was almost the same as your spections, except for one thing which you didn¡¯t expect...¡±

 Chapter 44

    <h4>Chapter 44</h4>


    ¡°There¡¯s one thing that not only did you not expect,¡± Huang Xiaotao said, ¡°it was something that none of us could ever imagine at all.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Bai Yue¡¯s motivation for killing people had nothing to do with the hatred he had for his mother!¡± said Huang Xiaotao.


    Bai Yue said in his confession that his mother often had extreme mood swings, sometimes she would humiliate and swear at him, yet sometimes she was gentle and loving like a doting mother. Because Bai Yue was both a burden to his mother, and at the same the only family she had, the way she treated him was often contradicting and ambivalent.


    Naturally, the feelings Bai Yue had for his mother was also that of both love and hate!


    Because of his inability to consume normal food, his mother bought some chickens and ducks to let him suck their blood. He had been sucking blood ever since childhood, and over time, his pair of fangs grew sharp and long, and when they closed their mouths, they could see one from their lips. In other words, he looked just like a vampire.


    His mother kept him in the house all day, perhaps out of shame, and never let any outsiders know of his existence. Such a childhood made Bai Yue socially inept and unable to hold a normal moral concept that most people did, and he waspletely indifferent to the concept of life and death!


    One day, his mother was treated very badly by her ¡®client¡¯. After returning home, she vented this anger and frustration to Bai Yue. They ended up in a quarrel, and in the heat of the moment Bai Yue¡¯s animalistic instinct was triggered, and he ended up biting his mother¡¯s neck. He said that he just wanted to tell her to shut up and make her stop saying those ugly words. The mother struggled, and then after a while she stopped moving. Her body slowly became cold, but Bai Yue didn¡¯t know that it was because she was dead. He even curled up in his mother¡¯s arms for a night.


    When he bit his mother, Bai Yue tasted her blood and thought that it was inexplicably delicious. He could never forget how good his mother¡¯s blood tasted for the rest of his life, and that was why he bit the nun at the orphanage¡ªhe wanted to taste that sweet, delicious blood again. But s, no one else tasted as good as his mother.


    And so, when he grew up, he targeted women who were like his mother, just so he could taste their delicious blood!


    ¡°When he told us that during the questioning,¡± said Huang Xiaotao, ¡°he said it with a terrible smile on his face, he even licked his lower lip and scared us all! I don¡¯t think he should be sent to prison, but to the mental hospital instead!¡±


    ¡°Holy shit, that¡¯s abominable!¡± Dali blurted out. ¡°His heart has totally been distorted, he¡¯s barely human!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao gave Dali a look.


    ¡°Song Yang, does human blood really taste different from person to person?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°Theposition of the blood is the same, with very little variation, so I think this is mainly psychological,¡± I said.


    As for what kind of psychological reason? In Bai Yue¡¯s whole childhood, his mother was the only member of opposite sex that he knew. Over time, he developed a perverted attachment to his mother, the so-called ¡®Oedipus Complex.¡¯ When he embraced his mother¡¯s neck, it was like taking possession of her, which greatly satisfied an urge that grew out of the Oedipus Complex, which made him feel that he just tasted the most delicious blood.


    I kept my analysis to myself, of course, otherwise I couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of nonsense Dali would say afterwards.


    ¡°Bai Yue was called a vampire by other children in the orphanage,¡± Huang Xiaotao added. He then learned from books what a vampire is. From then on, he thought that he was actually a descendant of Cain and believed that he was different from other ordinary people.¡±


    ¡°His life was actually very tragic,¡± I said. ¡°He was born into an abnormal family. He was regarded as a monster from an early age. Don¡¯t people say that hateful people often have sad beginnings?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true,¡± agreed Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s not talk about this anymore. Let¡¯s celebrate an end to the case instead! Let¡¯s all have a drink, all three of us.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao then poured three sses of juice. We clinked our sses before drinking. Then, Huang Xiaotao leaned over to me and whispered into my ear.


    ¡°By the way,¡± she said, the warm breath that was brushing my ear made me feel all funny, ¡°wait for me in Room 1204 upstairs after the party. You¡¯re in for a pleasant surprise...¡±


    My face reddened instantly and looked at Huang Xiaotao with surprise. She winked naughtily at me and said, ¡°But don¡¯t tell anyone! It¡¯s a secret!¡± Then she got up and went back to her table.


    ¡°What did Xiaotao-jiejie tell you, dude?¡± asked Dali.


    ¡°N-Nothing...¡±


    ¡°What the hell? Why are you keeping secrets from me? Aren¡¯t we friends?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really nothing!¡± I said, blushing. ¡°She was just teasing you.¡±


    The food at the celebration feast was luxurious and delicious, but the Huang Xiaotao¡¯s wordspletely ruined my appetite.


    What was the pleasant surprise that she was referring to? She even booked a room for me. These words were spoken by a morous and sexy policewoman, hell, how could you expect a virgin who¡¯d never even held a girl¡¯s hand like me to not take off with my imaginations?


    At the end of the meal, I told Dali I had to go to the toilet. At this time, he was already drunk, and he was beginning to call police officers that he didn¡¯t know brothers and sisters.


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± said Dali, waving his hand.


    I arrived at the door of Room 1204 with a restless heart. The door was closed; I hesitated to knock on the door. At that moment, Huang Xiaotao came over from behind and said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go in? Waiting for me?¡±


    ¡°B-But I thought you were inside!¡± I said,pletely confused.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± she asked. ¡°Why would I need to book a room just to talk to you? No, there are other people waiting for you inside. I¡¯m just a messenger tasked to bring you here.¡±


    She then knocked on the door, and it was immediately answered by a male voice saying, ¡°Come in!¡±


    That voice sounded very familiar...


    Huang Xiaotao pushed the door open, then she saluted and said in a respectful tone, ¡°Sir, I¡¯ve brought Song Yang here.¡±


    ¡°Bring him in!¡±


    As soon as I heard this voice clearly, I knew who it was. It turned out to be Sun Tiger. I wanted to curse him so bad. Why did he need to book a room just to speak to me! He even led me to get carried away with my imagination and I lost my appetite because of that.


    But when I entered the room, I realized that there were two other people there besides the Sun Tiger. One was Captain Lin who I metst time. I didn¡¯t know the other person. He was about fifty years old. His face looked cold and expressionless, he had thick caterpir eyebrows and two deep wrinkles down the sides of his mouth, which made him look angry, and a pair of sses rested atop the bridge of his nose. Overall, it was difficult to read this person¡¯s expressions. One wouldn¡¯t know what to make of him.


    We were in a tea room, and the three people sat on the sofa tasting tea. Sun Tiger was on the left, Captain Lin sat on the right, they seemed to be apanying the third person. It seemed that this man was a high official. It¡¯s no wonder that I sensed such an authoritative aura around him!


    Sun Tiger greeted me and patted me on the shoulder.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you for a long time, kiddo!¡± he said with a smile. ¡°You¡¯ve grown into a man now! Come here, let me introduce you, this is Captain Lin, and this is the Chief of the Provincial Public Security Department, Director-General Cheng.¡±


    Director-General Cheng poured tea into a cup and said, ¡°Have a seat, Song Yang. Don¡¯t be so formal, just call me Old Cheng.¡±


    I¡¯d never presume to do that, of course.


    ¡°It¡¯s an honor to meet you, Director-General,¡± I said. ¡°What can I do for you?¡±


    Director-General Cheng looked me up and down and smiled, ¡°You¡¯re a nice-looking young man, and a great talent too! Sit down and have a taste of this Longjing tea.¡±


    I sat down and took a sip of the tea. Although I wasn¡¯t much of a tea connoisseur, I was pleasantly surprised by the taste of the tea, which was sweet and fragrant. It was the best cup of tea I had ever had.


    I noticed that there were three thick files under the ss coffee table. Director-General Cheng took them into his hands and tapped on them. ¡°Song Yang, I¡¯ve read the reports of the two cases that you solved, and you did it beautifully. Just like your grandfather did many years ago!¡±


    I was speechless for a while.


    ¡°Director-General, do you know my grandfather?¡± I asked.


    He smiled and said, ¡°I used to cooperate with your grandfather in several cases. I heard that he was killed three years ago. The news hit me very hard. I was really afraid that his death meant all the knowledge passed down since the time of Song Ci would be lost forever. Fortunately, it turns out that he had a sessor. And from what I¡¯ve seen, you have the potential to be even greater than your grandfather!¡±


    People who are in high positions were usually good at ttery. I didn¡¯t know how much the Director-General knew my grandfather, but I knew that what he said was simply apliment made out of good manners.


    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, Director-General,¡± I said.


    ¡°Song Yang,¡± he said. ¡°You could probably guess why I¡¯ve deliberatelye to see you today.¡± He pulled out the file at the bottom of the stack and handed it to me. He said, ¡°I have a case here, and the twenty-two experts under mymand could do nothing to solve it. It seems that I¡¯d have to rely on one of Song Ci¡¯s descendants again!¡±


    I opened the file and scanned through it quickly. A family of four died in a bizarre and unexinable fashion. There were a few photos of the crime scene, and the best way to describe it was bloody.


    But a messy and bloody crime scene didn¡¯t necessarily mean that the case was difficult to solve. Jiangbei Daggers, for example, did his job so cleanly that it seemed his victims were only sleeping. Most of the time, the simpler the crime appeared at first nce, the harder it was to solve.


    ¡°What is special about this case?¡± I asked.


    ¡°As expected from an expert,¡± said Director-General Cheng, ¡°You hit the nail on the head with your first question. At first nce, this case looked simple. But after some investigation, we hit a dead end, because it is simply a case that cannot be solved!¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Because there is no murderer in this case!¡± Director-General Cheng replied.


    My eyes widened.


    ¡°A family of four killed each other in a room that waspletely sealed,¡± exined Director-General Cheng. ¡°We thought it was just an ordinary family tragedy, but the same thing happened again three days ago! If the exact same thing happened twice, wouldn¡¯t you find it to be too bizarre to credit it to coincidence? Song Yang, apart from asking for your help, I could think of no other solution to solve this case. But, of course, if you don¡¯t think you can solve it, then just say so, I won¡¯t force you.¡±


    I looked at the photos on my hand. This would be a challenging case to solve. However, I had confidence in myself. I believed that I could do it.


    ¡°You can trust me, Director-General,¡± I said, ¡°I will definitely solve this case!¡±

 Chapter 45

    <h4>Chapter 45</h4>


    When I came out of the room after receiving the file from the Director-General, the celebration party was over.


    The police officers had all gone home, and the waiters were cleaning the tables. Only Dali was still slumped in his seat, seemingly very drunk.


    I found a chair to sit down on and opened the file to study it carefully.


    This was the first case that Director-General Cheng mentioned, which happened in the nearby Wuqu City. It happened three months ago, in a family of four. They were all dead. The male head of the family was a general manager of arge multinationalpany, aged 36, and could be described as a rising young talent. The other three were his wife and children, and the youngest daughter was only one year old. They used to be a close-knit family. The husband and wife usually loved each other very much, but one night three months ago, they were somehow suddenly in a fierce fight with each other.


    During the meeting, a colleague called and the man violently said a few words and threw the phone aside, but did not hang up. The colleague was frightened because the man who was usually very polite and gentle-mannered was arguing with his wife and using the word ¡®fuck.¡¯


    The colleague heard the couple cursed each other in extremely viciousnguage. The ten-year-old son also kept screaming and throwing things, while the daughter kept crying. Overall, it sounded like a terrible scene!


    ording to his interview, the colleague felt as if the family was possessed by demons, and his temperament changedpletely. He could not hear the end because the mobile phone was trampled by either the man or his wife.


    The neighbors also heard themotion. One of the neighbors who was an old man knocked on the door twice. The first time they ignored him; shortly after, he knocked on the door for the second time, and the noise calmed down. The old man thought that everything had returned to normal, so he left. But in truth, it was silent because the whole family was dead...


    The sequence of events went like this: the son grabbed his sister¡¯s legs and threw her to the floor. The wife killed her son by smashing his head with a ss bottle. Then the man stabbed his wife with a knife three times, all in crucial parts of the body. Finally, the husband knelt in front of the family andmitted suicide by cutting his throat with the same knife!


    The crime scene waspletely sealed. It was impossible for outsiders to break in. The blood, fingerprints and hairs found at the scene all belonged to the family.


    A nanny was hired at the house, but she went back after dinner. The police initially focused on the nanny. However, during the questioning, the nanny vehemently insisted that she was innocent. The coroner did not find any suspicious drugs in the victims¡¯ systems. The police finally used the polygraph, and the babysitter passed smoothly, proving that she was not involved in the crime.


    Although the file was written in a very innguage, when I read this text, I still felt chills down my spine. This case was just too bizarre!


    Huang Xiaotao suddenly tapped my shoulder. It was only then that I realized she had been sitting next to me all this time and was reading the file with me too.


    ¡°How is it, Song Yang? Any ideas?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°Do you want to hear the truth?¡± Iughed.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Huang Xiaotao said.


    ¡°I¡¯mpletely clueless,¡± I replied. ¡°In fact, I¡¯m getting more and more confused!¡±


    ¡°Then why did you promise the Director-General earlier?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao, her almond eyes staring at me.


    I smiled and said, ¡°Having confidence and being certain are two different things. This file was written by a police officer ording to his own investigation. I think if I can go to the scene of the murder, I might be able to find some clues.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao sighed.


    ¡°But this time you might have to go to Wuqu City alone,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m worried if the police over there will refuse to cooperate with you...¡±


    ¡°Who said I¡¯m going there alone?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯reing with me!¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± said Huang Xiaotao, ¡°The special investigation order given by Director-General Cheng only contained your name. Wuqu City has its own police force, and Sun Tiger is a stingy man. Do you think he¡¯d let me work in another city?¡±


    As she spoke, a burly figure appeared behind Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Who¡¯s talking about me behind my back!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao was so shocked she almost fell from her chair, she sprang up to her feet and made a salute then said, ¡°Director! I was only talking with Song Yang about the case.¡±


    ¡°All right, all right, sit down,¡± he said. ¡°I knew what you people like to call me behind my back a long time ago.¡±


    He then sat down on the chair that Xiaotao was sitting on. Xiaotao didn¡¯t get another chair, but remained standing beside the table.


    Sun Tiger patted my shoulder and said, ¡°How is it, kiddo? Do you feel confident about this case?¡±


    ¡°Reasonably, yes.¡± I said.


    ¡°You do your best,¡± he said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about making me look bad. I believe in the knowledge and skills passed down in the Song family.¡±


    ¡°Uncle Sun, how is Auntietely?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Well, I heard that she just gave birth to a big fat boy.¡±


    ¡°You... heard?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve long been divorced, kiddo,¡± he said,ughing. ¡°We policemen are never at home for more than three days a week. We¡¯re destined to live the lives of lonely people. Your grandfather was wise for not allowing you to be a policeman!"


    He then added, ¡°Kiddo, whatever needs to be done to help you solve this case, just give me a word. I will do whatever I can to help you.¡±


    ¡°I want to bring a few people to Wuqu City with me,¡± I said.


    ¡°Okay, just name them!¡± Sun Tiger nodded.


    ¡°Huang Xiaotao, Wang Yuanchao...¡± I looked at Dali, who was sleeping like a dead pig, and added, ¡°And my ssmate Wang Dali.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao was slightly surprised, but Sun Tiger agreed quickly.


    ¡°Okay! You are all going there to help with a case, so all expenses will be covered!¡±


    ¡°And one more thing,¡± I added. ¡°I am nning to leave tonight!¡±


    ¡°Do you need to be in such a hurry? Why not just leave first thing in the morning tomorrow? I will ask someone to be your driver!¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Director-General Cheng say that the most recent case urred three days ago?¡± I said. ¡°For any murder case, three days would¡¯vete enough to start an investigation. Every second counts in a murder investigation, so I want to go tonight!¡±


    Sun Tiger smiled and patted me, saying ¡°You get all worked up just like your grandfather! The moment he heard about a case, he¡¯d get all excited and no one could stop him!¡±


    ¡°But didn¡¯t you oftenin to me how it would be harder to ask for Grandpa¡¯s help than to ask for God¡¯s help?¡±


    ¡°That is when it¡¯s just an ordinary case,¡± he said. ¡°Whenever we encountered a strange and difficult case, he wouldn¡¯t wait for a second. He¡¯d often demand me to bring him to a crime scene immediately, as if I could fly! You really do take after him!¡± He then burst out inughter.


    ¡°Xiaotao!¡± said Sun Tiger. ¡°Go get Wang Yuanchao here, and bring Song Yang and his little ssmate here with you and leave immediately. When you return after solving the case, I¡¯ll personally treat all of you to a grand dinner!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao made a salute and said, ¡°Yes, Director!¡±


    Sun Tiger then went back. After a while, Wang Yuanchao arrived. I thought he didn¡¯t drink any alcohol, but as I got close to him, I could smell a thick stench of alcohol. He probably drank even more than Dali!


    Huang Xiaotao briefly exined the situation, then asked Wang Yuanchao to carry the drunken Dali outside. It seemed that the heavy responsibility of driving fell on Huang Xiaotao.


    On our way to the parking lot, Xiaotao asked me, ¡°Why do you insist on bringing Wang Yuanchao? I know he¡¯s strong and capable, but this person has a dangerous temper. You probably don¡¯t know that three years ago, he broke the leg of a cadet in the Armed Forces.¡±


    ¡°Shit, he really did that?¡± I widened my eyes.


    ¡°Why else do you think someone in his thirties would be sent down to be an ordinary policeman with no rank?¡± she said. ¡°Based on his experience, he could¡¯ve been promoted to a much higher rank than mine, so you can imagine how bad his temper is. To be honest, I was a little bit hesitant when he was first transferred here. But Captain Lin said that he should be given something to do, otherwise he would spend his days drinking. When he¡¯s drunk, no one can control him, and no one would dare to try.¡±


    ¡°Are you afraid that he would beat your ass up?¡± I asked.


    Huang Xiaotao gave me a look. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go!¡± she said.


    What I needed from Wang Yuanchao was his strength and fighting power, of course. He jumped over tall buildings just to capture a murderer. This kind of courage could not be found in just anyone. I believed that Wang Yuanchao was definitely a diamond in the rough.

 Chapter 46

    <h4>Chapter 46</h4>


    I asked Huang Xiaotao to make a stop at my college before we set off for Wuqu City. I then went to my dorm room and packed up a few essentials into a small bag. When Huang Xiaotao saw me carrying it back to the car, she asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you bringing your special umbre?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I grumbled, ¡°I broke it. I¡¯ll have to do without it this time.¡±


    It happened that night when we were trying to catch Bai Yue. In the heat of the moment I smacked him with my umbre, and it must¡¯ve caught one of his fangs, because I found out afterwards that my trusty old umbre had a big gaping hole in it. It broke my heart just thinking about it.


    Traditional Coroners generally had nobat skills at all. Even in the Chronicles of Grand Magistrates, there was only one self-defense move mentioned, and the method was to throw specially-prepared medicinal powder at the face of the enemy, and this powder was supposed to make them faint, which gave you time to escape. When I thought about it, I must say that it was a pathetic self-defense move, to be used only when they were absolutely no other choices left.


    But that was not to say that all of my forefathers were as useless in fights as I was. In fact, a few of them had actually beenw enforcement officers, each having developed excellent skills. The most notable one was Song Buping, who was called the most-fearedw enforcement officer in Guangxi and Guangzhou. He amassed our vast collection of martial arts techniques and wrote them down in a book called The Thirteen Techniques of the Song Family. I saw this book in Grandpa¡¯s study before, but I had no interest in martial arts, so I never even gave it a second nce.


    I¡¯ve taken you on a long tour with this subject, but the point of it all was this: I ampletely useless in fights!


    All the way to Wuqu City, Dali slept in the back seat and snored loudly. He would sometimes stretch his body and then kick the front seat in the process, to my utter annoyance. Wang Yuanchao, on the other hand, sat beside Dali silently and without any discernible expression on his face at all, only asionally pulling out a t silver sk from his jacket and taking sips of libation from time to time.


    Huang Xiaotao saw this through the rearview mirror and chided, ¡°Haven¡¯t you had enough alcohol in your system, Wang Yuanchao? You¡¯ve been drinking all night!¡±


    ¡°Just want to keep myself awake,¡± answered Wang Yuanchao inly. I almost snorted at that reply.


    The distance between Nanjiang and Wuqu was about six hundred kilometers. I sat in the passenger seat in front, and took cat naps from time to time. After a distance, I woke up to find Huang Xiaotao bleary-eyed and yawning continuously.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you rest for a while?¡± I suggested. ¡°Let me drive.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a driver¡¯s license?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I replied, ¡°but I did learn how to drive before.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯ll be fine?¡± she asked doubtfully.


    ¡°Judging by the state that you¡¯re in,¡± I said, ¡°I won¡¯t do worse than you.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao found a ce safe enough to stop and we switched ces.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take a short nap,¡± she announced, ¡°but wake me up immediately if you see the traffic police. It¡¯d be ironic if we get pulled over, considering there are two police officers and a police consultant in this car...¡±


    ¡°Roger!¡± I nodded.


    I was taught to drive by my aunt before I got into college. She had a flourishing business of her own, so we used to have quite a number of cars at home. There was a lot of spacious empty fields in the town I grew up in, so I often had a lot of fun testing out cars there.


    This would be the first time I touched a steering wheel in years, so I yed around with it for a while to get my bearings before starting the engine and driving off.


    At about four in the morning, the number of buildings by the road gradually increased, and asionally I would see road signs with the words ¡°Wuqu¡± on it more and more frequently. It was also around this time that I heard a rustling noiseing from the back seat.


    ¡°I¡¯m so thirsty...¡± mumbled Dali. ¡°Give me some water...¡±


    Then suddenly, Dali jolted up in his seat and let out a scream which woke up both Wang Yuanchao and Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Where am I?¡± asked Dali in a panicked voice. ¡°How did I get here? I¡¯ve been kidnapped! Help! Help!¡±


    ¡°Be quiet, you idiot!¡± snapped Huang Xiaotao.


    Only then did Dali realize that the rest of us were with him in the car. I quickly exined to him what was going on.


    ¡°Shit, dude,¡± he said, ¡°you just solved thest case, and now you¡¯re working on a new one already? Why don¡¯t we open up a detective agency when we graduate? Dude, think of the money we¡¯d make!¡±


    ¡°Stop bbering, Dali,¡± I said. ¡°This is a serious case, and I received a special request to help solve it from a high-ranking officer.¡±


    ¡°Will we get a fat bonus for this?¡± asked Dali with gleaming eyes.


    ¡°You and your potty mouth!¡± Huang Xiaotao reprimanded. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, Sun Tiger has promised that all our expenses will be paid for. So don¡¯t forget to keep the receipts.¡±


    Dali enthusiastically nodded.


    ¡°Dude,¡± he said, ¡°I¡¯m so d you¡¯re my bro! My life¡¯s gotten so exciting because of you! From now on I¡¯ll have so many interesting stories to impress girls with! Hahahaha!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao nced at Dali out of the corner of her eye.


    ¡°You really need to learn how to filter the filth thates out of your mouth,¡± she said coolly.


    ¡°But is it going to be dangerous again this time?¡± Dali asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I can handle another action-packed night like that time we caught the vampire again!¡±


    He was getting on my nerves, so I told him, ¡°Go back to sleep, Dali. I¡¯ll wake you up when we¡¯re there.¡±


    Just as he began to calm down, the alcohol in his system started to act up. Dali covered his mouth and he looked so sick that he was seconds away from vomiting.


    ¡°You bastard!¡± yelled Huang Xiaotao nervously. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you if you throw up in my car! I just got it cleaned a week ago!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± said Dali, forcing his sick down. ¡°I¡¯ll let it brew in my stomach until I get out of the car.¡±


    At about five in the morning, I saw a breakfast restaurant so I decided to make a quick stop. Dali ran out like a rabid dog let out of a cage the moment I parked the car. He rushed to the nearest through and hurled out the contents of his stomach.


    ¡°Ugh, this is so embarrassing!¡± cried Huang Xiaotao. ¡°I wish I could tell people I don¡¯t know the guy!¡±


    ¡°I know that feeling well,¡± Iughed.


    The four of us then had a simple breakfast, during which Huang Xiaotao gave the Wuqu City police station a call to inform of our arrival. We headed straight to the police station after our breakfast. When we reached the ce, we were told that the leader of the task force, Officer Liao, was on the second floor waiting for us.


    Just as we got to the second floor, the first thing we heard in the hallway was the loud voice of a woman, obviously irritated about something.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe this!¡± deimed the woman. ¡°Sending a kid who hasn¡¯t even finished college yet to solve this case? And he had the nerve to stop me from performing an autopsy on the body! And Director-General Cheng allowed it! I know he¡¯s the Provincial Chief, but he shouldn¡¯t treat us professionals with such disrespect!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get me started...¡± replied another voice, this time a male. ¡°I heard that the kid¡¯s ancestors are Traditional Coroners. He probably used a bag of cheap tricks to impress the police officers of Nanjiang City and by dumb luck ended up solving two cases there. I can¡¯t believe the higher-ups would take this kid seriously just for that...¡±


    ¡°What? A Traditional Coroner?¡± jeered the woman. ¡°What a joke! What¡¯s gotten into Director-General Cheng¡¯s head? I can¡¯t believe he¡¯d fall for this fraud! I have a PhD in forensics, yet our whole team couldn¡¯t solve the case, and here hees waltzing in without any proper qualifications, thinking that he can do better than us!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao smiled at me and whispered, ¡°Listen to that, Song Yang. Someone¡¯s belittling your profession again.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m used to it now,¡± I said, swallowing my pride and forcing down my emotions.


    Huang Xiaotao cleared her throat loudly to announce our arrival, and the voices died down. We arrived at the door of the conference room, and was greeted by a chubby middle-aged police officer.


    ¡°Ah, wee!¡± he said, all smiles. ¡°You must be the group special consultants sent from Nanjiang city! Wee! Let me introduce myself. My surname is Liao, you can just call me Old Liao!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao made us a simple introduction. My gaze swept around the room, and I noticed a few police officers in there, some standing, some sitting on chairs. Among them there was a tall and slender woman wearing a big whiteb coat. She had an air of haughtiness and arrogance about her, and at first nce she was pretty good-looking.


    The other person I noticed was a policeman of about twenty years of age. There was something malicious about the look in his eyes. He seemed to be regarding us with utter disdain. My guess was that the voices we heard in the hallway must¡¯ve been these two bastards.


    Officer Liao briefly introduced each of the task force members. When it was the woman in the white coat¡¯s turn, Office Liao said, ¡°This is our coroner, Dr. Luo Weiwei. You can say that she¡¯s the flower of our team.¡±


    Dali perked instantly at the sight of a beautifuldy. He awkwardly but eagerly introduced himself and stepped forward to shake Luo Weiwei¡¯s hand. To his surprise, Luo Weiwei folded her arms and turned up her nose in contempt, refusing even to acknowledge him.


    ¡°Weiwei!¡± scolded Officer Liao. ¡°How could you be so rude?¡±


    I thought to myself, looks like Luo Weiwei is going to be a major pain in the ass while we¡¯re here.

 Chapter 47

    <h4>Chapter 47</h4>


    Officer Liao then introduced the male police officer beside Dr. Luo.


    ¡°This is Bai Yidao,¡± he said. ¡°He¡¯s our director¡¯s son...¡±


    ¡°Old Liao!¡± interrupted Bai Yidao. ¡°Why did you have to mention my father? Is that all I am to you? The director¡¯s son?¡±


    ¡°No, no, I¡¯m sorry,¡± Officer Liao smiled apologetically. ¡°It just rolled off my tongue, that¡¯s all.¡±


    Bai Yidao eyed me up and down, then smiled sardonically and said, ¡°So this is the special consultant sent to help us, huh? Looks pretty young. Well, nice to meet you!¡±


    He then stretched out a hand towards me. I shook the hand without thinking, only to realize toote that he was doing that ridiculous alpha-male move by gripping my hand tightly and not letting go. His grip was like a gori¡¯s¡ªit felt as if my bones were going to fracture. I had to struggle really hard just to free my hand. I must¡¯ve looked like an idiot to the rest of the room then.


    Luo Weiwei was overjoyed by the sight. She even chuckled¡ªand not very discreetly too. Officer Liao¡¯s eyebrows furrowed and scolded, ¡°Yidao! This is not the time and ce to be so childish!¡±


    ¡°I just wanted to test the special consultant¡¯s grip. Sorry about that!¡± Bai Yidao smiled,pletely devoid of any apologetic tone.


    I was filled with fury inside, but I gritted my teeth and was determined not to show any emotions. I thought to myself, Just you wait, you asshole! You¡¯ll get youreuppance!


    ¡°Uh... Please take a seat,¡± said Officer Liao, trying to smooth out the awkward scene as much as possible. ¡°Now that everyone¡¯s here, I¡¯ll briefly summarize the case before we start the meeting. And please pour the guests some coffee...¡±


    We all sat down at a round table. I noticed how the other police officers looked at us scornfully, probably doubting if we could ever amount to anything, especially Bai Yidao, who was constantly whispering things into Luo Weiwei¡¯s ear and then asionally ncing at us¡ªprobably talking shit about us again.


    ¡°That arrogant bastard! I¡¯ll show him who¡¯s boss!¡± cursed Huang Xiaotao. She then turned to me and asked in a gentler tone, ¡°Is your hand okay, Song Yang?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I replied. ¡°I¡¯m not that delicate, you know.¡± In truth, I was still secretly massaging my hurting hand under the table.


    Dali took a quick nce at Luo Weiwei and chided, ¡°What a conceited woman! Does she think that she¡¯s all that? She¡¯s not even half as charming as Xiaotao-jiejie!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯tpare me with that bitch, you idiot!¡± snapped Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Ah, yes... you¡¯re right,¡± nodded Dali. ¡°You¡¯re on apletely different level, Xiaotao-jiejie!¡±


    Officer Liao asked someone to pull up the curtain, then he turned on the projector and began exining the details pertaining to the case. I noticed how much better equipped the Wuqu City police station waspared to Nanjiang. But that¡¯s only to be expected since Director-General Cheng, the provincial chief, had risen through the ranks here, so Wuqu was something like his home base. Naturally they would receive special treatmentpared to Nanjiang.


    This time the victims were a family of three¡ªa pair of husband and wife and the husband¡¯s mother. The husband worked as an executive in a wholesale distributionpany. He had a close and loving rtionship with his mother, who was already eighty years old and was bound to a wheelchair due to arthritis in her legs. The rtionship between the husband and wife was also said to be very harmonious. They were never seen raising their voices at each other, much less physically fight. The pair had a twelve-year-old daughter who was sent to a boarding school far away from the city. Because of that, she was able to escape this horrible fate.


    The family lived in an old-fashioned house. Three days ago, a neighbor heard a loud noise in the middle of the nighting from the victims¡¯ house. It sounded as if there was a violent fight going on between the husband and wife. Then, sounds of objects crashing and breaking were heard.


    This neighbor often yed mahjong with the husband¡¯s mother. She went over to the house to tell them to keep the volume down, but no matter how many times she knocked on the door, no one came to open it. The next thing she saw was the olddy falling from the second floor while still in her wheelchair. She was presumed to have died on impact, her body was full of broken ss pieces, and there were chopsticks sticking out of her two eye sockets.


    The neighbor realized that something was very wrong, so she rushed over to a neighborhood security guard to make them pry open the door. When they finally got into the house, they realized that the whole ce was filled with the heady stench of blood, and to quote the neighbor herself, ¡°It was as if the whole house was painted with fresh blood.¡±


    The wife was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. She was stabbed so many times that her whole body was mangled. Half of her face was torn away from her skull, and it hung near her neck. Beside her body, there was a meat cleaver.


    The husband¡¯s death was even more gruesome. When he was found, his body was standing beside the sink, but his head had fallen into the sink with the eyes still wide open. The whole kitchen was almost flooded with blood.


    Like the case from three months ago, the murders happened in a locked room. no one could¡¯ve came into the scene from outside. The preliminary conclusion was that the husband and wife had a violent fight and temporarily lost their sanity. This caused the wife to stab her mother-inw in the eyes with chopsticks, then shoved her down the window from the second floor. After that, the husband and wife then stabbed each other with knives. The husband thought that the wife had died, so he went into the kitchen to clean his wounds, but the wife attacked him from behind and decapitated the husband. By the time, the wife had lost too much blood, so she dropped dead after only managing to walk a few steps away from the kitchen.


    They had thoroughly questioned the patrol officers responsible for that neighborhood and the neighbors who discovered the bodies, but found nothing worth following and no one suspicious. The forensics team had also tested the food that they ate before their deaths, but found no suspicious substances or drugs in them. And that was how things stood¡ªaplete dead end with no clues to follow through and absolutely no sign of progress.


    ¡°How did you determine the sequence of their deaths?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± sneered Dr. Luo. ¡°I was the one who made that conclusion. The husband had always been a good son to his mother, and witnesses stated that their rtionships had always been loving, so it would be ridiculous to suppose that the husband plunged chopsticks into his own mother¡¯s eyes, wouldn¡¯t it? Besides, the wife¡¯s fingerprints were found on the chopsticks. Apart from that, the husband couldn¡¯t kill his wife and then hacked his own head off his neck, could he? This is allmon sense! You shouldn¡¯t presume to be the special consultant if you couldn¡¯t even think of this.¡±


    ¡°Special Consultant Song, did you notice anything?¡± asked Officer Liao.


    ¡°Please just call me Song Yang,¡± I said. ¡°Personally, I think we have to start from square one with the investigation. It seems that you¡¯re heading in the wrong direction.¡±


    ¡°How presumptuous!¡± Luo Weiwei mmed the table. ¡°I¡¯ve been a coroner for six years, and you think that I would make such a rookie mistake? Hmph, you speak as if you can make the victims rise from the dead and open their mouths and talk, Great Detective Song!¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you wait and see, then?¡± I challenged. ¡°I¡¯ll prove it to you that I can do it.¡±


    The rest of the police officers in the room all turned to me with fascination, their muffled whispers tinged with ridicule.


    I guess it was to be expected, since we were strangers who came into their territory and yet they were suddenly ordered to give up their authority to us. Humans and animals weren¡¯t so different in this regard. The hostility in the air was not lost on me even from the first moment that I stepped foot in here.


    ¡°Has an autopsy been performed on the victims?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, of course not!¡± answered Dr. Luo in a particrly acrid tone. ¡°We were just about to start, but Director-General Cheng suddenly called and told us not to touch the corpses before the special consultant arrives.¡±


    ¡°Has the daughter been informed?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    Officer Liao shook his head.


    ¡°Her rtives and family friends keep it a secret from her,¡± he exined. ¡°She¡¯s attending school in another city, so she hasn¡¯t heard of any news about her family¡¯s death yet. I can¡¯t imagine the pain that she must be going through. She lost both her parents and her grandmother in a single day...¡±


    He then let out a long sigh. Judging from his age, Officer Liao probably was a parent himself, so it was unsurprising that he would be especially sympathetic to the victims¡¯ daughter.


    ¡°What about the victims¡¯ social circle?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Did you find anyone who had been in conflict with any of them?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve checked that,¡± said Officer Liao. ¡°But we found nothing worth investigating further there. You can read the detailed statements of the people we questionedter.¡±


    After that, we had nothing else to ask, so Officer Liao announced that the meeting was over and that from then on, the special team that consisted of the four of us would conduct our own independent investigation while the rest of the task force would assist in any way possible.


    ¡°From now on,¡± announced Officer Liao, ¡°my position as the leader of the task force will be handed over to Supervisor Huang.¡±


    ¡°Supervisor Huang?¡± Dali was shocked, turning his eyes towards Huang Xiaotao. ¡°But I thought you were a Superintendent?¡±


    ¡°Well, I solved two huge cases in a row, you see,¡± Huang Xiaotao exined, beaming with pride, ¡°so I was promoted to Third ss Supervisor recently, and the official documents have also been approved!¡±


    She then turned to me and patted my shoulder, then said, ¡°Great God of Detectives Song! Please give me your protection and more promotions from now on!¡±


    ¡°If you give me more offerings and burn more incense in my honor, then maybe I¡¯ll make your wishese true!¡± I joked.


    ¡°No problem!¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll treat you to the best roasted duck in Wuqu Cityter!¡±


    Although Third ss Supervisor was only one rank higher than First ss Superintendent, it sounded much cooler and more authoritative. I remembered how Officer Sun rose from a mid-ranking officer to a director of the city police station in just a few years after he cooperated with Grandpa. I wondered if the same thing would happen to Huang Xiaotao?


    That gave me an idea. Wouldn¡¯t it be great if I could help Huang Xiaotao climb up to the rank of Commissioner? Then anytime a difficult case arose, the Commissioner herself would be asking for my help¡ªhow cool would that be?

 Chapter 48

    <h4>Chapter 48</h4>


    After the meeting, I asked Officer Liao if I could see the dead bodies. Before he could reply, Bai Yidao interrupted him.


    ¡°Sir,¡± said Bai Yidao, ¡°I would like to bring the guests to the morgue myself!¡±


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± said Officer Liao. He then pulled Bai Yidao aside and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t cause anymore trouble, do you understand?¡± His voice was very low, but it still didn¡¯t escape my sensitive ears.


    Then Bai Yidao, Luo Weiwei and a few other police officers led us out of the police station.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t the morgue be inside the police station?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Just follow me and you¡¯ll see,¡± Bai Yidao answered.


    We stopped at the parking lot outside the police station. They couldn¡¯t have been so ipetent as to keep the dead bodies outside, could they? I knew that Bai Yidao was on to something, but at the same time I was curious about what kind of childish game he wanted to y with us now.


    Sure enough, Bai Yidao stopped walking suddenly and turned around to face us. While slowly stroking his chin, he said, ¡°I¡¯ve looked into your backgrounds. Apparently one of you used to be a drill instructor in the PAP. I practiced with them for a few days some time ago. Why not show me some of your moves? Maybe we can learn a thing or two from each other!¡±


    I sneered. Bai Yidao was clearly trying to intimidate us, but he didn¡¯t know that he was biting off more than he could chew!


    I turned to Wang Yuanchao and saw his lips curl up into an ominous smile.


    ¡°Sure,¡± he said monotonously, but I could sense a trace of excitement hidden underneath his breath.


    ¡°Great! Then let¡¯s warm up our bodies and get down to it!¡± He then stretched his neck and his wrists, then cracked his knuckles and move into a fighting posture. ¡°Come on, then, Instructor Wang!¡±


    Wang Yuanchao walked up but didn¡¯t go into any kind of special posture at all. He merely stood there and lit up a cigarette.


    ¡°Don¡¯t beat him up too much, okay?¡± Huang Xiaotaomented.


    The other police officers broke intoughter when they heard her say that.


    ¡°This old man? Beating Bai up?¡± said one of them. ¡°You¡¯ve gotta be joking! Our Bai was a Sanda champion for three years in a row!¡±


    ¡°Come on, that was many years ago,¡± said Bai Yidao. ¡°Instructor Wang, here Ie!¡±


    Immediately after saying that, Bai Yidao shot through the air like an arrow. He looked like a tiger pouncing on its prey as he headed towards Wang Yuanchao. But at that moment, Wang Yuanchao was lowering his head to light his cigarette. Wouldn¡¯t that count as cheating on Bai Yidao¡¯s part? I wondered. Whatever it was, he certainly didn¡¯t seem to show much sportsmanship.


    ¡°Look out!¡± yelled Dali, who noticed that Wang Yuanchao was still busy with his cigarette while Bai Yidao¡¯s fist was almost hitting his face.


    But Wang Yuanchao didn¡¯t even bother to lift up his head, he just casually leaned his head a few inches to the side, dodging Bai Yidao¡¯s punches. At the same time, he shoved his shoulder against Bai Yidao¡¯s body, pushing him back a few steps even though Bai Yidao had been moving in with tremendous momentum.


    Bai Yidao lost his bnce and almost fell over, but there was someone there who quickly propped him up, saving his face.


    Huang Xiaotao, Dali and I erupted into a cheer. It was clear that Bai Yidao was no match for Wang Yuanchao.


    ¡°Yidao!¡± cried Luo Weiwei with concern. It was clear to me then that the two were a couple, so it now made sense why they were both so equally prone to childish tantrums and arrogance.


    Although I was practically clueless about martial arts, I had read some wuxia novels before, so I knew that the move Wang Yuanchao used was called Tie Shan Kao. After pushing Bai Yidao away, Wang Yuanchao continued lighting up his cigarette and, once that was done, he took a long huff and stood there as if nothing had happened.


    Bai Yidao pushed the people who were helping him up away and gritted his teeth in fury. He took off his jacket and flung it aside, revealing a muscr body. He took a few steps forward then exploded in speed and ran towards Wang Yuanchao again.


    His movements were swift and agile, making a whistle in the air like a wind. I was shocked to see that he was aiming his kick at Wang Yuanchao¡¯s head! Was he trying to kill Wang Yuanchao?


    However, Wang Yuanchao merely took a step back and dodged the kick effortlessly. Bai Yidao¡¯s foot was caught in the air and fell swooping to the ground, but he soon regained his footing and kicked Wang Yuanchao with his other foot, aiming at his heart. Wang Yuanchao dodged that kick without any problem, but he took a final huff at his cigarette and tossed it away, then moved into an offensive posture.


    The two were now in a proper fight, both sides throwing kicks and punches at each other at such a high speed that it was almost impossible to make out their movements with the naked eye. I didn¡¯t know much about fighting, but I could still see that every time Bai Yidao threw a punch, Wang Yuanchao countered it with a hit at the wrist; each time Bai Yidao threw a kick, it was met with Wang Yuanchao¡¯s kick in the leg. And that was how the fight went¡ªBai Yidao on one side, continuously throwing kicks and punches, yet not making any contact on Wang Yuanchao¡¯s body; on the other side was Wang Yuanchao, who barely moved at all, but managed to block out all of Bai Yidao¡¯s attacks.


    Without context, I thought it looked as if Wang Yuanchao was the master of martial arts who was teaching his rookie student how to fight!


    The other police officers who were initially cheering on began to fall silent. By then even an idiot would understand the gap of skills and power between the two¡ªeach move by Bai Yidao was so effectively countered by Wang Yuanchao that he was rendered practically useless!


    Only the three of us were the ones cheering now.


    Long after the event, Wang Yuanchao told me that the moves he was using was that of Jeet Kune Do, which was a form of martial arts developed by Bruce Lee. Everyone might agree that the words Jeet Kune Do sounded cool, but few actually understood what the words meant. ¡®Jeet¡¯ meant ¡®intercepting¡¯, thus, ording to the philosophy of Jeet Kune Do, one must intercept the opponent¡¯s attacks before the attack happened by anticipating the opponent¡¯s next move.


    The fighting style that Bai Yidao was using was the standard fighting style taught in the police academy. As a drill instructor in the PAP, Wang Yuanchao could see through Bai Yidao¡¯s next move from a mile away. On one hand, he knew exactly which moves in this style of fighting could effectively counter Bai Yidao¡¯s attacks without wasting a lot of his energy; but on the other hand, if he fought back using the same fighting style, they might be fighting for a long time. Wang Yuanchao thought of how Bai Yidao yed a trick on me earlier with the handshake, so he decided to use Jeet Kune Do to cut the farce short and teach the arrogant bastard a lesson!


    Jeet Kune Do was regarded as a fighting style that could easily defeat the military and police styles of fighting. It was for this reason that Wing Chun, the martial arts that was the predecessor of Jeet Kune Do, became a banned form of martial arts in the seventies and eighties.


    After a period of intense fighting, Bai Yidao seemed out of breath and nearing the end of his stamina. Meanwhile, Wang Yuanchao looked like he could go on forever.


    Suddenly, Bai Yidao and Wang Yuanchao¡¯s fists collided mid-air at full force, making a sound that thundered through the air!


    Bai Yidao was so beaten up he could barely lift his arms. All he could do was block Wang Yuanchao¡¯s kicks with his hands. Yet Bai Yidao had been kicked so many times now that his whole body was covered in Wang Yuanchao¡¯s footprints. In contrast, it didn¡¯t look like Bai Yidao was able to touch even the corners of Wang Yuanchao¡¯s sleeves. In fact, it didn¡¯t even look like Wang Yuanchao even broke a sweat.


    ¡°Holy shit, that was awesome!¡± cried Dali. ¡°Old Wang, you are without a doubt Lin Chong the Panther Head reincarnated!¡±


    Wang Yuanchao actually cracked up at Dali¡¯sments, which was a rare thing to see. He turned around and was about to walk away when I saw Bai Yidao make a move towards Wang Yuanchao when his eyes had turned away.


    ¡°Look out behind you!¡± I shouted.


    Bai Yidao still wouldn¡¯t give up. He sprung up and tried to ambush Wang Yuanchao from behind!


    Wang Yuanchao merely turned around and did a quick roundhouse kick, sending Bai Yidao flying a few feet backwards. Hended on his butt, and I thought I heard the sound of bones cracking.


    The police officers rushed towards Bai Yidao. He tried to get up on his own, but no matter how many times he tried, he just fell back on his butt.


    ¡°You... You injured me!¡± he yelled. ¡°My father will hear of this! You¡¯ll all be in deep trouble! I¡¯ll make sure none of you will have a future!¡±


    Wang Yuanchao waspletely unperturbed by the threats. He calmly reached for another cigarette and lit it up.


    ¡°How old are you? Five?¡± Dali scoffed. ¡°You clearly were the one who started it! Yet now that you¡¯ve got a taste of your own medicine, you¡¯re crying for daddy to help you? Well, guess what? Your daddy¡¯s not here, so no one can help you now!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you, bastard!¡± yelled Bai Yidao. He finally managed to get on his feet, then said to the few people surrounding him, ¡°You all saw it, didn¡¯t you? Those bastards ganged up on me and injured me! Weiwei, you saw it all, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    They all hesitated for a while, then reluctantly nodded. It looked like none of them dared to speak up to the bastard because of his father¡¯s high position.


    Bai Yidao seemed satisfied by this obedience, and a little confidence returned to him. He got up and smoothed over his sleeves, then unabashedly proimed, ¡°All of you, just wait and see! I don¡¯t care if the Director-General sent you here! I¡¯ll show you what happens to people who mess with me!¡±


    Iughed in his face.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a policeman, Officer Bai?¡± I jeered. ¡°If you really are a police officer worth his salt, then you should know that material evidence holds more water than witness ount.¡±


    As I spoke, I pulled out my phone from my pocket and reyed every word that Bai Yidao said when he was threatening us. This was a lesson I learnt from my experience with Dr. Qin. To deal with people who could never stoop too low to save their own skin, one should always remember to keep the evidence of their conniving threats!

 Chapter 49

    <h4>Chapter 49</h4>


    I pressed the y button and yed back the recording.


    Bai Yidao¡¯s face turned from a furious red to a sickly green and finally pale with fear.


    ¡°You know what punishments you¡¯ll get for disrupting the unity within the police force and the abuse of power, don¡¯t you, Officer Bai?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What do you mean by abuse of power?¡± asked the astonished Bai Yidao. ¡°Do you have any evidence?¡±


    ¡°Yup!¡± I said. ¡°I recorded it all¡ªespecially the part where you threatened us.¡±


    That was a lie, though. I actually didn¡¯t record that part.


    Huang Xiaotao snorted and whispered, ¡°You have my respect, Song Yang! I really want to give you a nickname¡ªhow about ¡®Recording Genius¡¯?¡±


    ¡°No, thanks!¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°That nickname sounds awful!¡±


    ¡°You, you, you... what do you want?¡± stuttered Bai Yidao through gritted teeth.


    ¡°Just apologize and this will all be over,¡± I said.


    ¡°Me? Apologize to you? Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± he yelled.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, then!¡± I waved to Huang Xiaotao and the others.


    Just as we turned and were about to leave, Bai Yidao suddenly stopped us. He came over and hesitated for a long time then said, ¡°I went overboard just now. I didn¡¯t mean to offend anyone. Please don¡¯t take it to heart.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t your daddy teach you how to apologize properly?¡± I teased. ¡°Say you¡¯re sorry!¡±


    Bai Yidao pouted like a petnt kid, then bowed at Wang Yuanchao and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Instructor Wang.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s better,¡± I said. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s not waste anymore time. We¡¯ve got an autopsy to do.¡±


    On our way to the morgue, Dali excitedly said, ¡°Dude! That was awesome! You were so cool back there! You¡¯re like a totally different person from your usual self!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too kind,¡± I said modestly. ¡°But I¡¯ve learnt that you need to be sly and cunning if you¡¯re dealing with these kinds of people.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, to think that the arrogant bastard got wrecked by Old Wang and then got taught a lesson by you!¡± eximed Dali. ¡°He¡¯ll be reflecting on this for a while. Holy shit, this made my day!¡±


    Bai Yidao slid away secretly from our group as we made our way to the morgue, most probably out of embarrassment. I had a special investigation order signed by the Director-General in my hand, and I had the authority to remove anyone from the task force. By this token, I was also nominally his superior, so I had all the power to take him out of the team. But I knew that Bai Yidao was the director¡¯s son, so getting a cut in his sry probably didn¡¯t affect him at all. Besides, I was in no mood to kick someone when they were down, so I decided to just let it slide. This would be for the best anyway. I found the bastard insufferable, and now that he was gone, well, out of sight, out of mind.


    My problem right nowy with the coroner, Dr. Luo Weiwei. She was probably angry at me for embarrassing her boyfriend, and had been staring at me with evil eyes all the way to the morgue. She must be nning to take revenge on me by making a fool out of me during the autopsy. But, tough luck, because unbeknownst to her, autopsy was my real battlefield! She could never hope to defeat me there!


    The temperature in the morgue was kept very low, I could see sheets of cold air flowing down from the air-conditioners. The three dead bodies were ced on three metal tables, covered by blood-soaked white sheets. The pools of blood around them had frozen into ice.


    ¡°Do you need anything, dude?¡± asked Dali. ¡°I¡¯ll go buy them for you now!¡±


    ¡°I have to look at the dead bodies first,¡± I replied. ¡°By the way, it¡¯s really cold here. Can you go get our coats in the car?¡±


    ¡°Right on it, dude!¡± Dali rushed out immediately.


    I washed my hands with soap in the wash basin beside the bodies, then was preparing to perform an autopsy on the bodies, but soon realized that I could not find any rubber gloves.


    ¡°Where are the rubber gloves?¡± I asked Luo Weiwei.


    She snorted and took a few rubber gloves from an iron cab then tossed them into my arms.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, giving Huang Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao a separate set. Before I put it on, I took out a tiny box from my pocket and poured out three greenish ck pills from the inside, then divided them between me, Huang Xiaotao, and Wang Yuanchao.


    ¡°What is it? Candy?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao, scrutinizing it in her hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s a sweetgum candy,¡± I exined. ¡°It¡¯s made of oriental sweetgum mixed with a number of medicinal ingredients like camphor, buffalo¡¯s horn, musk and agarwood. It will refresh the senses and help you tolerate the bad smells in the air. I¡¯m afraid it will get quite goryter during the autopsy, so this should help a bit.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao reluctantly ced it into her mouth, and then the expression on her face changed immediately.


    ¡°Wow!¡± she eximed. ¡°This is even more refreshing than mints! It feels like my nose is all cleared! This must be great for the flu and colds too!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I said, smiling. ¡°This candy can actually relieve pain and relieve congestion in the lungs too.¡±


    Wang Yuanchao also popped one into his mouth. I noticed some minute changes to his usual poker face. His eyebrows raised just a little and his pupils shrank slightly. I know what it was like to experience the sweetgum candy for the first time. It was¡ªto put it in one word¡ªcooling!


    ¡°I found the recipe for it in the Collected Cases of Injustices Rectified,¡± I added. ¡°It should not be chewed but should be sucked slowly in the mouth. That way, the effect canst for more than two hours.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao smiled, ¡°Song Yang, you are more and more of an expert now. Right, can I take some of these back with me? I¡¯d love to share it with my other colleagues!¡±


    ¡°No way,¡± I said, waving my hand. ¡°Do you have any idea how expensive these are to make? Each of these costs me about ten yuan!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re joking! Is it that expensive?¡± Huang Xiaotao was surprised.


    Luo Weiwei snorted with disdain.


    ¡°Who would bother with silly candies before an autopsy?¡± she jeered. ¡°Just wear a mask and you¡¯re set to go!¡± She then took out a perfumed wet wipe and put it in a mask.


    What Luo Weiwei didn¡¯t understand was that while modern coroners used scalpels and various other advanced equipment to examine the body, their nose and ears could bepletely covered; but a Traditional Coroner like me didn¡¯t dissect and didn¡¯t rely on tools, so I needed all my senses to work normally during the autopsy, which was why I never wore masks.


    In addition to using the eyes, ears, nose, and hands, The Chronicles of Grand Magistrates also recorded an ancestor named Song Shennong who would use his tongue to perform autopsies. He would taste the flesh, the blood, and sometimes even the feces! Through this bizarre method, he managed to obtain many invaluable new practical and theoretical pieces of knowledge. But I must admit that I would never follow his methods regardless of the potential gains.


    After putting on the gloves, I pulled up the white sheet covering the first dead body. It was of the wife who died a gruesome death. Even Huang Xiaotao couldn¡¯t help but draw a sharp breath and round her eyes when she saw the condition that the body was in.


    The clothes on the body had been cut off, the skin was frozen hard, and it was as pale as a piece of paper.


    The horror we saw on this body was even worse than what Officer Liao described! The right half of her face was cleanly cut off. The knife had sliced through her head from the top of her right eye to the base of her neck. The eyeballs were cut in half, and the whole b of flesh was attached to the rest of her body only by a small piece of flesh at the neck. She had at least twenty knife wounds on her body, most of them in her torso, and the skin at the wound was cracked, revealing red muscle tissues and white fat. In some ces, even the bones were exposed, and the abdomen was stabbed through several times, causing her intestines to spill out of her body.


    She was stabbed through the navel too, which exposed her uterus. The uterus was the size of a big fist, and in it there was a tiny clump of flesh resembling the shape of a peach blossom. One of her hands waspletely sliced off her arm, and that hand which was clenched into a tight fist was ced right beside the body. It was still holding a kitchen knife.


    Looking at this mangled body, it was almost impossible to imagine that all this was done by the hand of her loving husband!

 Chapter 50

    <h4>Chapter 50</h4>


    Having seen the dead body, I quickly came to a conclusion.


    ¡°There are four victims in this murder case,¡± I proimed.


    Everyone present was surprised. Even Huang Xiaotao looked at me with questioning eyes.


    The coroner Dr. Luo Weiwei was the first to speak up.


    ¡°You don¡¯t mean to say that she was pregnant, do you?¡± she asked.


    I pointed to the exposed uterus and asked, ¡°Wasn¡¯t it obvious to you?¡±


    Luo Weiwei was wearing a mask, so I couldn¡¯t see her full expression, but the disdain in her eyes was as clear as day.


    ¡°What do you mean by obvious?¡± she snapped angrily. ¡°What you¡¯re making is a half-baked spection! You haven¡¯t even done an autopsy on the body yet! At the very least, the bodily fluids should be tested first before making any conclusions! Forensics is a science, you know? You can¡¯t make any statements based on guessing in science!¡±


    ¡°Dr. Luo,¡± I said, ¡°you rely too much on instruments. There is a passage in the Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified that states that when a fetus is a month old, it is like an autumnal dew; when it is two months old, it resembles a peach blossom. Judging by the presence of this tiny clump of flesh here that looks like a peach blossom, I¡¯d say that the victim was two months pregnant when she died.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe these superstitions,¡± Luo Weiwei brushed off. ¡°Besides, this book of Collected Cases that you¡¯re talking about is just a centuries-old novel read by the uneducated folk.¡±


    Iughed. A novel read by the uneducated folk? This coroner really knew how to get on my nerves.


    ¡°Then go ahead and do all the testing you like,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ll see that I was right.¡±


    Luo Weiwei gave me a look, then pulled out a cotton swab and collected some uterine secretions, then kept it in an evidence collection tube and went out of the morgue to do the testing.


    Seconds after herst footsteps were heard, Dali came in with three coats and asked, ¡°Why was that pretty coroner stomping out like that? Oh my god!¡±


    Dali screamed in horror when his eyes caught sight of the horrifying dead body on the metal table. He quickly turned his eyes away from the corpse and shivered in fear.


    ¡°Idiot...¡± said Huang Xiaotao, rolling her eyes.


    I asked Dali to help us put our coats on as our hands were in rubber gloves. I felt a lot warmer the second I had my coat on.


    Dali did not dare to look at the dead body again. He kept his eyes at other ces the whole time he was there.


    ¡°What else do you need, dude?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯ll go out and buy them for you now.¡±


    ¡°I need a kind of medicinal herb, called midnight horror,¡± I told him. ¡°Then get a bottle of linseed oil or olive oil, two stainless steel pots¡ªone big and one small.¡±


    ¡°Are you making stir-fry?¡± asked Dali, a bit puzzled.


    I smiled and said, ¡°Idiot, aren¡¯t you afraid of saying something like that in front of the body? You¡¯d better be careful tonight! You might find that someone is looking for you.¡±


    Dali was so scared he put his palms together in a prayer and then apologized earnestly to the dead body. He then turned to me and asked, ¡°What the hell is a midnight horror, dude? Do they sell it in the pharmacy? I don¡¯t know any Chinese medicine shops nearby.¡±


    ¡°Midnight horror is also called tree of Damocles or Indian caper,¡± I exined. ¡°You don¡¯t need to go to a Chinese medicine shop. You¡¯ll find it at the ce where you can buy herbal tea in the supermarket. Get me about 125 grams of that. And don¡¯t forget to choose those with the highest quality.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to tell me that!¡± quipped Dali. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m off!¡±


    Dali was then about to sprint out of the morgue.


    ¡°Wait a minute!¡± I stopped him, then pulled up the white sheets that covered the second and third dead bodies. The husband had really been decapitated. There were many stab wounds on the body and the intestines spilled out of his belly. Meanwhile, the hands were clenched in stiff fists. It seemed that he was also holding a knife at the time of his death. I grabbed his arm and moved it a few times. I now had a good idea of what to do next.


    The elderly victim was slightly better off, but that was not saying much. The pieces of broken ss on her body had been cleaned up. There were only some scratches and bruises, and they were not very deep. The eyeballs in both of her eye sockets had been pierced through, and the ck and red mass of flesh and blood around them had solidified. This made it look like her eyes were two deep bloody holes.


    I slid the palm of my hand under the corpse and moved it around, and found that the direct causes of death were of a broken spine and broken skull.


    ¡°Buy me some stic bands for trousers,¡± I told Dali, ¡°and a strong wooden stick, somerge sewing needles, a ma, some hooks and super glue.¡±


    ¡°Roger!¡± Dali replied before he left.


    Before I returned to the first body, Huang Xiaotao leaned her head aside and looked at the victim¡¯s uterus and asked, ¡°Song Yang, how did you know that she was pregnant? And what is it about fetuses looking like peach blossoms? Is there any scientific reason behind it?¡±


    ¡°How many petals do you see in this peach blossom? I pointed at the clump of tissue.


    ¡°Five petals,¡± Huang Xiaotao replied.


    ¡°And what color is it?¡±


    ¡°Pink.¡±


    ¡°Do you see a stem-like structure behind it?¡±


    Huang Xiaotao took a closer look, then eximed, ¡°Yeah!¡±


    I exined to her that the shape of the peach blossom that appeared on the uterus was actually a baby¡¯s premature form. The five petals were its limbs and head, and the ¡®flower stem¡¯ was the umbilical cord.


    The full horror of the case suddenly hit Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°How atrocious!¡± shemented. ¡°A two-month-old baby who never even saw the world yet just died senselessly inside its mother just like that!¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± I agreed, then let out a long sigh.


    Fortunately, the fetus was only two months old. At this time, the baby couldn¡¯t yet be regarded as a person. If it had been at least five months old, when the brain and limbs started to develop, then this body would properly be counted as containing two lives.


    ording to the books I read, the souls of these dead fetuses were reported to be extremely resentful. After the autopsy, the Traditional Coroner must cleanse his body with the smoke of mugwort leaves, otherwise the soul that failed to reincarnate would follow him, and if he went home to his pregnant wife, the soul would take over the fetus and an abnormal child would be born, often with four hands and four feet or two heads. These babies weren¡¯t conjoined twins, but more like chimeras, meaning two different bodies were joined together, as if another baby had forcibly ¡®borrowed¡¯ the uterine to be born.


    Many of the taboos passed down by the ancestors had deep meaning behind them. Although they gradually became a seemingly meaningless ritual, Grandpa taught me that they should not be brushed off as mere superstitions, lest we would be sorryter. For this reason, I usually made sure to keep this type of taboos respectfully in mind.


    I asked Wang Yuanchao to hand me the echolocation rod from my bag. I then used it to perform organ echolocation on each of the victims¡¯ bodies. I determined that the time of death was about forty hours ago. Although the details were already written in the death reports, I still had to go through the necessary process to make sure that I missed nothing.


    At that moment, Luo Weiwei came in with a report in her hand. I asked her, ¡°Is the test result out?¡±


    ¡°I admit that you guessed it right this time,¡± she muttered. ¡°The victim was indeed two months pregnant.¡± Everyone else in the room began to whisper at each other, and the way they looked at me changed a little.


    I guessed it right? Now that was funny.


    ¡°Then let me guess one more thing,¡± I said. ¡°The sequence of events went like this: the husband killed the mother, then he killed the wife, and finally the husbandmitted suicide!¡±


    ¡°You must be kidding, Special Consultant Song!¡± snorted Luo Weiwei. ¡°The husband was a very good son to his mother all along! How could he kill his own mother so brutally? Not even a fit of insanity would make him do that!¡±


    ¡°Dr. Luo,¡± I replied, ¡°did you buy your qualifications with money? What does the findings of an autopsy have to do with spections about the victims¡¯ personal rtionships?¡±


    Luo Weiwei red at me with eyes full of rage.


    ¡°I have no obligations to believe what you say!¡± she shrieked. ¡°If you want me to take your ims seriously, then you¡¯ll have to prove it to me!¡±


    ¡°Old Wang,¡± I said, ¡°Can you please get me a UVmp from the forensics department?¡±


    Wang Yuanchao nodded and left. I picked up the left hand of the male victim and squeezed the fingertips a few times. Small particles suddenly appeared at the fingertips. Although I could see it clearly with my eyes, I knew that these particles were too tiny for the average person to see.


    Wang Yuanchao soon came back with a UV light.


    ¡°What a sight!¡± joked Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Even you are using modern instruments now!¡±


    Iughed. ¡°I¡¯m utilizing the best of both worlds!¡±


    In truth, the work of a Traditional Coroner was akin to that of a forensic scientist. It required me to move with the advances of knowledge instead of blindly following what was done in the past. Take this UVmp, for example. People in ancient times also used ultraviolet light to examine corpses, but due to technological limitations, there was no reliable source of ultraviolet rays other than the sun, so dead bodies used to be moved under the sun and covered with a special gauze soaked in a specially concocted syrup to act as the light filter. But now that UV light had been invented, there was no reason for me to use the ancient method anymore.


    Thus, I took the UV light and swept it across the fingers of the male victim. The UV light made some tiny objects appear clearly, it looked like short strands of coarse hair. When she saw it, Luo Weiwei¡¯s eyes suddenly widened and beads of cold sweat formed on her forehead.


    I looked at her and sneered, ¡°Do you see what¡¯s on the husband¡¯s fingertips now?¡±

 Chapter 51

    <h4>Chapter 51</h4>


    ¡°It looks like bamboo splinters,¡± Luo Weiwei said, cold sweat dripping from her forehead.


    I turned off the ultraviolet light, ¡°Judging from the presence of these splinters, the victim must¡¯ve forcefully pushed an object made of bamboo not long before his death. If you still don¡¯t believe it, then you can check if the outeryer of the chopsticks peeled out.¡±


    ¡°So the husband really did kill his own mother!¡± Huang Xiaotao eximed in shock. ¡°Oh my god, it¡¯s horrible! What an appalling thing to do!¡±


    ¡°Even if you¡¯re right about this,¡± argued Luo Weiwei indignantly, ¡°thest one to die was still definitely the wife, because...¡±


    ¡°Because you think that people can¡¯t cut their heads off, right?¡± I interrupted.


    I noticed that Luo Weiwei was somewhat hesitant in answering me. It seemed that she had begun to doubt her previous judgment.


    Atst, she stubbornly insisted on her own point of view.


    ¡°Of course it is impossible!¡± she said. ¡°There are so many nerves and blood vessels in the neck. You¡¯d die even before you¡¯re decapitated. How can you cut off your own head, then? This is all just basicmon sense!¡±


    ¡°Do you want to make a bet?¡± I asked with a sneer.


    ¡°What... What kind of a bet?¡± Luo Weiwei panicked.


    She was a woman, after all, so I wouldn¡¯t want to make her eat the contents of an ashtray or anything like that. So I finally settled on something more suitable for her.


    ¡°Can you drive a car?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± she nodded.


    ¡°If I can prove that the husbandmitted suicide,¡± I said, ¡°then you will be our driver for free for the rest of the time we¡¯re in Wuqu City.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Luo Weiwei widened her eyes. ¡°Why would I do that?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I teased. ¡°Aren¡¯t you confident in your own conviction?¡±


    Luo Weiwei frowned, probably weighing the gains and losses.


    ¡°And what if you lose?¡± she asked. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to be my driver!¡±


    ¡°Even if you did, I don¡¯t have a driver¡¯s license.¡± Iughed. ¡°If I lose, then you can punish me however you like.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she said after considering it for a while. ¡°If you lose, I want all four of you to apologize to Bai Yidao!¡±


    That wasn¡¯t what I expected at all. I thought she would ask us not to work on the case again. I didn¡¯t think that Luo Weiwei would defend her boyfriend so openly. To her credit, it seemed that she had some self-awareness, and she knew that they could never solve the case themselves..


    So, I readily agreed.


    ¡°Not only would we apologize to him,¡± I said, ¡°we could even go down on our knees and admit our mistakes!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao red at me with her big, round eyes and yelled, ¡°Hey!¡±


    Luo Weiwei folded her arms proudly and said, ¡°Good! Since you suggested it yourself, then¡ª¡±


    ¡°You have my word as a gentleman!¡± I interrupted.


    Huang Xiaotao then whispered to me, ¡°Song Yang, this is between you and that woman! Why did you have to involve the rest of us? I¡¯ll have you know that I¡¯ll never kneel down in front of that bastard!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I assured her. ¡°Do you really think that I¡¯d make a mistake?¡±


    ¡°Oh, all right, I¡¯ll trust you,¡± she relented. ¡°You¡¯d better not bring dishonor to the Nanjiang City police force!¡±


    ¡°Yes, madam!¡±


    When Luo Weiwei saw that I hadn¡¯t done anything yet, she impatiently urged, ¡°Come on, why are you wasting your time chatting? We¡¯re all waiting to see what you can do!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no use hurrying me,¡± I said bluntly. ¡°I have to wait for my assistant toe back.¡±


    After waiting for more than 20 minutes, Dali finally came back. He carried a big bag and a small pot on his back. If we weren¡¯t in such a serious situation, I wouldugh at how ridiculous he looked.


    ¡°Geez, dude, the restaurants here are so hard to find!¡± he announced the moment he arrived. ¡°Here you go!¡±


    ¡°Thanks!¡±


    I asked Wang Yuanchao to help me glue the hooks in a row on the ceiling.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Luo Weiwei called out. ¡°Don¡¯t mess around and do stupid things in here!¡±


    I red at her.


    ¡°Do you want me to do an autopsy or not?¡± I asked. ¡°Don¡¯t you worry about the mess. I¡¯ll clean it upter.¡±


    Once all the hooks were glued onto the ceiling, I tied each of the stic bands into a circle, then thread the wooden stick through them, and spread the stic bands out so they were all equally distanced from each other. I then hung the wooden stick on the row of hooks on the ceiling. I pulled at the stic bands to make sure that they were all firm and secure.


    All the police officers stared at me, probably wondering what the hell I was up to.


    ¡°Old Wang! Help me lift the body up!¡± I ordered.


    Wang Yuanchao and I then carried the male body directly below the hook, ced it in a kneeling position on an iron table, and put the arms through the stic bands. The body was now hung up like a puppet.


    ¡°Is this... Corpse Positioning? Like what you did during the vampire case some time ago?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°No, this time I¡¯m using an even more advanced method than Corpse Positioning.¡± I took out the needle and ma and rubbed the needle in one direction until it became a maic needle.


    This preparation process took quite some time. Dali got bored so he began to shoot the breeze.


    ¡°Dude, I heard a joke two days ago, it¡¯s pretty funny. Wanna hear it?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± I said.


    ¡°There were two policemen at a murder scene,¡± Dali said. ¡°The older policeman said to the younger one, ¡®Xiaoming, this case has something inmon with the secret room murder that took cest month, as well as the dock corpse case, and the crossroads murder a few months ago.¡¯ The younger policeman asked, ¡®You mean, these murders were done by the same person?¡¯ The older policeman answered seriously, ¡®No. I mean these are all cases that I can¡¯t solve!¡¯¡±


    When he finished telling the joke, Dali pped his thigh andughed heartily. It was a stale joke, but because of how much the idiot was pleased with himself, even Huang Xiaotao and I couldn¡¯t help butugh at him. Luo Weiwei and the other police officers in the room didn¡¯t hear what Dali said, so they probably assumed that we were making fun of their ineptitude, and I noticed that their expressions grew more and more sour.


    Huang Xiaotao yfully admonished Dali, ¡°You idiot, is this the time to be telling jokes?¡±


    Dali¡¯s nce swept across the room and he saw Luo Weiwei¡¯s serious expressions. He almost jumped with surprise.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said.


    By this time, my preparations werepleted. This time I chose to use a method that was probably one level above Corpse Positioning¡ªthat is, Corpse Reanimation. This esoteric method was recorded in The Chronicles of Grand Magistrates, and it was supposed to ¡®reanimate¡¯ the dead body through maic needle acupuncture.


    In the vampire case, I used the Corpse Positioning method by chance. After that, I went back and studied the hell out of human anatomy and acupuncture.


    What was the principle behind acupuncture? Once, some Western doctors dissected the human body to find out if there was any scientific basis behind the connectivity of veins ording to the practices of acupuncture, and they concluded that there was no basis behind the theory at all and dered acupuncture to be a mere superstition from the East.


    However, in the thousands of years of China¡¯s medical history, acupuncture proved to show healing effects. In the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, the human body was an inseparable whole, and it was said that certain points on the body were connected to certain organs or other parts of the body. This was a fact that had been repeatedly verified for thousands of years.


    Therefore, there was a view that there were many small maic fields in the human body. Where these small maic fields met, a biomaic pulse was formed. This was the essence of the twelve veins discussed in the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor!


    The basis of Corpse Reanimation was to puncture the maic needle into some special acupoints, releasing the residual maic force in the human maic pulse, causing the muscles to repeat their movements before death.


    Of course, the energy in these muscles that were ¡®reanimated¡¯ were tiny, so they relied on external forces, such as using this stic to share the weight of the body, to see the effect.


    Before I pierced the needles, I cautioned Dali, ¡°Something shocking is going to happen soon. You can go wait outside if you like.¡±


    Dali shook his head with excitement, ¡°It¡¯s fine, dude! I can handle it. I don¡¯t get to see this every day. It¡¯s much more exciting than a horror film!¡±


    Iughed and told him not to me me if he got spookedter on.


    I measured the spine of the deceased male with my fingers, then pierced the maic needle into the major acupoints along the vertebrae, namely Shendao, Lingtai, Zhongshu, Xuanshu, Mingmen, and Yao Yang Guan. The depth that the needles pierced through wasn¡¯t much at all¡ªnot even half of the needles¡¯ total length.


    These acupuncture points were critical points on the body, and should not be attempted willy-nilly on a living person, because if done wrong it might even kill the person!


    But on a dead body, it wouldn¡¯t make any difference anyway, so I didn¡¯t really need to be too delicate about it at all.


    Soon, all the needles were pierced through the skin. Nothing happened.


    ¡°Hmph! All that time wasted on the preparations, all for nothing!¡± scoffed Luo Weiwei.


    ¡°Just wait for it!¡±


    I pped the dead body¡¯s shoulder for a few times, and after a while, the corpse actually began to slowly move!


    1. An ancient of which Chinese medicine is based on.

 Chapter 52

    <h4>Chapter 52</h4>


    ¡°It... It¡¯s moving!¡± Luo Weiwei cried in horror. She couldn¡¯t keep her mouth closed and kept stepping away from the corpse.


    ¡°It¡¯s a zombie! It¡¯s a zombie!¡±


    ¡°How is this possible? The head has been cut off!¡±


    The whole room was full of flustered screams. Some policemen were scared witless and ran desperately outside.


    Dali shouted for help, ran in circles in a daze, and mmed into a chair, almost falling to the ground. Huang Xiaotao¡¯s almond eyes werepletely rounded, and her mouth was opened so wide that it could be filled with a handful of walnuts. I even noticed slight changes in the expressions of the usually straight-faced Wang Yuanchao¡ªhis pupils shrank ever so slightly.


    At this moment, the body on the table was slowly raising his right hand, as if holding an invisible knife in his grasp, and then the knife slowly moved toward his own neck!


    At first, the movement was not so obvious¡ªonly the wrist was quivering. But then, under the support of the stic bands, the whole arm began to move, making repeated shing motion along the neck!


    In truth, human muscles could remember movements. It was the same as how people who had learnt to ride bicycles before never needed to learn it again even after years of not riding one. By the same token, at the moment of death, the central nervous system would shut down and the body¡¯s maic field would copse instantly, but it would still save a small record of thest movement, or muscle memory.


    But of course, muscle memory varied from individual to individual, and those severely dposed or corpses with broken spines could not be ¡®reanimated¡¯ anymore. However, the muscle tissues of this particr dead body stiffened immediately after death and maintained a subtle tension which made it perfect for Corpse Reanimation!


    When I thought of it this way, I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little proud, just as a craftsman would feel proud when hepleted a perfect piece of art. I was aware that this kind of thinking made me sound crazy, but I was a Traditional Coroner after all! If I couldn¡¯t stomach these kinds of things, then I had no business choosing this career!


    I was going to exin the principles of Corpse Reanimation to Luo Weiwei, but when I looked around the room, I couldn¡¯t find her at all. All I saw was the door which was wide open and the police officers who ran out were screaming in the hallway.


    ¡°Has Luo Weiwei gone out?¡± I asked.


    Dali pointed to the ground. I almostughed at the sight¡ªLuo Weiwei had fainted. She was lying on the ground, and that air of cool haughtiness was nowhere to be found.


    ¡°How can she be a coroner if she can¡¯t even stand that much?¡± I scoffed.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right...¡± came a voice from behind me. It was Huang Xiaotao. She was visibly shaken and pale, but didn¡¯t lose her mind the way the other police officers and Luo Weiwei did. ¡°Song Yang, can you make the dead body stop moving now? It¡¯s too terrifying to look at!¡±


    ¡°Okay, but I¡¯ll record a video of it first,¡± I said. ¡°In case Luo Weiwei won¡¯t admit her defeatter.¡±


    I then used my mobile phone to record a short clip of the dead body¡¯s movements, wondering how viral this video could be if I uploaded it to the inte. But it was just a thought, of course.


    Once that was done, I pulled out the maic needles from the body, after which it was as if an electric device had been unplugged¡ªthe movementspletely stopped¡ªonly an arm was still hung high in the air.


    ¡°Holy freaking shit, dude!¡± Dali sighed with relief. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you warn me there was going to be that kind of freak show?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean I didn¡¯t warn you?!¡± I countered.


    ¡°You said something shocking was going to happen, but this is...¡± Dali stopped mid-sentence because he had a big sneeze. Only then did I notice that while all three of us were wearing jackets, Dali was only wearing a T-shirt. I told him, ¡°You should go get your coat, Dali. You might catch a cold in here.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me,¡± he replied. ¡°I¡¯ve got a strong immune system!¡±


    I woke Luo Weiwei up. She was still so frightened when she woke up that she desperately backed away from me and screamed in panic, ¡°Go away! Don¡¯te near me!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me!¡± Iforted.


    Luo Weiwei leaned aside and peeked at the body behind me. Her lips quivered as she asked me, ¡°Did you... Did you use witchcraft to do that?¡±


    Iughed and briefly exined the principles behind the method.


    ¡°If you still don¡¯t believe it,¡± I said, ¡°you can try it yourself next time. You have ess to dead bodies all the time anyway.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± she screamed. ¡°I believe you! I believe you!¡±


    ¡°So you admit that the husband could cut his own head off?¡± I asked.


    She nodded, but still looked puzzled.


    ¡°But it makes no sense,¡± she said. ¡°There are a lot of major nerves in the neck, and he only used an ordinary kitchen knife. It¡¯s impossible to cut the neck off in one swipe with a kitchen knife, so he should¡¯ve stopped halfway...¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, this is exactly what I was trying to find out!¡± I looked around at the people in the room and said, ¡°Someone was controlling the husband¡¯s body.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao was taken aback. ¡°You mean he was hypnotized?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly,¡± I replied. ¡°I think it¡¯s a kind of magic or curse that can control the body, so that the victims couldn¡¯t help but act out certain movements.¡± I then pulled up the white sheets covering the victims¡¯ bodies. ¡°Didn¡¯t you see the expressions of the dead? Weren¡¯t they full of pain and sorrow?¡±


    Luo Weiwei got up to her feet and came over and said, ¡°It¡¯s true, their expressions looked like they suffered a lot.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao nced at the door. After the shocking scene, many police officers were scared away. Only four or five people remained in the room.


    ¡°Should we check the crime scene again for some evidence?¡± she asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s no rush,¡± I answered. ¡°Besides, I still have one thing left to test.¡± I then asked Luo Weiwei, ¡°Did you check for fingerprints at the scene?¡±


    Luo Weiwei nodded. ¡°The forensics team did that, but they only found the victims¡¯ own fingerprints on the bodies and their clothes, no outsiders.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s check it again. Go get me an alcohol burner,¡± I ordered.


    Luo Weiwei nodded and left. Huang Xiaotao smiled and said, ¡°Song Yang, you must¡¯ve scared her a lot. That woman is so obedient to you now.¡±


    ¡°She got what she deserved, considering how arrogant she used to be.¡±


    I took out the olive oil, midnight horror and the pot from the bag, then poured a lot of oil into the pot and added the midnight horror into the oil.


    ¡°You¡¯re doing it wrong, dude!¡± said Dali. ¡°You should wait until the oil is hot before you fry the vegetables.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, idiot! Come and lend me a hand,¡± I said.


    ¡°What do you want me to do?¡±


    ¡°Watch the pot and keep stirring.¡±


    Luo Weiwei soon came back with an alcohol burner. I put it underneath the pot to heat the oil. Soon the oil burned hot, and the midnight horror inside began to fry and sizzle. Smoke came out constantly, ckening the insides of the pot.


    After about five or six minutes, I noticed that Dali was getting tired, so I told him that it was good enough and extinguished the burner.


    I pulled out a penknife and scraped the soot on the insides of the pot, yielding about 100 grams of the substance.


    Huang Xiaotaomented, ¡°It¡¯s such a pleasure to watch you perform your autopsies, Song Yang. Every step looks so interesting!¡±


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s a pleasure to just stand there and watch,¡± I teased.


    ¡°That¡¯s mean! It¡¯s not like I never helped you!¡±


    ¡°Really? How have you helped, exactly?¡±


    ¡°I... Didn¡¯t I hand you something a while ago?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what you call helping?¡± I couldn¡¯t help butugh.


    Huang Xiaotao red at me.


    I asked Wang Yuanchao to carry the husband¡¯s body back to the metal table, and then gently applied the soot on his chest. Dali asked, ¡°What¡¯s that for, dude?¡±


    ¡°Midnight horror and olive oil are very light substances,¡± I exined. ¡°The ashes that they produce are therefore very light too, much lighter than the aluminum powder used by the police. Hence, it can detect something that is not easily detectable.¡±


    Because of their very lightweight nature, I didn¡¯t even dare to breathe during the whole process, for fear that the soot would be blown away.


    After the husband¡¯s chest was covered with ayer of soot, I gently blew it off and found nothing.


    Then I did the same thing on the chest and the abdomen of the wife¡¯s body. This time, when I gently blew the soot away, a line of small footprints appeared¡ªyes, tiny footprints!


    ¡°These are...¡± Huang Xiaotao said with amazement. ¡°Cat paw prints?!¡±

 Chapter 53

    <h4>Chapter 53</h4>


    When I saw the tiny cat paw prints, I applied more soot and found more paw prints on the right arm of the deceased.


    This discovery shocked people in the room. Luo Weiwei said, ¡°I remember that the victims did not have a cat at home. Where did these paw printse from?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s the key to solving this case!¡± I proimed.


    ¡°What? But they¡¯re just cat paw prints!¡± Luo Weiwei interjected doubtfully. ¡°What can these paw prints prove? That the murderer was a cat? Maybe these were made by a neighbor¡¯s cat after all!¡±


    I pointed to the paw prints and said, ¡°Look carefully, these paw prints are very clean.¡±


    ¡°How is that strange?¡± asked Luo Weiwei. ¡°Aren¡¯t cats known to be very clean? My own cat at home likes to lick her paws clean all the time.¡±


    ¡°I got it!¡± eximed Huang Xiaotao. ¡°The victims were all in a pool of blood when they were found, but these paw prints weren¡¯t stained with blood at all!¡±


    ¡°Finally! Someone got my point!¡± I said with a smile.


    But Luo Weiwei was still unconvinced. ¡°Maybe it was left before?¡±


    ¡°The paw prints were on the bodies themselves,¡± I exined, ¡°indicating that the victims had already fallen to the floor, so they must¡¯ve been left after their deaths. Instinct tells me that these paw prints are very important to the case!¡±


    Luo Weiwei was still skeptical.


    ¡°Why are you still standing there? Take pictures of the prints!¡± I ordered the police officers there. They nodded and rushed out to get their cameras immediately.


    Now that the autopsy was over, I pulled out a stash of yellow joss paper and divided them into three smaller stacks. I found a copper pot and burned them there while chanting the reincarnation mantra.


    ¡°In the name of my ancestor the magistrate Song Ci, I, Song Yang, vow that I will clear your names and bring those who are responsible for your deaths to justice. So please pass on to your next lives in peace.¡±


    Just as I finished saying that, the me in the copper pot swayed strangely, as if something was responding to me. Luo Weiwei was stunned.


    After a short time period, the police officers came back with their cameras and took photos of the paw prints on the bodies. After that, I told them to gather everyone here.


    Once everyone arrived, I said to Huang Xiaotao, ¡°Supervisor Huang, I¡¯m overstepping my boundaries!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao froze in puzzlement for a while before she reacted. She smiled and said, ¡°Go ahead and give themands. I¡¯m not here as your superior. All three of us are here to help you.¡±


    Thus, I asked them to print out the photo of the cat paw prints. One person was asked to visit the scene of the murder case to see if there were any cats in the vicinity, or if there were stray cats there, and if there were, topare the paw prints.


    To be honest, I didn¡¯t have much hope that doing this would result in much. But anyway, there were so many police officers that could be dispatched this time, and crime investigation worked a lot likebing hair¡ªit took a little bit of filtering to find clues.


    After assigning the task, I asked a policeman, ¡°Where is Bai Yidao?¡±


    ¡°He... He went home.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s outrageous!¡± I yelled. ¡°Tell him toe back soon, or else he¡¯ll be kicked out of this task force!¡±


    After the incident in the morgue, the policemen were a little bit afraid of me. Hearing what I said, the policeman said that he would call Bai Yidao immediately, but I told him to do thatter and just focus on the assigned tasks for now.


    Huang Xiaotao smiled and said, ¡°Not bad at all, Song Yang! You¡¯re quite the authoritative figure!¡±


    ¡°Haha, well I¡¯ve been interacting with a certain bossy officer a lottely, and she¡¯s rubbing off on me.¡±


    ¡°Bossy? Who are you calling bossy?¡± Huang Xiaotao threatened me with a clenched fist.


    ¡°No, no, I didn¡¯t mean it in a bad way!¡± I denied, waving my hands repeatedly.


    I put the white sheets back on the dead bodies and turned to Luo Weiwei, ¡°Can you take us to the evidence room?¡±


    ¡°Okay, follow me,¡± nodded Luo Weiwei.


    When we got out of the morgue, it felt like walking from the North Pole to the tropics. Huang Xiaotao took off her coat and said, ¡°Oh my god, it was freezing inside! It¡¯s not easy being a coroner!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± agreed Luo Weiwei, ¡°Many coroners develop arthritis and rheumatism because we work in this type of environment all year round.¡±


    But it was still a much better environment than what coroners in the past had to deal with, I thought to myself. There was no refrigeration technology in ancient times, so the dead bodies had to be kept in a cold room or the cer, and even then, the dead bodies would still decay pretty quickly. Things got even worse when the weather was hot. Traditional Coroners had to wear a clean suit that wrapped their bodies tightly, which caused them to profusely sweat in hot weather, and couple that with having to examine dead bodies in a stinking room with flies flying around, it was no wonder that many coroners in the past contracted lung and skin diseases from the work that they did¡ªnow that was a truly hellish work environment!


    Our group soon arrived at the evidence room. Luo Weiwei and the officer guarding the evidence room greeted each other briefly and we went straight in. Huang Xiaotao asked in confusion, ¡°You¡¯ve got prettyx security here. How could we enter such an important ce so casually? Shouldn¡¯t our identities be checked first?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re all internal staff anyway,¡± answered Luo Weiwei. ¡°No one here would steal the evidence.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily true, though,¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Missing evidence is a very troublesome thing to deal with! You should take more precaution against it. I¡¯d suggest that you discuss this matter with your director.¡±


    ¡°Whatever,¡± Luo Weiwei replied coldly.


    The evidence room was very spacious. It contained rows of iron shelves, and was well ventted and airy. Luo Weiwei found several items rted to the case by number, all of which were packaged in transparent stic bags withbels on them.


    We picked them up and examined them. They consisted of the victims¡¯ belongings, like mobile phones, wallets, clothes, as well as some broken dishes.


    I noticed that a few pieces of evidence were missing. When asked, Luo Weiwei replied, ¡°The missing ones are the weapons. They¡¯re being tested by the forensics team. If you want to see them, I can take you there.¡±


    ¡°Not for the time being,¡± I said. I turned on the phone to check it out. The husband turned out to be a distributor of some sort. Even three days after his death, the victim was still receiving a mountain of missed calls and text messages. I told Huang Xiaotao, ¡°We should take this phone. There could be some notable clues in here.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao took it and put it in her pocket.


    Nothing else was found. I asked Luo Weiwei, ¡°Is the evidence for the case three months ago here as well?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Luo Weiwei nodded.


    We went to the corresponding shelf and checked the evidence one by one. The time limit for the police to keep the evidence was thirty days, but because the whole family in this case was dead, no one came to im the evidence, so they were all still there.


    The police of Wuqu City really were very thorough. They took almost everything in the victims¡¯ house. There was even a cute figurine of the beckoning cat. Could this also be considered evidence?


    I counted the number of evidence and found that nothing was missing. Then I said to Luo Weiwei, ¡°Let¡¯s go check the crime scene!¡±


    ¡°Which crime scene are you talking about?¡± Luo Weiwei asked.


    ¡°Thetest one,¡± I answered.


    ¡°The police have sealed the scene, so if you want to go there...¡± Luo Weiwei suddenly turned red. She probably just remembered the bet she lost where she was supposed to be our driver for free. ¡°I¡¯ll take you there!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao looked at her watch and said, ¡°It¡¯s 10 o¡¯clock in the morning right now. It should be about lunchtime when we¡¯re done. I¡¯ll treat everyone to the best roast duck in town for lunch then!¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re making good on your promise!¡± I said.


    ¡°Of course I am!¡± Huang Xiaotao smiled. She suddenly noticed that Dali had been very quiettely. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Dali? I thought you¡¯d be jumping with joy at the mention of roasted duck! You don¡¯t look excited at all.¡±


    When Dali opened his mouth to speak, I noticed straight away that his voice had be hoarse. ¡°Dude, I think I might have caught a cold.¡±


    ¡°Must¡¯ve been the freezing air in the morgue,¡± I said. ¡°You should go take a rest.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I think I¡¯ll go find a hotel room and lie down for the rest of the day,¡± said Dali. ¡°I guess I won¡¯t be following you today.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao asked Luo Weiwei, ¡°We¡¯vee this far, didn¡¯t you guys arrange a ce for us to stay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask Officer Liao,¡± answered Luo Weiwei.


    We then left the evidence room. Because we took a piece of evidence with us, we had to fill out a form with the guarding officer, and since we were going to the crime scer, Luo Weiwei took a bunch of keys for the evidence room with her.


    Luo Weiwei then made a phone call. After a while, the Officer Liao rushed over and said, ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry to keep you waiting! The Director-General gave me the order, so I¡¯ll find a nice hotel for all of you. Shall we go now?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Huang Xiaotao waved her hand, ¡°we¡¯re going to the crime scene right now. Please just take Wang Dali here to the hotel with you.¡±


    I told Huang Xiaotao to go ahead and get the car while I apanied Dali and Officer Liao to the hotel. On the way, I bought some cold medicine for Dali. Officer Liao took us to a nice hotel and asked us how many rooms we needed.


    Since Dali caught a cold and might have a feverter, he would need someone to take care of him. Huang Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao should each have their own room, of course, so I told Officer Liao three rooms would be fine.


    Once the check-in was done, I went up to our room with Dali to help him settle in, boiled him some hot water and told him to rest. Dali sighed andmented, ¡°Not only am I slowing you guys down, but you even have to take care of me now. Sorry for being a burden this time, dude.¡±


    ¡°Why are you talking to me like we¡¯re not friends, dude? By the way, is your nose stuffy?¡±


    Dali nodded.


    I handed the sweetgum candy to him and told him to suck it slowly in his mouth. Dali did so and was immediately sat up on the bed in amazement.


    ¡°Holy shit!¡± he eximed. ¡°What is this medicine? It¡¯s so cool and refreshing! I feel like I can breathe freely now!¡±


    I exined it to him. Dali then said, ¡°Dude, this pill is a miracle! Why don¡¯t we start a business selling this after our graduation? You can apply for a patent for this pill, and I can guarantee you it¡¯ll make us rich!¡±


    I gave Dali¡¯s suggestion a serious thought and realized that it sounded like a pretty good idea!


    1. A charm or talisman to bring in good luck.

 Chapter 54

    <h4>Chapter 54</h4>


    When Dali was settled in and I was about to leave, Huang Xiaotao sent me a text message saying, ¡°Song Yang, you muste to the parking lot right now! Something¡¯s gone wrong!¡±


    That made me really worried. I hurried to the parking lot as quickly as I could, but when I found out what Huang Xiaotao meant when she said something went wrong, I almost burst outughing.


    It turned out that Luo Weiwei identally hit a pir as she drove Huang Xiaotao¡¯s ck BMW out of the parking lot. A piece of paint chipped off of the car door. It seemed that Luo Weiwei¡¯s car skills were not up to par!


    Huang Xiaotao was groaning as if in pain while caressing her car. Luo Weiwei stood there beside her saying, ¡°Oh, what¡¯s the big deal? I¡¯ll pay you the money for the repairs, okay?¡±


    Huang Xiaotao waved her hand and said, ¡°Forget it, I have car insurance, but it¡¯s just too much trouble! I hate dealing with those people from the insurancepany!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao asked me to help her get the car out as it was stuck between pirs, but I told her I might make things worse. In the end, it was Wang Yuanchao who came to the rescue. In seconds, he got Huang Xiaotao¡¯s car out with seemingly no effort at all.


    ¡°Well done! You really are an experienced driver!¡± praised Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Do you know what the phrase experienced driver means?¡± I asked her, almost choking.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it just mean what it says?¡± Huang Xiaotao wondered.


    I was speechless for a while. It seemed that Huang Xiaotao was not online that much.[1]


    I regretted letting Luo Weiwei be the driver, but she swore that she could do the job once the car was on the open road. Eventually, we let her drive anyway, and it turned out that she really did just fine once she was out of the parking lot.


    Half an hourter, we arrived at the crime scene. The house was on an old street with many shops nearby, but they were all closed. The buildings here were unorganized, and there were clothes hanging on the top of our heads everywhere. Because it was almost noon, most of the residents here were cooking at home, and I could hear the nking sound of cooking and the smell of fooding from the open windows.


    Luo Weiwei said that this street had been in Wuqu for many years now. There used to be many shops that sold groceries here, but as time went on, there were more and more supermarkets nearby, so younger people were less and less interested toe here, and the business on this street gradually declined...


    Luo Weiwei led us to a two-story building with yellow tape sealing off the house and a police seal on the door. Huang Xiaotao asked, ¡°But I thought the victims were doing quite well financially. Why didn¡¯t they live in a nicer apartmentplex?¡±


    ¡°The father of the deceased used to have a calligraphy and painting business here,¡± Luo Weiwei exined. ¡°This street-facing house used to be a painting studio that the deceased inherited from his father.¡±


    I asked Huang Xiaotao, ¡°Have you never lived in this type of old-fashioned house before?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No. Surely it¡¯s not asfortable as an apartment, right? I have always lived in an apartment building since I was a child.¡±


    I had lived in the old Song family house since I was a child. Old wooden houses like these were warm in winters and cool in summers. We didn¡¯t even need air conditioning. I found this type of house especiallyfortable. Later, when I went to college, it took me a long time to adapt to the modern dorm buildings.


    We tore the police tape and went into the house. The first floor was very spacious, like a big open room, and it was obvious that it used to be a shop. But because not much light was let into the house, the first floor looked a bit gloomy and sullen.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to describe it, but it feels like we¡¯re in a horror movie!¡± Huang Xiaotao eximed.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be a police officer if you¡¯re so easily scared,¡± sneered Luo Weiwei.


    Huang Xiaotao red at her.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re one to talk!¡± she snapped. ¡°Who was it that fainted in the morgue earlier?¡±


    ¡°I just slipped and fell!¡± Luo Weiwei argued.


    ¡°Yeah, you were even foaming in the mouth,¡± jeered Huang Xiaotao. ¡°You¡¯d better get a CT scan and check if your brain was damaged somehow!¡±


    ¡°You!¡±


    I didn¡¯t want their argument to get more heated, so I told Luo Weiwei, ¡°Dr. Luo, I need you to get me a bag of fine flour.¡±


    She was still ring at Huang Xiaotao when I said that, and she tersely replied, ¡°What do you need that for?¡±


    ¡°I need you to go get it now!¡± I ordered.


    Luo Weiwei reluctantly went out. Huang Xiaotao sighed, ¡°That woman is pretty, but her temper is just foul! I bet her rich boyfriend must¡¯ve spoiled her.¡±


    ¡°I think her looks are average. She¡¯s nowhere near as pretty as you are.¡± I replied.


    I didn¡¯t even think of what I said, it just rolled off my tongue, but to my surprise, Huang Xiaotao reacted very strongly to myments. She cheerfully took my hand and asked me, ¡°Do you really think so?¡±


    ¡°Um... yeah!¡± I shyly admitted.


    Luo Weiwei was indeed a beautiful woman, but I felt that her beauty came with pointy edges around it somehow¡ªshe had a pointy chin, upturned eyes, and eyebrows that slightly curved upwards. In contrast, Huang Xiaotao¡¯s features were round, harmonious, and very pleasant to the eyes.


    However, in terms of temperament, Huang Xiaotao was very cool and confident, befitting of a police officer; while Luo Weiwei had the temperament of a delicate rich girl who was used to being pampered.


    In short,paring them was likeparing an apple to an orange.


    Huang Xiaotao poked me with her elbow and said, ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve known you for a while now, but I still don¡¯t know what type of girl you like!¡±


    ¡°Um...¡± I nced at her, and my cheeks suddenly became hot. ¡°I think girls with long hair are cute!¡±


    ¡°What? That¡¯s just the opposite of me!¡± cried Huang Xiaotao. ¡°You didn¡¯t just say that because you¡¯re too embarrassed to say you like me, did you?¡±


    ¡°No, absolutely not!¡± I denied.


    We stepped on the creaking wooden stairs to go up to the second floor, and from the stairways, we could see the dining room where the murders urred.


    It was in total chaos¡ªthe tabley sideways on the floor, the windows were broken, the floor was full of dishes and chopsticks, and the walls were so sshed with blood that you couldn¡¯t see the color of the original wallpaper. On the floor, white tape was used to mark the outlines of the victims. The thick curtains by the windowspletely blocked the sunlight froming in. There was what I could only describe as a thick sinister atmosphere hanging in the room.


    ¡°This house has terrible feng shui,¡± I stated with furrowed brows.


    ¡°You even know feng shui too?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°Feng shui is actually not that esoteric,¡± I exined. ¡°My grandfather told me that it is mostly about the first impression that a house gives people. Look at the doors of the bedrooms here. They¡¯re all right there next to the dining room, giving the upants no privacy at all. And the stairs are so steep, yet the olddy¡¯s legs weren¡¯t strong, so she must¡¯ve had a lot of difficulties getting upstairs and downstairs. Apart from that, the bedrooms and the bathroom are so far apart! You¡¯d even have to go through the stairs! It must be tough on cold winter nights!¡±


    ¡°That makes a lot of sense,¡± nodded Huang Xiaotao. ¡°If I¡¯m going to buy a house, I¡¯d definitely ask Master Song to take a look at it first.¡±


    ¡°No! I¡¯m not that much of an expert!¡± Iughed.


    While there were indeed some defects in the design of this house, that alone was not enough to cause the tragedy that happened here. Feng shui should have nothing to do with the murder case.


    We walked into the dining room, which was connected to the kitchen. The kitchen was very messy. The floor was full of broken tiles. The knives that scattered the ground had been taken away by the police. White tape was used to outline a human form in front of the kitchen counter.


    I quietly observed for a while, trying to recreate the sequence of the murders in my mind. There was no need to reason out the murderer of the case anymore, because we know what happened. What needed to be figured out was the reason behind their grisly actions!


    I opened the curtain and noticed that there was an empty house on the opposite side. Then I stared at a handmade mask hanging on the wall for a long time. Huang Xiaotao remarked, ¡°If you like that thing so much, I can buy one for you when we go back!¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m thinking about something else,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Any ideas?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    I shook my head. ¡°No, nothing yet.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t figure anything out either,¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°This case is just too bizarre! Wang Yuanchao, you¡¯re the most experienced person here, do you have any ideas?¡±


    Wang Yuanchao stood there expressionless and made no replies at all for ten seconds. Huang Xiaotao sighed, ¡°Well, thank you for your valuable input.¡±


    Just then, I heard footsteps downstairs. Huang Xiaotao said: ¡°Is Dr. Luo back already?¡±


    She was about to go downstairs, but I stopped her and listened intently to the footsteps.


    ¡°No,¡± I warned her. ¡°Those aren¡¯t Luo Weiwei¡¯s footsteps!¡±


    1. An experienced driver is Chinese inte ng for someone who has long and varied experience in sexual activities.

 Chapter 55

    <h4>Chapter 55</h4>


    t


    I signaled for them not to make too much noise and we quietly went downstairs.


    We hid in the stairs and saw a thin, tall man entering the house, wearing a cap on his head, sneaking and snooping around. We knew at first nce that this was a suspicious person and should be apprehended.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move, police!¡± Huang Xiaotao shouted.


    The man looked up and saw us. He was visibly scared and shocked. He turned around and took off, but we rushed after him. Wang Yuanchao was as fast as a cheetah. He quickly caught up with the man, threw him to the ground, took his handcuffs from his waist and caught him¡ª it was all done in clean, neat movements.


    The residents along the street heard themotion and came out to watch.


    ¡°Please, officer, I just saw the door open, so I went in just to take a look! I haven¡¯t done anything! Please...¡± the man implored.


    Huang Xiaotao crossed his arms and roared, ¡°Just to take a look? Don¡¯t you know that this is a crime scene? Or are you connected to the murders somehow?¡±


    The man turned deathly pale and profusely waved his hands.


    ¡°No, officer! I... Actually... I was just checking to see if there was anything I could steal...¡±


    Huang Xiaotaoughed.


    ¡°Great!¡± she eximed. ¡°We caught a thief!¡±


    The man¡¯s face almost turned blue now. Someone in the crowd suddenly recognized him.


    ¡°Hey! It¡¯s the guy who stole a dress that I hung outsidest month!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s definitely the guy who stole my family¡¯s precious vase then!¡±


    ¡°Yeah! He must¡¯ve taken my son¡¯s bicycle too! I put it outside for a second and it was gone!¡±


    More and more people began to shout. The thief lowered his head timidly and desperately begged for help. Huang Xiaotao showed her badge to the crowd and said, ¡°Everyone, calm down. We are the police. This thief will be taken into custody and questioned. After that, we will recover all the stolen goods.¡±


    The noise from the crowd instantly died down, and they soon dispersed.


    ¡°Those were some bold promises, weren¡¯t they?¡± I asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Why should I care?¡± she shrugged. ¡°This isn¡¯t my territory anyway. Once we¡¯re done with this case, we¡¯ll be gone from here. Let the local police deal with this.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°You really are something...¡±


    Huang Xiaotao picked up the thief and asked him what he was called and what exactly was he doing here.


    The thief was called Zhang Liuer. He insisted that he was not a professional thief, but was just out of work at the moment. He noticed that there wasn¡¯t much security in the area, so he looked around for anything to snatch. Sometimes he¡¯d take the jars of pickles or pots that the residents left on their window sills, and sometimes he¡¯d even take a pot of chicken stew left on the charcoal fire outside¡ªin short, if it was something that he could lift up and run, there was nothing that he wouldn¡¯t take!


    ¡°I¡¯ve never met such a pathetic thief!¡± Huang Xiaotao said with contempt.


    Zhang Liuer smiled awkwardly.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been in this area a lot,¡± I said. ¡°Surely you¡¯d know that there was a murder case here in thest two days? Didn¡¯t you see the police investigating this ce? Why would you enter the house?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t have any other intentions, mister!¡± he insisted. ¡°I just wanted to go in and look around...¡±


    ¡°Are you sure there was nothing in there that you were aiming to steal?¡± I asked


    Zhang Liuer quickly denied, ¡°What could I be aiming to steal in a dead person¡¯s house? That¡¯s just absurd!¡±


    Okay, I thought, if you wouldn¡¯t admit it yourself, then I¡¯ll make you cough it up!


    I activated my Cave Vision, which shocked Zhang Liuer into a daze. I stared into his eyes, ¡°I will ask you again, is there anything in this house that you want to take?¡±


    I decided to use the Cave Vision to see if Zhang Liuer was lying, because I knew that he was as timid as a mouse. I noticed that his eyes darted around nervously.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me, mister!¡± he pleaded. ¡°Please, I told you the truth!¡±


    ¡°Why would you think that I want to kill you?¡± I asked, slightly amused.


    ¡°Because your eyes are as terrifying as that cat¡¯s...¡±


    My ears pricked up immediately at the mention of a cat. I grabbed his shoulder and asked, ¡°What cat are you talking about?¡±


    It might be that I was so excited that I inadvertently hurt Zhang Liuer. He shrank away and shivered and replied, ¡°Mister, please! Can you turn your eyes back to normal?¡±


    I turned off my Cave Vision and told him to exin it clearly.


    Zhang Liuer said that he was in a pinch at the time¡ªstealing the odd pots and pans wouldn¡¯t do any longer. So, he decided that it was time to rob a whole house.


    After looking around for some time, his eyes were set on the house where the murders urred. The reason being that the couple were not at home during the day, so there was only the olddy to deal with. The olddy was suffering from a disease that made her legs and eyes very weak, which was perfect for Zhang Liuer.


    He then decided to sneak in to see if there was anything in that home worth stealing, choosing a time when only the olddy was at home. He went around the house and found a cat figurine in the store room on the first floor. The figurine seemed to be gold-ted. It showed fine workmanship, and its two eyes seemed to be made of precious gems¡ªin short, it seemed to cost a lot of money!


    Zhang Liuer was about to lift the cat figurine up and take it away, when something out of the ordinary happened¡ªthe cat¡¯s eyes suddenly moved!


    Zhang Liuer was so startled he knocked something over. The olddy yelled out in shock, so he rushed out of the house in panic without taking anything.


    He came back to observe the house for a while. He found that the olddy would go to the neighbors to y mahjong every other day, which meant that the house would bepletely empty, so he could easily go in and take as many things as he could.


    Before he could do that, the murders urred. All three of the family members died. The house was sealed off by the police, so he had to give up the whole idea.


    He happened to pass by the house today, and saw that the door was open, so he decided to quicklye in and take a look just in case he got lucky and found something to steal.


    After Zhang Liuer finished speaking, I thought about it for a while. I didn¡¯t see any cat figurines in the house. Could it be that someone took it away?


    Huang Xiaotao asked me, ¡°What should we do with this bastard?¡±


    ¡°I assigned some police officers to ask around about cats in this neighborhood, so some of them should be nearby,¡± I said. ¡°Just hand this guy over to one of them and take him back to the police station to take his statements.¡±


    ¡°Hey, mister!¡± said Zhang Liuer. ¡°But I told you everything that I know! Why do I still need to go to the police station? I see you¡¯re all very busy with this case, I really don¡¯t want to bother you. Just let me go, okay?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I told him. ¡°Handing you over to the police will not take up our precious time.¡±


    Zhang Liuer frowned, ¡°But I didn¡¯t take anything!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± snapped Huang Xiaotao. ¡°You didn¡¯t take anything here yet, but you¡¯ve stolen many things from this neighborhood in the past! You should count yourself lucky if all we wanted you to do was take your statements!¡±


    Just then, we saw a policeman passing by. We handed Zhang Liuer over to him and told him to take him to a nearby police station, and then we returned to the murder scene.


    Luo Weiwei had just returned with a bag of flour in her hand.


    ¡°Where have you been?¡± she asked.


    ¡°We went out and caught a thief,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Caught a thief?¡± sneered Luo Weiwei. ¡°Sounds like you¡¯ve got a lot of free time on your hands. Here you go! Here¡¯s the flour you asked for!¡±


    I thanked her and took the flour from her hand, went into the storeroom on the first floor and searched every inch of it. There was no cat figurine like the one mentioned by Zhang Liuer at all. I then opened the flour and sprinkled a thinyer around the windows, the window sills, and the door.


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re doing the same thing you did during the case of the pianist ghost some time ago,¡± Huang Xiaotao noticed. ¡°Do you think this house is haunted?¡±

 Chapter 56

    <h4>Chapter 56</h4>


    t


    ¡°No,¡± I shook my head. ¡°I just want to confirm something.¡±


    I then went to the second floor again and sprinkled some flour in every corner. After I finished, I went back to the first floor and asked Luo Weiwei to lock the door and prepare to leave.


    ¡°Where are we going next?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°The police officers won¡¯t be done yet,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m getting hungry now. Let¡¯s eat! Didn¡¯t you say you were going to treat us to the best roast duck?¡±


    Luo Weiwei looked excited. It seemed that she was one of those ¡®foodies¡¯ who lived for food.


    ¡°I know the way to the most famous roasted duck restaurant here, I¡¯ll take you there!¡± she suggested. ¡°You probably never tried their signature dish, it¡¯s amazing, you¡¯ll love it...¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re noting with us,¡± I interrupted her. ¡°I need you to go back to the police station to do some tests for me. Check the nasal residue of the victims, as well as the stomach contents and see if there are any stimnt-likepounds.¡±


    Luo Weiwei was visibly deted.


    ¡°But didn¡¯t you say that I¡¯m not allowed to do an autopsy on the dead bodies?¡± she asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, go ahead,¡± I waved my hand at her. ¡°I¡¯ve nothing else to do to the dead bodies.¡±


    ¡°Okay, understood,¡± answered Luo Weiwei.


    After Luo Weiwei left, Huang Xiaotaoughed and said, ¡°Song Yang! How could you treat precious little miss Luo like that?¡±


    ¡°She lost the bet, so she got what¡¯sing for her,¡± I replied coolly.


    ¡°You don¡¯t look like the kind of man who is nice to everyone. But that¡¯s fine! I like that! Hahaha!¡±ughed Huang Xiaotao while patting my back.


    Her praise made me blush, so I quickly changed the subject.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the test would find anything substantial to the case,¡± I said. ¡°But we still have to go through the process just in case.¡±


    ¡°Is it going to turn out just like the previous case then?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°No, we¡¯re still making progress now. It might be slow, but we¡¯ll just have to wait and see.¡± I replied.


    The three of us then went to the fancy restaurant that was famous for its roasted duck. The meal was really expensive¡ªthe total bill amounted to about six or seven hundred yuan, which was an extortionate price in my view, but Huang Xiaotao parted with the money as if it meant nothing to her.


    ¡°You usually spend a lot of money, and your car is better than your captain¡¯s. Is your police sry enough for all that?¡± I asked.


    Huang Xiaotao poured out a ss of c and casually answered, ¡°Nah, my sry is just my pocket money.¡±


    ¡°Your family must be very rich!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a secret for now,¡± she said, winking her eyes. ¡°But rest assured, I¡¯m not using stolen money or anything shady like that.¡±


    We had a good meal, and after I finished eating, I ordered something to bring back to Dali. He must be feeling lonely at the hotel.


    In the afternoon, we returned to the police station. The police officers who went out to investigate came back one after another. I told them to go to the conference room on the second floor. Bai Yidao also arrived. He regarded us with ring eyes. It seemed that the bastard still wouldn¡¯t relent to Wang Yuanchao!


    I told them to summarize their findings. Most of the police did not find anything. Several police officers took pictures of the paw prints of some cats they found. Wepared them to the paw prints found on the victims, but they were obviously not a match.


    In fact, after listening to what Zhang Liuer had to say, I suspected if the cat was a real physical being at all.


    ¡°What are the results of the tests?¡± I asked the forensics team.


    ¡°Only a few tests have been performed,¡± one of them replied.


    He exined to me that there were more than one hundred kinds of stimnt drugs. They had topare them one by one. Currently, only drugs such as amphetamine, cathinone, diethyltryptamine and amphetamine had been tested. They all came out negative. The rest of the tests would take about three to four days toplete.


    I nodded and assigned the next tasks to them.


    At present, there were a few things to do. First was to sort out the information in the mobile phone of the deceased; second, the deceased was a businessman, so we had to check if he had any suspicious business connections; third was to investigate the empty house opposite the murder scene and check if it had been rented out recently; and fourth was to find the daughter of the deceased, because I had something to ask her.


    When I mentioned this, a policeman raised his hand and asked, ¡°Consultant Song, the rtives of the deceased have concealed this matter from the daughter so far. The little girl is only 12 years old this year and she is studying in another city. Wouldn¡¯t it be a bad idea to reveal her family¡¯s fate like this?¡±


    I sighed.


    ¡°But she¡¯ll find out sooner orter,¡± I said. ¡°Or is she going to be kept from the truth for the rest of her life?¡±


    ¡°But we can just interview the rtives if you want to investigate their family,¡± argued the policeman.


    I asked him, ¡°How many uncles do you have?¡±


    The policeman was confused, but answered, ¡°Four.¡±


    ¡°Then let me ask you: when is your fourth uncle¡¯s birthday?¡±


    He couldn¡¯t answer me.


    ¡°Sometimes our rtives know even less about us than our friends,¡± I exined. ¡°The ones who know the most about a person are always the immediate family members. And that¡¯s why I must talk to the girl!¡±


    After assigning the tasks, I told them to disperse. We would meet again and summarize the information tomorrow morning.


    Everyone soon left the room, and eventually there were only two other people left apart from us¡ªLuo Weiwei and Bai Yidao.


    Bai Yidao stretched out his hands and asked me, ¡°What about us, Great Detective Song? What should we do?¡±


    I took out a piece of paper on which I drew something during lunch. There were three drawings on the paper. I threw it to him and said, ¡°Go find a carpenter to help me create these three masks, and there¡¯s a list of medicinal herbs on the other side of the paper. Grab those for me.¡±


    Bai Yidao stood up, ¡°You¡¯re using me to run errands?¡±


    ¡°What else can you do besides run errands? I just learned about your background...¡±


    ¡°What does my father have anything to do with this?¡± asked Bai Yidao.


    I was amused by his question. The bastard seemed to think that everyone cared about his father.


    ¡°I was talking about your aplishments in all the three years that you¡¯ve been in the police force,¡± I rified. ¡°You were involved in the investigation of a couple dozen cases, but you only managed to solve two. One of those was theft, the other was murder, but the suspect turned himself in, so I can¡¯t really give you credit for that.¡±


    I knew that someone like Bai Yidao who entered the police force by virtue of connections wouldn¡¯t have much to show in terms of aplishments, so I decided to poke at his sore spot!


    ¡°You...¡± Bai Yidao red at me while pointing at my face.


    ¡°Help me get those things ready, and send them here tonight,¡± I said. ¡°If you can¡¯t obey the orders, then get out of the task force!¡±


    ¡°Fine! I don¡¯t want to stay anyway!¡± He stood up and was about to leave, but Luo Weiwei stopped him.


    ¡°Think about it properly,¡± I reminded him. ¡°This case is under special attention. All of the high-ranking officers are following our progress closely. I should tell you that my sess rate of solving cases ever since bing a consultant is 100%. This is a rare opportunity for you to show your capabilities. Do you really want to just walk away?¡±


    After a while, Bai Yidao swallowed his pride and took the piece of paper. He red at me and left the room.


    Luo Weiwei turned out to be more mature and professional than her boyfriend. When Bai Yidao was gone, she asked me, ¡°Do I still need to be your driver this afternoon?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I waved my hand. ¡°You¡¯re the coroner after all, so I need you to do something more technical.¡±


    Luo Weiwei was very happy to hear that.


    ¡°Tell me what I need to do!¡± she said excitedly.


    ¡°Go get me two mice,¡± I said.


    ¡°Wha... What?¡± I saw Luo Weiwei¡¯s cheek twitch. ¡°Hey, at least respect my position as the coroner!¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I replied. ¡°Then I need you to perform full autopsies on the three dead bodies. Assess the degree of mechanical damage, see if there are anyplications of the injury and if there are any hidden lesions. Do a brain, bone marrow, joint examination, then check the spines. Check for any abnormalities in the gray matter and white matter. Also, I need a sample of the main organs, a separate sample of serum and telets, and a 5,000-word autopsy report submitted by tomorrow.¡±


    Luo Weiwei¡¯s jaw was still dropped after I finished talking. She probably didn¡¯t expect me to know much about human anatomy and medicine. After a long pause, she mumbled, ¡°How... how old do you want the mice to be?¡±


    ¡°Two or three months old will do,¡± I replied.


    After Luo Weiwei left, Huang Xiaotao finally couldn¡¯t help herself. Sheughed her heart out while holding her belly and asionally mming the table.


    ¡°Song Yang, that was awesome!¡± she cried. ¡°Did you see that look on her face? She looked like an idiot! Oh my god! My stomach hurts fromughing so much!¡±

 Chapter 57

    <h4>Chapter 57</h4>


    t


    Huang Xiaotao asked me what we should do next. I told her that there was nothing else to do for the time being except wait for the reports from the others. I suggested going back to the hotel and get some needed rest to refresh our bodies and minds.


    So we went back to the hotel, and I saw Dali still lying in bed. I brought the roast duck and food to him. Despite being sick, Dali actually ate very happily. While eating, he asked me about the investigation today, so I briefly summarized everything to him.


    Dali listened to my spections and asked, ¡°Do you think that maybe the perpetrator of this case is not a human being, dude?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I firmly denied, ¡°No matter what, I believe that humans are always behind the crimes that happened somehow.¡±


    At this time, there was a sound of water sshing next door. Dali suddenly became cheerful.


    ¡°Dude, listen, Xiaotao-jiejie is taking a shower!¡± he chirped.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s Wang Yuanchao¡¯s room,¡± I replied.


    Dali instantly lost interest andy back down in bed.


    ¡°Stupid Old Wang,¡± he muttered. ¡°Taking a shower at this time of day...¡±


    I had driven to Wuqu City overnight, so I felt incredibly sleepy. So I slept for a while and felt a lot better when I woke up. I checked my phone and found that I had a few messages.


    It was all in a WeChat group specially created for the task force. One police officer said that he had found an important piece of information, and then there were messages from Luo Weiwei and Bai Yidao saying that they¡¯dpleted their tasks.


    I put on my clothes and knocked on Huang Xiaotao¡¯s and Wang Yuanchao¡¯s rooms. After waiting for about five minutes, Wang Yuanchao appeared in front of me neatly dressed. I asked him, ¡°Didn¡¯t you sleep?¡±


    ¡°I did,¡± he replied inly.


    After a while, Huang Xiaotao opened the door. She wore the hotel¡¯s bathrobe and her face was covered with a mask. She stretched out her arms and said, ¡°I had a good sleep just now. What¡¯s wrong? Did they find a new clue?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I replied. ¡°I¡¯ll give you ten minutes, put on your clothes quickly.¡±


    ¡°Ten minutes? Have you ever waited for a girl to get ready before? I¡¯ll need at least half an hour just to wear my clothes andb my hair! I¡¯ll need longer if I¡¯m going to wear makeup!¡±


    That really was the first time I found out that girls needed so long to get ready.


    ¡°Then Old Wang and I will head to the police station first,¡± I said. ¡°You can catch up with uster.¡±


    ¡°Roger!¡±


    We went to the second-floor conference room. Bai Yidao, Luo Weiwei and another policeman were already waiting. Bai Yidao gave me two paper bags. I opened one and found that it contained three carved masks made of cedar wood and the other contained some herbs.


    ¡°Well done!¡± I praised.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a friend who does this kind of craftwork,¡± he said coolly. ¡°Why do you want this thing anyway?¡±


    ¡°For something important,¡± I replied vaguely.


    Luo Weiwei had brought the mice, and the two were put in a small iron cage.


    Next, the policeman said that he investigated the husband¡¯s bank ount found a suspicious anomaly. About five million yuan had been withdrawn from the ount after the husband¡¯s death. The money was transferred into an ount that belonged to a person called Yu Jun.


    I asked him and Bai Yidao to investigate this Yu Jun person. As for Luo Weiwei, I had no other tasks for her. I told her she could leave work early if she wanted to.


    However, Luo Weiwei insisted on investigating with Bai Yidao. As she left, I asked her for the key to the murder scene.


    I then borrowed aboratory to slowly heat up the medicinal herb mixture, and then asked the forensics officers there to give me a serum sample of both the husband and wife.


    After that, I told them to inject 20 milliliters of the serum into each of the mice. At that moment, Huang Xiaotao arrived and saw the mixture of herbs in the pot simmering away and the police officers giving injections to the mice. It must¡¯ve been an interesting scene to behold.


    ¡°Song Yang, what kind of evil experiment are you conducting here?¡± she jokingly asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ll knowter.¡±


    After the serum injection, I waited quietly for a while. The two white mice were still alive and kicking, seemingly nothing had happened to them.


    ¡°There¡¯s no effect at all,¡±mented Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Well, the test failed,¡± I relented with a shrug. ¡°I originally wanted to see if they would kill each other.¡±


    ¡°Kill each other?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°Yeah, if the results of the technical group are too slow, it is better to do a biological test. It seems that we can basically rule out the effects of drugs for these two murder cases...¡± I sighed in disappointment.


    ¡°Song Yang, that¡¯s cruel!¡± Huang Xiaotao cried.


    Then I told the forensics officers that there was no need to continue the test. They thought that they would be working overnight, so when they heard me say that, they all cheered and happily went home.


    Once the herbs were ready, I filtered out the juice. Because there was no brush, I used a piece of paper towel to soak the juice up and applied it to the inside of the three masks.


    ¡°What is that weird smell?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao, scrunching up her nose.


    ¡°You¡¯ll know soon enough,¡± I replied. After the masks dried, I took them and picked up the cage with the white mice inside and said, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go back to the murder scene!¡±


    ¡°Right now?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao, looking at her watch. ¡°But it¡¯s already half past five! It¡¯s going to be dark there!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine,¡± I said with a smile. ¡°Besides, I¡¯d nned to be there at night anyway.¡±


    The three of us drove to the old street. Now that it was getting dark, all the residents there stayed inside to have their dinners and watch TV. We stepped over the caution tape and headed to the house where the bloody tragedy happened and opened the door with the key that Luo Weiwei gave me.


    The atmosphere was even gloomier inside now that it was evening. Huang Xiaotao tried to turn on the light, but soon found that there was no electricity. I smiled wryly and joked, ¡°Perhaps they cut off the electricity because no one paid the bills.¡±


    We pulled out our phones and used them to illuminate the ce.


    There was no trace on the flour that I sprinkled all over the house during the day. We went up to the second floor. I put the white mouse on the window sill, pushed open the window, and then took three pairs of gloves from the bag and asked them to help clean up the scene. The tables and chairs were rearranged, and the debris on the ground was swept away. Our phones were ced in the center of the table to light up the room.


    Once we were done with cleaning up, I pulled out the three masks and said, ¡°Let¡¯s reenact the murders!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Huang Xiaotao was shocked. ¡°Can¡¯t you pick a better time? Besides, look at this house! It¡¯s full of blood and the air feels sinister!¡±


    ¡°Trust me, I know what I¡¯m doing,¡± I reassured her.


    ¡°Do I have to do this?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°Yes!¡± I answered firmly.


    ¡°Fine...¡± Huang Xiaotao reluctantly agreed.


    And so, I assigned the roles to all of us. My original n was for me and Huang Xiaotao to y the role of the husband and wife, while Wang Yuanchao yed the role of the olddy. But aftering here, I really felt that there was something eerie in the atmosphere. To be on the safe side, we would just skip the role of the olddy! Besides, there was no line for the olddy anyway, so Wang Yuanchao could just observe us on the side. If anything happened, he could immediately interrupt us before things went too far.


    I handed a mask to Huang Xiaotao, and I put one on myself. The mask was very heavy. I could only look out from the two eye holes. Huang Xiaotao took it in her hand and said, ¡°I¡¯ve learnt of crime reenactment before in the police academy, but I have never heard of one that requires wearing such a strange mask. What exactly does this weird-smelling concoction of yours do, Song Yang?¡±


    I exined that it was a potion of sorts that I found in the Chronicles of Grand Magistrates, called Murder Reenactment. It was invented by a Song family ancestor, inspired by a stage drama that he saw. The ancient wizards who wore ghost masks were reportedly able to travel to different dimensions, which made him wonder if he could use simr methods to be able to witness the crime himself.


    So, after ten years of experimentation, he developed this technique of Murder Reenactment. By having several people y the role of the people involved in a crime, he could urately reenact the crime, explore the criminal¡¯s mind, and search for clues that were easily overlooked.


    The characters in this ¡®performance¡¯ were divided into several categories ording to gender, birth, roles, and were represented by the twelve characters in the y. These twelve masks were used to evoke the emotions of the murderer and the victim as the crime urred.


    For example, Huang Xiaotao got the character of Gou Mang, who symbolized a middle-aged woman, and I wore the mask of Chi You, which symbolized a middle-aged male murderer.


    The inside of the mask was also coated with a potion that would further evoke the emotional reactions, which made the emotions and sorrows as real as if they were your own.


    The mystery behind this Murder Reenactment technique was bottomless. It epassed scientific and psychological principles and some supernatural elements that were difficult to exin.


    It was recorded how someone who was in the process of using this technique suddenly fainted and woke up crying the name of the murderer in a voice that belonged to the victim, thereby solving a ten-year-old cold case!


    But it was undeniable that the technique involved very high risks.


    The reason why I wanted to use the technique nheless was because there had been no progress in this case so far. Besides, I had a spection that I needed to verify...

 Chapter 58

    <h4>Chapter 58</h4>


    After wearing the masks, Huang Xiaotao and I sat on both sides of the table. She took the lead and began, ¡°Honey, did you enjoy the food?¡± Then she burst outughing.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said, ¡°It just feels like when I yed house as a kid. Okay, I promise I won¡¯tugh this time. Let¡¯s try again.¡±


    She took a deep breath to clear her mind and got into the role.


    ¡°Honey,¡± she said again, ¡°did you enjoy the food?¡±


    ¡°Your cooking is getting better and better, darling,¡± I replied casually, and then thought about what to say next. ¡°By the way, did Mom go out to y mahjong again today?¡±


    Huang Xiaotao nodded.


    ¡°Uh huh, she even won twenty yuan today! She was so happy about it!¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°She usually loses hundreds of yuan though! You shouldn¡¯t let her go out and y mahjong all the time! Let her watch TV at home!¡±


    ¡°You tell that to your mother yourself!¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°I don¡¯t have the heart to stop her, it¡¯s her little hobby! Do you want to deprive her of the little fun she has?¡±


    ¡°Ah, but I¡¯m worried about her getting up and down the stairs!¡± I said.


    At first it was obvious that we were ¡®performing¡¯ our conversation, and every time we talked, we paused a little and thought about how to pick up the next sentence. But gradually, the two of us seemed to get into our roles more and more, and the conversations came to us naturally, exactly like a real couple.


    We talked about some daily chores, and Huang Xiaotao also acted out the action of eating with her hands. Then something magical happened. The dark room inexplicably turned bright. There was sunshineing in through the window, the sound of cooking was hearding from the neighbors¡¯ house, and I could even hear the crying of the children and the barking of the dogs. From time to time, it would sound like cars were passing by.


    It felt like I was caught in a realistic dream. The consciousness and the body werepletely separated. Without thinking about it, these words came out of my mouth, ¡°Honey, you¡¯re pregnant, you should take better care of your body. You shouldn¡¯t cook these greasy dishes anymore.¡±


    Sitting opposite me was no longer Huang Xiaotao with a mask, but the dead wife. She was in her forties, but she didn¡¯t look old at all. She wore a purple knit sweater and her hair was neatlybed. She looked like the perfect housewife.


    She sighed, ¡°Every time I made chicken or pig¡¯s trotter stew, you¡¯din that they were tasteless. Besides, I know you like these fried dishes and a little rice wine to go with your meal after work!¡±


    I looked down and saw that the table was full of delicious food. In front of me there was a small pot of hot rice wine, with a small cup beside it. I poured the wine and took a sip. The spicy taste of alcohol permeated my mouth and and warmed my throat. Shit, this felt a bit too realistic!


    ¡°But for our baby, I¡¯m willing to eat tasteless food for a few months,¡± I said. ¡°Also, I¡¯ll quit smoking because second-hand smoke is bad for the baby.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a boy or a girl,¡± she replied. ¡°But I¡¯d prefer a boy. We already have a daughter. It would be nice to have a daughter and a son!¡±


    I heard a chewing sound next to me and turned to look at it. An olddy, the mother of the deceased, sat there wordlessly.


    How could it be this realistic? I could clearly witness the exact situations on the day of the murder¡ªevery detail, every movement was so vivid!


    I thought of the recipe for the potion in the book¡ªdevil¡¯s trumpet, longan fruit, Asian sage, wolfsbane... Shit! This wasn¡¯t a potion that evoked emotions or anything like that¡ªit was clearly a hallucinogenic concoction! Ancestor, you lied to me!


    But by that time, I waspletely trapped in this hallucination. Even my own consciousness began to blur and I felt like I was losing control of my mind.


    As ¡®I¡¯ was enjoying my wine, a piercing noise rang in my ears. It felt as if the sound was drilling into my skull. I subconsciously covered my head with my hands to protect myself.


    ¡°Honey, what¡¯s wrong?¡± my ¡®wife¡¯ asked with concern.


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s getting too cold in here...¡± ¡®I¡¯ replied.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you?¡± said my ¡®wife,¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s getting colder this time of the year. I told you to wear an extra pair of autumn pants, and you never listen!¡± She then got up and was about to shut the windows. But before she got any further, she sat back down suddenly. Even my ¡®mother¡¯ stopped eating and was sitting there with her head buried under her hands.


    All three members of the family sat there at the table, feeling an inexplicable feeling that they couldn¡¯t shake off.


    I suddenly realized that this weird noise I heard was the key to this case!


    ¡°My head...¡±ined my ¡®wife.¡¯


    ¡°Get up and shut the window!¡± ¡®I¡¯ shouted.


    ¡°No! I have a headache and I can¡¯t stand up!¡± replied my ¡®wife.¡¯


    ¡°Get up and shut the window now!!!¡± ¡®I¡¯ yelled, mming the table.


    ¡°Don¡¯t yell at me!¡± My ¡®wife¡¯ suddenly smashed a bowl. ¡°You always order me around! Do you think that my life is easy? I quit my job to take care of your old mother! Look at how shriveled my hands are!¡±


    ¡°You ungrateful bitch!¡± ¡®I¡¯ shouted. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that I had to work like a dog outside all day, nodding my head like a ve in front of my customers? I had to go out and drink with them veryte at night till my stomach bled, but did you ever understand me? No! You even suspected that I had an affair with someone else!¡±


    My ¡®wife¡¯ was furious. ¡°Stop spewing nonsense! Youe homete every night; you even have a secret phone that you hide from me! Do you think that I¡¯m an idiot? God knows what you¡¯re doing out there!¡±


    ¡°How dare you talk to me like that?¡± I stood up and pulled out my belt. ¡°I never even raised my voice at you all these years, that¡¯s why you¡¯re getting more and more ungrateful! I must teach you a lesson today!¡±


    ¡°Go ahead! Hit me if you dare! I have your child in my belly!¡± After that, my ¡®wife¡¯ shoved the table till it fell on its side in a fit of rage. The dishes on the table spilled over like torrential rain.


    ¡®I¡¯ protected my face with a hand, then flung my belt in the direction of my ¡®wife¡¯. My ¡®wife¡¯ wed on my arm and was determined to smack me, ¡®I¡¯ kicked her away...


    At that moment, the olddy trembled and repeatedly mmed her hands on the armrest of her wheelchair. She shouted, ¡°Stop! Stop it now!¡±


    Seeing this olddy, ¡®I¡¯ was suddenly ovee by a feeling of disgust that I had never felt before I yelled at her, ¡°It¡¯s all your fault! You¡¯re a burden to me! When will you die? I now have to take care of my kids and you too! All of the responsibilities in this house are on me! Because of you I had to use the money I saved to buy a house to pay for your medical bills! And you even have the nerve to y mahjong every day!¡±


    In a fit of fury, ¡®I¡¯ picked up a pair of chopsticks from the floor and stabbed them into my ¡®mother¡¯s¡¯ eyes. Because ¡®I¡¯ used too much force, the splinters in the chopsticks stuck to my fingers. ¡®I¡¯ could feel the chopsticks going through the eyeballs and straight into the brain.


    The olddy¡¯s horrifying screams almost pierced my eardrums, and her two hands were struggling in the air, scratching my arms. Her fingers dug so deep into my skin that when she pulled away it took pieces of flesh with it.


    ¡®I¡¯ was furious. ¡®I¡¯ didn¡¯t know where ¡®I¡¯ had gotten the strength from, but I lifted the wheelchair with the olddy still sitting on it, and threw her out the window.


    With a loud crash, the olddy fell and hit the ground.


    ¡®I¡¯ then felt aplex mix of emotions. There was pleasure, remorse, and confusion. I had no idea what happened to myself. How could I kill my own mother? How did I end up like this?


    At this moment, ¡®my¡¯ arm felt cold. I turned around and saw my ¡®wife¡¯ who looked like she was the devil from hell. She held a kitchen knife in her hand, and she was using it to stab me again and again.


    ¡¯I¡¯ desperately backed away, my feet trampled on the dishes and cutlery on the floor.


    My ¡¯wife¡¯ screamed, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡±, and with very quick movements she stabbed ¡®my¡¯ arms and shoulders. The wounds were deep, ¡®my¡¯ blood gushed out, and ¡®my¡¯ flesh was exposed.


    Perhaps the knife was too sharp, because I couldn¡¯t feel the pain at first. But then, the burning pain prated my bones. This severe pain caused ¡®me¡¯ to be as furious as a wild beast. I kicked her off and rushed into the kitchen to get a kitchen knife.


    Suddenly, an invisible fist hit ¡®my¡¯ face, and something flew out of ¡®my¡¯ mouth.


    Then my vision blurred. The kitchen, the blood, the screaming ¡®wife¡¯ slowly disappeared before my eyes...


    ¡°Song Yang, wake up!¡± Wang Yuanchao grabbed my shoulder and shook it violently.

 Chapter 59

    <h4>Chapter 59</h4>


    t


    I gradually regained my consciousness. The first thing I saw was a dark room. It was still the scene of the murders. The tables and chairs that have just been set up have all been overturned, and they are exactly the same as we saw when we came! The phone I used to put on the table fell to a corner, but it was still shining a light.


    Huang Xiaotao was on the ground. The mask fell off her face and was on the floor beside her. She was coughing violently and a stream of clear saliva flowed out of her mouth.


    I noticed that there were two shoe prints on her abdomen, one from me and one from Wang Yuanchao.


    There were a lot of bloody scratches on my arm, and my mouth was burning with pain. Wang Yuanchao¡¯s punch had been so strong that I lost a tooth, and my gum was still bleeding.


    I was angry at him for this at first, but then realized that if he hadn¡¯t been that violent, Huang Xiaotao and I would not be able to wake up and we would continue to be trapped in this hallucination. We might even end up hurting each other seriously. It was like we were both possessed by the devil back there...


    Huang Xiaotao suddenly yelled out my name. I panicked and wondered if she was still hallucinating.


    ¡°Song Yang! That was horrible! What a horrible scene!¡±


    She walked towards me and held me tightly. Her hug was so forceful that she almost suffocated me. I could feel her warm tears falling onto my neck. Although her pair of D-cup breasts were pressed against my chest, my emotions were in disarray at the time, so I didn¡¯t appreciate the moment as much as I should have.


    I hugged her back. Huang Xiaotao¡¯s soft body shivered in my arms, butter I discovered that I was shaking even more than her!


    Fortunately, a hug could really make people feel better¡ªmuch better than any medicine. Gradually, we calmed down and slowly broke away from our hug. Huang Xiaotao tried to wipe her tears with the back of her hands, so Wang Yuanchao handed her a Kleenex.


    Huang Xiaotao always had a bright and charming personality every time I saw her. I had never seen her like this before. Tears were streaming from her beautiful eyes, yet somehow, I thought she never looked cuter, and I couldn¡¯t help but stare longingly at her. My heart leapt wildly. This was a feeling that I¡¯d never experienced before!


    Huang Xiaotao noticed me staring at her. Suddenly, she hit my chest with her fist in anger.


    ¡°What the hell were you trying to do, Song Yang?¡± she yelled. ¡°I could¡¯ve died of fright!¡±


    Her loud voice woke me up from my daze.


    ¡°You can¡¯t me me for this,¡± I said, ¡°I followed a recipe written in the book.¡±


    ¡°What recipe?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    I picked up the mask that fell on the ground and looked at it. ¡°Do you still remember the concoction I made in theb this afternoon? The recipe was written in the book. It says that this medicine can evoke emotions. But in fact, it¡¯s a hallucinogenic drug!¡±


    ¡°Bastard, you nearly scared me to death you know?¡± Huang Xiaotao violently grabbed the mask in my hand and threw it to a corner of the room.


    I cursed under my breath and vowed never to use this Murder Reenactment technique ever again!


    At that time, I really thought that it was my ancestor¡¯s fault. But when I went back and flipped the bookter, I found out that the name of this concoction was called Dream Entry, and the note behind it described how it could make you enter into a dream state while still awake. I had previously misunderstood the sentence to mean evoking emotions, when in fact it was a warning that said the concoction will make you hallucinate! I guess I had to brush up on my ssical Chinese knowledge.


    Apart from that, I even made another stupid mistake, which was to mix in the herbs at a wrong dose. I was lucky there had been no irreversible damage! All in all, I was the one solely to be med in this matter.


    But there was something else that I could never have anticipated that happened that night. The incident formed a bond between me and Huang Xiaotao that I was ever so grateful for. Many yearster, I would look back at this incident and thank my ancestor who invented the Murder Reenactment Technique, because it brought Huang Xiaotao and I together¡ªbut that¡¯s a story for another time.


    I asked Wang Yuanchao what had just happened. He exined that when Huang Xiaotao and I started pretending to chat and eat together, we seemed like a real couple. Then, after I suddenly said that I had a headache, we started to quarrel with each other.


    Wang Yuanchao was very hesitant to stop us at the time. He didn¡¯t know if he should wake us up. But the longer we fought, the more serious the fight became, until finally he felt he must jump in and forcibly wake us up.


    I was forever grateful that we didn¡¯t all wore the mask. If that had been the case, the three of us might lie dead here with the masks still on our faces, and forever recorded in the police archive as a case that can never be broken.


    Huang Xiaotao had calmed down by now. She asked me, ¡°Did you hear a strange voice back then?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I replied.


    She then asked Wang Yuanchao, but he did not hear anything. Apparently, the voice appeared at the time of the incident. A family of three suddenly suffered unexinable headaches at the same time, and then their temperament changed. This was undoubtedly the key to this case.


    I sighed.


    ¡°I think what made this family temporarily lost their minds was probably...¡±


    I was interrupted by the sound of the white mice in the cage that suddenly squeaked very loudly. They shook the cage desperately until it almost fell off the window sill.


    ¡°That¡¯s bad!¡± I cried. ¡°Something¡¯sing into the house!¡±


    ¡°Something? What do you mean by ¡®something¡¯?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao, her face turning pale.


    I picked up the phone from the ground and walked over to check the mice. After seeing it, all three of us sighed in relief. There were cat paw prints on theyer of flour next to the cage, and it continued all the way to the stairs.


    ¡°Huang Xiaotao, you stay here and guard this ce,¡± I said. ¡°Old Wang and I will go out and chase the cat!¡±


    ¡°Nope! No way!¡± protested Huang Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯m not staying in this creepy house alone! Wang Yuanchao, you stay here! I¡¯ll go out with Song Yang!¡±


    I had no choice but to relent. After I went out with Huang Xiaotao, I noticed that there were no street lights on the old street at all. The only light came from the inside of the houses on the street. The whole ce was pitch ck otherwise.


    I decided that our best n would be to separate our ways and each look for the cat in different directions. But Huang Xiaotao suddenly grabbed my arm and said, ¡°It¡¯s much better if we move together. What if something happens?¡±


    I wanted to say that splitting our ways would be more efficient, but I was afraid that something might really happened, so I agreed.


    One direction of the old street was a wide road, while the other was a small alley. I thought that the cat was more likely to escape into the alley, so we decided to look for it in this direction.


    After walking for some distance, I suddenly realized that Huang Xiaotao had been holding my arm all along. Wasn¡¯t she acting a bit too intimately? When I looked down at her hand, she quickly retracted it and said, ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand! It¡¯s not that I¡¯m afraid or anything...¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure if it was my own wishful thinking, but I noticed how Huang Xiaotao suddenly acted strangely.


    ¡°I must¡¯ve frightened you back there. How should I make it up to you?¡± The moment I uttered thest word, I immediately realized how embarrassing I was. Why am I being so weird in front of Huang Xiaotao? Didn¡¯t I always think of her as a friend and colleague?


    Huang Xiaotao made no reply. She merely walked on with her head hung low. I got worried so I turned to her, but to my surprise, I saw that her face was even redder than mine!


    Her skin had always been fair and delicate and white, and now that her cheeks were blushing, she looked especially adorable!


    I wasn¡¯t sure if she was blushing out of shyness or anger, because she suddenly red at me and said, ¡°No, thank you!¡± Then she strode forward.


    I was utterly confused and didn¡¯t know what to say to that. A woman¡¯s heart truly was the most inscrutable thing in the world¡ªmuch more so than a hundred murder cases!


    We came to the alley, and the light from my phone suddenly dimmed¡ªit seemed that the battery was almost out. I asked Huang Xiaotao to take out her phone. She searched through her pocket and said, ¡°Oh no, I think I left it at the house!¡±


    Soon enough, my phone died, and we were left in pitch-ck darkness.


    At this moment, I suddenly heard the sound of something rolling on the ground. I saw a little girl kneeling on the ground, ying with a ball. She turned her head towards us when she heard our footsteps, and I saw her eyes glow in the dark!

 Chapter 60

    <h4>Chapter 60</h4>


    When the girl saw using, she stood up and gave us a hostile look. Her clothes were neat and tidy, unlike street children. She was wearing a pink dress, white stockings, a pretty pair of shoes, and her hair was tied in a ponytail.


    I noticed that her eyes glowed with a white and green light while her pupils were dark and unlike the shape of normal human eyes at all!


    The two of us silently studied each other for about five or six seconds. Huang Xiaotao went forward and asked, ¡°Hello, darling, why are you out here all alone?¡±


    As soon as she spoke, the girl turned and ran. Huang Xiaotao and I exchanged nces and quickly chased the girl.


    The alley was very dark, and the cobblestone bs on the ground had been in disrepair for a long time, so there were holes everywhere. But with my Cave Vision, I could avoid all of them and effortlessly move in the dark.


    Huang Xiaotao couldn¡¯t, however. She stumbled upon a protruding cobblestone, screamed, and lost her bnce.


    I quickly turned around to grab her before she fell to the ground, but because of her inertia and the whole weight of her body rushing towards me, she almost fell on top of me. I grabbed her instinctively to regain my bnce, and we managed to stay on our feet, but I suddenly realized that my hands were clutching her very soft... breasts!


    Huang Xiaotao shrieked like a frightened bird and quickly pushed me away. My first reaction was to apologize. However, before I could utter the words ¡®I¡¯m sorry,¡¯ she pped me. Although I did wonder why the p didn¡¯t hurt at all. It was as if she barely touched my cheeks. I was confused. Was I pped because she was angry or what?


    ¡°Watch where you put your hands, you idiot!¡± snapped Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it! Besides, I was just about to apologize!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao gave me a look. My mind went back to chasing the suspicious little girl, who must¡¯ve gone pretty far, so I turned around and began to run after the girl. Yet as I left, Huang Xiaotao yelled, ¡°Hey, don¡¯t leave me here!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I can¡¯t see. You¡¯ll have to lead me.¡± She then reached out with her hand. I hesitated for a while, but then took her hand and we continued to run.


    Huang Xiaotao¡¯s hand felt really soft and smooth. My little heart kept thumping in my chest the whole time we ran.


    ¡°You¡¯re such a useless guy! Incurably useless!¡± Huang Xiaotao cursed at me as we ran hand in hand.


    ¡°What did I do now?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No wonder you couldn¡¯t find a girlfriend! You¡¯re destined to be forever single!¡±


    ¡°As if you had a boyfriend yourself...¡± I teased.


    Huang Xiaotao kicked my butt. She did so while we were still running and holding hands. I thought about how agile and difficult move this was. This wasn¡¯t a simple move that anyone could do!


    After running for a while, I saw the figure of the little girl in the dark. Huang Xiaotao heard the footsteps and shouted, ¡°Stop right there!¡±


    The girl turned back and opened her mouth to make a sound. The sound that came out was... a meow!


    The girl suddenly rushed towards me. I had to let go of Huang Xiaotao¡¯s hand to protect myself from the girl¡¯s ¡°ws.¡± Her nails were very sharp. The moment she scratched the back of my hand, it left a bloody wound. She was also very quick and agile so I couldn¡¯t block her attacks at all.


    Huang Xiaotao pointed her gun at the girl and shouted, ¡°Stop, or I¡¯ll shoot!¡±


    The girl froze. Then I saw a shadow pass over her eyes, and the girl fell to the ground. As her body fell, I saw a ck shadow jumping out of her body and onto a wall, but the shadow was so swift and faint that I couldn¡¯t follow it even with my Cave Vision.


    ¡°Why isn¡¯t she running or moving anymore?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°She fainted,¡± I replied.


    ¡°What happened? Was she frightened?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao again,pletely perplexed by what had just happened.


    I pushed the girl¡¯s eyelids up to check her pupils and found that her eyes werepletely like a normal human being¡¯s. Then I noticed that she had a school badge on her chest. The girl was about twelve or thirteen years old.


    ¡°Could she be the daughter of that family?¡± I conjectured.


    ¡°Whoever she is, we can¡¯t just leave her here. You¡¯ll have to carry her back.¡±


    ¡°Should I carry her?¡± I asked, pointing at myself.


    ¡°Yes, of course! You¡¯re the man here, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    What I meant was that the alley was very dark so if I carried the girl, I wouldn¡¯t be able to hold her hand. But I couldn¡¯t be bothered to exin it to her, so I kept quiet.


    I suddenly remembered one thing. I took a small bag of fine flour from my pocket and blew it in the ce where the girl had just stood. Some footprints appeared on the flour, which was left by the girl. Then I blew it to the wall again, and a line of cat paw prints appeared on the wall.


    Huang Xiaotao couldn¡¯t see in the dark, so she asked me what the hell was I still doing there. I told her about this discovery.


    ¡°What? More cat paw prints?¡±


    ¡°Yes, exactly the same as those found in the house,¡± I replied.


    ¡°I¡¯m starting to think that the murderer doesn¡¯t really exist in this case...¡±


    ¡°No, I believe that there is a murderer!¡± I insisted.


    I carried the girl on my back. The 12-year-old girl was not heavy at all, so I could walk back to the house without any difficulties. Meanwhile, Huang Xiaotao held onto my shirt and followed behind me as we left the alley.


    When we reached the house of the murder scene, I told Huang Xiaotao to go get Wang Yuanchao. There was nothing left to investigate here, so I decided we should head back to the police station.


    Huang Xiaotao went into the house, then after a while, she came back out with Wang Yuanchao who was carrying the two white mice. Huang Xiaotao smiled and said, ¡°These little guys escaped your attempts at their lives twice! That¡¯s not shabby at all. You should find a please to release them to the wild...¡±


    ¡°These mice don¡¯t have the ability to survive in the wild,¡± I said. ¡°Releasing them would be just as bad as killing them outright. You can bring them back to raise them as pets if you like.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea,¡± nodded Huang Xiaotao. ¡°And I was born in the year of the rat¡ªwhat a coincidence!¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re three years older than me!¡± I eximed.


    Huang Xiaotao gave me a look. ¡°Don¡¯t you understand any social etiquette at all? It¡¯s rude to guess a girl¡¯s age!¡±


    ¡°But I was born in the year of the tiger, and you¡¯re born in the year of the rat. It¡¯s obvious that you¡¯re three years older than me! Or are you fifteen years older than me?¡±


    ¡°You idiot!¡± She threatened to punch me.


    We got in the car and put the girl in the back seat. On the way, Huang Xiaotao asked me, ¡°Song Yang, what were you going to say about the reason why the family went crazy?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably due to some kind of maic field interference,¡± I exined. ¡°When the three of them heard the strange sound at the same time, it probably wasn¡¯t a sound at all, but a maic field that directly acts on the human body, just like when you put a mobile phone near a microwave oven.¡±


    ¡°Can the maic field make people go crazy?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked incredulously.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I answered. ¡°There are many small maic fields inside the human body. Once you approach a powerful maic field, you can cause endocrine disorders, and your emotions can go out of control. The negative emotions in your heart will be infinitely magnified. Have you heard of biological tides? Whenever the moon is the most round, the moon¡¯s gravity will affect the earth¡¯s maic field, and it¡¯s been reported that the number of animals thatmit suicide during this time is three times higher the usual.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s no wonder that people in the West believe that werewolves will change their forms when they see the full moon,¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°It seems that there is some kind of scientific basis to this legend, after all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m only making conjectures based on what I know, though,¡± I said. ¡°In truth, this case can be exined by another hypothesis...¡±


    ¡°What hypothesis is that?¡±


    ¡°Spirits!¡±


    ¡°Spirits?¡±


    I had limited knowledge of spirits, so I had to find someone who could help me learn more¡ªLao Yao.


    I gave him a call, and the moment it was picked up, I was greeted by that flirty voice of his that sent chills down my spine.


    ¡°Little Song!¡± he drawled. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you called me for so long? Didn¡¯t you miss me?¡±


    I shivered in my seat.


    ¡°Lao Yao, can you do me a favor?¡±


    ¡°Sure! What is it?¡± he asked.


    I told him to go to the various spiritual forums to check out the folklore rted to cats, and see if there were any cat-rted spirits, and email me all the reliable information that he could find tomorrow.


    But I should¡¯ve known that the greedy bastard wouldn¡¯t help me for free. He immediately asked, ¡°Okay, but what¡¯s in it for me?¡±


    ¡°As usual. A thousand yuan,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Oh, that won¡¯t work,¡± he said. ¡°I heard that you gave Dali who apanied you for a while and didn¡¯t even help you much nine thousand yuan. But I, who had been so helpful to you, merely got a thousand yuan. That¡¯s really unfair, Little Song! You love Dali more than you love me!¡±


    Listening to Lao Yao creeped me out so much that I almost coughed up blood right onto the windshield!

 Chapter 61

    <h4>Chapter 61</h4>


    I was still racking my brain about how to deal with Lao Yao this time, when Huang Xiaotao suddenly snatched the phone away from me.


    ¡°This is Song Yang¡¯s partner, Officer Huang Xiaotao,¡± she spoke to the phone. ¡°This is Lao Yao, correct? If you¡¯re willing to help us with this case, all the bonus I get in my pocket will be yours.¡±


    Lao Yao was overjoyed, ¡°Officer Huang, how generous of you! Yes, I¡¯ll get to work straight away!¡±


    Then Huang Xiaotao hung up the phone and tossed it into my arms. I was shocked by her offer, ¡°Do you think that was a good idea? All Lao Yao has to do is check for some information online for a bit¡ªis that really worth giving him all your bonus?¡±


    Huang Xiaotao winked and said, ¡°You misheard me. I said I would give him all the bonus I get in my pocket. However much the higher-ups decide to give me in the bonus is up to them, but how much I get into my pocket is entirely up to me. Perhaps I might even decide not to take a dime at all! I¡¯ve been a police officer for quite a while now. Do you think I wouldn¡¯t know how to handle people like that?¡±


    I had to give it to her¡ªthat was pretty clever.


    ¡°Judging by the tone of his voice, was that the gay guy you mentioned a while ago?¡± Huang Xiaotao inquired.


    ¡°He never explicitly admits it, but we all think he is,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Do you like men too?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°What led you to that kind of misunderstanding?!¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay. Then I¡¯m relieved.¡±


    Relieved? I wondered. Why should she be relieved? What exactly is she talking about?


    After returning to the police station, I told her, ¡°It¡¯s prettyte now, Officer Liao has probably gone back home. There seems to be a hospital nearby, so we should just send the little girl there for now.¡±


    ¡°Roger!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao started the car and drove to the hospital. Then Wang Yuanchao took the little girl in his arms and carried her in.


    The doctor gave her a checkup and found that there was nothing wrong with the little girl except shock and slight malnutrition. The doctor asked which of us was her guardian. Huang Xiaotao showed him her police badge, then the doctor stopped asking more questions and just gave the girl a nutrient injection, put her on a glucose drip, and had her rest on a hospital bed.


    Wang Yuanchao went out to smoke. I sat down next to Huang Xiaotao on a hospital bench, but as soon as my butt touched the seat, she scooted over to move away from me.


    ¡°Are you mad at me?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she answered tersely while looking up at the ceiling.


    I guessed it must have something to do with me identally grabbing her chest in the alley earlier, but I was afraid I¡¯d wind her up again if I mentioned it now. I thought long and hard of how to make it up to her.


    ¡°How about I take you out for a meal when we go back to Nanjiang?¡± I suggested. ¡°I know a good pizza ce.¡±


    ¡°No, thank you!¡± Huang Xiaotao replied coldly.


    Suddenly, we heard a crying from the ward, so we rushed in and saw that the little girl had woken up and was crying and calling for her mommy and daddy. Huang Xiaotao reached up and tried to caress her head, but the little girl curled up into a ball. Her body trembled slightly; tears were still gushing out of her round eyes and there were beads of tears hanging on to her long eyshes. She looked just like a frightened fawn.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, we¡¯re the police...¡± Huang Xiaotaoforted her.


    When the little girl heard the word ¡®police¡¯, she immediately burst into tears and demanded, ¡°Officer, did something bad happen to my mommy and daddy?¡±


    Huang Xiaotao nodded, and the little girl hugged her pillow and wept bitterly.


    Huang Xiaotao let her cry her heart out without interrupting. After a while, the girl finally calmed down. Then, Huang Xiaotao gently asked her some simple questions. It turned out that this little girl was the daughter of the victims, named Huang Yuanyuan. She called home two days ago but no one picked up the phone. She then called her rtives to ask them if anything had happened. They hemmed and hawed no matter how much she demanded to know, so she immediately guessed that something very bad must¡¯ve happened at home.


    She decided to sneak out of school in the middle of the night toe back home and find out what was going on. The school she was sent to was quite a distance from Wuqu City, so she had to take a long ride before reaching her home. When she got home, she found that the house was dark and sealed off by the police tape. She also heard some rustling noise from upstairs, and she immediately thought that there were some ¡®bad guys¡¯ doing bad things in her house.


    Huang Xiaotao and I exchanged nces. What the little girl heard was probably us in the middle of the Murder Reenactment. But neither of us interrupted her to correct her misunderstanding, of course.


    The little girl then hesitated for a while at the door, when suddenly, she saw a ck cat gingerly stepping on the roof of the neighbor¡¯s house, leapt onto the balcony, and broke into her house through a broken window on the second floor. Before breaking in, it turned its head and looked straight into her eyes with a pair of malicious eyes. She instantly realized that there was something strange about this ck cat!


    After a while, the ck cat ran out of the main door and jumped onto her. Her memory faded after that, and the next thing she knew, she found herself lying in the hospital bed.


    ¡°A ck cat?¡± I mumbled. It must¡¯ve broken into the house to interfere with the Murder Reenactment we were doing. Perhaps it might¡¯ve been the reason why we lost control of our emotions in the first ce.


    Either that, or maybe it was simply attracted by the mice near the window.


    ¡°How did Daddy, Mommy, and Granny die, officer?¡± the little girl asked. ¡°Please don¡¯t lie to me.¡±


    ¡°They...¡± Huang Xiaotao hesitated and turned to me with pleading eyes.


    ¡°It was gas poisoning,¡± I lied. ¡°The cooking hob wasn¡¯t shut off properly when they were all eating in the dining room. They died together, but they didn¡¯t suffer at all.¡±


    ¡°Then can I please see them?¡± the little girl implored.


    I shook my head and said, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry. The coroner had to dissect them for the autopsy. You¡¯ll just be sadder if you see them like that.¡±


    The little girl buried her face in the pillow and continued to cry. Anyone would find it harrowing to deal with a tragedy like this, let alone a little girl like her. Huang Xiaotao was about to ask her more questions, but I shook my head and signaled her to wait forter, so we left the room.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that you could be kind and gentle too,¡± Huang Xiaotao noted as she nced at me.


    ¡°There was no way we could keep her family¡¯s deaths a secret from her,¡± I said, ¡°so the best I could do was to tell a white lie so she didn¡¯t have to suffer too much.¡±


    ¡°Should we guard her for the night?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao. ¡°There¡¯s no way I can do much for the investigation tomorrow if we do, though.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask two police officers toe over and take turns to guard her,¡± I offered. ¡°We¡¯ll find a way to contact her rtives tomorrow.¡±


    I then typed a message in the task force WeChat group about the important task of guarding the girl tonight. I mentioned that anyone who volunteered toe would be paid a bonus tomorrow.


    Huang Xiaotao watched me type the message over my shoulder. She frowned andmented, ¡°Do you have the money to pay them the bonus, you idiot? You love acting like a big boss, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°But didn¡¯t you say that we must reward people for the extra work that they do?¡±


    ¡°Rewardse in different forms, not just money,¡± said Huang Xiaotao. She then grabbed my phone, deleted my sentence and typed, ¡°anyone who volunteers toe can get a day off tomorrow.¡±


    After the message was sent, several police officers immediately offered toe. Huang Xiaotao returned the phone to me and proudly proimed, ¡°Watch and learn, kiddo!¡±


    While we waited, I used the phone to look up for the contact details of the girl¡¯s school. I then called the school and informed them that the girl was now safe with the police.


    After about half an hour, two police officers arrived. I spelled it out carefully to them that if the little girl asked them about her family¡¯s death, they should tell her that her parents and grandmother died of gas poisoning, lest my white lie would all be in vain. Huang Xiaotao then instructed them to keep the medical bills and the receipts for transportation and food expenses. She would take them to Officer Liao and they would get reimbursedter.

 Chapter 62

    <h4>Chapter 62</h4>


    It was already after nine o¡¯clock at night when we returned to the hotel. Dali¡¯s cold had gotten better. He had been watching TV in the hotel room alone for the whole day and was already bored to tears. When I opened the door, he greeted me as if we hadn¡¯t seen each other for years.


    I, on the other hand, had been busy all day. All I could think of was getting some rest. I took a hot shower, then snuggled into bed and watched TV. As I flipped through the channels, I identally stopped at a channel that was airing a romance drama. It was right at the moment when the protagonists slipped and fell on top of each other and identally kissed.


    ¡°Look at how fake that is, dude!¡± mocked Dali with a big heartyugh. ¡°If only real life was like these stupid dramas! When will I finally get to fall on a hot girl and kiss her like that?¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the girl p you and hate you if that happened in real life?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Damn right she would, dude!¡±


    My heart sank. But I didn¡¯t understand why.


    ¡°There are... exceptions, though,¡± Dali suddenly remarked.


    ¡°What exceptions?¡± my interest was piqued.


    He said that it happened to a buddy of his in high school. One day, a girl identally slipped and fell on hisp as he was sitting on a chair in the ssroom. It was summer, so the girl was wearing a short skirt uniform. Dali¡¯s buddy had a physiological reaction to that, so what followed was very awkward and embarrassing for both of them.


    Their ssmates noticed it and ever since then they would make fun of Dali¡¯s buddy for it¡ªcalling him ¡®Laz-E-Boy¡¯ and all that. But after a while, they found out that the two hit it off and were actually dating!


    Dali stared at the ceiling wistfully andmented, ¡°But that buddy of mine was tall, handsome and a good basketball yer too. People evenpared him to Takeshi Kaneshiro! It probably wasn¡¯t so surprising that he could get a girlfriend so easily. Ah, life is so unfair!¡±


    As I dried my hair with a towel, I asked him, ¡°Dali, what do you think of my looks?¡±


    Dali stared at me for a moment, and replied, ¡°If you clean up a bit, you look kinda like that K-Pop singer Lu Han. It¡¯s just that, uh...¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I think all of your talents went to your IQ...¡± Dali analyzed. ¡°Your social skills and emotional intelligence arepletely zero, no, actually, they¡¯re in the negative!¡±


    I sighed heavily. Why did everyone say that about me?


    ¡°You probably never even noticed it,¡± Dali added, ¡°but when we were in our second year, Xiaoli had a crush on you. You were none the wiser, of course. Later, Xiaoli started dating this gym monkey and they eventually got into a serious rtionship. We all felt sorry for you even though you werepletely clueless about it.¡±


    I was shocked. I had always thought of myself as a boring guy destined to be single until at least the age of twenty-five. Who would¡¯ve thought that I would ever catch a girl¡¯s eye?


    ¡°Shit, I didn¡¯t notice it at all!¡± I eximed. ¡°Every time I saw her, she was always ring at me. I ran into her on the stairs once and wanted to say hello, but she quickly turned and ran away. I thought she hated me!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you get it, dude?¡± asked Dali. ¡°Girls only act awkward and angry around you when they have feelings for you!¡±


    ¡°But... why?¡±


    ¡°Because girls often feel very shy and don¡¯t want to admit that they like you, so their face turns red when they see you.¡±


    ¡°Ah, okay...¡± Dali¡¯s words really hit home with me.


    Dali looked up at the ceiling again and sighed, ¡°I used to be friends with the girls in my ss a lot, thinking that it would give me better chances of getting a girlfriend. But none of them ended up with me because they regarded me as a ¡®sister!¡¯¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Dali. You¡¯ve still got me!¡± Iforted him.


    Dali reached out and patted me, his eyes full of gratitude as he said, ¡°Thanks a lot, bro!¡±


    Iy down in bed and pondered on Dali¡¯s words. ¡°Girls only act awkward and angry around you when they have feelings for you.¡±


    To be frank, I wouldn¡¯t call Dali an expert in love and rtionships at all. Could I trust him on this?


    I struggled about it for a long time, and tossed and turned in bed for quite a while before finally falling asleep.


    Early the next morning, Huang Xiaotao announced in the task force WeChat group, ¡°Special Consultant Song will treat everyone to breakfast this morning!¡±


    It was followed by numerous cheers and thanks.


    I then received a private message from her that said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll pay for the breakfast.¡±


    I marveled at how good Huang Xiaotao was at dealing with people. We used the police officers like coolies yesterday, so naturally the least we could do was buy them breakfast today.


    I might be an expert when it came to dealing with dead bodies, but I had to concede to Huang Xiaotao when it came to dealing with living people.


    Then she asked me, ¡°What do you want for breakfast, Song Yang?¡±


    ¡°Anything,¡± I replied.


    She then sent me a message saying, ¡°And where can I buy this ¡®anything¡¯ of yours?¡± Followed by an emoji of a knife with blood dripping from it.


    ¡°Soy milk and doughnuts are fine I guess,¡± I replied.


    I checked my emails and found that Lao Yao had sent me some very interesting information about cat spirits. Apparently, there was an ancient cult that secretly worshipped cat spirits. These cat spirits were the spiritual remnants of dead cats¡¯ souls, and ck cats were said to contain the most spiritual power. These cat spirits had to constantly feed on their master¡¯s spiritual force, and by nature they were just as stubborn and difficult to tame as wild cats. If the master didn¡¯t treat them well enough, these cat spirits would suck the life force out of the master and kill him. However, once they were sessfully tamed, they could bring in immense good luck to the master, apart from helping amass great wealth. It was said that these cat spirits were even more powerful than the nine-tailed foxes![1]


    Worshippers of this cult could also use the cat spirits to put a curse on someone. First of all, the cursed person would feel a piercing pain in their four limbs as if they were pricked by needles. Then, the symptom would spread throughout the body and until it finally reached the heart. Once the cursed person felt a piercing pain through their heart, they would cough up blood and die within minutes. After that, the property of the victim would in some way or another fall into the hands of the worshipper.


    For this reason, cat spirits were given another name¡ªWealth Beckoning Cats.


    Lao Yao also found another legend concerning cat spirits called Jinhua Cats. They were just like the Wealth Beckoning Cats, but Jinhua Cats were normal living cats raised by their masters, and they were usually ck cats. After three years of nurturing with special food and treatment, these normal cats would turn into Jinhua Cats.


    Jinhua cats often sat on the roofste at night. They would open their mouth wide towards the moon to absorb its essence and energy. When the sun rose, it would go back to sleep.


    Jinhua Cats could hypnotize people and bend them to their will. They could shapeshift freely into any form they liked, but usually, when they met a man, they would turn into a beautiful woman; when they met a woman, they would turn into a handsome man.


    Jinhua Cats sometimes snuck into people¡¯s homes and urinated in their drinking water. When people drank the water, their bodies would gradually weaken. In this case, a green garment should be ced on the afflicted person, and they should be observed overnight. Ifayer of cat hair was found on the green garment the following day, that meant that the Jinhua Cat was responsible for their ailment.


    The way to treat them was to hire an experienced hunter to bring in a few of their hunting dogs to catch the Jinhua Cat. Once it was caught, it should be skinned to prevent it from being able to shapeshift again. On the other hand, the afflicted should be given cat¡¯s meat¡ªif it was a man, he should eat the meat of a female cat; if it was a woman, she should eat the meat of a male cat. The patient should recover soon after eating the meat, but if they didn¡¯t, they would die in a matter of days.


    Apart from that, Lao Yao also found some information about a bizarre murder case from ten years ago. A man was found dead at home. The victim was only twenty years old, yet his body looked like an old man. The police found a broken cat figurine in his house, and there was ck cat hair inside the sculpture.


    If Lao Yao¡¯s information was correct, then this man must¡¯ve died because of his failure to treat his Wealth Beckoning Cat well enough¡ªhence all of his life force was sucked out of him!


    I noticed some gaps between the legend and reality. Based on the clues at hand, Wealth Beckoning Cats and Jinhua Cats were probably one and the same. There was also no trace of needle pricks on the victims, but their bizarre death and money transfer matched the legend perfectly.


    But what was the mechanism behind this mysterious Wealth Beckoning Cat? Was it a biological maic field or a pure supernatural force?


    I wasn¡¯t sure, but I wasn¡¯t discouraged. No matter what the murder weapon was¡ªwhether it was a dagger or a cursed figurine¡ªthey were ultimately just the tools. The real culprit was the person who used these tools to harm other people.


    In other words, the person who benefitted the most from the two murders had to be the real murderer!


    1. The fox spirits in Chinese folklore.

 Chapter 63

    <h4>Chapter 63</h4>


    After a while, Huang Xiaotao knocked on the door. I opened it and saw her already dressed and ready to go. Without thinking, I asked, ¡°That was quick! Didn¡¯t you say that girls need at least half an hour to get ready?¡±


    ¡°You idiot! I didn¡¯t want to keep you waiting so I got up early,¡± said Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Oh, okay. I¡¯ll be ready in five minutes!¡±


    I hurriedly put on my clothes, then swiped the room key card and came out with Dali.


    ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie!¡± cried Dali. ¡°You look so beautiful today!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m beautiful every day,¡± retorted Huang Xiaotao sarcastically. ¡°Is your cold better now?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± answered Dali enthusiastically. ¡°My body is as tough as iron! A little cold can¡¯t do anything to me!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao went over to Wang Yuanchao¡¯s room and knocked on his door. He opened it secondster, wearing a sleeveless shirt that exposed his bulging muscles. Dark chest hair showed through the neckline of his shirt. He had a gun on his waist, and as he leaned on the door frame with one hand, his other hand was holding a t silver alcohol sk. He also had a cigarette in his mouth. That rough, unshaven, and muscr look, paired with the grave expression on his face made him look like one of the special agents you¡¯d often see in movies.


    ¡°It¡¯s this early in the morning and you¡¯re already smoking and drinking?¡± quipped Huang Xiaotao. ¡°No wonder your wife left you!¡±


    Wang Yuanchao let out a sigh of indifference, took a sip of alcohol, and closed the door. After five minutes, he reappeared, dressed and ready to go.


    ¡°After spending two days with him,¡± said Dali, ¡°I think Old Wang is a really cool guy.¡±


    ¡°A really cool guy that can¡¯t be counted on, that is,¡± countered Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Once you hear his history in the love department, you¡¯ll change your view on him pretty quickly.¡±


    ¡°What about a guy like me, Xiaotao-jiejie?¡± Dali asked. ¡°Do you think I can be counted on?¡±


    Huang Xiaotao gave him a look.


    ¡°A useless pig like you is even worse!¡±


    Dali was deted by Huang Xiaotaoment, but he kept on asking, ¡°What do you think of Song Yang, then? Is he the type of guy you can count on?¡±


    Huang Xiaotao nced at me. I blushed, then she replied coldly, ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡±


    After the four of us left the hotel, I told them the information that Lao Yao found.


    ¡°So they were killed by a curse?¡± asked Dali. ¡°How do you solve a case like that?¡±


    ¡°The problem isn¡¯t how to solve the case,¡± mumbled Huang Xiaotao. ¡°It¡¯s how to convict the culprit.¡±


    She was right. There was now against cursing people. Otherwise, the prisons would be overfilled with people who shouted expletives on the street every day.


    ¡°But this curse has been confirmed to exist,¡± I said. ¡°We must not let more people fall victim to this curse. I think I can ask the Director-General for a special exception.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao nodded. ¡°That¡¯s true, but we saw it work with our own eyes, so we know that the curse is real. I can imagine the other police officers, especially the high-ranking ones, shaking their heads in disbelief at this exnation.¡±


    I told her that it wouldn¡¯t really matter, because the way this curse worked could be simply summarized and proven. Firstly, the culprit would ce the cat figurine inside the victim¡¯s house. Secondly, the curse would work at a certain time. Finally, once the murders urred, the culprit would then sneak into the victim¡¯s house to take the figurine away and hide the truth.


    Although it was a curse, it was not as all-powerful as everyone imagined, and it couldn¡¯t kill as arbitrarily as people might fear. This curse had fixed scope and principle within which it would work. This meant that there were still clues to discover that would eventually lead to the real culprit who put the curse there.


    Also, I had no intention of revealing the information about the curse to the rest of the task force in order to prevent what Huang Xiaotao feared would happen.


    We came to the conference room on the second floor of the police station. The breakfast that Huang Xiaotao ordered had already been delivered, and everyone was eating breakfast around the table. I noticed that Officer Liao was also there. When we walked in, everyone stopped eating and all the voices died down, but I waved my hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, we can talk while we eat.¡±


    Firstly, we summarized our progress so far. Two police officers who went to the hospitalst night said that the girl was emotionally stable. She called her aunt early today and went back with her.


    Then someone found some business dealings with the deceased. The information gathered was quite unorganized, but I was sure that there probably weren¡¯t much here worth following.


    Bai Yidao discovered some clues about Yu Jun. He was a product manager of apany. Thepany mainly received contracts for the production of some imported electronic products, which would then be exported and sold around the world, and it was considerably sessful.


    The husband in this case was a long-term partner of thispany. Yu Jun himself said that there was a settlement of the goods before the two people, because it was through an intermediary transaction, so the money would naturally be transferred to him after death.


    I asked Bai Yidao, ¡°Have you met him?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± he nodded.


    ¡°Had everything he imed been verified?¡±


    Bai Yidao slowly leaned on his chair and imed, ¡°I¡¯ve been investigating non-stop yesterday. Yu Jun is a busy man ¡ª I had to wait outside the factory for a whole day before I could see him. When I was done questioning him, it was alreadyte at night. Where would I find the time to verify anything?¡±


    I frowned slightly and thought, nevermind. I would have to go meet Yu Jun myselfter.


    As Bai Yidao was reporting his finding, a policeman in the room was visibly horrified. He seemed as if he had something to say. I asked him if he discovered a clue, and he replied, ¡°Consultant Song, do you remember the empty house opposite the murder scene that you wanted me to investigate?¡±


    ¡°Yes, why?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The person who rented the house is also called Yu Jun!¡±


    ¡°How long has he been renting the room?¡± I asked, my eyes already lighting up.


    ¡°Thendlord said that he had rented the room for a month. After the murder, he felt it was a bad ce so he left. He didn¡¯t even take the deposit which was about two thousand yuan!¡±


    ¡°When exactly did he leave?¡± I asked excitedly.


    ¡°The day after the murder,¡± he replied.


    The whole room got excited. After a long stalemate, we finally had a breakthrough. Although there was still a lot of uncertainties, it was undoubtedly a single bright light in the dark. Everyone seemed optimistic and enthusiastic, but I noticed that there was a glimmer of doubt on Bai Yidao¡¯s face. Could it be that the guy was hiding something from me?


    At this time, Officer Liao raised his hands, ¡°Song Yang, I don¡¯t know if I should say this...¡±


    ¡°Please go ahead and say it,¡± I urged.


    ¡°When I heard the name Yu Jun, I thought it sounded familiar. And then I suddenly remembered that in thest murder case, he also had a connection with the previous family. But after the initial investigation, this person was cleared off the suspect list because it was impossible for him tomit the murders.¡±


    ¡°What kind of connection did he have with the previous family?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yu Jun and the male deceased of thest murder case werepetitors in the samepany. Both of thempeted for the position of product manager. After the incident, Yu Jun naturally rose to the position without anypetition. Later, we investigated his case and found that he had a sound alibi, so I think this is just a coincidence.¡±


    ¡°So, you think that it was a coincidence that he had a connection with the previous family and this family as well?¡± I asked, ¡°And that it was also a coincidence that he was the one who rented the empty house opposite the murder scene?¡±


    Officer Liao turned silent. I then added, ¡°These two cases are very abnormal. The murderer¡¯s weapon is neither a knife, nor a gun, nor a drug. In fact, it haspletely eluded all our expectations. I think...¡±


    I paused and looked around at the astonished faces in the room before continuing, ¡°I think the murderer of this case used a kind of biological maic field that can make people lose their minds!¡±


    The room suddenly became awkward, and the police whispered among themselves for a long time. I informed the police officers of the Murder Reenactment we performed at the murder scenest night, and of the mysterious cat figurine that Zhang Liuer mentioned.


    There were clear indications that Yu Jun was obviously the murderer of this case. He must have a mysterious figurine that can make people¡¯s temperament change aberrantly. Before and after the murder, Yu Jun had been living in the house opposite of the murder scene. Judging by these points, it seemed that Yu Jun didn¡¯t haveplete control of the figurine¡¯s power.


    Later, he snuck into the victims¡¯ house and took the figurine away. My guess was that he took advantage of the chaotic moment when the neighbors rushed into the victims¡¯ house after the murder had just been discovered.


    When I was done exining my theory, the atmosphere of the room could be described as riotous. Everyone exchanged lively discussions with each other, and they all looked eager to chase thistest clue to finally solve this case. All except Bai Yidao¡ªwho looked restless and worried.


    I suddenly turned to Bai Yidao and asked him, ¡°Do you have any opinions?¡±


    ¡°No... No, I don¡¯t.¡± He scratched his nose and mumbled, ¡°I¡¯m just not so sure about this mysterious figurine theory of yours. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a bit too out there, Consultant Song?¡±


    I knew it, I thought. The bastard is hiding something up his sleeve.

 Chapter 64

    <h4>Chapter 64</h4>


    A policeman raised his hand and asked, ¡°About this mysterious figurine¡ªwhy didn¡¯t we find it in the house of the previous case? At the time, the whole house was a locked-room scene, and the police immediately arrived afterwards, so it was impossible for any outsider to break in and steal it.¡±


    There was only one answer: someone in the police force was helping the murderer. But that was not a card I wanted to reveal at the moment, so I replied with a simple, ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡±


    The room became even more boisterous when they heard my answer. I waited for them to calm down and added, ¡°I did not handle the previous case, so I haven¡¯t fully figured out many details about it yet. But I am sure that Yu Jun took the figurine from the murder scene by some means.¡±


    I emphasized the words ¡®from the murder scene¡¯ and observed the look on Bai Yidao¡¯s face as I spoke.


    Another policeman raised a concern, ¡°If the suspect has such an unconventional methodof killing, will we be in danger if we investigate the case?¡±


    Everyone else echoed his concern immediately. The police were people too, after all. They wouldn¡¯t want to sacrifice their lives for no good reason.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about this,¡± I tried to appease them. ¡°The case is now clear, so the four of us will now take over the investigation. The rest of you will stay here on stand by until further notice.¡±


    Everyone understood that ¡®stand by¡¯ practically meant a day off, so the police officers rxed instantly.


    I then announced the end of the meeting. Once most people were gone, Huang Xiaotao apuded and praised, ¡°Well done! You were firm and thorough. You¡¯re like a different person when you get serious.¡±


    ¡°You mean I¡¯m way cooler than usual?¡± I joked.


    ¡°Get over yourself!¡±ughed Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°By the way,¡± I added, ¡°Can you speak to Officer Liao for me? I¡¯d like you to get something from him.¡±


    ¡°He just went out. Want me to go find him now?¡±


    ¡°No, not right now,¡± I replied. ¡°It¡¯s best to see him alone. I want the list of all the members of the task force in this case and the previous case.¡±


    ¡°Roger that!¡± Huang Xiaotao nodded.


    Then I asked Wang Yuanchao, ¡°Old Wang, how is your shadowing skill?¡±


    ¡°I used to lurk in Myanmar for thirty days just to catch a major drug lord,¡± he answered monotonously. ¡°I can shadow a dog without it knowing, let alone people.¡±


    ¡°Excellent! Then I have a special task for you. Today I want you to follow Bai Yidao. I want to know where he goes and who he meets, right down to the tiniest details.¡±


    Wang Yuanchao nodded.


    ¡°Song Yang, are you suspecting that there¡¯s a mole in the task force?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°There is this possibility,¡± I replied.


    Dali screamed, ¡°Holy shit! Infernal...¡±[1]


    I nced at him. Since the police had not left yet I was afraid that he would leak important information in such a way. Dali quickly changed his tone and said, ¡°Infernal Ramen! You seriously never had it before, dude?¡±


    ¡°What the hell is that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°A super spicy Japanese ramen that¡¯s super delicious and so hot that you¡¯d think you died and went to hell!¡± Dali managed to pull something out of his ass.


    ¡°Sounds interesting!¡± eximed Huang Xiaotao. ¡°I love spicy food! We should try it when we go back!¡±


    Once everyone else had left the room, Huang Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao went out to do their tasks. Dali and I went outside and waited. After a while, Huang Xiaotao came back holding two sheets of paper in her hand.


    ¡°Here you go,¡± she said. ¡°The lists of the task force members for both cases.¡±


    I took it and perused it straight away. There were three people who were involved in both cases¡ªOfficer Liao, Bai Yidao, and Luo Weiwei.


    I now had a rough idea of what was really going on. I folded the two pieces of paper and put them into my pocket, then announced, ¡°Let¡¯s go meet Yu Jun!¡±


    Later, we arrived at the technologypany where Yu Jun worked. Huang Xiaotao showed her police badge to the security guard and said that we wanted to see Manager Yu. The security guard said that would be difficult.


    ¡°Manager Yu is still working,¡± he imed. ¡°You might have to wait for a while.¡±


    I exchanged a look with Huang Xiaotao, and she said, ¡°Let¡¯s go inside!¡±


    The security guard¡¯s pleas and excuses couldn¡¯t stop us. We barged straight into the factory. I noticed that the security guard picked up his phone¡ªhe was probably warning Yu Jun about our arrival.


    We went all the way to a workshop where uniformed workers assembled electronic products on the assembly line. Dali noticed that they were thetest iPhone models.


    ¡°Dude! Each of these cost six to seven thousand yuan but they¡¯re all over the ce here in a big pile like cabbages! If only I could just take a few out with me!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t even dream about it,¡± warned Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Their security is very tight here¡ªall the employees are searched every time they leave this ce.¡±


    Someone who looked like a supervisor of the workshop came up and stopped us. ¡°This is a restricted area! Outsiders are not allowed here!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao showed him her badge. ¡°We¡¯d like to speak to Manager Yu.¡±


    The supervisor¡¯s tone softened as he told us, ¡°Manager Yu is very busy right now. You can speak to me instead.¡±


    ¡°No, we must talk to Manager Yu,¡± insisted Huang Xiaotao.


    At that moment, a bespectacled man wearing the uniform of the workshop came over to us and politely introduced himself. ¡°I am Yu Jun, the man you¡¯re asking to see. How may I help you?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re investigating a murder case and we have some questions for you,¡± said Huang Xiaotao.


    Yu Jun frowned. ¡°The two policemen who came yesterday said the same thing. I told them everything I know, so I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯d be here again. This murder has nothing to do with me. I just had some business dealings with Huang Youcai and met him a few times at some dinner parties before. That is the extent of my rtionship with him.¡±


    ¡°Can we talk in private?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    Yu Jun hesitated, said a few words to the supervisor, then led us to his office. He took out the stic cup from the cupboard and poured water on us. I noticed that a few of his fingers were wrapped in band-aid.


    ¡°How long have you known Huang Youcai?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked in a formal tone.


    Yu Jun sat down on his luxurious office chair and replied, ¡°Less than half a year.¡±


    ¡°What kind of business dealings went on between the two of you?¡±


    Yu Jun grew impatient. ¡°Miss Officer, I was asked the exact same questions yesterday. Must I answer them again today?¡±


    ¡°Just answer them, please.¡±


    Yu Jun said that Huang Youcai met him at a dinner party. Huang Youcai said that he had a friend who sold children¡¯s toys who wanted to make an order with Yu Jun to manufacture a type of toy car.


    While Yu Jun worked at arge corporation which did not ept private orders, Huang Youcai pestered him on and repeatedly persuaded him, eventually even finding an intermediary party as a guarantor, so Yu Jun finally relented and agreed. He managed to manufacture the first lot of products after receiving a million yuan in deposit, but soon after that, tragedy happened to the Huang Youcai family. He met with the intermediary guarantor and they came to an agreement to transfer an amount of money from Huang Youcai¡¯s ount to Yu Jun. All the money went to thepany to pay for the employees¡¯ sry and the raw materials, so Yu Jun himself had in fact not benefitted from Huang Youcai¡¯s death at all.


    As he was speaking, I observed his manners and movements closely. When he finished, Huang Xiaotao looked at me and I inly stated, ¡°He¡¯s lying!¡±


    Yu Jun shot up to his feet immediately.


    ¡°Every word I said was true!¡± he objected.


    I shook my head. ¡°No. The blood vessels in the human nose are densely packed. When someone lies, the brain needs to operate at high speed to make up the words for the lie, causing blood to rush up to the head, making the nose hot and itchy. You might not notice it, but you touched your nose a few times as you were speaking¡ªwhich meant that you were lying!¡±


    Yu Jun stared at me with a strange look in his eyes. Huang Xiaotao cleared her throat and said, ¡°Manager Yu, this is a serious case we¡¯re investigating. Please tell us the truth!¡±


    ¡°All right!¡± conceded Yu Jun. I noticed that he was about to touch his nose again, but he consciously resisted the urge. ¡°Huang Youcai and I were manufacturing fake iPhones!¡±


    He went on to exin that hispany had long been assembling mobile phones for Apple. They took theponents that were shipped from abroad like the microchips, circuit boards and cameras then assembled them together and pped the Apple logo on the final product, which would be sold on the market for six to seven thousand yuan. But when all theponents were domestically produced, the cost to manufacture was only about two thousand yuan.


    Huang Youcai saw this huge profit potential. He told Yu Jun that he had channels to get microchips and circuit boards at very low prices. Of course, these were all smuggled, and then they were assembled into mobile phones and sold by Yu Jun¡¯spany. Although they were fake, the quality was not much worse than the original at all. In fact, most users wouldn¡¯t even notice any difference from the authentic product.


    The first batch of fake mobile phones were quickly manufactured, and Huang Youcai quickly sold them through hiswork. The two came to a good deal about the profits that they were making, but no one anticipated the tragedy that would befall Huang Youcai¡¯s family. It took Yu Jun a lot of effort until he could finally get the money that should belong to him from Huang Youcai¡¯s ount.


    After Yu Jun finished speaking, I shook my head. I pointed at him and dered, ¡°You are still lying!¡±

 Chapter 65

    <h4>Chapter 65</h4>


    Yu Jun¡¯s cup fell out of his hand.


    ¡°Young man, are you here just to find fault with me?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯vee clean and told you everything and still you use me of lying¡ªso why don¡¯t you tell me what is the truth yourself?¡±


    ¡°The truth?¡± I countered. ¡°You know that better than us. But the truth of the matter is this: Huang Youcai and his family died in a very bizarre manner, and quickly after that the five million yuan in his ount was transferred to yours!¡±


    ¡°Mr. Yu,¡± added Huang Xiaotao, ¡°you mentioned that you were producing fake mobile phones with Huang Youcai. Is there any evidence to support that im?¡±


    Yu Jun snorted, ¡°Miss Officer, no one in their right mind would leave evidence for this kind of dealing! We all did everything by verbal agreements to prevent outsiders from sniffing us out.¡±


    ¡°What about the goods?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re all sold out! Perhaps,¡± he added with a smirk, ¡°the phone you¡¯re using now is one of them.¡±


    ¡°In that case, a huge chunk of your ie has an unexinable source¡ªthat alone is enough to charge you!¡± threatened Huang Xiaotao.


    Yu Jun sat back in his chair and calmly argued, ¡°Go ahead and try! I¡¯m not afraid of you. Besides, I have a way to clean them up.¡±


    I was shocked at Yu Jun¡¯s boldness in openly mentioning moneyundering in front of a police officer. Nheless, we managed to prove one thing: the money he got was indeed acquired illegally!


    My guess was that the business dealings between him and Huang Youcai were purely fictional. He merely killed the family with the Wealth Beckoning Cat and then transferred the property to his own name¡ªand that was essentially no different from any other cases of premeditated murders.


    The position that Yu Jun was in right now¡ªProduction Manager¡ªmight sound prestigious to some, but in truth, he was still an employee of apany working for his boss. Five million yuan was undoubtedly no meager sum to him.


    Yu Jun was probably only trying his hand at using the Wealth Beckoning Cat when he killed hispetitor in the first case. The second case was when he was driven fully by greed and murdered the whole family to get money. He was showing a pattern of using the Wealth Beckoning Cat more skillfully and cruelly too. If he wasn¡¯t stopped soon, I was afraid that more and more victims would turn up.


    I put my hand into my pocket and secretly pressed record on my phone. I gave Huang Xiaotao a knowing look. She leaned forward and said, ¡°Since you¡¯ve admitted that much, why don¡¯t you just tell us honestly: where did the moneye from?¡±


    Yu Jun smiled. ¡°Huang Youcai gave it to me.¡±


    ¡°He gave it to you after he died?¡± scoffed Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Miss Officer,¡± replied Yu Jun, ¡°you are a member of the police force. You should knowmon sense. He wrote a five-million-yuan check to me, and I cashed it in. Therefore, five million yuan was deducted from his ount.¡±


    ¡°And why would he give you that much money?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°He considered me as a brother!¡± Yu Jun replied.


    Huang Xiaotao snorted aloud. ¡°He considered you as a brother, but you treated him like a stranger! You rented a house opposite his, but when the tragedy happened to his family, you didn¡¯t even care and just moved out of the house immediately. In fact, I believe you even took one thing away from his house!¡±


    Yu Jun was slightly shocked. He probably didn¡¯t anticipate us to find out about it. But he very soon regained hisposure and smiled calmly, saying, ¡°No matter what, the truth remains that Huang Youcai gave me that money himself. Maybe he had a mental illness and after giving me his money, decided to kill his whole family. What does that have anything to do with me?¡±


    Huang Xiaotao furiously mmed the table and sprang up to her feet and boomed, ¡°Yu Jun! You murdered two families just for the sake of money! Because of you, the lives of two young families were cut short! Your crimes are so horrendous no punishment is heavy enough for you!¡±


    I was taken aback by Huang Xiaotao¡¯s sudden outburst, but her provocations finally broke Yu Jun¡¯s calm fa?ade. It was as if a mask had fallen from his face, and his countenance changed into an unmistakably malicious expression.


    ¡°You¡¯re using me of murder?¡± he croaked. ¡°Do you have any evidence for that? Whatever you want to ask or check, I¡¯d suggest you hurry up, because I am going to emigrate soon! In a few days, the Chinese police won¡¯t be able to reach me!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao clenched her fists tightly. I was really worried that she would punch Yu Jun¡¯s face, so I quickly interrupted with, ¡°Do you really think that we don¡¯t know about the Wealth Beckoning Cat?¡±


    After the brief interaction, I was almost a hundred percent sure that Yu Jun was indeed the murderer behind these two cases, so I said that just to test his reactions.


    Yu Jun froze for a moment, and then slowly pped his hands.


    ¡°Excellent!¡± he eximed. ¡°You are much more capable than the two officers who came here yesterday. So you figured it all out. But what can you do about it? Even if you know the truth, there¡¯s nothing you can do to me!¡±


    We were speechless. None of us expected him to admit it so easily!


    ¡°Now you know how I can kill thousands of people without even lifting a hand,¡± he said. ¡°So don¡¯t say that I didn¡¯t warn you. My patience is limited. If you push me hard enough, I might just kill everyone! All right, I think I¡¯ve wasted enough time here. I should go back to work now.¡±


    When he was tantly threatening us, I noticed that his legs were shaking all the time, and I couldn¡¯t help but sneer. It turned out that this guy was just bluffing, and the Wealth Beckoning Cat was not so powerful after all.


    I never believed that killing could be done so easily and without the murderer having to pay any cost. I was sure that Wealth Beckoning Cat muste with a high cost to its master and worked within considerable limitations.


    Yu Jun left the room soon after that, and I said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing more to ask him. Let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°Are we really leaving?¡± asked Dali with widened eyes. ¡°That bastard is clearly guilty! Shouldn¡¯t he be arrested?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t prove that he¡¯s broken thew yet,¡± I exined. ¡°Besides, there are hundreds of his people here. If we take reckless action, we might not even make it out of here.¡±


    The best we could do was temporarily retreat. But before we left, I quickly tore a piece of paper from the office table, then wrapped it around the stic cup that Yu Jun threw in the trash can and put it in my pocket.


    After leaving the factory, I was worried that Huang Xiaotao was still mad and wanted tofort her with a few words. But when I saw her face, she seemedpletely calm and I found no signs of anger at all. Huang Xiaotao noticed my puzzled expressions and asked, ¡°How was my acting?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re joking! That was an act?¡± I waspletely taken by surprise.


    ¡°You really got me back there!¡± cried Dali. ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie, you¡¯re a pro!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao twirled her hair and said, ¡°It wasn¡¯t all an act. I thought of the little girl we metst night who lost her whole family and it did infuriate me, but I only provoked him to make him blurt out the truth. So, did you get it on record, Song Yang?¡±


    I took out my phone and replied, ¡°Yup. All recorded.¡±


    Dali was stunned. ¡°Wait, did you guysmunicate with each other through telepathy? I¡¯mpletely in the dark here!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao smiled, ¡°I guess you could say that our minds are in sync.¡±


    After we got in the car, I asked Huang Xiaotao not to hurry and just wait here for a while. I had observed Yu Jun¡¯s hand and found a lot of band-aids on his fingers. My guess was that the Wealth Beckoning Cat probably needed to feed on its master¡¯s blood every day, in which case we should follow him back to his house after he left work.


    Huang Xiaotao agreed. She turned on the radio and yed rxing music, then leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes.


    Stakeouts in reality, as I found out, were very boring.


    ¡°You know,¡± Dali suddenly broke the silence, ¡°I think there¡¯s one person we should find to solve this case.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Huang Xiaotao and I simultaneously asked.


    ¡°Zhang Jiulin!" Wang Dali showed a mysterious expression.


    ¡°A friend of yours?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± answered Dali seriously. ¡°He¡¯s a character from a novel that I¡¯m reading, called Otherworldly Merchant[1], and the protagonist of the novel is called Zhang Jiulin. This Wealth Beckoning Cat sounds right up his alley. And that got me thinking: if a mysterious object from the book does exist, then there must be a real Otherworldly Merchant out there! Maybe we should seek advice from such an expert, dude!¡±


    ¡°You idiot!¡± I teased him. ¡°How could you believe in a garbage novel like that?¡±

 Chapter 66

    <h4>Chapter 66</h4>


    As we were on stakeout, I called the Director-General and gave him a brief summary of the current progress. After hearing my report, he said, ¡°If the evidence is conclusive, the judiciary can issue an arrest warrant.¡±


    ¡°Can a person be convicted for murder if they use a curse to kill the victim?¡±


    After a moment of silence, Director-General Cheng replied, ¡°That would be difficult. Modernw is based on scientific principles. But as I said, special circumstances may be treated specially. If you have solid proof that the curse can be used to murder people, then leave the judicial process that follows to me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been a police officer for nearly forty years,¡± he added. ¡°I¡¯ve been exposed to hundreds of cases. A number of them involved factors that were difficult to exin withmon sense or scientific principles alone. Personally, I believe your judgment about this case.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Director-General Cheng,¡± I said excitedly, ¡°I vow that I will bring the real murderer to justice!¡±


    ¡°You must be careful,¡± Director-General Cheng reminded me.


    ¡°I will!¡± I hung up.


    After a while, Daliined that he had to pee. Huang Xiaotao teased him about having a weak dder, to which Dali retorted, ¡°Geez! It¡¯s a normal biological function! I can¡¯t control this!¡±


    The area surrounding the factory was deste. There were no shops or houses in sight at all. There would be toilets in the factory, of course, but I told Dali that was out of the question, so he had to go into a bush nearby to relieve himself.


    When Dali was in the car, everything was normal and friendly and we all chatted as usual. But when he left, for some reason I felt the atmosphere grew tense. Being with Huang Xiaotao alone in the car suddenly made me feel inexplicably nervous!


    In order to loosen up the tension, I tried to change the radio station to see if there were any good programs. Meanwhile, Huang Xiaotao fiddled with the air conditioner knobs again and again. asionally, we¡¯d be looking out the window. Neither of us said anything.


    What the hell is going on? I thought. Why is it getting so awkward in here?


    Huang Xiaotao suddenly stopped fiddling with the knobs. ¡°Come over here!¡± She motioned me with her finger.


    ¡°What?¡±


    She turned her back to me and exined, ¡°My shoulders are so sore. The pillows in the hotel room must¡¯ve been too stiff for me. Come on, help me massage my shoulders.¡±


    ¡°Uh... okay,¡± I nodded.


    Huang Xiaotao leaned her body against me. My cheeks burned up instantly, but nheless, I put my hands on her shoulders and squeezed them gently. Due to her daily tasks as a police officer, Huang Xiaotao didn¡¯t wear any makeup or perfume, but her body still emitted a faint aroma like freshly-picked jasmine. It was probably the unique fragrance of women.


    After massaging for a while, Huang Xiaotaoined, ¡°Can¡¯t you put more energy into it? Didn¡¯t you eat this morning?¡±


    ¡°Your leather jacket is too thick!¡± I argued. ¡°That¡¯s probably why you didn¡¯t feel it.¡±


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll take off my jacket then,¡± she said, unzipping the front of her jacket.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t!¡± I stopped her nervously.


    Huang Xiaotao stared at me and burst intoughter.


    ¡°Look at you!¡± she mocked. ¡°Your face is all red! Are you too shy when you¡¯re alone with a girl?¡±


    I was terribly embarrassed at that point, and my mind was in a daze and I didn¡¯t know how to react. I¡¯d never been in a rtionship before, but wasn¡¯t Huang Xiaotao just as inexperienced as me in this matter? Why was she so rxed? Was it just our different personalities at y?


    Huang Xiaotao proceeded to take off her jacket. She only wore a white T-shirt beneath it, which perfectly outlined the curve of the body and showed off her smooth skin, shapely arms, full breasts and her slender waist. Her perfect hourss figure would make even some supermodels envious.


    Huang Xiaotao leaned back closer and closer to me until her back was practically resting on my chest. At that moment, I could smell the jasmine aroma that she emanated even more strongly!


    As I massaged her shoulders, I could clearly feel the warmth of her body through the thin barrier of the T-shirt. Her muscles were firm and pronounced¡ªshe was probably much stronger than me. The proportions of her body were just right; she was neither too thin nor too fat. Her skin was smooth and supple too. In short, it wouldn¡¯t take her much effort at all to seduce a man.


    From where I sat, I had a clear view of the soft peaks of her breasts and the deep line of her cleavage. When I noticed this, my cheeks burned to the roots of my ears, and I subconsciously increased the force of my hands as I massaged Huang Xiaotao¡¯s shoulders. She suddenly moaned and murmured, ¡°That feels so good! Keep going!¡±


    ¡°D-Don¡¯t... Don¡¯t make that weird kind of sound!¡± I stammered.


    ¡°Why not? Are you embarrassed?¡± she teased, looking at me with a smile. ¡°If you stutter like that when you talk to a girl, you¡¯ll never be able to find a girlfriend!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao noticed my eyes and said, ¡°You pervert! You¡¯re staring at my boobs, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°No, absolutely not!¡± I vehemently denied.


    Huang Xiaotao¡¯s next move almost made my eyes bulge out of their sockets. She grabbed her boobs with both of her hands and squished them together. My head was damn near exploding when she sighed and said, ¡°They¡¯re too big and cumbersome! They give me back and shoulder pain all the time! You men won¡¯t ever understand this feeling.¡±


    ¡°Uh... Okay.¡±


    ¡°You should give me more massages in the future,¡± Huang Xiaotao suggested.


    ¡°Is that necessary?¡± I asked. ¡°You could just buy a massage chair. It¡¯s much more convenient and it¡¯s not that expensive anyway.¡±


    Huang Xiaotaoughed. ¡°I¡¯m convinced of it now¡ªyou really don¡¯t know how to say the right things to please a girl even if your life depends on it.¡±


    She poked me at a sore spot. My cheeks burned with embarrassment. ¡°I¡¯ll give you more massages in the future then,¡± I muttered.


    After a while, Huang Xiaotao said, ¡°That¡¯s enough. My shoulders feel fine now. Turn around, I¡¯ll give you shoulder massages too.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need it,¡± I said.


    ¡°Turn around!¡± she ordered.


    So, I obediently turned around. I heard rustling noise behind me¡ªit turned out that Huang Xiaotao was kneeling on the driver¡¯s seat and her breasts were softly pressing on my back. I felt all the blood in my body rush up to my head in that instant.


    She then proceeded to massage my shoulders, but I felt nothing there at all. It seemed that my whole body¡¯s senses were focused on the back, where I couldn¡¯t help but notice the soft peaks that were pressing against my skin.


    After a while, she leaned over and her hair swept over my neck. She whispered to me, ¡°Did that feel good?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes,¡± I managed to blurt out.


    Huang Xiaotao sat back in her seat, put on her jacket, and said, ¡°Ah, I feel refreshed now!¡±


    Then she looked into the rearview mirror and asked, ¡°Do you think I¡¯d look good with long hair?¡±


    ¡°I-Isn¡¯t long hair harder to take care of?¡± I replied in stammers.


    ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re right.¡± Then she turned to me and said, ¡°Why is your face so red, Song Yang? What would Dali think I¡¯d done to you when hees back and sees you like that?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Suddenly, I felt her warm breath brushing my cheek. I turned around and was shocked to find her face inches away from me. I jerked backwards and pinned my back to the car door.


    ¡°What-what-what are you trying to do?!¡±


    ¡°What-what-what am I trying to do?¡± Huang Xiaotao mocked me. Then she smiled wickedly and said, ¡°Please! You¡¯re a man, you know! How could you be so shy?¡±


    ¡°But what are you trying to do?¡± I asked again nervously. Her face was still very close to mine, and I could clearly feel her every breath on my face.


    ¡°I noticed something about your eyes, Song Yang,¡± she stated seriously. ¡°They don¡¯t look like normal eyes at all.¡±


    Even though I usually conserve my Cave Vision, if you looked at my eyes closely, you would see that my pupils were made up of threeyers!


    Huang Xiaotao kept inching closer and closer to me, and I was basically stered to the car door trying to move away from her. My heartbeat elerated quickly and my breathing became shallow and rapid.


    Secondster, Huang Xiaotaoughed and sat back in her seat. ¡°I¡¯m done teasing you. It¡¯s so much fun to watch you get so nervous!¡±


    I could clearly hear the sound of my heart beating in the quiet car. But as time went on, I noticed that it was not just my heart that was beating like a drum¡ªthere was the sound of another heart beating too!


    I examined Huang Xiaotao¡¯s behavior. Although her expressions were calm, her fingers were constantly fiddling with the air conditioner knob. Her micro-expressions betrayed her true emotions¡ªshe was definitely just as nervous as I was!

 Chapter 67

    <h4>Chapter 67</h4>


    The atmosphere in the car became awkward again. It seemed that sincest night, I had developed feelings for Huang Xiaotao. And from her reactions, it seemed that she too might have the same feelings for me?


    I know it wasn¡¯t right to observe a girl using Cave Vision, but this was a special case, and it should warrant an exception. I had to figure out if Huang Xiaotao had any feelings for me.


    I noticed that Huang Xiaotao ced her hands on both sides of the seat, only inches away from my hand. I hovered my hand slowly towards hers, all while my heart was thumping in my chest. But before our hands touched, Huang Xiaotao suddenly retracted her hands¡ªI thought she must¡¯ve seen through my trick and was not amused, and I waspletely disheartened by this turn of events.


    To my surprise however, that fair hand of hers ended up on my burning cheek. Huang Xiaotao was touching me with the back of her hand. The hand was so smooth and cool¡ªit felt like it was made of jade.


    ¡°You¡¯re sweating. Is it too hot in here?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Did you turn on the AC?¡±


    Huang Xiaotao chuckled and sighed. It turned out that she had forgotten to turn the air conditioning on. She then casually rested her hand on top of mine. I thought it was an ident and that she was going to take it off immediately after realizing it, but seconds passed and her hand was still there. In the silence of the car, I could hear the sound of her heart pounding in her chest¡ªshe was nervous too!


    That knowledge unexpectedly calmed me down. We sat there wordlessly for a few minutes, but I could clearly feel that there was something in the air¡ªsomething between me and Huang Xiaotao that required no words to exin. I knew she could feel it too.


    I nced at her, and she actually looked at me at the same time, and then we both quickly looked away. Huang Xiaotao removed the hand that was ced on top of mine.


    Then, a voice in my head urged me to take action, telling me to act like a man for a change. I turned towards Huang Xiaotao, drew a breath to drum up my courage, and grabbed her shoulders. They felt small and slender in my hands. I subconsciously braced myself for getting yelled at or pushed away, but she did not resist at all.


    That was all the encouragement I needed. I moved in closer to her. As our faces were about to touch, I noticed that her cheeks were faintly flushed, and she was biting her lips and looking into my eyes shyly. I closed in on her lips, barely able to stand the anticipation of a kiss.


    Our faces were getting closer and closer until we could feel each other¡¯s breath. Huang Xiaotao closed her eyes, seemingly looking forward to the kiss too!


    Then, my phone rang. The atmosphere with all the special moments that built up to it waspletely ruined.


    I sat back in frustration and picked up the phone. It was Dali. After pressing the answer button, I heard his voice yelling, ¡°Dude, help!¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I forgot the toilet roll! You need toe and save me now!¡±


    I sighed heavily, trying to resist the urge to bite Dali¡¯s head off.


    ¡°Okay, just give me a minute, I¡¯ll be right there,¡± I said.


    I hung up and told Huang Xiaotao, ¡°I have to go save Dali.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she answered monotonously. She continued to face the window, away from me, probably to hide her blush.


    I was hit by a gust of cold wind the second I stepped out of the car. It brought me back down to reality and I began to reconsider what I had just done in the car. Had I gone too far? Would Huang Xiaotao hate me for what I did? I then fell into a downward spiral of self-doubt and endless worrying. My mind felt like it was wrapped in a dark cloud.


    I soon ¡®rescued¡¯ Dali and we both went back into the car. With such a massive third-wheel like Dali, the atmosphere that was in the car when Huang Xiaotao and I were alone together waspletely gone without a trace.


    We waited for two more hours, then I noticed a few workers walking out of the factory. It was lunchtime. Our eyes were fixed on the factory gate with bated breaths.


    After a huge number of workers had left the factory, Yu Jun finally drove out in his Passat. Huang Xiaotao waited until he had driven a certain distance before she started the car and followed him. She texted as she drove. After half an hour, we followed Yu Jun to an old residential building.


    Huang Xiaotao looked at her phone and said, ¡°I just confirmed with Officer Liao. This isn¡¯t where Yu Jun lives.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s probably got a mistress here,¡± Dali guessed.


    ¡°No, not a mistress,¡± I said. ¡°This is probably where he keeps his ¡®cat.¡¯¡±


    Yu Jun walked into the building. I couldn¡¯t decide whether we should continue to stalk him here or to follow him. Huang Xiaotao said, ¡°We¡¯ll go inside and search the house after he¡¯s gone.¡±


    ¡°But we¡¯ve got no search warrants!¡± Dali reminded her.


    ¡°We¡¯ll never solve the case if we wait for that!¡± Huang Xiaotao countered.


    We noticed that Yu Jun was standing in front of a window on the fifth floor with a grave expression on his face. He seemed to be talking to someone. He then nced out of the window, then quickly pulled the curtain up.


    ¡°Did he notice us?¡± asked Dali nervously.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± Huang Xiaotao shook her head.


    After a while, Yu Jun came down and drove away. We walked to the front of the building when a guy in a sweater came downstairs holding something in his hands. He walked past us without giving us any notice.


    We went up to the fifth floor and stopped in front of a door. Huang Xiaotao pulled out two hairpins from her hair and handed them to me.


    ¡°Great Detective Song,¡± she said, ¡°it¡¯s time for you to show off your magical powers.¡±


    I was reminded of ourst conversation when Ist picked a lock with her hairpins and said, ¡°I¡¯ll buy you nicer pinster!¡±


    ¡°Good!¡±ughed Huang Xiaotao. ¡°That¡¯s an improvement!¡±


    It didn¡¯t take me more than a minute to unlock the door. We entered the room and saw that it was almost empty. There was no furniture at all safe for a bare bed frame. Obviously, this was a temporarily rented house. There was no sign of the Wealth Beckoning Cat here, although I did notice a small pile of ashes on the floor in a corner of the room.


    We almost turned the room upside down searching for the Wealth Beckoning Cat. We even opened the window and checked the window sill¡ªbut all was in vain.


    ¡°Could he have snuck it out somehow?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Shit!¡± I cursed. ¡°That guy we walked past downstairs!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s chase him!¡± barked Huang Xiaotao.


    We flew downstairs. But no matter how fast we ran we had been dyed for five minutes searching the room upstairs. The man must¡¯ve gotten pretty far away by now. An idea shed into my mind, and with a glimmer of hope, I called Wang Yuanchao and asked him where he was right now.


    ¡°Guangming District,¡± he replied.


    I was overjoyed.


    ¡°We¡¯re here too! Is Bai Yidao here?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, I just saw him enter a building,¡± answered Wang Yuanchao. ¡°But he just got out, and he¡¯s holding something in his hands.¡±


    ¡°Is your car engine on?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Then send your location to Huang Xiaotao¡¯s car with GPS,¡± I instructed. ¡°We¡¯ll be following close behind you!¡±


    After hanging up the phone, I told Huang Xiaotao to quickly get into the car and drive. I briefly exined the current situation to her: the man we walked past in front of the building was Bai Yidao, and just as I expected, he and Yu Jun knew each other. Moreover, the Wealth Beckoning Cat was most probably in Bai Yidao¡¯s hands right now.


    We used GPS to lock in on Wang Yuanchao¡¯s location and followed him all the way. After a while, he parked his car behind a hotel. He then got out of his car and came over to us.


    ¡°Bai Yidao just entered the hotel,¡± he said.


    ¡°He must be dealing with the Wealth Beckoning Cat right now,¡± said Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Then what are we waiting for?¡± asked Dali. ¡°Let¡¯s charge in and catch him red-handed with the evidence!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I frowned and shook my head. ¡°We¡¯re still not sure how deep Bai Yidao is in this. Perhaps he is Yu Jun¡¯s aplice, or perhaps he¡¯s only helping him this one time. It¡¯s not a good idea to corner him right now. We don¡¯t know what he¡¯ll do if he gets desperate. Besides, he must be carrying a gun too.¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t worry about that,¡± said Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Wang Yuanchao alone could easily deal with ten Bai Yidaos.¡±


    ¡°But we¡¯d better be safe than sorry,¡± I asserted. ¡°We¡¯re not far from the police station. Perhaps you could call Officer Liao so he could bring some people over? Then we¡¯ll all rush in together¡ªthat way we¡¯ll get more witnesses too.¡±


    ¡°Excellent idea!¡± Huang Xiaotao excitedly pped her hands. ¡°That way Bai Yidao has nowhere to run!¡±

 Chapter 68

    <h4>Chapter 68</h4>


    In a short while after that, Officer Liao arrived. I had already exined the situation briefly to him on the phone. He asked me, ¡°Song Yang, are you sure about this information? This is a very serious matter. Are you sure Bai Yidao is really helping the murderer?¡±


    ¡°I can guarantee you that he¡¯s in the hotel right now,¡± I replied. ¡°You¡¯ll see it soon when we go in.¡±


    We went to the front desk and asked which room Bai Yidao was in. Officer Liao divided the police officers he brought with him into teams. They would go up through the staircase while the four of us would follow Officer Liao in the elevator.


    We reached the floor where Bai Yidao was supposed to be. Officer Liao had the police officers surround the room on both sides of the hallway. He then asked a hotel staff to knock on the door and announce, ¡°Room service!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need anything!¡± replied Bai Yidao stiffly from inside.


    The staff nced at Officer Liao, and he whispered a few words into his ear. The staff then continued, ¡°Sir, the identity information you left at the front desk is wrong. The manager asked me to check it out. Please open the door.¡±


    ¡°Okay, give me a minute.¡±


    After a while, the door opened, and Bai Yidao was greeted with a dozen guns pointed at him.


    Bai Yidao was stunned by the battle outside the door. Out of his self-defense instinct, he subconsciously extended his hand to the holster of his own gun. Officer Liao screamed, ¡°Bai Yidao! Don¡¯t move! Put your hands on your head!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here, sir?¡± Bai Yidao asked as he raised his hands. When he saw the four of us, his expressions changed. ¡°Oh, I get it now! The so-called consultant must¡¯ve decided to make me the scapegoat!¡±


    ¡°Stop talking nonsense,¡± I sneered. ¡°You know what you did.¡±


    ¡°What exactly did I do?¡± he asked. ¡°I was just tired from work, so I decided to take a break in a hotel room. Is that illegal?¡±


    Officer Liao raised his hand and asked the police officers to handcuff him. One of the officers who used to be good friends with Bai Yidao took out the handcuffs and said to Bai Yidao helplessly, ¡°Sorry big brother.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing? I want to call my father! Let me go!¡±


    Although Bai Yidao resisted loudly and violently, he was eventually handcuffed.


    We rushed into the room and searched through it. We couldn¡¯t find any sign of the Wealth Beckoning Cat at all. I uncovered the nket on the bed and saw footprints on the mattress. I then looked up and saw a venttion duct.


    I stood on the bed and removed the cover of the venttion duct, and reached my hand into it. I didn¡¯t need to reach all that far at all before I found something in there. I pulled it out¡ªit was a bag, and when I opened it there was cat figurine inside!


    Everyone gasped as I took the cat figurine out of the bag. Despite its size, it had a heft to it. It probably weighed a few pounds at least. It seemed to be made of ceramic, and the surface was painted gold. The carving details were very vivid. All of the cat¡¯s features were rendered realistically, and the two eyes were made of emerald gems but they had a mysterious nature to them that made them seem like they were following you no matter which angle you looked at them.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Officer Liao asked Bai Yidao.


    ¡°Some figurine a buddy of mine sent to me,¡± he answered. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s definitely not an antique.¡±


    ¡°Why did you hide it in the venttion duct?¡±


    ¡°I was afraid that it might get stolen. Is that wrong?¡±


    Officer Liao looked at him coldly and ordered, ¡°Take away his gun and badge!¡±


    Bai Yidao tried to free his hands and struggled in the handcuffs until his shoulders twisted. He shouted, ¡°You¡¯re all abusing your authority! Tell me, Officer Liao, whichw did I break? Let me call my father!¡±


    ¡°Are you telling me you don¡¯t know what this really is?¡± I asked.


    He stared at me fixedly. Like a ball that had lost all its air inside, the deted Bai Yidao conceded and let his colleagues take away his badge and gun.


    Later, when Bai Yidao had calmed down, Officer Liao gave him a ss of water and asked him to exin how he got to know Yu Jun.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really know him,¡± he said. ¡°We just had a deal, that¡¯s all.¡±


    It turned out that when the first case urred three months ago, Bai Yidao was sent to question Yu Jun who then asked Bai Yidao to do him a favor. Yu Jun said that the police had taken most of the possessions in the deceased¡¯s house, which included something that the deceased had borrowed from him, and that something was this cat figurine. Yu Jun imed that the figurine was very important to him, yet he had no proof of ownership for the object, so he feared that it would be documented as unimed evidence by the court since the deceased left no surviving heirs.


    Bai Yidao had seen this cat figurine when he was investigating the crime scene. Every little detail described by Yu Jun perfectly matched the characteristics of the cat figurine he had seen, so Bai Yidao was convinced that the object was indeed Yu Jun¡¯s. He therefore agreed to help Yu Jun.


    So Yu Jun prepared a substitute figurine and gave it to Bai Yidao to rece the one in the evidence room. Bai Yidao did as he was told without thinking much of it at all.


    That was until he heard from me that the cat figurine was used as an instrument of murder. Bai Yidao was so scared that he wouldnd in hot water if the truth was found out that he contacted Yu Jun again. At the same time, we had just visited Yu Jun, so he was aware that he would be suspected for the murders.


    Therefore, Yu Jun threatened Bai Yidao that he would expose his prior misconduct if he didn¡¯t help him get rid of the evidence. Bai Yidao was afraid that he would lose his job and go to jail, so he had no choice but to co-operate with Yu Jun once again. They had a rendezvous at the old residential building where Yu Jun would hand over the Wealth Beckoning Cat to Bai Yidao, who would then hide it in a hotel room. But to his surprise, Officer Liao had brought a team of officers to catch him here.


    I observed Bai Yidao closely as he narrated his ount of events. He seemed to be telling the truth. It seemed that he was unknowingly tricked by Yu Jun to steal the evidence from the police and was not involved in the murders at all.


    But I still felt there was one thing that he was still hiding something from us.


    ¡°Why did you help Yu Jun to steal evidence?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No reason,¡± Bai Yidao answered nonchntly. ¡°He¡¯s a good friend. I did it out of loyalty, perhaps.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know the punishments for stealing and destroying evidence, you fool? Aren¡¯t you a police officer?¡±


    ¡°Is it really a punishable crime? Did you just make that up?¡±


    Officer Liao shook his head and sighed with great regret. ¡°How can you be so na?ve, Yidao?! It¡¯s a heavy crime that couldnd you in jail for three to seven years! You¡¯re ruining your own future here! Now tell us the whole truth!¡±


    Bai Yidao was shaken by Officer Liao¡¯s words. He bit his lip and finally confessed, ¡°Yu Jun is Weiwei¡¯s uncle. Since we¡¯re going to get married in the future, how could I refuse to help her family?¡±


    Everyone was shocked. I observed him and realized that he was telling the truth.


    p! The whole room was stunned once again when Huang Xiaotao smacked Bai Yidao across his face.


    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for you, a family of three wouldn¡¯t have died!¡± thundered Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Not only did you tamper with the evidence, you also failed to report it when you realized that it was used for murder. You even continued to help the murderer! Don¡¯t you have any conscience at all?¡±


    Tears welled up in Bai Yidao¡¯s eyes. ¡°I had no idea that Imitted such a serious crime! I was only in the police academy for half a year before my father got me into the police force through his connections. I lost my mind when I heard that this thing was used to kill people. And he threatened to drag me down with him if I didn¡¯t help him! What choice did I have?¡±


    Bai Yidao then buried his face into his hands in shame and guilt. He whimpered and cried¡ªthe anger that was there before was gone without a trace.


    I couldn¡¯t help but sympathize with him. He had been used by Yu Jun from beginning to end, leading him step by step into his own ruin.

 Chapter 69

    <h4>Chapter 69</h4>


    Bai Yidao had been kneeling on the ground crying incessantly. He kept saying that he wanted to call his father, but everyone just ignored him.


    Officer Liao sighed and ordered the officers to take him back to the police station. I took the Wealth Beckoning Cat into my hand and scrutinized it. I put my ear on it and listened while tapping my finger on it. It sounded like there was a corpse in there.


    The figurine wasn¡¯trge enough to fit a human body inside it, so I surmised that it was probably the corpse of a cat.


    I told Huang Xiaotao of this discovery.


    ¡°Are you going to open it?¡± she suggested.


    ¡°No, this thing is too mysterious for me to deal with. It¡¯s probably best left undisturbed.¡± I then wrapped it up and handed it to Officer Liao and told him, ¡°You should take this to a hospital and check what¡¯s inside with an X-ray.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll do that,¡± he nodded.


    Because there were many people in the hotel, Officer Liao, Wang Yuanchao and Dali took the elevator down first while Huang Xiaotao and I waited upstairs.


    ¡°What should we do next?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao. ¡°How do we prove that this thing has the ability to kill people? We can¡¯t do an experiment with a living person, can we?¡±


    I shook my head and exined, ¡°No, now that this thing is in our hands, Yu Jun will definitely walk into our trap himself.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao smiled. ¡°It seems that things always go smoothly every time I investigate a case with you. At this point I¡¯m not even sure if it¡¯s because you¡¯re a genius detective or if it¡¯s because you have the best luck ever!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just awesome like that.¡±


    ¡°Get over yourself!¡± Huang Xiaotaoughed.


    At that moment, I heard a crying sound in the hallway. It was the voice of a woman, and she sounded very familiar too.


    I was about to turn around and follow the sound when Huang Xiaotao said, ¡°Song Yang, the elevator door¡¯s opening.¡±


    ¡°You go on ahead!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao didn¡¯t get into the elevator but followed me instead. We went back to the room where we had just arrested Bai Yidao and found Luo Weiwei standing at the door crying bitterly. When she heard our footsteps, she turned around and asked me, ¡°Was Bai Yidao really arrested?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I nodded.


    ¡°Will he go to jail?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Considering his father¡¯s position, I doubt it,¡± I said. ¡°But he probably won¡¯t be able to keep his job.¡±


    ¡°Can you please help him?¡± Luo Weiwei suddenly asked. ¡°Please, I know he¡¯s got a bad temper, but I understand him¡ªdeep down he¡¯s not a bad person at all. I don¡¯t want to see his future ruined!¡±


    I frowned and said, ¡°No!¡±


    Luo Weiwei suddenly grabbed my hand and begged, ¡°Song Yang, please, I know that you have high connections. You even know the Director-General! As long as you¡¯re willing to help Bai Yidao this time, I will do anything for you.¡±


    After that, she put my hand on her chest, clearly implying what she meant by ¡®anything.¡¯


    I immediately pulled my hand back and said, ¡°Behave yourself! Bai Yidao has broken thew, and he must pay the price for his mistake just as any other civilian must! I can¡¯t help you with this!¡±


    After that, I turned and left. I heard Luo Weiwei crying even more bitterly as I walked away from her. I sighed. If only they thought of the ramifications of their actions before they did something...


    Huang Xiaotao stared at me with strange-looking eyes. I asked her what was wrong. She replied, ¡°Nothing, but the way you refused Luo Weiwei was really cool!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re mocking me,¡± I mumbled shyly, my face blushing.


    ¡°By the way, didn¡¯t you sayst night that you¡¯ll treat me to a meal when the case is over?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I remembered that she refused my offer, and I¡¯d been feeling at a loss ever since.


    ¡°Idiot!¡± smiled Huang Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ve reconsidered it, and I thought that it would be nice to get a chance to rx after being so busytely. I¡¯m officially agreeing to your invitation, okay? But you¡¯d better think of a nice ce to eat! I¡¯m a picky eater, you know?¡±


    I could¡¯ve leapt into the air with joy! But didn¡¯t it sound like she was asking me to go on a date...


    Later, the four of us stopped at a restaurant for our lunch. After the meal, we came to the police station. Officer Liao informed us that Bai Yidao had been temporarily detained. Luo Weiwei also took time off because of the shock. He asked me what he should do next.


    ¡°Get an arrest warrant for Yu Jun and catch him!¡± I said.


    ¡°But for what crime?¡± Officer Liao asked.


    ¡°The crime of destroying the forged evidence is that the iron is just like the mountain." I took out the stic cup that I took away from Yu Jun in the morning. ¡°Let the forensics team test the cup. There are Yu Jun¡¯s fingerprints are on it, and the fake evidence should have the same set of fingerprints too.¡±


    ¡°Amazing! You don¡¯t let a thing slip through you fingers, do you? I¡¯ll get to it right away!¡±


    ¡°What happened to the cat figurine?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°Oh, right! I almost forgot about that!¡± he said, pping his forehead. ¡°I just took it to the hospital nearby to examine it with an X-ray. Turns out there is a dead cat inside the figurine!¡±


    ¡°Where is it now?¡± I asked.


    ¡°In the evidence room.¡±


    ¡°Please take it out and let me take a closer look at it!¡± I eximed excitedly.


    Officer Liao then took the four of us to the evidence room where the Wealth Beckoning Cat was wrapped in a stic bag and ced on a shelf. I noticed the simrity in size between this figurine and the Lucky Cat figurine I sawst time for the previous case. That must¡¯ve been the evidence that Yu Jun had faked to get the Wealth Beckoning Cat back.


    I asked Officer Liao to take the Lucky Cat to the forensics team for fingerprinting and took the Wealth Beckoning Cat to an empty conference room.


    ¡°Are you going to open it up?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°No,¡± I answered. ¡°I want to see what¡¯s special about this cat...¡±


    I asked Dali to buy me a list of things¡ªa couple of bells, half a kilogram of swamp eels, a spray bottle, a bottle of white liquor and some silk thread. Apart from that, I asked him to bring me my bag which I had left in the hotel room.


    Half an hourter, Dali returned with a big bag in his left hand and my bag in his right.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting better at this now, aren¡¯t I, dude?¡± he asked eagerly.


    I agreed with augh, took the stuff from him and started to make some preparations.


    I took a slice of Chinese medicine from the bag and put it in the spray bottle, then poured in the white liquor.


    Huang Xiaotao asked me what it was. I exined, ¡°This is guaiac wood slice. I knew it wouldn¡¯t be avable in supermarkets, so I brought it with me. It can be used to detect blood because the juices of the guaiac wood changes color when it reacts with the protein found in blood.¡±


    The wood slices in the white liquor began to bubble, which meant that they were reacting with each other and the essence of the wood slices were seeping into the alcohol.


    I found a washbasin nearby so I took it and burned a few sheets of joss paper in it as an offering for the Wealth Beckoning Cat. I put my two palms together respectfully and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to bother your rest. Please ept my sincere offering of this joss paper.¡±


    ¡°Do you need to go through all that?¡± asked Dali. ¡°It¡¯s just a cat!¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s not just an ordinary cat,¡± I replied. ¡°It¡¯s a cat spirit. You could even say that it is a sentient being with its own thoughts and emotions. Besides, it¡¯s a universalw¡ªif you show someone respect, they¡¯ll respect you too.¡±


    When the wood slices in the watering can were no longer bubbling, I untied the stic bag that wrapped the Wealth Beckoning Cat and sprayed a thinyer of the alcohol on the cat figurine. Gradually, the top of the cat¡¯s head turned purple.


    I went in and looked closely. There was a tiny hole between the cat¡¯s ears that was sealed with wax. This must be what Yu Jun used to feed the cat his blood.


    ¡°That looks like a lot of blood!¡± eximed Huang Xiaotao. ¡°Just as you thought, Yu Jun really did feed blood to the cat!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about this kind of thing,¡± I said, ¡°But when we met him, I noticed that Yu Jun looked pale and tired. To keep the cat spirit alive and happy, the owner must feed it his own life essence, and nothing is richer in life essence than human blood!¡±


    The effect of guaiac wood made the alcohol evaporate very quickly. I sealed the stic bag, then cut open the swamp eels and dripped their blood outside the stic bag to lure the cat spirit.


    I had originally nned to use my own blood, but I was afraid that the cat might attach itself to me somehow, so I thought it would be best to just use the swamp eels instead. Cat spirits might be spiritual beings, but they retained their cat-like nature, so the strong smell of swamp eel blood should be very tempting to them.


    I ced the Wealth Beckoning Cat under the table, hung the bell around the table, and quietly waited for a while.


    ¡°Nothing¡¯s happening,¡±ined Dali.


    ¡°Be patient. Just give it a few more minutes.¡±


    Sure enough, we then heard a rustling noise from under the table, and although the air inside the conference room was very still, the bells started to quiver and ring...

 Chapter 70

    <h4>Chapter 70</h4>


    t


    At first, only one or two bells swayed gently. Then, arge number of bells started to rock more violently, filling the room with loud noises. The four of us werepletely astounded; none of us could move or say anything for a while.


    I then noticed that the bell facing the window did not move. It was probably because the civet did not like the sun, so I asked Dali to pull the curtains up.


    After that, I took out a marker from my bag. On the edge of the table, I wrote somemon words above each bell. I thought it would be possible tomunicate with the cat spirit with a makeshift Ouija board.


    However, after only writing two words, I heard a plop behind me, and when I turned my head, Dali had fallen to the floor.


    ¡°Dali! What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked.


    I quickly ran over to him, but just as I reached him, Dali suddenly grabbed my wrist and squeezed it with great strength. Then he slowly opened his eyes. They looked just like the strange eyes that the little girl hadst night. Then the corner of his lips slowly curved up into a strange expression¡ªlike that of a humorless smile.


    This shocked me to the core. I struggled and freed myself from his grasp and backed away from him as quickly as I could, but I was met with an even more bizarre sight¡ªDali jumped onto the table and squatted on it while licking the back of his hands.


    The rest of us were stupefied. Wang Yuanchao pulled out his gun and pointed it at Dali. I pushed the gun down, signaling him not to do anything just yet. It would be best to just observe for a while.


    I worked up my courage and asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    Dali did not pay any attention to me. He kept concentrating on his ¡®paws.¡¯ After asking him the third time, he suddenly turned around and let out an obvious ¡®meow¡¯ before pouncing at us!


    We automatically stepped away, but it turned out that his target wasn¡¯t us at all. It was the swamp eels which were still in a stic bag on the floor. Dali buried his face into the stic bag and started devouring the living eels inside. He chewed them and then swallowed them whole¡ªbones and all. Although I knew that we had more pressing matters at hand, my first thought was whether Dali would choke on the fish bones.


    I called his name with concern, and when Dali turned around, there was half an eel sticking out of his mouth. The eel was still alive and it writhed in his mouth, but Dali just sucked and swallowed it whole as if it was a noodle strand.


    Once he¡¯d had his fill, he sat on the floor, licked his hands and then wiped his face, just like how a cat would clean itself after a meal.


    ¡°Cat Spirit,¡± I said politely, ¡°now that you are full, can you please return to your resting ce?¡±


    When he heard that, Dali suddenly lunged towards the cat figurine under the table and mmed it to the floor. As it rolled away, I thought, was the cat spirit trying to release its true body from the figurine?


    Fortunately, the material that made up the figurine was hard and durable enough that it suffered no damage. It was probably made of porcin and bone powder which contributed to its durability.


    Dali continued to pounce on the cat figurine. Although the cat spirit had possessed a human body, its movements and behavior were still exactly like that of a cat. It seemed that Dali couldn¡¯t grasp the figurine with his fingers but could only manage to push it around the same way cats pushed around a ball.


    I didn¡¯t know why he was doing it, but no matter what, this figurine was still important evidence for this case. If it got damaged or tainted, things could be set back and the case might never be solved, so I yelled, ¡°We must block him from getting the figurine!¡±


    Dali still had his eyes on the figurine and was busy stalking and pouncing at it. Wang Yuanchao jumped from a chair and threw himself at Dali. The two were then locked in a struggle. Dali snarled and hissed while violently wing at Wang Yuanchao, trying to get away from him.


    Wang Yuanchao blocked Dali¡¯s attacks with his arms, and I could clearly see how Dali¡¯s scratches left trails of blood on Wang Yuanchao¡¯s skin.


    I took advantage of the time when Dali was preupied with Wang Yuanchao to quickly pick up the cat figurine and handed it to Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Take it back to the evidence room now!¡± I ordered.


    ¡°What about him?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao in a panic, pointing at Dali.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll deal with him. Go!¡± I cried.


    Dali noticed that Huang Xiaotao was leaving with the cat figurine, so he slipped through Wang Yuanchao¡¯s grip and went after Huang Xiaotao. Wang Yuanchao kicked a chair to block Dali¡¯s path, but to our surprise, Dali dodged the chair with what could only be described as feline agility. He leapt over the chair, spun three hundred sixty degrees mid-air, thennded firmly and lightly on his ¡®four feet.¡¯


    Shit, even circus acrobats couldn¡¯t do that!


    Wang Yuanchao picked up another chair, screamed and lunged towards Dali.


    I pulled the curtains apart, and the bright light of the afternoon sun streamed into the room. Dali immediately stopped in his spot and blocked his eyes with his hands as if the light was extremely painful to him.


    The chair in Wang Yuanchao¡¯s hands smashed Dali¡¯s back with a loud crash. I got worried and shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t hurt him too much, Old Wang!¡±


    As soon as I spoke, Dali jumped and kicked Wang Yuanchao¡¯s squarely on his chest, shoving him back a few meters. But Wang Yuanchao soon got back onto his feet and prepared to fight Dali again. He rushed towards Dali and threw an onught of attacks at him. Wang Yuanchao¡¯s martial arts skills seemed to be too much for the cat spirit, but it had the supernatural nimbleness of a cat, so Dali kept bounding from one spot to another all over the room, knocking things over and breaking everything in his path. He continued to slip through Wang Yuanchao¡¯s grasp like a slippery eel.


    I thought of what scared cats the most, and suddenly noticed the half bottle of white liquor on the table.


    ¡°Give me a lighter!¡± I shouted to Wang Yuanchao.


    Between their fight, Wang Yuanchao threw his lighter over to me. I caught it and poured the white liquor into my mouth. It burned the inside of my mouth so much I almost shed tears. Then I lit up the lighter and sprayed the liquor out of my mouth while facing towards Dali¡ªcreating an impressive fireball!


    Dali screamed and quickly fled to the corner of the room.


    I poured more liquor into my mouth, but there wasn¡¯t much left in the bottle, so it probably wouldn¡¯t cause such a strong reaction from Dali this time. But just as I was about to spray out the liquor, I saw Dali shivering and curling up into a ball in the corner of the room. He put up his two ¡®paws¡¯ in front of his face to protect himself. Then, all of a sudden, his eyes rolled back and he fainted.


    I didn¡¯t see thating at all, and the shock caused me to identally gulp down the mouthful of liquor, which proceeded to burn my throat and stomach.


    I walked over to Dali and patted his face. After a while, he woke up in a daze and mumbled, ¡°Dude, what happened to me?¡±


    ¡°You fainted,¡± I told him. If he found out what really happened, the shock he suffered would probably knock him out again.


    Dali noticed a weird taste in his mouth which cause him to spit several times. He then found a small fishbone between his teeth.


    ¡°Hello, how did this get here? I don¡¯t remember having fish for lunch.¡±


    Just as I was trying toe up with a made-up reason for how the fishbone ended up in his mouth, Dali interrupted me with, ¡°Holy shit, look at the state of this room! Looks like it¡¯s been hit by a hurricane!¡±


    ¡°The cat spirit just came out of the cat figurine,¡± I exined.


    ¡°Dude, seriously? What did it look like?¡±


    ¡°It just looked like a big ck cat. It jumped around and wreaked havoc to the whole room. We almost couldn¡¯t deal with it.¡±


    I was worried that Dali might start asking more questions, but fortunately, my friend was more of a simple-minded kind of guy. His onlyments were, ¡°Jeez, dude! Why didn¡¯t you wake me up! I wanna see what a cat spirit looks like too! Why the hell did I faint at such a crucial moment?¡±


    I poured him a ss of water and told him to gargle. Soon after that, Huang Xiaotao returned. She saw that everything had gone back to normal so she was about to say something, but I signaled her with my eyes not to talk.


    Long after the incident, a friend who had knowledge about this type of phenomenon told me that what I did was incredibly dangerous! We were lucky that the cat spirit did not take Dali¡¯s life in panic! I was evidently good for nothing except autopsies and solving murder cases. As for dealing with supernatural beings, I was just as clueless and ignorant as the next guy.

 Chapter 71

    <h4>Chapter 71</h4>


    Our confrontation with the cat spirit almost got the best of us. But at least Huang Xiaotao brought back good news¡ªOfficer Liao got an arrest warrant for Yu Jun and several officers had been dispatched to capture him.


    Knowing that we now had a few hours to spare since there was nothing else we could do at the moment, we returned to our hotel and rested. At about five o¡¯clock in the afternoon, Officer Liao called and informed us that Yu Jun was now at the police station.


    We rushed there immediately and saw Yu Jun in the interrogation room. His previous boldness and arrogance had been swept off his face. When he saw me, he pleaded, ¡°Officer, please tell them to release me! I must hurry back home! There¡¯s an urgency that I have to attend to in my family!¡±


    ¡°What urgency?¡± I asked.


    ¡°My... My wife is sick! I have to go back and take care of her...¡± he answered.


    ¡°Is it really your wife that you need to take care of?¡± I sneered. ¡°Or is it your cat?¡±


    I told him that Bai Yidao had been arrested, and that the Wealth Beckoning Cat was now in our hands. Yu Jun was extremely distressed by the news and pleaded, ¡°Please give it back to me, I beg you!¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Yu Jun hung his head low and exined, ¡°Cat spirits are extremely hard to tame. I must feed it with my own blood every day, otherwise it will turn against me and kill me!¡±


    I nced at his hand and the band-aids on his fingers. So it was just as I had predicted.


    ¡°Confess that youmitted the murders,¡± I demanded. ¡°Otherwise, don¡¯t even think about seeing that cat again!¡±


    ¡°No, please! I know you have connections in high ces, please help me!¡± He reached over and tried to grab my hand, but the police officer guarding him noticed it and shouted, ¡°Behave yourself!¡±


    ¡°So you admit that the curse is real?¡± I looked at him and smirked.


    Yu Jun was speechless and his face turned pale.


    ¡°As long as you confess to your crimes,¡± I repeated, ¡°then I will let Officer Liao allow you to be bailed out as you await trial so you can go back and feed the cat.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t use your authority as a policeman to force out a confession from me!¡± he shouted.


    I decided not to correct his misunderstanding about my identity.


    ¡°Yu Jun,¡± I said calmly, ¡°if the curse isn¡¯t real, then why should we believe that you should be released lest you¡¯ll be killed? This isn¡¯t a threat. I¡¯m merely acting out of simple logic.¡±


    Yu Jun bit his lip and red at me in contempt.


    I left him to give him time to think. As we were exiting the interrogation room, Yu Junughed wildly and bellowed, ¡°Wherever you keep the cat figurine, there will always be bloody cmities! Just you wait, all of you will die! All of you will die!¡±


    His threats made the police officers uneasy. After talking it over amongst themselves, they asked me if it would be safe to keep the Wealth Beckoning Cat in the police station.


    I didn¡¯t believe a word of Yu Jun¡¯s threats, and I didn¡¯t think that the cat spirit was powerful enough to kill so arbitrarily and easily. On the other hand, I understood the officers¡¯ concern, so I made apromise and locked the cat figurine inside a car and parked it in the middle of the parking lot outside the police station. With that, everyone¡¯s peace of mind was preserved.


    We spent the rest of the day waiting in the police station and even had dinner there. We were locked in a silent psychological battle with Yu Jun¡ª he either confesses his crimes and lives, or he can die in the hands of the Wealth Beckoning Cat!


    Yu Jun remained silent and refused to confess. It was then already eleven o¡¯clock at night. Everyone was nearly bored to tears, even our phones which kept us preupied for most of the day had almost run out of battery.


    ¡°The bastard probably won¡¯t confess, dude,¡± said Dali. ¡°He killed seven people after all. There¡¯s no escaping the death sentence for him! What difference would it make if he gets killed by the cat today?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I replied, ¡°don¡¯t underestimate a human being¡¯s survival instinct. Even living for one more day is worth fighting for. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll give in.¡±


    Then a policeman suddenly ran towards us and cried, ¡°Bad news! Something happened to Yu Jun!¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to exin. Come over and see for yourself!¡±


    We went to Yu Jun¡¯s cell and saw him gripping the metal bars tightly until his knuckles were white, and he was bashing his head against the bars repeatedly. All the while he kept chanting, ¡°I am the noble cat spirit! I am the noble cat spirit! How dare you imprison me in this cell! When midnightes, each of you will drop dead like flies!¡±


    The policemen were all petrified. Officer Liao worriedly suggested, ¡°He must¡¯ve been possessed by the spirit. There are too many officers in this police station. Perhaps we should transfer him elsewhere?¡±


    The other police officers echoed his sentiment.


    If Dali hadn¡¯t been possessed by the cat spirit this afternoon, I might¡¯ve fallen for Yu Jun¡¯s act. But unfortunately for him, I saw through it immediately¡ªthis wasn¡¯t the way the cat spirit behaved at all.


    ¡°Drop the act, Yu Jun,¡± I sneered. ¡°When midnightes, you¡¯re the only one who will die!¡±


    Yu Jun shook his head furiously and continued, ¡°Impudent mortal! How dare you talk to a noble spirit like me that way! I will kill you! I will definitely kill you!¡± He pushed his head between the metal bars and the blood on his forehead ran down his nose, making him look like a wild beast.


    ¡°In a few minutes, I will use my power to make all of you kill each other!¡± he threatened.


    As soon as he spoke, the atmosphere in the police station became tense. Everyone eyed each other nervously, seriously fearing that their lives would end by the hands of their colleagues.


    I was not impressed.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, Yu Jun,¡± I said. ¡°I have seen someone possessed by the cat spirit, and your acting looks nothing like it at all.¡±


    My words almost broke Yu Jun¡¯s character. His lips trembled and I could see his eyes darting around in panic.


    ¡°I know you¡¯re trying to scare us,¡± I added. ¡°You think that we¡¯ll let you go for fear of the curse? Well, I hate to spoil your ns, but that¡¯ll never happen. If you want to keep going with your acting, then go ahead. We¡¯ll see who ends up dead by midnight.¡±


    I called Huang Xiaotao aside and whispered some words to her, then told the rest of the room, ¡°Everyone can leave the room now. I will deal with him myself!¡±


    Officer Liao didn¡¯t like the sound of that, but after my insistence, he and the rest of the police officers finally left. Huang Xiaotao looked at her watch and remarked, ¡°Oh my god! Song Yang, there are only ten minutes left until midnight!¡±


    Yu Jun nced at the wall clock, sneered, and his confidence returned. He then continued hisme acting. This time he even shook his head and foamed at the mouth as he stated, ¡°I, the noble cat spirit, will soon show you my power! If you heed by my orders, mortal, I will let you live. Otherwise, you shall perish!¡±


    I took a chair and sat down in front of Yu Jun and snickered, ¡°Only ten minutes left. We¡¯ll soon see who will die¡ªall of us, or just you!¡±


    ¡°Dude,¡± whispered Dali, ¡°what if he¡¯s not lying?¡±


    ¡°Impossible!¡± I replied with confidence.


    Dali didn¡¯t see what it was like when the cat spirit possessed him, so of course he was terrified and didn¡¯t realize that Yu Jun was only acting. I told him to wait outside if he was afraid, but Dali insisted, ¡°How can I just leave you here? Aren¡¯t we bros?¡±


    Time passed by, Huang Xiaotao suddenly eximed, ¡°Hey, Dali¡¯s gone!¡±


    I looked around and didn¡¯t find him anywhere, until I heard a rustling noise underneath the table. Dali was curled up down there holding his head and shaking.


    ¡°Idiot!¡± Huang Xiaotao and I simultaneously chided.


    At that moment, there were only two minutes left until midnight.


    Finally, Yu Jun couldn¡¯t take it anymore and pleaded with a deted tone, ¡°I confess! I confess! I killed both of the families!¡±


    ¡°How did you kill them?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I wrote down their birth dates and star signs on a piece of paper, burnt them, and mixed the ashes with my blood and fed it to the Wealth Beckoning Cat. Then I ced the figurine in their house, and the cat spirit would emit a maic field to make the residents of the house go insane and kill each other.¡±


    He then bit off a small chunk of flesh from his middle finger. I shuddered at how painful it must¡¯ve felt. But he then stretched out his finger which bled profusely and begged, ¡°Please take my blood and feed it to the cat now! It¡¯s a cold-blooded beast and it¡¯ll turn against me the instant I stop feeding it!¡±


    ¡°What happens next?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The figurine is just a cell to suppress its soul,¡± continued Yu Jun. ¡°I drop my blood into the figurine every night to feed it. If I fail to do that, it will break through the seal and wreak havoc! I had to rent a house opposite of Huang Youcai¡¯s to enable me to feed it in time. This cat spirit is especially wild and hard to tame. It is always fighting against me, trying to free itself from my control.¡±


    I was fascinated. No wonder the cat spirit had fought us so fiercely to destroy the figurine that it was trapped in! It turned out that the cat spirit had been imprisoned and enved all along!


    ¡°Did you sneak into the home of the deceased every day to feed the cat spirit with your blood?¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t have to drop my blood directly onto the cat figurine. As long as I dropped it onto the me of a burning red candle within 20 meters of the figurine, the cat spirit would smell the scent of blood and feed off of it.¡±


    ¡°Where did you get this cat spirit?¡± I asked.


    ¡°From a wandering Daoist priest who sold it to me,¡± exined Yu Jun. He then grew ever more anxious. ¡°Please, Officer, stop asking me questions for now and take my blood to the cat and feed it! I beg you!¡±


    Compared to the arrogant andposed countenance that he wore earlier this afternoon, Yu Jun¡¯s current desperate pleas made him look like an entirely different person.


    I pulled out my phone from my pocket and handed it to him.


    ¡°Look at what time it is.¡±


    Yu Jun did so and his jaw dropped.


    I instructed Huang Xiaotao earlier to adjust the clock on the wall to be thirty minutes faster as the other officers were leaving the room. It was now only half-past eleven.


    Plus, I had also recorded everything that Yu Jun said with my phone. This was enough evidence to be presented in court as proof that Yu Jun was a serial murderer!

 Chapter 72

    I found a small bottle and added a little bit of Yu Jun¡¯s blood into it. Since he confessed, I had to fulfill my promise to ensure that he would not die today!


    We went downstairs and saw Officer Liao and a group of police officers waiting for us. By the sheer number of police officers swarmed together, people passing by might think that a natural disaster had urred.


    ¡°The suspect has already confessed,¡± I told them. ¡°You should go upstairs and record his formal confession.¡±


    ¡°How did you do it?!¡± asked the shocked Officer Liao.


    ¡°By employing a simple trick,¡± I exined. ¡°It¡¯s half-past eleven now. I¡¯m going to feed the cat spirit Yu Jun¡¯s blood so you won¡¯t be in danger anymore. You can go back in there now.¡±


    To be honest, I understood these officers¡¯ feelings, and I don¡¯t me them for their present timidity. They were scared by Yu Jun¡¯s threats not because they were stupid or superstitious, but only because they¡¯d witnessed first-hand how effective and brutal the curse had been. Besides, they had no knowledge of how maic fields could affect human psychology. From their perspective, it was only logical to err on the cautious side.


    The Wealth Beckoning Cat was ced in Officer Liao¡¯s car, so we asked him for the key and went to the parking lot. But when we found the car, we noticed that the window had been broken and there was nothing in the back seat!


    ¡°But how is this possible?¡± eximed Huang Xiaotao. ¡°The car was parked within the police station area. If the ss was broken, the rm would¡¯ve rung! Why didn¡¯t we hear anything?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps there are some supernatural forces at y...¡± I conjected.


    I took out a packet of flour and sprinkled it on the door and found a small handprint on it. I immediately thought of the little girl!


    ¡°But didn¡¯t her rtive pick her up?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    I recalled the events of that night. The little girl and the cat spirit appeared at almost the same time. There was a possibility that the little girl was also on the cat¡¯s kill list, but perhaps it let the girl live on the condition that she helped it get out of its prison.


    I was aware that my inferences surpassed the normal realm of logic, but when it came to this mysterious case, it seemed that nothing was impossible.


    ¡°Let¡¯s split up and look for her!¡± I said. ¡°We must get the cat figurine back before midnight! The suspect can¡¯t just die now!¡±


    We split up and searched all over. When it was only a few minutes before midnight, I got a call from Huang Xiaotao who told me that she found a little girl holding the cat figurine on a pedestrian bridge over a highway.


    I rushed to the ce. Wang Yuanchao was already there, holding his gun. He and Huang Xiaotao stood at opposite ends of the bridge, and the little girl was in the middle, holding the cat figurine.


    ¡°Be a good girl and give hand that thing over to me,¡± said Huang Xiaotao, stretching a hand towards the little girl.


    I noticed that the girl¡¯s eyes looked normal, which meant that she was not possessed by the Wealth Beckoning Cat. She held the cat figurine tightly to her chest, not saying a word.


    ¡°Huang Yuanyuan,¡± I said to her, ¡°the murderer who killed your family has confessed his crimes. He will be sentenced to death soon. You don¡¯t need to go this length to punish him!¡±


    Seeing that she was ignoring me, I slowly approached her step by step.


    ¡°Please listen to me,¡± I continued, ¡°you have to hand that cat figurine to us!¡±


    The girl suddenly raised her hands and lifted the cat figurine over the highway. Our hearts almost jumped out of our throats when we saw what she was trying to do!


    ¡°After Mommy and Daddy died,¡± she said with a shaking voice, ¡°the kitty found me and confessed to me that he killed them. But I don¡¯t hate him, because I know he was forced to do it!¡±


    ¡°You canmunicate with it?¡± I was genuinely surprised.


    ¡°I can understand him.¡± The girl nodded.


    So it was true what people said about children having pure eyes that can see supernatural beings.


    ¡°I know the bad guy forced him to do it,¡± the girl added. ¡°I feel bad for the kitty. I want to help him!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I reassured her. ¡°The bad guy will be punished by thew, and you can hand this thing to us. We¡¯ll deal with it appropriately.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± shouted the girl. ¡°It¡¯s not a thing! It¡¯s a poor kitty! I don¡¯t trust you adults! You only think of the kitty as a tool to get money! You¡¯ll do bad things when you take him away!¡±


    ¡°No, not all adults are bad people!¡± I exined.


    She still shook her head adamantly. Her thin arms that were holding up the cat figurine were shaking as if they could no longer bear its weight.


    ¡°Song Yang, there¡¯s only one minute left!¡± reminded Huang Xiaotao.


    Just then, the girl flung the figurine down onto the highway, and it smashed into smithereens. We screamed. I rushed to the edge of the bridge and used Cave Vision to search the highway below. I found hundreds of pieces of figurine fragments, but the cat body inside was missing.


    Then I heard a faint ¡®meow¡¯ and looked up. A ck cat was perched on a tree branch by the road. It was staring at our direction with a quaint look in its eyes. Perhaps it was thanking the little girl who gave it freedom. A few seconds after that, it was gone and I couldn¡¯t find it anywhere, not even with my Cave Vision.


    ¡°He¡¯s free!¡± The girl jumped in joy.


    ¡°Will it go back to take revenge on Yu Jun?¡± asked Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°There is that possibility.¡±


    I asked Wang Yuanchao to take the girl back home, while Huang Xiaotao hurried back to the police station. On our way, we met Dali, who waste as always.


    ¡°Did you find it?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Counting on you to be reliable is like counting on pigs to climb up trees!¡± snapped Huang Xiaotao.


    It was already past midnight when we reached the police station, but we found Yu Jun safe and alive. We all heaved a sigh of relief. The cat didn¡¯t take revenge on its former master after all.


    And so, the case was finally over. After that, the judicial process began, and that was the part where we couldn¡¯t do much at all, so our job was considered done. We went back to our hotel and slept until nine in the morning of the next day. At noon, Huang Xiaotao treated us to a hearty meal at a nice restaurant. By afternoon we were ready to leave for Nanjiang City.


    Officer Liao and the other members of the task force bade farewell to us.


    ¡°The case was finally solved because of you, Song Yang,¡± said Officer Liao. ¡°If the murderer hadn¡¯t been captured, I¡¯m sure many others will perish in the future. Therefore, on behalf of the people of Wuqu City, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!¡±


    Then, he and the police officers saluted me in unison. This made me feel quite ufortable, and I told Officer Liao, ¡°You¡¯re too generous with your praise. I just had a lot of good luck that helped me with this case!¡±


    Officer Liao sighed and replied, ¡°You¡¯re such a rare talent. It¡¯s a pity you¡¯re not a police officer!¡±


    Iughed.


    ¡°I can still contribute to society even if I¡¯m not a policeman,¡± I said. ¡°Our objectives are the same after all¡ªto bring criminals to justice and clear the names of those wrongly used.¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re always wee here in Wuqu City! All of the police officers here owe you a big favor. If you had any trouble here at all, we will definitely do all we can to help you!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so formal, Officer Liao! I¡¯ll make sure to drop by whenever Ie here in the future.¡±


    I then learned from him that Yu Jun had been transferred to a prison, and Director-General Cheng went to the Supreme Court himself to figure out how to handle this special case. I asked him what happened to Bai Yidao and Luo Weiwei.


    ¡°Bai Yidao will be suspended for a year for his dereliction of duty. Luo Weiwei came to work today, but she seems to be angry at you for some reason.¡±


    Iughed. That was unsurprising, considering how I rejected her pleas thest time we met.


    ¡°What a great thing it is to be the director¡¯s son!¡± mocked Huang Xiaotao. ¡°You don¡¯t even need to spend a day in jail for breaking thew!¡±


    ¡°What about the little girl? She won¡¯t be punished for destroying the evidence, will she?¡±


    ¡°Because she is only twelve years old, she won¡¯t be charged for anything. But her aunt will pay for my broken car window, of course.¡± He then paused and smiled, ¡°What do you think we should do, Song Yang?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d say let it go. She was right¡ªthe Wealth Beckoning Cat was just a tool in our eyes, only she understood that it was just a cat that wanted to be free. Perhaps this is exactly how God intended it to end.¡±


    I looked up and stared into the clear blue sky.


    Officer Liao nodded, himself lost in thoughts.


    After saying goodbye to the police officers, we drove back to Nanjiang City. Dali ate a lot at lunch so he fell asleep in the back seat. Wang Yuanchao seemed very rxed as he took sips from his small sk while silently looking out the window.


    Huang Xiaotao and I didn¡¯t talk at all along the way. She identally touched my hand once. We merely looked at each other and smiled.

 Chapter 73

    <h4>Chapter 73</h4>


    The first week after we came back, I was lost in a daze and was a mere shell of my old self. I couldn¡¯t eat, I couldn¡¯t sleep, and I couldn¡¯t focus my thoughts on anything at all.


    Dali asked me if it was due to the pressure of having to solve multiple cases back to back. He offered to buy an old chicken and cook it in a soup for me so I could feel better. The fact was, I was in love with Huang Xiaotao, but I couldn¡¯t tell anyone about it.


    I sometimes sent short WeChat messages to her, saying banal things like ¡°What are you doing?¡± or ¡°Are you asleep already?¡± and all that drivel. This was apletely new experience for me. I had never been in love before, much less being in an actual rtionship. It was impossible for me to suddenly act all romantic with her because I didn¡¯t have a single clue how to do that kind of thing! Huang Xiaotao herself seemed to be very busy with work. She rarely replied to any of my messages, and even when she did it was only a short few words.


    Yet I rejoiced and celebrated even if she sent me a single emoji. I would be in a jolly mood for the whole day, and I might even pick up the phone every few minutes just to read her message again. I seriously considered if I had actually lost my mind.


    It was often said that people in love were fools. I now deeply understood how right it was.


    That day, Huang Xiaotao called and told me and Dali to go to a hotel in the evening. After we arrived, we saw Huang Xiaotao waiting for us in the lobby on the first floor. She wore a T-shirt and a pair of jeans, and had a pair of sunsses resting on the top of her head. She looked like the coolest woman I had ever met. I then noticed that I¡¯d never seen her wear a skirt before. That said something about her personality, I suppose.


    With Huang Xiaotao¡¯s appearance, she could wear the inest clothes and still looked amazing.


    ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie,¡± Dali drawled, ¡°you look so pretty today that you¡¯re giving me a nosebleed!¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in a just a few days and you¡¯ve be a pervert now, huh?¡± Huang Xiaotao raised her fist at Dali.


    ¡°No, please have mercy on me, Xiaotao-jiejie!¡±


    When I saw how friendly and casual they both were with each other, I suddenly felt a twinge of jealousy. But I showed none of it in my expressions, of course.


    ¡°Song Yang,¡± said Huang Xiaotao when she turned to look at me, ¡°Sun Tiger is waiting for you upstairs.¡±


    ¡°Why did he suddenly decide to treat us?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Have you forgotten? He told us before we went to Wuqu that he would treat us to a nice meal when we get back!¡±


    We then proceeded to a private room on the fourth floor. When we got there, we saw that Wang Yuanchao was already there. The dinner hadn¡¯t beenid out yet, so he was just sitting at the table drinking wine while snacking on the nuts and seeds that were served in a bowl.


    Sun Tiger, on the other hand, was sitting on the other end of the table, ying poker with himself. When he saw using in, he stood up and roared, ¡°Kiddo! Come here, my boy! And is this your assistant?¡±


    ¡°My name is Wang Dali, sir. Good evening, sir.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, there¡¯s no need to act so formal, kiddo! Just call me Uncle Sun! Come on, sit down! Xiaotao, tell the waiter we¡¯re ready!¡±


    As we sat down, Sun Tiger apologized to me and said he was going to have dinner with us immediately after we came back, but because there was some business in the bureau that could not be dyed, he had to postpone it till now.


    Then, he informed us that while the Beckoning Cat case was still in the judicial process, an unexpected event had urred. Yu Jun hadmitted suicide in the prison that he was held in.


    I was taken aback.


    ¡°How did he die?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The bastard used the sheets to fashion a rope and hung himself from the iron bars of the window in his cell,¡± Sun Tiger exined. ¡°When his body was found the next morning, it was already cold...¡±


    He then paused and frowned.


    ¡°There is a rather curious aspect to his death, though,¡± he continued. ¡°The window was almost the same height as he was, and although he died by hanging, when his body was found, his feet were both firmly on the ground. The other prisoners in the cells close to his smelled the stench of urine the next morning. When they saw that the cold corpse of Yu Jun was standing straight at the window, it scared them witless!¡±


    ¡°His feet were both on the floor?¡± asked Dali, his eyes wide open.


    I could imagine how the other prisoners felt. They must¡¯ve seen a man standing there stiffly, with a long red tongue sticking out of his mouth and urine trickling down his pants¡ªit was no wonder that they¡¯d be horrified.


    The first thought that came to my mind was the Wealth Beckoning Cat¡¯s curse.


    Sun Tiger poured me a cup of tea and said, ¡°Kiddo, the coroners in Wuqu City are all scratching their heads about what to write in his death report. Do you have any idea?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I can¡¯t just make conclusions without examining the scene.¡±


    ¡°No, no, there¡¯s no need for you to go there! It¡¯s not worth another round trip to Wuqu City just for this.¡±


    I thought about it for a while, then said, ¡°There can be two exnations for it. Firstly, Yu Jun could have been killed due to the curse of the Wealth Beckoning Cat. Perhaps the cat spirit came back for him and killed him for enving it.¡±


    Sun Tiger nodded. ¡°Yes, we think so too, but to write this down in the formal death report is...¡±


    ¡°The second exnation is that Wuqu City is close to the sea, so the humidity in the air is fairly high. The rope was probably short enough to lift Yu Jun up from the floor, but as the morning dew fell, the rope dampened and stretched. Plus, the spine elongates slightly after death. These two factors worked together to create the scene the prisoners saw in the morning.¡±


    Sun Tiger¡¯s eyes widened and he pped his thighs.


    ¡°Ah, what a simple solution! You are undoubtedly a genius, kiddo!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, Uncle Sun,¡± I said modestly.


    ¡°No, no, I¡¯m not being kind at all! You remind me of yourte grandfather. I used to discuss difficult cases with him, and he woulde up with simple solutions that amazed me! Just like how you are amazing me now!¡±


    ¡°No, I still have a long way to go to catch up to Grandpa¡¯s brilliance,¡± I replied.


    At that moment, Huang Xiaotao returned and interjected, ¡°Director Sun, didn¡¯t you promise we won¡¯t be discussing cases today?¡±


    Sun Tigerughed.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! It¡¯s a difficult habit to break! Come on, kiddo, let¡¯s celebrate an end to a case and talk about other things!¡±


    We then chatted casually for a while. Sun Tiger mentioned that Sun Bingxin was now studying forensic pathology in a university in Nanjiang City. Sun Bingxin, by the way, was his precious only daughter. We were both of the same age. I used to spend a lot of time at Sun Tiger¡¯s house during the summer vacations when I was in junior high school and high school. Though we didn¡¯t grow up together, it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to call us childhood friends.


    ¡°But I thought you wouldn¡¯t let her join the police force! Why did you let her study to be a coroner?¡±


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t get me started,¡± Sun Tiger sighed. ¡°That daughter of mine is stubborn and she¡¯s used to being spoiled. I can never refuse her anything. She secretly changed majors when she entered college. I wanted her to studyw or medicine and get a proper job, but she insisted on wanting to be a coroner. I was so angry when I found out, but there was nothing I could do. The moment she shed a few tears I get weak and just let her get away with anything.¡±


    I was amused by the juxtaposition between the fearsome police officer that we saw all the time and the doting father whose daughter had him wrapped around her fingers when he was at home.


    ¡°Bingxin has always been talking about you,¡± he added. ¡°She¡¯s been asking why you never show up anymore after high school. She¡¯ll be working at the police station after she graduates, so you¡¯ll be able to meet her soon.¡±


    ¡°Bingxin was a cute girl when she was young. I bet she¡¯s grown into a beautiful young woman now.¡±


    ¡°Of course she has! No one¡¯s prettier than my little girl!¡± eximed Sun Tiger with pride. He then sighed and added, ¡°I was so worried because all of her ssmates in college are boys! I¡¯ve been driving her to college and picking her up myself every day. I can¡¯t let any of those bastards mess with her! Fortunately, my girl is only focused on her studies and never gave them the time of day.¡±


    ¡°Bingxin has such a great father in you,¡± I remarked. ¡°I¡¯m envious of her.¡±


    ¡°Well, I do what I can. I feel guilty for splitting up with her mother, so I have to make amends!¡±


    At that moment, I suddenly noticed that Huang Xiaotao was ring at me with angry eyes, but she quickly looked away when I turned to her. Or was it just my imagination?

 Chapter 74

    <h4>Chapter 74</h4>


    Soon, the food arrived. Sun Tiger spared no expense and ordered luxurious and delicious-looking food for us. Despite that, I had no appetite at all, perhaps because Huang Xiaotao was there but Dali was sitting in between us, so we hadn¡¯t said a word to each other since we took our seats.


    Sun Tiger and Wang Yuanchao were particrly lively. Halfway through the meal, they started a drinking duel. Although Wang Yuanchao was only a low-rank police officer at the moment, the way Sun Tiger interacted with him did not reflect that at all¡ªit looked more like they were equals!


    Both of them were seasoned yers in this game as they were more than able to hold their liquor. After a while, they were locked in a stalemate and the game turned boring, so they turned their attention to us rookies.


    I told them I never drank or smoked in order to protect my senses, so I politely refused. As a result, they switched targets to Dali.


    Sun Tiger¡¯s way of persuading Dali was very simple. He simply guilted Dali with phrases like, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s drink like grown men!¡± But Wang Yuanchao was much more assertive. Just as Dali was still pinching his nose and forcing the ss of spirit down his throat, Wang Yuanchao picked up the bottle again. He filled two sses to the brim with alcohol, then downed one cup and put the empty ss next to the full one and stared down the poor Dali. In that situation, no one would¡¯ve dared to refuse.


    Dali was quite well known in college for being able to hold his liquor. Butparing college kids to these two hardboiled officers was likeparing ducklings to eagles. After a while, Dali swayed left to right, his face turned almost purple, and he face-nted onto the table.


    Huang Xiaotao looked at him andughed pitifully. But when her eyes caught mine, her expression changed and she turned away immediately.


    What did I do now? I wondered. Was it because of the way I chatted with Sun Tiger about his daughter earlier?


    By the end of the meal, Sun Tiger was already considerably drunk when he patted my shoulder and slurred, ¡°Kiddo! Look at Old Wang there! Did you know that when I was in my thirties, I was even worse than him? I thought there was no cure for me. I thought I would stay that way for the rest of my life. But a fortune-teller told me that when I turned forty, I would meet a man who would change my fate, and what do you know¡ªI met your grandfather! Without him, without the Song family¡¯s treasured knowledge, I would¡¯ve never climbed up to the rank that I¡¯m at now! So let¡¯s drink to the Song family!¡±


    He then poured himself a ss full of wine.


    I felt it would be inappropriate to refuse, so I poured myself a cup of tea and replied, ¡°Uncle Sun, I hope you don¡¯t mind if I rece the wine with tea.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead! Bottoms up!¡± He then clinked the ss with my cup and poured the entire ss of wine into down his throat.


    After dinner, Wang Yuanchao picked up Sun Tiger and called a cab. I picked up the conked-out Dali and helped him into Huang Xiaotao¡¯s car.


    On the way back, Dali slept like a log in the back seat. Huang Xiaotao drove silently and said nothing to me. Seeing that we were about to reach my college, I worked up my courage and asked, ¡°Do you... Do you remember my promise to take you out?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve got a day off tomorrow, but it¡¯s not the weekend yet. Will you be free?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± I nodded repeatedly.


    I didn¡¯t expect it to be so easy. The fact that it went so smoothly gave me enough confidence to add, ¡°I need to rify something with you. I used to know Sun Tiger¡¯s daughter because we were friends when we were younger, but that¡¯s all there is to it.¡±


    Huang Xiaotao threw me a nce. ¡°Idiot! Did you think that I was jealous? Why would I be? We¡¯re not in that kind of rtionship!¡±


    I blushed and scratched my head when I heard that reply. I fumbled for words to say, but my mind drew a nk. During that awkward silence, Huang Xiaotao suddenly turned to the side of the road and parked the car.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been acting weirdtely, you know?¡± shemented. ¡°Why are you always sending me texts at night asking me mundane things like if I¡¯ve eaten or slept?¡±


    My face burned to the roots of my hair. I cursed myself for having acted so foolishly. At that moment, I wished I could dig a deep hole and just hide there and nevere out again.


    And then Huang Xiaotao asked a question that made me blush even redder.


    ¡°Song Yang, are you trying to woo me?¡±


    I felt all the blood in my body rushing to the top of my head. My cheeks were so feverishly hot you could fry eggs on them.


    ¡°N-No, I¡¯m not...¡± I stammered. ¡°I was just asking... If you find it annoying, then I¡¯ll stop sending them.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say I was annoyed.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Huang Xiaotaoughed and reached over and patted my shoulder.


    ¡°You have to be bolder than that if you want to woo a girl, you understand?¡± she chirped. ¡°There was a guy from the tax bureau who tried to woo mest year. He sent enough roses to fill a whole car to the police station and told me if I didn¡¯t agree to go out with him, he would put up a huge banner across the police station that said ¡®Huang Xiaotao, I love you!¡¯¡±


    ¡°Oh, so did you go out with him?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, idiot!¡± answered Huang Xiaotao. ¡°I told him I¡¯d arrest him for disturbing public order if he did that, and he¡¯s never bothered me ever since.¡±


    ¡°How do you like to be wooed, then?¡±


    ¡°Idiot!¡± Huang Xiaotao snorted. ¡°You can¡¯t just ask me that! Why would I tell you anyway? And look at you! Why is your face so red? Are you that stressed out when you¡¯re with me? Do you think I¡¯ll bite you?¡±


    She then touched my face with both of her hands, and I blushed even harder and my face probably looked as red as a baboon¡¯s butt at that point. Huang Xiaotao rested her slender fingers on my cheeks. Her fingers felt cool against my skin and it felt so nice that it helped calm me down a bit.


    Because we were sitting in a car, we both had to turn our upper bodies towards each other to maintain this position. I realized that it was the first time I was up so close to Huang Xiaotao¡¯s face. I couldn¡¯t help but stare and admire her beauty.


    Her eyes were crystal clear, like precious gems without any trace of impurities. When I looked at them more closely, I noticed that her eyes weren¡¯tpletely ck¡ªthere were lines in her pupils that were light gray and they reflected light so beautifully they almost entranced me.


    Her skin was translucent white with a tinge of pink. She had obviously taken great care of it. Even when I was examining it from this intimate distance, I still could not find any ws or imperfections.


    Underneath her tiny pert nose were her rosebud lips, which looked as red as a cherry in the dim light of the car. The corners of her lips curved up slightly even when she wasn¡¯t smiling and it gave her a certain charm.


    I wondered, had Huang Xiaotao always looked so lovely, or was it because I was looking at her through the rose-tinted eyes of a lover? No, that couldn¡¯t have been it. Huang Xiaotao had always been an undeniably beautiful woman.


    ¡°Do you know why I find you so adorable?¡± Huang Xiaotao asked, whichpletely threw me off bnce.


    ¡°Wh-Why?¡±


    Huang Xiaotao smiled and replied, ¡°Because I can just say anything and all your feelings are written on your face clearly. You¡¯re even more transparent than a thermometer! It¡¯s a lot of fun teasing you!¡±


    ¡°Teasing me? So that¡¯s what you were doing?¡± I cried.


    ¡°Yeah!¡± nodded Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°Geez, you¡¯re toying with my emotions!¡±


    ¡°Toying with your emotions?¡± Huang Xiaotao pped her thigh andughed for what felt like hours. ¡°You¡¯re too funny, Song Yang! Alright, alright, I¡¯m sorry! Let me make it up to you.¡±


    ¡°Make it up to me? How...?¡± My heartbeat quickened and my throat was dry. Our faces were merely inches apart at the time. Was she really going to... kiss me? But it all happened so fast! I wasn¡¯t sure if I was mentally prepared for it yet!


    ¡°Now close your eyes,¡± Huang Xiaotao ordered in a yful tone.


    I closed my eyes and felt Huang Xiaotao¡¯s face getting closer and closer to mine. I could even feel her warm breath brushing against my face.


    Then suddenly we heard Dali jolting awake in the back seat. He made a gargling noise and Huang Xiaotao quickly turned away from me and shouted, ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t throw up in my car!¡±


    We hurried Dali out of the car and led him near a tree by the roadside.


    ¡°Dude, where are we?¡± he mumbled, still half-dazed.


    ¡°You¡¯re drunk and I¡¯m giving both of you a ride back to college,¡± said Huang Xiaotao.


    ¡°You¡¯re the best, Xiaotao-jiejie,¡± Dali gurgled. Before he could say anything more, he spewed forth the contents of his stomach. It seemed that all the food he ate that evening was wasted because he regurgitated it all out into a small pool.


    After Dali¡¯s interruption, the atmosphere waspletely ruined. Huang Xiaotao didn¡¯t say a word after that till we reached the college. As Dali and I got out of the car, she uttered a simple, ¡°Stay safe and take care,¡± then mmed the car door and drove away.


    My heart grew restless as I tried to go to sleepter that night. A thought kept running through my head: was the date still on tomorrow?


    Then, I received a text message from Huang Xiaotao. She said, ¡°Meet me at eight o¡¯clock in the morning tomorrow at the Golden Dragon Mall. Don¡¯t bete!¡±


    I pumped my fist in the air and shouted, ¡°Oh yeah!¡±

 Chapter 75

    <h4>Chapter 75</h4>


    The next day, I was up by 6 o¡¯clock in the morning. Dali was still hungover and our other roommates were still sleeping. I tried to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake them up. I wouldn¡¯t know what to tell them if they asked me where I was going.


    I stood in front of my closet for a long time and finally decided on a sweater that I thought would make me look cool, then put on my jeans and sneakers and styled up my hair with some gel I found. I then caught myself in the mirror and thought I looked even nerdier than usual, so I washed my hair and re-styled it again. It took me a long time until I was satisfied, and when I stepped out of the room, it was already seven o¡¯clock.


    I took a cab to the Golden Dragon Mall and arrived there at about half past seven. I waited until I saw Xiaotao rushing there with hurried steps at eight o¡¯clock sharp¡ªshe was punctual to the second!


    I almost didn¡¯t recognize her at first sight. Xiaotao wore a white long-sleeved shirt today, pairing it with a red cropped jacket, and a pair of white tight-fitting jeans which outlined her slender legs very well. She also wore a pair of lensless sses and carried a small handbag on her shoulder. She looked so young and casual that no one would¡¯ve guessed she was actually a police officer.


    ¡°How long have you been here?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I just arrived,¡± I lied. ¡°Why are you wearing sses if you¡¯re not near-sighted?¡±


    She took off the sses and answered, ¡°I wore this when I was undercover once. I just felt like wearing them again today. I thought it might make me look younger. Don¡¯t I look like a college student?¡±


    ¡°Not at all.¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the way you carry yourself,¡± I exined. ¡°No matter how you look at it, you just don¡¯t look like a college student.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s too bad! I guess I¡¯m just too cool and I can¡¯t hide it!¡±


    ¡°By the way, do you live around here?¡± I asked.


    Xiaotao was surprised. ¡°How did you know?¡±


    ¡°First of all, I noticed that you didn¡¯t drive,¡± I analyzed. ¡°Secondly, your shoes are very clean. And finally, your hair is still wet, so I guessed that you must¡¯ve just walked here from your house.¡±


    Xiaotao smiled and said, ¡°Nothing escapes your notice, Detective Holmes! Yeah, my house is around here. I live alone.¡±


    ¡°You bought a house here?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± nodded Xiaotao.


    I was mildly surprised by the revtion. The area around the Golden Dragon Mall was considered to be an affluent region of Nanjiang City where only the upper crust of society could afford to live.


    ¡°Have you had breakfast?¡± she asked.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Me neither. Let¡¯s grab something simple to eat at the nearby McDonald¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡±


    We then had a simple breakfast together and Xiaotao paid the bill. She then smiled naughtily and asked, ¡°What¡¯s next on the agenda, Great Detective Song?¡±


    Well, I did a little homeworkst night and used Baidu Maps to look around the area. The choices of activities were limited to the usual suspects: watching movies, shopping, or a walk in the park.


    ¡°Should we watch a movie?¡± I suggested. ¡°It will be almost noon when the movie¡¯s over so we can get lunch at the food street nearby. I¡¯ll pay this time, of course.¡±


    ¡°Watch a movie?¡± Xiaotaoughed. ¡°That¡¯s what people do when they go on a date, though! What kind of a rtionship do you think we¡¯re in?¡±


    I groaned. ¡°What would you rather do, then?¡±


    ¡°Well, watching a movie isn¡¯t a bad idea actually,¡± she replied. ¡°There¡¯s a movie that came out recently that I¡¯m interested in, but I just never got the time to see it.¡±


    So she agrees with my n, then? I grumbled. It¡¯s just impossible to understand a woman¡¯s heart.


    We then walkednguidly to a nearby cinema. When we arrived, the movie Xiaotao wanted to watch had already started for five minutes. I bought the tickets anyway and we entered the dark movie hall. The pitch-ck environment in the cinema excited me a little¡ªI was reminded of the stories I¡¯d heard about what lovers liked to do in a dark room like this where nobody could see them.


    I led the way in front and held up my phone with the shlight feature turned on so Xiaotao could see. But the room waspletely dark and the brightness of the screen was too stark and blinding, so the shlight didn¡¯t help much at all.


    ¡°Hey, just hold my hand and lead me to our seats,¡± Xiaotao whispered. She then offered me her tiny hand. I took it. This would be the second time we held hands, yet my heart still couldn¡¯t keep still.


    With my Cave Vision, I found our seats very easily. When Xiaotao let go of my hand as we sat down, I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little disappointed. I wished I could hold on to it for just a little longer.


    As we were watching the movie, there was a couple making out in the row in front of us. They were very much into it. At times we couldn¡¯t even hear the movie due to their loud moans and slurping noise. Because the seat numbers were fixed, we had no choice but to remain in our seats.


    ¡°Did you know, Song Yang?¡± said Xiaotao in a deliberately loud voice. ¡°The security cameras in the cinema are equipped with night vision so no matter what you do inside here, everything¡¯s recorded clearly.¡±


    The couple looked over their shoulders at us and didn¡¯t even dare to touch each other again after that. Xiaotao leaned back and snorted with satisfaction.


    ¡°How did you know about that?¡± I whispered.


    ¡°Did you forget that I¡¯m a police officer? Now be quiet, I¡¯m watching the movie.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I nodded.


    We were watching was a crime thriller. Xiaotao was giving mementaries based on her professional experience throughout the movie, so my watching experience was peppered with remarks like ¡°That¡¯s just not realistic at all!¡± and ¡°The scriptwriters are a bunch of idiots!¡± and ¡°How can anyone escape from the prison so easily? This is just stupid!¡± and ¡°There¡¯s no way anyone could dodge that many bullets without a scratch!¡±


    What was the story about, you ask? Well, I wouldn¡¯t know. All that time my concentration was not on the screen at all. I kept stealing nces at Xiaotao with the corner of my eye. What was of particr interest to me was her hand resting on the armrest between us. I tried to reach out and hold it, but after several unsessful tries due to my cowardice, I gave up. I felt like the most useless piece of trash in the world.


    ¡°Was the movie good?¡± I asked when we came out of the cinema.


    ¡°Why are you asking me? Didn¡¯t you watch it too?¡±


    ¡°Of course I did! But... I don¡¯t usually watch this type of movie...¡± I stammered.


    She turned to me and smiled slyly. ¡°You didn¡¯t spend the whole time staring at me, did you?¡±


    ¡°No! Absolutely not!¡± I denied.


    Xiaotao smiled knowingly, then looked at her watch. ¡°It¡¯s eleven o¡¯clock now. Let¡¯s find a ce to eat!¡±


    I suggested we go to the nearby food street and find a restaurant there. I asked her if she preferred barbecue or pizza. She shook her head and replied, ¡°I¡¯m not really that hungry. Let¡¯s just find a simple restaurant and have a light lunch.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s out of the question,¡± I insisted. ¡°I promised you I¡¯d treat you to a nice meal!¡±


    Xiaotao smiled.


    ¡°But a nice meal doesn¡¯t have to be expensive,¡± she said. ¡°Frankly, I¡¯ve been to many of these restaurants so many times before that they bore me now. Besides, you just spent two hundred yuan for the movie tickets. There¡¯s no need to waste more money on food.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯ve been paying for our meals all the time! Why shouldn¡¯t I pay for you this time?¡±


    ¡°How is that evenparable?¡± she countered. ¡°You haven¡¯t even graduated yet! It¡¯s not like you get a sry every month! Anyway, can you cook? Maybe you can buy some ingredients and go back to my house and cook for me there.¡±


    ¡°But I don¡¯t even know how to boil water.¡±


    Xiaotao sighed.


    Looking back, I wish I could go back in time and kick myself. I should¡¯ve noticed that Xiaotao was trying to invite me to her house, yet I rejected her like an idiot and missed the opportunity.


    ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s go shopping then! We can just find a ce to eat when we get hungry. There¡¯s no reason to take it all so seriously since we¡¯ve known each other for quite a while now.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    We then strolled around the mall, not speaking a word to each other.


    ¡°Have you been on a date before?¡± asked Xiaotao suddenly.


    ¡°No. Have you?¡±


    ¡°Me neither.¡±


    Last night, I imagined how my rtionship with Xiaotao would bloom today. But the way things went now had me deted. We didn¡¯t know what to chat about with each other as we strolled. The only things I knew had to do with corpses and autopsies, and those weren¡¯t known to create a romantic atmosphere. It made me realize how boring I was.


    After having explored the mall, we decided to go outside and take a stroll in the park. The trees there were densely packed together and the surrounding area was nice and quiet. Xiaotao told me she was tired of walking and would like to take a break there.


    I saw a beverage stall nearby and asked her, ¡°Are you thirsty? Let me buy you a drink.¡±


    Xiaotao smiled and said, ¡°How thoughtful of you! That¡¯s a rare sight! Um, I think I¡¯d like some blueberry juice.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I nodded. ¡°Wait for me here, okay? Don¡¯t go anywhere!¡±


    I rushed to the stall and bought two bottles of juice, only to return to find that Xiaotao was gone. Her small handbag was lying on the floor...

 Chapter 76

    <h4>Chapter 76</h4>


    I picked up Xiaotao¡¯s bag, looked at it, and shouted, ¡°You cane out now! I know you¡¯re behind the bushes!¡±


    A bush nearby rustled, and out came Xiaotao wiping her butt with her hands.


    ¡°Geez!¡± she eximed with a yful grin. ¡°How did you figure it out? I was sure you¡¯d fall for it.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± I began to exin, ¡°first of all, you carry your handbag by slinging it across your body, but the strap is very thin, so it definitely won¡¯t still be intact if it had been forcefully pulled down. Besides, you¡¯re a police officer. With your instinct and strength, there¡¯s no way you¡¯d get kidnapped without putting up a fight. Andstly, the most important clue is your...¡±


    I paused, realizing what I was about to say.


    ¡°Um... your fragrance from behind the bushes.¡±


    ¡°Fragrance?¡± Xiaotao sniffed her own body. ¡°But I never used any perfume. What fragrance are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Your scent! I meant your scent!¡± I hurriedly exined.


    While Xiaotao teased and mocked me, we found a bench in the park to sit down and take a rest. After a few minutes, Xiaotao yawned and stretched and said, ¡°This past week has been so exhausting! We¡¯re honing in on a ck underground organization, and I¡¯ve been on stakeout for four nights in a row! I probably had less than twenty hours of sleep in thest week!¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re a captain in the criminal division now,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Do you still need to do all that?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what police officers do most of the time,¡± she replied. ¡°The life of a police officer mainly consists trivial cases and paperwork, not high-profile murder mysteries. I do envy a special consultant like you. It¡¯s only when there¡¯s a big case going on that you¡¯ll be invited out of your cave to help us. You know, when you asked me outst night, I¡¯d nned to catch up on sleep today. But it¡¯s my fault for saying yes to you!¡±


    No wonder she seemed a little weak and out of spirits today. I noticed that she was even wearing some light makeup too, probably to conceal her tiredness. With a very heavy heart, I suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go home and rest up?¡±


    ¡°Idiot! How dare you ask me out and then tell me to go home like that!¡± she jeered with a smile. ¡°A more cunning man would¡¯ve said, ¡®Why don¡¯t we book a room and rest for a while?¡¯¡±


    Color rose to my cheeks even though I knew full well that she was just teasing me again.


    Xiaotao waved her hand and said, ¡°Ah, forget it. I¡¯ll just take a nap here.¡±


    ¡°Right here?¡± I asked with rm. ¡°But you might catch a cold...¡±


    But before I could finish my sentence, Xiaotao was already lying down on the bench. She then rested her head on myp. I was so shocked I didn¡¯t know how to react¡ªthis was all too sudden!


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare take advantage of me while I sleep, okay?¡± she said with her eyes closed.


    ¡°I-I¡¯d never do that!¡±


    In no time at all, Xiaotao began to snore lightly. It was obvious that she was considerably fatigued.


    Just as Xiaotao fell asleep, my legs which she used as a pillow soon went to sleep too. Still, she looked so peaceful and precious that I dared not move at all, for fear of waking her up. It was incredibly boring, though, since I couldn¡¯t even y with my phone since it was in the pocket of my jeans. All I could do was sit there and admire the birdsongs and the flowers in the park.


    Xiaotao slept for two whole hours. During that time, an old geezer who went to the park to jog passed by and saw us. He smiled knowingly and even raised a thumb at me. I had to restrain myself from cursing at him.


    At about four o¡¯clock, Xiaotao woke up and stretched her whole body out.


    ¡°Ahh, that was the most restful sleep I¡¯ve had in weeks! Thank you!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± I replied, barely able to move my numb legs.


    Xiaotao checked her clothes then smiled and said, ¡°You really are a trustable gentleman. It reminds me of an old joke.¡±


    ¡°What joke?¡± I asked.


    Xiaotao said there was a man and a woman sleeping on the same bed. The woman drew a line in the middle and said to the man, ¡°If you dare to cross the line at night, you are an animal. Then the next morning, the woman found that the man didn¡¯t cross the line at all, so she told him, ¡°You are less than an animal!¡±


    I had heard of this joke before, and with a red face I remarked, ¡°He must¡¯ve tried very hard to do the right thing but was instead mocked for it!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. Seeing how honorable you are, why don¡¯t you spend the night at my ce? I can make you omelet and rice for dinner if you like!¡±


    I narrowed my eyes at her. ¡°No... I¡¯ve got ss tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°Oh, do you? Then why are you blushing again? Deep down you really want toe back with me, don¡¯t you?¡± She teased me in a naughty tone. Her eyes were fixed on mine, and it made me so embarrassed I had to look away. She then waved her hand and said, ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯m done messing with you. I¡¯m hungry now. Let¡¯s find a ce to eat!¡±


    Xiaotao stood up and walked a few steps away before she found that I was still sitting.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go!¡± she urged me.


    ¡°Give me a minute. My legs are still numb.¡±


    Once my legs recovered, we left the park from the other side that we came in earlier. All the way I was constantly on the lookout for any nice-looking restaurant to go into. Then, I caught a whiff of a delicious aroma. Xiaotao sniffed and noted, ¡°Yum! Smells like delicious steamed buns!¡±


    Judging from the smell, there was probably a shop selling meat buns nearby. It was amazing how good our sense of smell became when we got hungry. Xiaotao excitedly announced that she hadn¡¯t eaten meat buns for a long time so this should be ourte lunch!


    We followed the smell all the way to a bun shop near a residential building. It was a small and inconspicuous shop. There was only a man working there, presumably the shopkeeper. He was a chubby middle-aged man who was wearing a rather grimy apron. His face was full of smiles as he pulled out a steaming bamboo basket out of a pot. A swarm of customers rushed in like vultures around a fresh carcass, and within minutes there were no buns left.


    ¡°Judging from their poprity, I¡¯m guessing the buns must be to die for!¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°It¡¯s just as they say¡ªthe best food is always hidden in these unknown hole-in-the-wall ces!¡±


    I went up to the shopkeeper and ordered ten meat buns. The boss replied with a smile, ¡°Okay,ing right up!¡±


    After I paid the money, Xiaotao asked me, ¡°Will we be able to finish eating ten buns?¡±


    ¡°If there are leftovers, then I¡¯ll have them for supper tonight.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s very sensible of you!¡± She looked at me with a smile.


    Soon, a huge bamboo steamer basket full of piping hot buns was ready. The shopkeeper packed ten of the buns into a paper bag and handed it to me with a short utterance of thanks. We were really hungry at this point, so we quickly found a spot to sit down in the park and tore into the buns directly.


    The buns were made with thin outer skin and a very generous amount of filling¡ªthe perfect ratio in my opinion. The second I bit into the bun, an irresistible savory aroma wafted up and filled my nose. The juices of the filling burst inside my mouth.


    What a generous man the shopkeeper was to sell these scrumptious buns for only eight yuan each, I thought. The people who live around here must be really happy.


    Xiaotao herself was so eager to devour the buns she couldn¡¯t even stop to speak. As she bit into the bun, she used her other hand to catch the juices that flowed out of it.


    ¡°Oh my god, it¡¯s delicious!¡± she eximed. ¡°I haven¡¯t had a bun this tasty for ages!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, this does taste extraordinary! It doesn¡¯t even taste like... pork...¡± I paused mid-sentence, suddenly realizing that something wasn¡¯t quite right. I focused on the taste and analyzed it carefully.


    ¡°Wait a minute!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Xiaotao snarled and stared at me.


    ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t swallow it!¡±


    I push the filling out of the bun and spilled them onto the bench. Then, without worrying about the scorching hot temperature of the filling, I used my fingers to touch and squeeze it and examine it closely with my Cave Vision. Soon, I realized exactly what was wrong with this bun filling.


    ¡°Spit it all out!¡± I yelled.


    ¡°Why?¡± Xiaotao was startled. ¡°Is the pork infected with swine flu?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s human flesh!¡±


    Xiaotao spat out all the food in her mouth instantly.


    ¡°What the hell! Are you sure?¡±


    I pulled out a piece of meat and showed it to her. Although the bun¡¯s filling had been minced quite finely, some things could notpletely be destroyed.


    ¡°Do you see those lines? That¡¯s the texture of human skin,¡± I exined. ¡°Humans are hairless animals, so to increase friction and grip we have lines and wrinkles on our skin. This is one of the unique characteristics of humans!¡±


    Xiaotao gasped in horror. Frankly, I was fairly disturbed myself. To think that we almost swallowed human flesh into our bellies!


    ¡°We should alert the police now!¡±


    ¡°Looks like my day off has been ruined...¡± Xiaotao smiled wryly.

 Chapter 77

    <h4>Chapter 77</h4>


    Xiaotao called the criminal investigation team immediately. Before the police arrived, she showed the shopkeeper her badge and demanded him to stop selling the buns immediately. He was startled and asked her what was wrong and whether some people had gotten food poisoning from his buns.


    The customers who were lining up to buy the buns were confused and started to make a fuss demanding to know what was happening. I was about to exin to them, but Xiaotao stopped me. I then realized that telling the crowd the buns they¡¯d been eating had human flesh in it might not be the best idea.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the inconvenience,¡± Xiaotao told them, ¡°but we suspect that this man is rted to a case we¡¯re investigating.¡±


    ¡°But do you have to question him now?¡± argued one of the customers. ¡°Can¡¯t you let him sell the buns to us first?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± echoed another. ¡°And you must¡¯ve got the wrong person anyway! Master Tang here would never break anyws!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right! Just let Master Tang sell us the buns first!¡±


    These people seemed obsessed with these buns. More and more people piped up and defended the shopkeeper. Xiaotao was at a loss and turned to me with pleading eyes.


    ¡°We suspect that the pigs used for the filling in these buns were infected with swine flu!¡± I shouted. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t eat these buns today, otherwise you¡¯ll get infected too!¡±


    The crowd¡¯s mood changed when they heard this.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°But I eat them every day and I never got sick!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s no big deal! Haven¡¯t we been eating tons of chemicals and preservatives in food every day anyway? What¡¯s so scary about swine flu?¡±


    A number of them agreed with this sentiment. In fact, it had been the running joke on the inte that Chinese people couldn¡¯t be poisoned due to the additives in the mass-produced food products sold in China. But that was just an urban myth, of course. The body¡¯s intake of toxic substances would umte in the liver and kidneys and cause illnesses one way or another.


    ¡°Please, Officer,¡± pleaded the shopkeeper. ¡°Don¡¯t use me of such things! I get my meat from a legitimate source. There can¡¯t be any problem with the pork! You¡¯re ruining my small business here!¡±


    Even though the customers were barred from buying the buns, they all remained there, crowding around the steam baskets, watching what was happening with fascination as if they were watching a live TV drama.


    ¡°I must trouble you to close the shop for now,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°We¡¯ll wait for more police officers to arrive, then you can give the police your official statement.¡±


    The shopkeeper heaved a long sigh, as if epting his fate, and began to clean and pack his things up.


    Then, I called Dali and asked him to bring me some of my equipment, just in case we find a dead bodyter when we search through this shop.


    Once I hung up the phone, Xiaotao asked me, ¡°Do you think the shopkeeper is guilty?¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°Judging from his reactions,¡± I surmised, ¡°he seems innocent. He might be hiding something from us, though. And there is another possibility.¡±


    ¡°What possibility?¡±


    ¡°That he is a psychopath who is not afraid of the police!¡±


    ¡°Hmm... he¡¯s probably just innocent,¡± Xiaotao replied. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if we¡¯re lucky or if our luck is in fact rotten. It¡¯s supposed to be a day to rx, yet here we are stumbling upon another case. By the way, are you one hundred percent sure the meat is human flesh?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely!¡± I insisted. ¡°If you have any doubts, you should ask the forensics team to do DNA testing.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll do that, of course. It¡¯s only proper protocol. Anyway, this reminds me of that case in Macau many years ago.¡±


    I knew exactly which case she was talking about. There was an infamous mass murder case that urred in a restaurant in Macau in the eighties, also known as the Eight Immortals Restaurant Murders. It was a huge sensation in the news for a while back then. It was rumored that the murderer killed a family of ten in a restaurant, then dismembered their bodies and turned their flesh into the filling of barbecued pork buns.


    The case waster adapted into a movie called The Untold Story starring Anthony Wong. I saw it at the cinema when I was still in elementary school. The public reaction to the movie was wild¡ªit caused the business of bun shops to dwindle for months after the screening. Under the protest of restaurant and bun shop proprietors, the movie was then discontinued from being screened in cinemas.


    ¡°God, to think that I was chewing human flesh just a while ago!¡± Xiaotao remarked, her face all scrunched up in disgust. ¡°But I guess the silver lining is that I¡¯ll lose my appetite for a while and shed a few pounds because of it.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re not fat!¡± I said.


    ¡°How would you know? Have you touched my body before?¡±


    Color rose to my cheeks immediately, and I just stood there speechlessly.


    After a while, several police cars drove in and the officers came to remove the onlookers away from the shop and set up a police line. Xiaozhou of the forensics team saw us and joked, ¡°Wow, you look pretty today Xiaotao! Are you guys on a date?¡±


    ¡°N-No!¡±


    ¡°None of your business!¡±


    Our different reactions illustrated our different personalities perfectly. Xiaozhou sensed the awkwardness and changed the subject, ¡°Um, okay, I¡¯ll go in and take some samples for testing then.¡±


    Xiaotao instructed an officer to question the shopkeeper, then we both went to the back of the shop to begin our search. As I pushed open the door that led into the kitchen, I wasn¡¯t met with a gruesome scene with dismembered bodies scattered around the room and blood all over the floor. On the contrary, what I saw was a pristinely clean kitchen with a few freshly-made raw buns on the countertop and a pile of white flour in the corner. There was a bag of frozen meat filling there too.


    I ripped open a few of the buns to see if the raw meat inside was easier to identify. I examined it closely and smelled it. Xiaotao asked me if I discovered anything new.


    ¡°This is without a doubt made with human flesh,¡± I replied. ¡°There¡¯s also a very heavy spice aroma. I think the shopkeeper added some Chinese herbs in here.¡±


    ¡°No wonder it¡¯s so fragrant...¡± Xiaotaomented. Her face turned sickly pale when she was reminded of what she put in her mouth less than an hour ago. ¡°By the way, how did you know that it was human flesh straight away? You¡¯ve never actually eaten human flesh before, have you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous!¡± I eximed. ¡°It¡¯s just simple deduction. The meat tastes nothing like pork, chicken, beef,mb, or dog meat. My first hunch was that it was rat meat, because I¡¯d heard somewhere that some bun shops would add rat meat to improve the taste. But my instinct told me that there was something terribly wrong about the bun.¡±


    Xiaotao looked at me curiously. ¡°Why are your taste buds so sensitive?¡±


    ¡°The mouth and the nose are closely connected,¡± I exined, ¡°so when the sense of smell is sensitive, the sense of taste is heightened too. You can try it yourself. Just bite into a pear while sniffing an apple. You¡¯ll think that you¡¯re eating apples.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s why you told me you could smell my scent!¡± marveled Xiaotao. ¡°I was worried about bad body odor, but I guess you must¡¯ve smelled the scent of the shower gel I usedst night, right?¡±


    ¡°Uh... yeah...¡± I lied. The scent that I smelled was her own body odor, but it was far from unpleasant. I definitely wasn¡¯t going to divulge that, of course.


    There was nothing more to investigate in the kitchen. We both went to the shopkeeper who was crying and adamantly insisting on his innocence to the police officer questioning him.


    ¡°Officer, I have nothing to do with this human flesh business. All I did was buy the meat from the source that imed it was pork! What reason do I have to doubt them? I¡¯m just a small business owner trying to feed my family ¡ª there¡¯s no reason for me to do such a deplorable thing as selling human meat to my customers!¡±


    Xiaotao asked the officer to step away and she started to ask the shopkeeper questions herself. It turned out that the shopkeeper¡¯s name was Tang. He was 48 years old. He came from a rural vige and left his wife and children toe and work in Nanjiang City when he was in his twenties. He worked as aborer in the beginning, but he then learned how to make buns so he set up a bun stall working his way up until he could afford to open up a shop. All of his hard-earned money was sent home to his family.


    As for the source of the meat, the shopkeeper said it was sent to him straight from the abattoir every morning, and he always thought it was pork and had no reason to think otherwise.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been selecting each of the ingredients for my buns with utmost care!¡± insisted shopkeeper Tang. ¡°I never even added MSG, and I eat the buns myself every day!¡±


    As Xiaotao was asking the questions, I stood aside and examined his behavior the whole time. Shopkeeper Tang was definitely not lying. The problem had toe from the abattoir itself!


    1. An actual that happened in 1985.


    2. A Hong Kong crime-thriller made in 1993.

 Chapter 78

    <h4>Chapter 78</h4>


    Xiaotao asked Shopkeeper Tang for the abattoir¡¯s contact information. I suspected that there wouldn¡¯t be much to follow up on there since it would be impossible to supply human meat at such an industrial scale every day unless we were talking about an operation that rivaled the Nazi concentration camps.


    ¡°Is the meat delivered by the same person every time?¡± I asked.


    As I expected, Shopkeeper Tang nodded immediately and answered, ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Do you know his name and where he lives?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know where he lives,¡± Shopkeeper Tang admitted. ¡°But I know his name is Ma Jinhuo. He is dark-skinned and very thin. He¡¯s a man of few words and he doesn¡¯t seem very friendly at all. But he¡¯s the one who¡¯s been delivering the meat for the past six months.¡±


    The name struck me as strange. I borrowed Xiaotao¡¯s notebook and told him to write the characters of the name down. The ¡®Jin¡¯ in the name meant gold, while the ¡®Huo¡¯ meant fire.


    Xiaotao took a look at the name and remarked, ¡°What¡¯s strange about this name?¡±


    ¡°People are traditionally named toplement the elements that theyck ording to numerology,¡± I exined. ¡°The average person usually onlycks one of the five elements, but this man seemed tock two. Hence the name.¡±


    ¡°Hecks one more thing,¡± Xiaotao added. ¡°Morality!¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t justck morality if he¡¯s killing people and turning their flesh into minced meat,¡± I sneered. ¡°Hecks basic humanity!¡±


    Shopkeeper Tang didn¡¯t have the address and contact information of Ma Jinhuo. All he knew was that the man would deliver the meat to him every three days. He came here this morning, so he would being again in three days.


    Once the police officers collected enough samples, both Xiaotao and I felt that there was no need to bring Shopkeeper Tang back to the station to record his statements. Xiaotao asked me what we should do next.


    ¡°This man named Ma Jinhuo is suspicious,¡± I replied. ¡°That gives us three possible investigation lines: first, we could go to the abattoir and get more information about this person, but my hunch is that we won¡¯t achieve much this way. Second, we could investigate missing person cases from thest three months in Nanjiang City. Third, and this one is the most time-consuming and requires the most manpower, we couldb through this whole city to find if there are any discarded human bones or body parts.¡±


    Xiaotao folded her arms and stared at me with a curious smile on her face. I asked her what was wrong.


    ¡°I was just wondering if the person I spent time with this morning and the person I see in front of me right now are really one and the same.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possibly what they call split personality,¡± I smiled shyly.


    ¡°Really?¡± Xiaotao was shocked. ¡°Do you have a split personality?¡±


    ¡°I was just joking,¡± I replied. ¡°In fact, everyone acts differently when they are in different roles, so their personalities might seem to differ in different circumstances. But the pathological split personality behavior as described by psychiatrists is totally different. That is when the personalities of a person ispletely separate from each other, often times each personality isn¡¯t even aware of the other¡¯s existence...¡±


    Xiaotao smiled and said, ¡°You really do know everything, don¡¯t you? You look really cool when you exin things like that!¡±


    When I mentioned the words ¡®split personality,¡¯ I noticed that there was a minute sign of nervousness in Shopkeeper Tang¡¯s facial expression, but I didn¡¯t think much of it at the time, believing that it was insignificant. Little did I know that this oversight of mine almost cost me Xiaotao.


    ¡°Oh, by the way,¡± I added, ¡°I think Shopkeeper Tang should be allowed to operate his business normally today.¡±


    Xiaotao¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What?! You want him to continue selling the human meat buns?¡±


    ¡°No, of course not,¡± I replied. ¡°But he can start selling ordinary buns with pork meat instead. I don¡¯t want to rm the criminals who might be lurking in the dark, observing what is going on here. Do you think we¡¯d be able to lure them into our trap if they notice the shop is closed and cordoned off with police tape?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± Xiaotao snapped her fingers. ¡°We¡¯ll fine him for bad hygiene as a cover-up. I¡¯ll get the ticket from the food inspection department.¡±


    Shopkeeper Tang heard this and eximed, ¡°No, please, I¡¯ve always used fresh and clean ingredients and never added any preservatives in my buns! You can¡¯t punish me for that!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good enough that we¡¯re allowing you to operate your business normally!¡± snapped Xiaotao. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, the ticket would just be for show. You don¡¯t need to pay any fines and your business license won¡¯t be revoked.¡±


    Shopkeeper Tang was relieved to hear that, and he finally relented.


    Xiaotao ordered the officers to return to the police station, where they would have a meeting for the case and formally start the investigation. Just then, Dali finally arrived soaking in sweat.


    ¡°Here you go, dude!¡± he said, handing me a bag. ¡°Goddammit, it was a pain in the ass getting on the bus during peak hours when people are going home from work! You have no idea how tightly packed the bus was!¡±


    I didn¡¯t have the heart to tell him that I didn¡¯t need the stuff he brought after all, so I just thanked him.


    Xiaotao nced at Dali and said, ¡°You¡¯re just in time! Let¡¯s go to the police station now. We¡¯re going to have a meeting.¡±


    ¡°Meeting?¡± Wang Dali looked around at the bun shop. ¡°What kind of case is it?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll know when you get there.¡±


    We went to the police station by Xiaotao¡¯s car. I noticed that Xiaotao didn¡¯t have to ask Captain Lin to transfer some of the staff to this case and set up a task force. Perhaps she now had the authority to do those things herself now that her rank was Supervisor.


    At that point, there was nothing much to discuss about the case. Mainly all the facts collected were briefly summarized and the officers were assigned to their specific tasks. We utilized a carpet-bomb type of strategy for this case, where arge number of officers were assigned to search an area all around the city, and everyone would gather their findings in the next forty-eight hours. She also stressed the importance of being as covert as possible in order to avoid rming the criminals and giving away what the police had found out.


    Then, Xiaotao pped her hands and coolly proimed, ¡°Dismissed!¡± And all the officers each went about their respective tasks.


    She then came to us and said, ¡°You can go back to your dorm and stand by for now, Song Yang. I¡¯ll inform you when we find a body.¡±


    ¡°Let me know when the DNA test results are ready,¡± I reminded her.


    ¡°Roger!¡± she replied.


    ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie looks so cool andmanding while ordering everyone around!¡± praised Dali.


    ¡°It probablyes with being a police officer for many years,¡± Imented.


    Seeing that Xiaotao was in a good mood, Dali got cheeky and asked, ¡°Would you treat us to dinner tonight? I braved through the peak-hour crowd to get here and I¡¯m so hungry now!¡±


    Xiaotao¡¯s face turned sickly at the mention of food.


    ¡°Not tonight, I¡¯m afraid,¡± she muttered. ¡°I lost all my appetite because of this case. I¡¯ll probably won¡¯t touch any food until tomorrow. But if you guys are hungry, you can grab something to eat downstairs. I¡¯ll pay for it.¡±


    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s fine,¡± I quickly refused. ¡°We¡¯ll be going back to our dorm straight away.¡±


    Dali didn¡¯t know that I had spent the whole day alone with Xiaotao, and I was not ready to tell him yet. I felt that my rtionship with Xiaotao was still in its early stage, and I didn¡¯t want to jinx it by telling anyone.


    Once we returned to our dorm, I asked my ssmates for the lecture notes of the sses that I skipped today and then read some books. Then I received a WeChat message from Xiaotao that said, ¡°The DNA test results are out. It is indeed human tissue.¡±


    ¡°Roger,¡± I replied simply.


    I wanted to say something else, but just couldn¡¯t think of the right words. Should I ask her if she had fun today? I typed it out, but after some consideration, I deleted it as I thought it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate considering what happened. I then typed out a message telling her to get some rest and sleep early tonight since she¡¯s been so busytely, but deleted it again.


    Just as I was still in a dilemma thinking about what to say, Xiaotao sent me another message.


    ¡°Wannae over to my house tonight?¡±


    I was bbergasted. It felt as if I was struck by lightning!


    Before I could react, I received yet another message.


    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand. It¡¯s just that I was hungry. I cooked a big pot of fresh dumplings, but I can¡¯t finish them all. So, I thought you might be able to help me not waste the food.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you had no appetite?¡± I replied. ¡°Why did you cook a pot of dumplings all of a sudden? Don¡¯t you think that the dumplings are a lot like steamed buns?¡±


    She replied with aughing emoji.


    ¡°Buns and dumplings aren¡¯t the same thing, idiot! You¡¯d bettere soon. There won¡¯t be any taxister in the night.¡±


    ¡°But Dali is still in the room...¡±


    She shot back with a quick reply, ¡°Is Dali your wife?¡±


    My face reddened. I was ashamed at how pathetic I was. Xiaotao wasn¡¯t even in the room, yet here I was blushing on my own.


    ¡°Are youing or not?¡± she asked impatiently. ¡°If you¡¯re noting then I¡¯ll feed the dumplings to the dogs downstairs! You¡¯ve got three seconds to answer. Three...¡±


    ¡°Two...¡±


    ¡°One!¡±


    I gritted my teeth and replied with two words: ¡°Coming now!¡±

 Chapter 79

    <h4>Chapter 79</h4>


    Xiaotao then sent me her address. Within minutes, I was dressed and ready to go. Dali, who was sitting on his bed and ying with his phone, asked me, ¡°Dude, it¡¯s sote now and you¡¯re still going out?¡±


    ¡°Xiaotao discovered some clues about the case. I have to go check it out.¡±


    ¡°Will youe back tonight? Want me to leave the door unlocked for you?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll probably be pulling an all-nighter.¡±


    ¡°Want me to go with you?¡±


    ¡°No, not this time.¡±


    When I thought about it, this exchange between me and Dali really did sound like I was speaking with my wife. Xiaotao wasn¡¯tpletely wrong after all. The thought of that made me blush again.


    In order to look convincing, I brought my bag with me and hailed a taxi outside the college gate. After about half an hour, I reached Xiaotao¡¯s apartmentplex and I suddenly felt nervous. This would be my very first time going to a girl¡¯s house in the middle of the night. As I was in the elevator going up to Xiaotao¡¯s room, my throat went dry. When I knocked on Xiaotao¡¯s door, my hands were pathetically shaking.


    As I waited for Xiaotao to get the door, I could hear the sound of my heart beating in my chest. What should I say to her the moment we meet?


    Before I could think of the right words, the door opened. Xiaotao was wearing a loose dress that exposed her slender jade-like legs. She wore a pair of cute bear slippers and her hair was wrapped in a white towel. There was a ck patch on her nose. A sweet and refreshing fragrance wafted from her body and I could see that her skin was slightly red. She must¡¯ve juste out of a hot shower.


    ¡°I¡¯ll... I¡¯ll finish the dumplings and go back immediately,¡± I stupidly mumbled.


    Even as I was saying it, another part of me was sneering at myself. What a coward! I thought. Did I really rush all the way to Xiaotao¡¯s house in the middle of the night just to eat dumplings? Give me a break!


    Then Xiaotao¡¯s exposed corbone caught my eyes, and they trailed downwards where I noticed two pointy bumps on her chest. I then remembered how girls usually didn¡¯t wear bras at home. That thought turned me as red as a tomato.


    Pathetic! I cursed myself. You utter loser!


    ¡°What are you gawking at?¡± she barked. ¡°Come inside already! And don¡¯t forget to change into indoor slippers!¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    I changed my shoes and put my backpack on the sofa. I looked around. Xiaotao¡¯s apartment wasn¡¯t big, but it felt very warm and weing. The floor of her living room was covered under a soft carpet with cartoon characters on it. There were also a few teddy bears on the sofa. I didn¡¯t expect Xiaotao to have such a girly side. The sofa wasrge and orange in color, and it looked veryfortable to sit or lie down on. Beside the sofa was a coffee table, and there was a basket full of fruits on it. The whole house had a fragrance to it which was the typical scent of a girl¡¯s boudoir.


    ¡°It¡¯s really warm in my house. You should take off your jacket. Or are you afraid of me?¡±


    ¡° I won¡¯t be here long anyway. Do I need to take it off?¡±


    Xiaotao waved her hand and said, ¡°Then don¡¯t bothering inside. I¡¯ll just hand you the dumplings in a stic bag and you can be on your way.¡±


    ¡°Oh... okay, that¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°You idiot!¡± Xiaotao burst intoughter. ¡°Take off your jacket now goddammit!¡±


    I quietly obeyed, then followed her into the kitchen. I saw the package of frozen dumplings in the trash can. She lifted the lid of a pot anddled some dumplings into a bowl and served it on the table. She asked me if I wanted some vinegar to go with it, but she didn¡¯t wait for my answer and just dripped vinegar onto the dumplings.


    ¡°I feel like I might have anorexiately,¡± she revealed. ¡°I can¡¯t eat much even when I¡¯m really hungry. Sometimes I can barely finish half a bowl of instant noodles.¡±


    ¡°If you go on like that, you¡¯ll burn out sooner orter,¡± I cautioned her.


    ¡°I know, I know,¡± she sighed. ¡°But what can I do? The life of a police officer is just too stressful. I can¡¯t help myself.¡±


    ¡°I can go back and prepare some herbal medicine to help with your appetite and energy if you like,¡± I suggested.


    ¡°No, no, there¡¯s no need for that,¡± she shook her head.


    The dumplings smelled scrumptious. It had been a while since I¡¯dst eaten fresh dumplings. In no time at all, half of the bowl¡¯s contents were gone. Then I noticed that Xiaotao had been staring at me while I was eating. I stopped immediately and asked her, ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡±


    ¡°The way you¡¯re eating it makes it look so delicious,¡± she said. ¡°I feel a bit hungry now.¡±


    ¡°Let me get another bowl for you then,¡± I suggested and was about to get up.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t feel like cleaning an extra bowl. I¡¯ll just eat one from your bowl instead.¡±


    She then opened her mouth, revealing two rows of perfectly white teeth. I was stunned. Was she expecting me to feed her?


    I had no choice but toply. I picked up a dumpling with the chopsticks and carefully ced it in her mouth.


    ¡°Mmm, delicious!¡± she eximed after chewing for a while. ¡°Feed me more!¡±


    In the end, I fed Xiaotao five little dumplings.


    ¡°I¡¯m full now!¡± she announced. ¡°I guess the best way to treat anorexia is to watch other people eat! Maybe you shoulde around more often!¡±


    ¡°But I have sses to attend...¡±


    ¡°Do you have evening sses?¡±


    I was rendered speechless by that response, so I just buried my head into the bowl and gobbled up the remaining dumplings. I was about to wash the dishes for her, but she stopped me.


    ¡°Leave it in the sink,¡± she ordered. ¡°I¡¯ll do the dishester.¡±


    I didn¡¯t want to be rude by refusing her, so I just did what I was told.


    Now that I had finished the food, I told Xiaotao it was time for me to go back. She nced at the clock on the wall and said, ¡°But it¡¯s almost eleven o¡¯clock¡ªaren¡¯t the gates to your dorm closed by now? Just sleep here tonight.¡±


    ¡°No, that would be inappropriate!¡± I shook my head repeatedly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand me! You¡¯ll sleep on the sofa and I¡¯ll sleep in my room. What¡¯s inappropriate about that?¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m a guy... Is it wise to let a guy spend the night at your ce?¡±


    ¡°Idiot! Do you think I¡¯d let any guy spend the night here? I¡¯m doing this because it¡¯s you, and I know that I can trust youpletely.¡±


    She then got up and told me, ¡°I¡¯ll go get you a nket.¡±


    Xiaotao went into her bedroom and rummaged through her closet in search of a nket, leaving the door open in the process.


    I took the opportunity to take a peek at her room. It was casually decorated and looked very cozy and inviting. Arge bed was fitted with pink sheets, and the mattress looked as soft as clouds, as if one couldpletely disappear inside it. There was aputer desk next to the bed with a white Apple MacBook on top of it. I could picture Xiaotao sitting cross-legged on the bed while typing on theptop. She must look very serious yet very cute at the same time.


    After a while, Xiaotao returned with a wool nket in her hand.


    ¡°Will this nket be enough for the night?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I nodded.


    ¡°If you get thirsty, just help yourself with the water dispenser in the kitchen,¡± she said. ¡°There are paper cups next to it. Oh, and you know where the toilet is, don¡¯t you? If anything happens, just knock on my door...¡±


    She paused and smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be knocking on my door, though.¡±


    ¡°Uh... okay!¡± I nodded again, not knowing how else to respond.


    ¡°Good night, then!¡±


    ¡°Good night!¡±


    She was just about to go back into her bedroom, but she suddenly turned around and smiled at me. ¡°It¡¯s still early, though. Should we do something together before going to sleep?¡±


    If you could picture the scene at the time, you would understand how I felt. There Xiaotao was, in a simple dress that revealed her slender and seductive legs. One of her hands was resting on the door, and the hem of her dress was raised ever so slightly by her raised shoulder. To top it all off, she was asking me that question in the most yful tone.


    I could almost hear the rush of my blood to my head. I was probably as bright and red as a fifty-watt light bulb!


    She came nearer and asked again, ¡°How about we do something exciting together?¡±


    ¡°What... What do you mean?¡± My heart rate probably shot up to 150 beats per minute. Xiaotao was only inches away from me, and her scent filled my nose, almost intoxicating me. I was dying of anticipation for what wasing next, but my throat was too dry to say anything.


    ¡°Wait here, I¡¯ll go get something.¡± She winked and disappeared into her room.

 Chapter 80

    <h4>Chapter 80</h4>


    As I sat on the sofa and waited for Xiaotao, my heart was in turmoil. It was so nerve-racking for me that I even contemted bolting out the door. But another voice in my head jeered at how pathetic I was.


    Those few minutes felt like years. Finally, Xiaotao came out of the bedroom with her hands behind her back.


    ¡°Guess what I¡¯m holding in my hands?¡± she asked yfully. ¡°I¡¯ll give you some clues¡ªit¡¯s made of stic, and there¡¯s a hole in it too.¡±


    I almost choked, but quickly realized that it must be another trap.


    ¡°Is it a DVD?¡± I guessed.


    ¡°Aww, that¡¯s no fun! You got it right on the first try!¡± Xiaotaoined. She held up a DVD which was still in its case. I noticed that the cover was of the ssic horror film The Ring.


    ¡°What did you want me to guess?¡± I teased her.


    ¡°What else could you guess?¡± she countered after some hesitation. It was her turn to blush. ¡°I just wanted to test your IQ, that¡¯s all...¡±


    ¡°I thought I was the one whose face gets red all the time!¡± I teased her again, not wasting a rare chance to poke fun at her.


    ¡°How dare you! I¡¯m the only one allowed to tease you like that! You can¡¯t do it to me!¡± She hit my head with the corner of the DVD case, and I almost cried of the sharp pain.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry!¡± I begged for her mercy.


    ¡°Hmph!¡± Xiaotao stopped hitting me and rested her hands on her waist.


    ¡°You¡¯ve never seen this old movie before?¡± I asked while massaging my head.


    ¡°No...¡± answered Xiaotao as she turned over the DVD cover. ¡°I¡¯ve heard many people say that this movie is really scary, so I never dared to watch it alone. Now that you¡¯re here, I can finally watch it! Oh, right, have you seen it before?¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°Great! Then let¡¯s watch it together!¡±


    After that, Xiaotao inserted the disc into the DVD yer. In truth, I¡¯d seen the movie when I was in junior high school, but I didn¡¯t want to ruin her mood by admitting that.


    The DVD began to y. In order to create an atmosphere suitable for the movie, Xiaotao turned off the lights and pulled down the curtains. She sat down next to me on the sofa, pulled up her legs, and wrapped her arms around them. With her slender legs exposed and her scent filling my nose, I could barely keep my eyes on the TV screen.


    When the ghost first appeared, Xiaotao jumped in fright and I saw her shoulders shake. She even started to bite her nails. She reached out her hand and clutched my wrist.


    ¡°You¡¯re a police officer and you¡¯re scared of this?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you scared at all?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Well, yeah, but not as much as you are,¡± Iughed.


    ¡°I heard from a friend that they couldn¡¯t sleep alone after watching this movie.¡±


    ¡°And yet you still want to watch it?¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡±


    She then leaned her whole body onto my arm. Her cool and smooth skin felt like soft jade. For a moment, I felt the urge to wrap my arm around her shoulders to calm her down, but didn¡¯t have the boldness and courage to do so.


    Rather than scary, I thought a much better word to describe this movie was tense. From beginning to end, there was this feeling of suspense that was almost suffocating. At every moment when the actors in the movie turned their heads to look behind them, you¡¯d worry about what was going to jump out on the screen.


    I had to hand it to the Japanese, though. They really knew how to make horror films terrifying.


    As we were reaching the middle of the movie, Xiaotao got more and more scared and screamed in fright every few minutes. Her grip on my arm tightened, and it was getting quite painful for me. I¡¯d always seen her as the bold and fearless police officer, so it never urred to me that there were things that could scare Xiaotao too.


    I took the remote control and turned down the volume. Usually it was the sound effects employed in the horror movies that made them so scary. Once the volume was lower, I noticed that Xiaotao calmed down a lot. In fact, it seemed that she waspletely silent now. That change in reaction was way too drastic¡ªwas she just faking her fear earlier?


    I turned to look at her and saw that she had actually fallen asleep. Her head was resting on my shoulder and she was already snoring lightly.


    I reached out my hand and brushed her hair out of her face. She looked lovely when she was asleep, just like a sleeping kitten. I could¡¯ve focused on the slightly more exposed cleavage down her dress, but I was honestly much more entranced by her stunning face.


    Was I drunk with love? Had I lost my mind? Perhaps.


    The fragrance of Xiaotao¡¯s body continued to lure me in. I couldn¡¯t help but inch my face closer and closer to her. Meanwhile, a voice in my head warned me, Stop it, Song Yang! Don¡¯t do anything disrespectful!


    But then there was another voice that argued, Are you a man? What are you waiting for? Don¡¯t waste the perfect opportunity!


    This fierce internal struggle went on for a long while, but in the end, reason triumphed and I decided to remain honorable.


    Still, I couldn¡¯t stay in this position the entire night. I carefully freed my body from Xiaotao and stood up, moving asnguidly as a sloth to avoid waking her up. As her head lost the support from my arm and was about to fall, I caught it with the palm of my hand. My other hand slid under the back of her knees and I lifted her up and carried her back to her room the way princesses were carried in fairytales.


    Although I wasn¡¯t much of a strong man physically, I wasn¡¯t so weak that I couldn¡¯t lift a woman who was barely a hundred pounds like Xiaotao. As I carried her to the bed, her hair brushed against the skin on my arm. It felt ticklish.


    I put Xiaotao on her bed and was about to leave. But Xiaotao suddenly hooked her arm around my neck. I was stunned. Did I wake her up?


    Then she mumbled, ¡°Don¡¯t let the bastard get away!¡±


    I sighed in relief. Xiaotao looked so cute even when she was talking in her sleep.


    I lowered my head slowly and pulled it away from her arm while holding her elbows with both of my hands to prevent them from falling down and hitting her chest. It was a difficult maneuver, but with patience and care, I was finally able to separate myself from her without waking her up.


    I couldn¡¯t bear to leave her lying on the bed like that, so I put the nket over her.


    I then went back to the living room. I didn¡¯t continue to watch the movie, of course. I just turned off the TV andy down on the sofa. Before falling asleep, I kept ying the scene that just happened over and over again in my head, and I smiled like a fool alone in the darkness.


    I¡¯d had a long day, so it didn¡¯t take me long to fall asleep at all. Then suddenly I was awakened by the sound of the phone ringing. I heard Xiaotao muffled voice in the room saying, ¡°They¡¯ve found a body? Alright, I¡¯ll be there soon.¡±


    Then she rushed out and shouted, ¡°Song Yang! Wake up!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m up,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Get up and get dressed,¡± she ordered. ¡°We¡¯re going to the police station soon. They¡¯ve found a body.¡±


    ¡°Roger!¡±


    At about four o¡¯clock in the morning, I was all dressed and ready to go. Soon, Xiaotao came out of her room with her gun on her waist and ready to go too. She pulled down a coat from her coat rack and smoothed her fingers through her hair. And just like that, she transformed from the cute girl that she was earlier into a cool and efficient policewoman.


    ¡°Did you sleep wellst night?¡± she asked me.


    ¡°I was woken up at four in the morning¡ªhow well do you think I slept?¡± I answered sarcastically.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s the life of a police officer,¡± she remarked. ¡°By the way, if you¡¯re hungry, there¡¯s some bread in the fridge.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m good.¡±


    I took my bag and went downstairs with Xiaotao. We went to the police station together, but neither of us said a word in the car along the way.


    When we were a few blocks away from the police station, I told her, ¡°Stop. I¡¯ll walk from here.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s very early in the morning,¡± I exined. ¡°If your colleagues see using together in your car, they¡¯ll probably start some rumors...¡±


    Xiaotao smiled. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you could be this considerate.¡±


    She then pulled over to the side of the road. When I was about to get out of the car, she suddenly asked, ¡°By the way, how did I end up sleeping in my bed?¡±


    ¡°H-Huh?¡± I responded in panic.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t carry me there, did you?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah... I did...¡± I admitted.


    ¡°And you pulled the nket on me too?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± I would¡¯ve buried my head underground if I could at that point.


    Then Xiaotao suddenly reached out her hand and gently patted my chin and eximed, ¡°How sweet of you!¡±

 Chapter 81

    <h4>Chapter 81</h4>


    A policeman had found the body in a sewer. It was wrapped in a ck waterproof stic bag with a messy tangle of ropes tied around it. The ropes had been cut after the body was transferred to the morgue.


    Since the knot was often important material evidence in murder investigations, it was left as is and the stic bag was cut open instead. This was basic knowledge that every police officer should know.


    When we got our first look at the body, both Xiaotao and I couldn¡¯t help but gasp. In fact, Xiaotao even covered her mouth with her hand in shock!


    The deceased had been shavedpletely bald and hairless and was stripped naked down to the underpants. What was even more ghastly was the sight of the body¡¯s flesh being cut off from the body. The muscle tissues from the chest, abdomen, and especially the limbs had been carved cleanly off of this body that you could only see the bare skeleton on most parts of the body. Strangely enough, there wasn¡¯t much blood on the body at all. Instead, it was covered in a sticky fluid.


    The conditions of this corpse reminded me of a torture method used in thete Qing Dynasty, called Ling Chi, also known as Death by a Thousand Cuts!


    It was impossible to judge whether the victim was a male or female at first nce. One of the police officers who found the bodymented that the body felt too light when he lifted the bag up. He even suspected that somebody had yed a macabre prank and stuffed an intable doll in the bag before tossing it into the sewer!


    I donned rubber gloves and began to measure the length of the corpse¡¯s feet and fingers, then the height and width of the pelvis. Lastly, I examined the corpse¡¯s teeth.


    After that, I moved on to scrutinize the victim¡¯s face. To my utter horror, I discovered that the victim was smiling!


    Just imagine this: on the face of someone who was stabbed and butchered inhumanly, there was a faint smile! What could have been the exnation for this?


    After further inspection, I announced, ¡°The victim was a woman aged between 25 and 30. She was of medium build and was fairly healthy. Judging from the bones, there are no signs of illnesses or disabilities. She was probably a worker in a textile factory.¡±


    Xiaotao was so disturbed by the conditions of the corpse that she kept frowning, but when she heard of my discoveries, her expressions changed to that of curiosity. She asked me, ¡°Wait a minute, how did you know she worked in a textile factory?¡±


    I turned over the palm of the deceased and exined, ¡°Do you see this horizontal line? There are also some cut wounds that have just recently healed on her hand here. Only those who work with threads and needles regrly would have this type of cut. Her back was slightly hunched too, which is a sign that she had spent a long period of time hunched over¡ªand all of these are consistent with the characteristics of a worker in a textile factory.¡±


    There were signs of admiration on the faces of the police officers present when they heard my exnation. Xiaotao nodded along thoughtfully and turned to ask a policeman beside her, ¡°Have we got a list of missing persons in Nanjiang City from thest three months?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s Xiaowang¡¯s task,¡± replied the policeman.


    ¡°Get in touch with him immediately and find out if there are any female textile factory workers on the list,¡± ordered Xiaotao.


    ¡°Right!¡±


    I sniffed the victim¡¯s face. Then I noticed that Xiaozhou of the forensics team was there. I told him, ¡°I need you to do two kinds of tests. One is the origin and type of ropes; and second is the residue in the victim¡¯s nasal passage.¡±


    ¡°You mean you suspect the victim might have inhaled a drug?¡± Xiaozhou asked immediately. He was a professional after all.


    ¡°I detected the scent of medical grade alcohol in the victim¡¯s nose,¡± I answered. ¡°You can just check if it is nitrous oxide, because this kind of anesthetic is always mixed with alcohol when used.¡±


    ¡°You already figured out that much, huh?¡± Xiaozhou smiled. ¡°I never expected a Traditional Coroner like you to have knowledge of something like that!¡±


    Xiaotao red at him, so he quickly nodded and added, ¡°Right, I¡¯ll get to it straight away!¡±


    He swiftly took a cotton swab, dipped it in alcohol, and inserted it into the victim¡¯s nose. He then took a sample of the fibrous strand from the ropes used to tie up the stic bag and went back to hisb.


    I used scissors to cut the victim¡¯s underwear and examined her genitals. There was no sign of sexual assault. In fact, I found out that she was still a virgin. Then I examined her body again and noticed that she was bound at the base of her thighs and her shoulders.


    ¡°Dali, I need you to go buy me some things!¡± I eximed without thinking.


    Then I turned around and remembered that Dali hadn¡¯te with me. In fact, even Wang Yuanchao was nowhere to be found.


    ¡°Just tell me what you need,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll get someone to buy them for you.¡±


    ¡°I need a bottle of vinegar of the highest quality,¡± I answered. ¡°Also, a small funnel along with some seaweed and kelp.¡±


    Xiaotao immediately ordered a policeman to buy the items at a nearby supermarket.


    While waiting, I checked the victim¡¯s internal organs via Organ Echolocation. I found that the organs and the ribs were intact and undamaged. Judging by their conditions, I determined the time of death to be about twenty days ago.


    ¡°Twenty days?¡± Xiaotao was rmed. ¡°But shouldn¡¯t the body be bloated by now if it had been that long?¡±


    ¡°You know about that too?¡± I smiled.


    ¡°Of course!¡± replied Xiaotao proudly. ¡°I¡¯ve read countless autopsy reports and seen numerous dead bodies. Like it or not, I picked up these technical terms like rigor mortis and livor mortis and corpse bloating.¡±


    ¡°So, what would cause a dead body to bloat?¡±


    ¡°Well... It¡¯s bloated because...¡±


    She fumbled for words but couldn¡¯te up with an answer, so I exined that after a period of time after death, the bacteria living in the intestines would run out of food to eat, and because the immune system had shut down, they would start to attack and consume the body tissues. This process would produce gas, and that made the corpse expand like a balloon.


    The sight of a bloated corpse could be extremely terrifying. The whole body would transform into a pus-oozing swollen balloon, the eyes would bulge out of their sockets, and the lips would look like two fat purple sausages. If the corpse was flipped over or moved, you¡¯d see a pool of putrid fluid underneath it. If the corpse was handled roughly, you might even see a greenish gas escaping from the orifices. It was definitely one of the things that tested a coroner¡¯s psychological strength. If you search for it online yourself, then you¡¯d see exactly what I mean!


    In Collected Cases of Injustices Rectified, it was written that after a few days a dposing corpse would swell up, the skin would fall off, the lips would turn inside out and the eyes would bulge out¡ªjust as modern science had discovered. I didn¡¯t want to recite ssical Chinese lines in front of Xiaotao and the other police officers though, since that might make me look snobbish. Thus, I opted to cite modern forensic science instead.


    Also, I didn¡¯t bring all these things up just to show off my knowledge, but there was something abnormal about the corpse that I needed to exin to Xiaotao. Before I could tell her what was wrong about it, she had to understand what the normal dposition process was like.


    ¡°There are three possible reasons why this corpse isn¡¯t bloated,¡± I added. ¡°Firstly, because the muscle and fat tissues of the corpse had been cut off, the bacteria had less to consume, so the gas produced was significantly reduced as well. Secondly, the temperature in the sewer is pretty low, plus the stic bag had been so tightly bound that it inhibited air and oxygen from entering it, thereby stunting the growth and propagation of the bacteria.¡±


    ¡°And the third reason?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell youter. Look here.¡± I pointed to the signs that the victim had been bound on her thighs and shoulders.


    ¡°You mean the victim was tied up?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°No, the rope was only tied loosely around her thighs,¡± I exined. ¡°I don¡¯t think it was tight enough to restrict her movement or to hold her in ce. It was more to restrict the blood cirction to her legs.¡± As I spoke, it dawned upon me that we were not just dealing with a violent murderer, but a psychopathic one with a sick and twisted mind.


    ¡°What was the point of that?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°Have you ever heard of ¡®live donkey meat¡¯?¡± I asked her. ¡°It¡¯s a cruel novelty dish where a donkey¡¯s limbs are tied up to a wooden board. Then hot water is poured onto the donkey directly, half-cooking the muscle tissues where it came into contact with the hot water. Then this piece of flesh is cut off and then dipped into a sauce before it¡¯s eaten straight away. It¡¯s a vile and abhorrent practice.¡±


    I saw a look in Xiaotao¡¯s eyes that told me she understood what I was about to say.


    ¡°The victim was probably killed this way too,¡± I continued. ¡°The murderer probably tied her up in order to cut fresh meat from her body, and she was tied to restrict blood cirction so it would be easier to cut it off!¡±


    I nced at the unrecognizable body on the iron bed. This meant that the victim really was killed by the Lingchi method!


    1. A method of used in Ancient China that involved stabbing or slicing a person¡¯s body part many times, resulting in slow and agonizing death.

 Chapter 82

    <h4>Chapter 82</h4>


    After hearing my conjectures, Xiaotao¡¯s eyes widened as she eximed, ¡°But what would drive a person to such an extent! How intense was the hatred that the murderer had for the victim?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t think this had anything to do with hatred at all.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Look at the victim¡¯s face.¡±


    Xiaotao and several other police officers immediately went over to examine the victim¡¯s face. They all gasped in horror.


    ¡°It looks like... she¡¯sughing!¡± Xiaotao eximed.


    ¡°Maybe it isn¡¯tughter,¡±mented a policeman. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s an expression she makes under extreme pain.¡±


    ¡°No, she definitely wasughing,¡± I corrected. ¡°When a person smiles orughs, we contract more than twenty facial muscles. There is no doubt that the expression on her face isughter.¡±


    The atmosphere in the morgue became tense after I spoke.


    ¡°But... why would the victimugh?¡± asked the policeman.


    ¡°The answer is very simple,¡± I replied. ¡°Because the murderer made her inhale nitrous oxide,monly known asughing gas. When the gas enters a human body, it will cause their muscles to twitch and contract and involuntarilyugh.¡±


    The whole room seemed skeptical.


    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t make sense,¡± noted Xiaotao. ¡°Why would the murderer go through such trouble? If he was afraid that she might scream, why didn¡¯t he just cover her mouth? Why go through the trouble of acquiring anesthesia? Wouldn¡¯t that make it riskier for him to be traced?¡±


    I didn¡¯t answer her right away, because even I felt that the answer to this question was incredibly appalling!


    Soon after that, a policeman returned with the things that I required to perform the autopsy. I began by adding a small pill into the bottle of vinegar. Then I found a washbasin so I burned the kelp and seaweed into fines ashes, then I poured them into the basin.


    Xiaotao asked me what that was, and I answered that it was seaweed ash used to detect fingerprints.


    Why did I have to use seaweed ash? Because kelp and seaweed contained a lot of iodine, and iodine could make fingerprints appear. Simrly, forensic scientists also used iodine to detect fingerprints in crime scenes.


    I took some of the fine seaweed ashes and sprinkled it on the corpse. I took the utmost care not to spill the ashes onto the open wounds of the body. Then I waited for a while and gently blew away the topyer of ashes.


    But s, no fingerprints were detected at all!


    ¡°Get me the ultraviolet light!¡± I requested.


    A policeman rushed out and soon came back with an ultravioletmp. I broke my Autopsy Umbrest time and hadn¡¯t fixed it yet, so instead I prepared a makeshift recement that consisted of a small piece of red silk cloth coated with a blend of medicinal herbs.


    I covered the ultravioletmp with the red silk cloth and gently shone it over the victim¡¯s corpse. Shapes of human palms appeared, but there were no fingerprints still, only some textures simr to that of woven fabric.


    ¡°The murderer wore gloves,¡± I stated. Ipared the palm print with my hand and continued, ¡°The murderer has been used to heavy physicalbor for a long period of time. His palm looks strong and powerful. He should be about forty to fifty years of age.¡±


    ¡°But Consultant Song,¡± the policeman who had asked questions before argued, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t human hands begin to age after they are thirty years old? Can people in their forties or fifties have such wide palms?¡±


    I smiled. Perhaps not all police officers were observant.


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I replied. ¡°Our bodies will age after we turn thirty years old. But there is one exception.¡±


    ¡°What exception?¡±


    ¡°As ismon with human bodies,¡± I said, ¡°whichever part was used more would strengthen and develop, and whichever part was not used would deteriorate with age. The physical state of our bodies reaches its peak at the age of thirty, and then it slowly declines from there. But for those who are engaged in heavy physicalbor daily, not only would their bodies not deteriorate, but they would even go on to be even stronger. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can check the hands of chefs and carpenters.¡±


    The policeman still looked doubtful, but Xiaotao nodded in agreement.


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± she remarked. ¡°I¡¯ve seenbor workers who looked more muscr and stronger at forty or fifty years old than some people who are barely thirty. Wang Yuanchao¡¯s palms, for example, are very wide.¡±


    Then she turned to me and asked, ¡°Do you like looking at people¡¯s hands, Song Yang? How do you know all this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just an interest of mine,¡± I admitted sheepishly.


    There was a talented coroner in the Song family who collected all the facts and knowledge about shapes of hands and palms in a book called The Book of Hands. It had nothing to do with palm reading, mind you, but it contained a collection of observations of the palm shapes of different groups of people ording to their upations and age. He even recorded the facts in very poetguage.


    And although the upations of ancient and modern times were quite different, I always found the facts in the book to match my own observations in the modern world, and it turned out to be very helpful to me.


    I asked the police officers to take photos of the handprints. Then I turned off the ultraviolet light and sprinkled the remaining seaweed ash on the stic bag that the body was kept in. When I blew off the seaweed ash, something unexpected happened. A lot of messy palm prints and fingerprints appeared!


    There was a burst of exmation in the room. The police officers who took the pictures earlier quickly rushed forward and took more than a dozen photos.


    ¡°What is going on here?¡± wondered Xiaotao. ¡°The murderer seemed to be cautious enough to wear a glove, yet why did he leave so many fingerprints on the stic bag?¡±


    I was shocked myself. I had not anticipated to find so many fingerprints on the stic bag at all. But this led me to one spection.


    ¡°There may have been two people involved,¡± I said. ¡°One person murdered the victim; the other dealt with the aftermath.¡±


    I noticed that the ropes at the mouth of the bag were tied sloppily, and there were several ces where the knots were loose. It waspletely uncharacteristic of the cautious and careful murderer. Obviously, this other person was nervous and flustered!


    This should have been an important piece of evidence, but I was frustrated when I looked at the fingerprints. The bag had been dragged on the ground. That and the dirt in the sewer hadpletely destroyed the fingerprints, making it beyond being identifiable.


    Xiaotao noticed it too.


    ¡°I¡¯ll still ask the forensics team to run the fingerprints through the database just in case,¡± she said.


    I shook my head and sighed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll find anything there,¡± I stated. ¡°Judging by the messy fingerprints and the loose knots, it¡¯s probably a rookie without any criminal record.¡±


    I picked up the vinegar bottle and found that the vinegar had turned purplish-brown after the pill waspletely dissolved.


    ¡°What did you put inside there earlier?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°A vinegar neutralizer,¡± I exined. ¡°It can turn the pH of the vinegar to neutral, like water.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just use water instead?¡± Xiaotao couldn¡¯t help butugh.


    I smiled. ¡°Because vinegar is heavier than water. I¡¯m going to add the vinegar in the victim¡¯s stomach, but the acetic acid will have a certain corrosive effect in the body. This neutralizer will take effect within an hour, and the vinegar will be broken down into water, so you don¡¯t have to worry about damaging the dead body. The purpose of the post-mortem examination is to bring justice to the victim, but we also must take care not to damage the dead body more than necessary.¡±


    Xiaotao nodded her head thoughtfully and remarked, ¡°You¡¯re very dedicated to what you do, Song Yang.¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± I replied.


    This neutralizer was in fact not a chemical, but a species of bacteria grown in a willow root for ten years. It can break down acetic acid and hence lower the acidity. In order to acquire this, I spent quite a sum to buy a willow tree root from the wood carving market. It also took considerable time and effort to grow the bacteria.


    As a Traditional Coroner, I had to be dedicated as Xiaotao said and learn as much as I could. I understood that the rules and taboosid down by my ancestors must be obeyed and followed as much as possible, because if I didn¡¯t, I would regret it sooner orter.


    I asked a police officer to help me lift the body up and had another officer to stuff the funnel into the victim¡¯s mouth. Then, I poured the vinegar down into her throat.


    I then used Organ Echolocation to listen to the sound of the vinegar flowing inside the dead body. I closed my eyes to focus on the sound more intently. I signaled to the rest of the room to not make a peep, and I even stopped breathing for a few seconds.


    This method was a more advanced version of the Organ Echolocation that I normally used. Through the echo generated by the liquid flowing inside the internal organs, I could construct a stereoscopic map of the dead body¡¯s internal cavity in my mind and judge the pathology and damage suffered by the corpse.


    I listened for about five minutes. Everyone was tense with anticipation. When I was finally done, I heard everyone sigh in relief.


    ¡°What did you find out, Song Yang?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    I frowned and answered, ¡°The victim¡¯s stomach ispletely empty!¡±

 Chapter 83

    <h4>Chapter 83</h4>


    ¡°Empty? What does that mean?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    I couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°Are you saying you don¡¯t know what the word ¡®empty¡¯ means? Or are you asking me why it¡¯s empty?¡±


    ¡°You idiot!¡± Xiaotao stepped on my toe and red at me.


    ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll exin it!¡± I pleaded with both hands in the air. ¡°There is absolutely no food residue in the victim¡¯s stomach. It¡¯spletely empty.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably because she was locked up by the murderer for a few days,¡± Xiaotao¡¯s face suddenly turned pale.


    ¡°But there¡¯s no fecal matter in her intestines either.¡±


    ¡°Wha-What did you say?¡±


    I then did something that made everyone in the room shudder. I pried open the victim¡¯s legs and inserted my fingers into her anus. I went in so deep that my whole finger was almostpletely gone. Xiaotao watched me with her mouth agape and her eyes almost bulged out of their sockets.


    ¡°What¡¯s so surprising?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s just like when a doctor checks a patient¡¯s prostate!¡±


    ¡°This is nothing like that!¡± Xiaotao eximed. ¡°You¡¯re just so... forget it! I don¡¯t want to say it out loud!¡±


    The only reason I did it was out of pure necessity, of course. In ancient times when there were no rectal thermometers, the coroner would insert their fingers directly into the fecal matter to measure the temperature of the intestine, so I counted myself lucky that I was born after the invention of thermometers.


    But I wasn¡¯t measuring the temperature of the intestine here. After inserting my finger all the way in, I pulled it out and found that it was covered in ayer of oil. In fact, where there should have been feces, it turned out to be very clean.


    I sniffed my finger. Several policemen were appalled when I did that and they covered their mouths with their hands in disgust.


    ¡°The victim¡¯s rectum is covered in vegetable oil!¡± I announced.


    ¡°Vegetable oil?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    I nodded. ¡°Give me a pair of forceps.¡±


    An officer handed me a pair of forceps while giving me a strange look. To be honest, I could have done what I was about to do with my fingers, but I decided against it because it might further disturb everyone.


    I held the victim¡¯s rectum open with the forceps and let a police officer shine the shlight into it. I then examined the interior of the victim¡¯s intestines for a while, then put the forceps down and took off the gloves.


    ¡°How is it?¡± Xiaotao anxiously asked in a tone that one would use to ask the doctor how one¡¯s family member was doing.


    ¡°There is some damage to the rectal tissue,¡± I exined. ¡°The murderer must¡¯ve put a hose into the intestines of the victim and filled it with oil. And the victim must¡¯ve been force-fed oil too.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the purpose of that?¡±


    ¡°In order to empty the victim¡¯s entire digestive tract,¡± I replied.


    When I was examining the dead body, I found that there was a certain degree of atrophy in the victim¡¯s liver. The liver could bepared to a battery of the human body. When a person was starved, the glycogen stored in the liver would be consumed to supply the energy needed by the whole body.


    This meant that the victim had been starved for at least a week before death. Apart from that, oil was forced down her throat and through her rectum to empty her intestines.


    Judging from that, it could be inferred that the time of her disappearance was about twenty-seven days ago.


    The key point to remember was that the food residue and feces in the intestines of a human body contained a lot of toxins. When the body was starved, the intestines would start to ¡®reabsorb¡¯ the nutrients from the fecal matter. Naturally, the toxins would be absorbed into the blood cirction too and would gradually umte in the muscle tissue.


    The murderer apparently knew this and used this horrible method to ¡®purge¡¯ the victim¡¯s body!


    Another point was that when an animal died in extreme panic, its body would secrete some toxins into the blood, making the muscles stiff. This was probably why the murderer usedughing gas to rx the victim¡¯s muscles while the pieces of flesh on her body were slowly cut off one by one before she died.


    The murderer painstakingly went through all this, not to torture victim, but to ensure that the meat obtained from the victim¡¯s body was at its most delicious state!


    After listening to me, two policemen were so disgusted that they rushed out of the room with their mouths covered. Xiaotao had regained a bit of color in her cheeks, but she was still visibly disturbed.


    ¡°You mean to say that the meat filling in the buns was not a means for the murderer to get rid of a human body that he killed, but in fact the victim had been kidnapped precisely because the murderer wanted to get her meat to be consumed as food?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I replied inly. ¡°I think the murderer didn¡¯t actually set out to kill people, it¡¯s just that human beings are no different from pigs in his eyes. He¡¯s just the most twisted and depraved foodie that¡¯s ever existed! By the way, I did say that there were three possible reasons why the corpse isn¡¯t bloated. The third reason was that the germs living inside the victim¡¯s body had been starved, and the rest was probably attacked by the immune system. That¡¯s why the body wasn¡¯t as dposed as it should be.¡±


    Xiaotao lowered her head and did not speak for about ten seconds. I thought she was distraught by the harrowing ordeal the victim had to go through, but I was wrong. Officer Huang Xiaotao was not the type to cry so easily.


    She clenched her fist in disgust and dered, ¡°That scum must be captured as soon as possible! He deserves to be put to death by a thousand knives! We cannot let another person fall victim to this animal!¡±


    I agreed with her wholeheartedly, but I couldn¡¯t help but be pessimistic. The victim had gone missing twenty days ago. There might have already been a second or third victim.


    ¡°We¡¯ll do our best,¡± Iforted Xiaotao. ¡°Even if we don¡¯t sleep for the next two days, we must catch him no matter what!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± nodded Xiaotao.


    Now that the autopsy was over, I took out some joss paper and burned it in the name of the victim as usual. I also chanted the Reincarnation Mantra, then covered her body with a white sheet.


    We were leaving the morgue when we bumped into Xiaozhou, who informed us that the test results were ready.


    ¡°You were right, Song Yang,¡± he excitedly eximed. ¡°The victim did inhale nitrous oxide!¡±


    ¡°What about theposition of the rope?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s polypropylene mixed with cotton textiles,¡± Xiaozhou quickly replied.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± I nodded. It was just as I expected.


    ¡°Looks like we should focus on these two clues right now¡ªthe rope and theughing gas,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°We should widen our scope and increase the number of officers mobilized for the search. We must solve this case as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Howe I don¡¯t see Wang Yuanchao at alltely?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°He happened to be on duty near the abattoir that afternoon,¡± exined Xiaotao. ¡°So I told him to track down Ma Jinhuo. That¡¯s why he didn¡¯te to the meeting.¡±


    ¡°Did you ce some officers on stakeout near the bun shop?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t forget such an important task!¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ve ced four officers to be on the lookout there.¡±


    It was then that I realized it was already bright outside. I had been examining the body for two hours. Xiaotao said we should go out and grab some food before we were swamped with work again, so we ended up at a nearby western-style restaurant. We had a simple pizza there.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t get a good sleepst night,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°You should go back to your dorm and rest. I¡¯ll call you if there¡¯s any progress.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I still have some investigating to do,¡± replied Xiaotao with a forced smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you, then,¡± I suggested. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to sleep even if I go back to my dorm anyway.¡±


    Xiaotaoughed. ¡°Okay!¡±


    We went back to the police station. Xiaotao made a few phone calls, one of which was to Wang Yuanchao. After she hung up, she told me, ¡°Wang Yuanchao found out that Ma Jinhuo resigned from his job at the abattoir three months ago. The abattoir said the pork that was sent afterwards had nothing to do with them. In fact, the staff there said that Ma Jinhuo often exhibited a peculiar demeanor.¡±


    Everything was just as I expected. But this also meant that we had hit another dead end.


    After that, two police officers handed Xiaotao a thick file which ording to them contained a list of missing persons in Nanjiang City for the past three months. The information on the missing persons was also included in the file.


    ¡°Oh my god!¡± Xiaotao eximed. ¡°How could so many people go missing in the past three months? Has Nanjiang City been visited by UFOs?¡±


    ¡°Not all of them are missing,¡± one of the police officers exined. ¡°Some of them just lost contact with their rtives who reported. After all, Nanjiang City has arge poption with peopleing in and going out of the city every day. Many of these people are also running away from their debt collectors.¡±


    ¡°Okay, thanks a lot,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll look through them slowly.¡±


    After they left, Xiaotao smiled at the file on the table and joked, ¡°Song Yang, it¡¯s time to use those eyes of yours to help me!¡±


    I picked it up and flipped through it. It was indeed a very long list of people, and if we were to ask the police officers to investigate each and every one of them, we would definitely lose a lot of valuable time. An idea suddenly popped up in my head. It was an odd idea, but I had a feeling it would work, and it would surely save a lot of manpower and time. After all, with each passing second, the chances of the murderer attacking the next victim increased, so we had to act swiftly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s put ourselves in the murderer¡¯s shoes!¡± I proposed.


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°Well, first of all, let¡¯s look at things from his point of view.¡± I pointed at the list of missing persons. ¡°Among these people, who looks like they would taste the best?¡±

 Chapter 84

    <h4>Chapter 84</h4>


    Xiaotao smiled. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Then let¡¯s start looking for prey!¡±


    So we quickly searched through the list ording to this criteria. Anyone older than 35 or younger than 15 were excluded straight away, along with those who were suffering from a disease or were disabled. Those who were either too thin or obese were ruled out as well.


    Thinking like the murderer, seeing people as if they were pork belly in the supermarket made me shudder. But we had to do whatever it took to capture this monster as soon as possible!


    We threw the excluded names to the left side of the table, and the rest were ced on the right side. Gradually, the pile on the left side grew bigger and bigger, while the pile on the right became smaller and smaller, until in the end, only eight people remained.


    ¡°These eight people may be potential victims,¡± Xiaotao remarked.


    ¡°Wait, let me see.¡±


    I looked through the information of these individuals carefully and picked out one of them.


    ¡°This person has a history of mental illness and has stayed in a mental hospital for a while. He¡¯s ruled out.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Psychiatric patients have to ingest a lot of antidepressants; and with the long-termck of exercise, the meat quality will be very poor.¡±


    When she heard what I said, I noticed that Xiaotao¡¯s cheeks twitched slightly.


    ¡°This person has bad teeth, which means that she must not have been eating well. Judging by her pallor, she looks too yellow and thin; she must¡¯ve suffered from malnutrition for a period of time.¡±


    ¡°This person has had stic surgery done before. It looks like she has fillers and hyaluronic acid injections too. That must affect the way her meat tastes.¡±


    ¡°This person works as a plumber. The smell of sewers must permeate through his body. His meat should be too stinky. He¡¯s ruled out too.¡±


    I had now ruled out four.


    ¡°It¡¯s giving me the creeps listening to you talk,¡± Xiaotao grumbled. ¡°It really feels like you are that sociopath who makes human meat buns in that movie.¡±


    ¡°If I were a cannibalistic sociopath, the first I¡¯d want to eat would be...¡± I paused mid-sentence and nced at Xiaotao, not daring to say anything more.


    ¡°Who is it? Who do you want to eat first?¡± Xiaotao demanded.


    ¡°Never mind, let¡¯s not talk about this anymore.¡±


    ¡°Humph!¡±


    At this moment, I noticed the fifth file in my hand. The name of the missing person was Ma Yaozu. He used to work in a ughterhouse. He was born in a small vige near Nanjiang City and he was 32 years old.


    Xiaotao nced over the file and said, ¡°Judging by the pallor of his skin and how thin he is, the sociopath probably thinks he¡¯s not tasty enough. I think he should be ruled out.¡±


    She was about to take the file away from me, but I shook my head and stopped her. ¡°Wait! I have a hunch that this person might be our suspect! Ma Jinhuo!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Xiaotao was skeptical. ¡°But his workce is different here. Not to mention the different name.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not so umon for people who work in the abattoir to have worked at other ughterhouses too. Many people from rural viges also have different names that they use for formal asions. You should ask the staff at the abattoir to see if Ma Jinhuo¡¯s official name is Ma Yaozu.¡±


    ¡°Right!¡±


    As for the remaining three people, one of them was a female worker in a textile factory. All of her characteristics matched that of the dead body perfectly. It could be safely concluded that they were the same person.


    The other two were an employee of a supermarket, aged 24, and a worker in a car wash, aged 26. They were both males.


    ¡°These two people may be the next victims,¡± I deduced, then paused. ¡°No, maybe they have already been killed...¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to their ce and check it out in case we can discover some clues,¡± Xiaotao suggested.


    ¡°Great idea!¡±


    Xiaotao made a call to investigate Ma Jinhuo¡¯s official name, and then we went to the parking lot and got into the car. We first rushed to the supermarket where one of the two missing people worked and questioned the manager. We found out that his name was Xiaozhang. He was an employee there but had not turned up at work suddenly one and a half months ago. He tried to contact Xiaozhang but the calls didn¡¯t get through, so he reported him as missing after forty-eight hours.


    ¡°So Xiaozhang has been missing for a month and a half. Has his family note to look for him?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It seems that he¡¯s severed all contacts with his family for many years. Hisndy even asked me to pay the water and electricity fee that Xiaozhang owed. It¡¯s ridiculous!¡±


    ¡°Do you know his address?¡±


    ¡°Give me a minute, I¡¯ve got it in his employee files. I¡¯ll copy it for you.¡±


    The manager then handed me a piece of paper with Xiaozhou¡¯s address on it. When we were about to leave, he offered us two bottles of mineral water, but we refused.


    Xiaozhang¡¯s residence was three streets away from the supermarket. When we arrived, we found Xiaozhang¡¯sndy. She was a middle-aged woman. When she heard the name Xiaozhang, her ears pricked up. She animatedly described him as a terrible tenant who liked to litter and often dumped dirty water out the window. He even moved away without informing her, and when she went into his room, she discovered that the TV had been on for a whole week. He now owed her more than a hundred yuan in electricity fees!


    ¡°Is the room rented out to someone else now?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No,¡± she answered. ¡°I¡¯m still looking for a tenant on 58. By the way, officers, can you help me spread the word about this room? It¡¯s a nice warm ce and the rent...¡±


    She went on to advertise her house for a while.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Xiaotao interrupted her. ¡°We¡¯re from the criminal division. We can¡¯t help you with this.¡±


    ¡°Criminal division?¡± Thendy was shocked. ¡°What has that kid done? No wonder he¡¯s always so reclusive. He¡¯s always shut himself in his room. He never talks to anyone. He must¡¯ve done something that he doesn¡¯t want anyone to know about.¡±


    Thendy had been speaking a lot. If we didn¡¯t stop her, she¡¯d probably run her mouth till sundown. Xiaotao interrupted her to ask if we could see Xiaozhang¡¯s room. She agreed and led us there.


    We all walked into the room. Thendy had already cleaned it inside and out. I looked at it roughly and said, ¡°Did you say that when Xiaozhang was gone, the TV and lights were all on?¡±


    Thendy quickly nodded. ¡°Exactly!¡±


    ¡°What about the door?¡±


    ¡°The door was closed, but it was unlocked.¡±


    ¡°Do you remember what he wore when he left?¡±


    Thendy tried to recall her memory. ¡°I remember that when I came in here, his shoes were still at the door and his coat was lying on the chair.¡±


    I saw an ashtray on the window sill. Xiaozhang was probably temporarily going out to buy cigarettes, and then he was kidnapped. You could easily notice a grown man getting kidnapped, so this meant that the murderer obviously had a car.


    It was not a trip in vain after all. What I mainly wanted to find out was whether the murderer had premeditated the kidnap and murders for a long time or if it was a spur-of-the-moment thing¡ªjudging from what I¡¯d discovered, it was obviously the former.


    Xiaotao found a box of military magazines under the bed. In addition, I also saw some model tanks, all of which were hand-made. People who liked these things were usually the indoor type.


    I looked out of the window and saw an old run-down building.


    ¡°What is that building used for?¡± I asked thendy.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± she answered. ¡°It¡¯s just an unfinished building that¡¯s been abandoned. Apparently, the contractor and the investors didn¡¯t see eye to eye about something, so the construction project was halted suddenly. It¡¯s been that way for several years. Tramps often spend the night in there. It¡¯s really bad for the security and sanitation of this neighborhood, but the neighborhoodmittee has done nothing! Officers, you must do something about this!¡±


    I wondered if thendy thought we were miracle workers who could make everything bad go away with just a point of the finger. The thought amused me.


    ¡°Wanna go check it out?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°Sure!¡±


    We thanked thendy and excused ourselves. Then we went to the abandoned building. I had a feeling that we wouldn¡¯t be able to find any clues here though, considering that it had already been a month and a half since Xiaozhou went missing.


    Every time I went up a floor, I stopped and looked at the room that Xiaozhang rented. The fourth floor offered the best view of it. I checked the floor and found some cigarette butts. They consisted of three different brands of cigarettes in total. Could it be that the murderer had left them there?


    I sniffed the air and detected some unusual smells. I finally turned my eyes to arge concrete pipe beside me...


    1. A website for ssified advertisements, like Craigslist.

 Chapter 85

    <h4>Chapter 85</h4>


    The cement pipe was ced on the ground vertically. Someone had thrown some garbage in there. There were a few pieces of tattered clothes, probably left by the tramps. I slid half of my body into it and rummaged through the garbage with my hands until I finally found the source of the weird smell.


    I took out a pair of rubber gloves from my pocket and put them on. Then I picked up the paper towel that was emitting the medical-grade alcohol smell.


    It seemed that my guess was correct. Xiaozhang was indeed kidnapped by the murderer!


    This paper towel was probably here because the murderer had mistakenly spilled some nitrous oxide on his hand, so he used it to wipe his hands. It was clear that the murderer had long been eyeing Xiaozhang.


    Xiaotao came over and sniffed it and asked, ¡°How did you know it was here, Song Yang? It¡¯s like you have a dog¡¯s sense of smell!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been trained.¡±


    ¡°You can train for that? Can you teach me how? It would be convenient for me as a police officer to have a nose as sensitive as yours!¡±


    In fact, I had to go through a lot of painful training to get this good. Every day, Grandpa would pierce silver needles on the acupuncture points on my nose. Not everyone would be able to endure that.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about thatter,¡± I tried to change the subject. ¡°Did you bring an evidence collecting bag?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± Xiaotao nodded.


    I put the paper towel into the bag and sealed it. Then I waved my hand to Xiaotao, ¡°There is nothing left to investigate here. Let¡¯s go to the next ce!¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    The second missing person, Xiaoli, was in many ways simr to Xiaozhang. He went missing half a month ago. He also did not inform anyone of his whereabouts. Xiaoli worked in a car wash and he lived in an apartment with two colleagues.


    ording to Xiaoli¡¯s roommates, half a month ago, Xiaoli went downstairs to take out the garbage, and then he never returned. He wouldn¡¯t answer their calls either, so they reported him as missing.


    ¡°Did his familye looking for him?¡± I asked.


    ¡°They did,¡± his roommate replied. ¡°His mother was very tearful about it. One of his sisters is awyer. I hear they¡¯re going to sue the apartment management about this, but management said their only responsibilities were to keep the apartment clean and orderly. This shouldn¡¯t have anything to do with them.¡±


    ¡°What was Xiaoli¡¯s personality like?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a nice guy,¡± the roommate reminisced. ¡°He¡¯s the most hygienic among the three of us. He¡¯s always the one to clean the house and take the garbage out.¡±


    The other roommate interjected, ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s a special guy. He¡¯s kind of an introvert. He doesn¡¯t talk to us much when he¡¯s at home. But he¡¯s a hard worker, and he likes gardening too. Do you see those pots of flowers on the balcony there? Those are all his doing!¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Did he have a girlfriend?¡±


    ¡°Nah. He¡¯s an inexperienced virgin just like us.¡±


    ¡°Speak for yourself!¡± the other roommate retorted. ¡°Don¡¯tpare me to the likes of you!¡±


    ¡°You loser, do you really think that Lili likes you? She¡¯s only using you as a spare, idiot! You¡¯ve known her for so long, yet have you ever had dinner with her once? Ever slept with her?¡±


    ¡°Shut up! What we have is called true love!¡±


    ¡°Holy hell! You¡¯re sappy! Don¡¯t you notice how she excuses herself to go take a shower every time you talk to her? She must be a real hygienic person!¡±


    The two men argued till they were both red in the face. I didn¡¯t want to get in between their fight so I uttered a quick ¡®thank you¡¯ and left quickly with Xiaotao.


    Once we¡¯ve left the apartment, I summed up our discoveries.


    ¡°One and a half months ago, twenty-seven days ago, half a month ago... Judging from the pattern, I¡¯m afraid Xiaoli is probably dead.¡±


    ¡°So, the murderer kills a person every fifteen days?¡± Xiaotao gasped.


    ¡°Do you usually cook?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°Not really, why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°Well, the usual shelf-life of meat is about half a month,¡± I replied. ¡°It seems that the murderer really thinks of humans as two-legged livestock.¡±


    ¡°In that case, does it mean that we have half a month¡¯s worth of time to catch the bastard before he gets the next victim?¡±


    ¡°No, Xiaoli was missing half a month ago. That means the fourth victim will be caught in the next two days. Unless if we get to them before the murderer does, that is.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a very tight deadline!¡± Xiaotao sighed.


    At that moment, her phone rang. She picked it up and spoke for a while. Once she hung up, she turned to me and said, ¡°You¡¯re right again, Song Yang. Ma Yaozu really is Ma Jinhuo¡¯s official name.¡±


    I recalled the file I had read before.


    ¡°Wait a minute, didn¡¯t Ma Jinhuo go missing three months ago? He resigned from the abattoir three months ago too. The staff there didn¡¯t report him as missing, so who did?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right! Ma Jinhuo probably has some rtives in Nanjiang City!¡±


    Xiaotao immediately called the police station. She was told that an anonymous person had reported Ma Jinhuo¡¯s disappearance. After hanging up the phone, Xiaotao cursed, ¡°Damn it! Another dead end!¡±


    I shook my head slightly. ¡°No, it¡¯s not a dead end. In fact, it¡¯s an important breakthrough!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Xiaotao quickly reacted. ¡°You¡¯d better not give me false hope!¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Shopkeeper Tang tell us Ma Jinhuo had been delivering meat to him during the past six months? But the information we gathered told us that Ma Jinhuo had already disappeared three months ago. Perhaps Shopkeeper Tang was lying to us!¡±


    Xiaotao suddenly realized it too. ¡°Let¡¯s go find him again!¡±


    We rushed to the bun shop, but its doors were closed at noon.


    ¡°Where are the police officers who are on stakeout?¡± I asked.


    ¡°See that ck car over there?¡± she indicated with her head. ¡°There are two police officers inside. If Ma Jinhuo appears, they¡¯ll immediately arrest him.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a hard job, isn¡¯t it, being on stakeout?¡± I smiled sympathetically.


    ¡°Nah! You get to eat and drink in the car all day! I was on stakeout once and I used up a whole pack of diapers in a week!¡±


    I was struck by how frank and open Xiaotao was to be casually revealing this detail to me as if it was nothing at all. But that only made me respect her more.


    We knocked on the door and heard Shopkeeper Tang answer, so we opened it and entered the shop. I saw him wearing a leather apron and his hands were covered in flour. I asked, ¡°Are you making the buns?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am,¡± he replied. ¡°Come in and take a seat, both of you. I¡¯ll make you a cup of tea.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that,¡± I put up my hand to refuse. ¡°We¡¯ll be quick. Just a few questions, that¡¯s all.¡±


    It was dark in the shop. Shopkeeper Tang was kneading dough on the chopping board, and there was a big bowl beside him that was filled with minced meat. Small containers of spices surrounded him. When I saw the meat filling for the buns, I couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of those human meat buns that I almost ate. The thought alone riled up my stomach.


    Xiaotao squinted and muttered, ¡°The meat...¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry!¡± Shopkeeper Tang reassured her. ¡°I just bought this from the supermarket this morning. It¡¯s the freshest pork from the hind legs! I can steam some for you right now if you like!¡± He smiled and rubbed his hands on his apron. His face was red.


    ¡°No, no! Don¡¯t bother!¡± Xiaotao refused, waving her hands frantically.


    ¡°It looks like you¡¯re very passionate about making buns,¡± I remarked.


    ¡°I absolutely am!¡± He sat on a chair. ¡°There¡¯s nothing I love more than making buns! It gives me a lot of joy! I oftene up with new recipes for them, and I¡¯m always trying to improve the ones I have now. When I see how happy my customers are when they bite into my buns, my heart just bursts with delight! I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s an appropriate analogy, but it¡¯s like when you write a book and everyone enjoys reading it!¡±


    I secretly thought about how rare it was to find someone who enjoyed their work so much and was so dedicated to it.


    Xiaotao took out her notebook and started to jot something down.


    ¡°I need to ask you a few questions,¡± she told him.


    ¡°Yes, go ahead.¡± Shopkeeper Tang nodded.


    ¡°Have you really seen Ma Jinhuo recently?¡±


    When Xiaotao asked the question, I immediately scrutinized Shopkeeper Tang¡¯s expressions with Cave Vision.


    ¡°Yes, I have,¡± Shopkeeper Tang replied. ¡°He just delivered me some meat three days ago. What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Ma Jinhuo disappeared a long time ago. Didn¡¯t you know about this?¡±


    ¡°Since when?¡±


    ¡°Three months ago. He resigned from the abattoir where he worked three months ago too. His disappearance was reported by an anonymous person.¡±


    Shopkeeper Tang was so shocked his eyes bulged out.


    ¡°But that¡¯s impossible! I swear to God I saw him just three days ago!¡±


    Xiaotao looked at me. I shook my head slightly, implying that he was not lying.


    Still, I couldn¡¯t shake off the feeling that something was not right somewhere!

 Chapter 86

    <h4>Chapter 86</h4>


    In order to confirm that the Ma Jinhuo that Shopkeeper Tang was referring to was the same person that we meant, Xiaotao called the police station to get someone to send a photo of Ma Jinhuo to her phone. She then showed it to Shopkeeper Tang.


    ¡°Yup!¡± he nodded eagerly. ¡°That¡¯s the guy!¡±


    ¡°Do you have his recent photos?¡± I asked.


    Shopkeeper Tang smiled.


    ¡°My phone is an ancient one with no camera function.¡± He then pulled out an old antique-looking Nokia phone.


    ¡°Do you know Ma Jinhuo personally?¡± I asked.


    Shopkeeper Tang paused briefly and scratched his nose. ¡°No.¡±


    I sneered and stared into his eyes, ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡±


    ¡°No, Officer! It¡¯s the truth! I swear to God!¡± he insisted.


    ¡°There¡¯s no use in swearing to God! Come with us to the police station now!¡±


    He was visibly intimidated by my threat. Shopkeeper immediately lowered his head; his face was downcast. It seemed that he was not that strong-willed a person.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll admit it. Ma Jinhuo and I came from the same vige.¡±


    Xiaotao was taken aback. ¡°How could you not mention such an important fact before?¡±


    ¡°I-I know that there¡¯s something wrong with him, but it¡¯s just that I... I feel sorry for the guy...¡±


    He then revealed to us that Ma Jinhuo came out to the city to work ever since he was a teenager. He worked at a construction site, where all his colleagues were men. When a group of men is grouped together, what else can they talk about other than women? Ma Jinhuo was very young and impressionable back then, so he quickly caught the habit of masturbation from the other guys. At one point it got so out of control that he had to do it at least once, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t be able to go to sleep.


    After a while, Ma Jinhuo¡¯s skin gradually turned pale and yellow and he got thinner and thinner. The bags under his eyes got heavier and darker too. Though he was only in his twenties, his hair had already started to grow white.


    Despite that, he managed to work and saved up some money and went home to the vige, bringing a beautiful woman from the city back with him. Everyone apuded him for being able to catch such a pretty wife for himself.


    However, people soon found out that this woman was actually a prostitute. She only married Ma Jinhuo to get the few acres ofnd left by his family. In no time their rtionship turned sour, and they were often heard quarrelling. Soon rumors spread about how Ma Jinhuo was impotent and unable to satisfy his own wife in bed.


    But his wife was a woman of strong desire. Unable to find any satisfaction from her husband, she then started to look for it from the young men in the vige. It became an open secret of the vige that Ma Jinhuo¡¯s wife had cheated on him with multiple men.


    That humiliated and crushed Ma Jinhuo¡¯s spirits. During that time, he walked around the vige with his head hung low and he wouldn¡¯t speak to anyone. The other vigers looked at him with the utmost pity.


    But then, Shopkeeper Tang saw something that not only robbed all the sympathy he felt for Ma Jinhuo, but reced it with disgust and utter contempt!


    One morning, Shopkeeper Tang saw Ma Jinhuo digging the ground at the foot of a hill. He went over to say hello, but saw Ma Jinhuo quickly slipping something into his clothes, and his expressions were suspicious indeed.


    Shopkeeper Tang¡¯s curiosity was piqued, and he felt that something was wrong about Ma Jinhuo. So after the guy left, he carefully examined the ground. He found that the ¡®karma collector ghosts¡¯ of the Li family had been dug up.


    ¡°Karma collector ghosts?¡± I interrupted him.


    ¡°Yes... Well...¡± Shopkeeper Tang hesitated. ¡°It means stillborn infants.¡±


    Both Xiaotao and I were shocked. Shopkeeper Tang said that there were often many cases of stillborn infants in the countryside. These were believed to be bad spirits who haunted the pregnant women, so they were called karma collector ghosts. These dead infants had to be buried without coffins, but they were often buried together with pig and cattle feces. There must even be a big stone pressed into the ground to prevent the karma collector ghosts from escaping the ground and haunting the vige.


    Some people suffered many miscarriages, and they were believed to be attacked by angry karma collector ghosts. They¡¯d invite Taoist priests to perform some rituals and smash the dead baby¡¯s body with a hatchet, then mix it with the blood of chickens and ck dogs. These were made into a spell to protect them from the karma collector ghosts.


    When I heard this, I thought that these dead infants might not all be stillborns. They were probably deformed children or unwanted daughters, due to marriages between close rtives and traditional patriarchal ethos still prevalent in rural areas. I had heard of stories about these unwanted children who were drowned in the toilet.


    I let Shopkeeper Tang go on with his story without further interruption. He went on to say that he checked several of these graves and found that the dead infants were all gone. He remembered the strange smile on Ma Jinhuo¡¯s face. That led Shopkeeper Tang to conclude that the guy must¡¯ve eaten the dead babies!


    Shopkeeper Tang was not one to waste time. He ran to Ma Jinhuo¡¯s house and confronted him. Ma Jinhuo admitted to it and pleaded him not to reveal it to anyone else. He then went on to exin that he heard eating a dead baby could cure impotence. Originally, that was his only intention, but after tasting human flesh for the first time, he became obsessed with it and simply wanted more.


    He said it was just so tasty that he wanted more and more. He lost control of himself. Whenever there was a stillborn, he would n to steal it the next day to cook it. He even cooked the bones and chewed them all and swallowed them, and the broth that he made with human flesh and bones tasted so divine that he drank them all to thest drop.


    Shopkeeper Tang said Ma Jinhuo told him all that while smiling. It was the most terrifying sight he¡¯d ever seen. His eyes gleamed like a beast, and he was even drooling. Just thinking about it brought chills down his spine.


    Shopkeeper Tang punched Ma Jinhuo in the face and told him to get out of the vige immediately, otherwise he would expose the truth to the whole vige. If the vigers knew that their dead children had been eaten, he could guarantee that Ma Jinhuo would die a terrible death!


    On the evening of the same day, Ma Jinhuo left, and Shopkeeper Tang always kept the secret to himself. But every time he thought of it, he would always feel sick to the stomach.


    I observed the expressions on Shopkeeper Tang¡¯s face the whole time and found that everything he said was the truth.


    When he finished, Shopkeeper Tang lit up a cigarette and drew in a deep breath.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen it in the vige,¡± he continued. ¡°When a dog eats a dog, it will soon go crazy. Some people would feed their cows with discarded parts of other ughtered cows, and although these cows seemed to grow strong and fat at first, they would always go berserk without fail in the end. I guess when a human being eats another human being, the same thing happens, and they just lose their minds.¡±


    ¡°Animals aren¡¯t meant to eat the flesh of the same species,¡± I exined. ¡°It¡¯s a rule of nature, probably to prevent extinction. The flesh of the same species often contains a certain toxin that is harmful to the members of the same species.¡±


    Shopkeeper Tang nodded, ¡°This young officer sure knows a lot! I don¡¯t understand any of these scientific principles. All I know is that people would go crazy if they eat human flesh!¡±


    ¡°But if you know of Ma Jinhuo¡¯s perversion, why did you trust him enough to buy meat from him?¡± I asked. ¡°Weren¡¯t you afraid that he¡¯d mix it with other things?¡±


    ¡°Well...¡± Shopkeeper Tang sighed again and again. ¡°I was in a bind. Ma Jinhuo owed me a hundred thousand yuan. He couldn¡¯t pay me in cash, so he paid me with the meat he brought me...¡±


    Shopkeeper Tang said he didn¡¯t expect to meet Ma Jinhuo again in Nanjiang City. Since leaving the vige, he had be destitute. He started drinking and gambling, and he owed the mafia a hundred thousand yuan. Shopkeeper Tang had a soft spot for him since he was a man in desperate need of help and they dide from the same vige. Under Ma Jinhuo¡¯s repeated begging, he finally took out the money in his ount which he¡¯d saved up to build a house to help the guy pay back his gambling debt.


    A hundred thousand yuan was a lot of money for Shopkeeper Tang. But after three years, Ma Jinhuo still hadn¡¯t paid him back a single cent. Shopkeeper Tang thought of his wife and children who were still living in mud houses and he became anxious, so he demanded Ma Jinhuo to pay up. Ma Jinhuo said he had no money to pay at all, but he could offer to barter some goods with him. It just so happened that Ma Jinhuo was working in an abattoir. He said that a pound of pork would cost twenty-five yuan in the market, but he could sell it to him at twenty per pound.


    Shopkeeper Tang thought it was a good deal, so he agreed. Besides, it turned out to be a big bargain, since not only was the meat much cheaper, it was much fresher too since it came directly from the ughterhouse. Ma Jinhuo would send him ten pounds of meat every time. Sometimes it would be pieces of meat, sometimes it would be minced meat. Lately, it had always been minced meat, but he swore to God it never crossed his mind that it could be human flesh!


    ¡°Can¡¯t you taste the difference between human flesh and pork?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°I know!¡± cried Shopkeeper Tang. ¡°At first I did notice it tasted a bit weird, but I just thought nothing of it because I swear to God it never urred to me that Ma Jinhuo would murder people for their flesh!¡±

 Chapter 87

    <h4>Chapter 87</h4>


    As we spoke, steam kept rising from the stove, until at one point, Shopkeeper Tang stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but it seems that the buns are ready.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡± I waved my hand.


    While Shopkeeper Tang went to work on his buns, Xiaotao whispered to me, ¡°Was he lying?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I answered. ¡°Every word he said was the truth.¡±


    Shopkeeper Tang ced a dozen buns on a big te, then sliced some cucumber, cooked a dish of peanuts and prepared a pot of rice wine. He then served them all neatly on the table and asked us, ¡°Would both of you like to join me? I¡¯ll get you two pairs of chopsticks right away.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no! We¡¯re good!¡± We both quickly stopped him.


    ¡°Then do you mind if I eat while answering your questions?¡±


    ¡°Please go ahead.¡±


    Shopkeeper Tang then proceeded to bite into a bun with relish. He savored the taste in his mouth and took a sip of wine.


    ¡°Do you like buns that much, Mr. Tang?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Yes, I do!¡± he replied. ¡°My family was very poor when I was a child. The best thing I ever ate back then were the big juicy meat buns in the market. Because of that, I fell in love with the taste of meat buns ever since. Nothingpares to them!¡±


    The man spoke with considerable pride. Then he continued, ¡°Every day, before I sell the buns I make, I have to taste them myself first. I have to make sure if the dough rose high enough, or if the filling was vorful enough.¡±


    After that, he took another big bite of the bun in his hands. I couldn¡¯t keep myself from grimacing as I looked on. After all, these came out of the same pot that the human flesh buns did just yesterday.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you thought of the fact that you must¡¯ve eaten a lot of human flesh buns?¡± I asked.


    Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Tang stopped chewing and spit out everything.


    ¡°Officer! Here I was trying so hard not to think about that! Why did you have to ruin my appetite?¡±


    In truth, I was testing him to see his reaction. It seemed normal.


    I felt there was nothing left to ask him, so we excused ourselves. As we were about to leave, Shopkeeper Tang asked us if this case would affect his business.


    ¡°No,¡± I reassured him. ¡°You can rest assured that every detail of this case will be kept confidential.¡±


    ¡°Then I am relieved. Oh, why don¡¯t you bring back some buns with you and share them with your colleagues?¡± he offered us enthusiastically.


    ¡°No! No, thank you!¡± We anxiously refused.


    When we were outside, Xiaotao looked at her watch and said, ¡°It¡¯s already one o¡¯clock. Let¡¯s find something to eat.¡±


    We went to a Chinese restaurant and ordered some side dishes to go with rice. When all the dishes arrived, I noticed that we had unconsciously ordered exclusively vegetarian dishes. The sight of Shopkeeper Tang tucking into those buns probably turned us off from eating meat because it reminded us of the buns we had there yesterday.


    ¡°You know, there¡¯s one thing about what Shopkeeper Tang said that¡¯s been bugging me,¡± Xiaotao pointed out during the meal.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I put down my chopsticks.


    ¡°Ma Jinhuo is supposed to be obsessed with eating human flesh, and he went to great lengths trying to obtain it. He didn¡¯t eat it himself, but opted to give it to Shopkeeper Tang to turn it into bun filling. Isn¡¯t that a bit weird?¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Yeah, I thought of that too. It really is weird...¡±


    ¡°By the way, you mentioned that when a human being eats human flesh, they¡¯d go crazy. Is that true?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Have you heard of how the mad cow disease broke out in Britain?¡±


    Xiaotao shook her head.


    ¡°At that time, in order to reduce the cost of raising beef cattle, they processed some leftovers from the ughtered cattle like the bones and hoofs and fed them to the cattle. As a result, the cows that were fed those things developed mad cow disease.¡±


    ¡°How do you know so much, Song Yang? Your nose must be buried in books all the time. No wonder you¡¯ve got no girlfriend!¡±


    ¡°Aww,e on!¡± I groaned. ¡°Why did you have to twist it that way?¡±


    Xiaotao smiled and whispered, ¡°Want me to introduce you to a girl?¡±


    ¡°H-Huh?¡± I was eating seaweed when I heard this. My face reddened immediately and my mouth opened wide, making the stringy seaweed hang out the corner of my mouth. I must¡¯ve looked like a clown.


    ¡°You told me you like girls with long hair, didn¡¯t you? I just met a girl who fits the bill. Want me to introduce her to you?¡±


    ¡°Th-that¡¯s... that¡¯s no longer necessary.¡±


    ¡°Huh? You mean you¡¯ve got someone on your mind already?¡± she inched her face close to mine and stared into my eyes.


    I lowered my face and muttered, ¡°Yummy! What a delicious seaweed soup!¡±


    ¡°You idiot!¡± Xiaotao smiled and hit me yfully.


    Just after eating, I received a call from Dali.


    ¡°Where have you been, dude?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m investigating a case.¡±


    ¡°Do you need help from me?¡±


    ¡°You cane if you want to.¡± I then told Dali the address of the restaurant.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll get out of bed now. I¡¯ll see you there, okay?¡±


    If I was still eating, I would¡¯ve choked on my food. The bastard had just woken up!


    When I hung up the phone, I found that Xiaotao had been on the phone too. She told me in a somber tone, ¡°They¡¯ve found the second body...¡±


    ¡°Should we go back to the police station now?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No,¡± she replied decisively. ¡°We¡¯ll go straight to the crime scene.¡±


    My equipment was all still at the police station, though. I asked Xiaotao where the crime scene was, then called Dali and asked him to fetch my backpack at the police station and then follow us to the next address.


    ¡°Shit, dude. It¡¯s gonna be hectic! But it¡¯s what I signed up for as your assistant, I guess. Can you tell Xiaotao-jiejie to drive slowly, please? I think I¡¯ll need an hour to catch up with you guys.¡±


    Despite Dali¡¯s request, Xiaotao and I rushed to the crime scene as fast as we could. The second body was found under an old bridge. Because the water level had dropped in the fal, arge mud field was exposed. Anyone who walked there would leave a distinct set of footprints.


    The body was stuffed into a ck stic bag, half of which was exposed above the surface of the water. There was a hole in the stic bag that revealed a male human head that showed signs of advanced dposition. The officer who found the body said that it might have drifted here from somewhere else.


    Xiaotao looked at the sets of footprints. They were probably all left by the police, but she couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Did you take photos of this spot? Were there any footprints left behind by the criminal?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve taken photographs, captain, but there were no footprints. The residents nearby say the water is still here. When fall arrived, the water level went down too.¡±


    I put on rubber gloves and picked up the bag from the water. The body was not heavy at all. I tore the bag open to reveal the corpse inside. At that moment, I could hear everyone there draw in a sharp breath.


    The body had decayed to a point where it was almost unrecognizable as a human corpse. Like the previous victim, the muscle and fat tissues in the abdomen, chest and the limbs were cut off inrge chunks, leaving only the underlying bones and internal organs. The intestines had spilled outside of the bag, and there were maggots and locusts crawling all over it. I noticed that water had seeped into the bag, so the knot at the opening of the bag was probably not very tight. Because of that, the little flesh that was on the corpse was swollen and deathly white, and it was covered with ayer of greenish wax.


    But it seemed that he wasn¡¯t killed by Lingchi like the first dead body because there was none of that creepy smile on this victim¡¯s face. There was a deep knife wound on the victim¡¯s throat where the veins and the trachea underneath the skin were cleanly cut.


    A few police officers ran out to vomit the second the corpse was revealed. Xiaotao¡¯s face turned pale. Even I found it almost unendurable. This might have been the most decayed body that I had ever worked on so far.


    However, I had to keep myposure in front of these police officers, so I gritted my teeth and went on with it.


    After doing a routine examination on the corpse, I summarized, ¡°The victim is between the ages of twenty-five and thirty. He is a male, physically thin, and has no signs of any illness or disabilities. The time of death is about forty days ago. The direct cause of death is the severed trachea, which caused asphyxiation...¡±


    I pressed the victim¡¯s chest, then blood spilled out of the cut throat. There was also a white foam with a disgusting smell. The moment that came out, I heard a number of people saying ¡®eww.¡¯


    I smashed the locusts that climbed onto my hand and pointed out, ¡°There¡¯s a lot of blood in the lungs.¡±


    ¡°Is it the first missing person¡ªthat man who was an employee at the supermarket?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    I turned the victim¡¯s face over and examined it. Although the skull was considerably decayed, some of his facial features were still recognizable.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s him!¡±

 Chapter 88

    <h4>Chapter 88</h4>


    ¡°Why did the murderer just cut this victim¡¯s throat?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    I sighed before answering, ¡°I think he¡¯s improving his skills.¡±


    ¡°Improving... his skills?¡± Xiaotao was stunned.


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯ve got something else to confirm.¡±


    I opened the victim¡¯s mouth and looked inside. I noticed that it was severely decayed. When it opened, it made a faint movement, and I saw a few sticky threads between the upper and lower jaws. It seemed that the cheek muscles on both sides of the victim¡¯s mouth had begun to rot. The upper cartge had decayed too, and so the unsupported nose began to copse inward.


    The putrid liquid in the nasal cavity seemed to have flowed inwards. The gums and the tongue had severely decayed, and the warm and humid environment in the mouth had spawned many bacteria and molds, making it impossible to look any further than the mouth.


    I resisted the urge to vomit and sniffed at the victim¡¯s nose. The stench was so vile and revolting I could¡¯ve fainted on the spot. After all, my nose was much more sensitive than other people¡¯s. But through that stench, I detected the smell of blood. It seemed that the victim¡¯s nose had been flooded with his own blood!


    Was the victim hung upside down when his throat was cut?


    I checked his ankles and found traces of bondage.


    The whole body had almostpletely decayed. The stomach and the intestines had basically spilled out of the body. Because the human intestines contained a lot of fat, bugs and maggots feasted on it, and there were numerous squirming maggots that crawled in and out of the intestines. They had all grown big and fat.


    I pressed on the stomach with my hand. It was filled with gas, which was a byproduct of dposition, but apart from that, I could feel that it contained... something else.


    ¡°Does anybody have a scalpel?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I thought you Traditional Coroners don¡¯t dissect dead bodies?¡± Xiaotao was slightly surprised.


    ¡°There¡¯s no other choice,¡± I exined. ¡°The body is in a severely decayed state, and the articr cartge ispletely ruined. If I move it just a little, it¡¯ll definitely fall apart. If there¡¯s no scalpel, a small pair of scissors will do. I just want to look at the contents inside the stomach.¡±


    Xiaotao asked around and finally got me a pair of scissors. I used my hands to hold the whole stomach pouch, and let Xiaotao put a stic bag underneath it to prevent the things flowing out of the stomach from contaminating the other internal organs.


    Then I told the others to step back because something might squirt out of the stomach soon. I held my breath and started to cut it open.


    Sure enough, as soon as the scissors punctured through the stomach tissue, I heard a faint ¡®pop¡¯ like a burst balloon, and a strong pungent smell filled the air. I was too close to the thing ¡ª the smell hit me so hard I almost couldn¡¯t keep my eyes open, but I did see ck fluid spilling out of the stomach.


    Many officers were so disgusted they kept stepping further backwards. I desperately held my breath. If I did take a whiff of that toxic smell, I knew I would surely faint on the spot!


    I continued to cut the stomach open. The tissue that made up the stomach lining was solid muscle, so the small pair of scissors weren¡¯t exactly the perfect tool to cut it cleanly. The sound it made when I cut through the stomach was something out of an alien movie. I asked Xiaotao to get me another stic bag, which I filled with the undigested matter that came out of the stomach. I then wrapped the stomach tightly in another clean stic bag, then stuffed it back into the victim¡¯s belly. That way, if the coroners needed to dissect the body afterwards, the other internal organs would not be eroded by the residual stomach acid.


    I took the stic bag containing the stomach contents in my hand and rushed out to a spot further away from the bridge and breathed in the fresh air. Suddenly, a hand stretched out to me, offering a cigarette. I looked up and saw that it was Wang Yuanchao.


    ¡°Thank you, but I don¡¯t smoke,¡± I politely declined.


    Wordlessly, he lit up that cigarette and smoked it himself.


    ¡°When did you get here?¡± Xiaotao asked him.


    ¡°I came immediately when I received the call.¡±


    I held the stic bag to the light and examined it. Xiaotao asked me what I found, so I asked her to smell the contents of the bag. Xiaotao jerked backwards in disgust at first, but when she caught a whiff of it, she eximed with amazement, ¡°The contents of the victim¡¯s stomach smells of spices!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± I replied. ¡°There are peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon, and nutmeg.¡±


    ¡°That damned psychopath, is he trying to turn me off from these spices too?¡± Xiaotao grumbled with furrowed brows. Then she asked me, ¡°But why are there such things in the victim¡¯s belly?¡±


    ¡°The murderer probably wanted to improve the taste of human flesh...¡± I deduced.


    ¡°Improve... the taste?¡± Xiaotao¡¯s cheek twitched when she said that.


    ¡°I noticed scratches in the victim¡¯s esophagus. It was probably due to the spices being forced down the throat and into the stomach, just like a Beijing roast duck.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s awful!¡± cried Xiaotao.


    ¡°Also, there are signs of binding at the ankles and a lot of blood in the nose. The victim may have been hung upside down when his throat was cut...¡± I paused. ¡°Just like how chickens and ducks are ughtered!¡±


    Upon hearing this, all the people present turned sickly pale.


    This victim was the first person to be kidnapped by the murderer. The murderer must¡¯ve forced the deceased to eat a lot of spices. Judging by the degree to which the spices had been digested, the murderer must¡¯ve force-fed the victim these spices around twelve hours before he eagerly cut his throat so the victim bled to death.


    It would be nearly impossible for any ordinary person to do these things calmly and efficiently. I concluded that the murderer must have two distinct characteristics: firstly, he was totally devoid of any humanity; secondly, he must have a wealth of experience in ughtering animals!


    This corpse was much different from the previous one, but it could still be concluded that they were killed by the same person. Byparing these two bodies, it seemed that the murderer had been ¡®researching¡¯ a ughtering method that would make the human flesh taste more delicious.


    Obviously, the way to improve the meat quality with spices had not been sessful, so the murdererter used anesthesia to kill the victim instead!


    After saying this, I took a long breath and tried to specte on the inner psychology of such a cannibalistic madman. It was like exploring a dark, dirty, wet sewer, and it made me feel particrly disgusted, depressed, and stifled.


    It was especially so when I thought of how I would need to face such a terrible corpse one more time.


    Everyone looked at me, but no one spoke a word. The stifling silence probablysted about five seconds, but it felt much longer than that. Even for most of the police officers, they might not have ever faced such an inhuman and abnormal case in their lifetime.


    In the end, it was Dali¡¯s voice that broke the silence. He rushed over to me and yelled, ¡°Dude! There you are! I¡¯m not toote, am I?¡±


    Dali then perceived the oppressive atmosphere around him. When he saw the dead body on the ground he jumped up as if he just touched a high-voltage live wire.


    ¡°Holy shit! What the hell is that?!¡±


    ¡°Did you get everything?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, dude.¡±


    I asked Dali to take out a little box in my bag which contained my sweetgum candies. I couldn¡¯t stand the stench any longer. When Dali found it, I quickly put the candy on my tongue, and the fresh minty fragrant filled my nose and refreshed my mind immediately. I instantly felt much better.


    There was still some leftover seaweed ash fromst night that I kept in a paper bag. I asked Dali to get it, along with the red silk cloth that I used to detect Yang Energy Prints.


    I checked the dead body with these two tools, and just like the previous body, I found no fingerprints on the body because the murderer had worn gloves. There were some Yang Energy Prints though. Meanwhile, on the stic bag, there was a whole host of fingerprints left there. It¡¯s a pity that the stic bag had been soaked in the water for too long and couldn¡¯t be used for identification.


    I stared at the Yang Energy Prints and the fingerprints on the stic bag. Dali kept asking me questions, but I was so focused I couldn¡¯t hear a word he said.


    ¡°What did you find, Song Yang?¡± Xiaotao asked after a few minutes.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve made a major discovery!¡± I dered.

 Chapter 89

    <h4>Chapter 89</h4>


    Dali noticed how I ignored him yet answered Xiaotao¡¯s question immediately.


    ¡°Jeez, dude! I¡¯ve been asking you so many questions and you didn¡¯t even bat an eye,¡± heined. ¡°But Xiaotao-jiejie only had to say a few words and you answered her immediately? Dude, are your ears selectively deaf?¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll answer your questionster!¡± I told him. Then I turned to Xiaotao and said, ¡°The handprints on the body and the fingerprints on the stic bag look very simr to each other. I wonder if there is any possibility that the murderer and the one who discarded the body are the same person?¡±


    ¡°The same person?¡± Xiaotao raised an eyebrow. ¡°But one is cautious and efficient while the other is sloppy and messy. How could they be the same person?¡±


    I took off my gloves and took a pair of Vernier calipers from my handbag andpared the handprints and fingerprints. The fingerprints on the bag were muddled and fuzzy. I could only find threeplete fingerprints. But the results were clear¡ªthe three fingers and the ones left on the body were of the same length!


    But this was all very curious. When the murderer killed the victims, he was calm and cautious, and he wore gloves. Yet when he discarded the bodies, he became careless and left a lot of fingerprints on the stic bag. It was obvious that the person who threw away the bodies was scared and nervous.


    Xiaotao¡¯s doubts were exactly the points in this case that I couldn¡¯t figure out the solution for. I had a hunch that this was the key to everything, but it was now shrouded in a thick fog. It nagged at me like the way a fish bone stuck in one¡¯s throat might.


    ¡°Do you want to continue examining the corpse?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°No, there¡¯s nothing left to do here.¡±


    I took out a piece of yellow joss paper and burned it. I chanted a Reincarnation Mantra in honor of the victim. A gust of wind blew from under the bridge and carried the ashes into the river while the police officers looked on.


    Xiaotao seemed to have be ustomed to this scene, and she barely batted an eye at it.


    ¡°You should go back first, Song Yang,¡± she suggested. ¡°I¡¯ll stay here to clean up the crime scene. There¡¯s nothing to investigate for the time being. We¡¯ll just summarize all our findings together tomorrow morning.¡±


    I wanted to offer to stay and help, but there really was nothing else I could do here. Plus, I had been busy working since four in the morning, and I was dog-tired. So, I agreed to go back to my dorm, all the while admiring how strong and resilient Xiaotao waspared to me.


    Once I returned to college, I skipped afternoon ss and went to the library instead, looking for more information. I stayed there until the library closed at night.


    Even when I went back to my dorm room, Iy in bed and pondered about the case. Dali sat on the edge of my bed and asked, ¡°You¡¯re still thinking about the case, aren¡¯t you? You shouldn¡¯t overexert yourself, dude. You should go to bed early tonight. We¡¯ve got to hurry to the police station for the meeting tomorrow morning, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, okay. I¡¯ll stop thinking now.¡±


    ¡°By the way, you didn¡¯t fetch some water from the water room, did you? I got a kettle of hot water for you, and there are a few packets of instant noodles in my drawer. You can cook them up if you¡¯re hungry.¡±


    Dali¡¯s words warmed my heart. I realized that he didn¡¯t just tag along with me because he wanted the bonus money. In fact, I realized that he had been taking care of me since the beginning of our freshman year. I had always been this way, too. I¡¯d often forget about sleeping and eating whenever I get serious about something. Dali was always there to fetch water for me and bringing me food. I thought of how lucky I was to have made such a good friend in college.


    I thanked Dali, to which he replied, ¡°Come on, dude. We¡¯re bros. There¡¯s no need to say thank you!¡±


    Iy in bed and thought about the case until finally falling asleep at around three in the morning. I had strange nightmares that night, and it made me wake up in a confused daze.


    The next morning, Dali and I arrived at the police station early. Some police officers weren¡¯t there yet. Xiaotao bought breakfast for everyone as usual. I noticed that Wang Yuanchao wasn¡¯t there, so I asked Xiaozhou about it. He told me Wang Yuanchao came very early this morning and had gone to Ma Jinhuo¡¯s house to investigate the case.


    At about eight o¡¯clock, Xiaotao officially began the meeting.


    First, we summarized the overall progress of the case and the clues that we gathered. The rope used by the murderer to tie the bag had been traced to a certain manufacturer. However, this rope was sold in different ces in Nanjiang City, so we needed to investigate all these ces to hone in on where the murderer might have gotten it.


    The second important finding was that no hospitals in Nanjiang City used nitrous oxide anymore. Even the veterinary hospitals no longer used it. In fact, there were no manufacturers in all of China that produced nitrous oxide at that point. Hence, it was spected that the murderer had bought the raw materials for it and produced it himself.


    Some officers raised doubts about this. Wasn¡¯t the suspect Ma Jinhuo a high school dropout? Could someone with that level of education produce his ownughing gas?


    Another police officer countered with the fact that everything could be found on the inte now. Criminals could glean a lot of knowledge from films and TV dramas too. There had been a case where an illiterate criminal imitated what he saw on TV to produce homemade explosives and robbed a vehicle that was transporting cash with it.


    ¡°Laughing gas is a simple inorganic substance that can be obtained by thermal dposition of ammonium nitrate in chemical fertilizers,¡± Xiaozhou exined. ¡°As long as someone has a little knowledge in chemistry and ess to the inte, they can easily produce it themselves.¡±


    Xiaotao stopped their argument by continuing to talk about the clues I found on the dead bodies and some information we gathered from the residences of the victims. When everyone heard that there might be a new victim in two days¡¯ time, the whole room grew tense and silent. We were working against the clock.


    The case was currently in a stalemate. The whereabouts of Ma Jinhuo was still unknown, and no connection was found between the victims. What should we do next?


    Xiaotao said that all the surveince videos near where the rope was sold had been obtained. Today, everyone should do nothing else but watch these videos to find clues to the murderer.


    Then she asked me what advice I had. I thought about it and suggested, ¡°The murderer must have kidnapped the victims with a car. This car should appear near the houses of the three victims. It may be helpful to look at the surveince videos of the intersections around the area, including the videos from themunity security guards.¡±


    ¡°Right!¡± She then immediately ordered several policemen to retrieve the surveince videos.


    After the meeting, she told me, ¡°Song Yang, the third victim¡¯s body has not been found yet. You can go back and rest for now.¡±


    ¡°No, Dali and I will stay and help you check the surveince videos.¡±


    ¡°Good!¡±


    Throughout the morning, we all watched various surveince videos at the police station. Xiaotao asked people to move the TV and video recorders into the conference room. When the equipment in the police station was not enough, they went to the nearby electrical stores to rent them. Everyone upied a corner and stared at a monitor. From time to time, someone stopped to put eye drops in their eyes or to smoke. The curtains in the room were drawn, and smoke filled the room. If someone suddenly walked in, they might think that they had entered a cinema.


    All the videos added up to thousands of hours, and we viewed all of them at twice the speed. I stared at a TV set with Dali. It was an eye-wateringly dull and boring task. It took all the strength we had not to fall asleep.


    Finally, Dali had had enough. He slumped into the chair and groaned, ¡°Ah, this is so boring! If only we could watch some Korean drama instead.¡±


    ¡°This is what a police investigation is like,¡± I tried tofort him. ¡°Even if the clue is as small as a sesame seed, it must not be overlooked. Come on, get up and get back to work!¡±


    Under my urging, he sighed and continued to watch the video.


    In the end, our efforts still paid off. A policeman found a white van from themunity surveince. The car also appeared in the residence of the other two missing persons, and it appeared exactly the same time as the victim¡¯s disappearance.


    Xiaotao immediately sent someone to investigate the car with this license te number!

 Chapter 90

    At noon, Xiaotao bought everyone a box lunch. Dali, who had been watching surveince videos all morning, got up and excitedly shouted, ¡°Food!¡±


    I red at him. The idiot was totally clueless about manners.


    There was rice with pork chop curry or rice with teriyaki chicken. It was all very delicious. Each box cost about 20 yuan. I thought Xiaotao was really generous.


    After the meal, the policeman who had just sent the investigation license te came back and said that the owner was a self-employed wholesale towel distributor.


    Upon hearing this news, everyone¡¯s eyes gleamed with excitement. This was the first new clue we discovered after a dead end. It excited everyone.


    As soon as I heard of the area in which this self-employed person lived, I felt as if it was very familiar. It turned out to be the area where Shopkeeper Tang sold his buns!


    Xiaotao warned us, ¡°Don¡¯t be too happy too early. The man is only the owner of the car. He¡¯s not necessarily rted to the case. Song Yang, let¡¯s go check it out.¡±


    ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie, I want to go too!¡± Dali eagerly volunteered.


    ¡°There is no need for three people to go,¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°You stay here and continue watching the surveince videos.¡±


    Dali pouted and insisted he wanted to go, but it was Xiaotao¡¯smand, so he had to obey. Once we got out of the police station, Xiaotao stretched out her body and sighed.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been staring at a monitor this whole morning and my neck is stiff!¡± she eximed. ¡°It feels so nice to get outside and breathe some fresh air.¡±


    Iughed. ¡°This sounds like you¡¯re abusing your authority.¡±


    ¡°So what? Am I not bringing you along with me? You should be thanking me!¡±


    We drove to the residential area and asked around for the van owner¡¯s address. He finally found him. The van owner turned out to be a middle-aged man. Xiaotao asked him if anyone had borrowed his car before. He answered that no one ever did. She then asked him if he¡¯d been to this address on this certain date in the middle of the night. He said no.


    I observed him all the time and found that he was not lying.


    Xiaotao paused for a while before asking again, ¡°Has your car been stolen?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± answered the van owner. ¡°It¡¯s in the parking lot. What are you investigating here, Officer? I¡¯m busy here and I need to deliver some goods in the afternoon.¡±


    ¡°What is your license te number?¡± I asked.


    He answered, and we found out it was not the same the license te number we were looking for. It turned out that he had two cars. The van was just too old and it had all kinds of problems, so he just left it at a parking lot near the residential area. He hadn¡¯t checked it for a long time.


    Xiaotao asked him to take us there, and we ended up in the innermost part of the big parking lot, but the van was not there. The van owner scratched his head and cried, ¡°Where¡¯s my van? I know I parked it here!¡±


    ¡°Looks like someone stole it.¡± Xiaotao sighed.


    ¡°Ah, never mind then!¡± eximed the owner. ¡°I bought the van twenty years ago, and it¡¯s past its prime now. The thief saved me some trouble I¡¯d say! I won¡¯t be reporting this, officers.¡±


    Xiaotao gave him a look. ¡°Fine. You can go back now.¡±


    Once he left, Xiaotao smiled wryly andmented, ¡°Ah, I knew this case was not going to be that easy!¡±


    ¡°Why did the murderer steal a car here?¡± I wondered.


    ¡°Ma Jinhuo probablyes here often,¡± Xiaotao replied. ¡°He probably noticed the abandoned van. Judging by how old it is, he probably knew there¡¯d be no rm for this car. Right! He must¡¯ve taken the van to some repair shop since it¡¯s so old! Should we go down this line of inquiries?¡±


    ¡°Good idea!¡±


    I said that, but my eyes were fixed on Shopkeeper Tang¡¯s bun shop. I noticed that it was closed.


    Xiaotao asked me what I was thinking. I told her, ¡°Why does everything always connect back to Shopkeeper Tang? In contrast, suspect Ma Jinhuo seems just like a mysterious shadow that might not even exist.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying he lied to us? Could you be wrong about that?¡±


    ¡°My eyes work like a lie detector that senses the microexpressions of a lying person down to the pores and blood vessels on their face. But it doesn¡¯t rule out special circumstances where someone who might be a psychopath could lie without any emotional fluctuations at all. It is said that some trained agents in the special forces can deceive a lie detector or even resist the power of truth serums.¡±


    ¡°Can Shopkeeper Tang be such a person? He looks like a normal citizen who is timid and afraid.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I think so too...¡± I replied.


    Xiaotao looked over my shoulder in the direction of the bun shop.


    ¡°Well, since we¡¯re here anyway, why not go see him again? Let¡¯s just ask him more questions and see what¡¯s not making sense.¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡±


    We went over and knocked on the closed shop door. No one answered. Xiaotao called the police officers who were on stakeout nearby and asked them if Shopkeeper Tang had gone out. They told her that he¡¯d always been inside.


    But no matter how many times we knocked, no one answered the door. Xiaotao pulled two of her hairpins and gave them to me.


    ¡°Come on, Detective Song. It¡¯s time to show off your special talent!¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± I stopped her. ¡°This is private property. Is it really a good idea?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± insisted Xiaotao. She put her hand on her chest. ¡°I¡¯ll answer for it if we get into trouble.¡±


    It didn¡¯t take me more than ten seconds to unlock the door. But when we went into the shop, we found no one there. Xiaotao exploded in anger and dialed the same number. She reprimanded them for not being able to notice a grown man leaving the shop.


    The voice in the phone replied, ¡°We¡¯ll search for him immediately!¡±


    Then I saw two peopleing out of the ck car across the street.


    I surveyed the shop carefully with my Cave Vision. There was a pile of flour on the chopping board with a fresh dough beside it. There was also a big bowl of minced meat nearby. The lights were all on.


    It clearly seemed like Shopkeeper Tang was in the process of preparing buns. How did he disappear? There were no other entrances in the shop. He¡¯d have to teleport if he wanted to get out of the shop without the policemen outside noticing.


    ¡°It looks like he¡¯s not here. We shouldn¡¯t wait for him here either. Let¡¯s go back for now!¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± I stopped her.


    My eyes fell to the ground next to the chopping board. Some flour was sprinkled on the ground, and it showed two distinct lines. Xiaotao followed my gaze with curiosity.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± she asked.


    I looked up and saw a big freezer next to the kitchen counter. I immediately understood everything. ¡°Someone has just dragged this freezer.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a hidden door below it,¡± Xiaotao cried excitedly.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s check it out.¡±


    Xiaotao and I pushed the freezer aside, and there really was arge iron gate beneath it. We exchanged nces. I pulled open the iron gate, and found adder leading underground. Cold air rushed out of the darkness.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bomb shelter!¡± I eximed.


    ¡°But why is there a bomb shelter underneath a bun shop?¡±


    I looked around and noticed that there were some faded slogans on the mottled limestone wall. They looked like they were made in the 1970s.


    ¡°There was probably a warehouse here,¡± I exined. ¡°Rtions between China and the Soviet Union were tense in the 1970s, and there was the very clear threat of atomic bombs, so the government responded with a policy that encouraged people to dig bomb shelters and store food in there in case of emergencies. Many bomb shelters were built, and most of them have been abandoned today.¡±


    ¡°Shall we go down and look around?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely!¡±


    My senses tingled inexplicably. I had a feeling that the truth of the case was hiding below.

 Chapter 91

    <h4>Chapter 91</h4>


    I took the lead and held Xiaotao¡¯s hand and led her down into the basement. The steps had been soaked in water and moisture in the air for so many years that it was very slippery, so we had to be very cautious with our every step.


    The walls of the basement were covered with old tiles. The original color was no longer visible because of the water stains. Amp hung down from the ceiling. The light was on, but it flickered from time to time, probably due to unstable electricity.


    The entire basement was divided into two by a stic curtain. I sensed a strong bloody smell from behind the curtain¡ªit was definitely human blood. Who would¡¯ve thought that the real culprit had been in front of us the whole time!


    Xiaotao pulled out her gun and examined the room cautiously. I reached out and pushed the curtain and walked further into the basement with Xiaotao. There was a row of rusty iron hooks hanging from the ceiling, like the ones that butchers used to hang meat. I noticed congealed blood on the hooks.


    On a long table beneath those hooks, there was a long ck stic bag. Judging from the shape, there was probably a person inside. Blood dripped over the edge of the table, gathering into a small pool on the floor.


    There was another table, and on it was a huge circr chopping board. The knife marks on it were so numerous and deep that it must¡¯ve been used for a long time. It was sunken in the middle, and blood pooled into it.


    A row of knives was next to the chopping board. There were big cleavers and strong steel deboning knives. The des gleamed in the dim light of the basement¡ªthey¡¯d been polished with oil!


    On the floor, there was a hand-cranked meat grinder fixed into ce with bolts. It was connected to a red washbasin that contained suspicious-looking meat.


    This whole ce made my skin crawl. I could feel the hairs on the nape of my neck stand up and I began to get cold sweat. There was no doubt about where I was¡ªa human flesh ughterhouse!


    Xiaotao took out her phone and dialed the number for the police station. Before the call got through, I heard some movements from behind us. It sounded like footsteps. We both looked back at the same time.


    A tall, dark shadow appeared behind the curtain, and it was holding a long wooden staff in its hand!


    Before we could react, the staff swept across the air from behind the curtain. Xiaotao screamed. Her phone was thrown out from her hand andnded somewhere in the dark. Her forehead was bleeding.


    Xiaotao immediately took a step back and steadied herself. She held the gun with both hands.


    ¡°Put the weapon down!¡± she shouted. ¡°Otherwise, I¡¯ll shoot!¡±


    The curtain was slowly raised by the thick staff. It was more than a meter long, so it could very easily be used as a weapon. Once the curtain had been pulled away, Shopkeeper Tang¡¯s face was revealed.


    Or at least it looked like Shopkeeper Tang. But for some reason, he seemed like a different person. The expression on his face didn¡¯t show any anger or distress whatsoever. Rather, he was smiling slightly, his mouth was slobbering, and his eyes were staring at us as a hungry man would when he saw food.


    I wanted to kick myself for not noticing when Shopkeeper Tang appeared behind us. As I regretfully found outter, we were so intrigued by the human flesh ughterhouse that we didn¡¯t carefully investigate the other parts of the basement. In fact, Shopkeeper Tang had been hiding behind some bamboo baskets filled with potatoes and cabbage in another corner of the basement all along, and because of that he could block the exit, preventing us from escaping.


    ¡°Meat! Meat ising right into my hands!¡± Shopkeeper Tang muttered to himself. It recognizably his voice, and yet it sounded like someone else entirely.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I am the one you¡¯ve been looking for¡ªMa Jinhuo!¡±


    We were shocked. Shopkeeper Tang was Ma Jinhuo? Did that mean that he had a split personality?


    It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t think of the possibility that the murderer had a split personality, but I had always assumed that Ma Jinhuo had a mental illness. Who would¡¯ve thought that the Ma Jinhuo that we had searched for all over didn¡¯t exist at all¡ªhe was just Shopkeeper Tang¡¯s other personality!


    ¡°Nonsense!¡± yelled Xiaotao. ¡°You¡¯re Shopkeeper Tang! I order you toy down your weapon! Don¡¯t mess around; this ce has been surrounded by the police!¡±


    I immediately understood what she was doing. The phone that was hit by a stick and flew into the corner had been connected to the police station. Xiaotao deliberately shouted so that the police at headquarters could hear what was happening and rush here as soon as possible.


    But Shopkeeper Tang paid no heed to her words at all. He got closer to us step by step, and that crazed expression of a hungry man on his face became clearer and clearer to me.


    In his eyes, we were probably just walking meat, no different at all from pigs and cows. He did not have any sense of morality or conscience. He killed people in order to turn their flesh into buns. We were just food to him, and that thought made me shudder!


    Shopkeeper Tang suddenly raised the staff in his hand. Xiaotao fired her gun immediately, at the same time the staff hit her hand and the gun flew out of her grasp. She only managed to hit Shopkeeper Tang¡¯s left shoulder.


    Shopkeeper Tang looked down at the gunshot wound on his shoulder. He licked his lips and drew in a breath, then screamed, ¡°Insolent sheep! How dare you hurt me!¡±


    He picked up the staff again. By the size and length of the staff, it must¡¯ve weighed at least ten kilograms. Shopkeeper Tang was tall and strong too. He lunged straight at us, which forced us to keep retreating until our backs hit the table where the dead body was ced.


    As he waved the staff around, he identally hit thempshade of the light hanging from the ceiling. themp swayed back and forth on top of his head, one moment illuminating that horrible face, then throwing it into darkness the moment after.


    At that moment, I noticed how Xiaotao had been rubbing her right wrist with her left hand. It turned out that her wrist was bruised and swollen. She told me, ¡°I¡¯ll deal with him. Song Yang, you should escape quickly and call for help!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do that!¡± I refused.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous! What fighting strength do you have? I¡¯ll cover for you, just go and escape now!¡±


    Right after she spoke, she charged towards Shopkeeper Tang. Their difference in size was enormous¡ªShopkeeper Tang was practically a giant next to Xiaotao! I couldn¡¯t help but panic.


    But Xiaotao found an opening, and kicked Shopkeeper Tang¡¯s fat belly with all her might. Shopkeeper Tang merely wobbled a little, then grabbed Xiaotao¡¯s leg.


    ¡°Oh, what beautiful legs! It¡¯ll taste so good when I cook it!¡±


    As he spoke, his saliva dripped onto Xiaotao¡¯s foot¡ªhis other hand raised the staff and tried to hit Xiaotao¡¯s head.


    I almost screamed, but Xiaotao jumped up and swung beautifully in midair. She took advantage of Shopkeeper Tang¡¯s exposed vulnerable point and kicked him in the neck.


    Although Shopkeeper Tang was strong, this kick destabilized him. He had to p a hand onto the table next to him to regain his footing. He dropped the staff and picked up arge and heavy cleaver from the wall. Xiaotao quickly fell back.


    Shopkeeper Tang continued to drool; his eyes gleamed in the darkness and the de of the cleaver reflected the light and shone as Shopkeeper Tang wildly shed it in the air, in the hopes of hitting Xiaotao. Xiaotao was forced backwards till she hit a table. Her hands groped around in the darkness, trying to find a weapon to protect herself, but all she could find was the stic bag that wrapped the dead body.


    Although I was almost scared witless, when I saw Xiaotao in danger, I couldn¡¯t sit still anymore. I bit my lips and rushed forward to pick up the staff on the floor, desperately trying to hit Shopkeeper Tang, aiming at his head.


    I did it. The staffnded on his head with a dull thud. This was the first time I had ever hit anyone in the head so violently and it shocked me till I was numb all over.


    Shopkeeper Tang turned around and gritted his teeth, seething with anger. A stream of blood flowed from his forehead down to his nose, making him look even more like a wild beast.


    ¡°How dare you!¡± he screamed, shing his knife at me. I could hear the de whistle past me, and I instinctively used the staff to block it. But it didn¡¯t work, because his knife just cut the staff into half!


    I froze for a moment, and just then Shopkeeper Tangnded a kick in my belly. I took a few steps backwards. It felt like I had just swallowed a ball of fire. A sharp pang exploded where the kicknded, and I had no idea where the staff in my hand had gone.


    At that time, Xiaotao screamed and charged towards Shopkeeper Tang from the back. Her handsnded on his neck and she kept it clenched tightly.


    Shopkeeper Tang looked like a raging bull just then. He kept struggling and his hands swung in the air, trying to hit Xiaotao. Finally, he mmed his whole body into the wall four or five times and Xiaotao was the one receiving the brunt of the impact. I was really afraid that Xiaotao might die at that moment.


    After a while, Xiaotao lost her strength and slumped down to the floor.


    Shopkeeper Tang grabbed her hair and lifted her up. It must¡¯ve been very painful to be held up like that. Xiaotao wed at Shopkeeper Tang¡¯s big hand with both of her hands, desperately trying to break free.


    Shopkeeper Tang raised the cleaver to her and croaked, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, pretty little thing. I¡¯ll make sure your meat gets into my delicious buns!¡±


    Seeing that the knife was going to slit Xiaotao¡¯s neck, I desperately grabbed a knife from the wall and rushed towards Shopkeeper Tang. He turned around when he heard my footsteps, but it was toote.


    The knife in my hand pierced through the skin on his back. Almost half the length of the de plunged into his body...

 Chapter 92

    <h4>Chapter 92</h4>


    Shopkeeper Tang turned his face around and looked straight at the sharp knife that had plunged into his waist. Once the knife punctured through his skin, suddenly all my fears evaporated.


    He was just a person after all, not an invincible monster! I had no reason to be afraid of him!


    This time, even though it was my first time stabbing someone with a knife, I was unfazed, partly because I knew that the position where he was stabbed meant that only his kidneys were hurt. This wouldn¡¯t incapacitate him. Instead, it might irritate him and enrage him even more.


    If I hesitated at this moment, both Xiaotao and I would surely end up dead.


    I tightened my grip on the knife¡¯s handle and pulled it out with force. Blood spurted out of the wound, and Shopkeeper Tang screamed in agony. He fell back a little, but soon regained his footing. He raised the cleaver in his hand and charged at me.


    ¡°Run away, Song Yang!¡± yelled Xiaotao.


    I ducked and used Cave Vision to survey the room. With these eyes, I could perceive every subtle change in his muscles and predict his next move that way.


    Because of that, I dodged his attacks easily.


    Shopkeeper Tang shed his knife like a madman in front of me, but I dodged it every time. This irritated him and he squealed like a pig. I took the opportunity when he was vulnerable to stab him in his right shoulder, cutting off his tendon there so he wouldn¡¯t be able to lift his right arm.


    Now that his right arm was weak, I stabbed the knife into his chest. The knife plunged through the ribs and pierced his lungs. I did all this with precision, as I was very familiar with human anatomy. I knew exactly where to stab to incapacitate him.


    To him, I was just a bag of meat to be put into his buns; to me, he was just a walking corpse!


    Shopkeeper Tang already found it difficult to breathe at this point. He red at me with his terrible eyes. It was as if fire erupted from those eyes. They were full of murderous intent!


    I did not anticipate what he would do next. He took the cleaver with his left hand and continued to charge at me.


    However, his movements had slowed down considerably at this point. I plunged a boning knife into his left shoulder joint and left it there. That caused him to be unable to lift his left arm anymore. He stumbled forward with great difficulty. The three wounds on his body were spurting blood. His leather apron was now dyed red.


    In the end, he slumped onto the floor. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell to the ground with a heavy thump.


    It was over now. I was immensely relieved.


    I rushed to Xiaotao¡¯s side and helped her up to her feet. She was shaking. When she saw that I was fine, she hugged me tightly. We didn¡¯t say a word. I could feel her petite body shivering in my arms.


    ¡°It¡¯s over now,¡± Iforted her, patting her back. ¡°Let me see where you¡¯re hurt.¡±


    I examined her whole body and found that her forehead was bruised and bleeding a little. Her wrist was also injured, but it seemed that her bones there were not broken. I was very worried that her ribs might be broken. It would be really bad if the fractured ribs punctured her lungs. I wanted to ask her if I could examine her ribs, but hesitated.


    Xiaotao saw through me and grabbed my hand to ce it on her ribs. She groaned a little when I touched her. Was she hurt there?


    I told myself this was not the time to feel shy, so I examined her seriously with my fingers. After a while, she asked me, ¡°Are my ribs broken?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I answered. ¡°But there might be some internal injuries.¡±


    ¡°What about you? Where are you injured?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡±


    I was kicked in the stomach, so I thought the stomach lining might bleed a little since I could feel a burning sensation there. But this little injury was nothing to worry about.


    She hugged me again and cried, ¡°I was so worried that you might die!¡±


    After that, I felt a few drops of warm tears stuck on my neck. Xiaotao had rested her head on my shoulder, and her hair was tickling my ear.


    Although it felt good to stay that way, it just wasn¡¯t the time for it yet. There was a much more pressing matter at the moment. I freed myself from her and said, ¡°Hurry up and call 120!¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m fine...¡±


    ¡°No, we have to save him!¡± I pointed to Shopkeeper Tang who was twitching every so often.


    Xiaotao widened her eyes and eximed, ¡°You mean he¡¯s not dead?! I clearly saw you stab him four or five times!¡±


    I dialed 120 and gave him some first-aid treatment. His lungs were bleeding, the whole chest was under high pressure, and he had difficulty breathing. He would suffocate within a few minutes. He was in a condition called pneumothorax in medical terms.


    I turned him over, took off his clothes, and raised his neck. I asked Xiaotao for a pen, then I cut it with a knife to turn it into a tube. I then pierced it right through the center of his chest.


    The high pressure in his lungs was immediately released, and he violently coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood. This persisted until the paramedics arrived.


    I had to keep him alive because I wanted him to be punished by thew. Also, I needed to know the truth from him.


    ¡°You knew exactly where to stab him, didn¡¯t you?¡± Xiaotao eyed me suspiciously.


    ¡°Well, more or less. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m an acupuncture expert. At that time, all I could think of was how to incapacitate him. By the way, would that count as self-defense byw?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it does. It more than counts as self-defense! He was trying to stab you with a cleaver and turn us into food!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m relieved, then,¡± I sighed. ¡°I was afraid that I¡¯d be wearing ¡®silver bracelets¡¯ when the police came.¡±


    Xiaotao smiled.


    ¡°Even if you end up in jail, I¡¯ll make sure to send food to you every day,¡± she joked.


    ¡°Do you know how to cook?¡±


    ¡°No, but I can learn, can¡¯t I?¡±


    We bothughed, but myughter was tainted with a fear that shrouded me. It wasn¡¯t because I almost lost my life, but it was because I remembered the feeling of unspeakable pleasure when I stabbed the knife into Shopkeeper Tang¡¯s body.


    Was I actually a psychopath too?


    When people heard of horrendous crimes in the news, they always felt that it was vile and revolting, that it was something they¡¯d never do. But, in fact, we all had the potential to turn to the dark side if we were thrown into the ¡®right¡¯ circumstances.


    Where there was light in this world, there would be darkness. People who often dealt with criminals were much more likely to be one themselves.


    This is not to say that my feelings were justified. But from my point of view, it was important to understand our own dark side. Only that way could one prevent oneself from losing to one¡¯s sinister tendencies.


    About ten minutester, the police and the paramedics arrived. They took over the scene and both Xiaotao and I left the basement. It was still sunny when we came outside. It felt as if we¡¯d returned from a different world.


    Someone handed us a nket each. I used to wonder why they did that when I saw it on TV or in films, but now I knew that when something terrible happened, you would break out in cold sweat. You could be very chilly even if you were outside on a sunny day.


    Residents nearby rushed to the front of the shop, so the police had to quickly cordon off the area. I looked at the dead body carried out from the basement and remarked, ¡°Looks like I have to go back to work and perform an autopsy.¡±


    ¡°But the case is closed!¡± Xiaotao interjected. ¡°The body will be handed over to the coroner. I¡¯ve got no strength left in me. My legs are all wobbly like jelly. I just want to go home and sleep now.¡±


    ¡°You can go back first,¡± I told her. ¡°I¡¯ll go back to the police station with a police car.¡±


    Xiaotao smiled. ¡°What am I gonna do with you? Alright, let¡¯s go!¡±

 Chapter 93

    <h4>Chapter 93</h4>


    When we returned to the police station, Dali had heard about what just happened. He rushed up and asked with concern, ¡°Are you guys hurt? I told you I should¡¯ve gone with you!¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± sneered Xiaotao. ¡°So you can help the murderer tie his shoces?¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on, Xiaotao-jiejie!¡± Dalimented. ¡°That happened ages ago!¡±


    I got ready for a bit and went straight into the morgue to examine the body found in the basement. When I opened the bag, everyone was stunned to see the condition that the body was in. The victim was covered in purple bruises. It looked as if he must¡¯ve gone through a lot of pain. Most of his muscles and fat tissues had been cut away too. I could hardly imagine what harrowing experience he must¡¯ve gone through before his death.


    ¡°It¡¯s awful...¡± Xiaotao frowned.


    I started to do some routine examinations. I found the victim to be about twenty-five years old, he was male, his body was medium-sized, and he was a healthy individual before his death. The time of death was about ten days ago. However, because the environment his body was kept in was rtively cold, there was no serious decay.


    His internal organs and bones were almost all intact. The cause of death was a heart attack caused by shock. It seemed that he was hit by a staff-like object all over his body. Not an inch was spared. There was no damage on the skin¡¯s surface, but a lot of blood had umted under the skin.


    It was these wounds that caused the traumatic shock that led to a heart attack. In other words, the victim died because of extreme pain.


    After listening to my exnations, everyone was silent. There was a long pause before Xiaotao asked me, ¡°Why did the murderer do this?¡±


    ¡°The same reason he did those things to the first two victims¡ªto make the meat delicious! I have read about people in ancient times who would kill the pigs without using a knife¡ªthey would beat them to death instead. This works to umte all the blood from the body out of the flesh to underneath the skin. It makes the meat delicious.¡±


    I looked at the victim on the bed. ¡°To think that someone used this method on a living person is just unspeakable!¡±


    ¡°I really want to go to the hospital now and pull out all the tubes that¡¯s keeping him alive!¡± yelled Xiaotao. ¡°Was the flesh on the victim¡¯s body cut off after his death?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± I replied.


    Although the murderer had been caught, I still extracted the fingerprints from the body and the bag as evidence.


    Once the autopsy wasplete, I said to Huang Xiaotao, ¡°It seems that nothing else will be happening today. I¡¯ll go back first and wait until Shopkeeper Tang wakes up. Call me when you¡¯re ready to question him.¡±


    ¡°Do you intend to personally interrogate him?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not my expertise at all. I just want to hear what he says about some things that I haven¡¯t figured out, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    Xiaotao sent us to the door and said, ¡°Song Yang, thank you for what you did today!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee. I want to thank you too.¡±


    ¡°Right, by the way...¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Xiaotao¡¯s face was red. It was alreadyte, and the golden light of the sunset was scattered on her face, highlighting her soft beauty. She smiled and mumbled, ¡°Nothing!¡±


    Dali rushed me to hurry up as we were about to miss the bus. ¡°Come on, dude! Hurry up! You¡¯re as slow as a grandma!¡±


    I hastened my pace, but when I looked back, I saw Xiaotao still standing there and watching us. Perhaps I had seen too many ugly things in the past few days, but I thought the smile on her face at that moment was just so beautiful that my heart probably skipped a beat.


    I returned to normal life in the next few days, though I had some difficulty readjusting to the mundane daily activities.


    A long period of time after the human meat bun case, I found that I had lost the appetite for meat. I especially couldn¡¯t eat any more steamed buns.


    One day, when we were just hanging out, I asked Dali in a roundabout way, ¡°Dude, I watched a movie two days ago. The protagonist got together with a policewoman at the end. Do you think he¡¯d be happy?¡±


    ¡°Well, that varies from person to person. If the protagonist is also a police officer, then they¡¯d probably get along fine. But if he¡¯s a criminal, then that¡¯s not such a good idea, is it?¡±


    ¡°What about civilians like us?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t know, dude. A police officer must be really busy all the time. Why don¡¯t you ask Xiaotao-jiejie? She must know about this.¡±


    Well, that¡¯s the one thing that I absolutely couldn¡¯t do.


    About a weekter, Huang Xiaotao called and told me that they were going to question Shopkeeper Tang today, so I rushed to the police station. He was still covered in bandages when I saw him in the interrogation room, and he looked very defeated. Two police officers were interrogating him, and there was a clerk next to him taking down the transcription of their conversation. Xiaotao and I went to the room next door and we watched his every move through the surveince camera.


    Shopkeeper Tang insisted that he knew nothing about the whole incident. He showed signs of panic and confusion.


    ¡°Please, officers, I didn¡¯t kill anyone and I know nothing about all this! It¡¯s definitely that bastard Ma Jinhuo! He did everything! He threw the bodies into my shop, so I just threw them away!¡±


    No matter what the police asked him, these were all what he said. Everyone was losing patience, until suddenly, the expressions on Shopkeeper Tang¡¯s face changed. The officer interrogating him noticed it and yelled, ¡°Ma Jinhuo?¡±


    ¡°What are you yelling for, bastard?¡± Shopkeeper Tang sneered. ¡°Why didn¡¯t that little shit who hurt mee and interrogate me himself? Is he too scared of me?¡±


    No matter what the police asked, he folded his arms and refused to cooperate. He insisted that he would only talk to me.


    I exchanged a look with Xiaotao. She picked up the internal telephone and told the people inside to get out of the room. Then she told me, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not traumatized by what happened, are you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. How can a police officer be afraid of a criminal?¡± Xiaotao denied while rubbing her nose.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go in there, then.¡±


    We entered the interrogation room. When Shopkeeper Tang looked up, he asked me if I had any cigarettes. I said no.


    ¡°Ma Jinhuo,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°There¡¯s a mountain of evidence against you. You can¡¯t escape the death sentence now. This questioning is just for proper procedure, soe clean! Don¡¯t waste everyone¡¯s time!¡±


    Shopkeeper Tang smiled contemptuously and turned to me. ¡°I¡¯m happy to finally meet you again, so I¡¯ll tell you my story.¡±


    It turned out that Ma Jinhuo owed Shopkeeper Tang 100,000 yuan three years ago. At that time, he really had no money to pay Shopkeeper Tang, so he would deliver meat out of the ughterhouse he worked at to Shopkeeper Tang. Since they were both from the same vige, they trusted each other enough not to put everything on paper.


    After three years, Ma Jinhuo had lost track of how much pork he¡¯d given to Shopkeeper Tang, but he thought his debt must¡¯ve been paid off long ago by now. To his surprise, though, about three months ago, Shopkeeper Tang¡¯s family urgently needed 100,000 yuan, so he refused to ept the meat as payment and insisted on being paid back in cash.


    The two then got into a fight and it turned violent. Shopkeeper Tang threatened to expose Ma Jinhuo¡¯s ugly past, triggering Ma Jinhuo to attack Shopkeeper Tang. But Shopkeeper Tang turned out to be physically much stronger than him, so in the end, he was overpowered and killed.


    When his senses returned to him, Shopkeeper Tang panicked at the fact that he had murdered somebody. He knew he¡¯d be thrown into jail if the body was found, so he decided to deal with it the same way he saw in the movie The Untold Truth¡ªhe turned Ma Jinhuo¡¯s meat into the filling of his buns.


    Of course, there was a difference in taste between human flesh and pork. Shopkeeper Tang was afraid that the customers might notice, so he added a lot of spices. Once the buns were cooked, he tasted them to check the quality, but after a while, he realized that he had unknowingly eaten half of the buns that he made!


    Just like Ma Jinhuo in the past, he had be addicted to the taste of human flesh. Also, something else happened to him. Every evening at about 8.00 p.m., which was the time Ma Jinhuo was killed, Shopkeeper Tang¡¯s temperament changed, and he would start to devour the meat buns made with Ma Jinhuo¡¯s flesh with gusto. Sometimes he would be so obsessed with the taste that he¡¯d stuff his mouth with the raw flesh left over from making the meat buns.


    As he was eating, a curious smile would appear on his face and he would be inexplicably happy.


    Gradually, another soul appeared in his body, and this soul belonged to the dead Ma Jinhuo!

 Chapter 94

    <h4>Chapter 94</h4>


    Although Ma Jinhuo was dead, his ¡®soul¡¯ was resurrected in Shopkeeper Tang¡¯s body.


    He quickly finished his own meat. Even the bones and internal organs that Shopkeeper Tang had nned to throw away were cooked and eaten.


    What kind of experience was it to eat yourself? No one else in the world could understand it. It was a unique satisfaction and pleasure. In fact, he thought it felt better than having sex with a woman!


    Ma Jinhuo¡¯s meat and bones were quickly eaten up, but his desire to eat human flesh had just been ignited. For a while, he even contemted cutting some meat from Shopkeeper Tang himself. However, he was just too fat and too old. Secondly, he knew that he was now stuck in Shopkeeper Tang¡¯s body, so it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea to damage it.


    So he began to look for prey, and he wandered around every night until he met Xiaozhang, who was working in the supermarket.


    The man was very young, had healthy wheat-colored skin, neither smoked nor drank, and he smelled very good. Every time they met, Ma Jinhuo could only see the strong muscles under his skin. If he didn¡¯t stop himself, he would drool on the spot.


    He made up his mind to eat this guy!


    At this time, he made an idental discovery. There was a bomb shelter underneath the bun shop. Shopkeeper Tang just used it to store some ingredients. Ma Jinhuo felt he had a better use for it, so he transformed it into a kitchen. When Ma Jinhuo was young, he used to work at a construction site, so it was not difficult for him to build a kitchen at all.


    But he had to be very careful because he was not the owner of the body, and most of the time it was still ¡®inhabited¡¯ by Shopkeeper Tang.


    It took him a month and a half to get ready. He stole a van from the nearby parking lot, prepared some tools, and kidnapped the victim.


    The n went very smoothly. In order to improve the meat quality, he gave Xiaozhang a lot of spices. After hepletely digested it, he cut his meat. Ma Jinhuo tasted the first piece of meat with a knife, but the effect did not work as well as he had hoped.


    However, the meat was still very delicious. He cut the meat piece by piece and was prepared to enjoy it slowly. Unexpectedly, though, the bones were discovered by Shopkeeper Tang. He got scared and threw away the uncut corpse and then turned the meat into the filling of steamed buns.


    After realizing that, Ma Jinhuo almost wanted to burn down the shop, but when he thought about it, this was a good thing too!


    He thought it would be amazing to turn people into eating human flesh. If people knew how delicious it was, then society would ept this behavior, and he wouldn¡¯t have to sneak around trying to eat human flesh!


    Most of the buns were sold out. The customers were full of praise for the human meat buns. At that point, Ma Jinhuo was happier than he could¡¯ve ever imagined.


    Soon, all the human flesh was consumed, so he kidnapped the second person. This time, in order to make the meat taste better, he made the victim breathe inughing gas, tied her body to restrict blood cirction and cut off her flesh with a knife. Watching a living person cut to their skeleton gave him unspeakable pleasure.


    It took a long time to process a human body. Yet, for the majority of the time, his body was inhabited by Shopkeeper Tang. As a result, before all the meat and bones were obtained, the second body was thrown away by the timid Shopkeeper Tang.


    Ma Jinhuo was angry and helpless. But what could he do?


    Later, he kidnapped the third victim. Shopkeeper Tang discovered this so he was about to discard the body just as he did to the previous two victims, but the police were observing the shop closely so he had to temporarily put it in the basement.


    ¡°You just haven¡¯t tasted human flesh yet, that¡¯s all,¡± said Shopkeeper Tang. ¡°Once you do, you¡¯ll understand everything. People should be a part of the food chain. If we can eat pigs and cows, why can¡¯t we eat human flesh too? Being able to taste human flesh when they are still young¡ªisn¡¯t that just the peak of happiness?¡±


    As he said so, he burst into a pervertedugh.


    Xiaotao and I were both stunned, and the clerk on the side was also visibly ufortable.


    Xiaotao ordered two policemen to take Shopkeeper Tang away. Once we were out of the interrogation room, Xiaotao whispered, ¡°That was just too vile!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it made me want to go out and take in fresh air.¡±


    We both went outside and gradually we were able to calm down. Xiaotao asked me, ¡°Do you think Shopkeeper Tang is really possessed by Ma Jinhuo¡¯s ghost?¡±


    ¡°Though I¡¯m not exactly an atheist, I still don¡¯t think ghosts have such powers. If that was true, then what¡¯s the need for the police?¡±


    ¡°So, you think he has a split personality?¡±


    ¡°Yes. After the weak-willed Shopkeeper Tang realized he murdered Ma Jinhuo, he was consumed by guilt and panic, and that slowly gave rise to the split personality. By the way, how does thew treat someone like this?¡±


    ¡°Thew doesn¡¯t recognize this kind of thing. He will be sentenced as a guilty man, but if hiswyer can get a doctor to dere him insane, he might be sent to a psychiatric hospital instead of jail. But for someone so dangerous, I think they¡¯d lock him in there for the rest of his life...¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. This kind of person should never be released into society.¡±


    Xiaotao agreed. ¡°I feel exactly the same way!¡±


    We both walked very far without knowing it. Looking at the time, I told Xiaotao, ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I have to go back to work again!¡± Xiaotao grumbled. ¡°It¡¯s been exhausting these past two days!¡±


    ¡°When the case is over, you should take a break!¡± I advised.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do that yet,¡± Xiaotao sighed. ¡°Once this battle is done, there¡¯s always the next one. I¡¯ll probably get to rest when I retire. By the way, I have a small request to make, Song Yang.¡±


    ¡°What...what is it?¡± I asked shyly.


    ¡°Look at you! Why are you so nervous when you¡¯re alone with me? Am I more terrifying than criminals?¡± Xiaotao pouted.


    ¡°N-no! Of course not! What is your request?¡±


    Xiaotao stretched out her arms, and spoke in the voice of a spoiled child, ¡°It¡¯s nothing really... It¡¯s just that my feet are really tired. Can you carry me back?¡±


    ¡°B-but we¡¯re in public!¡± My jaw dropped so low you could stuff two eggs into my mouth.


    ¡°Oh,e on! No one knows us here!¡±


    ¡°N-No... I won¡¯t do it! I have to go back to college now! Goodbye!¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Xiaotao shouted in anger.


    I walked away, but looked back after having gone a certain distance and saw Xiaotao still standing there. She was still pouting with anger. When she saw that I was looking at her, she extended her arms towards me. It made me want tough.


    There were a number of people around using and going, and many of them stared at us with curious eyes, but I finally bit my lips and walked towards her.


    ¡°Get on!¡± I said, kneeling down.


    ¡°Awesome!¡± Xiaotao hopped on my back from behind. She then asked me, ¡°Am I heavy?¡±


    I smiled and replied, ¡°No, not at all.¡±

 Chapter 95

    <h4>Chapter 95</h4>


    The cases of the cat spirit and the human meat buns were officially over. Sun Tiger opened a grandmendation meeting and rewarded all the people involved in the investigation. Dali and I each received 20,000 yuan in bonus. Xiaotao received special awards as the task force leader and won a second-ss merit medal from the Ministry of Public Security. Wang Yuanchao rose one level from a bottom-ranked police officer.


    Director-General Cheng¡¯s good opinion of my ability increased. He told Sun Tiger to inform me that if I encountered any difficulties at all, I could just give him a call! I also received his private phone number, of which no more than twenty people in the province had.


    Xiaotao told me that this medal should¡¯ve been awarded to me. Unfortunately, I did not have a position in the police force, and I didn¡¯t care much for that. In fact, simply being the special consultant was good enough for me.


    In order to make it easier for me to investigate in the future, Sun Tiger gave me an official badge. It looked basically the same as Xiaotao¡¯s police badge with ¡°Nanjiang City Public Security Bureau Criminal Investigation Special Consultant, Song Yang¡± written on it, which sounded really cool. It was more than enough to intimidate most people!


    Sun Tiger also joked that if it was not enough, then I could just go to the toy store and buy a fake gun and carry it on my waist.


    After that, I returned to my uneventful campus life. The difference made me feel very bored. I was so bored that I yawned in ss every day. In truth, not having a murder case to investigate was a good thing¡ªit meant that thew and order in Nanjiang City was under control. But still, I must admit my life was boring because of it.


    Xiaotao was still so busy every day. We asionally sent text messages. Sometimes we would send each other some embarrassing texts, like ¡°Do you miss me?¡± or ¡°Wannae over at my ce tonight?¡± and all that. I felt we were getting closer, but there was still a thin barrier between us. Perhaps she was really too busy to fall in love, or perhaps it was me who didn¡¯t know how to take the next step. But overall, I was happy with the way things were.


    One day, Dali borrowed my phone for something and identally saw the text messages. He was stunned and cried, ¡°Holy shit, dude! So you¡¯ve gotten together with Xiaotao-jiejie?¡±


    I quickly grabbed the phone. ¡°How can you vite my privacy and read my texts like that?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t change the subject, dude! Jeez, I thought you were still single! So you¡¯ve advanced now, huh? Exin everything to me now, or I¡¯ll tell the other bros in the dorm and they¡¯ll interrogate you!¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t do that!¡± The other bros he mentioned would surely spread the news to the entire campus by dawn if they found out I had a close rtionship with a beautiful police officer.


    And so, I exined everything to Dali. He patted me on the shoulder and told me, ¡°Dude, usually you¡¯re so nervous when you talk to girls. I sometimes worry about your long-term happiness. But damn, you even caught such a hot woman like Xiaotao-jiejie! I¡¯m happy for you, dude!¡±


    ¡°So I didn¡¯t hurt your feelings? Are you not interested in Huang Xiaotao?¡± I asked.


    Daliughed. ¡°Don¡¯t you get me yet, dude? I¡¯m the kinda guy who would throw my in a wide area. Knowing that I didn¡¯t catch any fish in this spot, I¡¯d just move to the next! But I do wish you¡¯d told me sooner, dude. I was still teasing Xiaotao-jiejie in front of you like an idiot all this while!¡±


    ¡°Never mind that, how about I buy you a drink tonight at the bar?¡± I smiled.


    ¡°No, maybe not tonight.¡± Dali shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve got a date.¡±


    At this time, I noticed how Dali was all dressed up and his hair wasbed neatly and styled with gel. It was definitely a date with a girl.


    ¡°And you said I was the one keeping you in the dark! Who is this girl? Which year is she in?¡±


    ¡°Um, actually, I don¡¯t know!¡± Dali looked confused.


    It turned out that there was going to be a party between people from his old school. They were going out to eat a hot pot dinner tonight, but there was a guy who had to go home urgently, so they invited Dali to join them.


    There were four girls and they were all seniors like us, and they were all single. I was a bit uneasy. ¡°If they¡¯re all fourth-year students and still single, would they be alright?¡±


    ¡°Well, if I don¡¯t try my luck, how would I know? You can join us if you like.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯d be ufortable having dinner with four girls.¡±


    ¡°Then just wait for my good news tonight!¡± Dali made a gesture of victory.


    In the evening, Dali sent a text message to me, ¡°There is a super cute girl here! Can¡¯t believe she¡¯s a fourth-year!¡±


    ¡°Then good luck to you!¡±


    ¡°Lend your strength!!!¡±


    I typed the words ¡®super strength¡¯ and sent it to him.


    Dali replied, ¡°Received! I am full of energy now.¡± Dali was particrly funny when he was in a good mood. As his bro, I couldn¡¯t help but be happy for him.


    At about eight o¡¯clock, Dali still hadn¡¯t returned. I began to worry. I received a text from him saying there was a guy there who was particrly annoying. He¡¯d been getting in the way between Dali and the cute girl and Dali couldn¡¯t even speak a word to her.


    I asked, ¡°Do you need me to help out?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re at Sunshine Bar. Hurry, the enemy fire is too fierce, requesting for reinforcement!¡± Dali replied.


    I changed my clothes and quickly went out. I thought about how I would help Dali. Do I need to sacrifice myself and seduce the guy? Nevermind, I thought, I¡¯d figure it out once I got there.


    I came to the small bar outside the college gate. In truth, the bar didn¡¯t just sell alcoholic beverages. They had milkshake and juice too, and the price was very friendly to the average student¡¯s budget. It was a convenient spot for couples who were dating, but I had never been there.


    The bar turned out to be quite decent, and many students were having meals there. The speakers were ring some soothing music.


    I looked around and found Dali at the corner table. He stood up and shouted, ¡°Song Yang, what a coincidence!¡±


    I yed along and replied, ¡°Oh, I just had a meal so I was just thinking of getting a drink. What are you doing here?¡±


    There were three other people at the same table. One was a very cute girl with big eyes who was wearing a yellow sweater. Sitting next to her was a girl wearing heavy makeup. Her whole face was white. She wore a gorgeous pink dress, and her figure looked good. She looked pretty, but I couldn¡¯t tell what she would look like if she removed her makeup.


    There was also a bespectacled guy in a casual suit who was dressed up smartly and had a cigarette in his hand. I disliked students who smoked.


    The girl who wore a lot of makeup asked Dali with a cloying voice, ¡°Is that handsome boy your ssmate, Dali?¡±


    Dali patted me on the shoulder and announced, ¡°Let me introduce you to my bro, Song Yang!¡±


    I smiled at them, and the cute girl smiled politely at me. The girl with the heavy makeup looked at me seductively, and the smoking guy snorted.


    Dali then introduced the three of them. They were called Xia Mengmeng, Zhang Yan, and Ye Shiwen.


    I whispered to Dali, where were his old school buddies? He answered they were all drunk and were sent home. He then made me sit down and ordered a drink for me. When I sat down, Zhang Yan instantly showed a strong interest in me. She asked me what was I studying, where was my hometown, and whether I had a girlfriend. I thought she was way too straightforward, but I answered her out of politeness. Once she heard that I had a girlfriend, she immediately lost interest in me and continued to talk to Dali about some Korean dramas.


    Ye Shiwenpletely ignored me and continued to talk to Xia Mengmeng. He was talking about the poems and songs of the two Jin dynasties. Xia Mengmeng did not say a word¡ªshe justughed asionally and listened to Ye Shiwen speak.


    As the four people chatted with each other, I analyzed the situation in front of me. Ye Shiwen was hogging Xia Mengmeng¡¯s attention, while Zhang Yan wed at Dali and wouldn¡¯t let go. This prevented Dali from chatting up Xia Mengmeng.


    As a bro, now was the time for me to take action!

 Chapter 96

    <h4>Chapter 96</h4>


    I watched quietly, waiting for Ye Shiwen to sip his drink before speaking up. No matter what, it was rude to interrupt others.


    ¡°Yi Shiwen, did you injure your arm recently?¡± I asked.


    Ye Shiwen was shocked and subconsciously pulled the sleeve on his right hand. ¡°Your eyesight is pretty good. Yeah, it¡¯s just a bruise I got while ying basketball.¡±


    Zhang Yan immediately cried out, ¡°Oh, you y basketball too? I loved watching m Dunk as a child. It makes me think guys who y basketball are so cool!¡±


    Ye Shiwen smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve been ying since junior high. I¡¯m good at this move called the three-step dunk.¡±


    Zhang Yan continued, ¡°Wow, the three-step dunk! I really want to see it. That move must be very cool!¡±


    Iughed. I got them where I wanted them to be. I naturally couldn¡¯t talk to him about poetry and songs, since that was not my field.


    Like the modern coroner, it was not only necessary for me to examine a dead body, but also to recognize the wounds of the living. Therefore, I knew a lot about various injuries. The injury on his arm was obviously not a bruise.


    I sneered. ¡°But weren¡¯t you hurt by chemicals? Which team is ying basketball with sulphuric acid?¡±


    Xia Mengmeng grinned, and Ye Shiwen gave me a look. ¡°What are you studying?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Applied electronics,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Applied electronics?¡± Ye Shiwen snorted. ¡°And you try to act like you¡¯re Sherlock Holmes!¡±


    Dali suddenly burst intoughter. Everyone at the table stared at him. Dali exined, ¡°Well, you see, my bro here usually loves reading detective novels.¡±


    I red at him, afraid that he would leak my involvement with the police. The cases I had worked on were all confidential, so it would be stupid to brag about them.


    Ye Shiwen crossed his arms and said, ¡°Detective novels, huh? Then why don¡¯t you show us your tricks?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t the detectives in the novels very good at observing? You observe me and tell me what you see.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to observe about you? You¡¯re just a college student.¡±


    Ye Shiwen sneered aloud, ¡°So that¡¯s all you have? Just a few words!¡±


    It was infuriating to be looked down on by the likes of Ye Shiwen. I used my Cave Vision and examined him all over. Fortunately, the bar was quite dark so the changes in my eyes were not so conspicuous.


    ¡°You are 175 cm tall and weigh about 60 kilograms. Your right eye is more near-sighted than your left eye. You like to y games. When you were a child, you fell on a bicycle and your right leg was broken. You just broke up with your girlfriend a month ago. You were with her for a long time. Your parents are divorced, and you lived with your mother from an early age. Also, you¡¯d better smoke less, I think your lungs are a little sick.¡±


    The two girls were evidently impressed with me, but Ye Shiwen suddenly stood up and pointed at me. ¡°You... Why did you investigate my background?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to investigate about you? You¡¯re not interesting to me at all.¡±


    Xia Mengmeng grinned, and Ye Shiwen¡¯s face turned white.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that you can see from my body that my parents are divorced and that I just broke up with my girlfriend! There¡¯s something fishy about you!¡±


    ¡°You mean to say that I was right about everything?¡± I asked.


    Ye Shiwen made no answer. It seemed that I hit the nail on the head. I waved my hand and said, ¡°Sit down. I¡¯ll slowly exin everything to you.¡±


    In fact, what I had observed from him, i.e. his height, weight, and fracture of the right leg were basic knowledge from the old books. I didn¡¯t want to tell them about my ancestors¡¯ writings, so I just zed over the facts. As for Ye Shiwen breaking up with his girlfriend, it was very simple. The chemical corrosion wound on his right arm was left by the process of tattoo erasing. Judging from the depth, it probably urred a month ago.


    From the vague traces, it looked like three words. What else could it be if there were three words on the arm? Most probably it was a person¡¯s name. But why should it be erased? I came to the conclusion that he broke up with his girlfriend a month ago, and this girlfriend must have been with him for a long time.


    As for the divorce, I admit that I cheated, because he had just chatted with Xia Mengmeng too much that he did not notice a text message on the phone. The number was named ¡®stepdad.¡¯ Of course, there was also the possibility that the father had died, so I had two choices, and it just so happened that my guess was right.


    Ye Shiwen¡¯s face burst red. He bit his lips and muttered, ¡°What a boring little trick!¡±


    I smiled and sipped my drink. Ye Shiwen narrowed his eyes at me and yelled, ¡°Don¡¯t stare at me!¡±


    ¡°Are you afraid of me?¡± I couldn¡¯t help butugh.


    ¡°You¡¯re joking! Why should I be afraid of you?¡± Ye Shiwen lit up a cigarette and was about to smoke.


    I interrupted him, ¡°Can you smoke outside, please? There are two girls here?¡±


    Ye Shiwen groaned, stood up and went out.


    Zhang Yan urged me to observe her. She was emitting a pungent smell of perfume. I didn¡¯t want to talk to her at all. However, in order to help Dali, I gritted my teeth and yed along with her. After listening to me, she started calling me a ¡®Great Detective.¡¯


    After that, Dali chatted with Xia Mengmeng for a while. Xia Mengmeng was a very silent girl. When others talked to her, she listened politely. I was watching her on the side, and felt that she was a quiet girl who put a barrier around herself from others. Did Dali have a chance with a girl like that? I didn¡¯t know, and I had done all I could.


    At about nine o¡¯clock, Dali proposed to go to a karaoke ce. There was a reason for that¡ªhe was amazing at imitating Jay Chou. It was his biggest strength. But, s, Xia Mengmeng refused, ¡°It¡¯s toote. Let¡¯s do that some other time.¡±


    Zhang Yan was enthusiastic, though.


    ¡°Come on, Mengmeng! It¡¯ll be fun! I haven¡¯t sung karaoke in a long time!¡±


    Ye Shiwen had just been attacked by me, so he didn¡¯t say anything. I wondered if Zhang Yan seemed to be a bit interested in me.


    Then Ye Shiwen suddenly said, ¡°The karaoke ces near the college are all lousy. It¡¯s better to go to one in the city. I have a car. I can drive all of you there!¡±


    Zhang Yan¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Wow, you have a car?¡±


    ¡°So are we going or not?¡± asked Ye Shiwen.


    ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Zhang Yan nodded. ¡°Come on, Mengmeng! Let¡¯s go!¡±


    And so the matter of going to sing karaoke was settled. I had a feeling that Ye Shiwen and Zhang Yan were suitable for each other. One had a huge ego, and the other liked to boost his ego.


    Xia Mengmeng reluctantly agreed. I naturally had to go too. We all went into Ye Shiwen¡¯s car, which was a BMW. It seemed that his stepfather was very rich.


    In order to give Dali a great opportunity, I took the initiative to grab the front passenger seat so that they could sit in the back. Ye Shiwen gave me a look, and deliberately smoked in front of me along the way. The sacrifice I made tonight was really too big!


    On the way, Ye Shiwen whispered to me, ¡°Why are you out here with us if you¡¯ve already got a girlfriend?¡±


    ¡°I just felt like singing karaoke. Is that so strange?¡±


    Ye Shiwen snorted. ¡°Don¡¯t think that Dali is the only one who can ask for help. Do you know what kind of friends I have? Some own nightclubs, and some sell ecstasy pills. Who are youpared to them?¡±


    ¡°Well, if I call my friends, they¡¯d round your friends up and throw them in jail.¡±


    I smiled faintly at him.


    Ye Shiwenughed. ¡°Can you brag about something more believable? You think I would believe that a student like you know the police?¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter if you believe it or not, because it¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± Ye Shiwen jeered sarcastically.


    ¡°I really do know the police.¡±


    ¡°If you do, I will call you ¡®father!¡¯¡±


    ¡°Deal!¡± I readily agreed.


    Ye Shiwen¡¯s face suddenly changed. He was afraid that I really knew one or two policemen. He added, ¡°Those low-ranking officers and the traffic police don¡¯t count though!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, all the police officers I know are from the criminal division.¡±


    Ye Shiwen burst out inughter again. ¡°That¡¯s just bullshit!¡±


    Of course, this was what I said, but I was not going to call Huang Xiaotao just to settle a bet with an obnoxious rich guy I just met. But what I never expected was that I actually saw her that night...

 Chapter 97

    We went to a karaoke ce in the city. Dali¡¯s true nature was unveiled as he tried his best to sing Jay Chou¡¯s Love Confession in front of Xia Mengmeng.


    I was just ying with my phone on the side, feeling relieved that everything had worked out. Now it was all up to Dali.


    Zhang Yan suddenly came over and said to me and whispered, ¡°Hey handsome, you¡¯re actually single, aren¡¯t you? Howe you¡¯re out alone? Why didn¡¯t shee with you?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s busy,¡± I replied.


    ¡°You¡¯re lying! Can you sing?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°Come on,e on, let¡¯s sing a Marry Me Today, okay?¡± Zhang Yan took my arm.


    I suddenly got goosebumps and nced at her face that was covered in a thickyer of makeup. I realized that she was the female version of Dali! In fact, she was probably even more unrestrained than Dali.


    Fortunately, something urred at this moment that temporarily shifted Zhang Yan¡¯s attention away from me. Ye Shiwen stopped the song that Dali was singing. The two started to quarrel. Ye Shiwen used Dali of hogging the microphone, and Dali argued that since no one else was singing, what was wrong with him singing a little bit more?


    I quickly got up and warned them, ¡°Stop fighting. Why don¡¯t each of you just sing a song?¡±


    Ye Shiwen snorted and pulled out a cigarette. He nced at Xia Mengmeng and went out to smoke.


    Dali handed the microphone to Zhang Yan and wondered aloud, ¡°Why have the drinks not arrived yet? I¡¯ll go check our order at the bar.¡±


    Ten minutester, Dali drinks and snacks in tow.


    ¡°Oh, Dali! You even ordered fried chicken?¡± cooed Zhang Yan.


    ¡°Eat up! Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯ll get more if it¡¯s not enough!¡±


    ¡°But the food here is extortionately expensive, Dali! How generous of you!¡±


    ¡°Haha... don¡¯t mention it.¡±


    We picked up our drinks and were about to enjoy them. Suddenly, Ye Shiwen pushed the door in and shouted, ¡°Mengmeng, stop! Don¡¯t drink that!¡±


    Everyone was stunned. Ye Shiwen took the cup of cranberry juice from Xia Mengmeng and lifted it up against the light. He showed it to us and stated, ¡°Don¡¯t you see it? There is a small pill in it!¡±


    Then he mmed the ss down on the table, spilling a lot of it. He pointed to Dali and crowed, ¡°I just saw this bastard sneak something into the drink when I went to the bathroom. You low-life maggot! How dare you do such a thing to Mengmeng!¡±


    Zhang Yan fell for it, of course. She checked her drink straight away while yelling, ¡°How could you do such a thing, Dali?! You¡¯re trying to drug Mengmeng?¡±


    Xia Mengmeng was paler. She covered her mouth and looked at Wang Dali with shock.


    Dali¡¯s eyes widened and he was so stunned he was speechless. He looked at me with pleading eyes. I knew him very well. I knew that he would absolutely not do anything like this.


    Ye Shiwen took the opportunity and was about to take Xia Mengmeng away. Dali looked as if he was about to cry. If I didn¡¯t stand up for my friend now, it would be toote!


    ¡°Do you have any evidence to prove that Dali put the pill in the drink?¡± I asked.


    Ye Shiwen snorted. ¡°Evidence? He¡¯s the one who bought the drinks and brought them here! No one else ever touched the sses!¡±


    I smiled wryly, ¡°But this makes no sense. Is he trying to make Mengmeng faint in front of everyone? What¡¯s the purpose of that?¡±


    ¡°How would I know?¡± shrugged Ye Shiwen. ¡°It¡¯s not my fault your friend is a brainless idiot!¡±


    Dali jumped up to his feet and shouted, ¡°Who are you calling brainless, Ye Shiwen?!¡±


    ¡°You dare to raise your voice to me? After what you¡¯ve done?¡±


    ¡°I did nothing! I swear to God, this is not the kind of thing I¡¯d ever think of doing!¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s useless swearing to God now. The truth is clear.¡±


    The longer they fought, the more the situation escted. I was afraid it would blow up into a physical fight, so I interrupted them with, ¡°Both of you, stop fighting! It¡¯s no use fighting with words. Just let the evidence speak for itself!¡±


    ¡°Evidence?¡± The two men screamed at the same time. Ye Shiwen asked, ¡°Is this evidence not enough?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s lousy evidence you have here,¡± I countered. ¡°Has the substance in the pill been tested? Have you checked the fingerprints on the ss? At the very least, we should check the surveince videos!¡±


    Ye Shiwen sneered, ¡°Checking the surveince videos? Hah! Do you think you¡¯re a policeman?¡±


    ¡°Wait here. I¡¯ll go to the bar and investigate!¡± I announced.


    After that, I turned to leave and pushed the door open.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Ye Shiwen suddenly stopped me.


    Seeing his expressions, I immediately understood that he was nervous. He then realized that a mere college student would never be able to obtain the surveince video, so he changed his mind and sat back down.


    Good, I thought. Let¡¯s see how you¡¯re going to exin yourselfter.


    I came to the bar and asked the waiter, ¡°Where is the surveince room here? I have to look at the surveince video near the bar at around 9:30 pm.¡±


    ¡°Who are you?!¡± asked the waiter in a mean-spirited voice. ¡°Do you think anyone can look at the surveince videos if they want to see it?¡±


    I showed him my police badge. The waiter¡¯s attitude changed a hundred and eighty degrees and he apologized for the rudeness earlier. Then he said that he had no right to show it. He would have to ask the manager first. He asked me what kind of case was I investigating.


    ¡°Stop wasting my time!¡± I spat. ¡°I¡¯m looking for a suspect! Take me there now!¡±


    I learned this trick from being around police officers a lot. It worked. The waiter asked a staff member to take me into the surveince room immediately. Their attitude towards me was very respectful. These entertainment venues were often shady, so it wasn¡¯t surprising that they acted as if they were mice that had seen a cat when they thought I was a policeman.


    I checked the surveince video. About ten minutes ago, Dali asked for a drink and then went to the other side to order the fried chicken. At this moment, a bespectacled guy who was close to the bar stopped near the sses. Although the picture was not clear, you could still see that he had put something in the drink.


    I sneered. Oh, Ye Shiwen, how stupid you are!


    I said to the staff, ¡°Copy this video to me. Is there a USB drive here? I¡¯ll give it back to youter.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Officer! Give me a moment.¡±


    I took the USB drive and went back to our private room. Ye Shiwen and Dali were still arguing till they were red in the face. Xia Mengmeng had already taken the bag and was ready to go. I shouted, ¡°Everyone, calm down and let¡¯s all take a look at something!¡±


    The digital TV in the room had a USB port behind it. After plugging it in, we could easily watch the video. When he realized what it was, Ye Shiwen got nervous and tried to reach out and turn off the TV.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I jeered.


    Ye Shiwen¡¯s face turned white and his lips were quivering.


    ¡°If you didn¡¯t do anything wrong, then don¡¯t be afraid! Sit down, please.¡±


    He sat back on the sofa, but he seemed restless.


    As we saw the part where Ye Shiwen was slipping a pill into Xia Mengmeng¡¯s drink, Zhang Yan shouted, ¡°That¡¯s awful! I totally mistook you for a nice guy!¡±


    Ye Shiwen¡¯s face was white for a while, but he suddenlyughed.


    ¡°Everyone, please listen to me.¡± He pulled out a bottle of pills from his pocket and said, ¡°It¡¯s just a practical joke, guys! It¡¯s not a drug, just a vitamin pill! I¡¯ll prove it by drinking it.¡±


    He then picked up the ss and gulped it down.


    ¡°See? I¡¯m fine! It¡¯s just a practical joke...¡±


    Before he could finish his sentence, Mengmeng sshed a drink into his face. Her face was pale, but she was obviously angry. She flung the ss away and ran out of the room.


    ¡°Mengmeng, please listen to me!¡±


    Ye Shiwen was about to chase her, but Dali went straight up to him and punched his face. The two men were then embroiled in a fight on the sofa. Zhang Yan jumped up in shock and shrieked, ¡°Stop fighting!¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what to do. I cursed at Dali for not knowing the most important thing to do right now, which was to send Xia Mengmeng home.


    I hesitated there for a while, but realized that it would be dangerous for Xia Mengmeng to go back to college alone at this hour, so I ran out and followed her!

 Chapter 98

    <h4>Chapter 98</h4>


    I caught up with Xia Mengmeng downstairs. She heard the footsteps and looked back at me. I got shy every time I talked to girls, so I stammered, ¡°Um, it¡¯s veryte right now. I¡¯ll apany you to the taxi.¡±


    She smiled a little and uttered, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I felt ufortable walking with her alone. I understood why Dali didn¡¯te to send her now. When she heard that two people were fighting, Xia Mengmeng got worried.


    ¡°Please tell Dali not to associate himself with that kind of person,¡± she asked me. ¡°When Dali was singing, Ye Shiwen tried to touch my hand. I hate those kinds of sleazy guys the most.¡±


    ¡°Well, you can¡¯t me himpletely, I guess. After all, his parents got divorced since he was young. No one probably taught him how to behave properly.¡±


    Xia Mengmeng sighed. ¡°You¡¯re being too generous!¡±


    My face reddened. I then remembered to put a good word in for Dali. So I changed the subject quickly. I mentioned how much of a loyal friend Dali was, and how he was always respectful towards girls.


    Xia Mengmeng turned out to be a very civilized and polite girl. She responded to everything I said with a nod and listened to me intently without interrupting me. When I finished, she asked, ¡°Is your name Song Yang?¡±


    I nced at her. I had been talking about Dali the whole time, but in the end she turned the subject back to me instead.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I replied.


    ¡°I have a feeling that you¡¯re not a normal college student.¡± She smiled.


    ¡°What am I like, then? A hooligan?¡± Iughed.


    ¡°No, no,¡± Xia Mengmeng considered for a while. ¡°It feels like although your outer appearance looks nave, you are actually very mature inside.¡±


    ¡°Seriously? But I was born in 1995.¡±


    ¡°Which month?¡± she asked.


    ¡°October.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯m older than you. I was born in March of the same year.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± I fell silent for a while, then remembered my job as Dali¡¯s wingman. ¡°You know, Dali he¡¯s...¡±


    Xia Mengmeng sighed. ¡°By the way, Song Yang, are you really studying applied electronics?¡±


    In the end, we chatted all the way until she got into the taxi. Xia Mengmeng even took my number. After sending her away, she sent a text message to me, ¡°Thank you for tonight. I hope we can be friends in the future.¡±


    I pondered about it for a bit. What did it mean? Could it be that Dali had hope?


    After returning to the private room, I saw Dali and Ye Shiwen were both tired, and they each upied a corner of the sofa. Both of them were frowning. Zhang Yan was singing Happy Breakup.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Mengmeng?¡± Dali asked me.


    ¡°I sent her off in a taxi. Also, I got you her number.¡±


    Dali was overjoyed and promised me that he would invite me to dinner the next day. He then gave Ye Shiwen a scornful look.


    Even after all that had happened, the three of them went on to sing and had fun for the rest of the night. I really couldn¡¯t understand these people at all.


    At 10:30 pm, Ye Shiwen drove us back to college. Originally, he refused to drive us back, but I subtly threatened him, ¡°I have a ssmate who is an editor at the school literary society. Would you like me to publicize your glorious deeds tonight?¡± He gave me a look and reluctantly agreed to take us back to school.


    But what I never expected happened. Halfway back, Ye Shiwen¡¯s car stalled. Dali asked, ¡°Your car is broken? It must be a used car!¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t shut your mouth, I will leave you right here!¡± yelled Ye Shiwen.


    He then went down to check the engine. Zhang Yan went to the bushes by the road and relieved herself. This was a rather deste road. When Zhang Yan came back, she nervously said , ¡°There is actually a big mansion over there, but not a light was on. Could it be a haunted house?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so scary about a haunted house?¡± Dali patted his chest. ¡°Not trying to brag, but I¡¯ve seen loads of ghosts.¡±


    Ye Shiwen suddenly asked, ¡°Do any of you have any water?¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I forgot to refill the water in the water tank. It¡¯s all dried up. I have to pour some water into it.¡± Ye Shiwen exined.


    No one had water. There was a mineral water bottle in the car, but it was empty. Although there was a possibility that we could fill the bottle with urine and add it to the car, because a girl was with us, we were all too embarrassed to mention it.


    Any time guys were in the presence of girls, even if the girls weren¡¯t pretty, the guys would often be more reserved.


    There was no convenience store around, either. Ye Shiwen sat in the car and smoked a cigarette in a sullen mood. Suddenly, he cried, ¡°Wait! Did someone say there¡¯s a house nearby?¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to suggest going to that haunted house to get some water?¡± asked Zhang Yan. ¡°Forget about it! It looks scary!¡±


    ¡°What are you afraid of? There are four of us here,¡± answered Ye Shiwen.


    ¡°What if the house is unupied?¡± Zhang Yan asked again.


    ¡°There must be a faucet there at least. We¡¯ll just take some water and leave. That can¡¯t be counted as trespassing, right?¡±


    Although Ye Shiwen was very annoying, it would be very troublesome to go back to the dormitory after eleven o¡¯clock. We were now in a dire situation. He locked the car and took the mineral water bottle and the four of us went to the house.


    It was an old European-style two-story mansion. It stood inplete darkness, and dense wild grass grew around it. The house was quite stylish, but it somehow made people feel uneasy when they got closer to it. You could say that it was because the feng shui of the house was bad.


    There was a gravel road that led to the front door, but it had been overgrown by grass. There were a few piles of dried manure around. I couldn¡¯t tell if it was left by people or animals. The ss windows facing the street were almost all broken. It was clear that it was an abandoned house.


    Zhang Yan stuttered, ¡°This house looks so scary! Ye Shiwen, why don¡¯t you go in there alone?¡±


    ¡°You coward!¡± Ye Shiwen spat. ¡°There is no ghost in this world! Don¡¯t be ridiculous!¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯ll go inside, then I¡¯ll go too! I¡¯m not afraid!¡± Dali proimed.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go,¡± I waved my hand.


    Zhang Yan was afraid to be left behind, so when the three of us went ahead, she cried, ¡°Wait for me!¡±


    As soon as we entered the house, we were inside what used to be the living room. The wallpaper on the walls had peeled off because of the wind and the sun. The curtains were also ragged, and they swayed slightly in the wind. The floor creaked with every step we took.


    There was a grand staircase right beyond the front door. Faint starlight streamed down from the top. It looked just like a scene in a horror movie.


    When we reached the stairs, Ye Shiwen frowned and hesitated to go up. Daliughed and jeered, ¡°You¡¯re the one calling other people cowards, remember? What are you afraid of now?¡±


    Although I might point out that as Dali was saying those words, his hand was tightly clutching my clothes.


    ¡°It¡¯s too dark up there!" Ye Shiwen made an excuse. ¡°What if I identally fall down the stairs? It won¡¯t be worth it.¡±


    ¡°Just hold up your phone to light the way,¡± Dali suggested.


    ¡°It¡¯s out of battery. Why don¡¯t you go ahead and lead everyone?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but my phone is out of battery too!¡± Dali shook his head frantically.


    I¡¯d had enough of these people.


    ¡°Forget it, I¡¯m going ahead. Follow me.¡±


    With my Cave Vision, there was no need for any light at all. I walked up the stairs calmly, but the three people hesitated to catch up with me. I looked back and saw that all three were holding up their phones. Who was it that said their phone was out of battery? Idiots!


    When we were halfway up the stairs, Zhang Yan suddenly screamed, ¡°A hand is grabbing me! A hand is grabbing me!¡±


    We looked around, but it turned out that her skirt was just caught by a wire. Zhang Yan smiled apologetically.


    There were quite a lot of rooms on the second floor. I told them to stop first, then listened to the sounds. Dali asked me what I was listening to. Was there really a ghost?


    ¡°Ghosts aren¡¯t half as scary as people!¡± I shot back.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding!¡± Ye Shiwen interjected disdainfully. ¡°There won¡¯t be anyone here.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? This kind of abandoned house often house tramps at night, and even rogue murderers,¡± I countered.


    When they heard those words, all of them turned pale. I really didn¡¯t mean to scare them. It was just a fact to prepare them for the worst.


    I listened carefully. There should be no one here. Therefore, there was no reason to be afraid. I didn¡¯t care about things that posed no real threat. Even if there was a ghost in the dark, I would be shocked for a while, but ultimately nothing else would happen.


    We checked the room one by one. Zhang Yan said, ¡°Aren¡¯t bathrooms usually at the end of the hallway?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    The corridor was very dark and it felt like a long tunnel. It was, after all, a moonless night.


    I deliberately stopped to let Ye Shiwen go first. Who knew that he actually stopped too? He used his eyes to signal me to lead the way.


    ¡°You first.¡± The smile on my face widened.


    His face turned sour as he stepped back and said, ¡°No, you go ahead. My eyes aren¡¯t as good as yours. I¡¯m afraid I might fall.¡±


    I secretlyughed. Why couldn¡¯t he just admit that he was afraid? Was he so worried that people might look down on him?


    I took the lead and walked in front. There really was a bathroom at the end of the corridor, but there was no running water. The water pipe had already rusted. Ye Shiwen cursed in frustration. Zhang Yan asked, ¡°So, are we going to spend the night in the car?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s much better in here than the car. Let¡¯s stay here instead!¡± I then pulled the shower curtain, and everyone jumped in fright at the sudden noise.


    ¡°Song Yang, don¡¯t scare me, okay?¡± urged Zhang Yan. ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay in this haunted ce for a second!¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go out and try the car engine again.¡±


    We were about to go outside when the door of a room in the hallway suddenly opened.


    Zhang Yan stammered, ¡°H-How d-did the door just open like that? It¡¯s just the wind, right?¡±


    She nced up into the room and screamed at the top of her lungs. It almost pierced my eardrums. After that, she copsed into tears. Ye Shiwen was stunned. He asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Zhang Yan¡¯s lips quivered, but she was so shaken she couldn¡¯t utter a word.


    Ye Shiwen went in to see it himself. Then he ran back out¡ªhis movements were stiff and his face was pale. I patted his shoulder to get his attention, but he was so frightened by the touch he almost jumped out of his skin.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°T-There are... There are dead people in the room!¡± shrieked Ye Shiwen.

 Chapter 99

    <h4>Chapter 99</h4>


    ¡°Dead people? Are you sure?¡± I was taken aback.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, you can go see it yourself!¡± Ye Shiwen shouted at me in anger.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Dali!¡±


    When I entered the room, I really found two dead bodies. One of them fell to a position not far from the door, and the other fell at the side of the window. The body was dark and the skin hadpletely turned into charcoal. My first reaction was that the bodies were discarded here after being burned. Burning was the most effective way to destroy evidence and DNA. But what amazed me was that the clothes on their bodies were intact.


    ¡°Dude!¡± screamed Dali. ¡°There really are dead people in here!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not so surprising that someone would choose this isted ce to discard dead bodies. I¡¯ll call Xiaotao now!¡±


    I was just about to pick up the phone when Ye Shiwen and Zhang Yan looked inside the room. Ye Shiwen lowered his voice as if he was afraid of disturbing the dead bodies and whispered, ¡°You¡¯re crazy! There¡¯s no need to call the police! Let¡¯s get out of here now!¡±


    I ignored him.


    Ye Shiwen added, ¡°The police are often unreasonable nowadays. They might even catch us thinking we¡¯re the murderers!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right, Song Yang!¡± echoed Zhang Yan. ¡°It¡¯s going to save us trouble if you don¡¯t report it to the police! Let¡¯s get out now!¡±


    I wondered where they got the rumor from. The police usually handled cases quite fairly. There were cases where the person reporting it was detained, but it usually was because the person was indeed a suspect. At that moment, the call went through, and Xiaotao answered me with anguid voice, ¡°Bastard, why are you calling me in the middle of the night? I just fell asleep a few minutes ago!¡±


    ¡°You might not get to sleep tonight,¡± I replied. ¡°I found two dead bodies.¡±


    At the other end of the phone, there was a scream and a nking noise. I asked her what happened. Xiaotao sighed and replied, ¡°Damn it, the charger cable caught the mug and it fell and broke! That was my favorite mug!¡±


    I smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll get you a recement. Hurry! The address here is...¡±


    I turned to Dali. He used his phone to locate our position and told me the address. I ryed it to Xiaotao.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll call the station now. You stay there and protect the crime scene!¡± Xiaotao ordered.


    I hung up the phone. Ye Shiwen and Zhang Yan looked at me with a changed attitude. Ye Shiwen asked, ¡°You really do know the police?¡±


    ¡°You still think I¡¯m lying?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    Ye Shiwen squirmed awkwardly. ¡°Then... Then I¡¯ll leave now.¡±


    ¡°But your car is broken. Where can you go? Stay here. You may need to give the police a statementter,¡± I said.


    ¡°What? A statement?¡± Zhang Yan was shocked. ¡°But we¡¯ve done nothing! You have to testify for us.¡±


    I almostughed. When people hear they need to give a statement or that they need to go to the police station, they often get scared. In fact, most of it was just to assist the paperwork that the police had to deal with.


    But in order to appease her emotions, I assured her, ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll testify for you.¡±


    I then told Dali, ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll be busy all night. Can you take the taxi to go back to school and bring my equipment here?¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± Dali agreed. ¡°I¡¯ll bring you some food too. Looks like we¡¯ll have to stay upte tonight!¡±


    ¡°Thanks. Be careful on the road,¡± I reminded him.


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    After Dali left, Ye Shiwen asked me, ¡°Song Yang, what the hell are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a college student. Just like you.¡±


    Ye Shiwen eyed me suspiciously. He seemed a little nervous, probably because of the dead bodies in the room. He was about to light up a cigarette when I stopped him and exined that it would be troublesome if he dropped ashes or cigarette butts on the crime scene. He would have to give official statements at the police station. He was so scared of the thought that he changed his mind about smoking.


    Before Huang Xiaotao arrived, I took a closer look at the bodies. From the characteristics of the skin, they were obviously burned, but I still couldn¡¯t judge whether they were identally burned or killed. I was afraid of leaving fingerprints, so I didn¡¯t touch the bodies.


    Judging from the clothes they wore, the two victims were most probably both males. One was about thirty years old, and the other one was over forty at least. Not only were their clothes and shoes intact, but there were also gold watches and rings on the bodies too. This befuddled me. What was the murderer¡¯s motive?


    I searched the rooms and found two sleeping bags in one room. There was a backpack next to it. When I was pondering about them, I heard the door behind me m shut, and then Zhang Yan screamed.


    Only then did I realize that those two idiots had been following me all the time. Zhang Yan stuttered, ¡°W-Who... Who closed the door?¡±


    ¡°Probably just the wind.¡±


    I pushed the door open, but found that the door was opposite the wall, and so it could not have been blown by the wind. The atmosphere in the corridor was very gloomy and oppressive. From a certain corner, I heard a curious noise. It sounded like someone was chewing food. I thought there really was something bizarre going on with this house!


    I looked back and saw that Ye Shiwen and Zhang Yan were so scared their knuckles were white and their eyes were wide open. Their appearance almost made meugh.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid,¡± I assured them. ¡°I¡¯m right here.¡±


    ¡°Did you hear that noise?¡± Zhang Yan asked anxiously.


    ¡°Stop thinking about it,¡± Iforted her. ¡°If you¡¯re bored, just y with your phones. Oftentimes it¡¯s your imagination that drives you crazy when you¡¯re in this type of ce.¡±


    ¡°Are you... Are you not afraid at all?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that scary here. I¡¯ve seen horror movies a thousand times scarier than this.¡±


    After a while, a siren was hearding from outside. Arge group of people came up. Xiaotao saw Ye Shiwen and Zhang Yan and asked, ¡°Are they your friends?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sort of. I need a pair of gloves, please.¡±


    Xiaozhou handed them to me. I put them on and went straight to work. Ye Shiwen and Zhang Yan followed me with their bulging eyes. I remembered my bet with Ye Shiwen where he promised to call me father if I really knew a police officer. I had an idea to humiliate him on the spot and make him shout ¡®father¡¯ a hundred times, but I had more pressing matters at hand. The two dead bodies took all of my attention.


    I flipped the body and exined to Xiaotao about how we discovered them in the first ce. Ye Shiwen and Zhang Yan were taken downstairs by the police. I told Xiaotao, ¡°By the way, the guy¡¯s car broke down. He needs some water for the car. They won¡¯t be able to get back to the college if you don¡¯t help them.¡±


    ¡°You little bastard,¡± she reached out and tugged my ears. ¡°You¡¯re using me to go on dates with girls, aren¡¯t you? Tell me honestly, you¡¯re looking for the long-haired beauty of your dreams, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Xiaotao was very gentle with her ear-tugging, but I yed along and answered, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you? I was out purely because Dali asked for help! I¡¯ve never been on dates!¡±


    ¡°Ah, well, that¡¯s just like you.¡±


    I started the autopsy and found that the joints of the corpses were all undamaged, yet the bodies had turned to charcoal. I looked at the expressions on their faces. It seemed that they had experienced tremendous pain and torture before they died!

 Chapter 100

    I prized open the victim¡¯s mouth and observed. ording to The Chronicles of Grand Magistrates, if the victim was burned to death, there would be a lot of dust and ashes collected in the nose, mouth, and trachea. But the mouths of these two victims werepletely clean.


    So what was going on?


    One more thing that bugged me was the victims¡¯ body posture. Whether someone was burned to death or burned after death, the body¡¯s proteins would be coagted by the intense heat. The body would tense up into a boxer¡¯s stance¡ªit meant that the arms were lifted and the fists were clenched.


    But that didn¡¯t happen to the two bodies at all. So were they burned?


    I asked Xiaozhou for a scalpel and cut a small piece of skin to check it. I found that the skin was very brittle and the blood inside the blood vessels had congealed, which was clearly amon feature of burning.


    I could only say that these bodies were full of contradictions from beginning to end!


    The difference between bodies that were burned to death and bodies that were burned after death was a major puzzle for both Traditional Coroners and modern forensic science. My ancestor, Song Ci, who wrote the Collected Cases of Injustices Rectified, used to burn live pigs and dead pigs to test the differences.


    However, these two bodies in front of me fit neither the characteristics of bodies that were burned to death nor bodies that were burned after death. This puzzled me, and at the same time, it excited me.


    I would describe it as the excitement of a math whiz encountering a mathematical conundrum that was hard to solve!


    I sniffed the bodies, and detected a slight pungent smell. But it was unlikemonbustion fuel like gasoline, kerosene, or alcohol. I was not sure what it was, and I handed the small piece of skin that I had just cut to Xiaozhou. I told him to conduct two tests.


    Firstly, I needed to know thebustion fuel involved. The other was the level of carboxyhemoglobin in the victims¡¯ blood.


    Carboxyhemoglobin was a product formed by thebination of hemoglobin and carbon monoxide in an extremely hypoxic environment, i.e. an oxygen-deprived environment. If the level of carboxyhemoglobin exceeded a certain amount, it would be fatal. This was an important indicator to judge whether the victims had burned to death or if their bodies were burned postmortem.


    In fact, this could be judged by the naked eye alone. When the body contained too much carboxyhemoglobin, the corpse would be bright red or cherry red, but neither of these bodies were like that.


    I had Xiaozhou do the test anyway just in case. After all, this was turning out to be a mysterious case indeed!


    I also cut a small piece of clothing and asked him to check if the fabric and the body surface had the same mmableponents.


    Xiaozhou put the sample into a stic test tube and remarked with a smile, ¡°Have you forgotten something, Detective Song?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°DNA, of course! Why didn¡¯t you tell me to test for such an important thing?¡±


    Iughed. ¡°But the identity of the victims have not been determined yet. It is meaningless to test DNA. Save the effort. You should instead take a trip to the dental hospital in Nanjiang City tomorrow.¡±


    I then pried open the older victim¡¯s mouth and asked Xiaozhou to observe the two mrs inside. He shone a shlight into the mouth and eximed, ¡°He¡¯s a rich man! He¡¯s got golden teeth!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s padium porcin teeth,¡± I corrected him.


    Xiaozhou reexamined them carefully and relented, ¡°You¡¯re right. They¡¯re not gold.¡±


    Padium porcin teeth were a kind of high-grade dentures, and the value even exceeded that of gold teeth. I assumed there wouldn¡¯t be no more than five hospitals in Nanjiang City that could produce such fake teeth, so if Xiaozhou could reference these teeth and ask around, he¡¯d be able to identify the victims in a short period of time.


    As for the other person, the police could just investigate further! If you knew the identity of one of them, you could find out the identity of the other person by using DNA analysis.


    Xiaozhou looked at me strangely. I jokingly asked him, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Did he fall in love with me?


    Xiaozhou answered, ¡°Song Yang, you are both a master Traditional Coroner and you have great knowledge of modern forensic science. I feel that if you go through the exams, you could definitely get a coroner¡¯s certificate in minutes. You¡¯d be better than most of the professors!¡±


    I smiled, ¡°Why do I need the qualifications? Am I not already investigating crimes? You should go quickly.¡±


    ¡°Nothing else for me to test?¡± asked Xiaozhou.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll take care of the fingerprints and hair samples. Leave the UVmp for me. You and the rest of the forensics team can go back now.¡±


    They soon left. Xiaotao looked at me and smiled.


    ¡°You¡¯re good at giving orders now!¡± shemented. ¡°Maybe I should hand over my position as the task force captain to you!¡±


    ¡°No, no, I don¡¯t want that. I¡¯m morefortable working under the Empress.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute, Empress? Am I like Wu Zetian to you?¡± she asked me angrily.


    ¡°But Wu Zetian was rumored to be a beautiful woman!¡± I quickly exined.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll ept that as apliment,¡± sheughed.


    I put my ear on the body and began to listen using the Organ Echolocation technique. I put a sheet of paper between my ear and the corpse for hygiene. Generally, there would be some changes in the internal organs of a burned victim, such as congestion of the lungs, blisters, swelling of the kidneys, etc.


    But these two victims showed no such characteristics. Judging from the changes of the internal organs, I determined the time of death to be about ten days ago.


    I asked Huang Xiaotao to hand me a pair of scissors. When I cut the clothes of one of the deceased, I made a shocking discovery. The victim¡¯s underwear and burnt skin werepletely adhered together, making it almost impossible to take off.


    I came to a conclusion, ¡°The victims were burned in their clothes!¡±


    "But their clothes are not damaged at all!¡± Xiaotao cried in amazement. ¡°Could this be a case of spontaneous humanbustion?¡±


    Spontaneous humanbustion was one of the world¡¯s top ten unsolved mysteries. One example was when an old man was lying in bed and sleeping and his children caught the smell of flesh burning. When the nket was pulled away, half of the old man¡¯s body had burned to ashes, yet the nket was intact.


    There had been several reports of spontaneousbustion in this country too. The victims were out shopping. Suddenly, they just burst into mes. After the passers-by used water to extinguish the fire, the victims did not move. When their bodies were dissected, they found that the insides of the bodies had burned into gray mass.


    There was also a woman who suddenly fell down when she was praying in the church. The people around her didn¡¯t find anything out of the ordinary at first. Later, they found that smoke wasing out of her nose and mouth, and to their surprise, she had been burned, and her internal organs were all burned to crisp. Yet, her skin was still intact.


    When I thought of this point andpared it to the mysterious conditions of these two bodies, I sighed and eximed, ¡°I¡¯m not sure. It¡¯s hard to say!¡±


    Xiaotao smiled. ¡°This is my first time seeing you so stumped. It¡¯s quite a sight!¡±


    ¡°Stop with your schadenfreude! It¡¯s not me who¡¯ll be reprimanded if this case isn¡¯t solved!¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay. Anyway, where¡¯s your buddy?¡±


    ¡°I told him to go back to school and bring me...¡± I began to exin, but speaking of the devil, Dali appeared before I could finish my sentence. He rushed into the room and stopped to greet Xiaotao cordially when he saw her, then handed my bag to me.


    I took out the Organ Echolocation rod and listened carefully to the body again. But I still found nothing new.


    This time, I had fixed the Autopsy Umbre, so I opened it up and got ready to check the body for any handprints or fingerprints. Dali held up the UVmp for me.


    The ultraviolet light shone through the red umbre, and the body was flooded with rays of dim red light. I slowly turned the umbre, but didn¡¯t find any signs of handprints or fingerprints on the bodies. I turned the bodies over and checked for some fingerprints on the clothes, but none was left behind. I called for Xiaotao to take pictures anyway.


    I shut my Autopsy Umbre and grumbled, ¡°When will I run into a murderer who leaves fingerprints on the body?¡±


    ¡°You say that,¡± Xiaotao remarked, ¡°but deep down you¡¯d feel bored if you encountered an ordinary case, wouldn¡¯t you?¡±


    I smiled and replied, ¡°How do you know me so well?¡±


    ¡°Hmph! You¡¯re so transparent I can see right through you!¡±


    Dali stared at us and listened to our exchange with fascination. ¡°Jeez, both of you! We¡¯re at a crime scene! Stop teasing each other like that!¡±


    Xiaotao¡¯s almond-shaped eyes rounded and she yelled, ¡°Shut up! Or I¡¯ll put handcuffs on you, I swear to God!¡±


    ¡°Ah, forgive me Xiaotao-jiejie!¡± he pleaded.


    I then went to another room and examined it. I found some fingerprints and hair strands near the two sleeping bags and immediately collected them.


    I turned the red umbre and kneeled onto to the ground. The footprints on the ground were very messy, but I could still identify them all. I told Xiaotao to take pictures of them so we couldpare themter. There were two pairs of footprints, which should¡¯ve been left by the shoes worn by the victims. The footprints painted a picture of the victims encountering something terrifying here which made them panic and run out to the other room. But before they could escape, they were both burned alive.


    Just then, we heard a scream from downstairs!


    1. The only officially recognized in her own right in China¡¯s long history. Xiaotao took offence because she was rumored to be cruel and tyrannical.


    2. When a living body without any external source ofbustion.

 Chapter 101

    <h4>Chapter 101</h4>


    Huang Xiaotao asked the policemen below what happened. A policeman came up and stammered that he just heard some movements. When he looked around, he saw nothing. But just as he turned his head, he saw a reflection on the window ss with the corner of his eye. It was a little boy, bouncing a ball. The boy¡¯s eyes werepletely white, and he even smiled at him!


    Xiaotao and Dali looked at each other. Wang Dali said with a trembling voice, ¡°Dude, maybe this house is really haunted!¡±


    ¡°What difference would it make whether this house is haunted or not? We still need to solve this case!¡±


    Xiaotao turned to the policeman and rebuked him, ¡°Did you hear that? You can¡¯t be afraid of ghosts if you¡¯re a policeman! If the rumor leaks out, people would beughing at us!¡±


    In truth, I heard somewhere that police officers tend to be enveloped in a fierce aura that made ghosts and spirits hesitate to appear in front of them or get close to them. The little boy-ghost must¡¯ve been an impudent spirit to make himself be seen like that.


    ¡°You can take the bodies back to the police station now,¡± I told Xiaotao.


    ¡°Is the autopsy over?¡± Xiaotao was confused. ¡°But I didn¡¯t see you burn any joss papers yet.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because there is nothing more I can do here. I¡¯ll continue tomorrow,¡± I exined. ¡°I need to prepare a special pillow first.¡±


    ¡°Prepare a special pillow? I can give you one! Someone gave me two tea leaf pillows two days ago. You¡¯ve probably never heard of it, have you? It¡¯s supposed to help make your skin glow and you¡¯ll be more beautiful. Well, at least I know it¡¯s veryfortable. I can bring one to you tomorrow.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°No, the pillow I¡¯m talking about is to be used in autopsy! Wait a minute, who would give you pillows as a gift? And why were you given two?¡±


    ¡°Are you jealous?¡± smirked Xiaotao. ¡°Anyway, you should learn to be more thoughtful and give me something once in a while.¡±


    ¡°Okay, roger.¡± I nodded repeatedly.


    Xiaotao asked some officers to clean up the scene, and the bodies were put into body bags. By then, it was already one o¡¯clock in the morning. Ye Shiwen and Zhang Yan had already gone back. I didn¡¯t pay attention to when the two of them had left. Dali said, ¡°The college gates are closed by now. Why don¡¯t you go spend the night at Xiaotao-jiejie¡¯s ce?¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just look for an inte cafe and y League of Legends until dawn,¡± he said with a note of bitterness. ¡°We don¡¯t have any sses tomorrow anyway.¡±


    ¡°You cane stay at my ce too, you know?¡± Xiaotao suggested. ¡°Do I look like such a cruel person to leave you out alone all night like that?¡±


    Dali pped his hands excitedly and eximed, ¡°Thank you Xiaotao-jiejie! You¡¯re the best!¡±


    There was only one bed in Xiaotao¡¯s apartment. It wouldn¡¯t befortable for me and Dali to sleep on the sofa together, but to let both of us sleep on the bed while Xiaotao sleep on the sofa was definitely out of the question, so I quickly refused.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, we¡¯re not going! Please just drive us to the college gate and we¡¯ll find a cheap hostel to stay for a night. It only costs about 50 yuan per night anyway!¡±


    So we arrived at the college main gate with Xiaotao. There were quite a lot of food stalls still open at that hour. They served the game-addicts who often stayed up at the inte cafes around here till morning.


    Xiaotao rolled up her sleeves and marveled, ¡°Wow, there are still so many barbecue stalls here thiste! Come on, let¡¯s grab a few bites!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to go back to sleep?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry! What, are you not willing to treat me even for just a few skewers ofmb? Don¡¯t be so stingy!¡± Xiaotao pouted.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go. Get whatever you want. I¡¯ll pay this time.¡± I could never resist that pout. Also, I had just received the bonus money from solving the previous cases anyway, so it wasn¡¯t like I couldn¡¯t afford it.


    Xiaotao then parked the car on the side of the road. We found a barbecue stall and asked for some kebabs and roastmb. Dali had beer and edamame. As he got tipsy, he started to sing praises of me for helping him get the number of the cute girl he liked.


    He mentioned it casually, but I saw how Xiaotao¡¯s interest was piqued. She squinted at me and smirked. Did I do something wrong again?


    After a while, the barbecue meat arrived. Xiaotao held up the te under my nose and asked, ¡°Are these made of realmb or are they mouse meat doused in sheep urine?¡±


    I sniffed and assured her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯smb.¡±


    ¡°Aww, these chunks are too fat! Help me eat them!¡±


    I bit the chunks off obediently.


    Dali suddenly groaned, and I asked him what was wrong. He replied, ¡°Seriously, can you guys dial down the PDA? Think of my feelings! My poor lonely single self!¡±


    Xiaotao picked up amb skewer and held it in front of his mouth, ¡°Fine,e on! I¡¯ll feed you too!¡±


    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s fine,¡± Dali waved his hands. ¡°You two go ahead. I don¡¯t want to be the third wheel!¡± He looked up to the sky and sighed. ¡°Ah, look at how wonderful the stars are tonight!¡±


    We both were amused by him. Xiaotao changed the subject, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about business! Song Yang, I just had an idea. You said that the two bodies were very weird. Could someone deliberately make them seem that way?¡±


    I thought about it and replied, ¡°Not very likely.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°There was no need to make so much effort at all if it had been a simple burned corpse. If it was a psychopathic serial killer, then what would they gain? Killing two people at the same time and throwing them in the same spot¡ªthat didn¡¯t sound a lot like what serial killers normally did. Besides, the ce waspletely isted. No one would¡¯ve found them if not by coincidence. That would prevent them from getting any perverted pleasure...¡±


    Xiaotao nodded thoughtfully.


    ¡°What do you think happened, then?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m confused myself,¡± I sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll probably be able to get a much better picture once Iplete the autopsy tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Which line of inquiry do you think we should follow?¡±


    ¡°First, we should confirm the identity of the victims, then investigate the background information of the house. We should find out who the current owner is. This house should be a haunted house, so we should see whether anyone died there before, then investigate from there.¡±


    ¡°Right, I¡¯ll assign the tasks ordingly first thing tomorrow morning.¡±


    Dali couldn¡¯t help but raise his thumbs up. ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie is always so cool and efficient.¡±


    Xiaotao smiled and exined, ¡°Every murder case is a race against time. Each second that passes means that the possibility of the next victim to fall prey to the murderer increases.¡±


    Once we finished our food, Xiaotao told Dali to go back first because she had something else to say to me.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You really are clueless about girls, aren¡¯t you? The girl was interested in you. Did you not see it?¡±


    ¡°Which girl?¡± I wondered for a while.


    ¡°The one whose number you gave to Dali! She gave it to you, you know?¡± Xiaotao smiled.


    I shook my head in confusion.


    Seeing that I said nothing, Xiaotao poked my arm and teased, ¡°Is she beautiful? That girl?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s fine...¡± I replied vaguely.


    ¡°You¡¯re really too slow about these things, you know? Maybe I should educate you about it sometime. Anyway, I¡¯m going back now!¡±


    ¡°Um, by the way...¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    I had something to say, but I was too embarrassed about it.


    ¡°Never mind. We¡¯ll talk about itter.¡±


    Xiaotao smirked. ¡°Don¡¯t bete tomorrow!¡±


    After that, I was interrogated by Dali the whole night. He asked me how things were between me and Xiaotao. Did we hold hands? Did we kiss? He encouraged me to be more active and aggressive in pursuing her. I didn¡¯t know how to answer his questions.


    Then he asked me to help him analyze whether he and Xia Mengmeng had a chance to get together. How likely would it be? Were their characters suitable for each other? I was too sleepy, so I just mumbled something and fell asleep.


    Early next morning, we arrived at the police station for the task force meeting. There was nothing much to say at this point as the case was still in its early stage. Even the identity of the victims had not yet been rified.


    After the meeting, I found a carpenter shop and drew a sketch of what I wanted to the master. I needed him to produce a pair of wooden pillows ording to the description in the sketch, and I wanted it ASAP. The sooner the better!


    Meanwhile, the police, including Xiaotao, went around to investigate the case. All I could do was wait at that point. There was nowhere else to go in the city so I apanied Dali to the inte cafe. He yed League of Legends with great enthusiasm, but I was not good at any game. All I did was waste time on QQ and read some news on the inte.


    I searched the inte for any news articles about the house. The things that Baidu found were all useless, so even after a long time, my efforts were not fruitful.


    I shook my head in despair and opened the QQ site again. But the moment I entered the site, a horrifying sight greeted me!


    All of my friends¡¯ avatars were turned to cursed children with bloody eyes. They kept shaking and squirming and they all sent me the same message: Song Yang, I want you dead!


    1. Public disy of affection.

 Chapter 102

    I stared at the screen for a few seconds. Which bastard turned my QQ into this?


    I quickly thought of a prime suspect and made a call. When it was picked up, I instantly shouted, ¡°Lao Yao, you bastard! What have you done to my QQ ount?!¡±


    ¡°You took advantage of me! You used someone else to attack me! I¡¯ll spread your nude photo to the whole world tomorrow!¡± he shot back.


    ¡°No, wait! Let¡¯s discuss this!¡± I knew that wasn¡¯t an empty threat. Someone like Lao Yao was more than capable of doing this kind of thing.


    It turned out that Lao Yao was still bitter about the money. Xiaotao promised him she would give all of the bonus money in her pocket to Lao Yao. In the end, Xiaotao only pocketed ten yuan, so that was what Lao Yao got. He felt deceived and angry, but he didn¡¯t dare to mess with a police officer, so he instead took it all out on me.


    ¡°I was paid ten yuan!¡± he whined. ¡°What special kind of idiot do you think I am?¡±


    ¡°But you made that agreement with Xiaotao. This has nothing to do with me!¡±


    ¡°This has everything to do with you! You¡¯re finished, Song Yang! From today onwards, I¡¯ll make sure your life bes a nightmare you can¡¯t wake up from!¡±


    I shuddered. Being targeted by Lao Yao was not aughing matter at all. Once, a moderator of a forum deleted one of his posts. Lao Yao retaliated by hacking into the moderator¡¯s personalputer, stealing all of his private photos, and spread it to the whole world.


    I absolutely did not want to be one of his victims.


    ¡°Calm down, Lao Yao, I¡¯ve got an idea. I need your help to get some information. If you help me, I¡¯ll pay you instantly at a price that you set.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± his tone changed immediately. ¡°Let me hear what you¡¯ve got to offer me.¡±


    I asked him to find information about the haunted house. We then discussed the price. Once we had a deal, Lao Yao said, ¡°You¡¯ll hear from me soon.¡± He then hung up.


    If only Lao Yao were a part of the police force, I thought, then I wouldn¡¯t have to spend money every time I needed information about something.


    But hacking wasn¡¯t Lao Yao¡¯s only talent. His skills in obtaining information were top-notch too. That might not sound impressive to you, as you might think that anyone could do it by typing down some keywords into a search engine. But in fact, the most difficult part was finding relevant information. More often than not, the most urate and reliable information was hidden behind a paywall or passwords.


    I understood nothing about SCI or ISTP. But to Lao Yao, these were merely his yground.


    After waiting for a while, I received a text message from Lao Yao that told me to log into my QQ ount.


    I did so, and found that everything had gone back to normal. Lao Yao had also sent me some documents there.


    I opened it and skimmed through everything. I was taken aback by how much information he was able to gather in such a short amount of time.


    ording to the documents that Lao Yao found, the house where the bodies were found was involved in a fire more than a decade ago. It was ruled as arson by the authorities. At the time, a family of three lived there. The wife was young and beautiful, while the husband was much older and very possessive. Because of their difference in age, the husband always suspected that his wife was cheating on him, and this caused tension in their rtionship.


    At one point, the husband secretly took a paternity test with his son. When the result came out, it turned out that the two of them were not rted at all!


    This triggered the husband¡¯s fury. Because of that, he developed a terrible n for revenge. He killed the boy in cold blood, then cooked the flesh in a dish. He then told his wife to try the dish that he specially made for her. When she took a bite, he asked her if her son tasted good, then revealed that he killed the boy because they took a paternity test and he found out the boy was not his own! He then grabbed her and demanded her to tell him who was the boy¡¯s father.


    The wife lost her mind immediately, which made the husband even angrier. He hit her so hard on the head that she lost consciousness.


    Late that night, the wife woke up and burned the whole house down while she and her husband were still inside. There were witnesses who testified that they saw a woman standing by the window on the second floorughing wildly as she was engulfed by the mes!


    The court then seized the mansion and auctioned it off. The house was sold off at a very low price because people had died in it. The person who bought the house was a real estate investor. He never intended to stay there, but had invited some ¡®professionals¡¯ called ¡®Haunted House Busters.¡¯ These people had lots of guts. They would stay a few nights in haunted houses and figure out what was going on in there. Some would im to have ¡®exorcism¡¯ skills and ¡®cleanse¡¯ the house of ghosts and bad spirits, which enabled the owners to either renovate and live there or sell the house again at a higher price.


    However, when several Haunted House Busters were brought in to stay at the mansion, they all ran out in defeat the next day. Some of them reported hearing weird noises in the kitchen at night. When they listened to it carefully, it sounded like the crackling of fire.


    Some of them would even see a little boy bouncing a ball in the living room. Some saw a woman floating around the house, and she was covered in blisters and burns...


    Once, a group of these Haunted House Busters tried to stay in the house overnight. One of them was found crying in the middle of the night while holding an old doll in his arms. His voice sounded like a woman. His colleagues were scared till they wet themselves on the spot.


    In the end, the owner had to lower the price dramatically. Some people tried to live there, but none of themsted more than a few days. Most of them agreed that there were evil spirits in the house. Sometimes, its walls would suddenly be aze with fire in the middle of the night, and one could clearly hear a woman¡¯s hystericalughter. The inhabitants would be so scared that they¡¯d escape immediately that night.


    The house was now managed by a real estate agency, and the identity of the owner was kept secret. But Lao Yao was a first-ss hacker after all, so he somehow obtained the name of this person.


    A few minutester, Lao Yao¡¯s avatar on QQ was shaking. He was urging me to pay him immediately. I transferred two thousand yuan to his ount with a heavy heart. It was a lot of money just for information, but I had to admit that Lao Yao had been helpful.


    At noon, Xiaotao asked me where I was and told us to get to the police station as soon as possible. Dali rushed over there, and when we arrived, we saw her standing akimbo at the entrance. I guessed it was because the investigation had gone smoothly.


    We all went to a restaurant nearby and ordered a light meal. As we were eating, Xiaotao informed me that the victims had been identified. The older one was called Lu Liang; the younger was called Lu Wei. They were uncle and nephew. They did not find out what their upations were, but their bank ounts were full of money. They had been travelling all over the country all year round.


    ¡°They¡¯re probably Haunted House Busters,¡± I suggested.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I know I know!¡± Dali interrupted. ¡°I¡¯ve read about it in novels and on the inte. They¡¯re people who stay in haunted houses! I always thought that was a fictional profession!¡±


    ¡°Well, art usually imitates life!¡± I remarked. Then I summarized the information from Lao Yao to them.


    ¡°So there was another fire just like the one from years ago?¡± Xiaotao pondered. ¡°Then perhaps we might never find the murderer.¡±


    ¡°Hold your horses,¡± I said. ¡°If even the task force captain thinks this way, how will we ever solve the crime? No, I don¡¯t believe ghosts can harm people, or else there wouldn¡¯t be so many wicked people in this world to fill the prisons!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Xiaotao nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll tell Wang Yuanchao to stop investigating the house¡¯s background now that you¡¯ve gathered enough information about it.¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t do that! Please let him continue!¡±


    ¡°But we¡¯ve got enough information!¡± Dali interjected. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be a waste of manpower to do the same thing twice?¡±


    ¡°But Wang Yuanchao and Lao Yao¡¯s sources are different,¡± I exined. ¡°Their methods are different too. It¡¯s like when you¡¯re trying to get to know a person. You¡¯ll ask different people about their opinions of the person so you can get a moreplex and dimensional impression! Besides, this mansion is at the center of this mysterious case. It¡¯s only right for us to expend a lot of time and effort to find out more about it!¡±

 Chapter 103

    <h4>Chapter 103</h4>


    In the afternoon, we nned to go to the real estate agency and gather some information about the mansion owner. When we arrived, a salesperson warmly greeted us and asked if we were looking to buy or rent. Xiaotao showed him her police badge and answered, ¡°Neither. But we¡¯d like to ask you some questions!¡±


    The salesperson invited us into an office. After exining our intentions, the salesperson pulled out a thick hard-cover book and flipped through it.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, officers, but the mansion you¡¯re inquiring after is no longer under our management.¡±


    A few days ago, the owner suddenly called and requested to decrease the price of the mansion from the original three million to one million. By doing that, thepany would receive fewermissions, so naturally they were unwilling to grant the owner¡¯s request. To their surprise, the owner paid thepany twenty thousand yuan in cash on the spot to terminate the contract.


    Xiaotao asked, ¡°Do you have the mansion owner¡¯s contact information?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Please give me a second.¡± The salesperson pulled out another book and flipped through it.


    The name of the owner was Jin Baoshan. It was exactly the same name that Lao Yao had found.


    We went to hispany directly. On the way, Dali remarked, ¡°Only one million yuan for a two-story mansion! What a great bargain!¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I replied. ¡°There must be a reason behind Jin Baoshan¡¯s sudden change of heart.¡±


    We arrived at Jin Baoshan¡¯spany and was greeted by the man himself. He was a mild-mannered middle-aged man who remained calm even after he knew that we were with the police. He smiled and asked, ¡°How may I help you, officers?¡±


    ¡°Are you the owner of the property at No. 81, Xinjian Road?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°I used to, but I sold it two days ago,¡± Jin Baoshan replied.


    ¡°For how much did you buy the property, and how much did you sell it for?¡±


    Jin Baoshan frowned. ¡°Excuse me, officers. But isn¡¯t that my personal business?¡±


    ¡°We just need your help to make sense of a certain situation. We hope you can cooperate!¡± Xiaotao urged firmly.


    Jin Baoshan said he bought it at the price of two million yuan and sold it for three million yuan. This lie was so easy to see through that I didn¡¯t even need Cave Vision.


    Xiaotao told him that we had already been to the real estate agency. Jin Baoshan calmly replied, ¡°Well, I admit that I made a deal that cost me some money. But it¡¯s my fault because I wanted to try my hand at real estate investment even when I should¡¯ve known that I¡¯m not business savvy enough. I admit that I¡¯ve been unlucky. But isn¡¯t that my personal business?¡±


    Xiaotao sneered, ¡°The police have nothing to do with how much people pay for a house or how much they sell their house for, but when dead bodies are found inside the house, then it bes our business!¡±


    Jin Baoshan was shocked. ¡°What? Dead bodies? Officer, you must be joking!¡±


    I discreetly observed him with my Cave Vision. That surprise was absolutely fake, but he was a little nervous.


    Jin Baoshan kept trying to ask about the dead bodies, but we naturally did not disclose any further information.


    ¡°Mr. Jin, I¡¯d like to know why you suddenly decreased the price so drastically.¡±


    ¡°For no particr reason,¡± he answered. ¡°I have a hunch that the property bubble in China will soon burst, so I had to sell the house at least for some money before it crumbled into dust in my possession.¡±


    It was obviously a made-up answer, but no matter how Xiaotao questioned him, he kept leading us in a circle. I noticed that the man was quite sly. An idea popped up in my mind and I gave Xiaotao a look, signaling that I wanted to ask a question.


    ¡°Mr. Jin, what is your shoe size?¡± I asked bluntly.


    Jin Baoshan was visibly unnerved. ¡°My shoe size? What does that have anything to do with the sale of my property, Officer?¡±


    He kept refusing to answer. I looked under the table and hazarded a guess. ¡°It¡¯s 39, right?¡±


    Jin Baoshan hid his feet immediately. I deliberately asked Xiaotao, ¡°Didn¡¯t we find a size 39 shoeprint at the crime scene?¡±


    Xiaotao froze for a moment then replied, ¡°Yes!¡±


    It was just a tactic to scare him, of course. There were more than a dozen shoe prints at the crime scene, and we weren¡¯t able to analyze them all yet. I stared into Jin Baoshan¡¯s eyes and asked again, ¡°Have you been to the crime scene, Mr. Jin?¡±


    He broke out in cold sweat. ¡°I¡¯ve been swamped with worktely. There¡¯s no reason why I should waste my time going there!¡±


    He was really stubborn. Xiaotao threatened him, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then pleasee back with us to the police station.¡±


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t go,¡± he refused. ¡°I¡¯ve got a lot of work to do.¡±


    ¡°Then exin to us why there is a size 39 shoeprint at the crime scene.¡±


    Jin Baoshan suddenly stood up. ¡°Why should I exin it? There¡¯s a hoard of people in the streets who wear size 39 shoes! Why should I be the one exining it to you! Those two corpses just somehow ended up in my house, but they have nothing to do with me!¡±


    I smiled. ¡°If you haven¡¯t been to the mansion, then how did you know we found two dead bodies there?¡±


    Jin Baoshan widened his eyes and realized that he said something he shouldn¡¯t have. He admitted that he¡¯d gone to the mansion two days ago and found two dead bodies discarded in his house. He thought if this matter was exposed, not only would his house be devalued, but he mightnd in hot water with the police too! So he quickly decreased the price and quickly sold it off.


    What he said was reasonable, but I found that he was still lying. Thus, I warned him, ¡°Stop covering the truth. Tell us everything, or else you¡¯ll be spending the night in the jail...¡±


    Jin Baoshan bitterly argued, ¡°Everything I said was true, Officer!¡±


    ¡°Then why are your legs shaking? Why are your hands constantly rubbing your knees?¡±


    People who tried to hide the fact that they were lying generally focused on their facial expressions and ignored other body parts, like their hands and feet. This meant that these parts of their body often revealed their guilty conscience.


    Jin Baoshan finally relented and told us the truth.


    As I expected, he knew the two victims. In the beginning, he bought this mansion due to thest owner¡¯s scam without realizing that it had a bad reputation. The moment he stepped into the house, he quickly understood that it was a haunted house.


    He didn¡¯t dare to live in it, yet no one would rent it from him either, so he was in a bind.


    Ever since then, this mansion had be a thorn in his flesh. Recently, he found an uncle and nephew who called themselves Haunted House Busters. They imed that they had dealt with countless haunted houses and were always able to ¡®cleanse¡¯ them from evil spirits, making them habitable again!


    Although a mansion was considered valuable property, if you owned one that no one would buy, then it was no different from worthless garbage. He decided to give it onest try and paid a hefty fee to the self-proimed Haunted House Busters to ¡®cleanse¡¯ the house.


    Besides, they seemed reliable since they talked about feng shui, maic fields, spiritual energy, and all those things. In the end, they offered to stay at the mansion for a few nights.


    The first few nights were fine, but on the fourth morning, the two men did not call Jin Baoshan as usual. He went to the mansion to check on them, but all he saw was the same thing we witnessed that night¡ªtwo charred bodies.


    He went into panic for a while, but once he calmed down, he decided that their deaths must not be reported to the police. The minute this case was leaked to the public, his mansion was finished. He lowered the price to a third of the original, and in no time at all, he found a buyer.


    Everything he said was true, but I felt like something was still missing.


    ¡°Who is the buyer?¡± I asked.


    ¡°His name is Ren Facai, a Wenzhou native. He intends to settle down in Nanjiang City permanently.¡± Jin Baoshan replied without thinking.


    ¡°What does he look like?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a fat man with white skin,¡± Jin Baoshan described. ¡°He¡¯s got a scar on his face.¡±


    ¡°Do you have his photo?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Jin Baoshan shook his head.


    ¡°What about the contract?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The contract is locked in a safe at my house. If you want to see it, you¡¯ll have to wait for me to go home after work.¡± Jin Baoshan nced at his watch.


    ¡°But didn¡¯t the buyer ever go see the mansion after he buying it? He¡¯d be in for a surprise if he found the ¡®freebies¡¯ you left for him inside!¡± I sneered.


    Jin Baoshan scratched his head and said that Ren Facai had long taken a fancy to his house, but he imed that it was a haunted house, so he tried to cut the price very low. Jin Baoshan disagreed at first, and they never contacted each other again. Bizarrely, after his discovery of the two dead bodies, Ren Facai contacted him again and asked about the mansion. Because he was desperate, Jin Baoshan agreed to sell it at the criminally low price of 500,000 yuan.


    ¡°Half a million?¡± I eximed. If I wasn¡¯t mistaken, Jin Baoshan even paid 20,000 yuan to the real estate agency! It was an all-round terrible deal for the man!


    Jin Baoshan awkwardly added, ¡°I lied to you earlier to save my ego! Who would ever sell a two-story mansion for half a million yuan? It¡¯s crazy, but I was desperate...¡±


    My suspicions fell squarely on this shady buyer. He might just be the one who caused the deaths of the two Haunted House Busters!

 Chapter 104

    <h4>Chapter 104</h4>


    After investigating Jin Baoshan, I assigned Dali to a task. I asked him to wait for Jin Baoshan to get off work, and return home with him to get a facsimile of the contract.


    ¡°But it¡¯s only two o¡¯clock now!¡± heined. ¡°You want me to wait for him here for four long hours?¡±


    I smiled and suggested, ¡°You can do something else while you wait. For example, there is an inte cafe just across the road. It looks decent.¡±


    Dali got excited instantly. ¡°Right! I¡¯ll wait there then! Xiaotao-jiejie, will I be reimbursed for the money I spend at the cyber cafe?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t go overboard with it, okay?¡± Xiaotao warned him. ¡°The money used for handling this case will alle out of the taxpayers¡¯ pockets, remember that!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    After leaving Dali here, Xiaotao asked me where should we go next. I told her my pillow was probably ready by now, so we should go get it for me toplete the autopsy.


    On the way, I pondered about the case and asked Xiaotao, ¡°Do you think this case is that simple? The victims died so mysteriously, yet the motive sounds so obvious! Wouldn¡¯t he have expected us to question the seller and the buyer of the mansion?¡±


    Xiaotaoughed, ¡°You¡¯re unsatisfied because the case is too easy, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°No, I just feel like the truth is still hidden somehow...¡±


    So far, we hadn¡¯t figured out how the two victims died. Could someone who was able to cause such puzzling deaths resort to such a simple n? Surely not!


    When I arrived at the police station, my wooden pillow was ready. It was a square block of wood with a groove in the middle where the head would be ced. There were holes all over the wooden block, and each of these holes was connected to the groove in the middle. It was modeled after an object recorded in The Chronicles of Grand Magistrates called the Yin Yang Pillow.


    ¡°That¡¯s a strange pillow!¡± Xiaotao eximed. ¡°It sure looks ufortable. What is it for, Song Yang?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll knowter.¡± I gave her a mysterious smile.


    We arrived at the morgue, and I put the Yin Yang Pillows under victims¡¯ heads. I put my ear on one of the wooden pillows and listened intently while letting Xiaotao tap on the side of the pillow. With the fingers of one hand, I blocked the different holes of the pillow, making me look like I was ying the flute.


    The holes all had different lengths and widths. As I blocked different holes, the echo produced in the cranial cavity was different too. Through these echoes, I could judge the damages and the wounds suffered by the brain.


    The human brain was a very delicate organ, and there were many capiries underneath the scalp. Because Traditional Coroners never dissected human skulls, they used this method to examine the trauma that a victim¡¯s brain might¡¯ve suffered.


    This was another superb invention by an ancestor of mine in the Song family.


    However, it was my first time using it, so it took a lot of effort just to get familiar with the tool. After a while, I made a discovery: ¡°The victims were neither burned to death nor burned before death.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    I exined that if the human body was exposed to extreme heat, the water in the brain would boil, causing the brain to expand and swell. Yet, these victims¡¯ brains werepletely intact.


    Xiaotao stared at the ckened bodies. ¡°Then what¡¯s the exnation for these burns?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. We should wait to see the results of Xiaozhou¡¯s tests...¡± I told her as I picked up the Yin Yang Pillows and packed them into my bag.


    After examining the corpses, as usual, I burned a few sheets of joss paper in honor of the victims and chanted the Reincarnation Mantra.


    We went to theboratory to find Xiaozhou and found him looking worried.


    ¡°There is some kind of acidic substance on the victims¡¯ skin,¡± he informed us. ¡°But I can¡¯t narrow down what kind of acid it is. Any ideas, Song Yang?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, chemical testing is my weakness,¡± I replied.


    Xiaotao stared at me with surprise, ¡°Are you going to admit defeat just like that?¡±


    ¡°Every profession in the world has its limitations,¡± I shrugged. ¡°No one is all-knowing. By the way, Xiaozhou, you can stop testing now. Wait till I get more clues and I¡¯ll tell you what you need to do.¡±


    Although I told him that, Xiaozhou still continued to work hard. Xiaotao told me he was a perfectionist. He would never stop working on something until he got the result he wanted.


    Xiaotao then received a phone call. After a few words, she hung up and said, ¡°Wang Yuanchao is back.¡±


    ¡°Right! Let¡¯s go see him!¡±


    Wang Yuanchao found the information about the murder case that happened in the mansion years ago, but it was somewhat different from Lao Yao¡¯s version! Ten years ago, a family of three lived in that mansion. Her husband had a quarrel with his wife because of the paternity test. In a rage, the child was pushed down from the stairs and died. The wife hacked her husband with a knife and then hugged her son¡¯s body while crying uncontrobly. Later, she lost her sanity and was sent to a mental hospital.


    ¡°You mean the woman is still alive?¡± I asked in shock.


    ¡°She died two years ago,¡± Wang Yuanchao replied.


    ¡°There was no fire in that mansion?¡± I asked again in confusion.


    ¡°No. I checked with the fire brigade. There¡¯d been no fire in that area in thest twenty years.¡±


    I sank into my seat in contemtion. Wang Yuanchao obtained his information from the police and other official authorities. He had ess to information that the average person had no ess to. The credibility of his sources was also very high.


    In contrast, what Lao Yao found online had been mixed with a lot of hearsay. It seemed that the murder case from a decade ago had slowly evolved into a melodramatic ghost story. The ghost of a woman in the house could not be real after all, since the woman didn¡¯t die there. And the ount of the fire as reported by the supposed witnesses were unreliable too, since there had been no fires in thest twenty years!


    In that case, the death of the two victims had nothing to do with the mansion¡¯s bloody past.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we visit the house again?¡± I suggested.


    ¡°You mean now?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°No, tonight. All three of us and Dali too. How about we be the Haunted House Busters for a night?¡±


    ¡°What if something bad happens?¡± Xiaotao worried, still influenced by the horrifying legends that surrounded the mansion.


    ¡°If we don¡¯t take the risk, we may never know how the victims died!¡± My eyes shone with enthusiasm.


    Xiaotao considered it and smiled. ¡°Alright! I¡¯ll sacrifice my life for duty if need be!¡±


    Since I was going to stay at the haunted mansion that night, I made necessary preparations for what was needed. I bought some fine flour, some bells, and ropes, then I purchased some medicinal herbs and some tools to make medicinal pills.


    I found an empty meeting room and got to work. Xiaotao asked me if I needed any help. I said no, so she went out and did something else.


    I chopped the herbs, filtered them, added flour and honey to the paste and turned it into small pills. It wasbor-intensive, but these pills could save our lives tonight!


    At six o¡¯clock, Dali returned with a copy of the contract and a copy of the mansion¡¯s buyer and seller ID cards. Xiaotao asked the forensics team to look up the background of the man named Ren Facai. A few minutester, an officer reported, ¡°Captain, Ren Facai has a criminal record!¡±


    Ren Facai had a rich and illustrious criminal record indeed. He was involved in smuggling, moneyundering, gambling and much more. Xiaotaoughed and said, ¡°Song Yang, maybe we don¡¯t need to bother staying at the haunted mansion anymore! We¡¯ve got the murderer!¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°No, it¡¯s too early to say that.¡±


    The forensics team continued to search for more information about the man in their database. I stood aside to watch them and marveled at the convenience of modern technology. Whenever the ID card was used, it would clearly be recorded in the database. A fugitive would have a much harder time trying toy low these dayspared to twenty years ago.


    The results showed that Ren Facai was currently staying at a hotel in Nanjiang City.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go get him now!¡± Xiaotaomanded. She picked a few officers to go with her, then picked me, Dali, and Wang Yuanchao as well. After arriving at the hotel, we inquired at the front desk, and a porter led us to the room where Ren Facai was staying. When we came to the door, everyone prepared to charge in. We heard theughter of a womaning from inside the room. The porter knocked on the door and said, ¡°Sir, it¡¯s room service.¡±


    ¡°Fuck off! Don¡¯t you see the ¡®Don¡¯t Disturb¡¯ sign on the door?¡±


    The porter grimaced and turned to Xiaotao for help. She mimed the words for him to say, ¡°Sir, we just received your parcel, and the delivery man insisted that you must ept it yourself.¡±


    ¡°Fine! Give me a minute!¡±


    After a long time, the door opened a small slit. I saw half the face of a fat middle-aged man. Everyone leaned on the wall on both sides of the door so Ren Facai couldn¡¯t see us. The man asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the parcel?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too big to bring up here, sir. You¡¯ll have to go downstairs in person.¡±


    The man¡¯s gaze fell to the floor. I panicked. I just noticed that the light on the ceiling made an officer¡¯s shadow clearly visible on the floor. The man screamed, ¡°Is there someone next to you, you little shit? Fuck you!¡±


    The door mmed shut and we heard a ruckus inside the room. Xiaotao yelled, ¡°This is bad! He¡¯s going to jump out the window!¡±

 Chapter 105

    <h4>Chapter 105</h4>


    Xiaotao jumped and kicked the door down with both her feet. It opened straight away, but all we saw was an open window and a woman sitting on the bed. She waspletely naked, and when she saw so many people rushing in, she quickly covered herself with the nket.


    We looked out the window. It was the third floor. The roof of a car below was smashed, and right next to it a fat man in a flowing white bathrobe and hotel slippers sprinted.


    Wang Yuanchao climbed onto the window and shouted, ¡°This is a police case! Stay away!¡±


    He then jumped straight down and rolled his body as hended. He quickly got back on his feet and began to chase the man with a speed as fast as a leopard.


    ¡°Do we have to follow them, Xiaotao-jiejie?¡± Dali asked.


    ¡°No. Wang Yuanchao will handle it.¡±


    Xiaotao looked around the room. The man¡¯s clothes were strewn all over the floor. In the rush of getting away, that man wore nothing underneath the bathrobe. Xiaotao found a wallet from the pocket of a pair of pants on the floor, and the ID card inside showed that he was the guy we were looking for.


    Then she asked the woman on the bed, ¡°What is your rtion with Ren Facai?¡±


    ¡°C-Cousin!¡±


    ¡°Do cousins get into bed naked together?¡± sneered Xiaotao. She threw the woman¡¯s clothes on to the bed and added, ¡°Wear your clothes and go wait outside.¡±


    After a while, Ren Facai was brought back by Wang Yuanchao. Ren Facai was soaked in sweat. You could clearly see that he was exhausted. When he saw the woman kneeling in the hallway, he quickly exined, ¡°Officers, she¡¯s my rtive! She¡¯s my niece! We don¡¯t have that kind of rtionship!¡±


    ¡°She said you¡¯re cousins, yet you said she¡¯s your niece,¡± Xiaotao sneered. ¡°You guys really should¡¯ve agreed on the same lie beforehand like pros!¡±


    The shame on Ren Facai¡¯s face was clear. ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll stay in prison for five days and pay a fine of five hundred yuan, right?¡±


    That¡¯s impressive, I thought. He must¡¯ve gotten caught for this offence a lot.


    He looked down and realized that he was naked save for the bathrobe, so he said, ¡°Officer, do you mind bringing me my pants?¡±


    Xiaotao showed him her badge and yelled, ¡°We¡¯re from the criminal division. We¡¯re not after your ass for a prostitution case! Come with us to the police station!¡±


    Ren Facai looked confused as he stared at Xiaotao¡¯s badge. ¡°You must be mistaken, Officer! I haven¡¯t done anything wrong recently.¡±


    Xiaotao waved her hand, ¡°We¡¯ll talk when we get to the station.¡±


    Once they apprehended the suspect, Xiaotao intended to go back to the station and interrogate him straight away. When we got into her car, Dali asked, ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie, don¡¯t you want to get off work on time? My stomach is rumbling with hunger!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll drive you guys back to campus first then,¡± she replied.


    I declined immediately. I told her that we¡¯ll just get off the car at the intersection and find a way to go back ourselves. It didn¡¯t feel right to take up her precious time when she was still working on a case.


    Seeing how the investigation had been going on so well, Xiaotao boldly asked, ¡°Do you think Ren Facai is the murderer, Song Yang?¡±


    ¡°Well, he does look like a criminal...¡±


    ¡°Come on, out with it! Just say what you think!¡± urged Xiaotao impatiently.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be honest then. I don¡¯t think Ren Facai is the murderer we¡¯re looking for!¡±


    Xiaotaoughed. ¡°Your inexperience is showing! That man looks like he would do anything for money. I would bet that he¡¯s the murderer!¡±


    ¡°And what if you¡¯re wrong?¡± I raised my eyebrows.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll buy you dinner!¡±


    ¡°Okay, deal!¡±


    Dali stared at us with a nk expression. ¡°Jeez. So I¡¯m the third wheel again, huh?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re just making a bet! What are you so sensitive about?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°Oh, look! Sparks are flying in the air. This car is filled with the fragrance of love!¡± Dali mocked us.


    ¡°You idiot! I¡¯ll kick you out of the car if you don¡¯t shut up!¡± Xiaotao¡¯s face had turned red, but not as red as mine.


    Soon after that, Dali and I were back in our dorm. At about nine o¡¯clock in the morning the next day, I received a call from Xiaotao.


    ¡°Song Yang, he¡¯s as slippery as an eel! Come and help us!¡±


    ¡°Okay! I¡¯ll be right there!¡±


    I gave Dali a look. At that moment, we were both in ss. We found the perfect timing when the professor turned away from us to write on the ckboard, then we quickly snuck away through the back door of the lecture hall. Our ssmates merely smirked. We had be somewhat known for skipping ssestely.


    When we arrived at the police station, I saw Ren Facai sitting in the interrogation room. His eyes were red. Empty lunch boxes and cups were scattered on the table in front of him.


    ¡°Did he confess?¡± I asked.


    Xiaotao sighed.


    ¡°He did,¡± she said. ¡°He confessed to stealing chickens and beating up dogs and a ton of other petty crimes. He¡¯s been at it sincest night! He¡¯s got stamina, I¡¯ve got to give him that.¡±


    I noticed that Xiaotao was wearing the same clothes as yesterday and was surprised. ¡°You mean you haven¡¯t had a rest since yesterday?¡±


    ¡°I took short naps in the conference room once in a while,¡± she replied. ¡°The police officers doing the questioning changed three times.¡±


    Xiaotao then went silent for a while.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go question him ourselves!¡± I suggested.


    Xiaotao sent a short text message to a police officer who was in the interrogation room. They quickly came out, and we went in immediately. I asked Ren Facai, ¡°Did you recently buy a mansion at a price of half a million yuan recently?¡±


    Ren Facai nodded repeatedly, ¡°That¡¯s right, Officer! You even found out the price! Well done! Well done!¡±


    Xiaotao mmed the table. ¡°Stop leading us in a circle, bastard. Dead bodies were found inside the mansion you just bought! Don¡¯t tell me you know nothing about that!¡±


    ¡°But I really don¡¯t know anything about that,¡± Ren Facai shrugged. ¡°You¡¯ve asked me about that three times, and I¡¯ll give you the same answer again¡ªI don¡¯t know how the bodies got there! If I knew, I wouldn¡¯t have bought the old ce.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know it¡¯s a haunted house either,¡± I sneered.


    ¡°Oh, I know about that, Officer.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you still buy it?¡±


    Ren Facai smiled, ¡°I didn¡¯t buy the house to live there. I just wanted an isted ce where nobody dared to go. I thought of turning it into a leather workshop. I¡¯ve got a brother who¡¯s good at making fake Louis Vuitton bags. He¡¯s fooled many people with his skills...¡±


    Xiaotao snapped and mmed on the table again. ¡°Get to the point!¡± she shouted.


    Ren Facai narrowed his small eyes and murmured, ¡°Won¡¯t your pretty hand hurt if you do that, beautiful?¡±


    Xiaotao almost opted for torture to force a confession out of him, but I managed to persuade her against it. When she calmed down, she whispered to me, ¡°You should be careful about this guy. He can lead you a mile away from the key point before you realize it.¡±


    The whole interrogation process was long and tortuous. I fully understood the boring side of a police officer¡¯s work. But no matter how we interrogated him, he¡¯d always lead us away from the case and blindside us with all the petty crimes he¡¯dmitted, like selling porn, online scams, moneyundering and a whole host of other things.


    I realized that the man belonged to a group of criminals who strictly stuck to the ¡®lighter¡¯ crimes. In the end, I was convinced that the guy did not know anything about the victims and would never confess to the murders. Even under my Cave Vision, he seemed not to be lying. It was pretty clear that he didn¡¯t even know if the victims were male or female.


    It was already four o¡¯clock in the afternoon when we got out of the interrogation room. I was exhausted, and so was Xiaotao. Dali asked how it went. I shook my head and said, ¡°He¡¯s not the murderer.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell them to release him,¡± muttered Xiaotao. ¡°Ugh, I don¡¯t ever want to see that greasy face of his ever again!¡±


    Now that we hit a dead end again, Xiaotao was utterly deted. Iforted her by saying it was fine. The case was aplicated one, so it was impossible that we¡¯d be able to solve it so easily. We would go on with our original n and stay the night at the haunted mansion.


    At that moment, Xiaotao received a call. She answered it, and after she hung up she told me, ¡°Song Yang, one of my officers caught a suspicious individual near the haunted mansion!¡±


    ¡°Awesome!¡± eximed Dali. ¡°It must be the murderer, trying to destroy some evidence! That means we won¡¯t have to spend the night at the haunted mansion tonight!¡±


    We immediately got into the car and headed to the haunted mansion. We saw two police officers questioning a young man. As we got closer, we realized it was Ye Shiwen. He almost leapt with joy when he saw me.


    ¡°Song Yang! Thank God you¡¯re here! These officers think I¡¯m a suspect and kept asking me questions. I was only here to find something I lost.¡±


    Xiaotao asked, ¡°So you are Song Yang¡¯s friend? This is a murder scene. What did you lose here?¡±


    Ye Shiwen mmed up and refused to give a clear answer. No wonder the officers thought he was suspicious! It was only after Xiaotao intimidated him that he finally revealed that he was looking for a small handcrafted knife. He probably lost it in the bathroom upstairs.


    Xiaotao asked one of the officers to go look for it, and sure enough, they found a handcrafted knife. The scabbard was very beautifully carved. Ye Shiwen was about to take it when Xiaotao stopped him and roared, ¡°You do know that a knife can be used as a weapon, right? We¡¯ll have to confiscate this!¡±


    ¡°But, Officer!¡± Ye Shiwen implored. ¡°There¡¯s no sharp de at all to this knife. You can¡¯t hurt anyone with it! It¡¯s just a gift my ex-girlfriend gave to me. That¡¯s the only reason why I find it so precious.¡±


    Xiaotao tried the de and found that it really wasn¡¯t sharp at all. She told Ye Shiwen that because he was my friend, she¡¯d trust him and allow him to have the knife. Ye Shiwen was very grateful to me and promised to treat me to a nice mealter. I would never have guessed it at the time, but I would see the knife again soon¡ªand it would be connected to a murder case!

 Chapter 106

    <h4>Chapter 106</h4>


    It was already getting dark, so it was about time to start preparing for our stay here at the mansion for the night. Xiaotao ordered the officers guarding the mansion to get us some food and drinks along with three sleeping bags. Then they could get off work for the day.


    The mansion waspletely isted¡ªthere were no other buildings around it. Once the sun sank below the horizon, darkness descended on the area like a thick, heavy fog. It was a moonless night. Once every few minutes or so, the headlights of a car would sh across the road.


    Once the police officers returned with our provisions for the night, we brought them up to the room where the dead bodies were found andid out our sleeping bags there.


    ¡°Dude,¡± whined Dali with both of his hands hugging his shoulders, ¡°are you sure we have to stay here the whole night?¡±


    ¡°How many times are you going to ask that question, idiot?¡± snapped Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯m hungry! Let¡¯s eat!¡±


    She then proceeded to tear open the paper box containing the noodles, stirred it with a pair of chopsticks and tucked in. I took a bite off of a bun myself. Dali looked on and marveled, ¡°How can you guys eat with such fervor as if two dead people weren¡¯t found right here a few days ago?!¡±


    We both shrugged.


    The evening passed on quite uneventfully. In fact, we were even getting slightly bored as there was nothing to do in particr. We didn¡¯t dare to y with our phones as we were worried the battery might run out on us¡ªwe¡¯d have no way to contact the outside world then. Xiaotao was quite ustomed to this situation though because she was used to staying in the car for a few days continuously when she was on stakeouts.


    When it was prettyte into the night, Dali suddenly said he needed to go to the toilet and insisted that I apany him.


    ¡°Are you still a man?¡± Xiaotaoughed and jeered. ¡°It¡¯s right next to the room! Just go out the door and turn left.¡±


    ¡°Then... Then I¡¯ll scream my lungs out so you¡¯ll hear me if something happens!¡±


    Once Dali left, I took out a mug from my backpack and handed it to Xiaotao.


    ¡°Here you go. To rece your favorite mug.¡±


    Xiaotao smiled and shook her head, ¡°Seriously! Can¡¯t you just say that it¡¯s a gift? But since you¡¯re being so thoughtful, I¡¯ll let it slide this time.¡±


    She twisted open a bottle of cold green tea and poured it into the mug I just gave her and took a sip. Then she offered me the mug.


    ¡°I see you haven¡¯t had a drink with your food yet. Drink this.¡±


    I politely declined at first but she insisted, so I took the mug from her. As I drank the tea, I could taste the faint sweetness of Xiaotao¡¯s lipstick and that made me blush again. But our little moment was short-lived as it was interrupted by Dali¡¯s sudden scream. We both rushed out immediately.


    When we got to the bathroom, we saw Dali staring at the toilet bowl with a sickly pale face. He told us that as he was just sitting down on the toilet seat, he felt a cold hand grabbing at his bare bottom. He sprang back up on his feet and screamed.


    ¡°You really are an idiot, aren¡¯t you?¡± Xiaotao snorted.


    ¡°Jeez, have a bit of sympathy!¡± cried Dali. ¡°I swear there really was a hand in there!¡±


    I stared at the toilet.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably a rat,¡± Imented. ¡°Toilets and sewers are connected. This ce had been unupied for a long time after all. Any rat could¡¯ve climbed out of here easily.¡±


    ¡°No, dude, listen to me! It was clearly a hand that grabbed my ass!¡±


    At that moment, we all heard the sound of a ball bouncing the floor downstairs and Dali shrieked in fear again. I was much more freaked out by his sudden scream than the weird noise downstairs.


    ¡°I-It¡¯s the boy¡¯s ghost!¡± stuttered Dali through chattering teeth.


    I couldn¡¯t quite make out where the sound wasing from. Sometimes it felt as if it was very close to us, yet sometimes it sounded like it was far away. It rang through the stillness of the abandoned mansion. I turned around and saw that even Xiaotao looked very pale indeed.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go check it out,¡± I suggested.


    ¡°Do we have to?¡± asked Dali.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I assured him. ¡°A ghost isn¡¯t the scariest thing in this kind of ce¡ªit¡¯s your imagination!¡±


    ¡°But what if it really is a ghost?¡± asked Xiaotao with raised eyebrows.


    ¡°So what if it¡¯s a ghost?¡± I answered. ¡°A ghost is nothing more than residual spiritual energy left in the physical world. It¡¯s no different from a video or a hologram. It can do no harm to us.¡±


    Xiaotao went into the room to take the shlight and we then went downstairs together. Well, I said together, but really, I was walking in front while Xiaotao and Dali trailed behind me, holding onto my clothes tightly. Dali had always been a coward, but I was quite surprised to see that even Xiaotao was acting so scared. When I asked her that, she pouted and argued that only lunatics like me wouldn¡¯t be scared in a situation like this.


    I couldn¡¯t help but think to myself how cute Xiaotao was when she¡¯s afraid!


    The old staircase creaked with every step we took. Once we got downstairs, I looked around with the living room with the shlight. It was empty.


    ¡°See? There¡¯s nothing¡ª¡±


    Before I could finish my sentence, Xiaotao jumped in fright, saying something just touched her foot. We looked down and saw a ball.


    She picked it up and cried, ¡°But how could there be a ball here? We scoured the whole house the other day and it wasn¡¯t here!¡±


    ¡°Th-Then it must be... ghosts!¡± Dali started to panic.


    ¡°Stop making this ce scarier than it actually is!¡± I spat.


    Just then, a door upstairs banged very loudly, followed by the sound of a womanughing. Both Xiaotao and Dali screamed and jumped in fright as if they¡¯d just stepped on a live electrical wire.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s ying a trick on us!¡± I snapped angrily. ¡°I¡¯ll go upstairs and find out who they are!¡±


    I rushed upstairs and found that a door that was originally closed was open. I walked into the room and shone the shlight all around it. I heard a sound above my head¡ªit sounded like something was climbing down from the ceiling. Then a voice whispered in my ear, ¡°He killed my son! He deserved to die! He killed... my son!¡±


    It sounded like someone was whispering right next to my ear, but I couldn¡¯t feel any breath at all. That gave me chills all over my body.


    Earlier that day, I had asked Dali to bring me a bag of salt. It could be used to exorcise evil spirits. I was about to turn around and go grab the salt, but I felt a hand pressing on my shoulder, and out of the corner of my eye I could almost see a ghastly face slowly inching towards me!


    I froze and didn¡¯t dare to look back. I knew that ghosts liked to creep up on people from behind. If I turned back now, all of my courage would leave me. So, I yelled out, ¡°You¡¯re already dead. There¡¯s no point in lingering in the world of the living. It¡¯s time for you to pass on to the next world!¡±


    The hand on my shoulder loosened its grip, then gradually disappeared. Evil spirits were known to prey upon weak-willed people. As long as you¡¯re not afraid of them, they wouldn¡¯t dare to approach you again!


    At that moment, my phone rang. I knew it was Xiaotao because I had set a special ringtone just for her number. I instantly questioned why she had to call me when she was just downstairs. Did something happen to her?


    Immediately after the phone rang, I heard the sound of a ball bouncing on the floor again. Did that little ghost reappear?


    I almost flew downstairs in haste, only to see Dali bouncing a ball.


    ¡°You idiot!¡± I shouted. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? This isn¡¯t the time to be ying with the ball!¡±


    ¡°One two, buckle my shoe, three four, close the door...¡± Dalipletely ignored me and went on bouncing the ball while singing the rhyme. I was taken aback by this reaction. What had gotten into him?


    He had a strange expression on his face. He was pouting and was on the verge of tears, but his eyes seemed to try to point me towards a certain direction.


    ¡°Song Yang! Song Yang!¡± A soft voice was calling me. I turned around. It was Xiaotao who was shivering and cowering behind a pir.


    I was about to approach her, but Dali suddenly grabbed my sleeve and shook his head frantically. I looked back at Xiaotao. What was Dali trying to tell me? Was that not the real Xiaotao but a ghost impersonating her? No, I couldn¡¯t believe that ghosts had such powers.


    In an urgent voice, Xiaotao warned me, ¡°He¡¯s not Wang Dali right now. Stay away from him!¡±


    I shook off Dali¡¯s hand. He went back to bouncing the ball but I could see that he was almost bursting into tears. He then whispered to me, ¡°There¡¯s a woman behind Xiaotao-jiejie. Can¡¯t you see?¡±


    Once he told me that, I could really see a faint figure of a woman wearing a white flowing dress behind Xiaotao. Her long hair was wild and unruly and her cheeks were covered with caked bloodstains. She was holding a bloody dagger against Xiaotao¡¯s neck, but Xiaotao herself was unaware of it.


    It all became clear to me now¡ªthe ghost was holding Xiaotao as hostage to force Dali to act as her son!


    ¡°I raise cup of wine to the heavens!¡± I began to chant. ¡°In the name of the celestial gods, begone evil spirit! In the name of Magistrate Song, let the light of his wisdom illuminate the darkness and wash away injustices!¡±


    Xiaotao and Dali were visibly shocked. They must¡¯ve thought that I was possessed by a ghost! I marched up towards Xiaotao, pointed at the ghost, and yelled, ¡°I am a descendant of the Song family! Evil spirit begone!¡±


    ¡°Aaaahhh!¡±


    The ghost screamed and disappeared like a puff of smoke.

 Chapter 107

    <h4>Chapter 107</h4>


    What I just did was recite a Song family mantra. I didn¡¯t know what it meant or how it worked exactly, but it was something that Grandpa taught me. A Traditional Coroner had to deal with death a lot after all, and we often stumbled upon unclean and evil spirits while doing our job. Thus, Grandpa armed me with this mantra.


    With the disappearance of the ghost, the crisis was averted for the time being. Dali stopped bouncing the ball and returned to normal. Xiaotao yelled at Dali and asked what had gotten into him and why he scared her like that. Dali exined what he saw to her, causing Xiaotao to freeze in fear.


    ¡°D-Did that ghost really hold a knife against my neck?¡± she asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s no reason to be scared,¡± I assured her. ¡°There¡¯s no way a ghost could do you any harm!¡±


    ¡°But ghosts can attack our souls directly and kill us without spilling our blood!¡± Dali argued. ¡°It¡¯s like when you¡¯re walking down the street and then suddenly you feel a chill down your spine¡ªit means a ghost just passed through you. It can pull out your soul from your body and possess you!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe any of that is possible,¡± I countered. ¡°If ghosts can kill people so easily, then what¡¯s the point of having the police investigate murders at all?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± nodded Xiaotao.


    But even so, it was now evident that the mansion really was haunted, so I suggested that we all should go upstairs and stay close together for the rest of the night. That way our Yang energy would be focused in one ce and ward off the spirits that might roam around here from approaching us again.


    After staying upstairs for a while, Dali suddenly said, ¡°Um, dude... I need to take a dump.¡±


    ¡°How do you have so much shit in you?!¡± I snapped.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t get to take a shitst time because that freaking ghost hand grabbed my ass, remember?¡±


    ¡°Ugh. Just hold it in for a while, won¡¯t you?¡±


    A few minutes after that, Xiaotao said she needed to go to the toilet. I told her I¡¯d apany her there.


    ¡°You¡¯re clearly being unfair, dude!¡± cried Dali.


    ¡°Xiaotao is a woman. Of course I have to be more concerned about her safety!¡±


    Considering what just happened earlier, I decided the best thing we should do was to relieve ourselves outside the mansion. The overgrown bushes outside were waist-high anyway. So we all went out of the mansion and both Xiaotao and Dali immediately disappeared into the bushes to do their business. I myself found a quiet spot to urinate too.


    Once I was done, I suddenly noticed a ck SUV parked across the road. There were no other houses around here, nor were there any shops ormercial buildings. Who would park their car at an isted ce like this? Could it be a couple of lovers getting frisky in their car?


    However, since we were at a murder scene, I thought it would be best to err on the side of caution. When Xiaotao was done, I told her, ¡°That car looks suspicious. Let¡¯s go check it out.¡±


    ¡°Right!¡±


    But just as we were approaching it, the engine of the car suddenly started. Xiaotao rushed forward and shouted, ¡°Freeze! Police!¡±


    The car quickly drove away. Xiaotao pulled out her gun and fired it at the car, creating a spark as the shot hit it.


    ¡°Why did you shoot the car?¡± I asked in confusion.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a nk!¡± she exined. ¡°The car had no license te, so it would almost be impossible to track it down. But now it¡¯s easier since I left a mark on it!¡±


    She then pulled out her phone and called the officers at the police station to check every auto repair shop in the city and detain every owner of a ck SUV that had a bullet hole in it. The first shot of the police gun was always a nk for safety reasons, but the impact was still strong enough to put a hole through a car. Xiaotao might have just vited a rule by shooting just now, but if she hadn¡¯t done that, we would¡¯ve never found out who the car belonged to. Desperate times called for desperate measures!


    I praised Xiaotao¡¯s quick thinking. She smugly blew the smoke off the gun and said, ¡°It¡¯s the wisdom I gained from being on the battlefield.¡±


    We then turned around to return to the mansion. I shouted Dali¡¯s name into the bushes but heard no response. I waded through the overgrown weeds and fallen tree branches to find him, but only saw a pile of fresh poop. At that moment, Dali¡¯s scream was heard inside the house. Xiaotao and I exchanged a look. That bastard! We merely left him alone for a few minutes and he already managed to get into trouble!


    We rushed back upstairs. In the dark hallway, I caught a glimpse of a dark figure flitting about from room to room.


    ¡°Song Yang, look!¡± cried Xiaotao, holding onto my shoulder tightly. ¡°Someone is crawling on the floor!¡±


    Sure enough, we saw the figure of a man climbing slowly out of a room. It turned out to be Dali. He was soaked in sweat and was looking around him fearfully. He looked as if he didn¡¯t see us and just crawled all the way to the end of the hallway where the bathroom was.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing now, idiot?¡± I shouted while I was catching up to him. He was crawling really fast on the floor, and this scared me considerably. Finally, when he reached the bathroom, he took off his shirt and soaked it in the toilet bowl water. Then he squeezed out the excess water and wrapped the wet shirt around his head.


    I kicked him in his ass which made his head m into the toilet bowl. He turned his head around and was surprised to see me there.


    ¡°Dude! Get down! This house is on fire!¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? What fire?¡±


    ¡°This whole house is on fire, dude!¡± replied Dali in panic. ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there! Get down to the ground or the smoke will choke the life out of you!¡±


    I pped him hard on his face to make him snap out of it. He cried out in pain but then grabbed me and said, ¡°Dude, we¡¯re gonna burn to death in this house!¡±


    As I looked into his eyes, I realized that they were zed over.


    ¡°You¡¯re hallucinating!¡± I eximed.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not!¡± he shouted back at me. ¡°Look at my hands! They¡¯re burned!¡±


    He then showed me his arms. There really were burnt marks on his skin.


    I had read that our psyche could affect changes on our bodies. A hypnotist could press a normal coin into someone¡¯s skin and then convince the person that it was red-hot. There would be blisters and a burnt mark on that person¡¯s skin.


    But that made no sense in Dali¡¯s case since there were no outsiders here. No one could¡¯ve hypnotized Dali! Could it really be the effect of a supernatural power?


    Just then, Xiaotao suddenly screamed. Her voice came from the room we were staying in earlier. I rushed over and asked her what happened. She pointed at the wall and cried, ¡°The wall! The wall is bleeding!¡±


    I looked at the wall. It was bright red. Blood was oozing out from it and flowed down to the floor in such a huge amount that it would soon engulf and drown us.


    ¡°This fire is too big! Dude, where are you?¡± screamed Dali as he crawled in through the door.


    ¡°No, no, no!¡± I shouted. ¡°This is just an illusion! It¡¯s all an illusion!¡±


    I closed my eyes and bit my tongue, but it didn¡¯t help at all, because when I opened my eyes again, all I saw was a sea of blood!


    I quickly reached for a pack of salt from my bag which I had asked Dali to buy earlier. Salt was known to be able to exorcise evil spirits. I tore open the packaging and grabbed a fistful of salt and hurled it to the ground. As I did so, I could feel my palm turning sticky. I looked down and got so angry I could hardly refrain myself from kicking Dali¡¯s ass again. That moron had mistakenly bought a pack of white sugar!


    The pool of blood on the floor suddenly formed into a ball and gradually transformed into a woman¡¯s head.


    ¡°You¡¯re so kind to pay us a visit in our humble abode,¡± the head murmured. ¡°Why don¡¯t you stay with me and my son forever?¡±


    ¡°No, no, no! This is just an illusion! This isn¡¯t real!¡±


    In my panic, I grabbed another handful of white sugar and hurled it at the woman¡¯s head. To my horror, the head lifted up slowly to reveal the woman¡¯s entire neck. My eyes widened to the size of saucers. If salt could exorcise evil spirits, could it be that white sugar could embolden them?


    ¡°Ahhh!!!¡±


    Xiaotao let out a loud scream while rubbing her fingers. I grabbed her hand and saw that her delicate fingers were burnt! Immediately after that, I could feel a sharp pain in the palm of my hand. I looked down at it and saw that it was burned too. I was stunned. This might be an illusion, but it could cause actual physical pain!


    Then, the sea of blood slowly engulfed us. It rose from our feet then up to our legs. It would soon reach our waists!


    I suddenly remembered that I had brought the Mind Clearing Pills with me. I quickly grabbed the chewing gum container in my bag in which I stored the pills and took two pills out. I popped one immediately into my mouth.


    This Mind Clearing Pill was made of more than a dozen different Chinese medicinal herbs that were meant to refresh the mind. The second the pill touched my tongue, it was as if scales fell from my eyes. The illusion disintegrated instantaneously, and I finally saw the truth of what was happening.


    I burst out inughter.


    So this was the answer to the mystery of human spontaneousbustion!


    ¡°Why are youughing, Song Yang?¡± asked Xiaotao worriedly. ¡°We¡¯re about to be drowned in blood!¡±


    ¡°You can see for yourself!¡±


    I put the Mind Clearing Pill into her mouth and asked her not to swallow it. The pill had a sharp taste like wasabi or mustard. Xiaotao held her forehead with her hand for a few seconds. When she opened her eyes again, she was shocked.


    ¡°Ants?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I answered. ¡°These are South American bullet ants. The two victims weren¡¯t burned to death by fire. They were killed by the acid secreted by these ants!¡±


    1. . The pain from their stings have beenpared to being shot, hence the name bullet ants.

 Chapter 108

    <h4>Chapter 108</h4>


    ¡°But still, we¡¯re surrounded by the ants!¡± eximed Xiaotao.


    ¡°No worries,¡± I replied. ¡°I¡¯ve got the magic weapon right here!¡±


    I grabbed another fistful of sugar and flung it to the corner of the room. No matter what kind of ants they were, they wouldn¡¯t be able to resist sugar.


    The sea of ants that were about to engulf us immediately receded and rushed towards the sugar. When they all clumped together near the sugar, they formed a raised bump on the floor. I then understood why I saw the woman¡¯s head earlier.


    I led Xiaotao out of the room when the bullet ants around us had all gone after the sugar sprinkled on the floor instead. When we got out to the hallway, we saw that it was full of bullet ants too, so I sprinkled sugar at the end of the hallway to lure them all there.


    Had Dali not carelessly bought white sugar instead of salt, we might have actually all died in that mansion that night!


    When we reached downstairs, I saw Dali rolling on the floor. His body was covered in a swarm of bullet ants. I quickly took off my coat to chase the ants off of Dali. I slipped the Mind Clearing Pill into Dali¡¯s mouth. A few secondster, he shouted, ¡°So there¡¯s no fire after all!¡±


    ¡°Get up! We have to get out of here now!¡±


    We ran out of the mansion in one breath and were so tired by the time we got out that we copsed on the ground.


    Xiaotao looked at her finger and cried with distress, ¡°Will this leave a scar?¡±


    I almost snorted at her reaction. Was that her first thought after escaping death just seconds ago?


    ¡°I¡¯m much worse off than you, Xiaotao-jiejie!¡±mented Dali. ¡°Look at me! I¡¯ve got ant bites here, here, and here...¡± He continued to point out all the spots all over his body. He was even about to take off his pants, but I stopped him in time.


    I assured them that it was nothing to worry about. The bullet ant¡¯s sting only contained formic acid. All they had to do when they got back home was apply baking soda on the bite wounds and they would heal perfectly after a few days.


    Xiaotao wanted to go back inside and collect a few ants as evidence. I suggested that it would be better toe back tomorrow because the ants were in an aggressive mode right now. Both Dali and Xiaotao wondered why and how they could mistake the ants for mes and blood. I had an answer in mind, but I wasn¡¯t a hundred percent sure about it yet. All I said was that I would exin everything tomorrow.


    The next day, we returned to the mansion to re-investigate the scene and collect evidence. The forensics team broke down the walls and found a huge ant nest filled with thousands and thousands of bullet ants. Fortunately, they were all in a dormant state, so Xiaozhou could safely collect a few of them to take back to theb for testing.


    I told him to scrape some of the wall paint and bring it back to theb. It was a major negligence on my part for not noticing this earlier. I should¡¯ve noticed that although the whole house was in a state of disrepair, the paint on the wall actually looked fresh! Obviously, not all knowledge could be gained from the books but must be gleaned from experience instead.


    Xiaozhoupared the formic acid in the bullet ants with the acid found in the victims¡¯ bodies and discovered that they were a match. This confirmed that the victims were both killed by the stings of the ants.


    He also found some suspicious unknown substances from the chemical analysis of the wall paint. I wrote him a list of Chinese medicinal herbs and told him topare those with the substances found on the wall paint. They turned out to be a match as well.


    Everyone was busy until noon. Xiaotao couldn¡¯t resist it any longer and asked me, ¡°Can you exin what exactly went onst night now?¡±


    Iughed and quipped, ¡°But you still owe me a meal!¡±


    Huang Xiaotao red at me. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll invite everyone in the task force to the lunch and you can reveal the key to the case there. You¡¯d better make sure you earned the meal!¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± I smiled and nodded.


    Xiaotao booked a restaurant nearby and invited everyone there. Once we were all seated, I began toy out all my findings.


    ¡°The bullet ant originates from South America and is considered one of the world¡¯s ten most venomous creatures,¡± I exined. ¡°It secretes a highly corrosive acid named formic acid. People who are killed by bullet ants would have marks on their skin that arepletely identical to burn marks. This casepletely befuddled me for so long because my ancestors had never encountered this kind of insect which came from another continent.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± interjected Xiaotao. ¡°But we knew all of this. What we¡¯d like to know is the reason behind our hallucinations in the mansion!¡±


    ¡°It was caused by a drug called Midnight Potion,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Midnight Potion?¡± echoed everyone in whispers.


    I went on to exin that Midnight Potion was a secret drug that prostitutes and courtesans in the ancient times would mix with their perfume. The drug itself was colorless and odorless, but it could produce a strong hallucinogenic effect on anyone who caught a whiff of it. The reason why it was called Midnight Potion was because this drug could only work at night and waspletely ineffective during the day.


    ¡°That¡¯s probably because the chemicalposition of the drug is extremely unstable,¡± Xiaozhou interrupted. ¡°During the day, the rtively high temperature probably broke it down to harmless water and carbon dioxide.¡±


    ¡°Stop butting in!¡± snapped Xiaotao. ¡°Go on, Song Yang.¡±


    I continued to say that once exposed to the Midnight Potion, a person¡¯s psyche would be vulnerable and very impressionable. What we saw was in fact all hallucinations. I asked Dali if he remembered how I saw nothing the moment I came downstairs. It was only after he told me that there was a ghost behind Xiaotao that I suddenly saw the female figure.


    In truth, the ghosts we sawst night were all in our minds. We were the ones who made them appear!


    Dali saw the house on fire, while Xiaotao saw the blood oozing from the walls. This was because they both had gone to the house with different information about its past. Like the general public, Dali thought that the house had been burned about a decade ago; yet Xiaotao knew that it was all just a rumor thanks to Wang Yuanchao¡¯s investigation.


    The victims must have done some investigation into the mansion¡¯s past before they stayed there. But because they were only civilians, the only information avable to them would¡¯ve said that the house had been on fire. So, when the swarm of bullet ants attacked them, they saw it as a raging fire in their minds. They must¡¯ve run in panic from one room to another but they couldn¡¯t escape because the ants surrounded them. Therefore, they were tragically ¡®burned¡¯ alive.


    Dali sighed with relief and asked, ¡°So, the house isn¡¯t actually haunted at all?¡±


    Iughed. ¡°I don¡¯t dare to assert that im. All I can say is that the ghosts we sawst night were all in our minds.¡±


    Xiaotao mmed the table.


    ¡°That means this is a premeditated murder case!¡± she eximed. ¡°But how are we going to catch the murderer, Song Yang? It seems he hasn¡¯t shown up from beginning to end!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple,¡± I replied, my eyes gleaming. ¡°We¡¯ll let the bullet ants take us to the murderer!¡±


    ¡°The bullet ants?¡± Xiaotao asked confusedly.


    I exined that the reason why the murderer was able to manipte so many bullet ants was because he had the ant colony¡¯s queen in his possession. When the ck SUV was parked near the housest night, the murderer must¡¯ve brought the queen ant with him in the car too, and the bullet ants must¡¯ve detected the chemical signal released by the queen ant which sent the ants into aggressive mode. They probably sensed that their queen was entrapped and possibly in danger.


    Xiaotao asked the police officers if they were able to track down the ck SUV. They all shook their heads. No such car had been found even though officers had been sent to every auto repair shop in the city.


    ¡°Let the police officers on standby at the auto repair shops return,¡± I said. ¡°From now on, the three of us are more than enough to catch the murderer.¡±


    ¡°Let me join you too!¡± Wang Yuanchao spoke up.


    ¡°Right!¡± cried Xiaotao, standing up spiritedly. ¡°Let¡¯s not even finish the meal! Let¡¯s go now!¡±


    ¡°Be patient,¡± I interrupted her. ¡°Bullet ants live in the tropical regions of South America. The days are too hot there, so they are usually only active at night. We should wait until then before we take action too.¡±


    ¡°But...¡± Xiaotao hesitated. ¡°What if the murderer attacks us again?¡±


    ¡°I need you to get something for me,¡± I said. I then whispered a few words into her ear.


    Xiaotao was shocked.


    ¡°But that thing is illegal!¡± she eximed. ¡°If I find out that you acquired that thing yourself, I won¡¯t hesitate to arrest you!¡±


    ¡°Please, I beg you! We really need this thing!¡±


    I then noticed that the police officers around us were all staring at us and whispering and smiling slyly. Xiaotao blushed and mmed the table with her fist.


    ¡°Stop it!¡± she shouted at them. ¡°We were discussing serious matters!¡±


    That evening, Xiaotao, Dali, Wang Yuanchao, and I went to the haunted mansion. I gave everyone the Mind Clearing Pill so they wouldn¡¯t sumb to the hallucinatory effects of the Midnight Potion. I cut out a stic bottle into a makeshift spade and used that to scoop out a number of bullet ants from behind an exposed wall brick. Because there was no distress signal from the queen, the ants were quite docilepared to their behaviorst night, so I was in no danger of getting stung. Xiaotao and Dali were still traumatized by theirst encounter with these small creatures though, and I could clearly see them shrink away from the ants in fear.


    We walked to the ce where the ck SUV was parkedst night and I put the ants down on the ground. They then immediately began to crawl towards the same direction away from the mansion.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t get it,¡± Xiaotao remarked. ¡°Why didn¡¯t they just leave the mansion to go find the queen? Why stay in there?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve thought about that too,¡± I replied. ¡°But I examined the perimeters of the house earlier and detected signs of camphor being sprinkled all around mansion. The murderer must¡¯ve done that to trap the ants inside.¡±


    ¡°What a cunning murderer!¡± Xiaotao eximed.

 Chapter 109

    <h4>Chapter 109</h4>


    The ants continued to crawl along the road and we followed right behind them. Although they seemed to be crawling as fast as they could, it was still very slowpared to our walking speed. We held our breaths whenever they crossed the street, afraid that they might get squished by the passing cars. If they all get killed, then we might as well throw in our towels because the murderer might never be found.


    The ants naturally had no notion of traffic rules and what traffic lights were, so we unavoidably vited more than a few trafficws and jumped a few red lights just by following them. Xiaotao had to stop other cars in their tracks to avoid squishing the ants. We were even stopped by a few traffic police officers, but Xiaotao merely had to show her badge and exin that we were investigating a murder case and we were let off without any further questions.


    Fortunately, the vehicles on the road were few because it was gettingte into the night. By then, the ants had been crawling for three hours. It was an arduous process, but we finally reached a residential neighborhood. Xiaotao pointed at a car and shouted, ¡°Look! It¡¯s the car we sawst night!¡±


    It was indeed the ck SUV fromst night. The license te had been removed and I didn¡¯t see any bullet holes on the rear end of the car at all. I touched it with my hands and realized that the owner of the car must¡¯ve fixed it up himself.


    We followed the ants all the way to the front of an apartment. It was already three in the morning by then, so we couldn¡¯t just knock on the door and use the excuse of needing to check the water meter or anything like that. I also noticed that the door was designed to open outwards, so no matter how much force we used, there was little chance that we could kick it open. I couldn¡¯t pick the locks either, as that would make a noise that would alert the murderer inside.


    ¡°Let¡¯s lure him out by taking a leaf out of his own book,¡± I suggested.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    I tore off the water and electricity bills from the wall, asked Wang Yuanchao for a lighter, and started to burn the bills. I asked Dali to shout out a word.


    ¡°Fire! Fire!¡± Dali shouted at the top of his lungs.


    Not long after that, all the nearby residents ran out of their apartments in panic. Xiaotao quickly showed them her police badge and signaled them to stay quiet. The residents crowded around us in curiosity. Someone whispered, ¡°What crimes did the person insidemit, Officer?¡±


    ¡°That is ssified information!¡± Xiaotao replied firmly.


    ¡°I knew there was something fishy about that man!¡± said a middle-aged woman among the crowd. ¡°He moved here six months ago but he huddles inside all day and never says hello to any of the neighbors!¡±


    ¡°Do you know his name?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I do!¡± replied another middle-aged woman. ¡°I¡¯m the one who collects the water and electricity fees for this neighborhood, after all. His name is Jin Baoshan.¡±


    The four of us were shocked. So the murderer turned out to be him! At that moment, the door opened, and Jin Baoshan¡¯s face appeared through the cracks. He took a nce outside and immediately tried to close the door again, but Wang Yuanchao had already blocked it with his foot.


    Jin Baoshan turned around and ran. He was about to jump out of the window, but if he thought that Wang Yuanchao was going to let him do that, he was sorely mistaken. Wang Yuanchao effortlessly caught up to him and shoved him down onto the sofa and held him there.


    ¡°Why did you try to escape, Jin Baoshan?¡± asked Xiaotao with her arms crossed. ¡°Was it guilty conscience?¡±


    ¡°I know why you¡¯re here,¡± he replied with fear in his voice. ¡°I went to the mansionst night. I was just passing by and I stopped because I wanted to see my old house. I had no other intentions at all, but when I saw you, I panicked. You even shot my car!¡±


    ¡°Enough with the act,¡± Xiaotao sneered. ¡°Confess it now¡ªyou¡¯re the murderer, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°What murder?¡± Jin Baoshan replied with a nk expression. ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about!¡±


    ¡°Where did the South American bullet ante from?¡± I asked him.


    He was visibly shocked. I scrutinized his micro-expressions with my Cave Vision and it was clear to me that he was indeed the murderer. Suddenly, Jin Baoshan burst out inughter.


    ¡°Well done!¡± he eximed. ¡°You managed to figure that out in such a short amount of time! It seems that I underestimated you.¡±


    ¡°Are you confessing your crimes now?¡± yelled Xiaotao.


    ¡°Excuse me, Officer,¡± he said, ¡°but could you tell this brute to take his hand off me? This position is too stifling for me.¡±


    Xiaotao nodded slightly at Wang Yuanchao, and he released Jin Baoshan.


    Jin Baoshan sat up on the sofa and brushed the dust off his clothes. He thennguidly lit a cigarette. Police officers were generally more rxed and forgiving when the suspects were about to make a confession, so Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao patiently waited for Jin Baoshan to get ready without interrupting or urging him.


    Jin Baoshan blew out a cloud of smoke then began to rte his story. Five years ago, he worked in a small publishing house in a small city. After many years of hard work, he finally saved up enough money to buy a house and moved into it with his wife. To their horror, they discovered that they could hear an unexinable noise in the house every night. They grew too scared to keep on staying there, so they tried to rent it out. s, rumors that the house was haunted had spread, so no one was willing to rent it either.


    And so, the house became a liability. Later on, more misfortune fell on him as his wife fell seriously ill. He had to sell the house in order to raise enough money to pay for his wife¡¯s medical bills. Just at that crucial moment, he was approached by two men who called themselves Haunted House Busters. The uncle and nephew pair imed that they had the ability to cleanse haunted houses of evil spirits. Jin Baoshan was overjoyed when he heard that and he hired them straight away. Unfortunately, the two men stayed in his house for a few days and dered that it was too haunted. They couldn¡¯t do much to it, but offered to buy the house from him at a low price.


    Jin Baoshan didn¡¯t know what to do. The price the two men offered was much too low, but at the same time, he was in dire need of money. In the end, he agreed and sold them the house!


    The money he got was not even enough to pay for his wife¡¯s surgery, and in the end, his wife died. Jin Baoshan was distraught, so he went to a bar to get drunk. As luck would have it, he met the two men there. They were both very drunk and were loudly bragging about a recent purchase they made. ording to them, they stayed at a house which made weird noises every night. The previous inhabitants were convinced that it was haunted, but guess what? It turned out that it was just a goldfish trapped inside the toilet bowl which would spit out bubbles every night, hence the weird noise. Once they removed the goldfish, they managed to convince the owner of the house to sell it to them at a price that made them roughly three million yuan in profits!


    Jin Baoshan was furious. He wanted to beat them up right then and there. But he realized that he was just a physically frail intellectual who had no chance in a brawl. So he gritted his teeth and vowed that he would get his revenge someday.


    He secretly investigated the two men¡¯s backgrounds and found out that he was not their first victim. They had scammed many people this way and the worst part of it all was that the victims themselves were none the wiser and actually felt grateful to the two men! Jin Baoshan vowed to give them a taste of their own medicine and see them die in a haunted house!


    Jin Baoshan then moved to Nanjiang City where the two men lived and found a job here. Through a loan, he bought the scariest haunted house in the area. He knew that the ghosts in the haunted house wouldn¡¯t kill the men, so he came up with his own n.


    After a long research, he found that the safest murder weapon would be the South American bullet ants! A few years ago, when he was working in a publishing house, he edited a book entitled An Encyclopedia of Deadly Animals, and that was where he was introduced to the bullet ants.


    But these ants weren¡¯t enough. He wanted the two men to die in agony and in fear. So he did more research and found a kind of hallucination drug used by prostitutes and courtesans in ancient times called Midnight Potion. He even tried it himself to check its efficacy. In the end, he figured out that the best way to expose the men to the drug without leaving suspicious traces of it was to mix it with paint and apply it to the walls of the haunted mansion.


    Now everything was ready, so he invited the two men to the haunted house. He even thanked the two men for helping him with thest house and pretended to be very grateful to them. The two men took the bait and unknowing walked into Jin Baoshan¡¯s trap!


    What happened after was exactly as I had deduced. While the two men were killed by the swarm of bullet ants, Jin Baoshan was sitting in his car outside the mansion, holding the queen ant in his hands as he enjoyed the sound of the two men¡¯s screams. His heart almost burst with joy as the two men met their ends.


    He did not return to the crime scene after that, fearing that he might leave incriminating evidence. He knew that those bullet ants wouldn¡¯t live much longer anyway, and he truly believed that no one in this world would ever be able to figure out his murder scheme!


    It was only when we went to question him that he was a little scared because he heard that the police had recently hired a special consultant who was able to break several major cases that befuddled the whole police force.


    Since that day, he had been secretly following us. When he found out that we were going to stay in the haunted mansion for a night, he decided that it was his best opportunity to kill us there and get rid of a potential threat!


    If we were found dead in the mansion, he knew that the police wouldn¡¯t dare to investigate the case again, so he could just sit back and rx.


    But to his surprise, not only did we survive the night, but we had also solved the case in just one day!

 Chapter 110

    <h4>Chapter 110</h4>


    After hearing Jin Baoshan¡¯s exnation, I asked him, ¡°But my eyes can see through lies! How did you manage to deceive me? You didn¡¯t have special training for it, did you?¡±


    "Well, Mr. Detective," he chuckled, "That¡¯s where your oversight saved me. Truthfully, I was extremely unnerved by your piercing eyes when you questioned me that day. If you had asked me if I was the murderer, I would¡¯ve blown my cover!¡±


    So it was my own carelessness that led to my almost fatal mistake, though I wasn¡¯t the only one who was deceived in this case. Even Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao never expected the murderer to be the person who sold the mansion.


    Cases rted to real estate like this one were usually driven by interest and greed. No one had any suspicion that the real motive behind this case was a vendetta.


    ¡°Is Ren Facai your aplice?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    Jin Baoshan blew out a puff of smoke and answered, ¡°No, I don¡¯t know him at all. All I knew was that he was a member of a triad who¡¯d been interested in buying the house at a cheap price. I thought I could use him to distract the police away from me.¡±


    ¡°But you sold a mansion worth three million yuan for only half a million!¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°You must be pretty rich to do that! How did you manage to amass such wealth?¡±


    The answer that Jin Baoshan gave next shocked all of us.


    ¡°But the house was only worth half a million yuan!¡± he chuckled.


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°What did you expect?¡± he responded. ¡°People had died in that house! Everyone believed that it was really haunted. No one would go anywhere near there! I put the price of the house at three million yuan, but I knew I¡¯d never be able to sell it at that price. Nevertheless, it¡¯s true that I paid the real estate agency twenty thousand yuan. I had to work hard for nearly a year to save up that much money.¡±


    I realized how cunning this person was. It was fortunate that he was only interested in getting revenge and wasn¡¯t so bloodthirsty that he would start killing indiscriminately. Otherwise, with his sly cunning and high IQ, who knew how many people would fall prey to him.


    Xiaotao handed Jin Baoshan the handcuffs and said, ¡°Put it on yourself!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to jail!¡± he hissed.


    Xiaotao¡¯s almond-shaped eyes widened. ¡°That¡¯s not up to you to decide!¡±


    Jin Baoshan smiled. ¡°While you were paying attention to my stories, didn¡¯t you notice any movements behind you?¡±


    We looked behind us and saw bullet ants crawling out of the cracks and dark corners of the room like a sweeping tide. Soon enough, we were surrounded. Jin Baoshan pulled out a small ss bottle and put it on the coffee table. It contained a huge ant with a bulging abdomen that looked like a silkworm¡ªit was the queen ant.


    Jin Baoshan smashed the ss bottle with his bare fist, killing the queen ant in the process. As blood flowed down his arm, he broke into a burst of hystericalughter.


    As the queen ant died, it emitted a strong distress signal to its colony. This drove the ants around us into a frenzy.


    ¡°But you¡¯ll die too if you killed the queen ant!¡± shouted Xiaotao.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter to me,¡± Jin Baoshan replied calmly. ¡°The four of you will apany me to the afterlife, so I won¡¯t be lonely. Come to think of it, I will be in thepany of a beautiful young woman like you. I¡¯d say it¡¯s worth it.¡±


    ¡°Did you really think that we¡¯de here unprepared?¡± I asked. I then pulled out a small ck paw that I had been wearing around my neck like an amulet under my shirt.


    At that point, Jin Baoshan noticed how the bullet ants on the ground wouldn¡¯te near us and was shocked.


    ¡°What is that?¡± he asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re pangolin paws,¡± I exined. ¡°They¡¯re the ants¡¯ natural predators. The ants can detect its scent and because of that, they won¡¯t dare touch us!¡±


    They were also a protected wildlife species which meant that ordinary citizens would have no way of procuring it legally. Fortunately, Xiaotao knew an old police officer who had just caught a poacher smuggling some pangolins from the mountains two days ago. ording to legends, grave robbers in the past used to wear pangolin paws around their necks when they dug up graves in order to drive ants away from them as they did the dirty job.


    All four of us wearing a paw around our necks, but we had also prepared an extra one for Jin Baoshan too. Wang Yuanchao forcefully put one around his neck and handcuffed him.


    ¡°You truly are a great young detective,¡± Jin Baoshan relented in a dejected voice. ¡°I¡¯ve lost. I wholeheartedly admit my defeat!¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± Dali yelled out. ¡°We managed to capture the murderer without spilling a single drop of blood! Let¡¯s go back and celebrate!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I shouted. ¡°We can¡¯t open the door now! The residents are still outside. The ants will get to them!¡±


    Xiaotao called a pest removalpany to clear the ants away. Meanwhile, we sat down on the sofa waiting. It was like a scene out of a horror movie¡ªthe sea of bullet ants was all around us, but none dared to approach.


    Had they been released out into the neighborhood, not only would they harm the residents around here, but they would be an invasive species that might endanger the wildlife in the area surrounding Nanjiang City. These little insects might be innocent, but there was no choice¡ªthey had to be killed.


    Once the pest removalpany arrived, the bullet ants were all eliminated via insecticide. Xiaotao paid the bill and told them to remove the ants at the haunted mansion tomorrow.


    Now that the real murderer was captured, I could finally breathe easy again. Xiaotao spent the next two days dealing with the paperwork, then we went back to the haunted mansion together.


    I burned joss paper there in honor of the boy who died there and both of his parents, hoping that all three of them would find peace in their afterlife and move on to their next reincarnation.


    ¡°Do you think what you¡¯re doing would really help them?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I replied. ¡°But at least it¡¯s a show of respect for the dead.¡±


    As we were leaving the empty mansion, Xiaotao suddenly looked back at it and sighed.


    ¡°Because the money that Ren Facai used to buy this house had been acquired illegally,¡± she said, ¡°the house is now confiscated by the court. Why don¡¯t we buy it? I hear there are ns to build a subway line near this area in the next two years. The price of thend would definitely skyrocket by then. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea,¡± I shook my head. ¡°Just think of what happened to its previous owners! It¡¯s a bad omen¡ªwait, did you say should ¡®we¡¯ buy it?¡±


    Xiaotao¡¯s face turned red. ¡°It was just a slip of the tongue! It¡¯s nothing, seriously!¡±


    We stared at the house for a long time without speaking a word. This was the second time Xiaotao and I had gone through a near-death experience together. I suddenly realized how fickle life was, and how we could be alive today and dead tomorrow.


    ¡°You know¡ª¡±


    ¡°By the way¡ª¡±


    We broke the silence at the same time.


    ¡°What were you going to say?¡±


    ¡°What were you going to say?¡±


    I plucked up my courage and grabbed Xiaotao¡¯s shoulders. Her cheeks blushed and her eyes glimmered. Her face was illuminated by the soft light of the setting sun, and she looked stunning.


    I inched my face closer to hers. Xiaotao closed her eyes, as if in anticipation of what was toe next. At that moment, I heard a Maserati with loud electronic music booming driving towards us, and all the courage that I mustered up was shattered into a thousand tiny pieces in an instant.


    The car screeched to a halt near us, and two people emerged from it¡ªYe Shiwen and Zhang Yan. I noticed that they were hand in hand. It seemed that the two had gotten together!


    ¡°Hey, Song Yang!¡± shouted Ye Shiwen. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    I scratched my head. ¡°Well...¡±


    ¡°Is that policewoman your girlfriend?¡± asked Zhang Yan. ¡°She¡¯s gorgeous! She looks just like a supermodel!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not this idiot¡¯s girlfriend!¡± snapped Xiaotao. She then stomped away to her car. I called out to her but shepletely ignored me. I couldn¡¯t help but silently curse at these two idiots who just had to turn up at the worst moment.


    Ye Shiwen patted me on the shoulder andforted me. ¡°We disturbed your special moment, didn¡¯t we? Come on, brother, I¡¯ll treat you to a nice meal and we¡¯ll talk about the case.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes, great idea!¡± nodded Zhang Yan. ¡°It¡¯s all over the newspapers! I never thought that there¡¯d be a great detective among us in our college. It¡¯s all so exciting! I must have your signatureter!¡±


    The fire of fury was raging inside me at the time, but I kept silent. I secretly thought, wouldn¡¯t it be nice if they just died?


    I would soon regret having such thoughts. I had no idea at the time, but in a few weeks, a strange and tragic case would ur right in our college.

 Chapter 111

    <h4>Chapter 111</h4>


    We went to a small restaurant near the college and Ye Shiwen ordered a table full of food. Ye Shiwen and Zhang Yan couldn¡¯t keep their hands off each other the whole time and it made me feel incredibly awkward.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we invite Dali here too?¡± I suggested.


    ¡°Sure, why not?¡± nodded Ye Shiwen. ¡°We can¡¯t possibly finish all the food here anyway.¡±


    I called Dali and told him Ye Shiwen was going to treat us to a meal. He quickly responded, ¡°Will Mengmeng be there too?¡±


    I wanted to do anything I could to help him as a friend, so I asked Zhang Yan, ¡°Can you invite Xia Mengmeng too?¡±


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll call her! She should be in the dorm right now.¡±


    Zhang Yan picked up her phone and spoke a few words before hanging up. She then turned to me and snorted, ¡°The first thing she asked was whether Song Yang is here.¡±


    The second she told her that I was already here, she agreed toe right away.


    I sighed. I must find a chance to rify this misunderstanding!


    After a while, both Dali and Xia Mengmeng arrived. The evening passed quite awkwardly after that, with Xia Mengmeng staring at me most of the time, while Dali¡¯s eyes were mostly glued on Xia Mengmeng, and Ye Shiwen and Zhang Yan had their eyes and hands on each other the whole time. Zhang Yan was the only one speaking. She talked about my supposed girlfriend who was a policewoman, and how I was a special detective hired by the police force. She even bragged about how I was able to solve countless murder cases, but I quickly denied the im, saying that I had only worked on a few cases so far.


    ¡°Oh,e on, Great Detective Song,¡± she patted my hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be so modest! Here, let us drink to your sess in solving thest case!¡±


    I told her I didn¡¯t drink alcohol, so I picked up my ss filled with juice and clinked it with hers.


    Zhang Yan smiled. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell us more about your love life, Great Detective Song?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Detective Song!¡± Ye Shiwen butted in. ¡°How did you and the policewoman first meet?¡±


    I scratched my head and said, ¡°Will you stop calling me Great Detective? It¡¯s embarrassing!¡±


    ¡°Geez, we¡¯re only trying to show you some respect!¡± Zhang Yan answered. ¡°By the way, a drama club was recently created in our college, and I am currently its president. Why don¡¯t you join us? It would be a great honor to have Master Detective Song among our members!¡±


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll pass.¡± I shook my head repeatedly.


    Zhang Yan kept pestering me about it for the next few minutes. Just when I was sessful in turning her down, Xia Mengmeng shot a series of questions at me. How long had I been together with the policewoman? Was the rtionship serious? Wouldn¡¯t police officers be too busy to go out on dates?


    No matter how poor my emotional intelligence was, I was thankfully not too stupid to know what I should say. I told Xia Mengmeng that I¡¯d been in a rtionship with Xiaotao for a long time, that we were getting along with each other very well, and that we often went out on dates. I then quite desperately changed the subject to Dali, talking about how nice a guy he was and what a great friend he had always been.


    Fortunately, Xia Mengmeng lost interest in me after that evening. She would still send me text messages asionally, but I was too busy solving a case to reply.


    I thought that Dali would have a chance with her since she¡¯d given up on me, but to my surprise, a few weeks after that, Xia Mengmeng started dating a tall, muscr hunk. The heartbroken Dali drowned his sorrow with alcohol when he found out about it.


    After the closing of the haunted mansion murder case, my life returned to its dull and mundane routine. One day, my academic counselor asked me to see him in his office. He told me that I had been skipping too many sses this semester that I didn¡¯t have enough credits to graduate!


    This wasn¡¯t an ideal situation for me at all. How would I ever face my family if that happened? My counselor then warned me firmly that I now had roughly half a semester to umte my credits, so I¡¯d better start racking up my brains to find ways to do it.


    ording to the rules of our college, a student could umte credits in various ways. Donating your blood would give you two points. Doing charity work gave you five points. Publishing an article in an academic journal would give you five points. The problem was, each of these activities only counted once, so I couldn¡¯t just keep donating blood every day to umte more credits. Right now, I needed more than a dozen points just to graduate!


    I couldn¡¯t hope to make it up with my grades, so I knew that I had to rely on extracurricr activities to get more credits. Dali suggested joining the drama club. Seeing as Zhang Yan was practically worshipping me, she¡¯d probably let me get away with barely showing up for the club activities.


    I pondered about it and realized that it could be feasible. I could join a charity event, donate my blood, and write an article about ancient Chinese forensic science. Coupled with the credits that I might gain from the drama club, I could have just enough to graduate!


    Dali had skipped quite a number of sses too, so we both swallowed our pride and went to Zhang Yan to beg her to let us join the drama club. She was delighted and agreed immediately. She even appointed us as board members straight away.


    ¡°You can just give us some fake tasks,¡± I suggested. ¡°We¡¯re only here for the credits anyway.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± echoed Dali. ¡°Maybe we could be the mascots or something.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s absolutely out of the question!¡± replied Zhang Yan. ¡°I take pride in my role as the club president. You¡¯re members of my club, so you must obey the club rules. You must be present whenever there¡¯s a club activity!¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on!¡± I pleaded. ¡°I can¡¯t act, nor can I write screenys! I¡¯ll just be in the way here!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡± Zhang Yan interjected. ¡°I often brag about you being a great detective to the other club members. If you could be here and tell your own stories yourself, everyone would be so excited and our club activities would be that much more fun and livelier!¡±


    ¡°Goddammit! Could you please not reveal too many details about the murder case to everyone, madam president? Most of it is still considered confidential!¡±


    Zhang Yan snorted, ¡°You never told me any of the juicy details anyway. Besides, I¡¯m only doing it because I want everyone to know that we have such a talented detective in our college!¡±


    ¡°Now I know why so many pretty girls have been asking me about you these past few days!¡± remarked Dali.


    I was so embarrassed I wish I were dead. I reluctantly promised Zhang Yan toe here whenever there was a club activity, but as a condition, she was not allowed to spread stories about me ever again.


    ¡°Okay, okay,¡± she replied. ¡°Mum¡¯s the word. Since you¡¯ll be here anyway, you can tell everyone about your thrilling career yourself!¡±


    I would rather die!


    I was careless twice in the haunted mansion case. It was all due to myck of experience. To make up for this shoring, I decided to use my spare time to read past criminal files from the Public Security Department. Xiaotao had agreed to procure permission for me to read them. These files were confidential, so I was only allowed to read them in the archive room in the police station. Xiaotao was very supportive of my decision, but she warned that these files wouldn¡¯t make for an exciting read due to the drynguage used in writing them.


    In truth, once I started to read them, I couldn¡¯t stop at all. I was more engrossed in them than I would¡¯ve been reading most thriller novels. On the first day alone, I finished reading half of the files on a shelf. Even Xiaotao was shocked, and she asked me if I should consider working here in the archive room.


    And that was how I spent every day for a few weeks¡ªrunning from my college to the police station to read criminal files and only go back when I needed to sleep. In that period of time, I ended up reading about a thousand case files.


    Apart from that, I also managed to find a mistake in one of the cases when I looked through the files and brought a criminal who had been atrge for a whole year finally to justice!


    On the surface, it was a seemingly ordinary case of a car ident that led to the death of one of the victims. The ident involved a married couple. The husband had survived, but the wife perished. As a result, the husband received a huge amount of life insurance money.


    The case was investigated as a possible murder case in the beginning, which was why it was kept in this archive. However, the evidence the investigating officers found led them to conclude that it was just a simple car ident with no foul y involved.


    This was how the incident transpired: one night, about a year ago, a married couple was driving out of a parking lot when the brakes suddenly failed. The husband tried to control the car as best he could, but it hit a roadblock at a high speed and the whole car rolled over. A piece of ss from the windshield pierced the wife¡¯s neck, killing her. The husband suffered multiple fractures and had to spend several months in the hospital to recuperate.


    I read the case over and over again and finally took it to Xiaotao.


    ¡°There are anomalies in this case!¡± I stated.


    She nced over the case file and replied, ¡°I remember this case. It happenedst year. Captain Zhang led the investigation team and they found that the evidence pointed towards a normal ident.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I argued. ¡°Read the case file carefully! There are two suspicious anomalies here!¡±

 Chapter 112

    <h4>Chapter 112</h4>


    Xiaotao read the case file from beginning to end. When she was done, she shook her head.


    ¡°I really can¡¯t find anything suspicious here, Song Yang.¡±


    ¡°Look here,¡± I pointed at a paragraph. ¡°The car left the parking lot at 10.03 pm, and the brake failure urred at 10.05 pm. That means the crash happened only two minutes after the car left the ce.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°What were they doing before?¡±


    ¡°Well, ording to the file... The couple was in their car from 9.48 pm to 10.00 pm... Having sex. The security camera in the parking lot captured it.¡±


    ¡°You mean it captured the car rocking!¡±


    Xiaotao hit me with the file.


    ¡°You¡¯re so bold now, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    I smiled wryly. ¡°I¡¯m serious! We¡¯re discussing a possible murder case here!¡±


    I would¡¯ve indeed gone red to the roots of my hair if this had been a normal conversation, but since it concerned a case, all my inhibitions were gone.


    ¡°They only got married six months before that,¡± I continued. ¡°They were basically still in their honeymoon phase. And then the security camera captured the car rocking in the parking lot.¡±


    ¡°Everything seems to connect so far.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I turned the page to the list of evidence and pointed at one of the items. ¡°Why were there Viagra pills in the car?¡±


    ¡°How is that suspicious?¡± Xiaotao snorted.


    ¡°The husband was only thirty years old,¡± I replied. ¡°Not to mention, they¡¯d only gotten married half a year before that. Do you really think he needed help in that department already?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps... They wanted it tost longer...¡± Xiaotao muttered, her face reddening.


    ¡°But the whole thing onlysted for twelve minutes¡ªthat¡¯s only an average number.¡±


    Xiaotaoughed and yfully punched me and asked, ¡°Who taught you all this?¡±


    I scratched my head and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand me. I¡¯m being serious here.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, I believe you. But to be honest, I really don¡¯t think what you mentioned amounts to much.¡±


    ¡°Of course, what I just mentioned wouldn¡¯t be nearly enough to change anything,¡± I said. ¡°But they are good enough reasons to start reinvestigating!¡±


    The next anomaly was even more suspicious. At the moment of collision, the airbag would pop out to protect the people in the car. The windshield would¡¯ve shattered and hurled ss shards into the car. But I noticed that the airbag was punctured at a spot where it shouldn¡¯t be punctured¡ªright where it was facing the wife¡¯s neck where her fatal wound was.


    Unfortunately, though, the case urred over a year ago and the car had long been disposed of. Even the wife¡¯s body had been cremated. If the airbag was still around, it would¡¯ve been possible to check whether it had been pierced through from the front, i.e. from the windshield, or the back, which would have been from the direction of the wife¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Would that make any difference?¡± asked Xiaotao after listening to my deduction.


    ¡°Of course it would,¡± I replied. ¡°Which direction would the ss shards puncture the airbag from if it came from the windshield?¡±


    ¡°The front!¡± cried Xiaotao.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± I replied. ¡°That meant that the ss shard didn¡¯t cut the wife¡¯s throat after the crash, but before. It seemed that the police had overlooked a critical clue.¡±


    ¡°In other words,¡± realization hit Xiaotao, ¡°it was murder!¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°The car must¡¯ve been full of debris and ss shards after the crash,¡± I continued. ¡°Therefore, it was difficult to notice that the ss shard that killed the wife was not from the windshield. The murderer must¡¯ve calcted that. Too bad all we have now is this photo, which isn¡¯t even nearly enough to be used as evidence!¡±


    ¡°But that means the murderer is still alive and atrge!¡± sighed Xiaotao indignantly. ¡°I¡¯ll try and apply for the formation of a task force to investigate the case anyway!¡±


    In the end, Xiaotao¡¯s efforts were in vain. Her superiors felt that the doubts I raised were not enough to overturn the conclusion previously reached for the case. Besides, if this turned out to be just an ident, it would be a waste of manpower and resources to reinvestigate the case.


    Xiaotao persisted. She even offered to pay for the expenses used in the investigation with money from her own pocket. Still, Captain Lin could not be swayed. Not only was Xiaotao¡¯s proposal not approved, but he even reprimanded her and warned her not to act impulsively by trying to be the heroine.


    She came back to me looking deted.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we investigate it independently?¡± I suggested.


    She smiled. ¡°If I get caught doing that, I might get suspended.¡±


    I was prepared to say then let¡¯s just give it up, but she continued, ¡°But I believe in your instincts, Song Yang! Let¡¯s do this! However, we must make sure toy low and not let Captain Lin know what we¡¯re doing!¡±


    ¡°Right!¡± I nodded.


    Reopening the investigation of an old case was a very risky thing to do. If it turned out that nothing new was found, Xiaotao might even lose her police badge. Still, we had a strong conviction in our hearts, and that was to never let any murderer go unpunished.


    Xiaotao suggested going directly to the victim¡¯s husband who received a huge amount of insurance money after his wife died. I stopped her andmented that it might be too soon to do that. First, we needed to collect some evidence.


    ¡°Evidence?¡± remarked Xiaotao doubtfully. ¡°What kind of evidence can we still find? They must all have been destroyed after all this time!¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t the surveince video still be in the archive?¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s already been a year! It¡¯s probably already been deleted.¡±


    ¡°No. As long as it was saved in aputer, I know someone who can recover it!¡± That someone was, of course, Lao Yao.


    Xiaotao still had some work to do, so I asked her to smuggle out theputer that the video file was stored in after work and bring it to my college. I would then return it early in the morning the next day.


    Stealing police property was a crime that would cause Xiaotao to immediately be fired from the police force, while I might be thrown in jail for at least half a year. But desperate times called for desperate measures.


    Once Xiaotao got off work, she told me toe and wait for her in the parking lot. After a while, she appeared holding a small bag in her hand. I asked where theputer was, and she replied, ¡°Are you crazy? How do you expect me to haul out the wholeputer? I¡¯ve got the hard disk, that¡¯s good enough! Come on, let¡¯s hurry up so we can put this back again as soon as possible!¡±


    ¡°Right! I¡¯ll be quick about it!¡± I reached out my hand to take the hard drive.


    ¡°No,¡± Xiaotao held the hard drive firmly in her hands. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you!¡±


    It turned out that there were a lot of confidential documents stored in this hard drive, so she had toe with me herself to make sure that these files weren¡¯t leaked or stolen in any way. Besides, she had heard of this tech wizard many times before, but she had never met him in person yet. She was curious to see what he looked like.


    We reached my college at a time when many students wereing back to their dorms from their sses. This wasn¡¯t ideal, since heads would inevitably turn whenever Xiaotao walked past any college student.


    ¡°What a bothersome thing it is to be beautiful!¡± Xiaotao half-jokingly eximed. She then tied her hair up and put on a baseball cap. That didn¡¯t change much, though, since it did nothing to hide her bodacious curves.


    As we walked into the boys¡¯ dormitory, the staring and whispering got even more intense. This was incredibly awkward for me, and I couldn¡¯t help but bury my head down as I walked beside her.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± snapped Xiaotao angrily. ¡°Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just that you¡¯re so eye-catching,¡± I replied. ¡°I don¡¯t want people to gossip about me.¡±


    Xiaotao smirked. ¡°How about I hold your arm as we walk?¡±


    ¡°No! I¡¯ll definitely be in the gossip column of the campus paper if you do that!¡±


    When we reached Lao Yao¡¯s room, I saw him slouched on a chair in front of aputer screen ying League of Legends. When he saw using in, he shouted, ¡°Little Song! You¡¯re finally here to see me! Did you miss me at all?¡±


    I shuddered involuntarily the moment I heard that cloying voice.


    ¡°Oh, hello, girl!¡± Lao Yao greeted Xiaotao. ¡°Where did you get that Versace T-shirt? You¡¯ve got good taste!¡±


    I thought to myself, if I was wrong about Lao Yao being gay then my name was not Song Yang.


    Xiaotao looked around at the room which seemed more like a pigsty and frowned. ¡°We¡¯ve never met, but we¡¯ve talked on the phone before,¡± she introduced herself.


    ¡°Ah,¡± eximed Lao Yao with a grin. ¡°You¡¯re the formidable Huang-sir, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that! It reminds me of the police officer who died in Infernal Affairs!¡±


    I thought Lao Yao would still be bitter about the way Xiaotao tricked him about the bonus moneyst time, but to my surprise, he weed her with a friendly demeanor and pulled up a chair for her to sit on. I noticed how he made a point to praise Xiaotao¡¯s skin and asked her what kind of skin care products she used. I interrupted their small talk and told Lao Yao what we needed him to do.


    Lao Yao folded his arms and said, ¡°Okay, but what¡¯s your price?¡±


    Xiaotao pulled out a small bottle on which thebel was filled with words in a foreignnguage.


    ¡°This is a facial oil that my friend brought back from Paris,¡± Xiaotao exined. ¡°A bottle of this costs about 600 euros, and you won¡¯t find it anywhere in China. How would you like to have skin as smooth as a baby¡¯s bottom as a reward?¡±


    ¡°Deal!¡± cried Lao Yao with joy. ¡°Let¡¯s get to work, then!¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to give him such an expensive thing!¡± I whispered to Xiaotao. ¡°He only gets about a thousand yuan in bonus anyway!¡±


    ¡°I just bought it on Taobao,¡± snorted Xiaotao. ¡°It only cost me forty yuan!¡±


    I was stumped. I used to think that rich girls like Xiaotao had no qualms in spending huge amounts of money, but I realized that that wasn¡¯t the case. They were willing to spend a lot of money for themselves, but were especially stingy when it came to spending it on other people!


    1. How higher-ranking police officers are greeted Hong Kong police dramas.


    2. A Chinese online shopping website.

 Chapter 113

    <h4>Chapter 113</h4>


    In mere minutes, Lao Yao was able to restore a ton of files in the hard drive. There were numerous video files in there, and when Lao Yao clicked on one randomly, it turned out to be a video clip of a man stabbing another man with a knife.


    ¡°Oh my god!¡± shrieked Lao Yao.


    ¡°Well done, Lao Yao, but I need you to go out for a while,¡± ordered Xiaotao sternly. ¡°Song Yang and will be going through these files together. They¡¯re confidential, so the utmost care must be taken to avoid leaking anything out to the public.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go out and grab something to eat,¡± replied Lao Yao. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to protect yourselves, kids! The condoms are in the drawer!¡±


    He then quickly slipped into his sandals and ran out the door. I was so focused on the video files that I didn¡¯t really hear what he was saying at first. When I realized it, I balled up sheets of paper on the desk and threw it at him.


    ¡°Bastard!¡± I shouted.


    Lao Yao left with a naughty smile on his face. Xiaotao closed the door immediately once he was gone.


    Although there were many video files to look through, it actually wasn¡¯t that hard to find the one we were looking for because they were catalogued with the date the videos were recorded on. We found it after only a few minutes. The surveince video was shot at night, plus the camera used wasn¡¯t of the highest quality, so it was very grainy and pixted. Xiaotao asked me to increase the yback speed of the video, then after a while, she pointed at a car in the video and eximed, ¡°That¡¯s the one!¡±


    ¡°The video¡¯s too blurry,¡± Imented. ¡°I¡¯ll tell Lao Yao to clean it upter.¡±


    Xiaotao chuckled. ¡°You¡¯ve watched too many Hollywood movies, Song Yang. That kind of technology doesn¡¯t exist. At most, you can adjust the color and tone of the video to sharpen the image. Here, let me try.¡±


    As I sat in front of theputer screen, Xiaotao stood on my left and inched closer to hold the mouse. I could feel her soft body pressed against mine, and my face reddened again.


    Xiaotao worked on the video for a while, and soon enough it looked much clearer. She looked back at me and asked, ¡°Why is your face red?¡±


    ¡°No reason, let¡¯s watch the video again.¡±


    Xiaotao smiled. She pulled her chair right next to mine and sat down very close to me. I could clearly smell her scent and my heart started racing.


    Fortunately, my attention gradually shifted away to the surveince video after a while. We stared at the couple in the car for twelve minutes, then repeated the video again and again, but we found nothing. I frowned and remarked, ¡°It looks like they didn¡¯t change their positions at all!¡±


    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Xiaotao asked with a smile.


    ¡°No, seriously. Doesn¡¯t it look like the woman was as still as a corpse from beginning to end to you?¡±


    I rewound the video and zoomed in on the two figures in the car. Although the video was quite blurry, I could see that the woman¡¯s eyes were open the whole time.


    ¡°Do women¡¯s eyes stay open when they¡¯re having sex?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± answered Xiaotao. ¡°If it was enjoyable, then her eyes should be closed.¡±


    Right now, we were both in a serious mode, so neither of us felt shy about it anymore.


    ¡°Also,¡± I added, ¡°this was the parking lot near thepany where the husband worked. He seemed to have deliberately parked the car right where the camera could clearly capture them in action. They even turned on the light inside the car! It just seems to me that he was trying to provide evidence proving that his wife was alive before the car crash.¡±


    ¡°You mean the husband was having sex with his wife¡¯s dead body in the car?!¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why he needed Viagra¡¯s help.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s disgusting!¡± cried Xiaotao with a grimace. ¡°To think that he¡¯d go to such length just to get the insurance money!¡±


    I copied the video to a USB sh drive, deleted all the recovered data, then unplugged the hard disk. We were leaving Lao Yao¡¯s room when we bumped into him.


    ¡°You¡¯re both done?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Xiaotao replied. ¡°By the way, are you interested in joining the police force as a consultant like Song Yang?¡±


    ¡°A consultant?¡± Lao Yao considered.


    ¡°Yes, a technical consultant.¡±


    ¡°How much money do I get?¡±


    ¡°Well, there will be bonuses and your transportation costs would be covered, but it won¡¯t be much.¡±


    ¡°Forget it, then,¡± replied Lao Yao. ¡°I might as well just be a hacker!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s up to you,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°But, you know, hackers like you are a dime a dozen, yet how many could boast that they helped the police solve crimes? You¡¯d stand out in a sea of hackers. And more importantly, you¡¯ll be contributing to society with the knowledge that you have.¡±


    Lao Yao was unmoved. ¡°If there¡¯s not much money to be made, then I¡¯m out. I¡¯m no fool.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Lao Yao, will you be graduating soon?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not very likely,¡± he replied. ¡°My academic counselor told me I might need to stay another semester.¡±


    Xiaotao smiled. ¡°If you assist the police in solving a few cases, I can issue you a special certificate to prove that you¡¯ve made a special contribution to Nanjiang City and ensure that you get enough credits to graduate! Think about it. Call me once you¡¯ve made a decision.¡±


    She gave him her number. As we turned around to leave, Lao Yao said, ¡°Miss Huang, I¡¯ll think about your offer. I¡¯ll give you a call once I¡¯ve made up my mind!¡±


    When we were downstairs, Xiaotao touched my arm and told me, ¡°You were much better at persuading him than me!¡±


    ¡°Well, I know his weakness.¡±


    In truth, I wasn¡¯t sure if Lao Yao was going to agree. After all, that bastard¡¯s only priority was money.


    We quickly returned the hard drive to its original ce. Fortunately, no one noticed that it was missing. By then, it was already about seven o¡¯clock in the morning. Xiaotao wanted to meet the suspect right away, and as we got in the car, she called Wang Yuanchao to ask him to find out more about the man.


    It turned out that the man¡¯s name was Zou Wei. A year after his wife¡¯s death, he used the money he got from the insurancepany to start up a new securitypany. He was now the director of thatpany. We went there to find him, and when we announced our intention to meet him at the front desk, the receptionist replied, ¡°Please wait here for a moment. I¡¯ll ring his office to see if he¡¯s there.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°I¡¯m sure you know he¡¯s there. You¡¯re here at the front desk the whole time, how could you not notice whether the director has gone out?¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to obstruct the police investigation?¡± yelled Xiaotao. ¡°Would you rathere back with us to the station?¡±


    ¡°No, please!¡± cried the receptionist, on the verge of tears. ¡°It was an order from the director to say that. I¡¯ll call his office to inform him that you¡¯re here.¡±


    We then entered the man¡¯s office. Before we got inside, a disheveled secretary rushed out, tidying her hair as she walked.


    ¡°Looks like he¡¯s having a good old time after his wife died!¡± Xiaotaomented.


    ¡°His blissful days are numbered,¡± I sneered.


    When we got into the office, we were met with a sharply-dressed man sitting behind a big desk. Before we spoke, he said, ¡°I run a legitimate business here and have never evaded taxes, officers. You must¡¯ve mistaken mypany for another one.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not here to check your financial dealings. We¡¯re from the violent crimes division.¡±


    Xiaotao showed him her badge.


    ¡°Violent crime division? What business do you have with me? I¡¯m aw-abiding citizen!¡±


    ¡°Your wife was killed in a car ident a year ago,¡± I exined. ¡°You received a huge sum of insurance money after that. We¡¯re here to investigate this.¡±


    Zou Weiughed. ¡°Are you kidding me? The case was closed ages ago! What are you doing still investigating it?¡±


    ¡°Because we have reasons to doubt you!¡± I stated.


    Zou Wei raised an eyebrow. ¡°The police can¡¯t frame innocent people at will, can they? I was investigated for a whole month after the ident, and so did the insurancepany. Xiaoli¡¯s death was a huge blow to me. She was my wife, after all! And now you want to re-open the wound and investigate me again? I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll have to ask for your warrant. Otherwise, please get out!¡±


    I realized that it wouldn¡¯t be easy to deal with this guy. Naturally, we didn¡¯t have any warrant. We were both at a loss, but suddenly Xiaotao said, ¡°You murdered your wife. She was killed before the car crash. To prove that she was alive, you had sex with her corpse in front of the surveince camera in the parking lot.¡±


    Iunched my Cave Vision, and under Xiaotao¡¯s sudden allegations, Zou Wei panicked. There were beads of cold sweat on his forehead, his fingers trembled, he swallowed his saliva, and his nose turned slightly red. There was no doubt about it¡ªhe was a murderer!

 Chapter 114

    <h4>Chapter 114</h4>


    Xiaotao stared at Zou Wei with stern eyes, and he suddenlyughed out loud.


    ¡°You have a rich imagination, Officer!¡± he jeered. ¡°It sounds just like a movie plot!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m taking you to the police station, Zou Wei!¡±


    Zou Wei didn¡¯t budge. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯d like to see your warrant, please! To be honest, I¡¯m not even sure if both of you really are police officers! I¡¯ll give Officer Zhang a call and ask him.¡±


    Xiaotao and I were shocked. We didn¡¯t expect him to have the balls to contact the officer who led a team that investigated him a year ago! I knew instantly that things would go bad for us.


    Zou Wei made a call, and when he hung up after a short conversation, he sneered at us and said, ¡°So you¡¯re acting independently and one of you isn¡¯t even a police officer! You almost tricked me!¡±


    ¡°You mean, you almost admitted to the crime?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Nonsense!¡± yelled Zou Wei as he red at me. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill anyone!¡±


    ¡°Mr. Zou, do you often get a dry and sore throat, blisters, cold sweat, and bloody urine?¡± I asked.


    ¡°How did you know?¡± he responded with astonishment.


    ¡°That¡¯s what happens when you have sexual intercourse with a corpse. They¡¯re the symptoms of corpse poisoning!¡±


    Zou Wei mmed the table and yelled, ¡°That¡¯s nonsense! It was a whole year ago...¡±


    He stopped suddenly, realizing that he had just admitted his guilt. Xiaotao immediately asked, ¡°What happened a year ago?¡±


    ¡°No, that was a trick! It doesn¡¯t count as a confession! I¡¯m asking the security guards to escort you out now!¡±


    At that moment, Xiaotao¡¯s phone rang. It was Captain Lin. She was ordered to return to the police station immediately. Xiaotao gave me a look and sighed.


    ¡°Mr. Zou, we¡¯ll meet again,¡± she said.


    After leaving thepany, Xiaotao asked me if what I said about corpse poisoning was true. I told her that it was all a lie. I did it to see his reaction. They were just symptoms of liver disease, which I noticed that he was suffering from by the pallor of his face.


    I recorded the conversation we had with him earlier, but it would have no legal power in incriminating him. The confession we got wouldn¡¯t be enough to be used as evidence in court.


    Nevertheless, both Xiaotao and I learned one thing from the meeting¡ªZou Wei definitely murdered his wife. Now, the problem was how to use the evidence to prove his guilt.


    Once we returned to the police station, Captain Lin called Xiaotao to his office, and I went in with her. Another dark-skinned middle-aged officer was there too. It was Officer Zhang. Captain Lin yelled at Xiaotao for quite some time, telling her that she could be fired if she acted without permission again.


    ¡°I understand your intentions, Xiaotao,¡± said Officer Zhang, ¡°but I¡¯ve investigated the case thoroughly and there wasn¡¯t any doubt about Zou Wei¡¯s innocence. I¡¯ve been investigating crimes for more than thirty years. Don¡¯t you think that I¡¯d find out if there had been any anomalies in the case? Your investigation of my old case is an affront to my dignity as a seasoned police officer!¡±


    ¡°But there really are some suspicious points about this case!¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°At the time¡ª¡±


    ¡°Stop!¡± Captain Lin interrupted. ¡°Get out and reflect upon your misconduct. This ce is not your home! You can¡¯t just do whatever you want here!¡±


    We got out. Xiaotao heaved a long sigh. Captain Lin definitely wouldn¡¯t allow her to investigate the case now. Not only that, but she realized that if it was confirmed that Zou Wei murdered his wife, Officer Zhang would be seen to have made an egregious mistake and might be punished for it.


    The most troublesome thing right now was that Zou Wei already knew that I was not a police officer. That meant that I couldn¡¯t investigate the case alone. I asked Xiaotao what should we do next.


    ¡°We¡¯ll carry on,¡± she answered. ¡°At most, I¡¯ll be demoted to a low-rank officer like Wang Yuanchao. What¡¯s the big deal? I didn¡¯t be a police officer to get rich or climb to the highest ranks anyway!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a hero!¡± I praised her.


    I then suggested that we no longer contact Zou Wei for the moment. If he found out, he could get Xiaotao suspended from her job with just a phone call. We would have to find a way to gather evidence without his knowledge. Once the evidence was strong enough, we¡¯d confront him with it and see how he¡¯d argue.


    On the next day, Xiaotao emailed me some information that Wang Yuanchao had found. Zou Wei used to work at an insurancepany that was known for being especially treacherous and cunning. They had been reported to refuse to pay out even when it was proven that no foul y was involved. However, since Zou Wei was an insider, he knew how to manipte the evidence to make it seem that he was definitely innocent and force the insurancepany to pay him out.


    Another file she sent was a report from the auto repair shop. The brake cable of that car was indeed broken, not deliberately cut. I made a conjecture that Zou Wei changed an old brake cable in advance, but it was only a conjecture after all, and the car had already been discarded.


    There was no progress in the next few days. This was a simple case, and yet there was no breakthrough at all, which made it that much more frustrating and stressful!


    About a weekter, Wang Yuanchao made an amazing discovery. The body of the deceased Ma Xiaoli was not cremated. She agreed to donate her body to a medical school before her death, so that was where it was kept right now.


    I was excited after hearing the news and decided to meet with Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao that very night. In order to stay covert, we met near an isted garbage dump to avoid being seen. Wang Yuanchao opened the trunk of his car, and when we peered inside, we were shocked to find that there was a skeleton inside!


    ¡°What¡ªHow did you get that?!¡± asked Xiaotao, covering her mouth with her hand in disbelief.


    Wang Yuanchao calmly lit up a cigarette and replied, ¡°The victim¡¯s body was damaged beyond recognition, and her organs were no longer usable. So, the medical school turned her body into a skeleton.¡±


    Some bones had been fractured, but it was obvious that the damage was done by the car crash, not the murder itself. There were even signs of the bones being glued together to turn it into aplete human skeleton. It was also covered with ayer of antiseptic liquid, and the periosteum, ayer of connective tissue that covered the bones, waspletely peeled off.


    ¡°Can you glean anything useful from it at all, Song Yang?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    Even the most seasoned coroner would¡¯ve shaken his head. I stared long and hard at the skeleton without saying a word. Xiaotao had to call my name a few times before she could get my attention.


    ¡°Song Yang! Is there anything that you can do at all?¡±


    ¡°If the murderer killed the victim by slicing her throat with a sharp fragment of ss, why didn¡¯t she resist?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps she was bound?¡± Xiaotao suggested.


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°That would leave signs on her body. Zou Wei was smart enough not to risk that. She must¡¯ve inhaled some kind of anesthetic substance that is difficult to detect.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s true, wouldn¡¯t it be even more difficult now, since the organs are all gone?¡±mented Xiaotao.


    ¡°Traces of the drug must still be in the bone marrow,¡± I replied. ¡°I have a way to detect it, but I would need some things.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been waiting to hear!¡± eximed Xiaotao. ¡°Tell me what you need. I¡¯ll go buy them right away.¡±


    ¡°White vinegar, wormwood, alcohol, shovel, and a straw mat!" I quickly listed.


    In no time at all, Xiaotao managed to bring back all these items. I told her we couldn¡¯t examine the skeleton here. We needed to find an open empty ce away from people¡¯s eyes. So, we ended up at a wastnd on the outskirts of the city. I asked Wang Yuanchao to dig a hole that was two meters long and one meter wide.


    Wang Yuanchao dug out the pit. I was surprised at how quickly he managed to do it.


    ¡°I dug dozens of meters of trenches by the mountains alone when I was fighting at the border,¡± he said. ¡°The soil here is as soft as tofupared to that.¡±


    Xiaotao pped her hands excitedly and remarked, ¡°We might be only a few people here, but we¡¯ve got some extraordinary talents!¡±


    I poured the alcohol at the bottom of the pit and set it on fire. As the raging mes burned, it looked very imposing in contrast to the boundless wilderness.


    ¡°If I saw this me from afar,¡±mented Xiaotao, ¡°I would¡¯ve thought that someone was burning a corpse!¡±


    Iughed. ¡°That¡¯s just like you, always thinking like a police officer.¡±


    Once the fire had gone out, the entire pit glowed red. I asked Wang Yuanchao to help me spread the bones at the bottom of the pit and I sprinkled ayer of white vinegar over it. Once the white vinegar hit the hot soil, it immediately evaporated, filling the air with an acerbic smell. Before all the vinegar steam evaporated, I quickly covered the pit with a straw mat and pressed it down with bricks and stones.


    After a while, I uncovered the straw mat. There were no changes in the bones at all.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless, Song Yang!¡± Xiaotao sighed hopelessly.


    ¡°No, be patient,¡± I replied with confidence. ¡°This is the Thrice Steaming Bone Test. Let¡¯s continue!¡±

 Chapter 115

    <h4>Chapter 115</h4>


    I put on my gloves and picked up the bones, then repeated the whole process I did earlier. Only this time, instead of pouring white vinegar, I ced the wormwood under the bones and covered it with the straw mat.


    This technique was an extremely advanced autopsy procedure that was recorded in The Collected Cases of Injustices Rectified. It was invented by one of the most outstanding members of the Song family. Through this technique, it was possible to detect the scars left on the victim¡¯s body caused by the injuries that killed the victim and also extract drugponents in the victim¡¯s body from the bone marrow.


    As we waited, my eyes were glued to the straw mat. The temperature inside the pit was very high and steam continued to rise from under the mat. I didn¡¯t notice it at the time, but I was soaking in sweat. Xiaotao surprised me when she wiped the sweat on my forehead with a tissue.


    I then removed the straw mat. The scent of wormwood filled my nostrils. When I removed the wormwood leaves, I found the bones underneath stillpletely unchanged.


    I noticed that Xiaotao¡¯s expression turned sullen. I knew that she trusted me to solve any case as long as I put my heart into it, but at that moment, even I had doubts about my own capabilities.


    I resolved not to show any signs of worry or anxiety to Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao, for fear that they might feel too discouraged.


    ¡°Yuanchao, help me pick up the bones,¡± Imanded, trying to sound confident. ¡°We¡¯ll repeat the process onest time.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you test it more than three times?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°I can,¡± I replied, ¡°but it wouldn¡¯t yield any results. White vinegar is acidic, and wormwood is basic. That means when both are used, drugs that are acidic and basic can be detected. If both of them detect nothing, then that means there really is no drug residue in the victim¡¯s body.¡±


    I proceeded to do the third testing. This time, the procedure was slightly different from the previous ones. I sprinkled both vinegar and wormwood leaves over the bones, then covered them with the straw mat. We then waited anxiously.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Xiaotaoforted me. ¡°If this method doesn¡¯t work, then we¡¯ll just find another way to gather evidence.¡±


    I sighed. I knew that there would be no other way. This skeleton was the only evidence left. If this method didn¡¯t yield any results, the murderer would most likely go unpunished forever.


    The Collected Cases of Injustices Rectified stated that human bone marrow could retain drug residues for a long period of time. Even corpses in ancient tombs could be tested this way, and it would be possible to deduce what kind of medicine the deceased took before their death.


    Please help your descendant bring justice to the murderer, Song Ci! I silently prayed.


    When we uncovered the straw mat, Xiaotao couldn¡¯t wait until the steam hadpletely dissipated before checking the bones.


    ¡°Nothing happened to the bones, Song Yang,¡± she stated, trying to conceal the disappointment in her voice.


    I was slightly shocked. I went over to pick up the bones.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be discouraged,¡± Xiaotaoforted me. ¡°I believe in your method. Perhaps the murderer didn¡¯t use any drugs on his wife.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡±


    I picked up a rib bone and noticed that there were many small yellow dew-like droplets on its surface. I held it under my nose and sniffed.


    ¡°It smells like an anesthetic! Quick! Bring me the stic vial!¡±


    I collected the drops into the vial and sealed the ribs inside an evidence bag. It wouldter be handed over to the forensics team for further testing.


    ¡°Awesome!¡± cried Xiaotao with joy. ¡°We¡¯ve got key evidence!¡±


    ¡°Are you sure this isn¡¯t just the preservative applied to the bones after the victim¡¯s death?¡± asked Wang Yuanchao uneasily.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it isn¡¯t,¡± I replied. ¡°If it was just the preservative, it wouldn¡¯t seep out of the bone¡¯s pores the way these droplets do. We can conclude that the drug was ingested before the victim¡¯s death.¡±


    ¡°How can this be used as evidence in court?¡± Wang Yuanchao wondered.


    ¡°The techniques used by Traditional Coroners have a lot inmon with modern forensic science,¡± I exined. ¡°Let Xiaozhou test the bone marrow. He should be able to detect the anesthetic contained within it. If he writes up a formal report about it, that can be used as evidence in court.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been acting weird today, Wang Yuanchao,¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°Why are you so skeptical all of a sudden?¡±


    Wang Yuanchao smiled. In truth, I knew exactly how he felt, because I felt the same way too. Both Wang Yuanchao and I were worried that if this all went wrong, Xiaotao would get suspended. Xiaotao was important to Wang Yuanchao, because she was his Bo Le.


    We then packed up and tidied up the ce, then rushed back to the police station with the evidence. Xiaozhou tested the bone marrow immediately. The next day when he handed his test report to us, he remarked, ¡°You never cease to impress me, Detective Song! I would never have thought to test the bone marrow for drug residues!¡±


    I smiled humbly and replied, ¡°Human bones aren¡¯t just dead structural organs in our bodies. They areposed of living hematopoietic cells in the bone marrow with blood constantly flowing through them, which means that any drug in the blood system would umte in the bone marrow!¡±


    ¡°You should write a dissertation about this topic, Song Yang,¡± he said while looking at me with admiration. ¡°It would greatly advance modern forensic science.¡±


    That was in fact a great idea. I thought I could earn thest five credits that I needed to graduate with that dissertation paper. It never urred to me that the paper I would eventually write about would rewrite forensic science textbooks, and it would even earn me a medal of honor from the Red Cross Society of Boston University.


    The drugponent that Xiaozhou detected from his testing was isoflurane, a general anesthetic that would paralyze the whole body once inhaled.


    The next day, Xiaotao decided to use the evidence to arrest Zou Wei. I suggested that she apply for an arrest warrant first, to avoid any possible trouble. Xiaotao retorted that the arrest warrant application must go through Captain Lin, and he would never approve it. Hence, our only choice was to use this evidence we found to take him back to the police station for questioning.


    I had no mood to do anything that day. So I just waited anxiously for Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao in the police station. It waste afternoon when both of them returned, but I noticed that Zou Wei did note with them. That rmed me. I asked them, ¡®What happened? Was the evidence not watertight enough?¡¯


    Xiaotao was about to answer me, but Captain Lin interrupted her by shouting, ¡°What are you waiting for? Get into my office now!¡±


    Before she went, Xiaotao whispered to me, ¡°That bastard was more cunning than we imagined! He prepared an exnation that made our evidencepletely useless!¡±


    I was about to go with them, but Captain Lin politely said to me, ¡°You don¡¯t have toe in, Song Yang. I just want to talk to these two about the case.¡±


    As soon as the door was closed, Captain Lin¡¯s thunderous shouts could be heard clearly even from outside.


    ¡°Who gave you permission to investigate Zou Wei, Huang Xiaotao? Didn¡¯t I order you to give up the case? How dare you disobey an order from your superior! And you, Wang Yuanchao, you¡¯re just a low-ranking officer now, yet you¡¯re acting independently against the orders of a superior? If all police officers act ording to their whims like the both of you, what difference is there between us and the hooligans we¡¯re catching?¡±


    This went on for about half an hour. I stood there waiting for them at the door, worried sick about what would happen to Xiaotao.


    When they both came out, Xiaotao smiled to me and simply uttered, ¡°We¡¯re suspended!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I told her. ¡°This is all my fault. If I didn¡¯t insist on investigating this case, you wouldn¡¯t have...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not ming you,¡± Xiaotao interrupted me. ¡°Let¡¯s go and get some coffee!¡±


    We went to a Starbucks nearby. I asked them what Zou Wei did. Xiaotao replied that he had a medical record of his dead wife. It showed that she had sinus surgery three days before her death.


    I really underestimated Zou Wei. But this further proved his guilt. Why would he keep his wife¡¯s medical record after she died a year ago? The document must¡¯ve been forged. He used to work at an insurancepany. There was a high possibility that he would know a doctor who could help him with this.


    Just like that, our evidence had been rendered utterly useless. Moreover, Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao were now temporarily unable to act as police officers. It was almost aplete defeat.


    I suggested calling Sun Tiger for help, but Xiaotao shook her head and said, ¡°No, we can¡¯t rely on him for every roadblock that we encounter.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s important that we carry on the investigation!¡± I argued.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go to him, alright, but before that, we must findpelling evidence that would incriminate Zou Wei without any doubt. Then we¡¯ll just ask for Sun Tiger to help us bring the murderer to justice!¡±


    ¡°That makes sense,¡± I nodded.


    As we were discussing the case, Wang Yuanchao was constantly on the phone.


    ¡°Are you listening, Wang Yuanchao?¡± Xiaotao rebuked him. ¡°We¡¯re only temporarily suspended. Are you already looking for a new job?¡±


    Wang Yuanchao hung up the phone and said, ¡°My informant told me that Zou Wei just went to see a Chinese medicine doctor...¡±


    1. Bo Le is a legendary tamer of horses, used figuratively to mean someone who is a good judge of hidden talents. In this case, it was implied that Xiaotao was the person who recognized Wang Yuanchao¡¯s capabilities even though he¡¯d been demoted to a low rank.

 Chapter 116

    <h4>Chapter 116</h4>


    ¡°Chinese medicine doctor?¡± I paused for a moment, then burst intoughter. ¡°Looks like he totally fell for my lies about corpse poisoning!¡±


    Xiaotao sighed. ¡°But we still can¡¯t do anything about it. Not unless he gets so scared that he turns himself in.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± I cried. An idea just popped up in my mind. ¡°Xiaotao, you just made an excellent point! Since we can¡¯t do anything to him right now, we¡¯ll make him incriminate himself?¡±


    ¡°How?¡± asked Xiaotao excitedly. I could tell from her eyes that she hadn¡¯t given up on the case.


    ¡°By sending a visitor from beyond the grave to him!¡±


    I wrote down a list of items for Wang Yuanchao to prepare. I then called Lao Yao.


    ¡°Little Song!¡± he cried when he picked up the phone. ¡°I was just about to call you myself! I¡¯ve given it some thoughts, and I decided to take up Miss Huang¡¯s offer to join you guys!¡±


    Great! Now I don¡¯t have to pay him out of my own pocket every time I need his help.


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear,¡± I told him, ¡°but you can¡¯t just join the task force without proving yourself. You¡¯ll have to pass a test.¡±


    ¡°Should I hack the server of the Japanese Embassy and rece their g with the Chinese g?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No, there¡¯s no need for that. I¡¯ll give you the detailster. Take your equipment with you and we¡¯ll meet at this ce.¡±


    I covered the phone speaker and asked Xiaotao if I could invite Lao Yao to her house. She nodded and said, ¡°Now that we can¡¯t go back to the police station, my house will act as the makeshift headquarters!¡±


    I told Lao Yao the address of Xiaotao¡¯s apartment and urged him to hurry there.


    While Wang Yuanchao went out to buy the items that I needed, Xiaotao and I went ahead to her apartment. We watched TV for a while, then Lao Yao arrived with a huge luggage in tow.


    ¡°Are you nning to live here?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°These are my equipment!¡±


    He then proceeded to set up his equipment in the living room. Once he was all settled in, I gave him an address and told him to hack into their internalwork.


    Lao Yao stayed silent and didn¡¯t move. ¡°What are you waiting for? Start working!¡± I urged.


    ¡°Haha, you¡¯re cute, Little Song!¡± he scoffed. ¡°The physical address is of no use to me! What I need is the IP address!¡±


    I froze for a moment. How would I know what the IP address of Zou Wei¡¯spany was?


    ¡°Never mind,¡± said Lao Yao. ¡°I¡¯ll just ess their system through thepany¡¯s official website.¡±


    He then went on to work, and after a few taps on the keyboard, a list of data shed on the software interface.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Lao Yao continued. ¡°I¡¯m using data overflow to paralyze thepany website¡¯s firewall. Now the internalwork¡¯s security is wide open. What do you want me to do? Hack into their system? Get ess to their surveince camera? Just say the word.¡±


    ¡°Yes, get ess to their surveince cameras!¡± I ordered.


    After another few taps on the keyboard, scenes of Zou Wei¡¯spany appeared on the screen.


    ¡°Wow, I thought this kind of hacking only existed in movies!¡± cried Xiaotao excitedly.


    ¡°I¡¯m only getting started!¡± boasted Lao Yao. I interrupted him before he could go on bbering, and took out a photo of Ma Xiaoli in the car that I printed before and briefly summarized the case to him. I let him do whatever he pleased, as long as he could scare Zou Wei shitless before the day turned dark.


    Lao Yao rubbed his hands together and began to work his magic. On the screen, I saw Zou Wei using theputer in his office, then suddenly he fell to the floor on his butt. His face turned deathly pale. I turned my gaze to theputer screen in front of him and saw Ma Xiaoli¡¯s bloody face!


    Then the printer next to him automatically started to work, and it spit out an A4 paper with the words ¡®The debt of life can only be paid with life.¡¯


    Zou Wei screamed and grabbed the inte phone. Lao Yao grabbed a microphone and handed it to Xiaotao.


    ¡°Miss Huang, it¡¯s your time to shine!¡± he said.


    ¡°But my voice sounds nothing like his wife!¡± Xiaotao argued.


    ¡°Let me deal with that,¡± replied Lao Yao. He then opened up an audio software.


    Xiaotao took the microphone and murmured, ¡°I¡¯m back, darling. Did you miss me?¡±


    I saw Zou Wei hurling the phone across the room and hysterically crawled under the table. Lao Yao and I howled withughter.


    Xiaotao continued to y the role of Ma Xiaoli wonderfully.


    ¡°Darling,e with me! Come to the other side with me!¡±


    Zou Wei fled the office in a hurry, and then went to the water dispenser to take a bit of water and sipped it. Lao Yao muttered, ¡°Now let¡¯s have some fun!¡±


    Smoke came out of the water dispenser suddenly. Zou Wei was paralyzed on the spot for a few seconds. Then he fell to the ground screaming.


    Xiaotao smiled and asked, ¡°How did you do that?¡±


    ¡°It involves the knowledge in circuitry and electronics. You won¡¯t get it even if I exin it to you,¡± said Lao Yao proudly. It was evident that he was satisfied with what he¡¯d done to Zou Wei.


    ¡°I think you¡¯ve scared him enough, Lao Yao,¡± I told him. Now ask him toe to thepany alone tonight.¡±


    Lao Yao thought about it for a while and got an idea. Now that Zou Wei was paralyzed with fear, he asked the receptionist at the front desk to fetch a piece of paper to Zou Wei. On the paper, these words were written in blood-red ink: ¡°Come to the office tonight alone. Otherwise you¡¯ll pay with your life!¡±


    I had to praise Lao Yao¡¯s ingenuity. It wasn¡¯t a bad decision to let him join our team after all.


    ¡°What ns do we have for Zou Wei tonight?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be Ma Xiaoli again!¡± I replied.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Xiaotao frowned. ¡°We can change my voice, but how am I going to convince Zou Wei that I¡¯m his dead wife? I look nothing like her! It¡¯s toote now to order a realistic human mask online too.¡±


    ¡°You forgot that I know how to concoct hallucinatory drugs,¡± I countered.


    That night, Xiaotao, Wang Yuanchao and I went to Zou Wei¡¯spany. Wang Yuanchao easily knocked down the door. I thought about what a fearsome criminal gang we would¡¯ve made. But that was just as it should be, for how could the police ever hope to crack down on crime if we were not as smart and cunning as the criminals?


    Once we were inside, I gave Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao the Mind Clearing Pill, then sprayed the hallucinatory drug that I¡¯d prepared onto the wall. Xiaotao found a room to change into a more ghostly outfit, while Wang Yuanchao and I set up a projector outside. Once Xiaotao came out, both Wang Yuanchao and I were stunned by the transformation. Before her death, Ma Xiaoli was fond of dressing up. So, Xiaotao wore a sexy green dress that exposed her cleavage and her long legs. She wore her hair in a pigtail and had a pink bow on her head. In just a few minutes, Xiaotao transformed from a tough-looking police officer to a cute and sexy girl.


    ¡°What are you gawking at?¡± Xiaotao japed with augh. ¡°How do I look?¡±


    ¡°You should make your face whiter, darken your eyes, and make your lips redder,¡± I suggested.


    ¡°But that would make me look like a ghost!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that exactly the point?¡± Iughed.


    ¡°Right. Give me a few more minutes.¡±


    She then disappeared to the room again.


    Once everything was ready, we hid in a corner and waited for Zou Wei to arrive. We turned on our walkie-talkie that connected us to Lao Yao, who was in front of aputer in Xiaotao¡¯s house. The entirepany¡¯s surveincework had been hacked, so Lao Yao could give us urate and timely warning of what was happening in the surrounding area.


    Just as I was appreciating the view of Xiaotao¡¯s cleavage and legs, Lao Yao¡¯s voice interrupted my reverie.


    ¡°Your ass looks fine, Song Yang!¡± he teased.


    I changed my position immediately. Xiaotao overheard this andughed. ¡°Just as you¡¯re gawking at someone, someone else is gawking at you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tter yourself,¡± I argued, ¡°I wasn¡¯t looking at you at all!¡±


    ¡°Miss Huang,¡± Lao Yao¡¯s voice interrupted again, ¡°not only can I confirm that Song Yang was staring at you, but he also reached a hand deep into his pants.¡±


    ¡°Bastard!¡± I spat. ¡°I did no such thing!¡±


    ¡°Get ready everyone,¡± said Lao Yao, his voice suddenly turned serious. ¡°The target has appeared. There are two people approaching.¡±


    What? I wondered. Two people?

 Chapter 117

    <h4>Chapter 117</h4>


    Lao Yao told us that Zou Wei arrived with another man, who looked like he was a Taoist priest. It turned out that Zou Wei was so afraid of his dead wife¡¯s ghost that he had to ask a Taoist priest to apany him.


    That didn¡¯t matter to us, of course. Even if Zou Wei had brought a priest with him, he¡¯d still be meeting with his dead wife soon!


    Once the two men entered the building, Lao Yao began to make preparations. The projector and the speaker had been connected to aputer here, and Lao Yao controlled them remotely.


    I saw blood ooze out of the walls. A ghostly voice echoed in the corridor. If I hadn¡¯t known that it was Lao Yao¡¯s doing, this would¡¯ve been a terrifying scene indeed.


    Zou Wei screamed and begged the priest, ¡°Please help me, Master!¡±


    We then heard the ringing of a bell in the corridor. Lao Yao informed us that it was the Taoist priest trying to exorcise the evil spirit. He was also spreading raw glutinous rice everywhere. Lao Yao scoffed and said this must be a fake Taoist priest, since even ayman like him knew that glutinous rice was only used against possessed corpses, not ghosts.


    ¡°Let¡¯s advance to the second phase!¡± I ordered.


    Wang Yuanchao and I held up a big stic board in front of us and approached Zou Wei in the corridor. The projector projected an image of a car on the board, while the speaker yed the sound of a loud crash.


    ¡°Get away from me!¡± Zou Wei shouted hysterically. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill you! I didn¡¯t kill you!¡±


    Through a small hole on the stic board, I saw Zou Wei copsed on the floor. The fake Taoist priest was so scared he pissed himself and crawled away to escape.


    As we walked forward, Xiaotao followed behind us. When Zou Wei saw her, his eyes bulged in sheer terror. His dead wife had just appeared in front of him out of thin air.


    Lao Yao then yed a recording of Xiaotao¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Look at what you¡¯ve done to me, darling...¡±


    Zou Wei whimpered, then knelt on the floor and desperately pleaded, ¡°Please let me go, Xiaoli! I had no choice! I had to pay off the debt!¡±


    Pay off his debt? I wondered, excited that we now had a new clue to follow through.


    Suddenly, she burst into tears and wailed while covering her face. It even creeped me out. I then noticed that Zou Wei had wet his pants. He was now kneeling in a pool of his own urine.


    ¡°How could you be so cruel!¡± yelled Xiaotao. ¡°I will never let you off! I will always haunt you till the day you die! You will never live in peace!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all Fat Wu¡¯s fault!¡± shouted Zou Wei. ¡°He pestered me about the debt all the time! I wouldn¡¯t have done such a thing to you if it hadn¡¯t been for him! You know I love you more than anything!¡±


    ¡°Was he involved in my murder too?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°Yes, he was! It was all his n! Go find him! I¡¯ll tell you his address!¡±


    Zou Wei then blurted out an address. I knew it would be wise to be sceptical of his im, but nheless this Fat Wu might turn out to be an important witness to the case.


    I made a gesture to Xiaotao, and she quickly slipped through a door. Wang Yuanchao and I then followed her into the room and we blocked the door with the stic board, which prevented Zou Wei from seeing what went on inside.


    We quietly observed him through the small holes of the stic board. Once he walked by the room, I made a gesture to Xiaotao again. She joked, ¡°Looks like you¡¯re having fun with this!¡±


    ¡°I just want to bring the murderer to justice, that¡¯s all!¡±


    As soon as Zou Wei walked past the door, Xiaotao slipped out the door and tapped Zou Wei on the shoulder. Zou Wei jumped in fright and his legs turned so wobbly he could barely stand up straight. He slowly turned around. Xiaotao said, ¡°I¡¯m going to pay Fat Wu a visit. Once I¡¯m done with him, I¡¯lle back and kill you!¡±


    Then she bared her teeth at him, and Zou Wei copsed to the ground and fainted.


    Seeing that he¡¯d lost consciousness, we quickly got out of the building and headed towards the man called Fat Wu ording to the address given by Zou Wei. We arrived at an old apartment building, and we rushed towards the room that Fat Wu was supposed to be in. Wang Yuanchao effortlessly knocked down the door, then pinned the man inside to the floor. A bag full of white powder dropped to the floor. It was a drug.


    ¡°There¡¯s probably about a hundred grams in here,¡± remarked Xiaotao as she weighed it in her hand. ¡°ording to thew, you could be sentenced to death if you possess more than fifty grams.¡±


    Fat Wu put his hands together and begged, ¡°Please, officers! I never used any of the drug! You can take it away!¡±


    Xiaotao actually lied about thew. Fat Wu would only be sentenced to death if he was caught selling more than fifty grams of the drug. Possessing it would only result in being detained for ten to fifteen days, or if his addiction was very serious, he would be sent to a rehab center for three to six months.


    Xiaotao stood up, grabbed Fat Wu¡¯s cor, and asked, ¡°I¡¯m Officer Huang. Have you heard of me before?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course!¡± he answered. ¡°Everyone on the street knows you and Officer Wang. If you need me to do anything for you, just say the word!¡±


    Xiaotao asked him about Zou Wei¡¯s murder of his wife. Fat Wu pretended not to know Zou Wei at first, but when Xiaotao threatened to arrest him for the drugs, he admitted, ¡°Alright, alright! He killed his wife a year ago because he owed me five million yuan in debt...¡±


    ¡°Was it you who nned it?¡± Xiaotao sharply snapped.


    ¡°Absolutely not! I never even finished middle school! How would I ever think up a smart n like what he did?¡±


    Fat Wu confessed every detail about the murder n and even provided us a with a piece of evidence. It was a document signed by Zou Wei which proved that he owed Fat Wu a huge sum of money. This was unfortunately only indirect evidence, but it was much better than nothing.


    The document, the autopsy report, and Fat Wu¡¯s testimony could be enough to arrest Zou Wei for murder. China¡¯sws gave more weight to direct material evidence, but thebination of witness testimony and circumstantial evidence might make a strong enough case to convict Zou Wei in court.


    Xiaotao then gave Sun Tiger a call and reported everything. He reprimanded her for acting so brashly, yet praised her for having done a great job immediately after that. Coincidentally, Director-General Cheng was in Nanjiang City at the time, and Sun Tiger promised us that they¡¯d bothe to support us at the police station tomorrow morning.


    Early next morning, we brought Fat Wu to the police station. When Captain Lin saw us, his eyes widened and he yelled, ¡°Huang Xiaotao! Why are you still¡ª¡± He stopped mid-sentence when he saw Sun Tiger and Director-General Cheng entering the building.


    ¡°Director Sun just informed me about the case of the car ident from a year ago,¡± said Director-General Cheng with a stern face. ¡°Officer Huang Xiaotao conducted an investigation and obtained enough evidence to prove that it was in fact a murder! I want the case re-opened and the murderer captured immediately!¡±


    Captain Lin nodded nervously and replied, ¡°Yes, sir. I¡¯ll get an arrest warrant straight away.¡± He then turned to Xiaotao and said, ¡°I hope you can understand why I stopped you before. I was in a difficult position, you know.¡±


    Xiaotao gave him a salute and stated, ¡°Captain Lin, for not obeying yourmand and acting without permission, I deserve punishment!¡±


    Sun Tigerughed. ¡°Captain Lin was only doing his job, and Huang Xiaotao was passionate about bringing the murderer to justice. I don¡¯t see the need to punish anyone here!¡±


    Captain Lin was visibly relieved. ¡°Director Sun is right. If more police officers were like Huang Xiaotao, the criminals would have nowhere to hide, and Nanjiang City would be a thousand times safer!¡±


    Xiaotao turned around and surreptitiously winked at me.


    Later, after being arrested, Zou Wei pleaded not guilty to all charges and the case was soon transferred to the judiciary court pending trial.


    Not only was Xiaotao¡¯s performance ster in this case, she also became a legend for sessfully overturning the investigation of an old case. Iter heard that at themendation ceremony, Officer Zhang took off his own police badge and requested to be punished for having failed to fulfill his duty, causing the murderer to run free. But Xiaotao pleaded for his case and in the end, the only punishment Officer Zhang received was a deduction in his sry.


    Xiaotao treated me to dinner. She excitedly told me that she might be able to take a short vacation soon. She asked me if I¡¯d like to go to the Wuyi Mountains with her and I enthusiastically agreed.


    Unbeknownst to us, a terrible storm was brewing right at that moment!

 Chapter 118

    <h4>Chapter 118</h4>


    My life went back to its mundane routine on campus. I spent my days reading books and writing essays. One day, Zhang Yan informed me that there was going to be a drama festival soon, and that Dali and I must spare three hours every evening to help the club.


    I didn¡¯t know if I could be of any use there at all, but since we desperately needed the credits to graduate, we went anyway.


    Zhang Yan nned to perform the ssic tragedy Romeo and Juliet. Due to time constraints, she adapted the y into a fifteen-minute short performance. She would y Juliet, and the man who would y Romeo could be no one else other than her boyfriend, Ye Shiwen.


    When the casting was announced, everyone secretly grumbled about it. The truth was, the couple had been overly affectionate with each other in public to the point of being sickening. No one was looking forward to seeing them being all lovey-dovey up on stage too!


    My first impression of Zhang Yan was that she was a frivolous girl, but I was surprised to see herpletely transformed once she was on stage wearing a wig and a costume. She waspletely in her element. Ye Shiwen, on the other hand, was stiff and awkward on stage. But with Zhang Yan guiding his every movement and line, even he gradually improved.


    The actors rehearsed every night. Meanwhile, Dali and I were there with nothing much to do. I would take a book with me and read as the actors were hard at work. Apart from that, nothing much happened. The only notable incident was when a club member bumped into Zhang Yan and Ye Shiwen doing it backstage while they were both still in costumes. We teased them about it all the time after that.


    Once the actors were done rehearsing, Dali and I had the duty of getting them beverages to drink. One day, after receiving a ss of water from me, Zhang Yan eximed, ¡°What an honor! To think that the Great Detective Song himself just fetched me water!¡±


    ¡°Will you stop calling me that?!¡± I whispered angrily. ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing!¡±


    She ignored me and continued, ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve got an idea! Why don¡¯t you tell us a story about one of your cases?¡±


    Everyone echoed in agreement. Before that, I would always tell them about Grandpa¡¯s cases. Well, those that weren¡¯t ssified, anyway. But now that they explicitly requested a case that I solved, I had to consider it for a while before deciding on telling them about thest case that I solved. It wasn¡¯t a particrly gruesome or mysterious case, but all ears were on me. Just as I was in the middle of my story, a voice interrupted us.


    ¡°What are you guys talking about? Sounds interesting!¡±


    The voice belonged to a beautiful woman who was walking towards us. She was wearing a red dress that hugged her curves. She had a pair of high heels on and a small handbag slung across her shoulder. The ends of her slightly frizzy hair were dyed red, and her right eye was covered by thick bangs.


    Dali spit out the water he was drinking and uttered, ¡°Holy cow! Who¡¯s that hotdy?¡±


    All of the guys stood up and greeted, ¡°Good evening, Professor Li!¡±


    The woman nodded at them with a gracious smile. She looked around and said, ¡°I see new faces here too! Hello! My name is Li Wenjia. I¡¯m the advising professor of this club.¡±


    It turned out that there was an advising professor for every club, but they were mostly just honorary titles. They usually never took part in club activities. At most, they would ask a few questions about what was going on.


    Professor Li was a psychology professor. She would asionallye and help the club as much as she could. Because of her beauty and her gentle personality, the members of the club liked her very much. Quite a few of the guys even had a crush on her.


    Zhang Yan stood up and announced, ¡°This is our newest member, Professor Li! His name is Song Yang, and he¡¯s not just another ordinary student, he¡¯s¡ª¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey!¡± I tried to stop her, but my attempt was futile. She blurted out everything.


    Professor smiled and stretched out her hand to me.


    ¡°It¡¯s an honor to have you as a member of our club, young detective,¡± she said.


    ¡°Hey, Song Yang!¡± chirped Zhang Yan. ¡°Why don¡¯t you show Professor Li that trick you did to Shiwenst time? When we first met, he took one look at Shiwen and was able to figure out a ton of details about his life!¡±


    Herst sentence was addressed to everyone. All eyes in the room then turned to me. Some of them were fascinated; some were skeptical. Some evenmented that only Sherlock Holmes could do what Zhang Yan imed I could.


    I silently cursed at Zhang Yan for being such a loudmouth.


    Professor Li smiled and looked at me with curiosity.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a look at me and tell me what you can see?¡± she suggested.


    ¡°Yes! Show everyone your magical skills, Song Yang!¡± echoed Zhang Yan.


    I didn¡¯t like the idea of using my skills in such a trivial way, so I kept refusing. But then I heard the whispers around me...


    ¡°Maybe he¡¯s not a real detective, after all? He probably just knows someone in the police force...¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. He¡¯s always boasting about his supposed skills, but I¡¯ve never seen him do anything before...¡±


    ¡°His talent was probably blown out of proportion...¡±


    I couldn¡¯t take being slighted anymore, so I looked Professor Li up and down and said, ¡°Forgive me if I¡¯m being too forward, Professor. But from what I¡¯ve seen, you¡¯re left-handed, you have a white dog as a pet, and you broke your right leg when you were seven or eight years old. You recently lost weight because you were hospitalized for malnutrition. You were originally from the north, your parents have passed away, you have a shrine for them in your house, and your right eye is blind.¡±


    The crowd was suddenly silent. Professor Li looked slightly unnerved as she smoothed her hair with her hand.


    ¡°You probably guessed that I¡¯m left-handed because my left fingernails are more worn out than those on my right hand,¡± she said. ¡°I probably have dog hair on my clothes too, so that¡¯s probably how you know I have a white dog. You could probably tell that I¡¯m from the north because of my ent. But how did you figure out the rest?¡±


    ¡°Your legs aren¡¯t the same length,¡± I replied. ¡°Which means you were probably injured when your body was still developing. I made a guess that it was probably when you¡¯re around seven or eight years old. Was I correct?¡±


    Professor Li nodded. ¡°Yes, I was injured when I was eight.¡±


    The others gasped and marveled at how observant I was.


    ¡°What about the malnutrition? How did you figure that out?¡± asked Professor Li again.


    ¡°I could see it from the pallor of your face and your hair,¡± I answered. ¡°Also, there¡¯s a scar on the back of your hand that looks like you recently received an IV drip.¡±


    ¡°And my parents¡¯ death? How did you know that I have a shrine for them in my house? You¡¯ve never been there, have you?¡± she asked, staring at me with her widened eye.


    ¡°No, of course not,¡± I exined. ¡°There are very subtle burn marks on the tip of your fingernails and your knees are slightly worn. I guessed that it was probably because you knelt down and burnt incense in honor of your parents. Of course, it could also mean that you¡¯re a religious person, so I just made a lucky guess.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± nodded the professor. ¡°What about my eyes?¡±


    ¡°Our vision is slightly hampered when we look at things with only one eye instead of two eyes. When I saw you walking in, I thought to myself, wouldn¡¯t it be troublesome to have that kind of hairstyle? That caused me to observe your right eye more and I realized that it was probably blind.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing!¡± Professor Li eximed.


    Zhang Yan smugly interjected, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you? He¡¯s the Great Detective Song!¡±


    The rest of the room joined in on the praise. Someone asked Professor Li how her eye got blind. She smiled and replied, ¡°I got sick when I was young. It¡¯s nothing, really. I¡¯m used to it now.¡±


    I noticed some subtle signs of lying when she said that, but I didn¡¯t think much about it. I assumed that she probably just didn¡¯t want to divulge too much of her private life.


    Dali, who¡¯d been beside me all the while, suddenly said, ¡°Hey, Zhang Yan, don¡¯t just introduce Song Yang! What about me? I¡¯m his assistant, you know!¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± muttered Zhang Yan. ¡°Professor, this is Wang Dali, a friend of Song Yang¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Hello!¡± Professor Li reached out her hand to shake Dali¡¯s.


    ¡°Zhang Yan mentioned that you¡¯re a psychology professor,¡± said Dali. ¡°Does that mean that you can read people¡¯s minds? Can you guess what I¡¯m thinking now?¡±


    Professor Liughed.


    ¡°I study the science of the human psyche,¡± she exined. ¡°I can¡¯t do anything as impressive as what Song Yang did!¡±


    ¡°But even idiots can guess what¡¯s in your head, Dali,¡± Zhang Yan chimed in. ¡°You were admiring Professor Li¡¯s stunning beauty, weren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Who wouldn¡¯t?¡± countered Dali. ¡°Anyway, Professor, I¡¯m actually really interested in psychology. Can I get your WeChat contact so I can ask you some questions about psychology sometimes?¡±


    Professor Li considered it for a while and answered, ¡°I don¡¯t think WeChat is a suitable way to discuss the subject. I¡¯ll give you my email address instead.¡±


    The students then crowded around Professor Li and spoke with her. At one moment, I noticed that she was ring at me, but it was only very briefly that I suspected whether it was just an illusion. Still, the icy hostility that the eyes projected was unmistakable!


    I didn¡¯t fully understand the significance of that expression at the time. When I finally did understand itter, I was already caught in a treacherous web!

 Chapter 119

    <h4>Chapter 119</h4>


    Ever since we met Professor Li, Dali became seriously lovestruck and hadpletely forgotten the heartbreak he suffered after learning that Xia Mengmeng had started to date another guy. He would spend whole days in the library reading a bunch of psychology books.


    ¡°I wonder if you¡¯d start learning how to cook if you fall in love with a girl who works in the cafeteria,¡± I teased.


    ¡°You mock me,¡± he answered, ¡°but it¡¯s true that two people bond with each other much more easily when there is amonnguage. Just like how you and Xiaotao-jiejie bond over murder cases!¡±


    But Xiaotao and I aren¡¯t exactly together, Imented. I then warned him, ¡°I don¡¯t think you have a chance with Professor Li, though. Why don¡¯t you just give up?¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± he shouted, shaking his fist in the air. ¡°What¡¯s the point of living if one can¡¯t dream?¡±


    A few dayster, Dali read Freud¡¯s The Interpretation of Dreams and became very annoying indeed. Every morning, he would wake us up and jump on our beds insisting on interpreting our dreams.


    ¡°Come on, dude! Tell me what you dreamt ofst night!¡±


    ¡°I dreamt that I was Superman,¡± I said.


    ¡°Superman? Hmm... Superman wears a red cape... The color red is a symbol of desire... That means you were having a sexual dream!¡±


    ¡°I also dreamt that the dorm warden came to check our room,¡± I added.


    ¡°The dorm warden symbolizes your mother, which shows that you have an Oedipusplex.¡±


    ¡°Fuck off!¡± I kicked him off my bed. He then went on to harass our two roommates, interpreting any kind of dream they had into a sexual dream. We were all sick of him, but there was no way to get rid of Dali.


    Apart from pestering us, he would also send emails to Professor Li to ask her questions regarding psychology. This was the one thing about Dali that I was most impressed with. No matter how slim a chance he had, he was never afraid of approaching the person he liked and trying his luck.


    Before, we¡¯d be dragging our feet to get to the drama club, wishing we could be anywhere else. But now, Dali would get dressed hours before and we¡¯d arrive there half an hour before anyone else. I asked Dali, wouldn¡¯t it be better if you just lived in the club room?


    Dali did all that so he could catch a glimpse of the beautiful professor as many times as possible. But to be honest, I¡¯d been feeling really awkward and ufortable in the drama club due to the attention I got after that incident with Professor Li. The club members started to treat me as if I was a rare genius and they¡¯d pester me to show them my deduction skills all day long.


    I regretted not being strong enough to endure people¡¯s scorn. I secretly vowed that this would be thest time I showed my skills in front of other people without a good reason ever again.


    Soon after, it was already the end of October, and the drama festival was upon us. Professor Li personally came to watch our performance to support us. She told us that it didn¡¯t matter if we won the prize, as long as we gave it our best.


    It would be our turn to take the stage soon. The emcee announced, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy the next performance from the drama club¡ªRomeo and Juliet!¡±


    ¡°Just rx,¡± Professor Li encouraged us. ¡°Pretend that it¡¯s just another day of rehearsing.¡±


    ¡°Okay, everyone! Get ready!¡± shouted Zhang Yan. Everyone then went on stage, leaving only me, Dali and Professor Li backstage.


    To help Dali, I decided to leave him alone with Professor Li. I excused myself and went to the restroom, then wandered about in the corridors. Halfway through the performance, there was a sound of hurried footsteps of someone wearing high heels. I turned around and saw that it was Professor Li.


    ¡°Why are you here all alone?¡± she asked me.


    ¡°Is there something wrong, Professor?¡± I asked her. Being so close to a beautiful woman like her made me feel very nervous.


    ¡°Our Romeo forgot the prop knife that he was supposed to carry with him,¡± she answered. ¡°Would it be too much to ask you to give it to him? It¡¯s not easy for me to rush out there since I¡¯m in high heels.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me, Professor.¡± I took the knife from her, and felt like I¡¯d seen it somewhere before. It turned out to be the deless knife that Ye Shiwen had dropped at the haunted mansion weeks ago.


    Her fingers lingered on the back of my hand when I took the knife from her. I was sure that it was intentional. I looked at her, and saw that she was blushing. She smiled and asked me, ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you how my right eye got blind, did I?¡±


    ¡°Um...¡± I stuttered. ¡°I should hurry and get this knife to Ye Shiwen now.¡±


    She slowly lifted the hair that was covering her right eye, only to reveal that the eye beneath was bright green! It was crystal clear like a turquoise gem. My first hunch was that it somehow didn¡¯t look human at all...


    The moment I fixed my gaze on this eye, I suddenly felt as if everything around me was receding away. The walls grew further and further apart, the sound and voices around me started to fade away. There was only one thing that my mind was fixed on¡ªProfessor Li¡¯s wonderful eye and her gentle voice.


    ¡°Song Yang,¡± she murmured, ¡°you feel very light now. You are as light as a feather, and you¡¯re floating in a pool of water...¡±


    My mind was suddenly empty, and I really felt as if I was floating in the warm blue sea, and the sky above me was clear and blue, with a huge green eye above staring straight at me.


    Suddenly, the hallucination disappeared and I came crashing back to reality. What pulled me back was the sound of a group of students loudly chatting with each other andughing. I stared at Professor Li and asked her, ¡°What have you just done to me?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything,¡± she answered coolly. ¡°Hurry up and take the knife to Ye Shiwen!¡±


    I ran towards the stage, but a thought was nagging at me. Did Professor Li try to hypnotize me?


    I went up through the backstage and stood just behind the curtain. I saw Ye Shiwen waiting there anxiously. I gave him the knife and patted his shoulder tofort him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I said. ¡°I believe you¡¯ll do great out there!¡±


    ¡°Thanks. Once this is all over, let¡¯s all have a party!¡± He then slipped through the curtain.


    The more I thought about what had just happened with Professor Li, the more suspicious I got. Just as I was lost in thoughts, I heard a piercing scream from the stage and smelled a pungent stench of blood. I rushed outside and saw Ye Shiwen sitting on Zhang Yan¡¯s body, holding a bloody knife in his hand. Zhang Yan looked like she¡¯d been stabbed multiple times on her chest. Her eyes were open, but they were already lifeless. Her bodyy limply on the stage in a pool of blood.


    The whole audience had erupted into chaos. Many students screamed in terror and had fled the auditorium. This scene was supposed to be the scene when Romeo heard of the news of Juliet¡¯s death and rushed to see his lover. Who would¡¯ve thought that Ye Shiwen would suddenly snap and stab Zhang Yan to death? Besides, wasn¡¯t the knife supposed to be deless?


    Zhang Yan was just talking to me a few minutes ago, yet now all that was left was a cold, unbreathing corpse covered in blood. I could hardly believe what was going on.


    ¡°No!¡±


    It was Ye Shiwen¡¯s scream. The knife fell out of his hand. ¡°What have I done? What have I done?¡±


    ¡°Song Yang, tell me it isn¡¯t true! I didn¡¯t kill her, did I?¡±


    ¡°Calm down,¡± I told him. ¡°We¡¯ll wait until the police arrive.¡±


    ¡°What? Did you call the police? No, but I don¡¯t want to go to prison! I don¡¯t want to go to prison!¡±


    He quickly jumped off the stage and attempted to flee, but I followed him and grabbed him grabbed his arm before he could run.


    ¡°Call the police!¡± I yelled at the security guards who were approaching us. ¡°There was a murder!¡± I then gave them Xiaotao¡¯s mobile phone number.


    Ye Shiwen just realized that he¡¯d killed his girlfriend with his own hands. Understandably, he broke down and screamed and wailed and cried. The security guards had to take over and pin him to ground to prevent him from escaping. It was a heart-wrenching sight to behold.


    He then stared at me pleadingly. ¡°Song Yang, you must help me! You must help me!¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what to say. No matter what, he¡¯d just killed Zhang Yan in front of hundreds of people. What could I do to help him? Nevertheless, I told him, ¡°I¡¯ll do my best in discovering the truth of what just happened. But you must cooperate with the police in their investigation!¡±


    He nodded with great difficulty because the security guard was pressing his head to the floor.


    ¡°You know I could never kill her! I love her!¡± he shouted.


    ¡°I know,¡± I sighed.

 Chapter 120

    <h4>Chapter 120</h4>


    After a while, Xiaotao arrived with a group of police officers. They blocked the crime scene, and were prepared to move the body. I shouted, ¡°Wait a minute!¡±


    This was the scene of the crime. I knew I could glean the most information if I did an autopsy here. I called Dali to get here, and when he saw what was happening outside, he screamed in shock.


    ¡°Zhang Yan is... dead?! Who killed her?¡±


    I almost snorted. How could he not hear the chaos that just swept over the whole auditorium?


    ¡°Where¡¯s Professor Li?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°She just left a few minutes ago.¡±


    That was suspicious indeed. Still, the most urgent thing that I needed to do now was to examine Zhang Yan¡¯s body. I asked Dali to go back to our room and get my equipment here.


    Xiaotao asked me who Professor Li was, and I briefly exined to her what just happened before I gave Ye Shiwen the knife.


    ¡°She was trying to hypnotize you! That¡¯s very suspicious!¡± she eximed.


    She then sent a few police officers to Professor Li¡¯s house to question her.


    Not long after, Dali returned with my equipment. I began to conduct Organ Echolocation. Zhang Yan¡¯s inner organs were severely damaged, but there was no doubt that the cause of her death was her pierced heart.


    I used Autopsy Umbre to check for Yang Energy Prints and found a lot of messy fingerprints on her body. That was to be expected, since many people had touched her costume before the performance today.


    I inserted a stick soaked in alkaline water into her throat to check for signs of poisoning, but found none.


    Her eyes were wide open. It was obvious that she was in extreme shock just before her death. I pushed her eyelids down with my hand and heaved a sigh. I still couldn¡¯t believe that she was really gone.


    I reported my findings to Xiaotao. Her death was pretty straightforward. She was stabbed through her heart with a sharp instrument. There wasn¡¯t much else that I could find out from her body. Also, because everything transpired right in front of hundreds of people¡¯s eyes, it was possible to urately determine the time of her death.


    Meanwhile, the police kept questioning Ye Shiwen, yet he couldn¡¯t give them any valuable information. All he did was shake his head and say he didn¡¯t know how it all happened then broke down and cried again.


    ¡°What do you think the motive behind this murder was?¡± Xiaotao asked me.


    ¡°Motive? I can¡¯t think of any! They were both very much in love! The only reason he would ever kill her in front of everyone was if he¡¯d lost his mind...¡±


    I paused. Then I asked Xiaotao if it was possible that someone could kill when they were under hypnosis.


    ¡°You¡¯re suspecting that professor, aren¡¯t you? Well, in general, hypnosis can¡¯t be used to make someonemit a murder. If the person under hypnosis was asked to do something that is too far beyond their normal behavior, such as taking off their clothes in front of a crowd of people, they would automatically ¡®wake up¡¯ as if the spell was broken.¡±


    ¡°You said ¡®in general.¡¯ Does that mean that there are exceptions?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Wait, let me ask Ye Shiwen a few questions!¡±


    She walked towards him and said, ¡°Calm down and stop crying. Answer me, who did you talk to before the murder happened?¡±


    ¡°I talked to a few people, including Song Yang, but we didn¡¯t talk about anything in particr at all.¡±


    ¡°Where did that knifee from?¡± asked Xiaotao again.


    ¡°Song Yang handed it to me,¡± he answered, then he began to sob again.


    Several policemen turned their gaze to me simultaneously.


    ¡°It was a prop knife that Professor Li asked me to give to Ye Shiwen,¡± I exined. ¡°Both Xiaotao and I have seen this knife before, and it was not supposed to have a sharp de.¡±


    Xiaozhou picked up the bloody knife and asked, ¡°You mean this one? But it¡¯s extremely sharp!¡±


    ¡°It must¡¯ve been sharpened recently, then,¡± I countered.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you check it before you gave it to Ye Shiwen?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°It was an emergency! I didn¡¯t have time to check!¡±


    Xiaotao nodded and continued to ask Ye Shiwen, ¡°When you stabbed the victim, what exactly was in your mind?¡±


    Ye Shiwen replied that he didn¡¯t know. Xiaotao urged him to rx and think carefully. She assured him that the police were here to help him discover the truth. She then asked everyone to leave, then gave Ye Shiwen a bottle of mineral water.


    After drinking that water, Ye Shiwen began to calm down. He tried to recollect what happened, then when realization hit him, he started to shiver in panic.


    ¡°I... I was cutting a watermelon!¡± he blurted out.


    ¡°What?¡± Xiaotao and I responded.


    ¡°I... I remember feeling thirsty, and then I saw a huge watermelon in front of me, so I wanted to cut it open. But it suddenly moved and tentacles crawled out of it. I was so terrified that I stuck the knife into it... that was when I woke up again and saw...¡±


    He broke down into tears again. He held his head in his hand and muttered, ¡°I did it! I really did kill her!¡±


    Xiaotao pulled me aside and whispered, ¡°I think I¡¯ve figured it out.¡±


    ¡°What did you figure out?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I talked to a psychologist before,¡± she exined. ¡°And he told me that hypnosis can never be used to make someonemit murder. However, if I wanted to influence the behavior of a person to make them kill someone, what should I do?¡±


    I thought about it and replied, ¡°Make the person believe that the victim was not a human being!¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡±


    ¡°How did you know all this?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°Because I used to...¡±


    At that moment, Xiaozhou suddenly called out Xiaotao¡¯s name and asked her to join him and the other two police officers standing beside him. The officers had been to Professor Li¡¯s house and questioned her. They talked for several minutes, during which I could hear Xiaotao saying, ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not mistaken?¡± and ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Their eyes would turn to me every once in a while. Needless to say, their behavior was giving me an ominous feeling.


    I was about to go ask them what was going on, but Xiaotao suddenly pointed at me and shouted, ¡°Arrest him!¡±


    I was stunned. I thought she was talking about someone else, but the two officers rushed towards me, held my shoulders down and handcuffed me.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± I asked desperately.


    ¡°Song Yang, I¡¯ve been wrong about you the whole time!¡± Xiaotao yelled at me.


    Xiaozhou exined to me that there were only two sets of fingerprints on the murder weapon¡ªmine and Ye Shiwen¡¯s. The surveince video also clearly showed that I had given the knife to Ye Shiwen. ording to Professor Li, she had been chatting with Dali backstage the whole time, and she¡¯d also never touched the knife before!


    Blood rushed to my head. Professor Li clearly gave me the knife. She must¡¯ve have covered her fingers with glue beforehand. She also must¡¯ve known that there would be no surveince camera in the corridor, but there would be one right behind the stage.


    ¡°Listen to me! It¡¯s a trap!¡± I cried. ¡°Dali, she left you for a while, didn¡¯t she? You must¡¯ve noticed that!¡±


    Dali bit his lips and replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, dude. I know we¡¯re friends, but I can¡¯t lie in this circumstance. Professor Li was with me the whole time.¡±


    My eyes widened. It felt as if the whole ce was spinning. I felt betrayed, but I suddenly realized something.


    ¡°Dali, she hypnotized you!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s only your theory, Song Yang,¡± said Xiaozhou. ¡°You have no proof of it. Right now, all evidence is pointing at you!¡±


    Xiaotao waved her hand and barked, ¡°Take him back to the station now!¡±


    I didn¡¯t expect Xiaotao to distrust me so much. I was even more surprised at how quickly she turned hostile towards me.


    ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie, do you need to be so harsh? You¡¯re very close to Song Yang after all...¡±


    ¡°Nonsense!¡± she snapped. ¡°There is no rtionship of any kind between him and me!¡±


    I clenched my first. Xiaotao¡¯s words pierced through my heart like a sharp knife.


    ¡°You¡¯re making a mistake, Xiaotao!¡± I yelled. ¡°Do you really think that I would make such an obvious mistake if I decided to kill someone?¡±


    ¡°Take him away!¡± ordered Xiaotao impatiently.


    The two officers tried to drag me away, but I forcibly broke away from them and rushed over to Xiaotao to persuade her. Suddenly, someone attacked me from the side and threw me to the ground. It was Wang Yuanchao. I was in so much pain that I was sure my ribs must¡¯ve been broken.


    ¡°Yuanchao,¡± I pleaded with a weakened voice. ¡°Listen to me. They¡¯ve got it all wrong!¡±


    He ignored me and lifted me up as if I was a little sheep.


    I realized the hard way how cold-blooded police officers could be. The friendship I thought I had with them was all based on a lie. Grandpa was right in warning me against joining the police force! He once told me that the police never cared about us¡ªthey only cared about the knowledge that the Song family possessed! Once we turned out to be useless to them, they¡¯d discard us as if we meant nothing to them at all.


    Wang Yuanchao shoved me into a police car, where I felt as if I was thrown into a pit of despair and regret.


    I was taken to the police station. Wang Yuanchao escorted me there himself. Xiaotao and the other officers remained expressionless the whole time. Officers inside the police station whispered things like ¡°Isn¡¯t that him?¡± as we walked past.


    My phone was confiscated and I was locked in a cell. Before she left me, I shouted to Xiaotao, ¡°Let me call Sun Tiger!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to contact anyone except yourwyer at the moment,¡± she coldly replied. ¡°Do you have awyer?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t hold my emotions any longer. ¡°I don¡¯t care that the others believe I did it, but how could you believe it too, Xiaotao? Haven¡¯t we been through enough together?¡±


    She threw me an icy look and left the room. Her answer was clear. She had never regarded me as her friend. Everything was a lie!

 Chapter 121

    <h4>Chapter 121</h4>


    Three hours had passed since I was locked up in the cell. I was in utter despair when the police brought in an unscrupulous looking man. He nced at me and asked, ¡°What are you here for, brother?¡±


    I ignored him, but he moved very close to me and with an oleaginous smile on his face he said, ¡°Officer Wang ordered me to take good care of you!¡±


    I shrank away from him immediately. It sounded like the police had decided topletely desert me and wash their hands of me forever. To think that I was theirrade in arms just hours earlier! Now I was reduced to an object of their ridicule.


    At that moment, I vowed to myself that once I got out of here, I would find them and exact my revenge on them!


    My thoughts were suddenly interrupted when the shady guy tapped my shoulder. He slipped out a leg of ham, a bottle of mineral water and a tea bag out of his coat.


    ¡°You must be hungry,¡± he said. ¡°Here, have some food!¡±


    My eyes widened. So he really did mean it when he said he was going to take good care of me!


    ¡°Come on, eat up!¡± he urged. ¡°You don¡¯t want the prison guard to see this! If he does then we¡¯re both screwed!¡±


    I hadn¡¯t had any food since noon, so I grabbed the ham and gorged on it.


    ¡°Was that Officer Wang you talked about Wang Yuanchao?¡± I asked him when I finished the ham.


    ¡°That¡¯s the man!¡± he answered. ¡°Allow me to introduce myself. They call me Hamster on the street. I¡¯m Officer Wang¡¯s informant.¡±


    All this new information overwhelmed me. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder aloud, ¡°Then why did they treat me so coldly earlier?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not stupid, are you?¡± scoffed Hamster, patting my shoulder. ¡°That¡¯s only for show! For whatever reason, you¡¯re definitely involved in this case. If they didn¡¯t pretend to be harsh on you, they¡¯d definitely be removed from the investigation.¡±


    The truth of Hamster¡¯s words hit me. I almost cried due to sheer relief. Still, couldn¡¯t they just give me some hints along the way? They almost made me genuinely hate them!


    But the more I thought of it, the more I understood the necessity of Xiaotao¡¯s actions. The more I lost control of my emotions andshed out, the more realistic her n would seem to outsiders. Everything she did, she did it to get a chance to save me. I proved to be too inexperienced in some areas.


    Hamster stared at me with a smile and asked, ¡°You look pretty important, brother. Who are you really?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just a college student,¡± I replied simply.


    ¡°Your father must be pretty powerful, then,¡± he continued.


    ¡°He¡¯s just an ordinary businessman.¡±


    Hamster looked confused. He couldn¡¯t think of a reason why a college kid like me would receive the protection of the police. Still, he held out a hand and uttered, ¡°Why don¡¯t we be friends? I¡¯m not as powerful as a police officer, but I can do many things that the police can¡¯t.¡±


    In normal circumstances, I would¡¯ve ignored him, but I¡¯d been through so much that day and Hamster was the only person who treated me well. I shook hands with him. I couldn¡¯t believe that a boring guy like me would ever make friends with gangsters.


    Hamster went on to brag about his past ¡®glorious deeds.¡¯ He told me he¡¯d blocked a knife attack to save a notorious mafia boss before. He¡¯d also supposedly smuggled a ton of ecstasy pills into Thand, spent a night at the hottest nightclub in Beijing, and dined with Li Ka-shing.


    I had observed his expressions closely all along, and sure enough none of what he imed was true, but I humored him and said nothing.


    At about eleven o¡¯clock, Xiaotao returned to interrogate me. Before I was taken into another room, Hamster whispered to me, ¡°Contact me whenever you need any help. I¡¯m always at your service!¡±


    I was then brought into the interrogation room and was left alone with Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao. Xiaotao smiled and joked, ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought that I¡¯d be interrogating the great detective himself!¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯ve decided to drop the act now?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± she answered casually. ¡°Captain Lin has approved the formation of a task force to investigate the case and I¡¯m the team leader. I¡¯m so d you understood my intentions. I was so worried I might¡¯ve actually hurt your feelings just now!¡±


    She actually did. Not that I would admit it, though.


    ¡°Did you think that I¡¯d be fooled by your obvious acts?¡± I lied. ¡°I was just putting on an act myself to make it more believable!¡±


    ¡°I still feel bad about it, though,¡± Xiaotao admitted. ¡°I¡¯ll make it up to you when this is all over. Anyway, we¡¯ll take your official statements now. Wang Yuanchao, you¡¯re in charge of recording everything.¡±


    And so, I proceeded to ry the whole incident from beginning to the end. I told them of my suspicions of Professor Li. Xiaotao mmed the table andmented, ¡°Too bad we can¡¯t arrest her now since we don¡¯t have any concrete evidence! Even if she confessed that she¡¯d hypnotized Ye Shiwen, we¡¯d still have no choice but to let her go!¡±


    ¡°Has there ever been a murder case involving hypnosis before?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Xiaotao told me of a murderer named Li Wenhai who was captured three years ago. He was a psychologist and a specialist in hypnotherapy. He was unbelievably talented at hypnotizing people. The method he used was to hold the victim¡¯s neck tightly until they were almost asphyxiated and perform hypnosis on them. Because the victim¡¯s braincked oxygen, the sess rate of hypnosis was almost 100%.


    Everything Xiaotao understood about hypnosis, she learnt it from that case. She told me that not all hypnosis attempts would be sessful. Some people were more impressionable, some were psychologically imprable. Wang Yuanchao, for example, had been in the paramilitary for a long time, so he had especially strong willpower and would be a tough target for hypnosis.


    Besides, hypnosis was nothing like what was shown in films and television shows where all you needed was a pocket watch. In reality, the whole process would take at least five to ten minutes of uninterrupted interaction.


    ¡°Then that means if Professor Li wanted to hypnotize Shiwen and Dali, she would need to be alone with them for five to ten minutes,¡± I postted.


    ¡°Is Ye Shiwen a very impressionable person?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say,¡± I replied, ¡°but even if he was, wouldn¡¯t it raise his suspicions if Professor Li turned up and tried to hypnotize him for five minutes? Would he just let her do it?¡±


    ¡°She tried to hypnotize you too, didn¡¯t she?¡± Xiaotao asked. ¡°How did you resist her attempt?¡±


    ¡°Now that you mention it...¡± I considered it for a while. ¡°Her eye. I saw her eye, then all of a sudden my mind turned foggy and I began to see what she tried to suggest to me...¡±


    ¡°What did her eye look like?¡±


    I described the curious green eye to her. Xiaotao raised an eyebrow and remarked, ¡°Do you think an eye that can hypnotize people really exists? If so, wouldn¡¯t she be able to control everyone then?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t think such a thing exists. Otherwise this whole world would¡¯ve been under her control by now.¡±


    ¡°What motives would she have for killing Zhang Yan, anyway?¡±


    ¡°Beats me. I can¡¯t think of any at the moment. They don¡¯t seem to have any special rtionship other than that of a professor and a student.¡±


    I paused. Then I suddenly remembered an important fact.


    ¡°Wait!¡± I eximed. ¡°Professor Li¡¯s full name is Li Wenjia!¡±


    Xiaotao was astonished.


    ¡°And she¡¯s an expert in hypnosis too!¡± Xiaotaomented. ¡°Wang Yuanchao, investigate the rtionship between her and Li Wenhai now!¡±


    ¡°Meanwhile,¡± I added, ¡°let¡¯s go question Li Wenjia!¡±


    I was about to stand up and walk out of the room, when Xiaotao shouted, ¡°Come back here! Have you forgotten that you¡¯re a murder suspect right now?¡±


    I stopped dead in my tracks and turned around, scratching my head in embarrassment.


    ¡°You always forget everything once you¡¯re in investigating mode,¡±ughed Xiaotao.


    ¡°By the way, is Li Wenhai still alive?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Xiaotao shook her head. ¡°He died a few months ago. I sent him to prison myself a few years ago. Since he was an intellectual, he was severely bullied by other inmates. He couldn¡¯t take it anymore so he sharpened a toothbrush and killed himself with it.¡±


    ¡°I see. So, do I need to stay in the cell for a few more days?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No!¡± answered Xiaotao with a lovely smile. ¡°I¡¯ll bail you outter.¡±


    ¡°Then could you get Hamster out too?¡± I asked. He took good care of me after all.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t break anyw,¡± answered Wang Yuanchao. ¡°I sent him in there. He¡¯s gone out now.¡±


    ¡°What about Shiwen?¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t be bailed out,¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°He¡¯ll be transferred to the prison in two days. After all, hundreds of people saw him kill the victim with their own eyes. It wouldn¡¯t be a good idea to let him return to campus.¡±


    I sighed heavily, knowing how hard it must be for Shiwen to spend the night in jail.


    I then went to see him once I was bailed out. We didn¡¯t talk, though, because he was in a total mental breakdown. He knelt on the floor and cried incessantly. Iforted him through the bars and promised him not to worry, because I would absolutely prove his innocence!


    1. business magnate and phnthropist. Currently the 30th richest person in the world.

 Chapter 122

    <h4>Chapter 122</h4>


    Xiaotao drove me back to college that night. The minute Dali saw that I was fine, he hugged me and cried, saying, ¡°Dude! I thought they¡¯d lock you up forever! It was terrifying seeing you get dragged away by the police today!¡±


    He then asked me if I was hungry, then proceeded to make me a bowl of instant noodles. I kept staring at him until he asked me, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, dude? You fancy me? I would¡¯ve seriously considered it if I was a girl.¡±


    ¡°Dali, are you sure you were with Professor Li backstage the whole time?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°Yeah, dude!¡± Dali nodded.


    ¡°What were you talking about?¡± I asked.


    ¡°All sorts of stuff... We talked about...¡± Dali stumbled. ¡°Um, now that you asked, I can¡¯t really recall...¡±


    It looked like Dali was hypnotized into believing that Professor Li had been there with him the whole time. It was amon urrence that the person who was hypnotized wouldn¡¯t remember what went on afterwards.


    Still, I couldn¡¯t begin to wrap my head around the motive behind Professor Li¡¯s actions. Was she trying to exact revenge on Xiaotao? But why kill Zhang Yan and frame Shiwen then?


    Early next morning, Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao went to Professor Li¡¯s ce to question her, and Dali and I followed them. Although I¡¯d been in this college for the past four years, I¡¯d never set foot in the staff residential area where Professor Li lived. The area looked nice. Each staff member was given an apartment, and each unit was fully furnished with furniture and daily appliances.


    Dali told me that the rent for the staff apartment was only a thousand yuan per year.


    ¡°What a life!¡± he remarked enviously. ¡°Cheap rent, nice ce to stay, and they¡¯re only required to teach six sses a week! They¡¯d have tons of spare time to y video games in their own apartment!¡±


    ¡°Is that all you ever think of?¡± I joked.


    We finally arrived at Professor Li¡¯s ce. Xiaotao knocked on her door a few times, and not long after that Professor Li opened it. She was wearing a loose robe, but her exquisite curves were still visible underneath it. I could clearly hear Dali gasp.


    Xiaotao was about to pull out her police badge, but Professor Li stopped her and shook her head. ¡°No need for that, Officer Huang. I know who you are.¡±


    Wang Yuanchao had investigated her rtionship with Li Wenhai. It turned out that they were siblings.


    ¡°In that case,¡± said Xiaotao, ¡°I¡¯ll get straight to the point. I¡¯d like to hear your ount of yesterday¡¯s events.¡±


    Professor Li invited us into her house. Just as I had predicted, she had a shrine for her parents in the living room, and another smaller one next to it which bore the name Li Wenhai. An incense was still burning in a metal bowl in front of the shrine. The bowl had collected quite an amount of incense ash.


    I was wrong about her pet, though. It wasn¡¯t a dog at all.


    ¡°You have a pet fox?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°Yes, his name is Doudou. Come here, Doudou!¡± The fox was frightened though, and it stayed hidden behind the couch.


    ¡°Would you like some tea?¡± Professor Li asked.


    ¡°No, we won¡¯t be long,¡± Xiaotao answered.


    ¡°Professor Li¡¯s house smells so nice,¡± Dali whispered.


    ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± I responded. ¡°It smells very strongly of fox dung!¡± I took note of the smell, which was something I¡¯d never experienced before.


    Professor Li casually pulled up a chair and sat down. She lit up a cigarette and started to slowly recount what happened yesterday. She insisted that she was chatting with Dali backstage all along and had nothing to do with the knife. She only found out what happened when she ran out to the front of the stage after hearing themotion.


    I watched her closely as she spoke with my Cave Vision. She made eye contact with me suddenly for a split second, and I noticed that the corner of her mouth lifted up slightly. For some reason, I shuddered with an inexplicable fear when those eyes of hers were fixed on me.


    ¡°You have a very keen eyesight, don¡¯t you, Song Yang?¡± she asked me. ¡°Were you observing my micro-expressions?¡±


    I froze. Did she notice my Cave Vision?


    ¡°Was Professor lying, then?¡± Xiaotao asked me.


    I broke out in cold sweat, but still answered, ¡°From what I¡¯ve observed, she showed no signs of lying.¡±


    It was possible that she knew how to act to keep her micro-expressions in check. She was an expert in psychology, after all. For the first time in my life, it felt like I was in a tough game of chess while facing her.


    ¡°Now you¡¯ve seen that everything I say is true,¡± she said. ¡°I also have a clear alibi that confirms that I wasn¡¯t at the murder scene. You¡¯re just suspicious of me because of your personal rtionship with Song Yang. I think that sounds like malpractice and abuse of power, Officer Huang.¡±


    ¡°But you definitely touched the knife before!¡± I argued. ¡°None of your fingerprints were found on it. That meant that you must¡¯ve applied ayer of superglue on your fingers beforehand. Would you let us check your hands?¡±


    She spread out her delicate hands and replied, ¡°Please, go ahead!¡±


    I scrutinized the fingers closely but found nothing. That wasn¡¯t so surprising, though, since she could¡¯ve washed all signs of the glue off before we came here.


    ¡°Would you show us your right eye?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°If you wish,¡± she replied. She then swept her hair behind her ear, revealing a bright turquoise eyeball. When I stared at it, it didn¡¯t make me feel weird like I didst time. Still, the eye looked ¡®alive¡¯ somehow, not at all like an ordinary ss eye.


    ¡°What an unusual prosthetic eye!¡± remarked Xiaotao.


    ¡°I have an unusual taste,¡± replied Professor Li.


    ¡°Then why do you usually cover it up with your hair?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    Professor Li inteced her fingers and answered, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to rm my students, would I?¡±


    ¡°How did you lose your eyesight?¡±


    ¡°I got sick when I was young,¡± she exined. ¡°Which left my right eye blind. After that, I¡¯ve always been using a prosthetic eye.¡±


    The reason she gave was exactly the same as the one she¡¯d given previously at the drama club. Only this time, I didn¡¯t notice any signs of panic like I did before. I realized then that this woman had the ability to control her micro-expressions with ease.


    When a person tried to recall past memories, they would unconsciously look down to the right. I noticed that Professor Li did this as she spoke, which could just mean that she wasmitted to her lies down the tiniest details!


    Professor Li then covered her right eye with her hair and said, ¡°I¡¯ve answered all your questions and showed you everything you wanted to see. Is there anything else that I can do for you? If not, please leave. I need to prepare for my ss tomorrow.¡±


    Xiaotao was visibly annoyed. This trip turned out to be fruitless so far.


    ¡°What are you trying to do, Li Wenjia?¡± Xiaotao boldly asked. ¡°Are you trying to avenge your brother?¡±


    Professor Liughed.


    ¡°Officer Huang,¡± she calmly replied, ¡°it seems that you¡¯ve made up your mind that I¡¯m the murderer. I know thews of our country enough to know that what you¡¯re doing is illegal. Be careful, or I might sue you.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead!¡± yelled Xiaotao through gritted teeth. ¡°But I¡¯ll definitely expose your true nature! I swear it!¡±


    Once we left Professor Li¡¯s apartment, I suddenly noticed Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao staring at me with a strange look in their eyes.


    ¡°You don¡¯t actually believe what she said, do you?¡± I asked them.


    ¡°I do believe that you¡¯d never kill anyone,¡± answered Xiaotao. ¡°But perhaps there¡¯s a possibility that you were hypnotized.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± I retorted. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then it would be me who stabbed Zhang Yan, not Shiwen!¡±


    ¡°That makes sense,¡± Xiaotao nodded in agreement. ¡°Still, all the evidence we have right now points to you. I worry that you might be charged with murder in court.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± cried Dali in shock. ¡°Dude, should you hire awyer now?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not considering retreat before the battle has even begun!¡± I stated firmly. ¡°Shiwen and I are both innocent, and I¡¯ll definitely prove it!¡±


    ¡°Do you have any ideas for our next step at the moment, Song Yang?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    To be honest, I didn¡¯t know what to do myself. It was true that the most difficult case to solve was one that had no clear motive or n. Shiwen¡¯s murder of Zhang Yan was one such case. To make matters worse, there were hundreds of witnesses who saw the act of murder with their own eyes.


    ¡°Let me stay here to monitor her moves!¡± Wang Yuanchao suggested.


    ¡°Okay,¡± agreed Xiaotao. ¡°But you must be careful.¡±

 Chapter 123

    <h4>Chapter 123</h4>


    I asked Xiaotao if Yuanchao had found anything suspicious in Professor Li¡¯s background. She replied that Professor Li had a clean record. She grew up with her parents in Inner Mongolia until they died in an ident. She was then left with her elder brother Li Wenhai, who was ten years older than her and had looked after her ever since. He worked hard to support her. In fact, Professor Li¡¯s college tuition was paid for by Li Wenhai¡¯s hard-earned money. Unsurprisingly, the siblings seemed to have a very close bond with each other.


    Li Wenhai made great achievements in psychology, especially in the field of hypnosis. In addition to his post as a university professor, he was also a renowned clinical psychologist. In the eyes of the public, he was a modest but sessful schr; but in truth, he would use hypnosis to trick many beautiful female patients to go to bed with him.


    One day, one of his colleagues found out his dark secrets and threatened to report him to the authorities. He quickly grabbed the colleague¡¯s throat and ordered him to jump off the building using hypnosis.


    Because the colleague¡¯s death was ruled as a suicide, Li Wenhai managed to escape punishments for his first murder. Unfortunately, this incident only proved to awaken his evil nature and was the start of his murderous rampage!


    After that, he was no longer content to just deceive people or trick women to have sex with him. He began to use his skills to murder people. Anyone who dared to annoy him would end up dead. Once, when a take-out delivery man gave him a different soup from what he ordered, Li Wenhai hypnotized that man and caused him to walk straight into busy traffic and he died after he was hit by a car.


    As time passed on, he began to kill just for the sake of it. In one case, he bumped into a beautiful woman on the street, so he hypnotized her into following him to an isted ce and had his way with her. After that, he made hermit suicide by hypnosis.


    Within half a year, Li Wenhai killed close to a dozen people, all of whom died of idents or suicide. The only thing that these victims had inmon was that they were in contact with Li Wenhai in one way or another before their deaths, and that was why the police started to suspect him.


    Perhaps the power he had over other people¡¯s actions corrupted Li Wenhai¡¯s heart over time, and gradually turned him into a monster. When Xiaotao first met him, she shuddered in terror even though he was only smiling at her. The police task force spent a whole month gathering enough evidence and finally arrested him.


    ¡°How did you manage to acquire convincing evidence to incriminate him?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Through a video recording!¡± she answered. ¡°I personally acted as a bait for him to hypnotize and recorded the whole process.¡± The unpleasant memories connected to the incident made Xiaotao shiver involuntarily.


    ¡°That case caused me a lot of psychological trauma,¡± she continued. ¡°I had to see a psychiatrist, and even then, it took me a long time to recover fully.¡±


    The next few days were uneventful, and there were no breakthroughs in the case. Shiwen was transferred to the prison to await trial. I felt guilty for not being able to help him, so I paid him a visit together with Dali.


    He cried as he was taken out of the police station. Xiaotao patted his shoulder andforted him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve asked someone to protect you in prison. You¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    The van that was to transport Shiwen drove up to the entrance. Apart from him, there were other prisoners to be transported to prison too. Before he got into the van, Shiwen suddenly knelt down on the ground. We were all taken by surprise. It turned out that he was kneeling in the direction of the college.


    ¡°Yanyan!¡± he shouted. ¡°Wait for me! I¡¯ll be apanying you to the afterlife soon!¡±


    Dali and I were shocked to hear that. The officers began to urge him to get up, but Xiaotao stopped them.


    Shiwen knocked his head on the ground three times, then slowly stood up. All of a sudden, I heard the crisp sound of fingers snapping. Instantly after that, I saw the look in Shiwen¡¯s eyes change and he started to charge towards Xiaotao. Then he grabbed her neck with both hands and choked her. Xiaotao tried to fight him off and they ended up falling to the ground.


    ¡°What are you doing, Shiwen?!¡± I shouted, frightened.


    Xiaotao¡¯s eyes had started to roll backward. She would soon lose consciousness. The police officers and I rushed up towards them and tried to pry Shiwen¡¯s hands off of Xiaotao¡¯s neck. Shiwen had never been a physically fit person, but strangely enough, even the six of us couldn¡¯t move his arms at all.


    Xiaotao desperately fought Shiwen off by scratching his arms. They were now bloody and full of scratches, yet Shiwen remained unfazed. I noticed that his eyes looked zed over. At that moment, I could hear the bones in Xiaotao¡¯s neck crack.


    ¡°Stop it right now!¡± I shouted, while kicking at Shiwen¡¯s ribs as hard as I could. I was sure that I¡¯d broken one of his ribs, but he just wouldn¡¯t let go.


    Finally, an officer tased Shiwen with a high-voltage stun gun. He trembled like a leaf in the wind before letting go of Xiaotao¡¯s neck, then copsed to the ground with his mouth foaming.


    Xiaotao gulped the air and coughed violently. She vomited out a pool of gastric juice. There were two red palm prints on her neck. Everyone was still confused about what had just happened. I asked, ¡°Did anyone hear the sound of fingers snapping earlier?¡±


    ¡°I heard it!¡± a few people answered.


    ¡°I think Shiwen imnted amand signal in his brain,¡± I exined. ¡°That snapping sound brought him back under the hypnosis state and he lost control of his body.¡±


    The target of this attack was Xiaotao, of course. I now understood Professor Li¡¯s intentions. She framed Shiwen for murder, which forced the police to capture him. That way, she could send him, her ¡®time bomb,¡¯ straight to Xiaotao, and she would ¡®activate¡¯ the bomb anytime she saw fit! The hypnotized person could be as strong as a handful of men even if he was physically weak in normal circumstances. Had Shiwen not been tased just now, Xiaotao would¡¯ve been killed.


    Xiaotao continued to cough for a few minutes after that. Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. I asked her if she was alright, but she waved her hands and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. Find Professor Li! She must be nearby!¡±


    She struggled onto her feet and was about to pull out her gun, only to find that the holster on her waist was empty. She frantically asked if anyone had seen her gun. Police officers were usually punished if they somehow lost their guns.


    Everyone looked around and tried to find the gun, but I suddenly noticed that Dali stood there silently. Just as I realized that something was wrong, Dali raised a ck pistol, aimed it at Xiaotao and was about to pull the trigger!


    I pushed Xiaotao out of the way. A police officer behind her was shot and copsed to the ground. Dali didn¡¯t give us any chance to respond; he re-aimed it at Xiaotao and continued firing.


    I gritted my teeth and blocked a bullet with my own body. It felt as if I was punched really hard. I rushed up to Dali and shoved him down to the ground. I pinned his arms down with all my might. He opened fire towards the sky several more times.


    Thankfully, the officers rushed up and subdued Dali. But as he was pinned to the ground, he suddenly shouted, ¡°Your time hase, Huang Xiaotao!¡±


    Although his voice was loud and clear, it waspletely devoid of any emotions. In fact, it sounded robotic. This must¡¯ve been imnted into his brain by Professor Li too.


    Xiaotao came over to check my injuries. I was only shot in the shoulder, but the officer who was shot earlier was dead. One of the officer¡¯s colleagues was so angry that we wanted to beat Dali up, but he was stopped by the others.


    After this turn of events, Shiwen was no longer to be transferred to prison.


    ¡°Bring them back into the police station,¡± Xiaotao ordered. ¡°Detain them separately and make sure to keep an eye on them at all times!¡±


    She then drove me to the hospital. The doctor injected anesthesia into my body and removed a bullet from my shoulder. The image of a bloody bullet on an iron te was seared into my mind. I¡¯d only seen such a thing in films and television dramas¡ªI never thought that I would one day experience it firsthand. The wound was then bandaged and my arm was then supported by an arm sling.


    Once my injuries had been dealt with, I walked out of the ward and found Xiaotao sitting on a bench in the hallway. Her face was pale and she looked extremely worried.


    ¡°I just called Yuanchao,¡± she told me. ¡°No one answered...¡±


    I was speechless. Wang Yuanchao had been monitoring Professor Li for the past two days. If Dali and Shiwen could have such terrifying strength under hypnosis, I shuddered to think how terrifying Wang Yuanchao would be under the same circumstances!


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much,¡± Iforted Xiaotao. ¡°He¡¯s incredibly strong-willed. He won¡¯t be easily hypnotized. By the way, did anyone figure out where that finger-snapping sound came from?¡±


    ¡°It was Dali¡¯s ringtone,¡± Xiaotao replied. ¡°Professor Li must¡¯ve set that up herself. I¡¯ve sent some officers to her apartment to watch her movements and detain her in her house.¡±


    Xiaotao paused for a moment, then looked up at me.


    ¡°Song Yang, can you stay with me tonight?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Of course,¡± I nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll always protect you!¡±


    She smiled, but the smile was full of pain and sorrow instead of happiness.


    ¡°Thank you!¡±

 Chapter 124

    <h4>Chapter 124</h4>


    Xiaotao and I were safely back at her houseter that night. I was injured, so she made me sleep on the bed. Iughed and said, ¡°But you¡¯re the hostess, and I¡¯m the guest. How can I let the hostess sleep on the couch?¡±


    ¡°Guests should be quiet and obey the hostess!¡± Xiaotao snapped back. ¡°I¡¯m ordering you to sleep in the bed!¡±


    And so, I reluctantlyy on the bed and tried to get some rest. The sound of Xiaotao taking a shower in the bathroom coupled with her scent in her bed excited me too much that I couldn¡¯t sleep.


    As I tossed and turned, I heard the bedroom door open. Xiaotao slipped into the room wearing pajamas. I quickly pretended to be asleep. Xiaotao quietlyy down next to me and hugged me from behind. My heart started racing when I could feel the soft pressure of her breasts on my back.


    But then, I heard Xiaotao quietly sobbing. Surprised, I asked her, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    She kept on crying and didn¡¯t answer. The events that happened today must¡¯ve hit her very hard, especially when a police officer died by the bullet that was intended for her. I turned around to face her and gently patted her head with my uninjured hand andforted her, ¡°Don¡¯t me yourself. It wasn¡¯t your fault.¡±


    Xiaotao curled up in my arms like a little bird. Her freshly washed hair emitted the scent of shampoo. I knew that there was nothing I could say that would make her feel better, so I just kept on stroking her hair until she gradually fell asleep.


    Due to excessive blood loss, coupled with the side effects of the anesthetic, I grew more and more drowsy myself and eventually fell asleep too. But it wasn¡¯t long before I was woken up again by a loud bang on the door. It went on incessantly and Xiaotao jolted awake from her sleep too.


    ¡°Who¡¯s that?!¡± she shouted.


    The banging of the door didn¡¯t sound right. ¡°This is bad!¡± I warned her. ¡°Xiaotao, someone¡¯s trying to break in!¡±


    We jumped out of the bed instantly. Xiaotao took off her pajamas, exposing her beautiful body. I froze in shock, but then realized that she was changing her clothes. Fortunately, the room was dark and the light wasn¡¯t on, so it didn¡¯t feel very awkward. I lowered my head and told Xiaotao, ¡°I¡¯ll go out and see what¡¯s going on!¡±


    The metal gate in front of the main door had been smashed in several times. There was someone there holding an axe, unremittingly bashing into the metal gate. Had there been no metal gate and the man were bashing straight into the wooden main door, he would¡¯ve been inside by now.


    Not long after, Xiaotao came out wearing jeans and a T-shirt.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± she barked. ¡°And what the hell do you think you¡¯re doing?¡±


    The manpletely ignored her; he just continued banging the gate with the axe. Xiaotao and I exchanged looks. It seemed that this guy was hypnotized by Professor Li again.


    Xiaotao reached the holster on her waist and slowly pulled out her gun. She signaled with her eyes for me to open the door. I took a deep breath and walked slowly forward. A small fragment of the metal gate flew off and hit my face. It hurt a lot but I kept on going. I found a safe opening and swiftly unlocked the metal gate and flung it open, then I quickly backed away from the door. The axe-wielding man rushed in, but Xiaotao pointed her gun at him and screamed, ¡°Stop right there!¡±


    Then she suddenly froze to the spot.


    ¡°Uncle Zhang!¡± she eximed with astonishment.


    Uncle Zhang was an old man in his seventies who owned a bicycle shop downstairs. But at that moment, his eyes were zed over and his face was stony and expressionless. He was even drooling from a corner of his mouth. The axe he was holding was slightly bent due to the impact on the metal gate.


    Uncle Zhang stormed in and swung the axe at Xiaotao, but she lithely dodged it and the axe smashed into the ss coffee table. Uncle Zhang wouldn¡¯t give up. He kept on swinging his axe at Xiaotao tirelessly, smashing all the furniture in the house. Xiaotao grabbed a coat from the coat rack and shouted, ¡°We have to get out of here now!¡±


    ¡°But what about your house?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Never mind that, we have to stay alive!¡±


    We slipped out of the house and closed the door behind us. The second we were out, all the banging noises inside came to an abrupt halt. We held our breaths and waited for a few seconds until we were sure that everything was quiet inside. Then Xiaotao pulled out a small gadget from her pocket. It was called a cat¡¯s eye monitor. It was a special device used by the police and it was used to monitor what¡¯s inside the house by looking into the cat¡¯s eyes.


    After looking through the cat¡¯s eyes, Xiaotao handed the device to me and said, ¡°Song Yang, look!¡±


    I looked and saw Uncle Zhang standing still with the axe still in his hand. He was probably imnted with the order to break into Xiaotao¡¯s house and kill her, but now that Xiaotao was absent, he just stood there like a statue, or perhaps more precisely like a malfunctioning robot.


    Then, we noticed the elevator that stopped on the first floor was gradually moving up.


    ¡°Someone¡¯sing up again,¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry to the stairs!¡±


    We flew down the stairs until we reached the fifth floor, where we heard the footsteps of someoneing up the stairs. Xiaotao was horrified and told me we should go back immediately. When we reached the sixth floor, the footsteps were getting closer and closer to us. Our hearts almost jumped out of our throats.


    ¡°Let me walk in front of you,¡± I suggested. ¡°These people are only instructed to kill you. They won¡¯t attack me, just like how Uncle Zhang didn¡¯t do anything to me earlier.¡±


    Xiaotao shook her head frantically. ¡°No way! What if you¡¯re also a target?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s unlikely. If Professor Li wanted to get rid of me, she would¡¯ve done so a long time ago...¡±


    ¡°Fine, then,¡± Xiaotao reluctantly agreed. ¡°But please be careful!¡±


    And so, I proceeded down the stairs and Xiaotao followed about five or six meters behind me. When I reached the third floor, I saw a man holding a cleaver in his hand, walking up the stairs with a nk expression on his face.


    ¡°Hide yourself now!¡± I yelled.


    The man walked past me as if he didn¡¯t even see me. Once he¡¯d gone up, Xiaotao reappeared and we continued down the stairs. We had no idea if we were going to bump into another one from Professor Li¡¯s zombie army. Clearly, this woman was a psychopath who would do anything to get what she wanted with no regard for human life.


    We finally reached the first floor safely. I took a peek at the elevator and found no one there. I made a hand gesture to Xiaotao to tell her toe down.


    ¡°The first floor is safe!¡± I announced.


    Xiaotao slowly slipped out of the corridor with a gun in hand. When we reached the main entrance, we saw that it was blocked by a group of middle-aged women standing there chatting.


    ¡°I wonder who was making all that noise thiste at night! How rude!¡±


    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s a thief? Should we call the police?¡±


    I first thought they were just innocent bystanders, but the second they saw Xiaotao, their eyes were zed over and they suddenly charged towards her.


    ¡°Freeze!¡±


    Xiaotao fired a shot at the ceiling in panic. The noise was deafening, but the women werepletely unfazed. They must¡¯ve been a part of Professor Li¡¯s zombie army too. Judging by their behavior before Xiaotao appeared, they must¡¯ve beenpletely none the wiser about the fact that they¡¯d been hypnotized.


    Xiaotao kicked one of the women squarely on the stomach, which stopped her in her tracks for a few seconds, but she soon continued to rush forward as if nothing had happened. Xiaotao was by then surrounded by four or five middle-aged women who all scratched her face with their fingernails. Xiaotao was skilled enough to fight off five or six gangsters, but she didn¡¯t have the heart to hurt those innocent women too much. I was in total panic, not knowing what to do to help Xiaotao. I grabbed one of the women by her cor to pull her away from Xiaotao, but she was strangely as strong as Hercules and didn¡¯t budge an inch.


    One of them then grabbed Xiaotao by her throat and pinned her down to the floor. I shouted for her to stop at the top of my lungs and desperately tried to shove the woman away from Xiaotao. Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t reach her at all, because the other women were blocking me with their bodies and I couldn¡¯t slip past them no matter how hard I tried.


    Xiaotao¡¯s eyes were beginning to roll back. She desperately raised her gun and was prepared to fire it in self-defense, but in the end, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to do it. Her arms fell limply to the ground, her legs stopped struggling and she seemed to have stopped breathing.


    I was so shocked I stood there stupidly with my eyes widened. Xiaotao was killed!


    ¡°Ah!¡± shrieked one of the women suddenly. ¡°Why is there a dead body here?¡±


    With that sound, the rest of the women ¡®woke up¡¯ and were in utter confusion. They had no memory of what they¡¯d done at all.


    They all turned to me and asked, ¡°Young man, did you see who killed her?¡±


    ¡°Get out! Get out of my way!¡± I yelled at them.


    ¡°Watch your attitude, young man!¡±


    ¡°You killed her! You murderers!¡±


    I snatched the gun from Xiaotao and fired a shot at the ceiling.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t get out of my sight right now,¡± I warned them, ¡°I¡¯ll kill all of you!¡±


    The women screamed and fled. I looked down at Xiaotao¡¯s bruised neck. Her eyes hadpletely rolled back and blood was flowing out of her mouth. There were bloody scratches on her face and neck left by the women¡¯s fingernails.


    I tried to lift her body up with one hand. But no matter how hard I tried, I just didn¡¯t have the strength to do so. I copsed onto my knees and held her in my arms, weeping bitterly. It felt as if a knife had pierced through my heart.

 Chapter 125

    <h4>Chapter 125</h4>


    ¡°It¡¯s good to know that I have a ce in your heart.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t believe my ears when I heard that familiar voice again. I stared incredulously down at Xiaotao. She slowly got up to her feet and dusted off her clothes. It turned out that she was only pretending to be dead. If she hadn¡¯t done so, thedies would¡¯ve never stopped trying to kill her. The blood that flowed out of her mouth also turned out to just be from her bruised lips.


    ¡°Did I scare you?¡± she asked, chuckling.


    ¡°Damn right you did!¡± I answered, wiping away my hot tears.


    Xiaotao felt the scratches on her face and frowned.


    ¡°Do you think they¡¯re gonna leave permanent scars?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they won¡¯t,¡± I replied. ¡°They¡¯re only scratches, after all.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, this is so annoying! I look ridiculous!¡±


    She stomped her feet in anger. I couldn¡¯t believe that she was more concerned about her face than her own life.


    ¡°Is this the time to worry about that?¡± I asked her. ¡°Even if there are scars on your face, you¡¯d still look beautiful anyway.¡±


    Xiaotao blushed and smiled. She was about to say something, but she stopped herself short.


    We both understood that we were still in danger. We shouldn¡¯t stay here for too long. Who knew what more Professor Li had in store for us? We had to leave quickly. Someone mighte after us with a gun or a knife next, and it would be difficult to pretend to be dead then.


    That thought gave me an idea. I told Xiaotao the next time we¡¯re faced with one of Professor Li¡¯s ¡®zombies,¡¯ I¡¯d pretend to kill her before any of them could get to her. She nodded and replied, ¡°That¡¯s a good idea, but please be gentle with me when the timees!¡±


    The first thing we needed to do was to get to the car. Fortunately, it waste at night so we met no obstacles on the way to the parking lot. Once we got inside the car, Xiaotao dialed a number on her phone, but no one answered. She frowned and sighed heavily.


    ¡°Wang Yuanchao still hasn¡¯t answered my calls...¡±


    She then called the other police officers to take care of the hypnotized people who broke into her house. Just as she hung up the phone, we noticed someone in the Volkswagen Beetle next to us rolling down the window. It was Professor Li.


    ¡°You are bold, Li Wenjia!¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°Just you wait. I¡¯ll throw you into prison one day!¡±


    Professor Li smirked and casually put on lipstick as she replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, Officer Huang. I¡¯m just aw-abiding citizen passing by.¡±


    ¡°Stop lying, you bitch!¡± cursed Xiaotao. ¡°Where is Wang Yuanchao?¡±


    Professor Li started her car and asked, ¡°Do you know how Officer Huang¡¯s friend died?¡±


    She then drove the car away.


    Xiaotao was about to chase after her, but I quickly stopped her.


    ¡°Wait! There is a double meaning to what she just said. Do you remember what happened in Infernal Affairs? A bomb was ced in Officer Huang¡¯s car, and it identally killed his friend! I think she might¡¯ve ced a bomb in your car too!¡±


    Xiaotao hesitated for a moment, but she turned the key in the ignition anyway.


    ¡°Wait!¡± I shouted just before the car started.


    ¡°Li Wenjia wouldn¡¯t use this method to kill me,¡± Xiaotao stated. ¡°It isn¡¯t like her. I think she was just trying to scare us so we wouldn¡¯t leave this ce. But just to be safe, you should get out of the car now. In case I really do get killed, you know who did it. Find Sun Tiger and he¡¯ll arrest her straight away.¡±


    ¡°Am I a coward in your eyes?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m staying here with you. If you die, then I¡¯ll die too.¡±


    Xiaotao sighed.


    ¡°What a romantic way to die!¡±


    She turned the key. I closed my eyes, preparing for the worst. Nothing happened. All I heard was the gentle whirr of the car engine starting.


    As soon as she was sure that we were safe, Xiaotao stepped on the elerator and sped out of the parking lot. But before we left the apartmentplex, I saw a group of people standing by the gate.


    ¡°Get down!¡± I warned Xiaotao. ¡°Don¡¯t let them see your face!¡±


    Xiaotao quickly ducked down and I took over the steering wheel. Slowly, we managed to escape without those people noticing Xiaotao.


    Once we got to the road, we saw the Beetle parked next to a truck. Professor Li was talking to the truck driver. I noticed that the driver¡¯s eyes were vacant as if he¡¯d been cast by a spell.


    ¡°Watch her carefully!¡± I cried.


    Professor Li was holding up the hair that covered her right eye with one hand. This proved that the prosthetic eye really was the key to her method of hypnosis.


    Professor Li then noticed us. She looked straight at us and smiled, then drove away. Xiaotao was about to chase after her, but the truck¡¯s ring headlights blinded us. The truck¡¯s engine roared menacingly like a bull, and sure enough, it was charging towards us!


    Xiaotao¡¯s face turned pale. She turned the steering wheel one-eighty degrees and stepped on the elerator.


    The truck trailed us closely behind. Its nose was almost touching the bumper of Xiaotao¡¯s car, but we managed to stay out of its grasp. The truck hit several cars that were parked by the road while it was chasing after us, causing a considerable amount of damage. Nevertheless, the truck was relentless in pursuing us. It was exactly like a scene in a thriller movie.


    Xiaotao nced at the GPS navigator and remarked, ¡°There¡¯s a main road ahead. If we continue on, many innocent lives might get killed!¡±


    ¡°What should we do now?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got no choice,¡± said Xiaotao, gritting her teeth. ¡°I have to kill the truck driver!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I cried, sweating anxiously. ¡°You¡¯ll go to prison if you do that!¡±


    By then, we were only a minute away from the main road. There was no time to hesitate. Xiaotao asked me to drive and she swiftly moved into the passenger seat. Our bodies brushed against each other as we switched ces, but I was in no mood to feel excited about it.


    Xiaotao stood up and her upper body was outside of the car window. She fired a few shots. I saw the truck tumble over in the rear mirror. It slid on the road for a while, and sparks formed due to the friction between the truck and the road. It also made a loud screeching noise. Then the truck came to a halt and all was quiet.


    I parked the car by the road and asked Xiaotao, ¡°Is he dead?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she answered. ¡°I hesitated when I fired the shot and just aimed for the tire.¡±


    I sighed in relief. We both got out of the car and checked the crash site. The driver was still in the driver¡¯s seat, but he¡¯d lost consciousness. Blood flowed down his head. Xiaotao called an ambnce and the police station. They would be dealing with the truck driver from now on.


    Professor Li had used this truck driver to slow us down. Her apartment had been surrounded by the police, so it was unlikely that she would go back there. We¡¯d truly lost her now.


    Xiaotao was lost in thoughts for a few minutes, then she suddenly cried, ¡°Shit! She¡¯s going after Officer Ma!¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± I asked in confusion.


    ¡°Officer Ma was my senior officer,¡± she replied. ¡°He¡¯s now retired, but he was the leader of the task force that handled the Li Wenhai case. If she went after me so aggressively just for being in the task force that captured Li Wenhai, imagine what she¡¯d do to Officer Ma!¡±


    Xiaotao rushed towards Officer Ma¡¯s house. On the way, I contemted about what was going on with Professor Li¡¯s eyes. Could something like a hypnotizing eye really exist? Even after seeing it with my own eyes, I still couldn¡¯t ept it as the truth. It just made no sense to me.


    I decided to give Lao Yao a call. I braced myself when he answered it, thinking that I¡¯d definitely get yelled at for calling at this ungodly hour. To my surprise, I was greeted with a voice that was full of concern.


    ¡°Where are you now, Little Song?¡± he asked me. ¡°I heard you were arrested for murder. Is it true?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Iughed. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be able to call you on my own phone if I wasn¡¯t. By the way, could you look something up for me? It¡¯s about an eye.¡±


    ¡°An eye?¡±


    I roughly exined the whole situation to him, then promised to pay him two thousand yuanter.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly, Little Song,¡± he replied. ¡°I joined the police as a consultant too, remember? You don¡¯t need to pay me anymore. Although I won¡¯t mind if you treat me to a mealter.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°Thanks a lot!¡±


    After hanging up the phone, I asked Xiaotao, ¡°Do you want to notify Sun Tiger about this?¡±


    ¡°But Li Wenjia is no ordinary criminal,¡± she answered with furrowed brows. ¡°The more people we send out to deal with her, the bigger her ¡®zombie army¡¯ will be! We shouldn¡¯t give her more opportunities to hypnotize police officers!¡±


    ¡°But Sun Tiger will be furious if he finds out that you didn¡¯t inform him of such a big case,¡± I argued.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Xiaotao relented. ¡°You call him then!¡±


    I dialed his number. As expected, he exploded when he learned of the situation that we were in.


    ¡°Why was I not informed of such a big case?¡± he thundered. ¡°Does that Xiaotao kid still think of me as her superior officer? Where is she? Let me talk to her!¡±


    I told him that Xiaotao wasn¡¯t here with me right now. Sun Tiger calmed down a bit and sighed.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe how bold criminals are getting nowadays! They even dared to try to kill a police officer! Do you have any ideas at the moment, kiddo?¡±


    ¡°I think you should send more officers to work on this case, Uncle Sun,¡± I answered. ¡°The focus right now should be on capturing Li Wenjia.¡±


    Xiaotao shook her head frantically, but I pretended not to see it.


    ¡°There is one important precaution, though,¡± I added. ¡°All officers must operate in groups of at least two people. No one should under any circumstances approach her alone. Otherwise, we¡¯d only be providing Li Wenjia another soldier in her army!¡±


    Throughout all these confrontations with Li Wenjia, I¡¯d worked out the rule for her hypnosis. She had to be alone with the victim in order to sessfully hypnotize them. When she tried to hypnotize me earlier, the process was interrupted when a group of students walked by. If she was able to hypnotize someone merely with a nce, she would¡¯ve done so to Xiaotao when she talked to her earlier in the parking lot. Hence, I could confidently make a conclusion that her special hypnosis was only effective when she was alone with someone.


    I also figured out that her original n must¡¯ve been to frame me for murder and get me arrested in order to iste Xiaotao from me, forcing her to act alone. That way she would be more vulnerable to her hypnosis. When that n failed, she changed her schemes into using Shiwen and Dali to assassinate Xiaotao instead. I realized that she must¡¯ve prepared several backup ns just to make sure that Xiaotao would be killed. I just couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of ¡®surprise¡¯ she had in store for us next.


    I exined all that to Sun Tiger. He was silent for a few seconds after listening to me.


    ¡°But we must have evidence before we can arrest someone,¡± he finally said. ¡°Have you found anything that could incriminate Li Wenjia?¡±


    That was the question I dreaded the most.


    ¡°She has been very thorough and meticulous...¡± I muttered. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I haven¡¯t found anything so far...¡±


    Sun Tiger sighed.


    ¡°That¡¯s not good,¡± he said. ¡°Even if her family has beenmitting crimes for eighteen generations in a row, even if the word ¡®criminal¡¯ was imprinted on her forehead, the police still can¡¯t just arrest her without any evidence. If we capture anyone we think is the bad guy, then what different are we from mobsters?¡±


    ¡°But Director Sun!¡± Xiaotao interjected. ¡°This is a special case! If we don¡¯t capture Li Wenjia now, more people will die!¡±


    ¡°Huang Xiaotao!¡± yelled Sun Tiger. ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t there with Song Yang! Kiddo, let me talk to her now!¡±


    I handed the phone to Xiaotao. She held the phone between her ear and her shoulder. They spoke for a few minutes before she hung up.


    ¡°Sun Tiger ordered me to return to the station now,¡± she sighed.


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked. The deted tone in her voice was not lost on me.


    ¡°Because I¡¯m Li Wenjia¡¯s main target,¡± she exined. ¡°Therefore, I must be temporarily detained at the station for my own safety.¡±


    Sun Tiger and Xiaotao had always been close to each other. Sun Tiger was more than a superior officer to Xiaotao. He was her mentor. I knew that Sun Tiger had to make that decision because he had no other choice. It was the only way to ensure that nothing bad would happen to Xiaotao.

 Chapter 126

    <h4>Chapter 126</h4>


    Knowing that she would lose her freedom when we returned to the police station, Xiaotao insisted on going to Officer Ma¡¯s house. On the way there, she wondered aloud, ¡°I don¡¯t understand why Li Wenjia had to go to such lengths to eliminate me. She could¡¯ve just stopped me on my way to work, hypnotized me, and killed me!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not how psychopaths think,¡± I replied. ¡°She didn¡¯t want you to just die. She wants to savor the joy of seeing you in misery. She wants you to betray the people around you, scare you, and humiliate you. She wants to rob you of everything you hold dear, just like what you did to her.¡±


    ¡°When have I done anything like that to her?¡±


    ¡°She was orphaned at a young age. Her brother was all she had left. You captured him and put him in prison, where he died. You can imagine just how much she¡¯d hate you for that.¡±


    ¡°And you said you don¡¯t know much about human psychology!¡± Xiaotao nced at me and smiled.


    We finally arrived at Officer Ma¡¯s residence, which was in an old apartment building. As we went upstairs, Xiaotao told me, ¡°Officer Ma has been an upstanding police officer all his life. His only son was killed by a mobster for revenge. Now Officer Ma and his wife only have each other to depend on. If anything happened to them, I will never forgive Li Wenjia!¡±


    When we reached Officer Ma¡¯s door, we could both smell a thick stench of blood. Color drained from Xiaotao¡¯s face. She began to wildly kick the door. The door¡¯s lock gave in after a few kicks, and Xiaotao rushed into the house shouting, ¡°Teacher! Where are you?¡±


    There was no response. The only person in the house was an olddy lying very still in a pool of blood on the floor. There was a knife sticking out of her chest and a DVD propped on a tripod next to her body.


    I looked around and saw that the house was furnished in an old-fashioned way. There were police badges and medals decorating the walls. There was also a big family portrait which was the centerpiece of the room.


    I stepped forward and knelt down in front of the olddy, then checked her pulse and temperature with my fingers.


    ¡°She¡¯s been dead for a day...¡± I stated.


    ¡°This is Officer Ma¡¯s wife...¡± Xiaotao told me with trembling lips. ¡°Li Wenjia, you demonic bitch!¡±


    While Xiaotao was kneeling by the old woman¡¯s body, I took the DVD and yed it on the TV in the living room. It was a video of the olddy getting stabbed multiple times with a knife by a woman. At one point, the assant lifted up her head and smiled at the camera. It was Xiaotao.


    Thankfully, Xiaotao didn¡¯t see what was in the video. I quickly ejected the DVD. Xiaotao asked me what I saw, I replied, ¡°Nothing!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re hiding something from me. y the video!¡±


    ¡°N-No! You shouldn¡¯t watch this! It¡¯s too gruesome!¡±


    ¡°y the video now!¡±


    I knew there was no way I could stop her from seeing the video, so I warned her not to worry too much because I was sure that the video was definitely fake. But having said that, there was a twinge of doubt in my heart about it. I might have been with Xiaotao all night, but the olddy had died about 24 hours ago. I couldn¡¯t be a hundred percent sure what Xiaotao could have been doing thesest 24 hours.


    Perhaps she had been hypnotized. Perhaps Li Wenjia didn¡¯t aim to kill her after all, but instead wanted to frame her as a murderer and condemn her to spend the rest of her life in prison!


    Xiaotao¡¯s eyes widened when she saw the video. She kept saying, ¡°This isn¡¯t real! This isn¡¯t real!¡±


    Then she stood up abruptly and pulled out her gun. I froze. Could she really be hypnotized?


    Fortunately, I was wrong. Xiaotao just removed the bullets from her gun and handed them all to me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to believe anymore, Song Yang,¡± she told me. ¡°You should keep the bullets.¡±


    ¡°You really don¡¯t need to worry too much,¡± I assured her. ¡°If Li Wenjia really hypnotized you at one point, you would¡¯vemitted suicide by now. I¡¯m sure the video was fake. She must¡¯ve done it to throw suspicion on you.¡±


    ¡°Still, I want you to keep the bullets, just in case. I trust you more than I trust myself.¡±


    Her remark warmed my heart. Instead of driving back to the police station, we decided to call them and wait here until some officers arrived to take care of the murder scene.


    While waiting, I took a ss from the table and ced it on the olddy¡¯s body to perform Organ Echolocation. There was no air-conditioning in the room, and the windows were open. This meant that the temperature inside was almost the same as the temperature outside. Through this, I was able to pinpoint the time of death more urately around twenty hours ago. At that time, Xiaotao was definitely somewhere else, so the killer in the video was unquestionably not her.


    Still, that was all I could do right now since I didn¡¯t have my tools with me. There was no other choice but to just wait until we got back to the police station.


    Soon after, Sun Tiger arrived. When he saw my arm in a sling, he gasped and yelled at Xiaotao, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to protect Song Yang at all costs?¡±


    I quickly exined to him that I was fine, and that it was only a shallow wound. Then I changed the subject and showed him the video. As Sun Tiger watched it, Xiaotao kept her head bowed and bit her lips anxiously.


    ¡°Xiaozhou, take the DVD and analyze the videoter,¡± ordered Sun Tiger.


    You could glean many clues from video evidence. It could be checked if it had been edited or forged; you could also learn many things from the background noise in the video.


    ¡°But, sir,¡± the officer replied, ¡°all of the IT team members are off-duty.¡±


    ¡°Then call them all in!¡±


    ¡°Wait, Uncle Sun,¡± I interjected. ¡°I know a better person to work on this!¡±


    The person I alluded to was of course Lao Yao. Editing and forging videos was, in fact, one of his hobbies. Sun Tiger agreed immediately, so I gave Lao Yao a call.


    ¡°Hello, Little Song!¡± chirped Lao Yao as he answered the phone. ¡°I¡¯ve got lots of information about what you were looking for!¡±


    ¡°Great! Tell me when we meetter. I need you to go to the police station. Bring your equipment with you. Also, drop by my room on your way and get my backpack from my closet.¡±


    ¡°What? Now? At this hour? I know I¡¯m a night owl, but how do you expect me to get there? There are no more buses or taxis thiste at night!¡±


    I told Sun Tiger that he¡¯d need a lift to get to the police station, to which he replied, ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll send an officer to go get him.¡±


    When I informed Lao Yao that a police car would pick him up, he excitedly shouted, ¡°Awesome! I¡¯ll pack up right away! By the way, please send a handsome officer to pick me up. If he¡¯s not cute enough, I¡¯m not gonna get in the car!¡±


    I ryed his ridiculous request to Sun Tiger. Heughed and ordered one of his officers who looked exactly like Tony Leung to pick up Lao Yao. I could imagine how delighted Lao Yao would be.


    Sun Tiger then ordered several police officers to track down the missing Officer Ma. Then, the olddy¡¯s body was packed into a body bag and sent back to the police station. I borrowed an ultravioletmp from Xiaozhou to scan the ground, but all I found was the olddy¡¯s white hair. This was unexpected. No matter how cautious the killer was, there was always something left behind. But here, I couldn¡¯t find any shoe marks or hair at all.


    After searching for a long time, I finally found a strand of hair. To be honest, it felt less like human hair judging from its texture and thickness, but I gave it to Xiaozhou for further testing anyway. Xiaozhou being much more experienced than me, immediately noticed something different about the hair.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t human hair at all, Song Yang,¡± hemented. ¡°It¡¯s some kind of organic fiber.¡±


    ¡°Could you test it and find out what it¡¯s made of?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Sure, will do,¡± he replied.


    I could¡¯ve detected more clues if only I had my tools with me. But, s, there was nothing more that I could do here.


    Xiaotao had to sit in the backseat of a police car on the way back to the police station because she was now a suspect. She wasn¡¯t handcuffed, though. I was right beside her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Iforted her. ¡°I¡¯m sure the killer in the video isn¡¯t you.¡±


    Xiaotao sighed heavily.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about that,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m just afraid that she imnted some sort of violentmands in my head.¡±


    ¡°No matter what happens, I will always protect you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡±


    Xiaotao leaned her head softly on my shoulder. My cheeks flustered. She¡¯d suffered too much in one night. I realized that she needed a shoulder to rely on very much right now.


    Perhaps because it had been an exhausting night, Xiaotao fell asleep not long after that. As I stared at her sweet innocent face, I vowed to myself that I must protect her no matter what!

 Chapter 127

    <h4>Chapter 127</h4>


    Lao Yao arrived at the police station around the same time we did. He gave me a copy of the information he found. Sun Tiger asked, ¡°So you¡¯re theputer genius that Song Yang always talked about? I¡¯ll have to trouble you to analyze a video we found.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me!¡± Lao Yao replied. He then casually patted Sun Tiger¡¯s ass. Sun Tiger¡¯s expressions darkened abruptly and I saw the police officers around us trying so hard to hold in theirughter that their faces turned red.


    Lao Yao then went into another room and started working on the video. I decided to examine the dead body now. Xiaotao and Sun Tiger followed me to the morgue. Although she was technically a suspect now, Sun Tiger did not restrict her freedom of movement as long as she didn¡¯t leave the building.


    With the victim lying t on the metal table, and I proceeded to perform Organ Echolocation. I found that the victim¡¯s inner organs were almostpletely damaged, yet there was only one deep stab wound in the abdomen. What¡¯s more puzzling was the fact that she looked mangled and very bloody from the outside.


    I sprinkled some seaweed ash on the victim¡¯s body and blew it off gently. Only two sets of fingerprints were found. One was the victim¡¯s, while the other didn¡¯t seem to belong to a woman judging from the shape and size. I surmised that it was probably Officer Ma¡¯s.


    It seemed that the killer had worn gloves. That was a suspicious point. I asked Sun Tiger and Xiaotao if they saw the murderer in the video wearing gloves. They both shook their heads and replied that they weren¡¯t sure because the person in the video had blood on her hands, so it wasn¡¯t clear whether she was wearing gloves.


    I pulled out my Autopsy Umbre and asked Sun Tiger to hold a UVmp up for me as I continued to examine the body. Two points caught my attention: one was a veryplete right palm print that seemed to belong to a woman on the victim¡¯s mouth; the second was a trace left on the left side of the victim¡¯s head that seemed to show that she was squeezed there. Apart from that, there was a curious web-like pattern there, making me wonder how it got there. I had a feeling that this was somehow the key to solving this case.


    After my inspection, I announced my findings to Sun Tiger and Xiaotao.


    ¡°This is how I think the sequence of events transpired,¡± I began. ¡°The murderer stormed through the door and immediately covered the victim¡¯s mouth to prevent her from calling for help. With the other hand, the murderer drew a knife and stabbed the victim¡¯s belly.¡±


    Sun Tiger was lost in thoughts for a few minutes. Then he said, ¡°That¡¯s a reasonable analysis.¡±


    ¡°Did you notice something else, Uncle Sun?¡± I asked. ¡°The palm print on the victim¡¯s mouth was clearly the right hand, which meant that the murderer held the knife with their left hand. But Xiaotao is right-handed, and Li Wenjia is left-handed!¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you making a hasty conclusion there?¡± argued Sun Tiger. ¡°I don¡¯t think you can prove Xiaotao¡¯s innocence just with that. She¡¯s a highly-trained police officer. She can easily teach herself to use a knife with her left hand.¡±


    I understood that Sun Tiger didn¡¯t say that because he didn¡¯t believe in Xiaotao¡¯s innocence, but merely because he wanted more convincing proof. Xiaotao knew that too and merely nodded at Sun Tiger¡¯s point.


    I then carefully cut the victim¡¯s clothes open with a pair of scissors. Because she¡¯d lost too much blood, her skin was now a grayish white. When her body was exposed, Sun Tiger pointed at the stab wounds and remarked, ¡°Look, the incisions are all on the right side. This proves that the killer is right-handed!¡±


    This was something I didn¡¯t expect at all. I bit my lip and muttered to myself for a while, then asked Sun Tiger, ¡°Where do you think the first cut was?¡±


    ¡°As you just reasoned,¡± he replied, ¡°it¡¯s probably on the belly.¡±


    But with so many stab wounds on the victim¡¯s body, I wasn¡¯t sure how to examine it more closely. Just as I was feeling lost, an idea popped up in my head. It was a method that I learned in The Chronicles of Grand Magistrates. I called out for a police officer and asked him to buy me dried lotus leaves, camphor, sulfur, cigarettes, and a flexible tube.


    While I waited, I looked through the information that Lao Yao found on the. ording to what he found, Li Wenjia¡¯s right eye was most likely from a legendary fox called the green-eyed fox. These foxes were found predominantly in Inner Mongolia. Because of their small number and numerous natural predators, they gradually evolved a special ability in order to survive¡ªhypnotic eyes.


    When an animal stared into the fox¡¯s hypnotic eyes, they would be stunned and unable to move, as if time itself had stopped. This way, they could buy time and escape from the predators.


    All this might sound surreal, but there was a sound scientific basis for it. The basal ganglia¡ªa region in the mammalian brain situated at the base of the cerebellum¡ªwas equivalent to a built-in biological clock. The feeling that time flew by when people were having fun but dragged on when people were bored was mainly due to this region of the brain. Moreover, it was precisely this part of the brain that the hypnotic eyes of the green-eyed foxes targeted.


    By the same principle, anyone who looked into Li Wenjia¡¯s right eye would instantly be immobilized, and their brain would turn utterly nk. After that, she was then free to hypnotize the person and imnt any kind of instructions into their brain. It also didn¡¯t matter how strong-willed her victims were, since she had all the time to break down their psychological defense!


    There was still one puzzle that I couldn¡¯t figure out though. The green-eyed fox had gone extinct since the founding of the People¡¯s Republic of China. Where could Li Wenjia have gotten an eye?


    I roughly summarized Lao Yao¡¯s findings to Sun Tiger and Xiaotao.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that she¡¯s so consumed by the desire for revenge that she was willing to transnt an animal¡¯s eyeball into her body!¡± eximed Xiaotao. ¡°But is that even possible? Wouldn¡¯t her body reject it?¡±


    I thought of the needle puncture wound on the back of Li Wenjia¡¯s hand and replied, ¡°Definitely. Our bodies would even reject ipatible human blood types, let alone an organ of another species! She probably has to constantly inject a drug that suppresses her immune system. The downside of that is that itpromises her immune system and weakens it, meaning that she¡¯s probably sick a lot and would have to frequently take antibiotics and painkillers to deal with the physical pain.¡±


    ¡°What a crazy woman!¡± remarked Sun Tiger, shaking his head.


    Soon after that, the police officer returned with the things I needed. It was already veryte at night, so it must¡¯ve taken him a lot of effort to acquire these things. I thanked him profusely, then pulled out a stone pestle from my backpack. Since I often used it, I bought a spare one and always carried it in my equipment bag.


    I pounded the dried lotus leaves, camphor, and sulfur into a powder, then asked Sun Tiger for a cigarette.


    ¡°But I thought you don¡¯t smoke, kiddo!¡± heughed.


    He then tossed me a cigarette and lit one up for himself. At that point, Xiaotao frowned and reminded him, ¡°Director, you¡¯re in the morgue.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes, of course,¡± he murmured as he put away the cigarette.


    I peeled open the cigarette, emptied the tobo inside, and refilled it with the powder that I just made, then licked the cigarette wrapper to reseal it. I asked Sun Tiger to light it up for me. I then took a huff, but because I¡¯d never smoked before, it burned my throat so much I was almost in tears.


    ¡°Smells interesting,¡± Sun Tigermented. ¡°Can I try it?¡±


    I handed it to him. He took a huff and broke into a coughing spell.


    ¡°What the hell is this?¡± he asked. ¡°Is it even made for human consumption?¡±


    ¡°It is! For a dead human, that is.¡±


    I asked Sun Tiger to put gloves on and help me hold the victim¡¯s mouth open. I then inserted the tube into the victim¡¯s mouth, took a big huff, and blew the smoke into the tube.


    ¡°Nothing¡¯s happening,¡± said Sun Tiger.


    ¡°Patience, Uncle Sun,¡± I replied. ¡°By the way, which wound do you think was the first cut?¡±


    ¡°This one!¡± He said, pointing at a wound.


    The next moment, smoke rose up from one of the stab wounds on the victim¡¯s belly, not where Sun Tiger was pointing.


    ¡°That¡¯s incredible!¡± he eximed with widened eyes.


    The technique I just used was called Intestinal Smoke. Once blown into the victim¡¯s body, the smoke would not dissipate. It would linger in the victim¡¯s digestive and only escape if there were any wounds that were deep enough to damage the victim¡¯s internal organs.


    I moved the tube further down and inserted it into the victim¡¯s trachea, then continued to blow smoke into it. Suddenly, the body quivered slightly, making Sun Tiger let out a horrified gasp. He took a few steps back while Xiaotao, who was by then used to such a sight, watched on amusedly. I could even see that she was trying very hard to hold in herughter.


    As I blew in the smoke, the pressure inside the victim¡¯s inner cavity built up, causing the smoke to force itself out through the wounds. This made the wounds sputter like the mouths of goldfish¡ªand that was indeed a surreal sight!


    I quickly marked the wounds that had smokeing out with a red-ink pen before the smoke cleared.


    ¡°These are the only real fatal wounds,¡± I exined. ¡°The rest are just for show.¡±


    Sun Tiger counted five or six of these wounds. He then asked, ¡°For show? Who¡¯s it for?¡±


    I smiled and answered, ¡°The police, of course!¡±

 Chapter 128

    <h4>Chapter 128</h4>


    Sun Tiger nced at the wounds that I marked and pointed out, ¡°The assant would have to use their right hand to produce these wounds, which means that we don¡¯t have the proof of Xiaotao¡¯s innocence yet.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I shook my head. ¡°At first nce, it might indeed seem like the murderer used their right hand to produce such stab wounds. But there is an anomaly to these wounds, namely their angle. These wounds are angled upwards, and to produce these wounds using the right hand, the murderer would have to hold the knife like this...¡±


    I demonstrated using a scalpel, holding the handle in the palm of my hand with the de facing up.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s an awkward position?¡± I asked.


    Sun Tiger nodded and groaned.


    ¡°What the hell was going on then, kiddo?¡±


    I thought for a long time before replying, ¡°The murderer must¡¯ve entered the door and stabbed the victim in the belly. Then she turned her around and held her head between the legs before stabbing the chest.¡±


    ¡°So the murderer was on top of her?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I replied. ¡°This created the illusion of a right-handed murderer, throwing further suspicion on Xiaotao.¡±


    At that moment, Xiaozhou pushed open the door and announced that the test result was ready. The fibrous strand found on the crime scene was from a wig.


    That justified my reasoning. The person in the video must¡¯ve been Li Wenjia. She put on Xiaotao¡¯s clothes, a mask, and a wig to impersonate her. I had heard of a site where you could order a customized mask that could be made to look very realistic.


    Xiaotao breathed a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Thank God,¡± she cried. ¡°She didn¡¯t hypnotize me after all!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m done with the autopsy here,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s go see if Lao Yao discovered anything through the video.¡±


    Just as we went out, several policemen arrived with a few people in tow. These people were part of Li Wenjia¡¯s ¡®zombie army¡¯ that had broken into Xiaotao¡¯s house earlier. I quickly told Xiaotao to go into a room and hide before these people could see her.


    ording to the policemen, they were able to capture these people without meeting any resistance at all. In fact, when they got to Xiaotao¡¯s house, they found the door wide open and these people were standing insidepletely motionless like statues. They tried waving their hands in front of their eyes, but received no reactions. It was just as if they¡¯d walked into a wax museum.


    I warned Sun Tiger not to mistake these people as harmless. The moment they saw Xiaotao, they¡¯d immediately turn into killing machines, stopping at nothing to attack Xiaotao.


    ¡°This is ridiculous!¡± spat Sun Tiger. ¡°How dare they attack a police officer!¡±


    ¡°But these people are innocent, Uncle Sun!¡± I quickly reminded him, mostly because I was afraid that he¡¯d regard Dali and Shiwen as murderers. ¡°They¡¯re all under Li Wenjia¡¯splete control. They have no knowledge of their actions!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, kiddo,¡± Sun Tiger replied. ¡°I know all that. When everything¡¯s settled, I¡¯ll arrange for them to be treated by psychiatrists.¡±


    Once those people had been herded into another room, we headed into the conference room where Lao Yao had been busy working. When I pushed the door open, I found Lao Yao¡¯sputer was still on, but the man himself was gone. Suddenly, a figure emerged from behind and choked Xiaotao¡¯s neck with a belt. It was Lao Yao.


    Xiaotao waspletely caught off guard. All she could do was frantically w at the belt around her neck with her hands.


    Lao Yao¡¯s eyes werepletely vacant. His grip around Xiaotao¡¯s neck kept tightening. Xiaotao¡¯s face was starting to turn blue. Sun Tiger rushed in to help her, but no matter what he did, he just couldn¡¯t get Lao Yao to let go of Xiaotao.


    ¡°Stop it right now or I¡¯ll shoot!¡± roared Sun Tiger.


    ¡°Don¡¯t shoot!¡± I yelled. ¡°He¡¯s been hypnotized!¡±


    I grabbed a chair and smashed it on Lao Yao¡¯s back. It hit squarely on him, but he didn¡¯t budge. So I repeated it again until the chair itself was bent out of shape.


    Meanwhile, Sun Tiger grabbed an ashtray and knocked it on Lao Yao¡¯s head. It was a heavy ashtray. I could hear a dull thud as it hit Lao Yao¡¯s skull. The attack proved to be effective as Lao Yao¡¯s eyes rolled back and he copsed immediately.


    Xiaotao was pinned underneath the unconscious Lao Yao when he fell to the floor, so Sun Tiger and I had to carry Lao Yao off of her. She got up to her knees and coughed up a storm, then spat out a stream of saliva.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got the shittiest luck tonight!¡± she cried.


    Sun Tiger suddenly pulled out his mobile phone. Xiaotao and I were both puzzled at what he was trying to do.


    ¡°That woman must be nearby!¡± he barked. ¡°How else could she hypnotize your friend here?¡±


    ¡°No, Uncle Sun,¡± I tried to exin. ¡°She¡¯s not here. Lao Yao was hypnotized by that thing!¡±


    I pointed at theputer. To my surprise, the screen waspletely nk. As expected, Li Wenjia was utterly thorough. Not only did she look straight into the camera, she must¡¯ve hidden some hypnotic audio in the video too. That way, anyone analyzing the video would fall under her spell. She must¡¯ve instructed Lao Yao not just to attack Xiaotao, but to also destroy the video evidence that might lead back to her.


    That was the real purpose of the video¡ªshe was sending the third time bomb to Xiaotao. After all that we¡¯d been through that day, none of us suspected that she would have thisst trick up her sleeve. It was a really close shave this time. Xiaotao was nearly killed!


    Now that she¡¯d used three of my friends as her tool, I felt the rage surging up in me. I vowed to catch this madwoman no matter what it took!


    I asked Sun Tiger if there was enough cause to arrest Li Wenjia now. He shook his head wanly and said, ¡°No, kiddo. But at least we can get a warrant to search her house now. Wang Yuanchao is still missing and these three students are all connected to her, so she can be legally identified as a criminal suspect and her residence can be searched in ordance with thew!¡±


    ¡°Great! Then we¡¯ll go there first thing tomorrow morning¡ª¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow?¡± asked Sun Tiger. ¡°There¡¯s no time to waste. We¡¯ll leave now! Or are you too tired, kiddo?¡±


    ¡°Not at all!¡± I answered firmly.


    Sun Tiger immediately dispatched a group of officers to Li Wenjia¡¯s house. I went with Xiaotao in her car. When we were alone, she thanked me for saving her earlier.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± I told her. ¡°Besides, the battle is not over yet.¡±


    The police car sirens broke the tranquility of the campus as we arrived. Lights were turned on following the ruckus. We arrived at Li Wenjia¡¯s house and searched through every inch of it, but we found absolutely nothing.


    I looked around and suddenly noticed that something was wrong.


    ¡°Wait, where¡¯s that fox?¡±


    At that moment, a man wearing sses arrived at the door. He was holding Li Wenjia¡¯s pet fox in his arms.


    ¡°What happened to Professor Li?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Professor, do you know her?¡± I asked, hoping to find a new clue to track down Li Wenjia.


    ¡°Well, not quite,¡± he answered. ¡°We talk to each other now and then. She told me she¡¯d be going on vacation for a few days, so she left her pet with me while she¡¯s gone.¡±


    Everyone was visibly deted after hearing that answer. We¡¯de to another dead end.


    ¡°There must be some way that we can track her down,¡± muttered Sun Tiger through gritted teeth. ¡°She bought a mask and a wig online, didn¡¯t she? Go check her ount activity. Get the list of online stores that sell these items and we¡¯ll go through them one by one!¡±


    The police officers started to execute Sun Tiger¡¯s orders immediately. His decisive and authoritative manner was truly admirable. It reminded me that he did not rise through the ranks through connections at all, but through grit and sheer dedication.


    The man in sses was confused by this scene and was about to leave, but I stopped him. I asked him if he noticed anything unusual about Li Wenjiately, but he couldn¡¯t give me any helpful answers at all. After all, to most people around her, Li Wenjia was just a demure and pretty woman who would never harm a fly. No one would¡¯ve guessed that she was a dangerous criminal.


    I asked the man for his name and number and told him to contact the police immediately if Li Wenjia returned. It was only then that I realized that he was the professor of one of my sses this semester. I didn¡¯t recognize him at all because I¡¯d skipped all his sses!


    As soon as we returned to the police station, reports came in from various districts in Nanjiang City about dozens of missing people. There was no doubt in my mind that Li Wenjia had a hand in this.


    By that time, it was already four in the morning. Everyone was anticipating a short break, but Sun Tiger unexpectedly announced that a meeting was going to be held immediately. This made many officers grumble, especially those who were used to working with Xiaotao as they tended to be more considerate.


    The meeting went on in a room full of cigarette smoke. The police officers all had dark rings around their eyes and were smoking cigarette after cigarette to keep themselves awake.


    We hade to a point where Li Wenjia¡¯s whereabouts werepletely unknown and there wasn¡¯t a single clue that could lead us to her at all. We were at our wits¡¯ end when, suddenly, Sun Tiger turned to me and asked, didn¡¯t Grandpa have a special technique to smoke out the criminal¡¯s hideout?

 Chapter 129

    <h4>Chapter 129</h4>


    All eyes turned to me when everyone heard Sun Tiger¡¯s question.


    ¡°Are you referring to the Triple Divination Technique, Uncle Sun?¡± I asked. ¡°The technique might indeed pinpoint Li Wenjia¡¯s location. But I¡¯m afraid she¡¯s made too many deliberate ns in her actions and movements that even this technique can¡¯t help us much.¡±


    It took me a very long time to master this advanced technique. It involved the knowledge in the Eight Trigrams and the I Ching. It was invented by a Song family member who was an expert in divination texts. The chapter that dealt with this subject was one of the most esoteric chapters in The Chronicles of Grand Magistrates.


    In short, this technique coupled the knowledge of elements and aplex set of deductions to allow divination of some information about the criminal. This process was divided into three sections¡ªhuman divination, earth divination, and heavenly divination. Human divination provided information about the criminal¡¯s age, appearance and physical attributes like height and weight; earth divination would yield the whereabouts of the criminal; and heavenly divination, the most mysterious technique, could predict the next time and ce. Heavenly divination was too advanced andplicated though, and so far, no one had ever been sessful in implementing it.


    Once I described how it was impossible for me to use the technique in this case, Sun Tiger turned to other subjects and continued to discuss the case with the officers. He was in the middle of a sentence when I suddenly asked, ¡°Uncle Sun, did you say that a dozen people had gone missing?¡±


    It was very impolite to interrupt the leader of the task force during the case meeting, but Sun Tiger not only didn¡¯t mind it, he even appeared pleasantly surprised.


    ¡°Got an idea, kiddo?¡± he asked enthusiastically.


    ¡°Yes!¡± I answered. ¡°I need to know thest spot all those people were seen before they went missing, the most detailed map of Nanjiang City, and apass!¡±


    ¡°Get all those things ready now!¡± ordered Sun Tiger with a m on the table.


    Ten minutester, everyone returned to the same meeting room. I asked for the curtains to be drawn, then I lit up an incense and nted it in a bowl filled with soil. A few police officers started snickering behind my back at my seemingly pointless actions. Sun Tiger immediately swept a terrifying nce at them, which made them stop abruptly.


    I unfurled the map on the table and marked the locations where the people went missing, then painted eight hexagrams in eight directions. Because the table was too big, I went up on the table and crouched over the map. I made calctions while holding thepass and began to recite an ancient text that Grandpa taught me.


    At first, I felt a little embarrassed about it, butter I was so focused in the procedure that everything else around me blurred. When the incense was about to burn out, I had produced a result and marked a specific location.


    The police officers who snickered earlier might¡¯ve thought that the incense was burned to contact a spirit, but in fact, I did it ording to an instruction found in The Chronicles of Grand Magistrates, which posited that the Triple Divination Technique must bepleted before an incense was burnt out, otherwise it just wouldn¡¯t work.


    Everyone crowded around me. Sun Tiger pointed at the location that I marked and said, ¡°This is... an old paper mill?¡±


    I had merely pinpointed the location based on the calction ording to the technique, so I didn¡¯t know what kind of ce it was at all. At that time, hours had passed and I suddenly realized that my legs were both numb. Xiaotao had to help me get off the table.


    ¡°Get some officers to search this location,¡± I suggested while massaging my numb legs. ¡°Li Wenjia and the missing people are probably there right now.¡±


    ¡°Wait a second,¡± an officer interrupted. ¡°Sir, I know you believe in this spiritual technique, but we¡¯re very skeptical about it.¡±


    Many officers in the room nodded in agreement.


    ¡°I can guarantee you that this will work!¡± replied Sun Tiger firmly. ¡°There are many mysterious things in this world. Just because you don¡¯t understand it doesn¡¯t mean that it¡¯s all gobbledygook.¡±


    ¡°But if you can just take apass and pinpoint a criminal¡¯s location, what¡¯s the use of the police?¡± scoffed the officer.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to do your job, then get out!¡± Sun Tiger growled.


    I understood the officers¡¯ feelings. They¡¯d never seen anyone attempt anything like this, so it was natural for them to be very skeptical. I knew I had to find a way to convince them.


    ¡°You¡¯ve all heard of psychological profiling, haven¡¯t you?¡± I asked them.


    Everyone nodded.


    ¡°Well, this is just another type of technique simr to it,¡± I exined. ¡°In the west, this would be called geographical profiling. The criminal¡¯s hideout can be inferred based on the general characteristics of the crimes theymitted. It involves knowledge in statistical data and the psychology of the criminal¡¯s mind. Trust me, if you search the location that I¡¯ve marked, you¡¯ll find Li Wenjia there!¡±


    The crowd still hesitated, but Sun Tiger broke the silence abruptly when he roared, ¡°Go now!¡±


    They all left in a haste. Xiaotao and I were about to join them too, but Sun Tiger stopped us.


    ¡°Go get some rest, both of you,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯ve been staying up all night. Let me handle this.¡±


    We were both dog tired, so we didn¡¯t argue. The table in the conference room was too ufortable to sleep on, so Xiaotao suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s go sleep in my car!¡±


    We got into her car and put the seats down. Just as I was settled in, Xiaotao turned to me and murmured, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Song Yang.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± I asked with a chuckle.


    ¡°I promised you we¡¯d go to the Wuyi Mountains together after thest case, but now it seems that I have to bail on you again.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll have more opportunities to go in the future.¡±


    ¡°By the way, is that technique of yours really that good?¡± she asked while yawning. ¡°You should teach me how to do it sometime...¡±


    ¡°You see,¡± I began to exin. ¡°This Triple Divination Technique involves...¡±


    Before I continued, I heard a soft snoring sound. I turned to Xiaotao and found her already dozing off. I smiled and put her jacket over her. I settled into the seat myself and within seconds, I fell asleep too.


    It felt like I had just closed my eyes moments ago when Xiaotao¡¯s phone rang. She jolted awake and bumped her head. She answered the call while massaging her head. When she hung up the phone, she told me, ¡°Song Yang, you¡¯re a genius! Li Wenjia has been found!¡±


    ¡°Has she been captured?¡± I asked excitedly.


    ¡°No,¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°Sun Tiger told me she¡¯s holding hostages, but the special squad¡¯s been dispatched there as we speak!¡±


    This was both good news and bad news. The good news was that Li Wenjia could now be officially charged for kidnapping. The bad news was that capturing her would be very, very difficult.


    Xiaotao started the car immediately. I checked the time and realized that we¡¯d slept for half an hour. It was a good rest, and although my body was still exhausted, my mind was now very clear and I felt ready for the final confrontation with Li Wenjia.


    The location where Li Wenjia was found was a long-abandoned paper mill in the northern suburbs of Nanjiang City. Everything inside had been sold off or discarded, so all that was left was an empty building.


    When we arrived, there were a number of police cars parked outside the paper mill and an army of heavily-armed police officers. A line of anti-riot police cars were parked against the wall. There seemed to be something on the roof, and I asked Xiaotao what it was. Xiaotao smiled and replied that it was not a thing, but a sniper. It turned out that there were no high-rise buildings in the surrounding area to hide in, so they had to resort to this method.


    Once we got out of the car, I saw that Sun Tiger was taking full charge of the situation. As we passed a number of police officers, I saw them looking at me with eyes full of respect and awe.


    Xiaotao asked Sun Tiger what was happening, and he exined that Li Wenjia was holding a dozen people as hostages and was hiding in the warehouse. They sent a hostage negotiator in there to deal with Li Wenjia.


    I heard someone shouting over a loudspeaker inside the paper mill. Worriedly, I asked Sun Tiger, ¡°Did the negotiator go in there alone?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± he answered. ¡°We heeded your advice and sent another police officer with him.¡±


    Xiaotao suddenly stood straight and said, ¡°Sir, I request bringing in a team of officers to attack!¡±


    ¡°Absolutely not,¡± Sun Tiger refused immediately. ¡°The situation isn¡¯t ripe for that yet. I order you to rest for the time being and leave it to the special squadron.¡±


    ¡°But Li Wenjia isn¡¯t an ordinary criminal,¡± I interrupted anxiously. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if the special squadron can deal with her, Uncle Sun. Besides, she still has Wang Yuanchao with her.¡±


    I had no doubts that Wang Yuanchao alone could defeat the entire special squadron. Even worse, he was most probably hypnotized by Li Wenjia at the moment, so he could be doing very brash things with no regard of self-preservation at all.


    Right at that moment, we heard a gunshoting from inside the paper mill. We saw a police officer rushing towards us.


    ¡°Sir!¡± he shouted. ¡°The negotiator¡¯s been shot and killed!¡±


    1. Also known as .

 Chapter 130

    <h4>Chapter 130</h4>


    ¡°Who fired the shot?¡± asked Sun Tiger.


    ¡°It was Wang Yuanchao!¡±


    The killing of the negotiating expert meant that Li Wenjia refused to negotiate. Sun Tiger immediately grabbed the walkie-talkie and shouted, ¡°Xiaowang, don¡¯t look into her eyes! Get out of there now!¡±


    He had to repeat the message several times before we heard the answer, ¡°Roger!¡±


    I had an ominous hunch about this. A few minutester, a police officer walked out of the paper mill. He looked slightly off, though. There was a gun in his hand. Sun Tiger was about to approach him to ask about the situation inside, but I quickly stopped him.


    ¡°Wait! He could be hypnotized. Tell everyone to step away from him!¡±


    Everyone was startled and began to spread out. Most pointed their guns and rifles at Xiaowang.


    ¡°Put the gun down, Xiaowang!¡± shouted one of the team captains.


    ¡°Drop the gun, Xiaowang!¡± echoed Sun Tiger. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid!¡±


    Xiaowang suddenly raised his gun and was about to fire, but Sun Tiger shot first and the bullet hit Xiaowang. He shook like a leaf and copsed. Red blood pooled around his lifeless body.


    The realization that he¡¯d shot down one of hisrades hit Sun Tiger hard. He punched the roof of a car until it dented and cursed at Li Wenjia.


    ¡°This is a provocation against all police officers!¡± he snapped. ¡°I swear that I¡¯ll bring this woman to justice no matter what!¡±


    I gritted my teeth in anger. Li Wenjia seemed to be an unbreakable fortress!


    When I looked up at the pitch-ck sky, an idea popped up in my mind. I looked at the time¡ªit was five o¡¯clock. I told Sun Tiger and Xiaotao about my n, but they refused it outright.


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t let you take the risk,¡± said Sun Tiger. ¡°How will I ever face your grandfather when I die if anything happens to you?¡±


    ¡°But this is the only way that we can defeat her!¡± I insisted. ¡°Unless you ignore the safety of the hostages and attack the paper mill now!¡±


    Sun Tiger still hesitated. Both choices just cost too much.


    ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°I promised your grandfather that I¡¯d keep you safe. I can¡¯t let you go in there and fight the psychopath yourself!¡±


    A voice from the walkie-talkie interrupted us. It was Li Wenjia.


    ¡°Good evening, everyone!¡± she said.


    Everyone was shocked. Several young officers even raised their guns at the walkie-talkies in panic. This showed how deep a fear the police felt towards this woman.


    ¡°I know you must be raring to kill me right now,¡± Li Wenjia taunted. ¡°But there¡¯s just nothing that you can do! It¡¯s so boring in here. Well, I have a suggestion...¡±


    I could tell what she was about to say. And sure enough, she said, ¡°Let Huang Xiaotaoe in. Once I kill her, I¡¯ll surrender with no conditions.¡±


    Sun Tiger grabbed the walkie-talkie and shouted, ¡°You are not qualified to order us around! Don¡¯t you dare provoke us again or you¡¯ll meet an ugly end!¡±


    As he spoke, a captain of the special squadron desperately shook his head and signaled him not to further anger the criminal. At that moment, we heard another gunshoting from the paper mill. Everyone was startled.


    ¡°Another hostage just died,¡± said Li Wenjia. ¡°What will you do, Officer Sun? Will you sacrifice the lives of dozens just to save one officer?¡±


    Sun Tiger clenched his fist in fury. He gnashed his teeth and trembled in anger. Suddenly, Xiaotao stole the walkie-talkie in Sun Tiger¡¯s hand and said, ¡°This is between you and me, Li Wenjia. Don¡¯t involve the others. I¡¯ll go inside and meet you right away!¡±


    ¡°Good! I¡¯ll be waiting for you!¡±


    After that, we heard another gunshot and a buzz from the walkie-talkie. Most probably, it was Wang Yuanchao shooting the walkie-talkie inside. This meant that there was no more negotiating. I could picture the scene of Wang Yuanchao standing beside Li Wenjia like a deadly and obedient puppet and I shuddered to the core.


    Xiaotao put the walkie-talkie down and said, ¡°Sir, there¡¯s no turning back now.¡±


    Sun Tiger stood silently for a few seconds. His eyes were brimming with tears when he pleaded, ¡°I order both of you toe back alive!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Xiaotao answered. Her eyes shone of steely resolution as she gave him a salute.


    In addition to us, several special squad officers voluntarily followed us too. Li Wenjia didn¡¯t say that we weren¡¯t allowed to bring anyone else anyway. Sun Tiger told us to put on bulletproof vests, but I told him it would be unnecessary since Wang Yuanchao¡¯s marksmanship would render it useless and it would only hinder our movements.


    Xiaotao and I were both given a walkie-talkie, so everyone outside could follow the situation that was going on inside in real time. Additionally, Xiaotao was given a spare gun that was taped to the inside of her clothes just in case. Sun Tiger gave her permission to kill Li Wenjia if necessary.


    We crept into the dark paper mill. There was a dim light in the distance inside the warehouse. As we went further, we saw the lifeless body of the negotiator lying on the ground.


    ¡°Song Yang,¡± whispered Xiaotao. ¡°I believe in you, and I believe in your n. You¡¯ll surely be able to seize Li Wenjia. Trust yourself. Don¡¯t hesitate even if she kills me in front of you. You must bring her to justice!¡±


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t do that,¡± I replied. ¡°When this is all over, I still want to taste your barbecued pork ribs.¡±


    Xiaotao smiled and said, ¡°Fine!¡±


    As we walked in the darkness, the special squadron officers went ahead of us and scanned the surrounding with their rifles in their hands. Suddenly, one of them shouted, ¡°There¡¯s someone up there!¡±


    The others aimed their rifles upwards, where we saw a row of people standing on a beam. They all stood there motionless as if they were lifeless puppets. It was a chilling sight to behold.


    ¡°Put your guns down!¡± ordered a voice from the warehouse. It was Li Wenjia.


    We searched all around us for her, only to find that the voice wasing from a loudspeaker. As everyone looked at each other and hesitated, Li Wenjia continued, ¡°I will count to three. If you don¡¯t put your gun down, these people will all jump to their deaths. One. Two...¡±


    ¡°Put down your guns!¡± Xiaotao ordered.


    The officers lowered their weapons. Then a figure approached us from the darkness¡ªit was Wang Yuanchao! He raised his gun and fired a shot at an officer. The bullet passed straight through the officer¡¯s eyebrows and he fell limply to the ground. Everyone panicked. Without blinking, Wang Yuanchao shot the second time and it hit another officer.


    When his aim moved to the third officer, Xiaotao jumped in front of Wang Yuanchao¡¯s gun to block the bullet. The moment Wang Yuanchao saw her, he came abruptly to a halt. He looked like a robot that had been turned off. It seemed that themand he received was to kill everyone except Xiaotao.


    ¡°Li Wenjia!¡± shouted Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯m the only one you want dead! Stop killing the others!¡±


    I heard the crisp sound of fingers snapping, and the gun in Wang Yuanchao¡¯s hand dropped instantly.


    ¡°My brother was the only person I had left in this world,¡± Li Wenjia said. ¡°He was all that I had, and you deprived me of him! I want you to experience the pain of losing everything you have!¡±


    ¡°Why do you have to do this?¡± Xiaotao shouted. ¡°Do you think you¡¯ll be able to escape with your life if you kill us all?¡±


    ¡°None of that matters,¡± she answered. ¡°I¡¯ve been consumed by this rage for a long time that I¡¯m no longer human. All I want right now is to be reunited with my brother...¡±


    ¡°Then let all these people go!¡± pleaded Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll stay here! You can do whatever you want to me!¡±


    ¡°The noble Officer Huang,¡± snorted Li Wenjia coldly. ¡°How admirable!¡±


    ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± Xiaotao asked the other officers who were still standing. ¡°Run!¡±


    They hesitated for a few seconds, but Xiaotao kept urging them to leave, so they finally ran.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you leave too, Song Yang?¡± asked Li Wenjia. ¡°Are you going to sacrifice yourself for your love?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I replied calmly. ¡°I¡¯m here to catch you.¡±


    ¡°Song Yang!¡± whispered Xiaotao.


    Li Wenjiaughed.


    ¡°You¡¯re overconfident, little detective!¡± she said. ¡°Did you think that I¡¯d fall for your clever little tricks? Wang Yuanchao¡ª"


    ¡°That¡¯s strange!¡± I shouted before she could finish her sentence. ¡°Why are you afraid of showing yourself to me?¡±

 Chapter 131

    <h4>Chapter 131</h4>


    Li Wenjia snickered.


    ¡°Once I kill Huang Xiaotao, I¡¯ll hypnotize you and turn you into a criminal.¡±


    ¡°Whatever you say,¡± I replied nonchntly.


    It seemed that Li Wenjia had convinced herself that she was invincible here. If I had not interrupted her earlier, I would¡¯ve died from Wang Yuanchao¡¯s bullet. Having said that, although I acted as calm as I could, I was secretly breaking out in cold sweat and my heart was beating like a drum.


    I took a quick nce at Wang Yuanchao, who was now a cold and ruthless killing machine. To my surprise, I saw a pained expression on his face. I froze in shock. Was he not hypnotized after all? But that would be impossible! If he wasn¡¯t under Li Wenjia¡¯s control, he would¡¯ve killed her a long time ago. My guess was that Wang Yuanchao was resisting Li Wenjia¡¯s control on his mind with his own willpower!


    This would¡¯ve been an impossible feat if it had been anyone else. But Wang Yuanchao was no ordinary man. He¡¯d fought in real battles and was as tough as nails.


    Please, Yuanchao, I silently prayed. You must wake up! We need you!


    ¡°Officer Wang, sing!¡± Li Wenjia suddenly ordered.


    Wang Yuanchao then raised his gun and pointed it at our heads. It seemed that Li Wenjia¡¯s order to ¡®sing¡¯ meant something else. We walked forward step by step. The warehouse wasrge and empty. After a while, we finally saw a table in front of us. There was a white porcin jar on it with a name that read ¡®Li Wenhai.¡¯ Two candles were lit and ced on both sides of the jar.


    ¡°Prostrate before my brother and knock your head on the ground three times, Officer Huang,¡± Li Wenjia ordered. ¡°Make sure I can hear the sound of your head hitting the ground.¡±


    ¡°Never!¡± spat Xiaotao.


    ¡°You killed my brother,¡± said Li Wenjia. ¡°Therefore, you must ask for his forgiveness.¡±


    ¡°He was a monster!¡± Xiaotao shot back. ¡°He deserved no pity or respect!¡±


    ¡°Officer Wang, dance!¡± ordered Li Wenjia.


    Then Wang Yuanchao suddenly punched Xiaotao. She fell to the ground, then Wang Yuanchao continued to kick and beat her up when she was down. I tried to stop him but he pushed me away easily.


    ¡°Stop!¡± yelled Li Wenjia. Then Wang Yuanchao stopped abruptly like a wooden puppet. He then stepped back and pointed the gun at us just as he did before.


    I helped Xiaotao up to her feet. She was covered in bruises and was bleeding from her head.


    ¡°Kneel before my brother!¡± ordered Li Wenjia.


    Xiaotao gritted her teeth and did so reluctantly. She then mmed her head to the ground three times. She hit the ground so hard I could clearly hear it, and my heart sank with worry.


    Then there was a sound of pping from the loudspeaker.


    ¡°Well done, Officer Huang!¡± she said with augh. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for this for so long. Brother, your spirit can rest in peace now.¡±


    Xiaotao stood up and spat, ¡°What else have you got, Li Wenjia? Bring it on!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a letter behind the candle,¡± she murmured. ¡°Read it yourself.¡±


    Xiaotao looked behind the candle, then suddenly cursed, ¡°You bitch! I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    Li Wenjiaughed wildly, and the spotlights above the warehouse were suddenly turned on. I saw two people standing on the beam. Officer Ma was on the left and a middle-aged man in a suit was on the right. Both of them had loops around their heads. The other end of the loop was tied to the roof above their heads.


    ¡°On the left is your teacher, and on the right is your own father,¡± Li Wenjia said. Her cold and vicious voice echoed through the empty warehouse. ¡°Blow out a candle and choose who will die. Otherwise, they¡¯ll both die together.¡±


    Xiaotao almost copsed onto the table. She was about to turn the table over in anger when Li Wenjia exploded intoughter.


    ¡°If both of the candles are extinguished,¡± she said, ¡°then everyone here will die. Go on. It¡¯s all up to you.¡±


    ¡°You will die an ugly death, you bitch!¡± Xiaotao shouted hysterically. Tears streamed down her eyes, and my heart ached to see her like that.


    ¡°Your pitiful wailing is music to my ears,¡± Li Wenjia replied. ¡°You only have five seconds, Officer Huang. Five, four, three...¡±


    Before she counted to one, Xiaotao blew out the candle on the right and copsed to her knees, weeping.


    ¡°Forgive me, father...¡± she mumbled weakly.


    ¡°Interesting...¡± said Li Wenjia. ¡°You love your teacher more than your own father. Well, in that case... Ma Guozhong, step forward!¡±


    Li Wenjia snapped her fingers.


    Xiaotao looked up in horror as Officer Ma stepped forward. He fell from the beam, and when the noose caught his neck, his spine snapped instantly. Officer Ma kicked his leg in the air, and his body twitched for a few seconds. Then, he stopped moving. His body swayed limply as it hung from the roof.


    ¡°No! No! No!!!¡± Xiaotao shouted.


    ¡°Are you enjoying this game I designed for you, Officer Huang?¡± Li Wenjia asked. This time her voice didn¡¯te from the loudspeaker, but it sounded like she was approaching us herself. ¡°I have longed to see you lose everything and die in pain for a long time!¡±


    The sound of high heels clicking the floor grew closer and closer. Out of the darkness came a woman in a long red dress. Li Wenjia had cut off the bangs that were covering her right eye, exposing the bright green eye.


    ¡°Li Wenjia! I¡¯ll k¡ª¡± Xiaotao¡¯s shout came to an abrupt halt, and she suddenly stood very still. I had a feeling something was very wrong, so I quickly looked away from Li Wenjia¡¯s eyes.


    Li Wenjia walked towards Xiaotao and wrapped her arms around her. It turned out that she was searching Xiaotao¡¯s body for any hidden weapons. She pulled out the gun that was hidden under Xiaotao¡¯s clothes.


    ¡°Finally,¡± said Li Wenjia as she caressed Xiaotao¡¯s face. ¡°We¡¯vee to the finale. I want you to helplessly watch this boyfriend of yours die in front of you!¡±


    Xiaotao¡¯s body trembled violently, but she still couldn¡¯t move. She must¡¯ve wanted to kill Li Wenjia right then and there, but there was absolutely nothing that she could do.


    Li Wenjia pointed the gun at me. My heart raced. What should I do?


    ¡°Say goodbye to your boyfriend, Officer Huang!¡± Li Wenjia taunted.


    Just at that moment, Wang Yuanchao suddenly shouted, ¡°Aaargh!¡±


    I saw him holding his head as if he were in pain. Li Wenjia was utterly shocked.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± she cried.


    As soon as her attention was diverted, Xiaotao was able to break away from her ¡®spell.¡¯ She grabbed Li Wenjia¡¯s arm violently, causing the gun in her hand to fall to the ground. But before she could hit Li Wenjia, she was once again hypnotized and immobilized.


    ¡°Turn the lights off now!¡± I shouted.


    All the lights went out instantly. At that moment, Xiaotao was able to move again. Although she couldn¡¯t see a thing in the dark, she was able to expertly knock Li Wenjia to the ground. Li Wenjia stealthily snatched a stun gun behind me.


    ¡°Get away from her, Xiaotao!¡± I shouted.


    But it was toote. The stun gun hit Xiaotao squarely on her belly. She trembled and fell to the ground twitching.


    Li Wenjia fumbled in the dark and managed to get up to her feet. She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and said, ¡°It was very smart of you to use this trick on me. But...¡±


    Before she finished her sentence, Inded a punch on her face.


    ¡°Who did that?¡± asked Li Wenjia, visibly frightened. She looked around holding the stun gun in front of her. But her fox eye couldn¡¯t focus in the dark, so it had no effect at all.


    ¡°It¡¯s me!¡± I announced.


    This was my n all along. Right now, it was the darkest moment before dawn. Her fox eye lost all effects inplete darkness, yet this was when my Cave Vision was most effective!


    Li Wenjia heard my footsteps approaching her and she was about to run away, but because it waspletely dark, she didn¡¯t dare to run too fast. All she could do was grope her way in the dark and stumble away from me. The woman who believed herself invincible just moments ago had now turned into a hapless blind woman.


    I grabbed an iron rod and followed Li Wenjia. When she heard my footsteps, she turned around and tried to attack me with the stun gun, but I hit her on the wrist with the iron rod, and the stun gun flew out of her hand. I then hit her on her knees with the rod, causing her to fall to the ground.


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± she asked in panic.


    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one with special eyesight!¡±


    I pinned her body to the ground with the iron rod. I had reservations about hurting a woman, but at that moment, I no longer hesitated. I wished that I could kill her with my own hands. What she¡¯d done proved that she was hardly a human at all, but a demon!


    ¡°I¡¯ve never used this skill on a living person before,¡± I told her. ¡°You have the honor of being the first!¡±


    Li Wenjia struggled hysterically and shouted, ¡°No! I won¡¯t surrender! No! This isn¡¯t happening! I won¡¯t lose to a side character like you!¡±


    ¡°A side character like me?¡± I sneered.


    Cave Vision was first developed by Song Buping, the first patriarch of the Song family, chief justice officer of Guangxi and Guangzhou. The original purpose of Cave Vision was to fight criminals in the dark, so it was no ident at all that Li Wenjia¡¯s fox eye was finally defeated by my Cave Vision.


    I inserted my finger into her right eye and pulled out the eyeball. It was cool to the touch, and it was as big as an apricot stone. The eyeball trembled in my hand like jelly. There seemed to be no damage on it at all. Li Wenjia¡¯s scream echoed throughout the warehouse.


    Suddenly, Li Wenjia gritted her teeth and muttered, ¡°One, two...¡±


    I realized that she was trying to make the other hostagesmit suicide. I punched her on her face, knocking out a few of her teeth. Just when she was still confused, I quickly picked up the stun gun and shot it at her.


    Li Wenjia trembled and finally passed out. I breathed a sigh of relief and shouted into the walkie-talkie, ¡°You cane in now, Uncle Sun!¡±


    The lights were turned on again. I quickly checked Xiaotao¡¯s injuries. She was in a terrible state, but she slowly opened her eyes and smiled at me.


    ¡°You did it, Song Yang!¡± she eximed.


    Meanwhile, Wang Yuanchao was still struggling. His whole body was still convulsing. What he did was truly an impressive feat. If it hadn¡¯t been for his shout, Xiaotao and I would¡¯ve lost our lives.


    Arge number of the special squad officers rushed in with Type 95 rifles in their hands and they quickly rescued all the hostages. The hypnotized victims would all receive psychiatric treatment, but their recovery process would be lengthy.


    When she saw Officer Ma¡¯s body being packed into a body bag, Xiaotao leaned against my shoulder and wept bitterly.


    I gave the Fox Eye to Sun Tiger so he could keep it as evidence. I suggested for the Fox Eye to be donated to a museum after Li Wenjia¡¯s trial.


    Eventually, the mysterious eyeball that exuded a turquoise-green light would be a permanent exhibition item in the Nanjiang City Museum. I would often visit itter, and every time I looked at it, it evoked a sense of awe and terror in me that I couldn¡¯t exin.


    As we walked out of the warehouse, the sky slowly brightened. Our nightmares were finally over.


    ¡°I¡¯ll always remember you, Song Yang!¡± Li Wenjia¡¯s hysteric scream shattered the peace. I turned around and saw her with wily hair, shouting like a lunatic. ¡°I am the best hypnotist in the world! Do you really think you can shut me up in prison? I¡¯ll escape! And when Ie out, I will kill you and Huang Xiaotao! I will kill all of you!¡±


    She then broke into fricughter.


    It seemed that she¡¯dpletely lost her mind. The desire for revenge had truly led her astray and hatred hadpletely blinded her. It really was a pity, because she had the potential to be a brilliant professor with a bright future.


    A few monthster, Li Wenjiamitted suicide in the mental asylum.

 Chapter 132

    <h4>Chapter 132</h4>


    After Li Wenjia¡¯s arrest, the police held a state funeral for the fallen police officers. It was raining that day, and the neatly-dressed police officers in full uniforms stood in rows in the drizzling rain. There was a row of urns with portraits in front of them, and in the middle was Officer Ma.


    Officer Ma had dedicated his whole life to the duties of a police officer, and in the end, he sacrificed his life for it.


    Sun Tiger picked up the microphone and solemnly uttered, ¡°First bow!¡±


    Everyone bowed respectfully to the dead officers.


    ¡°Second bow!¡±


    ¡°Third bow!¡±


    And then, the sound of gunfire shook the sky.


    All the police officers saluted to the urns covered with party gs.


    Xiaotao was right next to me, and I saw tears welling up in her eyes, but she gritted her teeth and refrained from letting it flow. The death of Officer Ma was a huge blow to her. It would take a long time for her to recover from this grief.


    Wang Yuanchao, Dali, Shiwen, Lao Yao, Xiaotao¡¯s father, and all other victims of Li Wenjia were all sent to a psychiatric clinic for rehabilitation. I visited them asionally, and they seemed to be recovering fairly well, although the doctor warned me that theplexity of the human brain was iparable even to the most sophisticatedputer. Once it was imnted with a certain message, it might never be cured unless the hypnotist herself cancelled it.


    Fortunately, Li Wenjia had been arrested, so no one else would be able to trigger their minds into that hypnotized state again. That way, it was possible for them to live the rest of their lives as normal people.


    ¡°But what if someone imitates Li Wenjia¡¯s voice?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Unless that person can say the correctmand words urately,¡± the doctor exined, ¡°you can rest assured that nothing will happen.¡±


    I contemted the possibility of an imitator and concluded that the chances of it happening was perhaps not so great. All of Li Wenjia¡¯s family and rtives were dead by then, and the details of this case were kept under lock and key by the police, so it was impossible for any outsiders to stumble upon them.


    Unbeknownst to me, I would one daye across another fox eye. In fact, this one would be even stronger and much more formidable!


    Once everything settled down and I went back to the old mundane life on campus, I was visited by someone I¡¯d never expected to see again. It was the professor who lived next door to Li Wenjia. He¡¯d been upset and worried about Li Wenjia ever since the police raided her apartment that night. After asking around, he learned that I was a student at the college, so he came to me to find out what actually happened.


    He begged me to take him to Li Wenjia. I told him that would be difficult. He replied that he¡¯d been pursuing Li Wenjia for three years, and they would sometimes go out on dates together. Li Wenjia seemed to show some interest in him, but remained distant and aloof. She was like a puzzling mystery that enchanted him.


    I thought to myself, how would he feel if he found out that his lover was actually a demon?


    The professor¡¯s earnest nature made it hard for me to refuse him, so I agreed to take him to Li Wenjia.


    The process of seeing Li Wenjia didn¡¯t require much effort, to be honest. She was now kept in a mental asylum in the city. We went there during the weekend, just when Li Wenjia was being fed by some nurses. She hadpletely lost her sanity. Her hair was wily, her skin was pale, and the straight jacket that she had on was covered in solidified vomit. The hollow eye socket where the fox eye used to be was covered with gauze.


    Li Wenjia refused to take any medicine. She kicked and rolled on the floor, shrieking in a voice that sounded like a little girl.


    ¡°Mommy! Help me! Brother! Pleasee and save me!¡±


    The professor burst into tears when he saw this.


    I, on the other hand, thought she was lucky. Based on what she¡¯d done, I thought she deserved worst than the cruelest punishment in the world. Now, she was exempted from the death sentence because of her mental state and was kept in here instead of the prison. Although, looking at her now, I couldn¡¯t say that this ce was much better than the prison.


    As we left the mental asylum, the professor suddenly grabbed my arm and demanded, ¡°Song Yang, please tell me what happened to her!¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I shook my head. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you anything about this.¡±


    The professor continued to plead desperately; he even resorted to kneeling down on the ground. He told me he would never live in peace if he didn¡¯t know what happened to Li Wenjia. I felt sorry for him, but I gritted my teeth and just left him there.


    In the next few weeks, it was all peace and quiet in Nanjiang City. I waspletely alone on campus as Dali was still receiving treatments in the psychiatric ward. I would visit Xiaotao once every few days to apany her. I didn¡¯t know what to say tofort her though, so all I could do was be with her.


    By then, it was very clear to me that we had gotten much closer now that we¡¯d been through so much together. I felt that there was a tacit understanding between the both of us that needed no words to exin it.


    In the blink of an eye, it was already November. Dali had returned and he was back to his normal self. Shiwen was back too. Although he wasn¡¯t responsible for murdering Zhang Yan, the college felt that the incident had put a blemish on the campus morale. After all, more than thirty thousand people saw him kill Zhang Yan with their own eyes. If this ¡®murderer¡¯ was allowed to stay on campus, how would the students feel? What would the parents think?


    So, his academic advisor called him to his office and gently persuaded him to drop out. After much consideration, Shiwen eventually agreed.


    On Shiwen¡¯sst day in college, Dali and I went to send him off. After this tragedy, Dali grew closer to Shiwen. He carried Shiwen¡¯s luggage all the way from our college to the train station and gave Shiwen a lot of encouragement too. Shiwen was a changed man after the incident, and he¡¯d be much more reserved and spoke very little.


    ¡°My dad¡¯s going to kill me for dropping out of college after four years!¡± hemented right before getting on the train. ¡°What will I do now?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the big deal?¡± Dali replied. ¡°Neither Bill Gates nor Steve Jobs graduated college anyway! This has nothing to do with your worth as a person. I know you¡¯ll do well, brother!¡±


    Shiwen patted his shoulder and said, ¡°If you ever get to Taidong City someday, let¡¯s have drinks together, okay?¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡±


    Shiwen turned to me with sad eyes and said, ¡°Song Yang, I don¡¯t how I could ever repay you for what you did to me. If there¡¯s anything I can do for you at all, just call me!¡±


    ¡°Come on, Shiwen,¡± I replied with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t be so formal. I didn¡¯t do much at all!¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Shiwen argued. ¡°Without you, I¡¯d be in prison right now!¡±


    ¡°I only did what¡¯s right,¡± I said. ¡°Hurry up! The train¡¯s about to move!¡±


    After getting on the train, I heard Shiwenment, ¡°Life is so full of uncertainties!¡±


    When I met Shiwen again years after that, he was already a sessful entrepreneur. He said this tragedy forced him to contemte the value of life and how fickle it could be. If he hadn¡¯t been through this, he would¡¯ve gone on living frivolously day by day as a spoiled rich brat without making any effort to achieve anything on his own.


    By the way, Shiwen¡¯s father was the owner of apany that produced various cosmetics and toiletry products, and there was a particrly famous sanitary pad called ¡®Little Bear D¡¯ produced by thispany that would one day be the source of wealth for Dali and me.


    A few days after sending Shiwen off, I received a call from an unfamiliar number. The man on the other end introduced himself as Captain Xing, leader of Task Force 3. He asked me if I could spare some time and advise him on a case.


    I was a little puzzled by this call. Shouldn¡¯t Xiaotao be the one to contact me in circumstances like this? Was Xiaotao suspended? Or did anything happen to her?


    ¡°Where is Officer Huang?¡± I asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s working on another case right now,¡± Captain Xing replied. ¡°So I had to take on this case instead. It¡¯s not a big case, really. It just happened this morning. All we need is for you to confirm one thing. Would you be able to help us?¡±


    He was very kind and polite to me, so I didn¡¯t have the heart to refuse him.


    ¡°What exactly do you need me to confirm?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The victim is suspected to have been killed by poison,¡± he said. ¡°But we can¡¯t find any trace of the poison anywhere.¡±


    My ears pricked up at the mention of poison. Recently, having nothing to do, I concocted an elixir that could be used in a poisoning case ording to a form I found in The Collected Cases of Injustices Rectified. I was excited about the chance of testing it out in this case.


    Half an hourter, a police car came over to pick us up. I picked up my bag of tools and called for Dali. As we went downstairs, Dali chirped, ¡°Dude, look at us! Going here and there in police cars! Aren¡¯t we the celebrities of the campus now?¡±


    I nced at him.


    ¡°If you brag about this to other people again, I swear I won¡¯t let youe with me anymore! We must keep a low profile, you understand?¡±


    If it weren¡¯t for my ¡®reputation¡¯ on campus, Li Wenjia wouldn¡¯t have had the idea to frame me for the murder of Zhang Yan that day. It all started because Dali had started the gossip on campus about me being a young detective.


    We got into the police car and found that it was Captain Xing himself who picked us up. He was a young officer in his early thirties. He was dark-skinned and gruffly handsome. As we settled in, he briefly summarized the case to us.


    In short, a couple was staying in a hotel room this morning. As they were having sex, the woman started to twitch violently and had difficulty breathing. The man thought it was just her orgasm, so he didn¡¯t take much notice. Later, he found that the woman¡¯s body had gone cold. When he checked her pulse, he realized that she was already dead, so he called the police immediately.


    The coroner had confirmed that the death was caused by poisoning, but it wasn¡¯t clear how the victim was poisoned or what poison was used. The couple had eaten together, had stayed in the room together, and even drank from the same bottle of wine in the room together, yet only the woman was poisoned.


    Blood testing would definitely detect the poison eventually, but it would take too long¡ªat least a few days. Captain Xing was afraid that it would dy the solving of the case too much, so he thought of asking me to help instead!

 Chapter 133

    <h4>Chapter 133</h4>


    Captain Xing took us to a hotel near Nanjiang Medical School. I suddenly remembered that Sun Tiger¡¯s daughter, Sun Bingxin, was a student there, but I¡¯d never visited her here.


    ¡°Are the couple medical students?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Captain Xing shook his head. ¡°The man is a rich man¡¯s son. His father is the owner of East Asian International Corporation. The victim was a model.¡±


    ¡°Whoa!¡± Dali cried with his mouth open. ¡°You mean the dude¡¯s father owns the East Asian Mall?¡±


    ¡°Yup,¡± Captain Xing answered. ¡°That¡¯s the one.¡±


    The East Asian Supermarket was arge national supermarket chain. It ranked among the top five in the domestic retail industry. I heard that their headquarters was in Nanjiang! In addition to the retail industry, the East Asia International Corporation was also involved with hardware, household chemicals, food, clothing, and other industries. Half of the goods in their supermarkets were produced by themselves.


    In short, the guy involved in this case was no small fry. Compared to him, even Ye Shiwen was just another ordinary guy.


    ¡°Why would these people stay in a small hotel near the college?¡± I asked. ¡°Would a rich guy stay at a cheap ce like that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure either,¡± Captain Xing answered. ¡°But it was the model¡¯s name that was filled in on the check-in form.¡±


    There were a lot of police cars parked around the hotel and some passing students started to crowd around trying to find out what was going on. I nced around, for fear that I would bump into Sun Bingxin here. We were childhood friends after all, and all these years not once did I pay her a visit, even though we had been studying in the same city.


    Dali had no idea what went through my head, so he smiled naughtily at me and teased, ¡°Dude, these girls are on another level, aren¡¯t they? I¡¯m kind of regretting not studying medicine right now.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear about that murder case in the news?¡± I asked. ¡°There¡¯s a medical student who stabbed her boyfriend for cheating on her. She knew exactly where to stab so he¡¯d die a painful death, but in the end all she got was a manughter charge. Do you want a girlfriend like that?¡±


    ¡°Can you not spoil the mood?¡± Dali snapped.


    We crossed over the police line and entered the hotel. The murder scene was up on the fifth floor. I saw a room with its door ajar and with policemen standing near it, so I went in immediately. There was a body on the bed covered with a white sheet and a handsome young man looking distraught talking to the police.


    As soon as Dali saw the corpse, he gasped and grasped my shoulder tightly.


    ¡°Calm down!¡± I whispered.


    All eyes in the room turned to us. Many of the police officers had met me before, and they smiled when they saw me.


    ¡°This is Special Consultant Song Yang,¡± Captain Xing announced. ¡°You¡¯ve all heard of him before, haven¡¯t you? I asked for his help to solve this case.¡±


    When one of the police officers who knew me heard it, he immediately lit up and said, ¡°Now that Song Yang¡¯s here, this case is practically closed!¡±


    ¡°Whoa, dude, you¡¯re famous!¡± Dali crowed with a grin on his face. ¡°Aren¡¯t you proud of yourself?¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± I spat. Then I turned to Captain Xing and asked, ¡°Can I take a look at the body now?¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± he replied. He then told everyone to get out of the room because it was getting really crowded in there.


    I pulled up the white sheet and saw the corpse of a woman lying on her back on the bed. She was clearly very attractive when she was alive, but now, she was no different from any other corpse.


    I put on thetex gloves and pried the victim¡¯s eyes open to check the pupils. I then pressed the skin with my fingers, then moved the joints. I found that the cornea of her eyes had turned cloudy, rigor mortis had set in, and livor mortis had appeared but it still dissipated when I pressed on the skin. This meant that the time of death should¡¯ve been about two to three hours ago.


    Captain Xing nodded as he heard my conclusions, telling me that these were the same things that Coroner Wu had told him. The coroner was not here at the moment because he had to run to the nearby hospital to do some testing on a few pills that were found at the scene at one of theirbs.


    At that moment, I noticed that the blood vessels on the victim¡¯s body were dark brown and her nails were blue.


    In truth, Traditional Coroners tested for poisons too. They used silver needles to test for poisons. They were ridiculed nowadays as quacks and pseudoscientific, but in fact, silver would react with arsenic¡ªamon poison in ancient times¡ªand turn ck.


    As time passed, new poisons continuously emerged, and with that, Traditional Coroners adapted ordingly. The first edition of The Chronicles of Grand Magistrates listed about two hundred poisons in one of its chapters. By the time the book was passed down to Grandpa, the list had grown to 4,600 poisons. That might sound like a huge number, but currently there were over thirty thousand known toxic substances in the world. In other words, I must admit that poisons were a major weakness of mine.


    Fortunately, I was able to guess the exact poison used in this case. All I had to do now was verify it.


    I asked Dali to turn the body over to see if there were any signs of trauma and poisoning. Dali¡¯s face turned red as he approached the corpse, so I whispered to him, ¡°Are you seriously blushing in front of a dead body? You¡¯re not a necrophile, are you?¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± he retorted. ¡°You¡¯re the weird one! What red-blooded man wouldn¡¯t blush when they see a nude body? How can you be so calm?¡±


    I stared at the back of the dead body and casually answered, ¡°Because I¡¯m looking at totally different things from you.¡±


    After examining the body closely with my eyes, I did Organ Echolocation to check the victim¡¯s inner organs. No matter how the poison was ingested, it would always eventually end up in certain inner organs. For example, mercury would umte in the kidneys, arsenic in the liver, aconite in the digestive system, and snake venom would congeal in the bloodstream.


    There was a five-fold ssification system in traditional Chinese medicine that described the functions of the heart, liver, spleen, stomach and kidneys. Traditional Coroners used this same system to ssify various poisons for easy identification.


    Through Organ Echolocation, I discovered that the victim¡¯s heart was very stiff. This gave me a suspicion, so I used a needle to draw some blood from the victim¡¯s body.


    It was much more difficult to draw blood from a corpse than a living person. The needle had to be pierced urately through the vein, otherwise it wouldn¡¯t work. Fortunately, the victim was thin so her blood vessels were very obvious and easy to find.


    I then took the elixir that I brought with me and dropped the victim¡¯s blood into it. The blood didn¡¯t spread and mix easily with the elixir at all. Instead, it formed a teardrop-shaped droplet suspension.


    ¡°What kind of magic potion is that, dude?¡± shouted Dali. ¡°The blood is floating in it!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s called Blood Replica,¡± I exined. ¡°It has exactly the same density as human blood. When you drop poisoned blood into it, you can roughly tell through the position of the blood suspension what kind of poison was used.¡±


    ¡°How do you tell?¡±


    ¡°Well, for example, if someone was poisoned by the snake venom, their blood would sink to the bottom. If they inhaled poisonous gas, their blood would float on top.¡±


    ¡°So what poison do we have here?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell for sure yet,¡± I replied. ¡°There¡¯s something else that I need to verify. Can you get me a cotton swab?¡±


    I took the cotton swab that Dali handed over and spread the victim¡¯s legs open. I inserted the cotton swab into her vagina and checked the secretion. Everyone in the room became visibly ufortable when they saw what I did, but because they were police officers, they kept their cool really well. They must¡¯ve seen much worse than this.


    Dali, on the other hand, was getting agitated.


    ¡°Will you hurry up, dude?¡± he whispered. ¡°It¡¯s getting awkward in here!¡±


    ¡°Shhh! I found something!¡±


    When I checked the victim¡¯s secretions, I discovered an abnormality in her vagina. I paid no heed to the eyes in the room and proceeded to pry the victim¡¯s vagina open with the cotton swabs and looked into it with Cave Vision.


    After that, I rummaged through the trash can and walked around the room. I saw something on the bedside table and grabbed it immediately.


    What an ingenious way to poison someone! I thought. This case turned out not to be simple after all.


    At that point, I¡¯d figured out what poison was used and how the victim was poisoned. That¡¯s when I noticed the tense atmosphere in the room. My behavior in thest few minutes must¡¯ve made me look like a lunatic to those who didn¡¯t know me.


    Captain Xing cleared his throat and politely asked, ¡°Did you find anything, Song Yang?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I replied. ¡°The victim was poisoned with...¡±


    Before I could finish my sentence, a middle-aged man wearing a white coat burst into the room and loudly proimed, ¡°I¡¯ve figured out what poison was used!¡±


    ¡°Oh, Dr. Wu,¡± Captain Xing remarked. ¡°What a coincidence. We¡¯ve just figured that out too.¡±


    ¡°What? Who did?¡± asked Dr. Wu, taken aback. He then nced at me and frowned. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you. I know you. You¡¯re the brat who got Dr. Qin into trouble. Why is he here, Captain Xing? Don¡¯t you trust my capabilities?¡±


    I got Dr. Qin into trouble? I wondered. That old man must¡¯ve been spreading lies about me to his other colleagues.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that, Dr. Wu...¡± Captain Xing tried to exin. ¡°I just want to solve the case as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°So you invited this quack to the crime scene?¡± Dr. Wu spat. ¡°I wonder how Traditional Coroners test for poison? Using a silver needle? Hah! You must be kidding me!¡±


    Then he turned to me and asked, ¡°So what kind of poison did you detect, boy?¡±

 Chapter 134

    <h4>Chapter 134</h4>


    I ignored Dr. Wu¡¯s provocation and went back to examine the dead body. He was annoyed by this and stomped over to me and shouted over my shoulders, ¡°Are you deaf, boy? Didn¡¯t you hear what I said? What poison did you detect?¡±


    ¡°If I tell you now, wouldn¡¯t you just copy what I say and take the credit?¡±


    Dr. Wu burst intoughter so loud that my ears hurt.


    ¡°You think a legitimate coroner like me would copy you?¡± he retorted. ¡°Fine, why don¡¯t we write down the poison we detected on the palm of our hands and reveal it together then?¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± I nodded. ¡°But if it turns out that you made a mistake, you must apologize to me.¡±


    ¡°No problem!¡± he answered disdainfully. ¡°I¡¯d even get down on my knees if you like.¡±


    ¡°Okay, deal!¡±


    Judging by his tone, he seemed extremely confident in his test results.


    ¡°But what if you got it wrong?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get down on my knees and knock my head three times on the floor!¡± I answered without hesitation.


    Dr. Wu waved his big hand around the room and shouted, ¡°Did everyone hear that? I, Wu Yue, as the representative of modern forensics, will prove to you today that Traditional Coroners are nothing but quacks!¡±


    ¡°Dr. Wu...¡± Captain Xing whispered.


    Dr. Wu ignored him. He might seem like a hot-headed guy, but from what I saw, he probably wasn¡¯t as insidious as Dr. Qin.


    Still, his allegation that Traditional Coroners were just quacks angered me.


    ¡°I do acknowledge the fact that modern forensics is amazing,¡± I argued. ¡°But I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯re good enough to represent it.¡±


    As soon as I made this statement, I saw a few peopleughing secretly behind Dr. Wu¡¯s back.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been a coroner for thest twenty years,¡± Dr. Wu snapped, his cheeks reddened with anger. ¡°I¡¯ve also got double doctorate degrees. You say that I¡¯m not qualified to represent modern forensics? What about you, boy? What qualifications do you have? Do you have even one certificate to show me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any certificates to show you,¡± I replied nonchntly. ¡°All I have are the half a dozen murder cases that I¡¯ve solved to prove my worth.¡±


    Dr. Wu¡¯s face turned even redder. He probably knew that I¡¯d solved seven cases in less than half a year, with a 100% sess rate to boot. This was something beyond the reach of even the Chief Coroner in the police force.


    ¡°Fine,¡± he replied. ¡°But get ready, boy! I¡¯ll wipe the smug grin off your face today! Xiaoli, bring me a pen!¡±


    We each took a marker pen and wrote our answers on the palm of our hands.


    ¡°Dude,¡± whispered Dali. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not biting off more than you can chew this time? That guy used high-tech equipment to do his testing, after all! Meanwhile, all you did was grope the dead body.¡±


    I red at him and said, ¡°What do you mean, ¡®grope?¡¯ Trust me, he¡¯s got it all wrong!¡±


    Dali remained skeptical, but I knew that Dr. Wu was led to the wrong conclusion because he¡¯d tested the pills he found in this room. It didn¡¯t matter how urate the machines were if the testing was done on apletely irrelevant object!


    Once we were done writing our answers, Dr. Wu showed me his hand, which had the word ¡®Papaverine¡¯ on it.


    ¡°The cause of the victim¡¯s death is an excessive intake of the drug papaverine,¡± Dr. Wu announced. ¡°And this is the proof!¡±


    He then took a pill out of his pocket.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± the rich young man suddenly interjected. ¡°I took that pill too!¡±


    ¡°Are you a drug addict, boy?¡± asked Captain Xing.


    ¡°No, no!¡± he quickly denied. ¡°It¡¯s... It¡¯s an aphrodisiac. I bought it when I was in South Korea. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s in it.¡±


    ¡°How many pills did you each take?¡± Dr. Wu asked.


    ¡°I took one and Xiaowen took two,¡± the young man replied.


    I shook my head and snickered. So Dr. Wu really did get it wrong!


    ¡°I think everything¡¯s clear as day now,¡± said Dr. Wu. ¡°The victim had an overdose of papaverine in her system, which led to heart and lung failure. What do you have to say, Song Yang?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± I began with a sneer. ¡°I do have some questions, actually. What is the lethal dose of papaverine? And why is one of thempletely fine while the other died almost instantly if both of them took the same drug?¡±


    ¡°Well, the lethal dose is...¡± Dr. Wu paused and started to sweat. He probably realized it now. Even if the pills were 100% pure papaverine, how many grams could two tiny pills weigh? It just wouldn¡¯t be even near the lethal dose at all. When people in the ancient times used opium, a drug simr to papaverine, tomit suicide, they would need about two hundred grams of the drug in order for it to work.


    Besides, opioid substances weren¡¯t so foreign in our daily lives. Many hot-pot stalls would add poppy seeds that contained traces of opium in order to make customers get addicted to their food. Even Coca-C was rumoured to contain traces of the drug, but only three people in the world knew of the secret recipe.


    Dr. Wu must¡¯ve tested papaverine from the pills and came to a hasty conclusion that he¡¯d stumbled on a breakthrough and ran here to show off his discovery without carefully thinking about it first.


    Seeing that Dr. Wu had fallen silent for a while, Captain Xing asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Dr. Wu?¡±


    ¡°I... I think I might¡¯ve gotten it all wrong!¡± said Dr. Wu. He then suddenly pointed at me and continued, ¡°But I refuse to believe that this kid would get it right! He doesn¡¯t have any equipment! It¡¯s impossible for him to get it right!¡±


    I raised my hand to show everyone my answer and said, ¡°The real culprit is nitrite, amon toxin. The lethal dose is three grams, which is an amount that can be easily dissolved in water. Its taste and appearance are very simr to table salt, which has caused many cases of idental nitrite poisoning. It¡¯s also a cardiovascr drug that can be obtained from any major hospital.¡±


    Everyone was shocked. Dr. Wuughed and sneered, ¡°Did you figure that out because you tasted it with your mouth?¡±


    ¡°The signs of nitrite poisoning are dark brown blood vessels,¡± I began to exin, ¡°cyanosis near lips and nails, and a small amount of urine seeping out. You can check the body for the signs yourself, or you can test it with your trusty machines again if you like.¡±


    Large beads of sweat began to form on Dr. Wu¡¯s forehead. I believed that as an experienced coroner, there was no way these signs went unnoticed to him.


    ¡°But how was the victim poisoned?¡± asked Captain Xing.


    ¡°The condom!¡± I answered simply.


    ¡°What?¡± murmured everyone in the room.


    ¡°The murderer smeared the poison on the surface of the condom and secretly ced it in the hotel room,¡± I exined. ¡°There is a mucousyer inside the vagina which would absorb the drug. That was how the victim died mid-coitus.¡±


    Captain Xing nced at the bedside table and remarked, ¡°But there are three packets of condoms here. How did the murderer know which one would be used? Are all three packets poisoned?¡±


    I turned to the rich man and asked, ¡°Why did you pick this one?¡±


    He was still in shock, but he shook himself out of the daze and answered, ¡°I remember that one of them was opened and the other one looked dirty. That¡¯s why I chose this one without thinking much about it at the time.¡±


    And that was the answer. The murderer was as cunning as a fox. They had deliberatelyid out their n like a game of chess, manipting the man to choose the poisoned condom subconsciously!


    Captain Xing frowned.


    ¡°In other words,¡± said Captain Xing, ¡°the murderer had intentionally set up the scene to frame this man. But isn¡¯t this n too risky? What if he just brought a condom with him and used that instead?¡±


    I asked the man how he ended up staying in this room and he answered, ¡°I didn¡¯t n to be here at all today, but Xiaowen suddenly called and said she¡¯d already booked a room, so I hurried over. I did wonder at the time why she would choose such a cheap hotel to stay in! But we just ordered takeaway and jumped into bed after the meal... Then this happened...¡±


    I suddenly had a hunch that the victim might have nned to be in this room with someone else, but for some reason that other person cancelled on her so she called this guy as a substitute.


    ¡°Is the victim your girlfriend?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not exactly...¡± he replied.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± he began with some hesitation, ¡°let¡¯s put it this way: she is one of my many women, and I am one of her many men.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so the two of you are friends with benefits!¡±


    1. An opioid that helps the dtion of blood vessels and is asionally used to treat erectile dysfunction.

 Chapter 135

    <h4>Chapter 135</h4>


    ¡°What a crazy sex life these rich dudes have!¡± Dali whispered to me.


    Under normal circumstances, these rich guys wouldn¡¯t stand for such a slightingment about their private lives for a minute. But in this case, the guy merely lowered his head and said nothing.


    I didn¡¯t want to dig too deep in this case. Now that the general direction had been pointed out, I thought it was time to hand the rest to Captain Xing! Now all he had to do was check the surveince video of the hotel and investigate who the victim might have had affairs with.


    ¡°You should get the condom in the trash and test that for poison,¡± I suggested to Captain Xing. ¡°I think it¡¯s time for me to go back now.¡±


    Captain Xing offered me a ride, but I refused and told him that we could easily take the cab.


    ¡°Dude,¡± Dali whispered, ¡°did you forget something?¡±


    ¡°Forget it,¡± I sighed. ¡°I¡¯m just gonna let it slide this time.¡±


    ¡°Whoa,¡± he eximed, ¡°when did you be so forgiving?¡±


    As soon as we walked out of the hotel, Dr. Wu called for us from behind and shouted, ¡°Consultant Song! I¡¯m sorry for what just happened. Please forgive me!¡±


    To my surprise, he was about to kneel down. There were many people around us at the time, so I quickly stopped him.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t do that, Dr. Wu!¡± I said. ¡°I was only kidding about the kneeling!¡±


    ¡°No, I was foolish for not recognizing a true talent in front of my eyes!¡± Dr. Wu admitted with a blush. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have belittled Traditional Coroners like you! I shouldn¡¯t have believed Old Qin¡¯s words!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it! By the way, I never had any intention to get Dr. Qin into trouble. He just made a bet with me and lost, that¡¯s all.¡±


    Dr. Wu nodded repeatedly as he listened to my exnation.


    ¡°Well, after what happened today, I¡¯m convinced that you are a genius. I¡¯d like to learn more about the ancient science of Traditional Coroners. Which books would you rmend me to read?¡±


    ¡°Get yourself a copy of The Collected Cases of Injustices Rectified and start from there,¡± I suggested. ¡°By the way, I think there¡¯s a lot that we can learn from each other, Dr. Wu.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± nodded Dr. Wu again. ¡°I¡¯d suggest for you to read more forensics textbooks. You might make a lot of new discoveries there!¡±


    I smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve read all the forensic textbooks that would fill the entire curriculum of a four-year college course on forensic science. Pleasure to meet you, Dr. Wu.¡±


    I then turned to leave the shocked Dr. Wu standing there. Dali raised a thumb and eximed, ¡°That was so cool, dude!¡±


    Before we got further, I suddenly saw a girl with shoulder-length hair, wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers in front of us. She was holding a kettle in one hand and was pointing a finger at me with her mouth wide open.


    Isn¡¯t that Sun Bingxin? I thought. It had been years since west met and she¡¯d grown into a pretty young woman!


    ¡°Song Yang, is that you?¡± she called out.


    ¡°Hello, Bingxin,¡± I replied. ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡±


    Dali stared back and forth between me and Bingxin.


    ¡°Dude, who¡¯s that hot chick? You know her?¡±


    Before I could answer, Bingxin ran over to us and excitedly cried, ¡°Song Yang-gege! How exciting! Come on, give me a hug!¡±


    ¡°Wait, stop!¡±


    I was toote in stopping her. She threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly. The water in her kettle spilled everywhere. She kept calling me ¡®Song Yang-gege¡¯ over and over again.


    ¡°You never contacted me all these years!¡± she sulked. ¡°Have you forgotten all about me?¡±


    Dali stared at us in disbelief. His jaw dropped so low you could put a whole egg into his mouth.


    It had been seven years since Ist saw Sun Bingxin. When I was in junior high school, Sun Tiger somehow persuaded Grandpa to let me spend summer vacation at his house. I stayed there for about half a month, during which I spent most of my time with Sun Bingxin. It was my first time staying in a big city, and she took me everywhere during the day. At night, I would tell her stories of mysterious criminal cases. Afraid, she¡¯d hide under the covers, but she was still too fascinated to tell me to stop.


    And now, seven years had gone by, and we were both fourth-year college students.


    ¡°You¡¯re just as childish as you used to be,¡± I said, gently pushing her away. ¡°What would you do if your ssmates see you acting this way?¡±


    Sun Bingxin burst outughing and stuck out her tongue at me.


    ¡°So what? I don¡¯t care! What are you doing here anyway, Song Yang-gege?¡±


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°I just got myself some water and was about to go back to my dorm,¡± she exined. ¡°I heard the rumors about there being a murder here, so I came to investigate. Then I saw youing out of the hotel and talking to an old man in a white coat. Did you just solve the case in there?¡±


    I thought it was pointless to conceal it from her, so I nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s not as impressive as you might think. I just gave them a little advice, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± asked Bingxin with a raised eyebrow. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. I¡¯ll ask your friend instead!¡±


    She then asked Dali what happened, and Dali being Dali, spilled out every little detail of what just happened inside earlier. The idiot always lost his mind whenever a pretty girl talked to him. I was so angry I could choke him to death right there.


    ¡°I knew it!¡± cried Bingxin excitedly. ¡°I was suspicious when Dad said a college student was working with the police as a consultant! I should¡¯ve known that it was you!¡±


    I awkwardly smiled in reply. Bingxin went on to ask, ¡°Tell me the truth, how many cases have you solved?¡±


    ¡°Just one or two, and only by luck.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you! I¡¯ll ask your friend again!¡±


    And yet again Dali told her that I¡¯d solved seven cases in less than half a year. Bingxin¡¯s jaw dropped and she eximed, ¡°No way! That¡¯s amazing! Let¡¯s go get dinner together right now so you can tell me all about it!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already had dinner,¡± I told her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care! Let¡¯s go!¡±


    She then dragged me to the college cafeteria. Dali kept whispering to me asking about who this hot girl was and why she seemed to be so close to me. I told him she was my childhood friend and that we were practically siblings.


    As soon as Dali heard that, he became excited.


    ¡°Geez, dude! Why didn¡¯t you tell me you had a hot little sister in the medical school? You have to introduce me to her, dude!¡±


    Bingxin might seem friendly and approachable with me just now, but she was in fact a reserved person. So, I wasn¡¯t sure if Dali had much of a chance with her. Nevertheless, I agreed to introduce him but reminded him to behave himself.


    Dali pulled out ab from his jacket, brushed his hair and winked at me, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You know I¡¯m the Jay Chou of Nanjiang City!¡±


    We soon entered the college cafeteria, and Bingxin ordered a dozen dishes with her meal card. I told her that we couldn¡¯t possibly finish all the food, but she replied, ¡°It¡¯s okay. The portion size is really small here. It might not even be enough for you boys.¡±


    ¡°Boys aren¡¯t pigs, you know?¡± Iughed.


    Bingxin went on to order all kinds of fried dishes from a small counter at the cafeteria. Then she ordered three bottles of soft drinks from another counter. The cafeteria looked much better than the one in our college. Once we were all seated, Dali introduced himself to Bingxin. Sheughed andmented, ¡°Dali? What a unique name!¡±


    ¡°Yup, that¡¯s me!¡± chirped Dali with a big grin on his face. ¡°I¡¯m Song Yang¡¯s lucky charm. Whenever I¡¯m there with him, he always solves the case! By the way, Bingxin-meimei, what do you specialize in?¡±


    ¡°Forensic pathology!¡± she answered.


    ¡°Wow!¡± cried Dali. ¡°Does that mean that you¡¯ll be working with the police once you graduate?¡±


    Dali tried his best to get Bingxin to talk to him, but she made short replies to him and kept turning the subject back to the cases that I had solved. They were mostly still ssified, so I didn¡¯t have much to tell her. All in all, it was a pretty awkward scene.


    After a while, we heard the cook shout, ¡°Your dishes are ready!¡±


    Bingxin was about to get up and fetch the food, but Dali stopped her and said, ¡°Please, let me!¡±


    At the time, none of us would¡¯ve expected that this meal would lead us to another murder case.


    1. Meaning ¡®big brother¡¯.


    2. ¡®Little sister¡¯.

 Chapter 136

    <h4>Chapter 136</h4>


    Once all the food was on the table, Bingxin suddenly asked me, ¡°By the way, Song Yang-gege, do you have a girlfriend?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I replied. ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± she sighed. ¡°I¡¯m the same nerdy girl who¡¯s got her nose buried in books all the time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve got hordes of admirers!¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t!¡± she denied, shyly looking down at her own te.


    ¡°I¡¯m single too, you know!¡± Dali interjected.


    Bingxin responded to him politely and said nothing else, which prompted Dali to bury his head down and focus on the food. Although both of us were really hungry, we ate very little because we didn¡¯t want to appear greedy in front of Bingxin. She kept persuading us to eat more and to try this dish and that dish. At one point, she picked up a big slice of braised pork with her chopsticks and offered it to me. I was about to tell her I was full when I noticed that something was wrong.


    ¡°What is that?¡± I asked, pointing at the meat.


    She looked down, froze for a few seconds, and screamed, ¡°A fly!¡±


    There was a dead fly stuck to the meat, which in itself was pretty bad. But it was worse than you might think, because it wasn¡¯t an ordinary housefly. It was a blow fly.


    ¡°Come on, both of you!¡± Dali remarked. ¡°Stop making a fuss out of nothing! It¡¯s just a fly. Just pick it out and carry on eating. It¡¯s fine!¡±


    As Dali picked up the dead fly with his chopsticks, I told him, ¡°You know, that¡¯s not an ordinary housefly...¡±


    ¡°What kind of fly is it, then?¡± asked Dali with his mouth still full.


    ¡°It¡¯s a blow fly,¡± replied Bingxin. ¡°Blow flies are usually only found on dead bodies...¡±


    Upon hearing that, Dali¡¯s face turned green. He was about to spit out all the food in his mouth, but because Bingxin was there, he sprinted to the nearest trash can instead and spit out his food there.


    He returned to the table while still wiping his lips and he asked, ¡°Was that meat we just ate... human flesh?¡±


    I picked up a piece of the meat and sniffed it, ¡°No, it¡¯s pork.¡±


    ¡°Maybe the blow fly was just attracted to the pig carcasses?¡± Bingxin proposed.


    I myself thought the meat was quite fresh.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we go in there and check it out?¡± I suggested.


    ¡°Sure!¡±


    We entered the kitchen and I asked the cook, ¡°Will you let us check the kitchen and the storeroom? We suspect that there might be a dead body here.¡±


    Without even looking at us, the cook replied, ¡°If you have anyints about us then... wait, what did you say? A dead body? That¡¯s a first! Usually you bratsin about hair, nails, and bugs in the food. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve heard of a dead body in my kitchen!¡±


    It was clear that the cook didn¡¯t take us seriously, so I pulled out my special consultant badge and showed it to him. At a nce, it was identical to a police badge, so the cook instantly panicked.


    ¡°Officer!¡± he cried. ¡°I swear there are no dead bodies here!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to look around anyway.¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± the cook nodded frantically.


    Bingxin took a look at my badge and enviously remarked, ¡°Cool! So you¡¯ve officially joined the police force now?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Iughed. ¡°I¡¯m just an external consultant.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯ve solved seven cases!¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ll tell Dad to officially install you as a police officer. You¡¯ll be even cooler with a gun!¡±


    ¡°Calm down, Miss Sun!¡± I said. ¡°I chose not to be a police officer myself!¡±


    We entered the back kitchen, and the cook showed us around. There were piles of vegetables, meat, and rice. I noticed a small door in the corner of the room and asked, ¡°Where does that door lead to?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a staff room,¡± the cook answered. ¡°But I never use it.¡±


    ¡°Who uses it, then?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a student who works here part-time,¡± he replied. ¡°She changes her clothes in there. She usuallyes here every day, but she didn¡¯t show up today. She didn¡¯t ask for leave either. Perhaps something happened to her.¡±


    I asked the cook to open the door, but he told me the key was not with him right now. I picked up two iron wires from the scraps on the floor and picked the lock open in less than a minute. Bingxin stared in disbelief. Before the door was opened, I heard a strange buzzing noise. I told everyone to step back.


    As soon as the door was opened, a swarm of blow flies flew out of the room. I covered my face with my hands. The cook screamed in terror. I took a closer look and saw a naked body in the middle of the tiny room. The body was very skinny. The skin had turned dark brown. The bodyy face-down on the ground with one hand stretched out. Judging from the long hair, it should be the dead body of a girl.


    I thought Bingxin would be terrified, but I found her looking so calm that her pupils were slightly erged. Dali, on the other hand, cowered behind me in fear as usual.


    ¡°You should be ashamed of yourself!¡± I reproached him.


    All Dali said in reply was, ¡°It¡¯s... It¡¯s a zombie!¡±


    I called Xiaotao and told her toe over with the police straight away. Then I was about to ask the cook if this was indeed the body of the girl that worked here, but as I turned around, I couldn¡¯t find him anywhere. It turned out that he¡¯d fainted and copsed onto a pile of cabbage on the floor. Judging from this reaction, he most likely had nothing to do with the murder.


    My tools were still with me, so I went ahead and performed an autopsy. As I put on the gloves, Bingxin suddenly said, ¡°Hand me a pair too!¡±


    ¡°You should go and wait outside now.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Bingxin refused, pursing her lips. ¡°I¡¯m going to help you! Have you forgotten the fact that I¡¯m a medical student? I¡¯ve seen hundreds of corpses in theb. Some of them were prisoners who were executed by the firing squad and even though their brains spilled out of their skulls, I was still unfazed! Besides, you¡¯ve been telling me about how awesome your ancestor Song Ci was. Now that you¡¯ve inherited the skills and knowledge of your family, I want to learn from you too!¡±


    I regretted being so foolish and ignorant that I would brag about my ancestors to her like that.


    ¡°Miss Sun,¡± Dali suddenly interrupted, ¡°he¡¯s already got an assistant, and it¡¯s me!¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Bingxin replied without batting an eye. ¡°Why don¡¯t you pass me a pair of gloves then, Assistant?¡±


    Dali was at a loss for words. I told him to go on and give Bingxin the gloves. I understood her character well. Once she set her mind on something, there was no way that I could stop her.


    The first rule of autopsy was to avoid moving the body as much as possible. Yet the room where the body was found was so narrow and tiny that it was crowded even with one person in it. There was no way that I could examine the body properly in here, so I asked Dali to spread a sheet of tarpaulin outside and we moved the body out there, taking care not to change its original posture. The minute we lifted the body up, I noticed how light it was.


    Bingxin began to inspect the corpse and stated, ¡°The muscles have almost dissolved. That means the time of death must be around three to four days ago.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong,¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯d been dead for less than a day before we found her.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Bingxin asked in shock. ¡°But why would her body be in this condition?¡±


    ¡°Use yourmon sense, Miss Sun!¡± I reminded her. ¡°The cook just told us that she usuallyes here every day except today, so how could she have been dead for three to four days?¡±


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right,¡± Bingxin said, sticking out her tongue.


    ¡°Now determine the time of death again. And be very specific.¡±


    I wanted to see what Bingxin¡¯s skill level was at. If she was someone who could only regurgitate what she memorized in the textbooks, then I¡¯d have to change my mind about letting her be around when I¡¯m examining the crime scene.


    Bingxin turned the body over, checked the three indicators of the pupils, the rigor mortis, the livor mortis, and asked me if I had a thermometer. Traditional Coroners usually measured a corpse¡¯s temperature by inserting their fingers into the anus, and it wasn¡¯t that I found it too icky, but I was worried that those who saw me doing it might be disgusted by it. Therefore, I relied on the modern convenience which was the thermometer instead.


    I handed my thermometer over to Bingxin, and she proceeded to measure the temperature of the corpse¡¯s lower intestine. Then she gasped and stated, ¡°The time of death is around ten to twelve hours ago!¡±


    ¡°Much better,¡± I replied, nodding in satisfaction.


    ¡°But the muscles have almostpletely dposed! What could¡¯ve caused that?¡±


    ¡°That is a notable anomaly,¡± I answered. ¡°It also points towards the real cause of death. Why don¡¯t you check the body again and determine the cause of death?¡±


    Bingxin went back to the corpse and re-examined it. I saw her shoulder-length hair almost touching the dead body. It was kind of getting in the way and it irked me, so I told her to stop while I took off my gloves and tied her hair up with a rubber band.


    Dali¡¯s jaw dropped when he saw this, but I pretended not to see his reaction. What was there to be so surprised about, anyway? It wasn¡¯t as if Bingxin and I were strangers.


    While Bingxin was examining the corpse, I went on to scrutinize it too with my Cave Vision. I came to the conclusion that there were no obvious signs of physical trauma on the body, but there was a tiny needle puncture wound on the victim¡¯s thigh¡ªshe had clearly been poisoned.


    A few minutes after that, Bingxin stopped and announced, ¡°The cause of death is poisoning!¡±

 Chapter 137

    <h4>Chapter 137</h4>


    ¡°How was she poisoned?¡± I asked.


    Bingxin pointed to the victim¡¯s leg and replied, ¡°There is a puncture wound here. The poison was probably injected there with a needle. Could it be suicide?¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t rush to that conclusion,¡± I warned her. ¡°The worst thing to do in an autopsy is to make up your mind before seeing all of the evidence first.¡±


    Bingxin stared at me andughed. I asked her what was so funny, and she answered, ¡°You¡¯ve changed, Song Yang-gege. You sound so mature now! Not that I¡¯m surprised though. I knew you¡¯d turn out to be an amazing person in the future when I heard how passionate you were when you told me all the stories about your ancestor Song Ci.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re overpraising me,¡± I said. ¡°I just happened to learn more things in the past few years.¡±


    ¡°What should we do now?¡± asked Bingxin. ¡°Just wait for the police to arrive?¡±


    That would be the normal procedure for most coroners, but there was much more that I could still do here.


    ¡°Now it¡¯s your chance to witness the Song family¡¯s peerless ingenuity!¡±


    I pulled out my Echolocation Rod and began to check the victim¡¯s internal organs. Surprisingly, the organs were in their normal state. Then I put the victim¡¯s head on the Yin Yang Pillow and checked the inside of her skull.


    I couldn¡¯t believe what I found at first, so I repeated the process again and again to confirm the results.


    ¡°Her internal organs aren¡¯t damaged,¡± I said. ¡°But her skull is filled with liquid.¡±


    ¡°Ew!¡± shouted Dali. ¡°Did her brain melt?¡±


    I red at him, and he quickly lowered his head in shame.


    ¡°You know all that just from using that little wooden rod?¡± asked Bingxin.


    ¡°I¡¯ll exin it to youter,¡± I said. ¡°Anyway, it seems that she was poisoned by a neurotoxin that dissolved her brain.¡±


    ¡°So both her brain and her muscles were dissolved?¡± Bingxin muttered, lost in thoughts.


    Even I was at a loss as to what this poison was. I thought of a poison recorded in the The Chronicles of Grand Magistrates that was able to turn someone¡¯s body stiff like a wax figure. But then the conditions of this victim¡¯s body didn¡¯t look too much like what was described in the book.


    I tried to approach the puzzle from another perspective. The victim was found almost naked except a pair of underwear. Yet there was no sign of sexual or physical assault. Because there wasn¡¯t much sunlight, I couldn¡¯t use the Autopsy Umbre, so I sprinkled seaweed ash on the victim¡¯s body instead and gently blew it off. Sure enough, only the victim¡¯s own fingerprints were found.


    I went into the tiny room and found that her clothes were strewn on the narrow bed. From there, I found two identification documents¡ªa student ID and a cafeteria pass. The victim¡¯s name was Xiaoli, and she was indeed the hardworking girl the cook talked about earlier.


    I scanned the room with my Cave Vision and something under the bed caught my eye. I knelt down and stretched out my hand to pick it up. There was an empty injection vial with no descriptions on it. Next to it was an empty syringe.


    I went out and showed them to Bingxin, and she asked me, ¡°Are you going to take it back and test it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll need to know what to test it for first,¡± I replied. ¡°We should probably investigate more for now.¡±


    ¡°From the position and angle of the needle wound,¡± remarked Bingxin, ¡°it looks like the victim injected the poison herself. Maybe it is suicide after all?¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case,¡± I argued, ¡°then she¡¯s chosen a very painful death indeed. Why not choose a poison that kills her faster? If you look at the victim¡¯s posture, you can clearly see that she was struggling to open the door but copsed to the ground before she could do it. Also, if you look at the buttons on her shirt, they¡¯ve clearly been torn off even though it looks like she took off the clothes herself. Why was she so anxious to take off her clothes?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps she had a high fever?¡± Bingxin suggested.


    I picked up the clothes and smelled them. Some poisons would indeed cause high fever, and if that was the case, the victim would sweat. But there were no signs of sweat on the clothes at all.


    ¡°No,¡± I told Bingxin. ¡°We can rule that out.¡±


    ¡°Show me the vial,¡± said Bingxin.


    I gave it to her and she scrutinized it under the light for a few minutes.


    ¡°Song Yang-gege! There¡¯s some ck residue in here!¡±


    I froze. An idea popped up in my mind. I pulled out the victim¡¯s student ID and showed it to Bingxin.


    ¡°Do you think this girl is pretty?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°Yeah... I guess so,¡± she answered. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve identified the poison that caused the victim¡¯s death. I¡¯ll give you a hint¡ªit starts with the letter B.¡±


    ¡°Ooh, is this a test?¡± Bingxin chirped. ¡°Hmm... let me think. It starts with the letter B... Benadryl? Benzocaine? Buprenorphine? No, those poisons won¡¯t dissolve the muscles or the brain...¡±


    I was indeed trying to test Bingxin to see how knowledgeable she was. She was quite impressive, because she went on to name a dozen poisons in a short period of time, some of which I¡¯d never even heard of. It looked like she had a strong grasp in toxicology.


    As Bingxin was still deep in thought, Dali finally found an opportunity to interrupt us.


    ¡°Maybe shemitted suicide with a snake venom like Cleopatra did!¡± he proposed.


    ¡°Did you see a snake anywhere in the room?¡± I snapped.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right!¡± cried Bingxin. ¡°Silly me! You even hinted at it when you asked me if the girl was pretty!¡±


    She picked up the student ID again and examined the victim¡¯s picture for a while.


    ¡°Yes, I can see it now!¡± she eximed. ¡°It¡¯s Botulinum toxin!¡±


    ¡°Bingo!¡± Iughed.


    ¡°What the hell is that?¡± Dali asked.


    ¡°Botox!¡± exined Bingxin. ¡°Girls like the victim would be familiar with it. It¡¯s used to reduce wrinkles in the face!¡±


    Botox was a neurotoxin that could dissolve proteins. It was precisely because of this feature that it was widely used in the cosmetics industry. But what most people might not know was that it was also the most acutely lethal toxin known to modern science! It was once used as a biochemical weapon by the military until its use was explicitly prohibited in the Geneva Conventions.


    One milligram of Botox could kill 200 million mice, but the amount of Botox used in stic surgery clinics was extremely small that it was absolutely impossible to reach the lethal dose. Nevertheless, it was not umon to hear of movie stars suffering from facial nerve paralysis and nerve cramps due to Botox injections.


    Botox was a toxin produced by a species of anaerobic bacteria called Clostridium botulinum. The bacteria would not survive once exposed to oxygen-rich air. That was why when Bingxin pointed out that there was ck residue in the vial, my suspicions were aroused.


    The victim probably tried to inject the Botox into her leg to make them thinner and firmer, but she then noticed that her muscles were rapidly dissolving, so she hastily undressed to check what was going on. Botulinum toxin invaded the brain immediately after entering the bloodstream, making the victim unconscious. This meant that she didn¡¯t have time to reach the door to call out for help before she copsed to the floor and never got up again.


    The bacteria continued to multiply in her body even after her death, and in only half a day all her muscles and her brain had turned into mush!


    ¡°The victim probably couldn¡¯t afford to get Botox injections by a licensed medical professional,¡± Bingxinmented. ¡°She must¡¯ve bought cheap Botox online, which led to her tragic death. Song Yang-gege, this was just a case of idental death, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I answered. ¡°It¡¯s a carefully nned murder!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Bingxin was startled.


    I raised the vial and said, ¡°You can even notice the ck residue with the naked eye, which meant that there was so much Botox in it that it far exceeded the lethal dose. No merchant would be so unscrupulous and so stupid to let that happen unless they were a terrorist organization! I think the vial must¡¯ve been tampered with, which means that someone wanted the victim dead!¡±


    ¡°That makes sense,¡± Bingxin nodded. ¡°What should we do next?¡±


    ¡°Protect the crime scene and wait for the police!¡± I then turned to the still unconscious cook and told Dali, ¡°Can you help me wake him up? I have some questions to ask him.¡±

 Chapter 138

    <h4>Chapter 138</h4>


    I went on to ask the cook a few questions. It was his first time being questioned by the police, so he was very nervous and kept nervously insisting that he had nothing to do with the murder.


    ording to him, Xiaoli was very self-conscious about her looks. She would always worry about her face looking too fat, her legs not being skinny enough or her hands looking too wrinkly. She would often spend a significant chunk of her money on beauty products.


    But Xiaoli¡¯s family was very poor. She had to work here part-time while she studied for the past two years. Once, the cook noticed that her face had be thinner and asked her what she had done. She proudly replied that she had found a ¡®magic potion¡¯¡ªcheap Botox from the inte.


    One vial of Botox sold online cost about two hundred yuan, while an injection at a stic surgery clinic would cost thousands of yuan. Xiaoli was a medical student, so she could easily get herself an injection needle. The problem was, the habit of getting Botox injections became addictive, and she ended up spending most of her money on it and resorting to eating instant noodles every day. This worried the cook, and he would often set some food aside just for her and advised her not to get too carried away with the Botox. But Xiaoli merelyughed it off and quipped that he didn¡¯t understand anything.


    I kept observing the cook with my Cave Vision as he was speaking to make sure that he wasn¡¯t lying.


    Bingxin sighed.


    ¡°Usually,¡± she said, ¡°when a woman goes to extreme lengths to beautify herself, chances are she¡¯s head over heels in love with someone.¡±


    ¡°That person is definitely not me!¡± the cook quickly denied. ¡°I have nothing to do with this!¡±


    ¡°Does she have a boyfriend?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± answered the cook.


    ¡°What about someone she likes?¡±


    The cook contemted about it for a while, then answered, ¡°It did look like she had a crush on someone. I don¡¯t know who it was, though. Maybe you can ask her ssmates.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± I told him. ¡°Thank you for your cooperation. I guess that¡¯s all I have to ask you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee, Officer,¡± he replied. ¡°By the way... Could you move the body out of here? You see, I still have some cooking to do...¡±


    ¡°You should probably go home for the day,¡± I said. ¡°This is now a murder scene and it must be cordoned off for at least a few days. I¡¯ll talk to the college administrationter.¡±


    The cook was ted when he heard that he could rest for the day and left straight away. This man clearly had nothing to do with the murder case, so there was no point in making him wait for the police to question him.


    We then went outside and waited for the police to arrive. Our food had been cleared off from the table, so Bingxin ordered some light snacks for us, but none of us had any appetite, especially Dali who was still disturbed by the sight of the corpse.


    Soon, the sound of sirens approached us. Xiaotao arrived with a group of police officers.


    ¡°What kept you so long, Xiaotao?¡± I asked. ¡°I finished examining the dead body a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°We were working on another case when you suddenly called,¡± she answered. ¡°Plus, traffic is terrible at this hour.¡±


    Her eyes then turned to Bingxin, and she asked, ¡°Who is she?¡±


    Bingxin introduced herself, and Xiaotao¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°You¡¯re Director Sun¡¯s daughter?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t refer to me as ¡®Director Sun¡¯s daughter¡¯!¡± Bingxinined. ¡°I¡¯m my own person! I heard Song Yang-gege call you Xiaotao, so you must be the Huang Xiaotao that my dad always talks about. He often praises you for being a courageous officer and a good leader.¡±


    ¡°Ah... your father is too kind!¡± Xiaotao replied with a big grin on her face. It must be gratifying to learn that your superior officer often bragged about you.


    I briefly summarized the circumstances of the case and the conclusion from my autopsy. Xiaotao smiled and told me, ¡°Wow, you¡¯ve saved us a lot of time! You know, I used to say you should be a police officer, but now I think it¡¯s better that you aren¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°Because if you were, you¡¯d put lots of other police officers out of work!¡±


    We bothughed. Then Bingxin suddenly interjected, ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie, are you in a rtionship with Song Yang-gege?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Xiaotao denied while frantically shaking her head. ¡°We¡¯re just... colleagues!¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Bingxin replied, her hand resting on her chest. ¡°That¡¯s okay then!¡±


    Xiaotao furrowed her brows when she heard that.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Um... nothing!¡± Bingxin blushed and evaded Xiaotao¡¯s eye contact.


    Xiaotao ordered a few police officers to collect the evidence on the scene and sent others to Xiaoli¡¯s dorm to investigate further about the victim¡¯s social interactions. Then she turned to me andmented, ¡°I have a bad feeling about this. There have been three poisoning cases in a row in the past few days.¡±


    I found out that the case that she was working on was a poisoning case too. The victim in that case was a young businesswoman. The poison used was cyanide. Xiaotao didn¡¯t call for my help as it was a straightforward case and she was worried that I would not be interested in it. Nevertheless, the poisoning method used in that case was slightly more ¡®ingenious.¡¯


    The victim of that case suffered from a digestive system ailment and she had to take medicine for it every day. The murderer tampered with her medicine and encased the poison in a thick capsule, which caused the victim to die of poisoning three hours after ingesting it.


    She had just heard of the condom poisoning case led by Captain Xing. And now, I just encountered a case of Botox poisoning. That added up to three cases of poisoning in less than a week!


    ¡°Was the businesswoman beautiful?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she replied while staring at me with narrowed eyes. ¡°She¡¯s a long-haired beauty¡ªexactly what your ideal woman would look like!¡±


    As she said so, her eyes darted to Bingxin for a split second. Bingxin didn¡¯t notice it, but she excitedly chirped, ¡°Is that what you like, Song Yang-gege?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t believe her!¡± I denied. ¡°She¡¯s talking nonsense!¡±


    We went on to discuss the case further, and I finally concluded, ¡°All three victims of these poisoning cases were young and beautiful women. I think we might be looking after the same murderer here.¡±


    Xiaotao nodded in agreement.


    ¡°I¡¯ve done a thorough investigation on the victim in my case and found that she had made no apparent enemies,¡± Xiaotao stated. ¡°We might have a serial killer on our hands here. Nanjiang City has been calm for a while, but the tide is surging again. I¡¯m going to go back to the station to establish a task force now. You shoulde too, Song Yang!¡±


    ¡°I want to go too! I want to go too!¡± Bingxin shouted excitedly.


    ¡°Miss Sun,¡± Xiaotao interrupted her, ¡°let the police handle the case. You¡¯re just a college student right now. You should leave it to us.¡±


    ¡°But isn¡¯t Song Yang-gege a college student too?¡± Bingxin argued.


    ¡°He¡¯s not just a college student,¡± Xiaotao shot back. ¡°He¡¯s our special consultant.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m not just a college student either! My expertise is in toxicology, and I¡¯m the best at drug testing in my ss! I¡¯ll be useful in the investigation!¡±


    ¡°Xiaowang, take her away. This student is causing trouble at the crime scene.¡±


    An officer came over and tried to take Bingxin away, but she threatened, ¡°Do you know who I am?¡±


    The officer stuttered, ¡°You¡¯re... you¡¯re Director Sun¡¯s daughter.¡±


    ¡°Then go ahead and take me away if you dare!¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Xiaotao said. ¡°I¡¯ll take you away myself!¡±


    Xiaotao grabbed Bingxin¡¯s arm and pulled her out of the cafeteria. Bingxin turned around and shouted, ¡°Song Yang-gege, what¡¯s your number!¡±


    I sighed and felt conflicted about what to do. Xiaotao seemed to be really angry this time.


    She ordered the police at the police line not to let Bingxin enter. When she returned, she sneered at me saying, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in a couple of days and you¡¯re already causing trouble!¡±


    ¡°Listen to me,¡± I told her. ¡°We¡¯re just friends! We knew each other since we were little. We¡¯re like brother and sister, that¡¯s all!¡±


    Xiaotao snorted, ¡°Judging by the way she calls you ¡®Song Yang-gege¡¯ every two minutes, I bet you two must be really close indeed!¡±


    ¡°Looks like someone¡¯s jealous!¡± Dali whispered.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Xiaotao snapped. ¡°Do you want me to chase you out too?¡±


    Dali mmed up immediately.


    After all the evidence at the murder scene was collected, we returned to the police station. As we passed by the medical school, I wondered if I should find a way to give Bingxin my number, but I wouldn¡¯t want to risk raising Xiaotao¡¯s ire at the moment.


    Xiaotao ignored me the entire way there, and the atmosphere in the car grew cold and tense. To our surprise, the first thing we saw when we reached the station was Bingxin stepping out of a police car.


    ¡°I¡¯m back!¡± Bingxin eximed. ¡°Aren¡¯t you surprised?¡±


    ¡°Who brought her here?¡± Xiaotao shouted angrily.


    ¡°I called Uncle Wang to give me a ride to the police station!¡± Bingxin announced. The Uncle Wang she referred to was Wang Yuanchao, of course. ¡°He¡¯s known me since I was a little girl! Now you can¡¯t get rid of me!¡±


    Xiaotao gritted her teeth and muttered, ¡°Let¡¯s see about that. I¡¯m calling Sun Tiger now!¡±

 Chapter 139

    <h4>Chapter 139</h4>


    Bingxin waved her hands frantically and begged, ¡°Please don¡¯t do that, Xiaotao-jiejie! I promise I¡¯ll do whatever you ask me, just please don¡¯t tell my dad!¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°Then I¡¯ll ask you to go home now.¡±


    Bingxin pouted like a petnt child.


    ¡°But I want to solve the case with you!¡± she argued. ¡°My dad is a police officer, and all my uncles and aunts are police officers too! Yet no one will let me join the police force! I really want to solve a murder case and catch the bad guys! Just like Song Yang-gege!¡±


    Tears welled up in her eyes. I could see that her ims were sincere. Ipletely understood her feelings and the predicament that she was in, so I sympathized with her.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you let her help us, Xiaotao?¡± I suggested. ¡°She¡¯s an expert in toxicology. Her knowledge mighte in handy.¡±


    Xiaotao heaved a long sigh.


    ¡°Fine,¡± she said. ¡°You cane with us. But you must always obey my orders, understood? One misstep and I¡¯ll call your father immediately!¡±


    Bingxin raised her hands and cheered, ¡°Awesome! Xiaotao-jiejie, you¡¯re a beautiful woman inside and out!¡±


    ¡°Enough talking,¡± Xiaotao replied, unimpressed. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Back at the police station, I first went to see the businesswoman¡¯s body. It was just as Xiaotao described. The coroner had removed her internal organs for further testing, so there was nothing left that I could do.


    A task force was quickly formed, and Captain Xing¡¯s case was brought under the team too. We all gathered in arge conference room for a meeting. Xiaotao pinned the photos of the three victims on the board and said, ¡°The first victim was a businesswoman, the second was a model, and the third was a college student. They never crossed paths or interacted with each other in any way. The only thing they had inmon was the fact that they were young and beautiful. That, and they were all poisoned to death. Anyone have any ideas about these three cases?¡±


    ¡°Did Captain Xing acquire the surveince video from the hotel?¡± I asked.


    ¡°He did,¡± Xiaotao nodded. ¡°The video confirms that a cleaner entered the murder scene between 9 am and 10 am. This must be the murderer. However, the hotel informed us that no staff on their record ever went near the room at that time. The murderer was probably under a disguise and snuck into the room when no one was paying attention.¡±


    Xiaotao ordered a police officer to y the surveince video on the projector. Unfortunately, the video was very grainy and the murderer was wearing thickyers of clothing, making it impossible to tell if it was a male or female. This brought us back to square one.


    Because the investigation was still in its initial stage, everyone expressed their opinions and theories freely. Some people thought that since all the victims were young and beautiful women, the murderer must be a man, and the motivation for murder could be rejection to the murderer¡¯s romantic propositions.


    Many agreed with this opinion. Some suggested that if this was the case, we might be able to find someone all the victims hade into contact with from the socialwork, which could be a good starting point to start our investigation.


    It was Bingxin¡¯s first time in a police task force meeting. She seemed very excited and listened to everyone¡¯s opinions intently.


    ¡°The three murders involved the use of three different poisons,¡± Wang Yuanchao stated. ¡°This strongly suggests that the murder has solid medical knowledge and has easy ess to a number of drugs. We should probably investigate the major hospitals in the city.¡±


    Many people nodded in agreement. Xiaotao assigned a few officers to the task of investigating the hospitals in Nanjiang City. However, there were many hospitals, and this line of investigation would probably take quite some time to produce results.


    ¡°Song Yang, do you think you can use Triple Divination with this case?¡±


    ¡°Triple Divination?¡± Bingxin asked with surprise. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you talked about in one of your stories?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I replied. ¡°But unfortunately, I can¡¯t use that technique with this case. There¡¯s just not enough information about the murderer yet.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s too bad,¡± Xiaotao chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I realize that I¡¯ve be ustomed to asking you for help. I guess we¡¯ll have to rely on legwork this time. The three of you can go back now.¡±


    ¡°Is the meeting over already?¡± asked Bingxin disappointedly.


    ¡°Yes,¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°Just leave the investigation to the police for now.¡±


    ¡°But, Xiaotao-jiejie,¡± Bingxin continued, ¡°which hospitals did you assign the officers to investigate?¡±


    Xiaotao listed the names of the hospitals, which basically included all the major hospitals in Nanjiang City.


    ¡°I knew you¡¯d miss one!¡± eximed Bingxin,ughing. ¡°You forgot the university hospital where I study!¡±


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re right!¡± cried Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll have to go there myself!¡±


    ¡°Can you please bring us along?¡± begged Bingxin. ¡°It¡¯s on the way back to my dorm anyway.¡±


    Xiaotao thought about it for a while and reluctantly agreed. She knew that Bingxin was smart, and she was the director¡¯s daughter after all, so it wasn¡¯t worth the effort to try to keep Bingxin out of the investigation.


    So, the four of us got into Xiaotao¡¯s car and drove to the university hospital. It was in a rtively quiet part of town, about three blocks away from the medical school itself. It was not a well-known hospital in Nanjiang City. Bingxin remarked that it was actually an internship hospital for the medical students in her college, and most of the staff in the hospital specialized in research rather than medical practice. Generally, major surgeries were not performed in this hospital.


    It was the weekend that day, yet there were very few patients in the hospital. The first thing we did upon arrival was to investigate the hospital inventory. We went to the hospital storeroom where all the drugs were kept and Xiaotao asked for the records and the list of medicines as well as ess to the storeroom. In the face of the sheer variety and volume of medicines on the shelf, Xiaotao was overwhelmed and didn¡¯t know where to start. Luckily, Bingxin was there to help us. She rified that everything checked out ording to the inventory.


    Upon hearing this, it was an implicit agreement between all of us that this hospital had nothing to do with the murders.


    At that moment, Dali gasped out of a sudden and shouted, ¡°A ghost!¡±


    I was startled and turned towards the direction that he was pointing at. It turned out just to be a nurse who was taking medicine from the shelf. She had arge ck birthmark that almost covered half of the right side of her face.


    The nurse probably already suffered from low self-esteem due to the birthmark, and she quickly covered her face with her hands when she saw us. I scolded Dali for being so crude and apologized to the nurse profusely for Dali¡¯s reaction earlier.


    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault,¡± the nurse said timidly. ¡°I must¡¯ve startled you because I didn¡¯t make any noise when I came in.... You don¡¯t look like you work here.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Xiaotao exined. ¡°We¡¯re the police. We¡¯re investigating a case.¡±


    ¡°What case is it?¡± the nurse asked.


    Xiaotao showed her the photos of the victims and asked, ¡°Have you ever seen these women before?¡±


    The nurse nced at the pictures and answered, ¡°No, I¡¯m afraid not. Please excuse me. I¡¯ve got to rush back to work.¡±


    We then left the storeroom as well. Everyone wondered aloud about what we should do next, but I was silent and deep in thought.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Song Yang?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°That nurse,¡± I exined. ¡°When she said she¡¯d never seen the victims before, it looked like she was probably lying.¡±


    ¡°Probably? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Well... I couldn¡¯t tell if she was lying or if she was just nervous.¡±


    ¡°We should investigate it nevertheless,¡± Xiaotao insisted. ¡°Let¡¯s go check out her department.¡±


    We asked the storeroom administrator about the nurse. He informed us that her name was Qu Tingting. She worked in the gynecology department and everyone called her the blue-faced beast behind her back. He seemed to find this funny and burst outughing when he talked about it, but I saw that Xiaotao and Bingxin were both ring at him.


    ¡°Okay,¡± said Bingxin. ¡°Thanks for the information, Mr. Barcode!¡±


    The administrator was a middle-aged man whoseb-over hairstyle looked like a barcode. The nickname Bingxin gave him was just so apt and funny that Dali and I both couldn¡¯t hold in ourughter. The administrator¡¯s face was flushed with anger, and he spat, ¡°How can the police speak like that?¡±


    Bingxin grimaced and retorted, ¡°If you can belittle other people, then why is it not eptable for others to make fun of you? Isn¡¯t that a double standard?¡±


    ¡°You... you... I¡¯m going to lodge aint about you!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Xiaotao interrupted, trying to defuse the situation. ¡°She¡¯s new and inexperienced. I¡¯ll definitely give her a good talking toter.¡±


    We then excused ourselves and left the room. Once we were out, Xiaotao suddenly turned to Bingxin with a smile and praised her.


    ¡°I hate those men who make fun of girls for their physical defects!¡± Bingxin proudly proimed. Then she turned to me and said, ¡°But you¡¯re not like that at all, are you, Song Yang-gege?¡±


    ¡°Uh... you¡¯re right!¡± I stuttered awkwardly in reply. ¡°I always respect women!¡±

 Chapter 140

    <h4>Chapter 140</h4>


    We went to the gynecology department where Qu Tingting worked. Strangely, while the other departments were mostly empty, there was a long line of patients here waiting to see the doctor.


    I asked a woman in line who the doctor was here, and she impatiently replied, ¡°It¡¯s Dr. Cheng, of course! Haven¡¯t you heard of him? He¡¯s the most famous gynecologist in the country! I came from the suburbs early this morning just to see him!¡±


    ¡°Dr. Cheng?¡± asked Bingxin. ¡°You mean Dr. Cheng Yahui?¡±


    The woman nodded. Bingxin informed us that Cheng Yahui was also a lecturer at her college. He was a young doctor still in his thirties. He was also single, handsome and incredibly talented. The man had published many papers in reputable medical journals. While he used to work in a top hospital in the city, he was transferred here for some unknown reason. Still, since he was a famous doctor, his patients followed him no matter where he worked.


    ¡°Why would such a great doctor be transferred here?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Hey!¡± cried Bingxin. ¡°Are you saying that this is a lousy hospital?¡±


    ¡°Well...¡± I smiled wryly. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t deny that it¡¯s a step down from thest hospital he worked in, right?¡±


    Bingxin pursed her lips, but went on to exin, ¡°I heard some gossip about him having an affair with one of his patients. That woman was the wife of a powerful man, so when the scandal was exposed, the husband demanded that Dr. Cheng be punished. He had to resign from hisst position. I have a friend who had a crush on him, but when she found out about this, she waspletely heartbroken!¡±


    ¡°Ugh, I hate those kinds of scumbags!¡± cursed Xiaotao.


    At that moment, Qu Tingting came out from the doctor¡¯s office and called the name of the next patient to go in.


    ¡°There are too many people here,¡± stated Xiaotao. ¡°Let¡¯s just barge in!¡±


    We entered the doctor¡¯s office ahead of the patient, causing a wave ofints behind us.


    My first impression of Dr. Cheng was that he was indeed very handsome. He wore a pair of golden sses and seemed gentlemanly. When he saw us, he stood up in shock and asked, ¡°Which one of you is my patient?¡±


    His voice was smooth and alluring. My guess was that his loyal patients weren¡¯t merely impressed with his medical skills.


    In my hometown, there was a very beautiful nurse in themunity clinic who looked just like Lin Chi-ling. Because of her, some young men would visit the clinic every thirty minutes. Some even broke their own leg just for a chance to see her.


    ¡°We¡¯re the police,¡± Xiaotao announced, showing her badge. ¡°We¡¯re here to investigate a case.¡±


    Dr. Cheng made a gesture for us to take a seat. He rested his elbows on his desk and inteced his fingers after sitting down.


    ¡°How may I help you?¡± he calmly asked.


    Xiaotao showed him the photos of the three victims. When Dr. Cheng was looking at the photos, I noticed that Qu Tingting who was standing next to him looked a little nervous.


    ¡°They¡¯re my former patients,¡± stated Dr. Cheng. ¡°What happened to them?¡±


    Upon hearing this, I knew that we were on the right track.


    ¡°They¡¯re all dead!¡± Xiaotao answered.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Dr. Cheng, clearly shocked. ¡°Who did it?¡±


    ¡°We wouldn¡¯t be here asking you questions if we knew who did it,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°Were you... particrly close to them, Dr. Cheng?¡±


    He pushed up his sses and smiled.


    ¡°Surely you¡¯re not suspecting me, are you, Officer?¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry,¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°It¡¯s just a routine question.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re my patients. That¡¯s all there is to it.¡±


    I noticed that he moved his hands away from our sight and rested them on hisp. His ears turned slightly red too. He was clearly lying.


    ¡°Where do you live, Dr. Cheng?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t bought a house in this neighborhood,¡± he answered, staring at me with interest. ¡°So I¡¯m currently staying in the staff quarters. Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°If my guess is correct,¡± I sneered, ¡°I think a woman booked a room in a hotel near the medical school this morning, expecting you to join her, and that woman¡¯s name is Xiaowen!¡±


    ¡°How did you know?¡± Dr. Cheng was terrified. Then he realized what he just said and his voice changed drastically. ¡°That¡¯s a preposterous usation!¡±


    As expected, the model Xiaowen had clearly been expecting him in that room. But when he bailed on her, she called her rich boyfriend instead.


    Did he really not meet her this morning? I had some doubts about this.


    ¡°It looks like you¡¯re a very busy man,¡± I said. ¡°You don¡¯t even know about a murder case that happened not far from here. Xiaowen died this morning in that hotel room.¡±


    Dr. Cheng broke out in cold sweat.


    ¡°What does that have anything to do with me?¡± he argued. ¡°I admit that this patient was interested in me, but I never humored her. Is that illegal?¡±


    ¡°Where were you between 9 am and 10 am this morning?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    Dr. Chengughed. ¡°I¡¯ve been in this hospital all morning. I didn¡¯t even have time to go to the restroom! If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask Nurse Qu.¡±


    ¡°These three patients had been in an intimate rtionship with you!¡± I asserted.


    ¡°I will sue you for nder!¡± Dr. Cheng snapped. ¡°I take issues of professionalism seriously! I treat everyone who walks through that door with respect! The minute they walk out of my office, I cease to have anything to do with them!¡±


    ¡°Your professionalism?¡± I sneered. ¡°I wonder why you got fired from yourst position? I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get an answer if I ask around.¡±


    Dr. Cheng blushed.


    ¡°Is it right to hold a mistake that a man made in the past against him forever?¡± he retorted. ¡°I swear that I had nothing to do with these women apart from being their doctor. Xiaowen did have interest in me, but I never paid any attention to her. If you don¡¯t believe me, ask Nurse Qu!¡±


    He almost recited this sentence like a mantra. I looked over at Qu Tingting and she nodded silently.


    It seemed that Qu Tingting obeyed Dr. Cheng¡¯s everymand. She probably lied about never having seen the three victims before earlier to cover for Cheng Yahui. There was something fishy about this man for sure.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, officers,¡± said Dr. Cheng coldly. ¡°I¡¯m busy here. There are still many patients waiting for me outside.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll meet again, Dr. Cheng,¡± stated Xiaotao.


    ¡°You¡¯ll only be wasting both our times,¡± replied Dr. Cheng sternly.


    As we were about to leave, Bingxin suddenly rushed up to Dr. Cheng and shook his hands.


    ¡°Excuse me, Dr. Cheng!¡± she chirped. ¡°I just want to say that you really are as handsome as a movie star!¡±


    This was clearly not the first time Dr. Cheng had heard apliment of that nature.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he told Bingxin, his charm turned back on. ¡°You¡¯re pretty cute yourself.¡±


    ¡°Um... Would you mind giving me your number?¡± asked Bingxin in a sharine tone.


    Dr. Cheng gave her his business card, and Bingxin grabbed it immediately.


    ¡°By the way,¡± she added, ¡°I¡¯m not a police officer. I¡¯m a student at the nearby medical school. I merely followed my cousin here so I could meet you. Would you mind if Ie here and ask you some questions sometimes?¡±


    Dr. Cheng smiled, but stopped himself when he realized that we were still in the room.


    ¡°Only to ask questions, okay?¡± he said. ¡°Nothing else!¡±


    Bingxinughed merrily and thanked him. We then left the room.


    Once we were out, Dali muttered, ¡°I didn¡¯t know you liked this type of guy, Miss Sun.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t!¡± said Bingxin. ¡°I was just testing him!¡±


    ¡°Was that even necessary?¡± asked Dali. ¡°As soon as we entered the room, he was leering at you and Xiaotao-jiejie like a pervert!¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± nodded Xiaotao. ¡°I agree that there¡¯s something seriously wrong with that guy.¡±


    Bingxin handed Xiaotao the business card and asked her, ¡°Would this be helpful, Xiaotao-jiejie?¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°We¡¯ve still got much more to do. Still, that was pretty good acting back there! It¡¯lle in handy when you join the police force one day!¡±


    Bingxinughed heartily. It was quite a significantpliment seeing that it came from Xiaotao, who was a very good actress herself.


    ¡°There¡¯s one thing no one seemed to notice,¡± I mentioned. ¡°When Bingxin was acting all giddy in front of Dr. Cheng, Qu Tingting was ring at her as if she was thinking of killing her!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Bingxin waspletely startled.


    ¡°I had a hunch that she has a crush on Dr. Cheng,¡± Xiaotaomented with a frown. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if Dr. Cheng ever responded to her feelings for him, though...¡±


    Daliughed. ¡°Surely not! Dr. Cheng isn¡¯t blind! Why would he bother with the blue-faced beast? I mean, look at the victims! They¡¯re all incredibly hot!¡±


    Xiaotao and Bingxin both red at him angrily. Dali buried his head with great shame.


    ¡°All three victims were Dr. Cheng¡¯s patients,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°This can¡¯t be a coincidence. Assuming that he is the murderer, what could be his motive for killing those women?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps because he wanted to cover up his affairs with them?¡± Dali suggested.


    I thought that was a bit too far-fetched. We went on to discuss this, but none of us coulde up with a believable motive for Dr. Cheng¡¯s murders. Judging from Dr. Cheng¡¯s looks and character, it probably wasn¡¯t because the women rejected him either.


    Did the victims stumble upon some skeletons in his closet? Maybe he had a strange fetish that he didn¡¯t want the public to find out? Or perhaps an addiction?


    ¡°Regardless of his motives,¡± said Xiaotao, ¡°I¡¯ll assign some officers to watch Cheng Yahui¡¯s every move from now on.¡±

 Chapter 141

    <h4>Chapter 141</h4>


    My eyes fell on that business card and I eximed, ¡°I¡¯ve got an idea!¡±


    I called Lao Yao, who was now a consultant to the police just like me. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to carry his equipment around all the time, so he still worked in his dorm room as he did before.


    I briefly summarized the case to him. He listened to me intently without interrupting. When I finished, his first question was, ¡°How handsome is Dr. Cheng?¡±


    ¡°Not as handsome as you are,¡± I answered.


    Lao Yao chuckled for a good few minutes then cooed, ¡°You¡¯re teasing me, Little Song! So, how can I help you?¡±


    I gave him Dr. Cheng¡¯s email address from the business card and asked him to hack into it.


    ¡°What¡¯s my reward?¡± Lao Yao asked.


    ¡°But you¡¯re a consultant now,¡± I argued. ¡°Why do I still need to pay you?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t expect me to do you a favor without getting anything in return!¡± he said. ¡°Besides, I almost died in thest case and I wasn¡¯t given a single dime!¡±


    Although Li Wenjia¡¯s case had been solved, no rewards were given to anyone due to the sacrifice of so many police officers. There was only a solemn memorial service and no bonus was given. I should¡¯ve expected this kind of demand considering how much Lao Yao loved money.


    Xiaotao took the phone from my hand and asked Lao Yao, ¡°Hello, Lao Yao! Did you like the French facial oil that I gave you?¡±


    ¡°Oh, Xiaotao-jiejie!¡± cried Lao Yao gleefully. ¡°I loved it! My skin is so much softer and smoother now! But I already used it up a few days ago...¡±


    ¡°That facial oil was a limited edition,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°It¡¯s no longer sold anywhere else. How would you like a hand cream from New Zend instead? It¡¯s a confiscated smuggled product that¡¯s absolutely authentic and costs about 500 euros on the market.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thank you Xiaotao-jiejie!¡± cried Lao Yao. ¡°You¡¯ve been so kind and generous to me! I love you so much!¡±


    Xiaotao handed me back my phone and proudly said, ¡°That¡¯s what you get for being so greedy!¡±


    I admired her skills for handling Lao Yao endlessly. The New Zend hand cream she promised Lao Yao must be a cheap knockoff again. Xiaotao truly was Lao Yao¡¯s archnemesis.


    Xiaotao drove us back home. She dropped Bingxin off at her college first. As she got out of the car, she turned around and reminded Xiaotao to call her if there was any progress in the investigation. Once she was gone, Xiaotao snorted, ¡°You cheeky bastard!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand me,¡± I told her. ¡°We¡¯re just friends!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m worried about,¡± she said. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that she¡¯s Sun Tiger¡¯s only daughter. You should be careful not to expose her to any danger. How will you exin yourself to Sun Tiger if anything happens to her?¡±


    ¡°This will be thest case I bring her along,¡± I promised sincerely.


    Xiaotao clutched the steering wheel and grumbled, ¡°Hmph! I haven¡¯t seen you in just a few days and you¡¯re already causing trouble! I should probably buy a leash and cor and tie you up!¡±


    So it really was jealousy after all.


    ¡°You¡¯re not a sadist, are you?¡± I teased her. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in that S&M stuff, you know!¡±


    The next day, Lao Yao sent me an email. I forwarded it to Xiaotao as soon as I read through it.


    ¡°Lao Yao has done a great job again!¡± She texted me a few minutester. ¡°Can you ask him if he can figure out who sent the email?¡±


    The email in question was sent anonymously to Cheng Yahui. It contained only a few words, which basically informed Cheng Yahui that the sender was pregnant and that he was the father.


    This could point towards Cheng Yahui¡¯s motive for killing those women. He was probably afraid that the scandal would tarnish his reputation and cost him his job again, so he killed all the women that he had been in an intimate rtionship with. But if that was the case, Cheng Yahui turned out to be a much more dangerous man than I imagined!


    I asked Lao Yao if he could figure out who the sender was. He said that would be quite impossible, since the email was newly registered and the information of the person¡¯s identity from the records were obviously lies.


    I ryed this information to Xiaotao but she didn¡¯t reply. She was probably busy again. With nothing left to do, I decided to y League of Legends to kill time. But before I could start, I received a text from Bingxin that read, ¡°Your friend is so annoying, Song Yang-gege! He¡¯s been pestering me sincest night!¡±


    That exined why Dali had been lying in bed sincest night staring into his phone with a big smile on his face.


    ¡°Dali!¡± I yelled. ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m chatting with Bingxin, of course! I think she¡¯s interested in me, dude!¡±


    ¡°You idiot!¡± I cursed. ¡°She just texted meining about how you¡¯ve been annoying her sincest night!¡±


    ¡°No way!¡±


    Dali rolled down his bed and grabbed my phone to read Bingxin¡¯s message. It left him distraught.


    ¡°Ah...¡± he sighed. ¡°So I¡¯ve been misreading the signals all along...¡±


    ¡°What did you text her anyway?¡± I asked.


    Dali vehemently refused to let me look at his phone. I thought I¡¯d just have to ask Bingxin about itter.


    ¡°Dude, you¡¯ve gotta help me!¡± pleaded Dali. ¡°This will benefit you too, you know?¡±


    ¡°How can it possibly benefit me?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you see the look on Xiaotao-jiejie¡¯s face when you were with Bingxin?¡± he replied. ¡°As your friend, I¡¯m ready to sacrifice myself and woo Bingxin to save your rtionship with Xiaotao-jiejie!¡±


    Iughed. ¡°Sure. What a noble friend you are!¡±


    ¡°You know I am! Now hurry up and tell me what Bingxin¡¯s interests are! What¡¯s her hobby? When is her birthday?¡±


    I thought about it and replied, ¡°She doesn¡¯t have any particr hobby, but she likes to hear the stories about my ancestor Song Ci and the way he solved murder cases.¡±


    Dali slumped back onto his bed and crawled to hisptop. I asked him what he was doing now.


    ¡°I¡¯m downloading episodes of that TV show called Amazing Detective Di Renjie!¡± he replied. Minutester, I heard the theme song of the show which Dali had set as his ringtone.


    Seeing that he was busy with his ¡®research,¡¯ I yed League of Legends with Lao Yao instead. We spent the whole day ying the game till the sun went down, then called for take-out delivery for dinner when I got hungry. Looking back, my fourth year in college really was carefree.


    Early the next morning, Xiaotao called me and said in an urgent tone, ¡°Come over as soon as you can, Song Yang! The fourth victim has turned up!¡±


    I sprung up from bed as soon as I heard that and woke Dali up immediately. We then set off to the police station with my trusty bag of tools.


    True to her words, Xiaotao not only called me but she called Bingxin too. I bumped into her at the entrance of the police station. She was holding a tiny box in her hands. I asked her what it was.


    ¡°It¡¯s my secret weapon!¡± she answered with a grin.


    Bingxin hid behind me all the way as we walked into the police station for fear of bumping into her father.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you hide behind me, Bingxin-meimei?¡± offered Dali. ¡°My shoulders are wider than Song Yang¡¯s!¡±


    Bingxin grimaced and spat, ¡°No thanks! Also, you¡¯re not allowed to call me Bingxin-meimei! Only Song Yang-gege is allowed to call me that!¡±


    Dali looked hurt by thisment and shrank away quietly.


    Xiaotao was waiting for us at the entrance of the morgue.


    ¡°Excellent!¡± she eximed when she saw us. ¡°You¡¯re all here the minute autopsy was mentioned! If all the youths in our country are half as motivated as you are, then our country¡¯s future looks bright!¡±


    We entered the morgue and headed towards a metal table where the fourth victimy. Like the first three cases, the victim was a beautiful young woman. She was 27 years old and she worked as a bank employee. There were still traces of light makeup on her face. She looked peaceful as if she was just sleeping.


    She died the night before at a nightclub that she had the habit of going to after work. She fell asleep at the bar counter after drinking too muchst night. When the bar was closing at two in the morning, the bartender tried to wake her up, but when he looked closer, he realized that she was no longer breathing.


    1. A Chinese television .

 Chapter 142

    <h4>Chapter 142</h4>


    I examined the corpse and determined that the time of death was between nine to ten hours ago, which was consistent with the bartender¡¯s statement.


    I detected the smell of cigarettes and alcohol on the victim¡¯s body. I then used Organ Echolocation and found that all her internal organs were in normal condition except her lungs, which were especially hardened.


    I noticed yellow burnt marks on the victim¡¯s fingers and remarked, ¡°The victim had a habit of smoking cigarettes. Her lung fibers are practically rock hard!¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Xiaotao nodded. ¡°ording to her friends, she¡¯s a chain smoker and she usually smoked about thirty cigarettes a day.¡±


    ¡°Wow!¡± cried Bingxin. ¡°Your ears are even more sensitive than X-rays, Song Yang-gege!¡±


    I briefly exined the principles of Organ Echolocation to her and she was both fascinated and impressed by it.


    There were stains on the victim¡¯s chin and chest. When I pried open her mouth, I detected the smell of alcohol. The back of her teeth seemed to be corroded by stomach acid, which meant that she probably vomited not long before her death. It wasn¡¯t clear if that was caused by some kind of poison or if it was just because she was drunk.


    The victim¡¯s vomit would be an important piece of evidence. I asked Xiaotao about it and she said, ¡°It¡¯s been collected and the forensics team is testing it right now. So far nothing significant has been found.¡±


    ¡°Impressive!¡± eximed Bingxin. ¡°You even thought of such details...¡±


    ¡°Am I the only one who found it disgusting?¡± Dali interjected.


    We red at him in unison, and Dali bowed his head with great shame.


    In addition to the smell of alcohol, I detected some other smells too. I sniffed at the victim¡¯s mouth and nose and collected her nasal residues with some cotton swabs. I gave them to Dali and asked him to take it to Xiaozhou for testing. I suspected that chloroform would be found.


    As he was about to leave, I thought of another thing and stopped him. I pulled a bottle of chemicals from my bag and asked Dali to freeze the contents in the bottle into small ice cubes. I would be using itter.


    Bingxin and I put ontex gloves and we began to cut away the victim¡¯s clothes with scissors. I examined her whole body over and over again and finally found a needle puncture wound on her waist. Judging from the sign of bleeding, it should¡¯ve urred before the victim¡¯s death.


    I suspected the puncture wound was left by the murderer as the poison was injected into the victim¡¯s body, but it was too soon to tell. There was nothing left to do so I took off the gloves and waited.


    ¡°Was the victim one of Cheng Yahui¡¯s patients?¡± I asked Xiaotao.


    She nodded.


    ¡°We found her medical record at her house. She went to see Cheng Yahui three months ago.¡±


    Bingxin¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°This proves that the guy¡¯s definitely the murderer!¡± she eximed. ¡°But how did he kill the victimst night? Weren¡¯t the police monitoring him?¡±


    ¡°We were,¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°ording to the officers who shadowed him, he went to the same bar that the victim was foundst night. This man is getting more and more suspicious. I¡¯ve asked Yuanchao to bring him back to the station. Once you¡¯re done with the autopsy, we can go meet him in the interrogation room straight away!¡±


    ¡°Can I go too?¡± Bingxin asked eagerly.


    ¡°Sure,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°But the names of the interrogators must be recorded and then the document would have to be signed by Sun Tigerter. Are you sure you want toe?¡±


    ¡°Never mind...¡± replied Bingxin, all deted.


    At that moment, Dali burst into the room and shouted, ¡°Dude, they really did find chloroform in the victim¡¯s nasal residue!¡±


    ¡°What about the ice cubes?¡± I asked.


    He handed me an ice tray and said, ¡°Here you go. They¡¯re notpletely frozen yet, though.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good enough!¡±


    I put the gloves back on and picked out one of the ice cubes. I rubbed in around the puncture wound and the blood vessels under the skin began to appear. In addition to the red blood vessels, there were purple veins too.


    ¡°Wow!¡± Bingxin cried in surprise. ¡°What did you use to make the blood vessels appear?¡±


    ¡°A chemical that contains ephedrine,¡± I answered.


    Bingxin thought for a while andmented, ¡°That is clever, Song Yang-gege! Ephedrine constricts blood vessels and makes them more prominent. But why didn¡¯t you just use alcohol?¡±


    ¡°Alcohol can only constrict the blood vessels when its rapid evaporation cools the skin. How would it work on the cold skin of a corpse?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think of that!¡± eximed Bingxin after sticking out her tongue.


    I traced the ice cube along the purple vein. This was the path that the poison took to spread through the body. It ended on the chest and spread in a wider area there.


    ¡°The poison entered the victim¡¯s lungs,¡± I stated. ¡°Looks like the hardness of the lungs was due to lung failure, not excessive smoking. But what poison can cause this effect? Cyanide? Hydrocyanic acid? No, the symptoms don¡¯t match up... Carbon monoxide? No, that¡¯s a gas... Ricin? No...¡±


    Bingxin used a cotton swab to collect some blood from the puncture wound, then she said, ¡°I¡¯ll do some testing on it in theb next door. Let¡¯s see who finds out the answer first, Song Yang-gege!¡±


    ¡°Deal!¡± I said. ¡°Whoever loses has to treat the winner to a meal!¡±


    Bingxinughed. ¡°Then get ready to take me out for dinner, because I¡¯ll definitely beat you to it!¡±


    She then took her box and ran out.


    ¡°Do your best, Song Yang!¡± Xiaotaoughed. ¡°Don¡¯t lose to Miss Sun!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m actually not that confident this time...¡± I smiled wryly.


    Drug tests were my kryptonite, and right now, I just couldn¡¯t think of any poison that would match the victim¡¯s symptom. Still, I wouldn¡¯t just give up on myself. I examined the victim¡¯s body again, this time more thoroughly. I checked the victim¡¯s vagina too, which prompted Dali to ask, ¡°Why do you always check that part of the body, dude? It¡¯s almost like you enjoy it.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± I snapped. ¡°Some poisons are diuretic, which means I have to check the victim¡¯s residual urine.¡±


    However, this poison didn¡¯t seem to have a diuretic effect at all. Not only that, but there were just no other signs throughout the body at all. This made me worry. I no longer cared about winning the bet with Bingxin. I just hoped that she could figure out the answer as soon as possible.


    Suddenly, Bingxin burst through the door with stic goggles resting on her head. She smelled of some chemicals.


    ¡°I¡¯ve figured it out, Song Yang-gege!¡± she shouted.


    ¡°Oh my god!¡± cried Dali. ¡°You actually lost to her, dude!¡±


    ¡°My specialty is in autopsy,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not good at drug testing at all. Tell me the answer, Bingxin!¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you guess what it is? The name starts with an ¡®N.¡¯¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be here all day if you wait for me to guess the right answer.¡±


    ¡°Come on, Song Yang-gege!¡± she insisted. ¡°You must know. It¡¯s Dad and Uncle Wang¡¯s favorite poison!¡±


    I suddenly had an epiphany.


    ¡°Nicotine!¡± I cried.


    ¡°Correct!¡± Bingxin eximed while pping her hands. ¡°It¡¯s nicotine at a concentration that¡¯s high enough to kill!¡±


    ¡°Clever!¡± I remarked. ¡°Very clever!¡±


    Bingxin blushed.


    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, Song Yang-gege!¡± she mumbled. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t said that the poison spread in the lungs, I wouldn¡¯t have thought of it myself...¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t mean you,¡± I replied. ¡°I was talking about the killer.¡±


    Bingxin¡¯s expressions turned sullen immediately. Xiaotao covered her mouth and tried to hold inughter. Only then did I realize that I¡¯d spoken without thinking again.


    Fortunately, Bingxin was a cheerful girl. Her expressions soon returned to normal.


    ¡°Why did you say the killer is clever, Song Yang-gege?¡±


    ¡°Well, think about it,¡± I said. ¡°The businesswoman had a stomach problem, so the killer poisoned her medicine. The student loved to beautify herself, so the killer tampered with the Botox. The model was promiscuous, so the killer poisoned the condom. And now, the fourth victim was a chain smoker, so the killer poisoned her with nicotine! The killer obviously has a meticulous and cunning mind!¡±


    ¡°My lecturer once said that anything can be poisonous,¡± said Bingxin. ¡°The only thing that differentiates something from being toxic and non-toxic is the dosage. Even salt and sugar can kill us if consumed excessively. I think the killer must have deep knowledge in pharmacology and toxicology. With slight adjustments in the dosage, the killer turned Botox and nicotine into murder weapons!¡±


    I nced at the victim. If it wasn¡¯t for the puncture wound on her waist, her cause of death might¡¯ve never been found. After all, further testing would only show that there were high levels of nicotine in her lungs, which checked out with her history of being a chain smoker.


    I couldn¡¯t help but feel for the murderer. These murders were so close to being perfect crimes!

 Chapter 143

    <h4>Chapter 143</h4>


    ¡°Should we investigate the pregnant woman¡¯s identity?¡± I asked Xiaotao.


    Bingxin and Dali were puzzled. They hadn¡¯t heard of the information that Lao Yao had found, so I exined it to them briefly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s necessary at this point,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who got pregnant. What matters is who killed those women! The suspect will arrive soon. Let¡¯s go wait for him in the interrogation room.¡±


    Xiaotao and I went into the interrogation room while Bingxin and Dali watched from the one-way mirror outside. It didn¡¯t take long until we heard a loud noise approaching us. It was Cheng Yahui¡¯s voiceing from the hallway.


    ¡°You are infringing upon my rights!¡± he was yelling. ¡°I want mywyer!¡±


    He was in handcuffs and his hair was disheveled when the police dragged him into the interrogation room. He was shoved onto a chair across the desk. Xiaotao shined the light at his face and said, ¡°I told you we¡¯d meet again.¡±


    Cheng Yahui was blinded by the light, so he covered his eyes with a hand.


    ¡°I refuse to answer any of your questions!¡± he insisted. ¡°I want mywyer!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll get yourwyer,¡± Xiaotao responded. ¡°But ording to Article 96 of the Criminal Procedure Law, a criminal suspect has the right to ask for awyer after the first interrogation. You have the right to speak to yourwyer, but only after you¡¯ve answered our questions.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m not a criminal suspect!¡± Cheng Yahui shouted. ¡°Stop fooling around, Officer! You have no proof that I did anything wrong!¡±


    ¡°Where were you from 9pm to 11pmst night?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°At home!¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± asked Xiaotao. ¡°But the bartender at the bar called Mars gave a statement saying that you were with a woman who was once your patient at the barst night.¡±


    Cheng Yahui nodded, then finally calmed down. ¡°Yes, I did meet with her. But we were only discussing her health issues. What¡¯s wrong with that?¡±


    ¡°Well, Dr. Cheng,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°She¡¯s dead!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± cried Cheng Yahui, his jaw dropped. ¡°Impossible! She was finest night!¡±


    I checked his expressions and found that his reactions were genuine. This was very strange indeed. Was he not the murderer after all?


    I pretended to jot down some notes, but in fact, I was writing the words, ¡°He¡¯s not lying.¡± I showed it to Xiaotao, and she was shocked.


    Xiaotao then asked him about the email. Cheng Yahui froze for a moment and replied, ¡°I have no idea who sent that email!¡±


    ¡°How many women did you have an intimate rtionship with in thest three months?¡± Xiaotao continued asking.


    He was dead silent. He insisted that he¡¯d never been involved with his patients before. Xiaotao mmed the table and shouted, ¡°Stop lying, Cheng Yahui! You do know that it¡¯s illegal to lie during interrogation, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Cheng Yahui gritted his teeth. His shoulders cked and his expressions were downcast.


    ¡°I slept with five patients...¡± he finally admitted.


    We weren¡¯t surprised by this answer at all. He went on to say that being a gynecologist made it easier to inquire about the private lives of his patients. Once they began to divulge private details, his patients would warm up to him quicker, making them easy targets for his seduction.


    Even after being forced to resign from hisst position in a top hospital, Cheng Yahui¡¯s old habits didn¡¯t change. He was never out of women to sleep with, and when he got bored of them, he just moved on to new targets. He never considered settling down and marrying anyone, because what was the point of tying himself to one woman?


    Cheng Yahui¡¯s face beamed with conceited pride as he spoke, but Xiaotao was gnashing her teeth, barely able to contain her disgust. I was genuinely worried that she might pick up themp and hurl it at Cheng Yahui.


    ¡°Stop changing the subject!¡± Xiaotao mmed the table angrily. ¡°Who are the five women that you slept with?¡±


    Cheng Yahui listed the five women¡¯s names. In addition to the four victims, there was another woman named Amy who was a florist.


    ¡°Did you never wear protection when you had sex with these women?¡± I asked.


    Cheng Yahui shrugged and answered, ¡°Why would I do a boring thing like that? It¡¯s like wearing socks when you¡¯re trying to wash your feet¡ªpointless!¡±


    ¡°But what if someone gets pregnant?¡± I argued. ¡°Won¡¯t your life be ruined?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just take them to an abortion clinic then!¡±ughed Cheng Yahui. ¡°I¡¯m a doctor myself, so I know exactly where to take them. That medical student went through two abortions, and she¡¯s still head over heels in love with me! Why would I worry about such a trivial matter? These women are just ythings to me, so why would I concern myself over them?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re in need of a serious beating, Cheng Yahui,¡± Xiaotao uttered grimly.


    ¡°I warn you,¡± he quickly retorted. ¡°It is against thew to force a confession by torture.¡±


    ¡°You misunderstood me,¡± Xiaotao argued. ¡°I¡¯m not going to beat you to force a confession. You just piss me off, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps we started off on the wrong foot, Officer,¡± he snorted. ¡°I believe that if we¡¯d met under normal circumstances, you would have found me very charming indeed.¡±


    Xiaotao shot up to her feet so violently that her chair fell to the side. Cheng Yahui cowered in fear and shouted, ¡°What are you doing to me?¡±


    ¡°Calm down!¡± I reminded Xiaotao. ¡°The police can¡¯t just hit a civilian!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right!¡± echoed Cheng Yahui.


    ¡°But I¡¯m not a police officer,¡± I interjected. ¡°Let me beat him for you instead.¡±


    Xiaotao handed me a truncheon and ordered, ¡°Smash this bitch¡¯s knuckles and make sure he learns his lessons!¡±


    Before I did anything, Cheng Yahui squealed like a pig. I raised the truncheon and yelled, ¡°Did you ever consider that the victims had family who love them when you murdered them?¡±


    ¡°I never killed anyone!¡± he cried. ¡°I¡¯ve never even killed a fly!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± I shouted in anger. ¡°Your semen was found on the model¡¯s body!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± he argued. ¡°I asked her toe over for a threesome and she got angry at me. I didn¡¯t touch her at all yesterday!¡±


    ¡°Threesome?¡± I asked. ¡°With who?¡±


    ¡°Amy!¡±


    It turned out that Cheng Yahui had been in a hotel room with the florist yesterday morning. The model was waiting for him toe over to another hotel room, but when Cheng Yahui shamelessly asked her to join him and Amy for a threesome, she refused and called her rich boyfriend instead.


    In that case, Cheng Yahui had the perfect alibi. He could not have been the murderer.


    I sat back in my chair and asked, ¡°So why did you lie and say that Qu Tingting could prove that you were in the hospital that morning?¡±


    ¡°Because I couldn¡¯t admit to something like that to the police! And besides, Nurse Qu would say anything I want her to!¡±


    ¡°Is Qu Tingting one of your lovers too?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°Are you insulting me?¡± heughed. ¡°Why would I even go near that woman? It¡¯s not like I have any trouble finding a hot girl to sleep with!¡±


    I heard amotion outside. Someone was banging on the door.


    ¡°Don¡¯t stop me!¡± shouted Dali. ¡°I¡¯m going in there to teach this son of a bitch a lesson!¡±


    Judging from what I¡¯d seen and heard, Cheng Yahui was indeed not the murderer. I thought we were at an impasse at this point. I exchanged a look with Xiaotao and she told Cheng Yahui, ¡°Okay, you can go now.¡±


    Cheng Yahui leaned back in his seat and snickered, ¡°What do you think I am, your servant? You think you can drag me here whenever you like and tell me to leave just like that? I¡¯m going to sue you, and I¡¯m going to ask forpensation from the police for wasting my time and causing me trauma!¡±


    ¡°Oh, shut the fuck up and get lost!¡± snapped Xiaotao.


    ¡°Is that the attitude of a police officer? I¡¯ll definitely report this! Who¡¯s your superior officer?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I just say that I¡¯m not a police officer?¡±


    Cheng Yahui looked me up and down and asked, ¡°Then who the hell are you?¡±


    ¡°Just a student,¡± I answered.


    Cheng Yahui burst outughing and sneered, ¡°Ah, so you¡¯re just an intern!¡±


    ¡°I also happen to know a few gangster friends who can rough you up if I tell them to,¡± I told him.


    Cheng Yahui¡¯s expression changed drastically. He stood up and said, ¡°Get these handcuffs off me and I¡¯ll leave!¡±


    When Cheng Yahui walked out of the interrogation room, the group of people who were outside red at him. He saw Bingxin in the group of people and had the audacity to ask her, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here too? Why don¡¯t we have lunch togetherter?¡±


    Bingxin pped him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll sue all of you!¡± he yelled while nursing his cheek.


    Bingxin checked the palm of her hand and pretended to be surprised and eximed, ¡°Wow! What a big mosquito! It didn¡¯t bite you, did it?¡±


    Dali looked at her hand and echoed, ¡°Whoa! It¡¯s a giant mosquito!¡±


    The crowd went along with their act. Cheng Yahui was at a loss and didn¡¯t know how to respond, so he just stomped away. When he was gone, Bingxinughed heartily and cried, ¡°Serves him right!¡±


    To our surprise, trouble urred immediately after Cheng Yahui was gone. A police officer ran over in panic and reported, ¡°The doctor who was just here fainted downstairs!¡±


    All eyes turned to Bingxin. Her jaw dropped and she eximed, ¡°Was my p that powerful?¡±


    ¡°This could be bad for us!¡± yelled Xiaotao. ¡°Let¡¯s go see him now!¡±

 Chapter 144

    <h4>Chapter 144</h4>


    We went outside and saw Cheng Yahui lying on the ground. He was crouched in a fetal position and was still conscious, but he was writhing and groaning in pain.


    Xiaotao kicked him and said, ¡°Get up! You¡¯re trying to frame the police, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± I stopped her. ¡°It looks like he¡¯s been poisoned!¡±


    I pulled up his eyelids and checked his pupils. They were contracted, and his eyes were bloodshot¡ªthese were clear signs of poisoning. But who could poison him? He¡¯d been in police custody since morning!


    I told Dali to quickly get some soapy water to induce Cheng Yahui to vomit. Suddenly, Cheng Yahui clutched at my wrist and with much effort told me, ¡°My medicine... I left it in the interrogation room...¡±


    Xiaotao ordered an officer to check the interrogation room immediately. He then returned a few minutester with a bottle of medicine under the desk. It wasbelled as tranquilizer. No one dared to give Cheng Yahui the medicine. What if it ended up causing his death? That would cause the police immense trouble. The safest thing to do right now was to induce vomiting.


    But when Cheng Yahui saw the medicine, he almost frantically pleaded, ¡°Give it to me... I¡¯ll be in terrible pain if I don¡¯t take it...¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Xiaotao refused. ¡°We need to test it first.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± he yelled. His face was distorted by pain. ¡°Give me! Now!¡±


    I had a sudden epiphany of what was going on and grabbed the medicine from Xiaotao¡¯s hand and stuffed it into his mouth.


    ¡°What are you doing, Song Yang?¡± Xiaotao was in utter shock.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this is the antidote!¡±


    Less than a minuteter, Cheng Yahui recovered.


    ¡°Terribly sorry for that,¡± he said. ¡°I have neuralgia. If I don¡¯t take this medicine every once in a while, the symptoms will appear.¡±


    ¡°Who prescribed this medicine for you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I do it myself, of course,¡± he replied. ¡°I¡¯m a doctor after all.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re a gynecologist,¡± I argued. ¡°How would you know how to treat neuralgia?¡±


    ¡°Please!¡± Cheng Yahuiughed. ¡°I¡¯m a certified medical doctor! Why wouldn¡¯t I understand such a simple disease?¡±


    ¡°Nevertheless,¡± I frowned, ¡°could you please sit down and wait for a while? We¡¯d have to do some testing.¡±


    Cheng Yahui was hesitant, but there was nothing he could do. We asked for his urine samples and Bingxin tested both his urine and the medicine. After half an hour, Bingxin came out of theb and announced, ¡°I couldn¡¯t identify the ingredients in the medicine, but I found traces of atropine poison in his urine sample.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Yin and Yang poisoning!¡± I cried.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Xiaotao in confusion.


    ¡°It¡¯s a poisoning technique that my ancestor recorded,¡± I exined. ¡°You¡¯d put two substances in two different food dishes. If someone ate only one of those, they¡¯d be fine. It¡¯s only when both are eaten that the poison would take effect. You can also do the opposite¡ªby adding poison to one dish and the antidote in another. You could poison your guests by eating the same dishes with them and then save yourself by taking the antidoteter.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just like the synergistic and antagonistic effect that we learn in our toxicology ss,¡± Bingxin remarked. ¡°Sometimes two drugs can be poisonous when ingested together, or they can inhibit the other¡¯s effects, meaning one drug might turn the other drug into a harmless substance.¡±


    ¡°We would¡¯ve never figured this out if Cheng Yahui hadn¡¯t copsed here,¡± I said. ¡°The murderer must¡¯ve done this to Cheng Yahui, which means that the murderer is likely someone close to him!¡±


    When I put it that way, everyone had the same person in mind¡ªQu Tingting!


    We brought Cheng Yahui back into the interrogation room. He insisted again and again that he prescribed the medicine himself. Then I asked him, ¡°Who gets the medicine for you?¡±


    ¡°Nurse Qu,¡± he answered.


    ¡°What is Nurse Qu¡¯s educational background?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he said. ¡°Some nursing college, perhaps. I don¡¯t talk to her much.¡±


    Xiaotao waved her hand to let him leave. Everyone fell silent once he was gone. All of us had overlooked this blind spot. Qu Tingting was clearly the real culprit! Her motive was most likely jealousy.


    ¡°What are we waiting for?¡± Xiaotao suddenly shouted. ¡°Let¡¯s go catch the murderer!¡±


    We hurried to the university hospital, but Qu Tingting was already gone. All we could do was to ask the head nurse to call her.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± cursed Xiaotao with frustration. ¡°She must¡¯ve run away when she saw Cheng Yahui getting arrested! She must¡¯ve known that her whole plot would be exposed once Cheng Yahui was questioned.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the gynecology department,¡± I suggested.


    We went into Cheng Yahui¡¯s office. It was all neat and tidy except for a stack of papers on the desk. Xiaotao rummaged through the whole room and sighed, ¡°There¡¯s nothing here.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± I went to the desk, took a pencil, and smeared the whole piece of paper until a few lines of words gradually appeared.


    ¡°Dr. Cheng,¡± it said, ¡°I must leave now. I will be gone for quite a long time. I prepared the medicine for you. Please remember to take it. It won¡¯t be enough for long. When you run out, I will tell you the form for the antidote if youe and see me. Also, I have something important to tell you...¡±


    The words stopped after that. It seemed that Qu Tingting hesitated and tore off the paper at that point.


    ¡°She will be gone for quite a long time...¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°Is she going to turn herself in?¡±


    I thought for a while and suddenly realized something.


    ¡°There¡¯s no difference in the punishment received for killing four people as opposed to five people, is there?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No,¡± answered Xiaotao in shock. ¡°You¡¯d be sentenced to death in both cases. Wait, are you suggesting that she¡¯s going to kill that florist?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s very likely,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s go find her now! Maybe we can still save her life!¡±


    Xiaotao called the officers who were still at the station and asked for the florist¡¯s address. We immediately rushed there and was greeted by a beautiful young woman who asked us, ¡°How may I help you?¡±


    Dali stared at her with his jaw hanging low and his eyes bulging out.


    Xiaotao red at him and showed the woman her badge. Then she roughly exined the whole situation to her. At first, she vehemently denied any association with Cheng Yahui. She was happily married, she insisted. But when she heard that she might be killed, her tone changed and she reluctantly admitted to having an affair with Cheng Yahui.


    Xiaotao ordered a number of police officers to covertly surround the shop and we stayed in the shop under the guise of being her customers. The protection of the florist was not top priority¡ªwhat was more important was to lure the murderer out to her.


    The process of waiting was very boring. Bingxin looked around the shop and told me, ¡°Song Yang-gege, I really like this white rose. Why don¡¯t you buy me one?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re shameless, aren¡¯t you?¡± Xiaotao sneered at her.


    Bingxin stuck out her tongue at Xiaotao and replied, ¡°It¡¯s none of your business! I was just joking anyway!¡±


    ¡°Song Yang,¡± Xiaotao said to me, ¡°it¡¯s my birthday next month. I don¡¯t want you to spend too much money on the present, so a single red rose will do.¡±


    Bingxin was shocked and cried, ¡°Why would he buy you a red rose? Only boyfriends or husbands gift red roses! Don¡¯t you have anymon sense?¡±


    ¡°Who cares?¡± Xiaotao snorted. ¡°I like red roses and I want him to buy me one.¡±


    ¡°You... You¡¯re abusing your authority! My dad will hear about this!¡±


    ¡°Is that all you can do? Crying to your dad? How childish!¡±


    They stared each other down in anger. I was caught in the middle and it was getting really awkward.


    ¡°Maybe I can buy each of you a rose?¡± I suggested.


    ¡°No!¡± they both yelled.


    ¡°You guys really are police officers, aren¡¯t you?¡± asked the florist.


    ¡°That¡¯s rich,ing from you!¡± snapped Xiaotao. ¡°You and your messy private life!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I have any illusions about Dr. Cheng,¡± replied the florist. ¡°I never felt real affection for that bastard. My married life is just so dull that I have to find someone to relieve my boredom, that¡¯s all.¡±


    I was surprised at how openly she discussed the matter.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind if she finds me to relieve her boredom,¡± Dali whispered to me.


    The florist overheard that and winked at Dali and said, ¡°You look quite delicious, young man. You cane and chat with me whenever you¡¯re free!¡±


    Dali nodded eagerly and said, ¡°Sure! I¡ª¡±


    I cut him off with a loud cough and red at him.


    At around noon, the florist said, ¡°You¡¯ve all been working very hard. I¡¯ll order takeaways and we should all have lunch together!¡±


    ¡°Awesome!¡± cried Dali.


    Xiaotao red at him and told the florist, ¡°No, thank you. We¡¯re still on duty.¡±


    The florist then ordered takeaway for herself. Once the food arrived, she tore open the packaging and was about to devour her food when I shouted, ¡°Stop! Please let us check the food before you eat it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure the food is fine!¡± said the florist. ¡°I order their food every day, so I¡¯m sure they wouldn¡¯t do something so stupid like poisoning their own customer!¡±


    ¡°Today¡¯s different,¡± I insisted. ¡°Please let us check the food!¡±


    We took samples of the food. Sun Bingxin opened her little box and started testing them. After a while, she confirmed that the food was safe.


    ¡°Ah, now the food has gone cold!¡± the floristined.


    After finishing the meal, she was about to light a cigarette when I stopped her again and said, ¡°Wait! We have to check that too!¡±


    ¡°When will it end?¡± she sighed.

 Chapter 145

    <h4>Chapter 145</h4>


    The florist was done smoking and she pulled out a small bottle and spilled a few pills into the palm of her hand. She was just about to swallow them, but I stopped her immediately. She spread out her palm and said, ¡°It¡¯s just Vitamin C pills! I take them every day after a meal!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll have to check it.¡±


    The florist sighed.


    ¡°Seriously now!¡± she cried.


    She handed the pills to Bingxin, who tested them and confirmed that they were uncontaminated. Once cleared, the florist went ahead and swallowed the pills.


    ¡°Vitamin C is good for the skin,¡± Xiaotao remarked. ¡°You really do take good care of your body, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not just that,¡± the florist replied. ¡°I went to see Dr. Cheng for an illness a while ago, and he told me to take Vitamin C every day.¡±


    The moment I heard this, I panicked and shouted, ¡°Spit out the pills now!¡±


    The florist froze in shock. She uttered, ¡°What....¡±


    Then suddenly she clutched at her throat with her hands, her eyes rolled back, her mouth foamed, and she copsed to the floor.


    I asked Dali to quickly get some soapy water and inserted my fingers into her throat to induce vomiting. When someone got poisoned, their mouth would sometimes mp shut and my fingers were at risk of getting bitten, but there was no time to worry about that¡ªI had to save the florist¡¯s life!


    After a while, she finally vomited. I turned her over on myp so she could throw up the contents of her stomach better. At that moment, Dali returned with the soapy water. I poured it into her mouth to force her to vomit again and again.


    After that the florist was unconscious. I looked around and yelled, ¡°Dali, find some lilies. We can use that to detoxify her if you crush the flowers in some warm water!¡±


    Dali quickly fetched me the lily water and I fed it to the florist. Immediately, her breathing calmed down a bit. Xiaotao had by then called for the ambnce.


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it,¡± Bingxin said. ¡°How could Vitamin C be that poisonous?¡±


    ¡°Vitamin C on its own isn¡¯t poisonous,¡± I exined. ¡°But it can convert another substance into poison.¡±


    ¡°Arsenic!¡± cried Bingxin.


    To be precise, Vitamin C could convert arsenic pentoxide, which was fairly harmless, into arsenic trioxide, which was highly poisonous.


    Qu Tingting had proven to be extremely cunning. I¡¯d never encountered any criminal like her before. I also had a feeling that she¡¯d escaped far away by now.


    Fortunately, at least the florist¡¯s life would be safe. The ambnce arrived and took her away. Xiaotao turned to me and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid Qu Tingting has already fled...¡±


    ¡°The florist takes Vitamin C pills after her meals every day,¡± I said. ¡°The fact that she only got poisoned now meant that Qu Tingting must¡¯ve met herst night or this morning. Let¡¯s hope that she can provide us with some clues when she wakes up.¡±


    Xiaotao nodded, then said, ¡°I guess everyone¡¯s starving right now. Let¡¯s eat!¡±


    She then called Wang Yuanchao and ordered him to investigate Qu Tingting¡¯s background. We then stopped at a Chinese restaurant and had lunch there. As we were taking our seats, Bingxin hurried to my side and sat next to me, then turned to Xiaotao and grinned at her.


    ¡°Do you realize how ridiculous you are?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know, don¡¯t care!¡±


    ¡°Dude!¡± whispered Dali. ¡°How did you get so popr with the girls? Teach me your ways, Master!¡±


    I forced a smile in response. After their dispute at the florist, Bingxin probably figured out the rtionship between me and Xiaotao. I had no idea if Bingxin was just joking or if she was serious at that point, but in all cases, I felt very ufortable being caught in the middle like that!


    After the meal, we went to the hospital and waited until around five in the afternoon for the florist to wake up. When she did, she told us that a young woman had visited her shop this morning. She wore a hat and a mask. When she approached her and greeted her, the woman left immediately without saying a word.


    ¡°Did you eat or drink anything before and after the woman entered the shop?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I drank a cup of coffee by the windowsill,¡± the florist recalled. ¡°When I finished the coffee, I found some white particles at the bottom of the cup. I assumed it was sugar that didn¡¯t melt and didn¡¯t think much about it.¡±


    There was no doubt that the young woman was Qu Tingting, and that the particles in the florist¡¯s cup was arsenic.


    Xiaotao told the florist to take care and we all left the hospital.


    ¡°Where are we going next?¡± Bingxin asked.


    Xiaotao nced at her phone and said, ¡°Wang Yuanchao found Qu Tingting¡¯s address, but thendlord said she hasn¡¯t returned for a long time and that she owes him three months¡¯ worth of rent.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s strange,¡± Bingxinmented. ¡°Where would she stay if she didn¡¯t go back home?¡±


    ¡°Would the process of refining and synthesizing the poisons that she used create a strong smell?¡± I asked Bingxin.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she nodded. ¡°We usually need to turn on several air conditioners when we do experiments in theb.¡±


    ¡°I just realized why we didn¡¯t find anything missing when we checked the hospital inventory!¡± Iughed.


    ¡°Why?¡± Xiaotao and Bingxin asked simultaneously.


    ¡°Qu Tingting was very cautious and didn¡¯t take the drugs from the storeroom,¡± I exined. ¡°Instead, she took other chemicals and synthesized the drugs herself!¡±


    ¡°Which means that she must¡¯ve stayed at an isted ce where no one is around,¡± Xiaotao stated.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°Or the basement!¡±


    It was already gettingte, and Dali suggested calling it a day but no one agreed because Qu Tingting could flee far away in one night, and she might never be found again if nothing was done till tomorrow.


    ¡°Do you have any magical techniques to solve the case this time, Song Yang?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    I frowned and considered it for a while. I did actually have a solution in mind, but I was afraid that the method came with side effects that were too risky. But if Xiaotao knew that I hesitated to use this method because of this concern, she might me me afterwards, so I decided to say nothing about it.


    ¡°I¡¯m going back to the dorm to pick up some things,¡± I told them. ¡°The rest of you should go on ahead to the university hospital and wait for me there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you!¡± cried Bingxin.


    ¡°No,¡± I refused her outright. With Xiaotao right there, how could I agree to that? ¡°The ancestral form of my potion must be kept secret. I have to go back and prepare it by myself.¡±


    So, I went back to the dorm and packed up the materials for the potion which I had bought and stored in my room. I would often stock up the raw medicinal ingredients for my tinctures and potions whenever I had any spare money in case of emergencies. I then quickly prepared the potion. By that time, it was already 8 p.m. so I hailed a cab and went straight to the university hospital.


    Although it waste at night, the hospital¡¯s main entrance was still open because they epted outpatients all round the clock. I headed towards the gynecology department and saw Xiaotao, Bingxin and Dali eating takeaway. Wang Yuanchao had joined them too. Xiaotao and Bingxin were casually chatting with each other about a TV series they were watching. They even looked close and friendly with each other. I found their rtionship genuinely confusing.


    Xiaotao caught me with the corner of her eye and shouted, ¡°It¡¯s about time you arrived!¡±


    ¡°I came as quickly as I could,¡± I exined. ¡°Besides, the potion I have here can only be used at night.¡±


    ¡°What exactly is it?¡± asked Xiaotao. ¡°Why are you so secretive about it?¡±


    ¡°Do you remember Murder Reenactment?¡±


    As soon as she heard those words, her face darkened immediately.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I reassured her, ¡°I¡¯ve mastered the dose and made extra sure that it¡¯s appropriate this time. The side effects shouldn¡¯t be too bad...¡±


    ¡°What are you guys talking about?¡± asked Bingxin.


    I exined the principles of Murder Reenactment to her briefly. The method I was going to use this time was slightly different. I would let one person inhale the Dream Potion and ¡®be¡¯ Qu Tingting, which would help us track down her movements in her normal daily life.


    ¡°Who should y the role of Qu Tingting then?¡± asked Xiaotao with deeply furrowed brows.


    ¡°Let me do it!¡± Dali offered. ¡°I am psychologically strong!¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t work,¡± I shook my head. ¡°We need someone who is impressionable!¡±


    I looked at each of them. Xiaotao¡¯s expressions showed that she was worried and hesitant. Dali looked scared. Bingxin, on the other hand, looked enthusiastic.


    ¡°Let¡¯s test everyone¡¯s eyesight!¡± I announced.


    I pretended to pluck a hair off my head, trying to be as convincing as possible, then asked them, ¡°I have a very thin strand of hair in my hand. Which one of you can see it?¡±


    Dali scrutinized my hand for a long time and eximed, ¡°Shit! Have I been watching too many movies recently that my eyes are damaged? I can¡¯t see anything at all!¡±


    Wang Yuanchao merely shook his head.


    Bingxin stared at my hand for a long time and excitedly cried, ¡°Ah, I can see it, Song Yang-gege!¡±


    Xiaotao grabbed my hand and said, ¡°You¡¯re lying to us! There¡¯s nothing in your hand.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I admitted. ¡°I have nothing in my hand. This is just an impressionability test.¡±


    Bingxin bit her nails and muttered, ¡°But I really did see the hair just now...¡±


    And that proved that Bingxin was the best candidate among us to be Qu Tingting!

 Chapter 146

    <h4>Chapter 146</h4>


    When I suggested that Bingxin should participate in Murder Reenactment, Xiaotao opposed it immediately.


    ¡°It¡¯s already risky enough letting her join us in the investigation,¡± she said. ¡°And now you¡¯re suggesting her to do such a dangerous thing? If Sun Tiger finds out, he won¡¯t do anything to you, but I¡¯ll be in deep trouble!¡±


    ¡°Why do you need to mention my dad all the time?¡± Bingxin argued. ¡°I want to contribute to the investigation and help catch the murderer. Besides, Song Yang-gege will always protect me, right?¡±


    ¡°Contribute?¡± Xiaotao raised an eyebrow. ¡°So you really insist on being part of the investigative team now, huh?¡±


    Bingxin pursed her lips and replied, ¡°If Song Yang-gege can be a consultant to the police, why can¡¯t I be one too? I¡¯m a medical student who specializes in forensic pathology! I have the qualifications!¡±


    ¡°Oh, please,¡± Xiaotao sighed. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for your father, I would¡¯ve asked you to leave a long time ago.¡±


    The two stared each other down with their arms akimbo. I tried to defuse the situation by saying, ¡°Let Bingxin do it this time, Xiaotao. Don¡¯t worry, the dose isn¡¯t high and the four of us will be with her at all times to protect her, so she¡¯ll be fine. If there¡¯s the slightest sign that something¡¯s wrong, I¡¯ll wake her up immediately.¡±


    ¡°Is there really no other way?¡± asked Xiaotao with a frown.


    ¡°Not if we want to catch Qu Tingting tonight,¡± I said.


    Xiaotao heaved a long sigh.


    ¡°Let¡¯s be very careful, then,¡± she finally relented.


    ¡°Awesome!¡± cried Bingxin as she pped her hands in excitement. ¡°What should we do first?¡±


    I took Qu Tingting¡¯s nurse uniform which was hanging on the wall and gave it to Bingxin. She changed into it, then put on the nurse¡¯s cap too. Although her figure wasn¡¯t as good as Xiaotao¡¯s, her temperament suited the nurse uniform much more. With the outfit on, she transformed convincingly into a kind and gentle nurse.


    ¡°Do I look like a nurse?¡± Bingxin asked.


    ¡°To a T!¡± cried Dali, pretending to wipe away his nosebleed. ¡°If you were a real nurse, I¡¯d break my own leg just to get admitted into the hospital!¡±


    ¡°Oh, stop it!¡± Bingxin responded with a smile.


    ¡°The princess has transformed into a nurse!¡± Xiaotao teased her. ¡°What a sight!¡±


    Bingxin was about tounch her counterattack, but I felt the need to stop them before they got embroiled in another fight.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up!¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ve got no time to waste!¡±


    I smeared the Dream Elixir on a wooden mask and told Bingxin to put it on.


    ¡°Nothing¡¯s happening, Song Yang-gege!¡± she said after putting on the mask. ¡°Does anyone else smell a strange fragrance? It¡¯s...¡± She stopped mid-sentence and was now standing still like a puppet.


    I slowly said to her, ¡°You are Qu Tingting. Remember that, you are Qu Tingting...¡±


    After repeating it several times, Bingxin suddenly spoke again.


    ¡°I am Qu Tingting,¡± she said in a voice that sent shivers down my spine. ¡°I am Qu Tingting and I love Dr. Cheng, but he never wants to look at me. He is always surrounded by beautiful women, and I want to take him away from them. I will kill every woman thates near him!¡±


    Thest sentence was spoken in a tone so serious that it disturbed us very much. Even Wang Yuanchao subconsciously reached out to his gun because of it.


    Bingxin then began to walk around the room as if sleepwalking. She first made a gesture as if she was organizing some objects, but these objects were non-existent. It was like she was miming. It seemed that she had fully entered the role and was repeating what Qu Tingting did in her daily life.


    Dali watched her closely and whispered, ¡°Can she see us?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I answered. ¡°She¡¯s now Qu Tingting.¡±


    ¡°But how can she be Qu Tingting?¡± he asked. ¡°This is too mysterious! How does this potion work?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I replied, shaking my head.


    The Song family¡¯s secret techniques had been passed down through generations like a doctrine. What could be used to solve murders, whether it be scientific or not, was all recorded and umted in the book The Chronicles of Grand Magistrates. Murder Reenactment was derived from the witchcraft of the ancient Chu Kingdom. It was the most mysterious technique and was most effective for murderers who experienced emotional fluctuations. Still, no clear theoretical exnations about its scientific basis was given anywhere in the book.


    After a few minutes of arranging invisible objects, Bingxin sat at the desk and started writing a letter. It was exactly the same letter we found earlier¡ª even the handwriting was exactly the same. Halfway through, she stopped and tore the letter into pieces and was about to throw it away, when she stopped and pulled the drawer open instead and took out a lighter. She burnt the letter in the ashtray.


    How did Bingxin know that there was a lighter in that drawer? It was very surprising indeed, but it was nothingpared to what happened next.


    Bingxin suddenly stood up and went out. Everyone followed her closely. She ended up leaving the hospital. I asked Wang Yuanchao to drive. In case Bingxin was about to take a taxi, we had to have a car that cooperated with her.


    Wang Yuanchao drove slowly behind Bingxin, who skipped along the road like an innocent girl, even stopping to pick a flower on the way. There was no flower on the nt that she picked, of course, as it had already been plucked by Qu Tingting earlier that day. I also noted that those who studied pharmacology often were knowledgeable in botany as well.


    Bingxin pinned the flowerless nt on the nurse¡¯s uniform and walked on. We followed her closely behind. After walking about half a mile, she stood at the side of the road and tried to hail a cab. Yuanchao immediately stopped, then Bingxin opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat. She told Yuanchao, ¡°Liuzhou Road.¡±


    Xiaotao, Dali, and I squeezed into the back seat in a hurry. Bingxin said nothing along the way; she just hummed a song to herself. It seemed that my first impression of Qu Tingting was wrong. She was actually a cheerful and happy girl.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my face?¡± Bingxin suddenly said, breaking the silence in the car.


    We were all taken aback. It seemed that she was talking to the driver.


    ¡°I was born with this birthmark,¡± Bingxin continued to say. ¡°Some people say that this birthmark means I had a fatal injury in my past life. I probably died horribly then!¡±


    She giggled. But then her tone darkened as she continued, ¡°Maybe my parents thought I was too ugly when they left me at the door of the orphanage. I¡¯ve never seen them before in my life. I don¡¯t even know what they look like.¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t feel sorry for me!¡± she added. ¡°Let me tell you a secret. I am in love with a man. He¡¯s very handsome and charming. Everyoneughs at me, but he treats me kindly and smiles at me. As long as I can see him every day, I¡¯m a happy girl!¡±


    She giggled again.


    ¡°Poor girl...¡± sighed Xiaotao.


    The car arrived at the destination. Bingxin paid the driver and got out of the car. The rest of us immediately followed her. We were at an old neighborhood. She entered a building and went to the basement. Then she stopped in front of a door and reached into her pocket. I realized that this was Qu Tingting¡¯s temporary residence. I quickly got hair clips from Xiaotao and picked the door open for Bingxin.


    Bingxin made a gesture of unlocking the door with a key, then pushed the door open. The smell of chemicals permeated the room, almost making us cough. But what was even more disturbing than the smell was the sight!


    It was a small room with a desk in the center. Bottles and jars littered the desk. The walls were covered with photos and newspaper clippings. The photos were all of Cheng Yahui, taken from the side or the back. Qu Tingting probably secretly took them with her phone. The newspaper clippings were about Cheng Yahui as well¡ªthey were all about the awards that he received and the public welfare activities that he participated in.


    A doctor¡¯s white coat hung on the wall. Below it, there were objects like ballpoint pens, facial tissues, stic buttons, hair and nail clippings in jars. These were probably from Cheng Yahui as well.


    There was no furniture except for the desk and the bed. Cheng Yahui had never been here, but he upied the whole room. He was everything to Qu Tingting. I thought that even the most rabid fans of celebrities wouldn¡¯t do this kind of thing!

 Chapter 147

    <h4>Chapter 147</h4>


    Bingxin stood by the table and began to concoct a mixture of chemicals. Since the jars were empty, we had no idea what she was mixing. She spent about fifteen minutes doing this, during which I swept my eyes across the whole room. There was a shelf full of empty drug containers. They were obviously stolen from the hospital. I quickly took pictures of them with my phone.


    ¡°Dude, I think you should wake Bingxin up now!¡± Dali suddenly eximed.


    I turned back to Bingxin and saw her undressing!


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°Not yet.¡±


    Bingxin didn¡¯t take all of her clothes off. She left her underwear on. I still felt guilty about this, but it was absolutely crucial to the case that she continued. Otherwise, we¡¯d be stuck at a dead end and possibly never find Qu Tingting.


    Bingxin put on Cheng Yahui¡¯s white coat andy down on the bed. She then started to grope between her thighs and grinded her hips together. Then I heard a low moaning sounding from under the mask. At first I had no idea what she was doing, but then I realized that she was masturbating!


    We all turned our eyes away from Bingxin as it felt wrong to keep watching her. She continued to masturbate about five to six minutes, then copsed onto the bed and started to weep bitterly. The sorrow and destion in her voice were not lost on us. It turned the atmosphere into something very tense and depressing.


    Suddenly, I saw her pull a dagger from underneath the pillow and aim it at her arm.


    ¡°Wake her up now!¡± I shouted.


    Xiaotao ran to Bingxin and shook her awake. When Bingxin finally came to, she shrieked when she saw the knife in her hand and dropped it on the ground. Then Bingxin copsed into Xiaotao¡¯s arms and cried and cried.


    Xiaotao stroked her shoulders gently tofort her. Bingxin wasn¡¯t actually crying because she was scared, she in fact felt deep sympathy for Qu Tingting because people who participated in Murder Reenactment could feel exactly what the person felt.


    ¡°This girl has been through so much pain, Xiaotao-jiejie!¡± Bingxin muttered between sobs.


    ¡°I know...¡± Xiaotaoforted her.


    We actually failed to get any clues about Qu Tingting¡¯s hideout, but it would be remiss to mention it at this moment. Besides, there was no way I could just continue with the process while Bingxin was hurting herself.


    Once Bingxin stopped crying, she suddenly stood up, opened a drawer, and took out a piece of paper.


    ¡°When I became Qu Tingting just now,¡± she told me, ¡°a thought shed in my mind.¡±


    She then handed over the piece of paper to me. It was a pamphlet that tried to recruit volunteers to an orphanage in Nanjiang City.


    ¡°This could be where she is hiding!¡± I eximed.


    ¡°Judging from the series of actions we just saw,¡± Xiaotaomented, ¡°she didn¡¯t seem to have any ns to escape. It¡¯s getting reallyte now, so let¡¯s go back and rest and we¡¯ll go find her at the orphanage tomorrow morning.¡±


    We all agreed. As we were leaving the hospital, Bingxin did not say a word the whole time. She¡¯d just gone through a psychologically harrowing experience after all, so she would need some time to recover.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Bingxin-meimei,¡± I told her. ¡°I¡¯ll never involve you in such a dangerous procedure again.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Bingxin shook her head. ¡°It was an incredible and unforgettable experience for me. I didn¡¯t mind it at all. It¡¯s just that I feel really sorry for this girl...¡±


    ¡°The murders shemitted were still inexcusable though,¡± Xiaotao remarked.


    Early the next morning, we all gathered at the police station and immediately headed off to the orphanage. We arrived there at about 9 am when the orphans were ying in the yard. Qu Tingting was wearing the caretaker uniform and she was helping a girl fold a paper boat. The smile on her face was bright and genuine.


    When she noticed us, she quietly and calmly approached us and said, ¡°I knew you¡¯d find me.¡±


    ¡°Why did you choose to hide here?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°Hide?¡± she shook her head and smiled. ¡°I never thought about hiding. This orphanage is where I grew up. I alwayse here and volunteer whenever I have time. When Dr. Cheng was arrested yesterday, I knew there was no escape for me. I came here so I could help the children here onest time before I get arrested.¡±


    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the evidence,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°I never would have thought that you were the kind of person who would murder four people.¡±


    ¡°Four?¡± Qu Tingting¡¯s expressions changed. ¡°Isn¡¯t the florist dead?¡±


    ¡°We saved her in time,¡± I replied. ¡°I must admit, your scheme was very clever!¡±


    ¡°Why did you do it, Miss Qu?¡± asked Bingxin.


    Qu Tingting told us of the ridicule that she had to endure all her life because of the birthmark on her face. She never had any friends; she had never been in a rtionship; and she spent every day of her life alone and isted from other people. She felt like she was just a walking corpse.


    That was until she met Cheng Yahui. He brought a ray of light to her life because he was the only man to ever smile at her and thank her. She knew that he was merely being polite, but he was nevertheless the bright shining sun that transformed her once dull and grey life. She couldn¡¯t help but fall in love with him. However, she soon found out that Dr. Cheng was a promiscuous man who nevercked a woman to sleep with. What¡¯s more, those women were all very beautiful. Qu Tingting realized that she would always be the nurse that he barely ever talked to or even noticed. It was like they were living in separate dimensions.


    All she could do then was secretly collect his possessions¡ªhis old clothes, his hair, his used tissue paper... She would hold these objects and think of him. When her loneliness and misery became too unbearable, she would often sh her arm with a knife.


    Qu Tingting pulled her sleeves and revealed her arms which were full of scars. There were so many cut scars that they ovepped each other.


    She would often tell herself that although these women came and went, she was the only woman would always stay by Dr. Cheng¡¯s side. Seeing Dr. Cheng¡¯s smile every day was more than good enough for her.


    But one night, about four months ago, Dr. Cheng was upset for some reason and was in an irritable mood. She was the only left in the department at the time. Dr. Cheng suddenly told her to take off her clothes. Sheplied eagerly and they went on to have sex. That night was the height of Qu Tingting¡¯s life. She believed that her dream had finallye true.


    However, Dr. Cheng made no mention of the incident the next day or ever again afterwards. Qu Tingting¡¯s illusions were shattered. She realized that Dr. Cheng just used her to vent his frustrations.


    Later, Qu Tingting found out that she was pregnant. She couldn¡¯t bring herself to confront Dr. Cheng directly about it, because she knew that he would pressure her into getting an abortion. So, she sent him an email without revealing her identity. Dr. Cheng got very upset when he received the email. He called the five women that he slept with one by one to ask them about it, but he never thought of asking her. It was as if nothing happened at all that night!


    The pain pierced through her heart. It also gave her an idea¡ªwhat if all the women around Dr. Cheng were dead? Would he then turn to her? The memory of their liaison gave her confidence and courage. If Dr. Cheng turned to her once, then he might not be as unattainable as she thought he was after all!


    So, she began to put her medical knowledge into practice. When she was in nursing school, she studied pharmacology for three years. She spent extra time revising what she learned all those years ago, then began her frenzied hunt to eliminate the five women.


    When Qu Tingting reached this part of her story, I could hear the distinct excitement in her voice. Her eyes betrayed the deep infatuation that she felt for Dr. Cheng. To her, the four lives that were lost because of her werepletely worthless!


    ¡°What did you think you¡¯d aplish by killing those women?¡± scoffed Xiaotao. ¡°You know what Cheng Yahui is like. He¡¯d just go find another woman!¡±


    Qu Tingting bit her lips and shouted, ¡°Then I¡¯ll kill that woman! And if he finds another one, I¡¯ll kill her too! I¡¯ll do it until he notices me! He¡¯s inseparable from me anyway, because I poisoned him and I¡¯m the only one who has the antidote!¡±


    ¡°You would go to such lengths just for that scumbag?¡± Dali retorted.


    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to insult him!¡± she yelled at him. She lunged towards Dali to attack him, but Xiaotao blocked her path just in time. Qu Tingting was a petite woman, but she had a fire raging inside of her that made her as fearsome as a lioness. Dali might have been bold seconds before, but he was cowering in fear now.


    ¡°I understand you, Miss Qu!¡± cried Bingxin. ¡°No matter how wed someone is, if you love them, they¡¯re perfect in your eyes!¡±


    Qu Tingting nodded.


    ¡°No matter what reason you had,¡± said Xiaotao, ¡°murders are still wrong and indefensible. You must pay for what you do, Qu Tingting!¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t arrest me,¡± sneered Qu Tingting. ¡°I¡¯m pregnant!¡±

 Chapter 148

    <h4>Chapter 148</h4>


    Qu Tingting had a point. ording to the Criminal Procedure Law of the People¡¯s Republic of China, female offenders had the right to probation during pregnancy and a further period of twelve months for breastfeeding.


    ¡°The court will decide thatter,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°Our duty right now is to arrest you.¡±


    Qu Tingting offered both of her hands and said, ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll go with you without question.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± I interrupted them.


    I put a finger on her pulse and listened to it for a while.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°You¡¯re not pregnant.¡±


    Pregnant people had a special pulse¡ªit would feel like a bouncing ball. Qu Tingting¡¯s pulse, though, waspletely normal.


    This revtion startled Qu Tingting.


    ¡°But that¡¯s impossible!¡± she cried. ¡°Dr. Cheng and I definitely did...¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean that you¡¯d get pregnant,¡± I argued. ¡°Your menstruation pattern probably went haywire because you¡¯ve been inhaling too many chemicals. If you don¡¯t believe me, we can take you to the hospital right now.¡±


    ¡°In that case...¡± Qu Tingting¡¯s tongue rolled, and a tiny ss vial with some liquid inside it appeared between her teeth. ¡°I¡¯ve been through enough. I refuse to go to jail!¡±


    We all froze in shock. I was afraid that she would die the instant she bit the vial.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do it, Qu Tingting!¡± Xiaotao shouted.


    ¡°Who will give Dr. Cheng his antidote when you die, Qu Tingting?¡± Bingxin reminded her. ¡°If you die, he¡¯ll die too!¡±


    Qu Tingting¡¯s eyes widened. She spat out the poison immediately and crouched into a fetal position on the ground, crying. Xiaotao handcuffed her immediately. She was then taken into Wang Yuanchao¡¯s car. Dali sighed and remarked, ¡°What a crazy thing love is...¡±


    ¡°Alright, Mr. Poet!¡± Xiaotao interrupted him. ¡°Let¡¯s get in the car!¡±


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll go back in Uncle Wang¡¯s car instead,¡± he said. ¡°The atmosphere in your car is as icy as Antarctica.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it,¡± Imented after getting in the car. ¡°Why do women like bad guys?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong, Song Yang-gege,¡± Bingxin responded. ¡°Women don¡¯t like bad guys. Women like guys who stand out among others.¡±


    She then slowly stretched out her hand to hold my arm, but Xiaotao suddenly mmed the brakes, making Bingxin bump her head against the passenger seat.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± she yelled.


    Xiaotaopletely ignored her and said to me, ¡°I¡¯ve got some dumplings at my ce. Come and have dinner togetherter!¡±


    I blushed to the roots of my hair, unsure of how to answer her. Xiaotao continued to urge me so I finally agreed.


    ¡°No! Song Yang-gege was going to invite me to dinner tonight! You still owe me a meal, remember?¡±


    ¡°Who do you think you are?¡±


    ¡°Who do you think you are?¡±


    They were locked in another staredown and neither were willing to back down. I felt that it was time to rify my rtionship with Xiaotao to Bingxin, so I told her, ¡°Bingxin, Xiaotao and I are actually...¡±


    I paused. Xiaotao was eagerly anticipating what I was about to say, but I really didn¡¯t know what to say. For one thing, we weren¡¯t in an official rtionship yet yet; and secondly, Bingxin was looking at me with sad pleading eyes. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to be blunt to her then.


    ¡°We¡¯re especially close to each other, do you understand?¡±


    Bingxin sighed in relief. ¡°Then you¡¯re not officially together yet! Do you remember that I confessed my feelings to you when we were young, Song Yang-gege?¡±


    Xiaotao¡¯s eyes rounded and I quickly retorted, ¡°Geez, Bingxin! We were kids back then! How could anyone take that seriously?¡±


    ¡°Well I was serious anyway!¡± Bingxin argued with her chin raised defiantly.


    ¡°And do you still believe that a tree would grow on your head if you swallow watermelon seeds?¡± Xiaotao sneered.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care what anyone says!¡± dered Bingxin. Then she grabbed my arm tightly and added, ¡°From now on, I¡¯m announcing to the whole world that Song Yang-gege is mine!¡±


    Xiaotao wordlessly picked up her phone and dialed a number.


    ¡°Yes...¡± I heard her say. ¡°She¡¯s here with me... I understand...¡± Then she passed her phone to Bingxin and told her, ¡°Your dad wants a word with you.¡±


    Bingxinughed and stuck out her tongue at Xiaotao and said, ¡°I don¡¯t believe you!¡±


    Just then, we heard Sun Tiger¡¯s mighty roaring from the phone saying, ¡°Sun Bingxin! Who gave you permission to get involved with the investigation?¡±


    Bingxin frowned and took the phone. She spoke with Sun Tiger for a long time. Once in a while, I could hear her father¡¯s booming voice. In the end, the obviously deted Bingxin finally mumbled, ¡°Take me back to my dorm, Xiaotao-jiejie!¡±


    Before she got out of the car once we¡¯d arrived at the medical school, she reminded me, ¡°Call meter, Song Yang-gege!¡±


    ¡°Finally,¡± sighed Xiaotao after Bingxin had gone, ¡°I¡¯ve sent the little devil away. Don¡¯t forget toe over at my ceter tonight, Song Yang!¡±

 Chapter 149

    <h4>Chapter 149</h4>


    After Qu Tingting¡¯s case was resolved, Bingxin would often send me text messages telling me that her dad forced her to go home every day after ss and it made her feel like she was under house arrest. They quarreled a lot since Bingxin secretly joined the investigation without her dad¡¯s permission. I could understand Sun Tiger¡¯s feelings though. He¡¯d been a police officer for decades and had been through countless life-threatening situations on duty. It was unsurprising that he would be seriously concerned about Bingxin¡¯s safety and thus banned her from getting involved in a case investigation.


    Dali kept looking at me with a strange expression on his face these few days. It really annoyed me and I didn¡¯t know what was wrong with him this time.


    ¡°Hey, dude!¡± he said to me one day. ¡°Tell me your secrets!¡±


    ¡°What the hell are you talking about now?¡±


    ¡°Come on,¡± he continued. ¡°You don¡¯t usually even talk to girls. How did you get so popr with thedies all of a sudden? Did your ancestors leave you some secret techniques to seduce women or something?¡±


    ¡°Fuck off!¡± I cursed at him.


    ¡°I can guess what you¡¯re thinking all day,¡± he continued to bber. ¡°Who should I choose? On one hand, I¡¯ve got a sexy as hell police officer; on the other hand, there¡¯s this cute girl that I¡¯ve known ever since she was a little girl! What a dilemma!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any seduction techniques,¡± I told him. ¡°But I do have a technique to determine the time of death by the dposition stage of the corpse. Care to learn?¡±


    Dali squeaked and ran back into his bed.


    The dilemma that Dali imagined was ridiculous of course. I had always regarded Bingxin as my sister and that was it. But with Xiaotao, we¡¯d been through so many life-threatening situations together. She had a special ce in my heart that no one could ever rece.


    Time crept up on us and before we knew it, it was already November. The days got colder and the students began to wear thicker clothes. It would be Xiaotao¡¯s birthday soon. On that day, I remembered that she once mentioned about wanting a red rose, so I went to a florist with a n to buy one for her. The florist told me that red roses were only given to people who were officially in a romantic rtionship, and that it would be a better idea in my case to get pink roses instead.


    Thus, I bought a small bouquet of pink roses and texted Xiaotao to ask her if she was free tonight.


    ¡°Why?¡± she immediately responded. ¡°Are you nning a surprise for me? Come over to my ce! Let¡¯s have a small birthday party tonight!¡±


    That night I stood in front of Xiaotao¡¯s door with a racing heart, waiting for her to answer the door. Holding a bouquet of roses along the way there was particrly embarrassing. About a minute after pressing the doorbell, Xiaotao opened the door. She was wearing casual clothes. When she saw the bouquet in my hand, she gasped with excitement and smiled brightly.


    ¡°You¡¯ve changed so much since I first met you, Song Yang!¡± she remarked. ¡°Come in! The food is ready!¡±


    ¡°It smells delicious!¡± I eximed.


    The dining table was full of tasty-looking food in paper boxes. It was obvious at first nce that they were takeaways. That was only expected of course. Xiaotao was way too busy at work to cook herself.


    She didn¡¯t have to work overtime tonight, though. I noticed that she had a bottle of French red wine on the table and had lit a few scented candles that were ced all over the living room. Xiaotao looked especially beautiful under the dim candlelight. I could barely take my eyes off her.


    ¡°Happy birthday, Xiaotao!¡±


    ¡°Thank god, I¡¯ve survived another year!¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t say such ominous things on your birthday!¡±


    We drank to her health. Then Xiaotao had a cheeky look on her face and I knew she was on to something.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m the birthday girl today, so you should do whatever I ask you to!¡±


    ¡°What do you want me to do?¡±


    She leaned over and murmured, ¡°Sing the birthday song for me!¡±


    I scratched my head nervously and replied, ¡°What? You want me to sing?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± she responded. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard you sing before!¡±


    It was her birthday so I had no choice but toply. I sang, or rather croaked, the birthday song as she pped along andughed. I was immensely relieved when it was finally over.


    ¡°Well done!¡± cried Xiaotao. ¡°I recorded it all! It¡¯s going to be my new ringtone from now on!¡±


    ¡°No, please!¡± I begged. ¡°How will I face anyone ever again if you do that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m only teasing you,¡± she sniggered. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s drink!¡±


    We were just about to clink our sses together when her phone rang. She frowned and answered it immediately.


    ¡°A new case?¡± I asked once she¡¯d hung up.


    ¡°Uh huh,¡± she sighed. ¡°Looks like I can¡¯t enjoy this meal with you tonight. Can you stay here and wait for me? We can still watch a movie together when Ie back.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you bring me with you?¡± I suggested. ¡°Perhaps I can be of some help to the case.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s not a homicide,¡± she said. ¡°Two gangs were in a fight and a dozen people were hurt. We were called to deal with the aftermath.¡±


    ¡°A gangster fight?¡± I was surprised. ¡°You must take me with you! I¡¯ve never seen gangster fights before!¡±


    ¡°If you insist,¡± Xiaotao replied. ¡°But don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you.¡±


    We got into the car and headed to the scene. Many police officers were already there. I had expected to see a bloodbath with the ground strewn with injured men who¡¯d lost their limbs and pools of blood and inner organs everywhere. But reality was much tamer than I imagined. There were indeed stters of blood here and there, but the men were already under the police¡¯s control and there were officers questioning two men. One wore a trench coat while the other had a big shiny bald head. Both of their arms were full of colorful tattoos just like what you¡¯d see on yakuzas and gang members in movies.


    ¡°I told you, Officer,¡± said the man in the trench coat. ¡°We weren¡¯t fighting! We¡¯re just good buddies who got a bit too drunk and had a bit too much fun!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Officer!¡± echoed the baldy. ¡°We¡¯re so joined at the hip we practically wear the same pair of pants! We were definitely not fighting!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve injured a dozen people, you¡¯ve damaged four or five food stalls on the side of the road, and you¡¯ve smashed the ss windows of several shops! Is that what you call having fun?¡±


    ¡°Come on, Officer!¡± the man in the trench coat argued. ¡°Have you never gotten wasted before? Don¡¯t worry, Officer! I¡¯ll pay for everyone¡¯s medical expenses and the damages!¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about, Trenchy?¡± the baldy interjected. ¡°My brothers are responsible for the damages. I should be the one to pay for everything!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a good friend, Baldy!¡± said the man in trench coat. ¡°I¡¯ll treat you to a nice mealter!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, Trenchy!¡± the baldyughed. ¡°Stop acting like we¡¯re strangers! Come over to my house and my wife will cook a nice meal for us!¡±


    The two continued to pretend being good friends in front of the police. Xiaotao approached the group and the officers gave way to her immediately and greeted her as ¡®Officer Huang.¡¯ The man in trench coat mockingly saluted at her and greeted her, ¡°Good evening, Officer Huang! I haven¡¯t seen you in a long time! What fateful wind blew you here?¡±


    ¡°Drop the act, you bastards!¡± she snapped. ¡°Who are you trying to fool? Everyone knows how much your gangs hate each other!¡±


    ¡°The animosity is between our bosses,¡± Trenchy responded. ¡°It¡¯s got nothing to do with us. Me and Baldy here are great buddies!¡±


    It was obvious that these two gangs were fighting. But when the police arrived, they immediately pretended that they were as close as brothers. The underworld gangs weren¡¯t afraid of anything under the sun except the police. They could hack and kill people without batting an eye, but when faced with the possibility of being thrown in jail, they tucked their tails between their legs and did whatever they could to avoid punishment.


    An officer approached us with a big bag containing dozens of kitchen knives with bloodstains on them.


    ¡°Huang-jie,¡± the officer reported, ¡°these are the weapons we found...¡±


    ¡°Whose knives are these?¡± Xiaotao asked the two men.


    Trenchy feigned being shocked and said, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen those knives before! Baldy, are they yours?¡±


    Baldy shook his head frantically and replied, ¡°All the knives in my kitchen are tinier than these! The nail clipper is the only thing I carry when I go out of the house!¡±


    I was genuinely amused by their acting skills.


    ¡°In that case,¡± said Xiaotao, ¡°why don¡¯t you each tell me whose knives these are? Whoever identifies the most knives will be forgiven for the damages done this time.¡±


    The officer spilled all the knives to the ground. The two gangsters looked at each other and smiled politely. Trenchy was the first one to pick out a knife.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen this knife before, Baldy,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you hold it before.¡±


    Baldy¡¯s cheek twitched and he picked out another knife.


    ¡°I¡¯ve clearly seen this knife before,¡± he said. ¡°You once pulled it out of a folded newspaper once!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen this knife before! Your mother used it to chop her vegetables!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen this knife before! It was used for your father¡¯s circumcision!¡±


    ¡°This knife was used to cut your father¡¯s dick!¡±


    ¡°This knife was used by your whole family when they slit their own throats!¡±


    Xiaotao¡¯s idea backfired. They were now at each other¡¯s throats. At first the officers watched on with amusement, but the two men got more and more violent and Xiaotao grew more and more concerned. Trenchy and Baldy eventually both picked up a knife and lunged at each other. The police quickly stopped them, but they finally dropped their act and hurled insults at one another.


    ¡°We¡¯ll never forget what happened today, Baldy! Our boss will wash his feet with the blood of the ck Panthers!¡±


    ¡°You cowards! We¡¯ll avenge the death of our boss with the death of the Blood Wolves!¡±


    Xiaotao interrupted them immediately and asked Baldy, ¡°What did you say? Your boss is dead?¡±


    ¡°No, no, no!¡± Baldy quickly denied. He obviously realized that he¡¯d made a grave mistake. ¡°Our boss was injured by them and he¡¯s lying in the hospital right now.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to his bullshit!¡± Trenchy argued. ¡°Their boss got into trouble with someone and died a humiliating death. They med us for it for no reason at all and that¡¯s why they¡¯re out for us!¡±

 Chapter 150

    <h4>Chapter 150</h4>


    Xiaotao questioned Baldy about the death of his boss, but he kept insisting, ¡°Leave this alone, Officer Huang! We¡¯ll handle it ourselves!¡±


    ¡°Handle it yourself?¡± Xiaotao frowned. ¡°Attacking the Blood Wolf gang with knives¡ªis that how you¡¯ll handle it yourselves? You¡¯ll hack a dozen people and our job is to clean up after you¡ªis that what you¡¯re telling me? Tell me the truth now!¡±


    But no matter how Xiaotao asked and threatened him, Baldy just wouldn¡¯t reveal anything.


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you, Officer Huang,¡± he cried. ¡°You know that I¡¯d be chopped into pieces if I do!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not from the ck Panthers gang, so why don¡¯t you tell me?¡± Xiaotao asked Trenchy.


    ¡°I would¡¯ve told you a long time ago if I knew,¡± replied Trenchy with an oleaginous smile. ¡°They¡¯re covering it up with an impermeable fog of secrets, so there was no way that we could figure anything out at all. The only thing I heard is that their boss died really horribly.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about, motherfucker? I¡¯ll punch you till all your teethe out!¡± Baldy red at Trenchy and tried to go over and punch him, but he was stopped by the officers.


    I gave Xiaotao a signal and she came over to me, taking Baldy with her.


    ¡°Is your boss¡¯s death rted to a woman?¡± I asked Baldy.


    He was staggered. Judging from this expression, I knew my guess was right. ¡°Who are you?¡± he asked me.


    ¡°This is the special consultant who¡¯s been working with the police,¡± Xiaotao told him. ¡°There has been no case that he couldn¡¯t solve. If you tell him how your boss died, he¡¯ll definitely be able to find the culprit!¡±


    Once Baldy heard of my position within the police organization, his tone became much more polite. He even pulled out a cigarette and offered to light it for me.


    I told him I didn¡¯t smoke, and asked him a few questions. Where did his boss die? When did he die? Where was the dead body kept now?


    Baldy kept shaking his head and would only say, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Us in the underworld, we have a code that we live by,¡± he added. ¡°We never reveal a single word of the gang¡¯s secrets, otherwise we¡¯d die an ugly death. I¡¯ve been with the boss since I was sixteen years old, and I want his death avenged more than anyone else! You can go and ask around. If you can really solve his death, then I¡¯ll follow you for the rest of my life!¡±


    ¡°How am I going to ask around if you don¡¯t tell me anything?¡±


    ¡°Stop asking me,¡± Baldy replied. ¡°I really don¡¯t know!¡±


    ¡°Okay, take these bastards back to the station and throw them in the cells,¡± Xiaotao ordered the officers. Then she asked me, ¡°How did you know that the death of their boss was rted to a woman?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a guess,¡± I replied. ¡°It¡¯s usually like that for people in the underworld anyway.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re bing more and more like Detective Conan now, aren¡¯t you?¡± she joked. ¡°You bump into murder cases anywhere you go!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not as lucky as he is!¡± Iughed. ¡°Would you still invite someone like that to your ce?¡±


    Xiaotao pped her forehead and eximed, ¡°Ah, Ipletely forgot about our candlelight dinner! Come on, forget about the case for now, let¡¯s go back and finish our dinner!¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡±


    We went back to her house for dinner, then watched another horror movie together. The movie was called Ju-On: The Grudge, and it scared Xiaotao very much. I was so tired and because I never usually drink alcohol, the two sses of red wine that I had earlier made me very dizzy. I fell asleep before the ghost even appeared.


    I woke up early the next morning. While I was still groggy from sleep, I realized that I was lying on the sofa with a nket covering my body.


    I heard a clinking noiseing from the kitchen. Xiaotao came out holding two cups of hot milk. She was wearing a loose T-shirt, her breasts tented up the shirt, and her two slender legs were exposed. She was wearing a pair of bear slippers, and her freshly-washed hair was wrapped in a dry towel. She ced the cups on the coffee table and asked, ¡°You¡¯re up? Let¡¯s go to the station after breakfast.¡±


    ¡°How did I end up spending the night here?¡± I asked. ¡°Did I do anything badst night?¡±


    ¡°What could you do that would be considered bad between the two of us?¡± she teased with a sweet smile on her face.


    My face reddened, then Xiaotao added, ¡°You were drunk and fell asleep on the sofast night. That¡¯s it, you didn¡¯t do anything. I couldn¡¯t carry you, so I had to let you spend the night here.¡±


    I was embarrassed. I had only drunk alcohol twice in my life¡ªonce when I graduated high school and oncest night.


    Xiaotao made some toast and we had that for breakfast. While I was eating, I asked her about the boss of the ck Panthers gang.


    ¡°To the police, he was a member of a criminal triad,¡± Xiaotao exined. ¡°But to the public, he¡¯s just a wealthy businessman named Cao Da. His businesses include bars and pubs, catering, real estate, and private loans. Naturally, the operations of the businesses aren¡¯t fully legal, and the police have been monitoring the gang heavily. As long as they don¡¯t break thew, they¡¯re generally left alone though.¡±


    ¡°So he¡¯s one of the wealthy merchants in Nanjiang City like your father then?¡±


    ¡°How did you know about my dad?¡±


    ¡°During the Li Wenjia case, remember? I snooped around and found a rich businessman named Huang Tianhao who looked just like your father whom I saw that day.¡±


    When the subject turned to her father, Xiaotao lowered her head and slowly stirred the oatmeal in her bowl with a spoon. She fell silent for a while and looked unhappy.


    ¡°Since that case, my rtionship with him has gotten more and more distant. He opposes my decision to be a police officer even more now, and he¡¯s nning to introduce a businessman to me as a potential husband. I hate all these greedy businessmen! You must help me if he tries to set me up with that guy, Song Yang!¡±


    ¡°Sure, you can count on me!¡±


    Xiaotao reached out and held my hand from across the dining table and thanked me. My cheeks were flustered for a good few minutes after that.


    After breakfast, we both headed towards the police station. When we arrived, Xiaotao was handed the information they found on Cao Da¡¯s death. It seemed that no funeral was ever held for him and the circumstances of his death were surrounded in a thick fog of secrecy. Because of his death, the gang was now without any leadership and chaos had descended on them. There were reports of a tacit agreement among them that promised whoever was able to find Cao Da¡¯s murderer would be the next leader of the ck Panthers gang.


    However, these gangsters knew nothing about solving a murder case. They had their minds set on the Blood Wolf gang from the get-go, and that triggered Baldy to lead his men to attack Trenchy¡¯s men in the first ce.


    These bits of intelligence were all acquired from outsiders because the ck Panthers gang members were notoriously secretive and wouldn¡¯t leak a single piece of information at all.


    ¡°Nanjiang City will bathe in blood if this case isn¡¯t solved,¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°Song Yang, this might not be a bizarre case like what you¡¯re used to, but forw and order and the stability of Nanjiang City, I hope you can help us!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help solve the case, of course,¡± I replied. ¡°But at the moment we know nothing about the case. We don¡¯t even know where the body is!¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Xiaotao sighed. ¡°None of these bastards would leak anything... We¡¯ve pretty much reached a dead end.¡±


    ¡°Is there any police informant in the gang?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I have no connections with any informants. This isn¡¯t my expertise, I¡¯m afraid. I¡¯ll talk to Wang Yuanchaoter and see if he¡¯s got any ideas.¡±


    Unfortunately, someone from the People¡¯s Armed Police came to find Wang Yuanchao and invited him back temporarily to help with the training of the freshman group because none of the instructors could get them under control.


    ¡°Wait!¡± I suddenly thought of someone. ¡°There¡¯s no need to call for Uncle Wang¡¯s help! I know a guy who can help us!¡±

 Chapter 151

    <h4>Chapter 151</h4>


    The person I meant was of course Hamster. We kept each other¡¯s contacts since that day. I called him, and less than half an hourter, he arrived.


    ¡°What can I do for you, Song-ge?¡± he asked with a smile. ¡°Even if I have to walk through fire, I¡¯ll do whatever you ask.¡±


    The reason why Hamster was so eager to help was because by helping me and doing the police a favor, it was equivalent to buying himself insurance. He himself had escaped incarceration many times due to his role as an informant.


    ¡°Have you heard of the ck Panther gang?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Hamster nodded. ¡°Their boss died recently, throwing the whole gang into chaos. They even went after the Blood Wolf gangst night because of it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re very well informed, Hamster,¡± Xiaotaomented.


    ¡°Well,¡± Hamster smiled, ¡°nothing under the sun can escape my ears. What would you like to know, Song-ge?¡±


    ¡°Help me investigate the death of the ck Panther gang¡¯s boss,¡± I said. ¡°What I¡¯d like to know the most is where they¡¯re hiding the dead body!¡±


    Hamster hemmed and hawed when he heard that.


    ¡°You see... This is a bit... I mean the ck Panthers are notoriously secretive! I¡¯m just an outsider. I can¡¯t just infiltrate the gang alone without any help. Do you have someone to help me from the inside, Song-ge?¡±


    I didn¡¯t know how to answer that at first, then Xiaotao tapped my shoulder and asked me toe over to the side.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to contact my officers and tell them to let Baldy go,¡± she said. ¡°You can use this opportunity to build friendship with him. That way it¡¯d be safer for Hamster to break into their gang.¡±


    ¡°You mean Hamster will be our mole?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re thinking of the cool spies on TV, aren¡¯t you?¡± Xiaotaoughed. ¡°Well, in reality, the moles are far from cool and morous. Hamster is a professional in this regard. He helped Wang Yuanchao when he was investigating a drug trafficking case. He mingled with gangs, smuggled weapons, and is very close with a few underworld gang leaders. His experience makes him a helpful ally.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯d do all those dangerous things just for the meager informant bonus?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s not it,¡± Xiaotao shook her head. ¡°People like him help both the police and the gangsters. He would help the police solve a case, and at the same time, he¡¯d provide information about our movements to the underworld bosses who pay him. Every time we raid a ce, one or two key figures would escape. Well, guess who helped them? I probably don¡¯t need to tell you the answer.¡±


    That revtion made me admire Hamster¡¯s cunningness slightly more. Xiaotao exchanged a few words with some officers and I went to the cells and told the guarding officer, ¡°Let Baldy and his men out.¡±


    The men who were squatting on the floor got excited when he heard that. Baldy yelled to Trenchy who was in the next cell, ¡°I¡¯ll go back first, brother! Your wife will probably miss you in the next few days. Maybe I should I go to her andfort her!¡±


    Trenchy was about tounch a counterattack, but I shouted, ¡°Silence! Where do you think you are?¡±


    Baldy turned to me and politely thanked me.


    ¡°What is your name, big brother?¡± he asked.


    ¡°My surname is Song,¡± I answered. ¡°And don¡¯t call me big brother! I¡¯m younger than you.¡±


    ¡°That makes no difference to me, you¡¯re still someone I respect,¡± he insisted. ¡°I¡¯ll leave now, but one day I¡¯ll invite you to dinner when you¡¯re free.¡±


    I walked out of the room with Baldy, and we bumped into Hamster.


    ¡°Song-ge!¡± he cried. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in a long time! Oh, and isn¡¯t this man the famous Baldy from the ck Panthers gang?¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± asked Baldy, full of suspicion.


    Hamster went on to boast of his resume and aplishments. It sounded very simr to what he told me the first time we met¡ªprotected a big underworld boss from a knife attack, had dinner with billionaires and all that. Finally, he told Baldy of his lifelong dream to join the ck Panthers gang.


    ¡°Can I trust this kid, Song-ge?¡± Baldy asked me.


    I pretended to give it serious consideration and answered, ¡°He¡¯s trustworthy alright, but he¡¯s too lecherous sometimes.¡± I then turned to Hamster and asked him, ¡°Have you been caught with a prostitute again?¡±


    ¡°No, Song-ge!¡± he denied. ¡°I¡¯ve been behaving welltely. I came here today with the sole intention of meeting you!¡±


    ¡°Looks like Song-ge trusts you,¡± said Baldy with a nod. ¡°Good. I¡¯ll rmend you to join the gang. Come with me!¡±


    Hamster followed Baldy and his group of men out of the police station, and just like that, he was in the ck Panthers gang. This was an eye-opening experience for me. I¡¯d been duped by the movies into believing that one would need to pass several harrowing tests before one could join the triad.


    Once they were gone, Xiaotao came to me andmented, ¡°You¡¯re being called Song-ge left and right! That must feel great!¡±


    ¡°It feels weird,¡± I responded. ¡°I would never have spoken to people like that under normal circumstances.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you shouldn¡¯t get too attached to them,¡± Xiaotao cautioned. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that they might take advantage of your position and your skills.¡±


    I didn¡¯t have anything else to do after that, so I went back to college. As soon as Dali saw me, he eximed, ¡°Dude, where have you been? I just noticed that it was Xiaotao-jiejie¡¯s birthday yesterday! Tell me the truth, did you spend the night with her?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I retorted. ¡°There¡¯s a new homicide, and this time the underworld gangs are involved!¡±


    ¡°Whoa, the triads?¡± Dali shouted. ¡°You have to take me with you!¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I promised. ¡°But right now we¡¯ll have to wait for the mole to send us some information before we make a move.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s even a mole?¡± Dali gasped. ¡°What an exciting case! I missed so much actionst night! Why didn¡¯t you call me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not as exciting as you think it is....¡± I answered vaguely.


    A few dayster, Hamster called me and asked to meet at a caf. I went there and saw himpletely changed. He was wearing an expensive suit and a chunky gold chain around his neck. He seemed to have fit in well in the ck Panthers gang.


    Hamster told me that after snooping around, he¡¯d roughly figured out how the boss had died. He said the boss died in a nightclub called Tianxiang Pavilion, in which many prostitutes were hidden. It operated as a regr business from the perspective of outsiders. No customers were offered the services of the prostitutes.


    ¡°Then why hide those women in there?¡± I asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re there for the sole purpose of entertaining members of the ck Panthers gang.¡±


    This was another eye-opener. I¡¯d never realized that such an arrangement existed.


    ¡°It was hard work sniffing out these morsels of information, Song-ge!¡± Hamsterined. ¡°It¡¯s taken a toll on my weak kidneys.¡±


    I thought of Xiaotao¡¯s warning and replied, ¡°Why don¡¯t we switch ces, then? Exin to me in detail what you¡¯ve actually been doing these few days!¡±


    ¡°Ah... I was only joking, Song-ge!¡± he smiled. ¡°I never pay any attention to those kinds of women!¡±


    Hamster went on to exin that the boss died in the nightclub. His body was found in a locked room where no one could¡¯ve gotten in or out after his death. But there wasn¡¯t a single living person found in the room except him. He was found stabbed with a knife more than a dozen times. The surveince video was checked, and no one went into or came out of the room before and after his death.


    Another locked room murder, huh? I thought.


    ¡°What was he doing in that room?¡± I asked. ¡°He must¡¯ve been with a woman considering he was in that kind of ce, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve asked several members of the gang,¡± Hamster answered, ¡°and they all said the same thing¡ªthere wasn¡¯t a single living person in the room except the boss!¡±


    I groaned. Not a single living person. Why did it sound strange? I felt that there could be something between the lines here, but couldn¡¯t figure out what it was exactly.


    ¡°What about his body?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s being secretly kept in the city funeral home,¡± Hamster replied. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s been cremated by now. Members of the gang guard it during the day. They¡¯re hell-bent on keeping the death of their boss a secret.¡±


    ¡°They guard the body during the day?¡± I asked. ¡°What about at night?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a funeral home, Song-ge!¡± Hamsterughed. ¡°Who in their right mind would stay there at night?¡±


    Looks like I¡¯ll pay the funeral home a visit tonight! I thought.

 Chapter 152

    <h4>Chapter 152</h4>


    ¡°Okay,¡± I told Hamster. ¡°Your undercover mission is over. You can go back to the police station and get your informant bonus now.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Song-ge!¡± Hamster replied with a smile. ¡°But I can¡¯t just disappear all of a sudden¡ªthat would rouse their suspicion! I¡¯ll stay with them for a few more days in case I can get you more clues.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but be careful!¡± I cautioned him.


    Judging by his looks, the red-faced Hamster had been having a great time being a member of the ck Panthers gang. He wasn¡¯t collecting any criminal evidence after all, and there was no pressure or deadline.


    After the meeting with Hamster, I called Dali and told him I had to perform an autopsy tonight and asked him to bring my tools over. I then went to the police station to tell Xiaotao about what Hamster told me. We stayed there for a while until 6 pm when Dali arrived. The three of us had dinner at the police station together. Once we finished our meal, Xiaotao told us to get in the car.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Dali in amazement. ¡°What about the autopsy?¡±


    ¡°The body¡¯s not here,¡± I told him. ¡°It¡¯s somewhere else.¡±


    I didn¡¯t want to tell him that we were going to a funeral home. If I did, the idiot would probably run away!


    The funeral home was situated on the outskirts of the city. It was on a piece ofnd that used to be a mass grave, but inter years, all the dead bodies sent there were cremated. There were rumors of strange supernatural incidents that frequently happened there. Once, there was a cab driver who took a passenger therete at night. The passenger wanted to go to the funeral home and the driver refused at first, but because the passenger offered him a lot of money, the driver reluctantly agreed. When they reached the funeral home, the driver turned around only to find that the passenger had disappeared, leaving only a stack of ghost money.


    On another asion, a long-distance bus driver passed by the area and got off the bus nearby to take a piss by the roadside. As he was pissing, he was suddenly surrounded by a thick fog, and he saw a group of pce eunuchs, each holding antern as they escorted an olddy out of the funeral home. Their faces were devoid of any emotions or expressions. The driver was extremely frightened. He rushed back home and fell ill the next day. Because his illness kept getting worse, his family invited a Daoist priest to check on him. The priest informed the family that the driver had run into a dead spirit near the funeral home and he had to return there and pay respects in order to get better. They did as the priest advised and learned that an olddy died of a heart attack on the day that the driver stopped there, and that her descendants had burned paper servants that looked just like the eunuchs the driver saw that night.


    As the surrounding looked more and more remote, Dali grew more and more restless and kept asking me, ¡°Dude, where the hell are we going?¡±


    Seeing that we were almost there, I replied, ¡°A funeral home.¡±


    Dali¡¯s jaw dropped. Then he shouted, ¡°Let me out of the car! Let me out!¡±


    Xiaotao red at him with contempt and jeered, ¡°Why? Do you need to take a piss?¡±


    ¡°Come on, guys!¡± heined. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind it if we go there during the day, but it¡¯s almost midnight now! Why the hell would you go there at this hour? Don¡¯t you know that it¡¯s haunted?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got no choice, it has to be at night,¡± I exined. ¡°We need to perform the autopsy secretly, and the only person who can do it is me!¡±


    The autopsy must not leave any traces on the body that the ck Panthers gang members would noticeter. If a conventional coroner did the autopsy, they would¡¯ve operated the body with a knife, leaving a very obvious sign behind that would provoke the ire of the ck Panthers gang again, triggering them tounch another attack on the Blood Wolf gang.


    I couldn¡¯t help but notice how easy it was to send the two gangs wing at each other¡¯s throats. If you did something bad to one side without leaving your identity, the other side would automatically suspect the other gang.


    ¡°What if we run into a ghost inside?¡± asked Dali.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you?¡± I replied. ¡°Ghosts can¡¯t hurt people. But if you¡¯re really scared, you can go back now.¡±


    Dali looked out the window and sighed. We were already out in the suburbs.


    ¡°Why did you have to say that now?¡± he asked. ¡°It¡¯s toote to go back. I might as well risk the night with you.¡±


    The funeral home was very dark at night. The bleak moonlight illuminated the sign outside that read ¡®Nanjiang Funeral Home.¡¯ There was a solitarymppost on the street outside. Xiaotao parked the car near it, and we walked to the main entrance of the funeral home together. The door was naturally locked, but it only took me a minute to pick it open with a wire that I brought with me.


    When I pushed the door open, it creaked so loudly that Dali cowered behind me.


    Xiaotaoughed at his reaction and jeered, ¡°You¡¯re even scared of the door?¡±


    She turned on the shlight on her mobile phone to look around, but I told her to dim the light slightly, because there could be someone patrolling the ce at night. Thest thing we wanted was to be seen especially since we had no authority to be here.


    Our footsteps echoed throughout the whole building. We walked around until we found the entrance to the morgue. There was a ss pane on the door that allowed us to see into the room, and from there we saw a few beds with bodies on top covered by a white sheet. Some of the beds were empty.


    Dali gulped and asked, ¡°There are so many corpses in there, dude! What if one of them suddenly wakes up?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous, idiot!¡± I scolded him.


    I didn¡¯t know which of the corpses belonged to the boss of the ck Panthers gang, so I had to go inside and check each one. Dali waited outside while Xiaotao and I entered the morgue. There were numerous dead bodies in here. Some had just died recently, some had obviously gone through stages of decay. I had read about a ¡®dead bodies farm¡¯ overseas where dead bodies were kept in the open for forensic scientists to observe the stages of dposition that human bodies went through after death. We didn¡¯t have anything like that in China, so these dead bodies in the funeral home were the closest thing I had to a ¡®dead bodies farm¡¯ and I had to admit, it got me really excited.


    Although Xiaotao had seen many dead bodies before, she still looked ufortable when faced with so many corpses all at once. She suddenly grabbed my hand and clutched it tightly. Her hand was cold and sweaty.


    ¡°Your hand is so warm!¡± she told me. Her words warmed my heart.


    The dead bodies in the morgue had died of different causes¡ªsome died in traffic idents, somemitted suicide by jumping off a tall building, etc. The conditions of these bodies were understandably terrible, but the morticians in the funeral home seemed to have given them a ¡®beauty treatment¡¯ and made them more presentable for the funeral.


    ¡°Why is his nose so strange?¡± I asked.


    ¡°They probably gave him a fake nose,¡± Xiaotao exined. ¡°He probably facented after jumping off a building and his nose got the brunt of the impact.¡±


    ¡°Can you guys just hurry up already?¡± Dali urged us from the outside of the room. ¡°This ce creeps me out! I don¡¯t want to stand out here alone anymore!¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t youe in then?¡± I suggested.


    ¡°No way, dude!¡± he replied. ¡°It¡¯s way creepier inside!¡±


    ¡°Song Yang!¡± Xiaotao cried suddenly. ¡°There¡¯s someone standing behind you!¡±


    I turned around abruptly, but there was nothing at all. I looked at Xiaotao again and saw her doubled overughing. She was probably trying to scare Dali shitless.


    I told her that wasn¡¯t funny and shouted Dali¡¯s name a few times but he didn¡¯t answer. I thought he¡¯d fainted, but when I went out the door to check on him, I saw him squatting on the floor covering his head with his hands.


    ¡°I-Is it t-true, dude? Is there a ghost in there?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I assured him. ¡°Xiaotao was only teasing you.¡±


    ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie!¡± cried Dali. ¡°Why would you do that? I almost died of fright!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry!¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll buy you a drink when we go back, okay?¡±


    I got up and saw a shadowy figure at the end of the corridor. The figure looked like a woman with long hair, wearing arge white dress that hung down to her feet.


    The smile on my face faded immediately.


    ¡°Song Yang,¡± whispered Xiaotao. ¡°Do you see what I see?¡±


    I was afraid of scaring Dali, so I told her. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Dali, I think it¡¯s better for you toe with us into the morgue.¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± Dali insisted. ¡°I¡¯m not going in there!¡±


    Xiaotao and I went into the morgue and we continued looking for the boss¡¯s body. It was a long room, about five to six meters from end to end. As we were still looking through the dead bodies, we heard Dali¡¯s voice outside.


    ¡°Oh, Xiaotao-jiejie!¡± he eximed. ¡°Where¡¯s Song Yang?¡±


    I exchanged a look with Xiaotao. She was about to shout, but I stopped her short.


    ¡°You¡¯ll scare him!¡± I warned her.


    ¡°Where are you going, Xiaotao-jiejie?¡± Dali continued to say. ¡°Are you going to the restroom? Do you want me to go with you?¡±


    The shlight on Dali¡¯s phone wasn¡¯t on at that point, neither did he have the ability to see in the dark like I did, so he had no idea that the female figure he saw wasn¡¯t Xiaotao.


    I tapped on Xiaotao¡¯s shoulder to tell her to hurry outside. Dali¡¯s jaw dropped when he saw Xiaotao.


    ¡°B-But why are you here?¡± he stuttered. ¡°W-Who was I talking to?¡±


    ¡°I was going to ask you myself!¡±


    Dali panicked and hysterically screamed, ¡°A ghost!¡±


    After that, he pleaded with me, ¡°Dude, I want to go home!¡±


    ¡°Calm down,¡± Iforted him. ¡°Don¡¯t let your imagination drive you crazy. Ghosts can¡¯t hurt you¡ªremember that. Nowe with us.¡±


    Dali kept on reciting ¡®ghosts can¡¯t hurt me¡¯ over and over again as he followed us into the morgue. He kept turning back to look behind him. I asked him what he was looking at and he replied, ¡°I¡¯m afraid something¡¯s gonna jump out from behind. It¡¯s never a bad idea to be prepared!¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help butugh at that. The more timid people were, the wilder their imagination seemed to be!


    At that moment, I saw a dead body on a bed behind Dali slowly sitting up. The white sheet covering the corpse slipped down to its waist, revealing a pale, deathly face. Both Xiaotao and I widened our eyes in shock, unable to even speak...

 Chapter 153

    <h4>Chapter 153</h4>


    Dali noticed that we were both looking in the same direction at the same time, so he turned around immediately before I could stop him. When he saw the sitting corpse, he screamed and screamed in fright.


    ¡°Dude! Dude! That corpse is alive!¡±


    ¡°Calm down, Dali!¡± I told him. ¡°It¡¯s just a normal post-mortem spasm.¡±


    Having said that, seeing a corpse slowly sitting up in a dark funeral home was an experience that would petrify anyone. I noticed that even Xiaotao looked really pale.


    I exined to them that about six hours after death, the muscles would stiffen and that would bend the spine. At least that was the basic theory behind this phenomenon anyway. In truth, post-mortem spasms like that were rtively rare, and would only ur when the deceased was young and had rtively strong muscle fibers. In this case, the ¡®waking corpse¡¯ we saw just now met the criteria perfectly.


    In his panic, Dali identally pulled off the white sheet that covered one of the corpses. I looked at the man¡¯s face and realized that it was identical to the one I saw in the picture of Cao Da, the boss of the ck Panther¡¯s gang!


    Now that I¡¯d found the body, I went ahead and started the autopsy. The first thing I did was confirm the time of death. Judging from the pupil dtion, the rigor mortis, and the livor mortis, the time of death was about four days ago. I then was about to perform Organ Echolocation when Dali interrupted me.


    ¡°Dude,¡± he said, ¡°can¡¯t you make that guy lie back down before you go to work? It¡¯s really creeping me out knowing that a dead body is sitting straight up and staring at us with his dead eyes...¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying!¡± I snapped.


    I mmed my fist against the dead body¡¯s back, then there was a loud crack and the body slumped back down on the bed.


    ¡°D-Did you just break his spine?¡± stuttered Dali.


    ¡°The muscles arepletely stiff by now,¡± I exined, ¡°and there are no hot towels here, so this is all I can do to make it lie back down. Morticians would¡¯ve used the same method as well. In fact, they¡¯d be even rougher than me!¡±


    I then came back to Cao Da¡¯s body and continued with the autopsy. After Organ Echolocation, I found that his heart, lungs, and liver were extensively damaged. I took off his clothes and found no less than a dozen stab wounds on the chest, although the blood had already been wiped off. I put ontex gloves and began to examine the stab wounds more closely.


    ¡°These are open wounds,¡± I said. ¡°The murder weapon was probably a serrated knife. Judging from the shape of the wounds, the murderer stabbed the victim in close range, and was probably right-handed. It seemed that the murderer wasn¡¯t very skilled in wielding knives.¡±


    ¡°But the murderer stabbed him so many times!¡± Dalimented. ¡°I call that pretty skillful!¡±


    ¡°The surface of the wounds aren¡¯t clean and t,¡± I exined, pointing at the wounds near the victim¡¯s heart. ¡°This means that the knife was tilted as it plunged into the victim¡¯s body and when it was pulled out. A professional would¡¯ve stabbed the victim straight on, creating a clean wound that should resemble the mouth of a fish. I¡¯m pretty sure the murderer is an amateur.¡±


    ¡°In that case,¡± said Xiaotao, ¡°the murderer probably had a deep hatred for the victim!¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°The victim was the boss of an underworld gang,¡± I said. ¡°He must¡¯ve made more than a handful of enemies in his life. It¡¯s not surprising that someone would hold a grudge against him.¡±


    I then took off the victim¡¯s pants, and immediately the victim¡¯s penis bounced up like a small wooden stick. Xiaotao grimaced and turned away immediately. I flicked it with a finger and eximed, ¡°What a surprise!¡±


    ¡°You idiot!¡± snapped Xiaotao. ¡°You know, it¡¯s like you transform into a totally different person whenever there are dead bodies around.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said. ¡°I just thought that the atmosphere was too depressing. I wanted to liven up the mood, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Liven up the mood?¡± Xiaotao and Dali shouted simultaneously.


    ¡°Anyway,¡± Xiaotao continued shyly. ¡°Why is that thing in that state?¡±


    ¡°Blood stops flowing immediately after death,¡± I exined, ¡°so if there was an erection at the moment of death, it will remain so after death.¡±


    ¡°You mean he was having sex when he died?¡± asked Dali.


    ¡°Not necessarily,¡± I shook my head. ¡°When a man is suffocated, it is not umon that he would have an erection.¡±


    ¡°But he was clearly stabbed to death!¡± argued Dali.


    ¡°The stabbing is only the direct cause of death,¡± I exined. ¡°The real cause of death still depends on the position of the fatal stab and which organs stopped functioning first. If the fatal stab was in the lungs, the blood could block the trachea and cause the victim to choke to death.¡±


    I then asked Dali to help me bend the knees and arms of the victim while I constantly listened to the movements of the joints to determine the posture of the victim when he died. As we did so, the victim¡¯s penis kept swaying to and fro in front of us. It was a pretty distracting sight.


    ¡°Will it ejacte, dude?¡± Dali asked with concern.


    I listened intently to the victim¡¯s joints and bones and answered, ¡°Yes, be careful!¡±


    Dali immediately moved his face away nervously.


    Then I asked Dali to lie down on an empty bed next to the victim. He reluctantly did so. I kept adjusting the joints of the victim¡¯s arms and legs, then finally fixed on a pose.


    ¡°This is the posture that the victim was in at the moment of his death!¡± I dered.


    Dali tried to imitate the victim¡¯s posture, bending his legs this way and stretching his arms that way. Xiaotao frowned as she watched on.


    ¡°What a strange posture!¡± she eximed.


    ¡°Try it upside down, Dali!¡± I ordered.


    Dali turned over and propped his hands on the bed and bent his knees. Xiaotao immediately recognized what it was.


    ¡°He was indeed having sex when he died!¡± she eximed.


    ¡°Yes!¡± I replied. Then I used the Echolocation Rod as a substitute for a knife and made stabbing gestures on Dali¡¯s chest. ¡°Judging from the position and distance of the knife, the identity of the murderer is now clear!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely a woman, then,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°But didn¡¯t Hamster tell you there was no one with Cao Da at the time?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I corrected her. ¡°His original words implied that there wasn¡¯t a single living person in the room. The wording may be the key to solving the case. But I¡¯ll need to examine the corpse a little bit more.¡±


    ¡°Can I get out of this posture now?¡± Dali asked.


    ¡°No,¡± I ordered. ¡°Stay in that posture!¡±


    Then I went under him and he blushed.


    ¡°Dude!¡± he said. ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie is right there! Don¡¯t act like we¡¯re in our dorm room!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± I spat. ¡°Don¡¯t make it sound weird, okay? I never do this with you when we¡¯re in the dorm room!¡±


    Xiaotao couldn¡¯t help but burst intoughter. I was only trying to reenact the murder so I could get more valuable information. There was an ancestor of mine whose name was Song Xia who would solve murder cases rapidly by putting himself in situations that the victim was in at the moment of death. If he was investigating a case that involved someone being buried alive, then he¡¯d bury himself alive too. If he was investigating a case where the victim drowned, then he would tie a heavy rock to his feet and jump into the water. Compared to his dedication, what I was doing could be considered insignificant!


    In order to make the reenactment more realistic, I spread my legs and ced them beside Dali¡¯s legs. Dali instantly became very embarrassed.


    ¡°Dude, we must never let anyone else know what we¡¯re doing, okay?¡± he told me. ¡°If one of our ssmates found out about this, they¡¯ll make fun of us and we¡¯ll never hear the end of it!¡±


    ¡°What are you telling me that for?¡± I shot back. ¡°You¡¯re always the one who can¡¯t keep your mouth shut! By the way, we¡¯re supposed to be having sex here, can¡¯t you move your hips a bit?¡±


    ¡°Shit, dude, you¡¯re taking this too seriously!¡±


    ¡°Shut up! It¡¯s not like I¡¯m asking you to take off your pants! Hurry up!¡±


    Dali began to move up and down awkwardly. I nudged him in the chest with the Echolocation Rod, then an idea shed in my mind and I told Dali to stop immediately. I got off the bed and examined the victim¡¯s body again, and sure enough, there was a particrly long incision in the diaphragm.


    ¡°This is where the victim was first stabbed,¡± I said. ¡°At the time, the victim was moving up and down just like Dali, and the knife plunged into him as he and the murderer were having sex, catching him by surprise. Judging from the position of the wound, I think the murderer is about 150 cm tall.¡±


    Then I examined the victim¡¯s chest a little more closely and eximed, ¡°Wait! Something¡¯s wrong here!¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    The victim was the boss of an underworld gang. Judging from the old scars on his body, he¡¯d been stabbed many times before. Why would he justy there and let the murderer stab him a dozen more times without fighting back?


    I massaged my temples and fell deep into my thoughts. It seemed that the only way to find out was to continue with the reenactment, but when I turned around, Dali wasn¡¯t there. I heard his voiceing from the door saying, ¡°I gotta go to the toilet, dude! I¡¯ll be back in a second!¡±


    ¡°Idiot!¡± I spat. ¡°Just when I need him to be here!¡±


    ¡°I can rece him!¡± Xiaotao offered with a smile.


    ¡°W-What?¡± I stuttered, blushing.

 Chapter 154

    <h4>Chapter 154</h4>


    ¡°What?¡± asked Xiaotao. ¡°We¡¯re only reenacting the murder! Come on!¡±


    She pushed me onto the bed and climbed atop of me herself. So she wanted me to act as the murderer.


    ¡°Your skin is so smooth,¡± she said with a smile. ¡°It feels like a baby¡¯s butt! I love girls with smooth skin like that! Tell me, how old are you?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to get that deep into the role!¡± I eximed. ¡°It feels weird!¡±


    I knocked her leg with the Echolocation Rod, and Xiaotao stopped joking around immediately. Although I was a little shy about it at first, once I got into investigating mode, the surrounding environment blurred into the background and all I would think of was the murder.


    We tried to reenact every detail of the crime. When I stabbed her chest with the Echolocation Rod, Xiaotao immediately covered her chest with her hands and shrank away.


    ¡°No,¡± I said, ¡°you must think like a gangster. What would his first reaction be when he gets stabbed for the first time?¡±


    ¡°Snatch the knife!¡± Xiaotao replied.


    ¡°Right,¡± I said, ¡°but he didn¡¯t do anything. He was stabbed a dozen more times without even fighting back.¡±


    I jumped off the bed to check the victim¡¯s hand. The palm of his hand was very wide. I sniffed at it and made a surprising discovery. I sniffed at the victim¡¯s hand again to confirm my finding, then said, ¡°The victim and the murderer took a bath together. The victim even massaged the victim¡¯s hair with shampoo. Judging by the scent left on his hands, he did it very thoroughly too. It looked like the victim had a very intimate rtionship with the murderer. I don¡¯t think the murderer is a prostitute.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps she was his mistress,¡± Xiaotao suggested.


    ¡°No matter what the murderer¡¯s identity was,¡± I said, ¡°it still befuddles me how she managed to escape the gang members¡¯ notice when they found Cao Da¡¯s body. Hamster insisted that the victim was found in a locked room. There was no reason for him to lie, and he got the information from multiple sources too.¡±


    I checked the other hand and found that there was a slight muscle strain at the joints, which seemed to have been inflicted after death. I asked Xiaotao to get the por water spray from my bag, and I sprayed it on the palm of the victim¡¯s hand. Blue marks appeared on it¡ªthis meant that there were traces of blood there.


    I pointed at the blue lines that appeared on the victim¡¯s hand and asked Xiaotao, ¡°What do you think that looks like?¡±


    ¡°It looks like... a wooden pattern.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I replied. ¡°It¡¯s the knife¡¯s hilt! After killing the victim, the murderer forced the knife into the victim¡¯s hand.¡±


    In that case, the murderer¡¯s fingerprint should be on the back of the victim¡¯s hand! I blew some seaweed powder on the back of the victim¡¯s hand, and a fingerprint really did appear, but it was an iplete fragment. The victim¡¯s body had probably been cleaned after he was found, and that wiped away most of the oil on the skin surface.


    But judging by the length and width of the fingers, the murderer was undoubtedly a woman. Her height was also about 150cm as I spected. I took a picture of the fingerprint with my phone.


    ¡°What a pity!¡± sighed Xiaotao. ¡°It would¡¯ve been key evidence! Do you think the murderer has an aplice within the gang? I mean, is it really possible that the surveince video caught nothing at all? Perhaps it wasn¡¯t even really a locked room?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just focus on one line of possibility at a time!¡±


    I had no idea why the murderer had to force the knife into the victim¡¯s hand. If the murderer had the ability to disappear out of thin air, why would they even bother with such a trick?


    I used a syringe to collect a blood sample from the victim. Because he¡¯d been dead for quite some time, it was difficult to draw out the blood, and in the end I managed to get just a few drops of blood. I dripped it into the test solution that I prepared to identify which type of poison was in his body. The blood sank straight to the bottom of the vial.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Xiaotao, who¡¯d never seen me use this technique before.


    ¡°The victim was poisoned by snake venom!¡±


    ¡°What now?¡± Xiaotao frowned. ¡°So there¡¯s snake venom too? What a messy andplicated case!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I replied. By now all the details fell into ce in my mind. ¡°It¡¯s notplicated or messy at all! All the clues are now connected! How do you think the snake venom entered the victim¡¯s body?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡ªinjection? Ingestion?¡±


    ¡°The mainposition of snake venom is protein,¡± I exined. ¡°So if you ingest it, it would cause you no harm at all since your stomach acid would digest it. It¡¯s only harmful when it directly enters the bloodstream!¡±


    I turned the victim¡¯s body over and checked it again and again, but I found no traces of needle puncture wounds or signs of snake bites. When I turned the victim¡¯s body back to its original posture, I suddenly realized the truth¡ªit was the knife! The poison was smeared on the de of the knife, and that was why the victim did not resist or fight back¡ªhe was already paralyzed after the first stab!


    I asked Xiaotao to take the remaining blood back to theb for testing so we could identify which snake species the venom was taken from. At that moment, the victim¡¯s penis suddenly jerked upright, and just as Xiaotao and I looked at it, it ejacted!


    It did so twice in a row, depositing a considerable amount of semen on the victim¡¯s belly. The penis eventually settled down, but it stayed erect.


    ¡°Uh...¡± I muttered. ¡°Well, that¡¯s not so surprising, considering the ¡®bullet¡¯ has always been in the ¡®gun barrel¡¯...¡±


    Xiaotaoughed.


    ¡°Thank god Dali wasn¡¯t here!¡± she eximed. ¡°He would¡¯ve died if he saw that!¡±


    We turned to each other simultaneously. Speaking of Dali, why was he still not back from the toilet yet?


    Xiaotao immediately called Dali. I quickly put the victim¡¯s clothes back on and covered his body with the white sheet. I had gotten all the information that I could possibly get from the dead body. If I wanted more, I would have to resort to more intrusive methods which would leave signs on the victim¡¯s body, and that was out of the question.


    Xiaotao had been calling Dali several times, but he didn¡¯t answer the phone. I could hear the faint sound of Dali¡¯s ringtone down the hallway, and that gave me a bad feeling.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go find him!¡± I cried.


    When we came to the toilet, Dali was nowhere to be found. I asked Xiaotao to call him again, and the sound of his ringtone was heard from inside the toilet. Something definitely happened and it shocked Dali so much that he dropped his phone!


    I looked down onto the floor, and noticed sets of bloody footprints. Judging from the stride and length of the foot, it was left by a woman!


    I pointed this out to Xiaotao and told her it must¡¯ve been the woman in white that we saw earlier.


    ¡°So-So it really was a ghost?¡± she asked, frightened. ¡°Could it be that Dali was captured by her?¡±


    ¡°Look,¡± I pointed to a spot on the floor. ¡°There¡¯s a puddle of yellow liquid here.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°That idiot must¡¯ve been scared!¡± Iughed. ¡°Judging by the position, I think Dali pissed himself when he saw the ghost, and that made him run away.¡±


    We followed the bloody footprints until we went outside of the funeral home. asionally, we would find small puddles of Dali¡¯s urine along the way. These bloody footprints were very faint. We had to look very carefully to find them. In the end, Xiaotao couldn¡¯t find it anymore, and after a few more steps, even I couldn¡¯t see the footprints either. Yet the stench of blood and urine was still in the air.


    We came to a building nearby that had a sign that said ¡®Cremation Ground, No Entry¡¯ above the door. I pushed the door open and discovered that the stench of blood was even more pronounced here.


    There was a screen in front of the door, and from behind it we heard Dali scream, ¡°Go away! Go away! Don¡¯te near me!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s us!¡± I assured him.


    ¡°Dude!¡± he cried upon hearing my voice. ¡°Thank god you found me! I was chased by a ghost just now!¡±


    We went behind the screen and saw Dali squatting under a metal table, shaking like a leaf. His pants were all wet with urine.


    ¡°Where did that ghost go?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Do you think it really is a ghost, Song Yang?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like we¡¯ve never seen a ghost before,¡± Iughed. ¡°But the problem is... do you think ghosts would leave footprints like what we just saw? I suspect that it¡¯s a human being.¡±


    There was a heavy stench of blood that seemed toe from another room nearby. I asked Dali, ¡°Didn¡¯t you smell the blood? Are there any dead bodies in there?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, dude,¡± replied Dali. ¡°I¡¯ve been crying so hard that my nose got stuffy. I can¡¯t smell anything.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look inside, then!¡± I suggested.


    It turned out that the other room was the mortuary. The ce where Dali was cowering in was the temporary morgue. The moment I opened the door to the mortuary, a man wrapped in a white shroud came straight at us...

 Chapter 155

    <h4>Chapter 155</h4>


    Xiaotao and Dali screamed in horror and were about to bolt. The man stumbled and fell on me. I supported him with both of my hands. His body was wrapped up in white shrouds and his hands were stretched forward stiffly like a zombie. It seemed that it was another case of post-mortem spasm.


    ¡°What is there to be scared of about dead bodies?¡± Iughed.


    ¡°You¡¯re the weirdo, dude!¡± Dali shouted. ¡°What kind of question is that? What could be scarier than a freaking walking corpse?¡±


    I looked around and found another corpse in the room. I pushed the walking corpse to the side and walked into the room. There were threerge iron furnaces in the crematorium. One of them was still burning, while the other two were locked. Glowing red light radiated from the mouth of the furnace, illuminating the whole room even though no light was turned on. There was a faint scent of roasted meat in the air. A human corpse would need to be burned for a long time to turn it into ashes. Someone would need to monitor the temperature of the furnace at all times for safety reasons and also to allow the corpse to burn fully.


    There was a table on the other side of the room with unfinished food and a drink on it. There was also a washbasin next to the table withbs, towels, vaseline oil and a kettle.


    There was a rolled-up straw mat on the ground in front of the table, and a man was lying on it on his back. The right half of his face was covered in blood which flowed down to his neck and even on his padded jacket. His eyes were both bulging out from the sockets.


    A blood-stained ashtrayy beside him, and the cigarette butts in it were scattered everywhere.


    Judging from his outfit, he was probably the staff responsible for monitoring the furnace. He was about 40 to 50 years old. He was wearing a padded jacket, but his lower body waspletely nude. His penis was erect and it was glistening under the dim light from the furnace.


    At first nce, it was obvious that the man had just died not long ago. The blood on his head hadn¡¯t yetpletely dried up. Xiaotao checked his jugr vein with her fingers and said, ¡°I¡¯ll call to inform the station.¡±


    ¡°How would you exin our presence here?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just be honest,¡± Xiaotao answered. ¡°We came here to investigate a murder, after all. Still, we must be careful not to let any outsiders know that we¡¯re here.¡±


    I nodded. Xiaotao called the police station and asked for some officers to be dispatched here immediately.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen enough tonight,¡± Dali whined. ¡°Can¡¯t we go home now, dude?¡±


    I red at him and started to perform Organ Echolocation on the victim. It seemed that his internal organs were directly injured, but there was a hematoma in the stomach, which had ruptured. This might have been caused by the blow to the head and the subsequent fall. When someone got hit severely hit on the head in the movies, they would immediately faint and ck out. But in reality, if you got hit on the head seriously enough, your body would twitch violently and your saliva would stream out of your mouth. It would be a horrifying sight indeed, nothing like the tame version usually shown on TV at all.


    Likewise, the drool in the corners of the victim¡¯s mouth and the bulging eyes would¡¯ve been caused by the blow to the head.


    I sprinkled some seaweed powder on the victim and found a clear palm print on his neck. This got me excited. For the first time that night, I was able to acquire a clear fingerprint. I pulled out my phone and took a picture of it immediately.


    Then I realized something. Ipared the palm print with the fingerprint fragment from earlier and told Xiaotao, ¡°They¡¯re identical!¡±


    ¡°What? But how?¡±


    I got on my knees and smelled the ground like a dog. There was a very faint feminine scent on the straw mat.


    ¡°Wait here,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a minute!¡±


    I rushed out and returned to the main funeral home. There was an empty bed next to Cao Da, not the one we used earlier but on the other side of the victim. The white sheet on that bed was quite messy, as if a body used to be there but was removed recently.


    This was a crucial detail that I¡¯d overlooked!


    I sniffed at the bed carefully, and it smelled of rot and some cleaning chemicals used to clean the corpse. But apart from that, I detected a very faint feminine fragrance too.


    Cao Da and the staff in the crematorium were killed by the same person!


    The murderer had been lying beside the victim all along! That was the true meaning of the words ¡®not a single living person¡¯ found in the room with Cao Da!


    Every detail fell into ce neatly now, and I could feel that I was close to finding out the truth. I almost burst out inughter due to the excitement!


    At that moment, a bright light flickered outside the window. It couldn¡¯t have been the police yet. My first hunch told me that someone was probably stealing Xiaotao¡¯s car.


    I ran out in a hurry, but found Xiaotao¡¯s BMW sedan parked there undisturbed. Then I saw a ck Volkswagen Santana pulling up and leaving the ce. The car¡¯s license te was covered with a red cloth. This car was just too suspicious. It was highly likely that it was rted to the two murders.


    I yelled for the car to stop but to no avail. I remembered how Xiaotao shot a car to mark an escaping car in an earlier case, so I picked up a stone and hurled it towards the car, smashing the rear windshield.


    Xiaotao and Dali ran out, but at that point the car was already gone. I briefly exined what just went on to them. Xiaotao nodded and replied, ¡°Right, when the police arrive, I¡¯ll ask them to track down the car.¡±


    ¡°By the way,¡± I added, ¡°I found out who the murderer is.¡±


    ¡°Who is it?¡± Xiaotao and Dali asked in unison.


    ¡°A female corpse!¡± I replied.


    Cao Da was probably a necrophiliac. He was probably having his way with the corpse alone in the back room of the night club. He bathed her, dressed her up just like a child would dress up a doll, and then have sex with her.


    Unbeknownst to him, the corpse suddenly came back to life during sex and stabbed Cao Da in the chest. The knife was either prepared in advance or it probably was something Cao Da carried with him all the time. After stabbing Cao Da, she forced the knife into his hand and continued to pretend to be dead.


    Therefore, the murderer didn¡¯t need to herself at all, because no one would ever suspect a dead woman.


    When the gang members broke in, all they saw was their boss, stabbed multiple times in the chest while still holding a weapon in his hands. None of them would take notice of the corpse since they knew that she was dead all along. And that was why they insisted that there wasn¡¯t a single living person at the murder scene.


    Cao Da¡¯s body was then sent to the funeral home together with the dead woman. The staff at the crematorium saw the young and beautiful dead woman, so he brought her to the crematorium during the night to have his way with her. Theb we saw at the scene was probably used tob the corpse¡¯s hair, the towel was probably soaked in hot water to soften the joints of her stiff body, and it was probably unnecessary to exin what he used the Vaseline for.


    In fact, such scandals were not umon in funeral homes. Because of their profession, undertakers and those who worked in funeral homes were shunned by society in general and they were mostly isted. So, whenever there was a young and beautiful corpse, some of them used it as an opportunity to vent their frustrations.


    For some unknown reason, the dead woman came back to life again, and when she saw what was happening, she hurled the ashtray at the funeral home staff and identally killed him before escaping. Then she wandered around the funeral home, which was when we saw her. She even bumped into Dali in the toilet.


    After listening to my exnation, Xiaotao sighed, ¡°A dead woman who came back to life... What a horrifying twist!¡±


    Dali¡¯s face was as white as a sheet. In a voice that almost broke into sobs, he pleaded, ¡°Dude, this case is just too scary! Let¡¯s not investigate it anymore! We can¡¯t fight a zombie!¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°The murderer is definitely a normal human being. She just suffers from some kind of strange disease that puts her into a death-like state. Either that, or she uses some type of drug to induce that state. Dali, do you remember what she looked like?¡±


    Xiaotao and I looked at him at the same time.


    ¡°No, dude,¡± said Dali, waving his hands. ¡°My phone fell out of my hand and into the toilet when she appeared in front of me, so I didn¡¯t see anything at all.¡±


    Xiaotao sighed.


    ¡°Perhaps she had an aplice?¡± she suggested. ¡°Could she escape with someone else in that ck Santana?¡±


    I fell silent for a while.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± I said. ¡°I think we can find more clues from the dead body!¡±

 Chapter 156

    <h4>Chapter 156</h4>


    ¡°Figuring out the mystery behind the case got you excited, didn¡¯t it?¡± asked Xiaotao with augh as we were returning to Cao Da¡¯s corpse.


    ¡°Uh, no...¡± I protested weakly, but in truth, I really was much more motivated now than when we first arrived here. We were literally and metaphoricallypletely in the dark back then, but everything had begun to make sense now.


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me, silly!¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°I know you inside and out!¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± Dali stopped me before I pushed the door to the morgue open. ¡°Can you promise me no zombie will ambush us when we enter the room?¡±


    ¡°Oh, for god¡¯s sake!¡± snapped Xiaotao. ¡°Stop imagining things and scaring yourself witless!¡±


    Xiaotao pped Dali¡¯s back with force, making Dali squeak and tumble forward against the door, pushing it open. Nothing that he imagined happened, of course. The middle-aged man¡¯s corpse was still lying on the floor as it did before and everything else was unchanged. I went back to performing autopsy on the corpse and determined the time of death to be about less than an hour ago, which was to say that the murder urred around the same time that we arrived at the funeral home.


    I nced into the furnace and noticed that the corpse inside had only been burned to ashes about twenty minutes ago. Normally, a corpse wouldn¡¯t need that much time to burn to ashes. It seemed that the middle-aged man had turned the furnace temperature down for some reason, and I suspected that he used it as a heating source!


    He was spending a cold November evening by a burning corpse that was his source of warmth, drinking alcohol, and fooling around with a beautiful female corpse¡ªyou¡¯d need to be perverted to a certain degree to do that!


    The other male corpse in the room was probably next in line to be burned that night, and in the crematorium staff¡¯s mind, he was probably no different than a log of wood to stoke the fire with.


    Speaking of which, there was a Song family member in the past who exhibited simr questionable behaviours. He waspletely misunderstood, though. His philosophy was to care for the dead bodies as if they were his close friends. Every time he performed an autopsy, he would shut himself up with the corpse and spend days alone with it. He would even take off his clothes andy next to the corpse and chat with it for hours and hours, sometimes for the whole night. On one asion, an official bumped into him in that circumstance and used him of defiling the corpse. My ancestor couldn¡¯t prove his innocence, so in the end he was forced out of his position and became a farmer instead.


    If you spend a lot of time dealing with corpses and death in general, your psyche would change in a major way that differentiated you from the rest of humanity. Take me, for example. When normal people encounter gory dead bodies, they¡¯d recoil in disgust and horror whereas I would feel inexplicably excited and fascinated about it. I sometimes worry that I might be on a downward spiral towards a mental breakdown...


    I kneeled down to sniff the victim¡¯s penis, much to Dali¡¯s revulsion. The lubricant on the victim¡¯s penis was indeed petroleum jelly, which meant that the female corpse did not secrete any bodily fluid.


    Then I poured the alcohol I found on the table over the victim¡¯s head to wash off his blood. I found that his skull was fractured in many spots. Comparing the fractures with the ashtray, I tried to reenact the murder. From what I found, the dead woman was lying on the straw mat when she suddenly came back to life. When she realized what was happening, she picked up the ashtray on the table and bashed it on the victim¡¯s head violently about three times, causing the victim¡¯s death.


    The ashtray shattered into small pieces, and they scattered all over the floor. I searched among the pieces carefully and finally found something interesting. I picked it up with tweezers and showed it to Xiaotao.


    ¡°Fingernail?¡± she eximed in surprise.


    I checked the victim¡¯s fingers. The fingernail was obviously not his, which meant that it must be the murderer¡¯s. I noticed the fingernail was stained with some blood too, and it could well be the murderer¡¯s as well.


    This would be a crucial piece of material evidence, enough to convict the murderer in court. I carefully ced the fingernail fragment in an evidence bag. Then I asked Dali to help me carry the victim¡¯s body off of the mat. The blood had soaked into the straw mat and stained most of it red, but my eyes noticed something else on it that I had to examine more closely.


    ¡°Dali, open the furnace door!¡± I ordered.


    ¡°Why? You wanna add more firewood?¡±


    ¡°Shut up and hurry up! This isn¡¯t the time to be joking!¡±


    Dali put on a pair of thick cotton gloves over thetex gloves that he had on and pulled open the furnace door. The mes raged wildly inside the furnace, causing Dali to flinch subconsciously. I could make out a skeletal figure in the zing fire, and it was surrounded by a blue halo. This was caused by the phosphorus in the human bones. Light emitted by phosphorus mes had an even shorter wavelength than the ultraviolet light. In ancient times, my ancestors would use this uncanny light to perform autopsies. And now, I would utilize the very same method too!


    I opened my Autopsy Umbre and let the light from the furnace stream through it and onto the straw mat. As I turned the umbre in a circle, the blood on the mat began to change colors. When I turned the umbre to a certain angle, the outline of a woman¡¯s body appeared on the mat.


    Xiaotao and Dali were flummoxed.


    ¡°Is that the murderer?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I answered. ¡°The blood had soaked into the whole mat, but at the moment the murderer ¡®woke up,¡¯ she was lying on the mat and the victim was above her. She smashed the ashtray onto the victim¡¯s head and his blood sprayed on her, leaving her outline when she left. The murderer then pushed the victim away, got up, and left. After that, more blood flowed onto the mat and covered the firstyer of blood, mixing them all up. But actually, the differentyers of blood decayed at different rates, and they would appear in different colors under the phosphorus light.¡±


    ¡°Fascinating!¡± eximed Xiaotao as she stared at the human outline on the mat.


    The color of the bloodstains kept changing under the flickering glow of the phosphorus light. It looked as if the ¡®woman¡¯ on the mat was moving!


    ¡°Hurry up and take a picture, Dali!¡± I shouted.


    Dali had been standing there stunned for a few minutes. When he heard my voice, he quickly pulled out his phone and took pictures of the mat from different angles. I then closed the furnace door.


    Dali put up his hand like an elementary school student and timidly asked, ¡°If the murderer was fighting back during the victim¡¯s assault, wouldn¡¯t this be an act of self-defense?¡±


    ¡°That is for the court to decide,¡± answered Xiaotao. ¡°Our duty is just to identify and arrest the murderer.¡±


    I¡¯d examined the body thoroughly before, but I went back to it again just to see if I¡¯d missed anything. At that moment, Xiaotao suddenly announced, ¡°Hey, Song Yang! Care to witness the peerless detective skills of the Huang family?¡±


    ¡°Okay, sure!¡± I replied with full interest.


    ¡°Here I go,¡± she said. Then she cleared her throat and began, ¡°The victim¡¯s nickname is Lao Gui. He had a friend who¡¯s also a necrophiliac. Lao Gui told his friend he found a good ¡®toy¡¯ that he could lend him for two days. That ck Santana you saw just now was probably Lao Gui¡¯s friend.¡±


    Dali gasped and cried, ¡°That¡¯s amazing, Xiaotao-jiejie! Maybe you¡¯re a descendant of the legendary Huang Tianba!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± snapped Xiaotao.


    I noticed that Xiaotao was hiding one of her hands behind her back, so I told her, ¡°Okay, Xiaotao, now hand over the evidence!¡±


    She stuck out her tongue at me and revealed an old-fashioned Nokia phone in her hand. She¡¯d found it in the corner of the room. There were several text messages on it which contained the same information that Xiaotao just told us.


    ¡°I thought he was the murderer¡¯s aplice,¡± I said. ¡°Turns out, he could be the next victim. We have to hurry and go find him!¡±


    ¡°But he¡¯s just another pervert,¡± remarked Dali. ¡°I don¡¯t see the point of going out of our way to rescue him.¡±


    ¡°How can you say that?¡± retorted Xiaotao. ¡°That¡¯s no reason to ignore him. As a police officer, my duty is to protect all citizens, no matter what their perverted hobby may be.¡±


    Just then, we heard the sound of sirens. I burned a stack of joss paper in honor of the victim and prepared to leave.


    1. A historical court official in thete Qing dynasty and the protagonist of many historical novels.

 Chapter 157

    <h4>Chapter 157</h4>


    The police officers soon arrived and dealt with the murder scene ordingly. By then it was already one o¡¯clock in the morning and the three of us were exhausted. We decided to rest for a while in a police car. Xiaotao ordered one of her officers to prepare three bowls of instant noodles for us. We were starving at the time, so when the three piping hot bowls of noodles arrived, we gobbled them up and finished them within minutes.


    ¡°How considerate of the officers to even bring their own hot water!¡± Dali remarked.


    ¡°They didn¡¯t,¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°It¡¯s from the victim¡¯s kettle.¡±


    ¡°Shit!¡± cursed Dali, almost throwing the bowl away.


    Once she was done eating, Xiaotao got out of the car and ordered a few officers to contact the person in charge of the funeral home. The others were ordered to track down a ck Volkswagen Santana with a broken rear windshield.


    An idea shed in my head and I told her, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that people with unusual ¡®hobbies¡¯ like necrophilia generally would have forums or chat groups on the inte where they discuss their activities. If we can find thiswork, these people should be within easy reach.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s half past one right now,¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°Who¡¯s going to help us look for that?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± I smiled. ¡°I think it¡¯s time to call Lao Yao again.¡±


    I gave Lao Yao a call, and unsurprisingly, he was still up at the time. I briefly exined the situation that we were in. Lao Yao sounded excited at the prospect of investigating necrophilia forums, but him being the greedy pig that he was, there was no way that we could end the conversation without discussing his rewards.


    Xiaotao motioned with her fingers telling me to hand my phone over to her. Then she said, ¡°Hey, Lao Yao! It¡¯s me!¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that you, Xiaotao-jiejie?¡± answered Lao Yao excitedly. The pitch of his voice increased at least two notes the moment he recognized Xiaotao¡¯s voice. ¡°The hand cream from New Zend was so luxurious! I loved it so much! What am I going to get this time?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lao Yao,¡± Xiaotao replied. ¡°I can¡¯t afford to give you expensive things every time. Have you had supper yet?¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Lao Yao, ¡°now that you mention it, I¡¯ve been ying League of Legends all night and I haven¡¯t had a bite of food since lunch! I¡¯m starving now!¡±


    ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll order a full barbecue meal from a famous restaurant for you right away.¡±


    Lao Yao was so thrilled that he didn¡¯t know what to say. Xiaotao hung up the phone and picked the cheapest barbecue restaurant near our college to order from. She ordered plenty of eggnts, roasted leeks, and potatoes, all of which cost no more than fifty yuan.


    It was very clever on Xiaotao¡¯s part to reward Lao Yao with objects instead of money, because you could always lie about the true value of objects while at the same time making yourself look generous. Lao Yao might have been known for his cunningness and shrewdness within our circle, but he was no match for Xiaotao.


    My mind went back to the female corpse in the current case. Indeed, she must be extremely beautiful as she was an insatiable temptation to the victim and his friend. Something would definitely happen to the man who stole the female corpse soon, so we couldn¡¯t rest now. We must race against time to find him.


    We returned to the police station. Xiaotao asked an officer to buy arge box of Red Bull to keep us awake as we gathered in a conference room waiting for new information. This case excited me so much that I didn¡¯t need any energy drink to keep going. Dali, on the other hand, gulped down three cans of Red Bull and still struggled to keep his eyes open.


    At two o¡¯clock in the morning, Lao Yao called Xiaotao through a messenger app. She connected her phone to aptop and increased the volume so everyone could hear Lao Yao.


    ¡°These guys sure are a piece of work!¡± eximed Lao Yao while chewing some food, probably the barbecue that Xiaotao ordered for him. ¡°Take a look at these photos I found from their forum! I must warn you though¡ªthey¡¯re not for the faint of heart! I almost lost my appetite when I saw them.¡±


    ¡°Get to the point!¡± urged Xiaotao.


    Lao Yao shared his screen from hisputer to theptop in the conference room. Xiaotao asked someone to turn on the projector so everyone could see what Lao Yao was doing. He was in a forum called NecroLove and his username was NecroDevil.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong,¡± Lao Yao interjected. ¡°I¡¯m not one of them. It¡¯s difficult for non-members to get into their forum, so I had to steal one of their identities.¡±


    A QQ profile appeared on the screen, to which Lao Yao exined, ¡°This is the 48-year-old crematorium staff you found dead. He imed here in his profile that he works in ¡®the industry¡¯ and that he¡¯s been the provider of ¡®goods¡¯ for a long time. He also stated very clearly here that any interested parties can chat privately with him.¡±


    Lao Yao scrolled through his old chat history and found some pictures of corpses. Some of the officer¡¯s faces turned sickly green when they saw the pictures of those corpses in various questionable positions. I had learned from some psychology textbooks that necrophilia was a form of mental illness. There were many causes that triggered it. Affected people would have a strong desire to engage in a sexual intercourse with corpses and some would have no interest whatsoever, whether sexually or emotionally, in living people.


    Some necrophiliacs might not actually have sex with actual corpses, but they would instead make their partners or prostitutes dress up and pretend to be dead bodies. Others would even cool their partner¡¯s body with ice packs and use makeup foundation to paint their partner¡¯s skin as white as a corpse. And if their partner moved even a little bit during sex, they would be violently furious!


    Some necrophiliacs, like the man Lao Yao found for example, worked in the morgues or in funeral homes where they could easily satisfy their darkest desires secretly.


    Some extreme necrophiliacs would go so far as digging up dead bodies from the graves. They would dress the corpse up meticulously, then live with them and treat them just as they would their real lovers. There was a man in Russia who dug up twenty-six female corpses from the cemetery, all aged between 15 and 26, and dressed them up like dolls and slept with them every night. The sight of this ghoulish ¡®harem¡¯ gave the police the fright of their lives when they discovered it.


    Lao Yao found another post by a member who went by the name Blooming Spring who said he¡¯d just obtained a piece of ¡®fresh meat¡¯ and was getting it ready. The posting time was about an hour after the ck Santana escaped. The same forum member also posted several photos of a female corpse lying on the bed with the face blurred out.


    Xiaotao asked Lao Yao to erge the photo. The female corpse wore a pink dress and was barefooted. Her body was pale and stiff, just like an intable doll.


    ¡°The blood has been wiped clean,¡± I said, ¡°and the clothes have been changed. I guess that¡¯s what the guy meant by ¡®getting it ready.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Can you pin down the IP address?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s from an apartmentplex near a post office in the south of the city ording to the LAN unit used,¡± replied Lao Yao. ¡°That¡¯s the best I can do.¡±


    Xiaotao sprang up to her feet and shouted, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    We hurried there, and by the time we reached the apartmentplex it was already 3.30 am. I was worried that the murder had already urred. There were about four or five blocks in the apartmentplex. An officer reported that he found a ck Santana parked nearby. The red cloth covering the license te had been removed. Xiaotao ordered the officers to track down the car owner¡¯s information. I stared wordlessly at the car for a few seconds, then had an idea. I broke the car window with my elbow and opened the door, triggering the deafening car rm. Lights in several houses were turned on as soon as the noise rang through the area.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing, dude?¡± asked Dali.


    ¡°Looking for clues in the car!¡±


    I got into the driver¡¯s seat and rummaged through the glovepartment, then found a fine ticket with the name Li Wei on it.


    Soon, residents of the apartmentplex ran down as they thought that there was a car burr. The officers roughly exined the situation to them.


    ¡°Do you know where Li Wei lives?¡± I asked the residents.


    ¡°I¡¯m a member of the neighborhoodmittee,¡± a middle-aged woman answered. ¡°There are four people called Li Wei here. Which one are you looking for?¡±


    ¡°A single man, pale-skinned, not very tall, seldom talks or socializes, and has never missed a bill payment before.¡±


    The woman thought for a while and replied, ¡°Must be the guy from Unit 502!¡±


    We hurried to that house, and on the way Xiaotao asked me, ¡°How did you know what he looks like, Song Yang?¡±


    ¡°Just a guess!¡± I replied.


    I exined that perverts like Li Wei generally seemed innocuous to the outside world in order to hide their dark secrets. They generally kept a low profile and had no social charm at all. Li Wei being a necrophiliac also meant that he certainly wouldn¡¯t have a girlfriend or a wife. Thest thing he wanted was for anyone to enter his house, so he would make sure to pay his water and electricity bills every month.


    Xiaotao looked at me with admiring eyes after listening to my deduction.


    When we reached the house, we found that the door was already wide open. We entered the house cautiously, but soon was met with the sight of a man lying in a pool of blood. He looked exactly as I had spected.


    ¡°We¡¯vee toote!¡± sighed Xiaotao.

 Chapter 158

    <h4>Chapter 158</h4>


    Li Weiy still on the bed in a pool of blood with a pair of scissors sticking out of his chest. I touched the vein on his wrist, and felt a faint pulse.


    ¡°He¡¯s still breathing!¡± I shouted. ¡°Quick, call the ambnce!¡±


    Xiaotao immediately dialed 120. I looked around the house and saw a closet full of girls¡¯ clothes, and on the table were some makeup,bs, false eyshes and other cosmetic items. Li Wei¡¯s blood was still warm, so the ¡®dead woman¡¯ must not have gone that far yet.


    I opened my Autopsy Umbre and borrowed a UVmp from the forensics team. I asked Dali to hold themp up for me while I slowly turned the Autopsy Umbre and scanned the whole room. Eventually, a set of very faint footprints appeared on the stairs.


    Dali and I followed it all the way down and we reached a flower bed in the front garden of the building. Surely enough, there was a woman¡¯s body lying among the flower nts!


    The woman was wearing a pink dress. Judging by her height and body size, she was undoubtedly the same woman who murdered Cao Da. As we went in closer to check on her, Dali suddenly eximed, ¡°She¡¯s so beautiful!¡±


    He was right. Even in death¡¯s slumber, the young woman¡¯s face was still sweet and demure. Her eyes were round andrge like that of an anime character¡¯s. I touched her and found that her body had gone cold. Her pale white skin had be bluish, and I could clearly see the veins underneath it. She had nothing else on her except for the pink dress. Parts of her body were stained with blood. I also noticed that the fingernail of her right index finger was broken.


    I checked her pulse and felt nothing.


    ¡°Give me my Echolocation Rod!¡± I shouted to Dali.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t bring it,¡± Dali replied. ¡°Your bag is still upstairs in the room. Is she really dead this time, dude?¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure myself. I¡¯d never encountered anything like this before.


    Momentster, I heard the sound of hurried footsteps approaching us. It was Xiaotao and the other officers. They stopped dead in their tracks when they noticed the dead woman. Xiaotao had brought my backpack with her, so I pulled the Echolocation Rod out from it and began examining the young woman¡¯s body thoroughly.


    I detected no heartbeat and no signs of activity from all of the organs whatsoever. I checked her pupils and found that they werepletely dted. To put it simply, she fit the all characteristics of a dead person to a T!


    I then noticed an object sticking out between the woman¡¯s legs. I lifted the hem of the dress and found a stic rod there. Many officers looked away with a deep frown. I pulled that thing out and examined it. It turned out to be a stic heating rod coated with oil, and it was something that was often used with blow-up dolls.


    Li Wei was probably using it to warm up the dead woman¡¯s vagina. To his horror, it caused the young woman toe back to life, and when she saw what he was doing to her, she grabbed a pair of scissors nearby and stabbed him with it to fight him off. Then she escaped through the door and copsed again on the flower bed. All this must¡¯ve happened in mere minutes before we arrived.


    ¡°Give me some room,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll try to bring her back to life!¡±


    Everyone stepped back cautiously. I inserted the heating rod back into the young woman. I didn¡¯t feel awkward or embarrassed about it at all as she was only a corpse in my eyes at the moment.


    I braced myself and waited. Secondster, the young woman suddenly opened her eyes. Her dted pupils constricted again, and when she saw me, she grabbed a stone nearby and tried to smash it on my head. I activated my Cave Vision the second she raised her arm and managed to predict her actions through her muscle movements. Xiaotao shouted for me to be careful, and at the same moment, the stone flew out of her hand. I inched to the side, and the stone whistled past me, grazing the tip of my nose.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid!¡± I tried to reassure her. ¡°We¡¯re the police!¡±


    The young woman backed away in panic. She jumped up to her feet and staggered away, trying to escape. Xiaotao ordered the officers to surround her and block her from getting away. At that moment, the young woman¡¯s eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she fell t to the ground with a loud thud. Everyone was astounded. An officer approached her slowly and put a finger under her nose.


    ¡°She¡¯s dead again...¡± he announced.


    ¡°Take her back to the police station!¡± ordered Xiaotao.


    We all returned to the station along with the ¡®dead¡¯ woman. No one could say for sure if she was there as the suspect or the deceased. In the end, it was decided that the body was to be put in the morgue, but the air-conditioning would be turned off and two police officers would watch over her at all times.


    By then, it was almost at the crack of dawn.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing more to do now,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll drive both of you back to college.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I refused. ¡°You¡¯ve been up all night too. We¡¯ll just take the morning bus back.¡±


    Xiaotao must¡¯ve been exhausted herself, so she didn¡¯t argue. Dali and I left the police station and took the bus back to our dorm. When we reached our room, we copsed and slept till noon.


    ¡°Ugh, my back is killing me!¡±ined Dali when he woke up.


    Just then, I received a text message from Xiaotao, which read, ¡°The girl is still dead. I¡¯ve asked someone to track down her identity.¡±


    I spent the best part of the day in the library, trying to get more information on the young woman¡¯s condition, which was something that I¡¯d never encountered before. It was not too umon for someone to have symptoms mimicking death. In fact, various heart and brain diseases might cause death-like symptoms. But usually there would be some telltale signs that differentiated these symptoms from actual death. This young woman, however, had a symptom so urately like death, with no detectable vital signs at all. A case like hers had, as far as I knew, never been recorded before.


    I found an author who had written books about umon medical conditions and decided to write him an email describing the details of the case and asked for his advice and suggestions.


    Even after writing that email, I couldn¡¯t get my mind off the case and wasn¡¯t in the mood to do anything else. It was as if I was in a trance¡ªI couldn¡¯t eat, I couldn¡¯t sleep, I couldn¡¯t do anything else but ponder on the puzzling case. Dali, on the other hand, went out and watched a movie with our roommates without a care in the world.


    The next morning, I received an email from the author. He exined that there was a disease called Intermittent False Death Syndrome. It had not been included in the World Health Organization¡¯s International ssification of Diseases because only two cases had ever been recorded in history. The pathological cause was never determined either.


    The author conjectured that people with this disease had a congenital defect in the center of the hypothmus, which intermittently brought the body to a state of halt before it fell into a condition of false death.


    I thanked the author for the information and asked him how one could awaken the patient. He replied by expressing great interest in the patient that I described and asked me who I was and how I encountered the patient. I told him that I was with the police.


    ¡°Ah, so you¡¯re a police officer!¡± he replied. ¡°ording to your description of the patient, she would be resuscitated whenever her body is engaged in sexual intercourse. In that case, I rmend injecting 3% epinephrine into her veins to wake her up.¡±


    Apart from that, he also expressed hopes to obtain first-hand research materials from me once the case had been resolved. I understood this feeling very well, so I agreed to discuss the matter with the other officers.


    I then immediately rushed to the police station with Dali. When he learned that I figured out a way to wake the girl up, he got so excited as if he was going to meet the angel of his dreams.


    ¡°Get a hold of yourself!¡± I reminded him. ¡°Did you forget the fact that she¡¯s a murderer?¡±


    ¡°She was clearly defending herself!¡± Dali retorted. ¡°How could a beautiful angel like her ever have a sinister thought in her pure mind? I think you¡¯re the one who should get a hold of yourself, dude!¡±


    I smiled wryly in response, secretly thinking how wed Dali¡¯s logic was in assuming that beautiful people couldn¡¯t be sinister.


    When we arrived, we found the police station to be particrly rowdy. It turned out that the two gangs were at each other¡¯s throats again. The ck Panthers gang members were so anxious to avenge their boss that they stabbed about three people from the Blood Wolf gang.


    ¡°Song-ge!¡± cried Baldy when I walked in. ¡°What a coincidence!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s only been a few days,¡± I said. ¡°How did you get caught again?¡±


    ¡°It was all a misunderstanding, Song-ge!¡± he exined. ¡°We just had a little skirmishst night after a few drinks.¡±


    ¡°A little skirmish, you say?¡± barked the officer who was holding him. ¡°People were hacked to death and you call that a little skirmish! Come here!¡±


    Baldy was dragged away. Dali whispered to me, ¡°How do you know a gangster, dude? That¡¯s awesome!¡±


    We then found Xiaotao in another room. She¡¯d been very busy sincest night and hadn¡¯t had a single minute of break so she was visibly in a bad mood. I exined what I discovered to her and she responded, ¡°Great! You¡¯d better hurry up and solve this case, Song Yang! Otherwise these two damned gangs will throw the whole city into utter chaos!¡±


    Xiaotao ordered a few police officers to take the ¡®corpse¡¯ to a conference room, because all the interrogation rooms were now upied. The corpse was ced on a chair and handcuffed. The young woman¡¯s body was cold and stiff. Her head was crooked to the side. The sight of her on the chair gave the room an eerie vibe.


    ¡°Bring Baldy in!¡± I ordered.


    When Baldy came into the room, he was instantly stunned the moment he saw the corpse.


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing, Song-ge!¡± he eximed. ¡°Where did you find her?¡±


    ¡°The way you put it,¡± I replied, ¡°it almost sounded like you know her!¡±


    1. The emergency number for the ambnce service in China.

 Chapter 159

    <h4>Chapter 159</h4>


    Baldy shrugged off my question and mmed up. Xiaotao mmed the table and shouted, ¡°Speak up, bastard!¡±


    Baldy remained unmoved.


    ¡°I can¡¯t reveal the boss¡¯s secrets!¡± he insisted.


    ¡°What secrets?¡± I asked. ¡°Everyone here knows that your boss is a necrophiliac!¡±


    Baldy¡¯s eyes widened in horror. It was clear that I¡¯d hit the nail on the head. Cao Da might seem to have a fearsome persona to the general public, with being the ruthless boss of a powerful gang and all, but behind his back, it was rumored that he was useless in bed. Some alleged that he waspletely impotent, some said he might actually be gay. But the top crust of the ck Panthers gang knew that he was in fact not attracted to living people!


    As Cao Da¡¯s close friend, Baldy would often sneak into hospital morgueste at night where someone would hand him a big sack for him to deliver to the boss. Once, Baldy even saw a human hand slipping out of the sack! Gradually, he realized what was really going on, but he was loyal to his boss and would never reveal his secret even if it meant losing his life!


    On the night of the incident, Baldy was at the nightclub with a friend. Then the boss suddenly entered and ordered him to carry something from his car. When he got there, he saw a female corpse all dolled up and wrapped in a nket which he was supposed to carry into the boss¡¯s room.


    Baldy guarded his boss outside the door all night. At around two o¡¯clock in the morning, a gang member smelled a heavy stench of blooding from the room. That was when they realized something had gone horribly wrong.


    They kicked down the door and found the boss lying lifelessly in his own pool of blood while holding a knife in his hand. His body had been stabbed so many times that he looked like a sieve!


    Besides the boss, only the female corpse was present at the scene. Some people suspected that she faked being dead, so they punched and kicked her, but she did not respond at all. They knew that the boss would nevermit suicide, so only one exnation made sense to them¡ªan assassin somehow killed their boss, and it was most likely rted to the Blood Wolf gang, who was fighting for a piece ofnd worth hundreds of millions of yuan with them at the time.


    And that was Baldy¡¯s confession. It was consistent with my deductions, except for one little detail¡ªwhere did the knife drenched in snake venome from?


    The ¡®dead¡¯ woman couldn¡¯t have brought it with her. I asked Baldy about it, and he pped his forehead and replied, ¡°Ah, that! Well, every time the boss is doing his ¡®business,¡¯ he¡¯ll swallow the snake bile as an aphrodisiac. The snake had to be freshly killed for the bile to be effective, so the boss would usually bring a knife and a live snake into the room with him.¡±


    So now everything fell into ce.


    Baldy still didn¡¯t know why I had brought the corpse there. Xiaozhou was also eagerly anticipating my next move.


    ¡°I bet even your illustrious family hasn¡¯t performed an autopsy like this before, Song Yang!¡± remarked Xiaotao.


    ¡°Let¡¯s begin!¡± I said.


    Xiaozhou injected epinephrine diluted with normal saline solution into the female corpse¡¯s spine, and we waited for a few minutes. Suddenly, the corpse took a sharp breath and opened her eyes. Everyone was taken aback. Even Baldy was so scared that he hid behind a police officer, shouting, ¡°It¡¯s a ghost!¡±


    ¡°Calm down, idiot!¡± shouted Xiaotao. ¡°That¡¯s the woman who killed your boss!¡±


    The young woman looked around confusedly. She tried to raise her hands, but they were handcuffed to the chair.


    ¡°Where am I?¡± she asked. Her voice was timid. The dress that she wore was skimpy, leaving much of her body exposed. Her skin was almost transparent and the blue of her veins were very vivid. Many police officers blushed and turned their eyes away, not daring to look straight at her.


    ¡°You¡¯re at the police station,¡± answered Xiaotao. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Chu Yan,¡± the girl replied.


    ¡°What an angelic name!¡± cried Dali, obviously wonderstruck. I red at him.


    ¡°Exin to us how you murdered those men,¡± said Xiaotao.


    ¡°What?¡± Chu Yan shook her head frantically. ¡°I don¡¯t know! I was born with this strange disease, and I copsed in the shopping mall. When I woke up, I found myself with a man doing disgusting things to me. There was a knife nearby so I stabbed him with it. Then I copsed again, and when I woke up I found another man doing disgusting things to me again, so I hit him with an ashtray. And then I became unconscious. When I woke up again, I saw a weird man smiling at me. It shocked me so I stabbed him with the scissors without thinking.¡±


    ¡°You do attract lots of weird men!¡± sneered Xiaotao.


    Then Chu Yan pointed at me and said, ¡°When I woke up the fourth time, this guy was touching me in a weird ce, so I hit him with a stone!¡±


    Not all of the police officers in that room were at the scene that night, including Baldy, so they all turned to me with using eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯re misunderstanding me!¡± I argued. ¡°I¡¯m not like those other perverts!¡±


    Chu Yan tried to raise her hand to scratch her head, but realized that her hands were handcuffed.


    ¡°My mind¡¯s still a blur,¡± she mumbled. ¡°I can¡¯t remember all the details. Can you please take me home?¡±


    We all went silent. I noticed that all the men in the room looked at Chu Yan with eyes full of sympathy andpassion. Chu Yan¡¯s big round eyes, angelic face and delicate body made them feel protective of her. Xiaotao and I were the only ones who didn¡¯t fall into that trap.


    I had been watching her closely all this time, and I knew that none of what she said was true.


    ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± I said, mming the table. ¡°Tell us the truth!¡±


    Tears welled up in Chu Yan¡¯s eyes. ¡°I told you the truth!¡± she insisted between sobs. ¡°I could never hurt anyone on purpose!¡±


    The room was filled with sympathetic sighs. Almost everyone was moved by her pleas and tears. And then, Chu Yan¡¯s eyes suddenly rolled back, and she copsed and died again.


    ¡°Inject her with the epinephrine again,¡± ordered Xiaotao.


    ¡°But, Huang-jie!¡± Xiaozhou protested. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous! I mean, look at her! The poor girl has suffered enough!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Huang-jie!¡± echoed the other officers. ¡°How could such a girl murder anyone?¡±


    ¡°What she did was self-defense! It¡¯s all those perverts¡¯ fault!¡±


    ¡°Dude,¡± Dali chimed in, ¡°she¡¯s obviously not a cold-blooded criminal! Can you not be so harsh on her?¡±


    Even Baldy, the hardened gangster who was supposed to avenge his boss¡¯s death, was moved to tears by Chu Yan.


    ¡°You idiots!¡± snapped Xiaotao. ¡°Have you forgotten your duties as police officers? Just because she¡¯s pretty doesn¡¯t mean that she can get away with killing people! Wake her up now!¡±


    Everyone¡¯s face turned sour and no one took any action. At that moment, I felt it was crucial that I stand by Xiaotao.


    ¡°Xiaozhou,¡± I said, ¡°do you want to remain a member of the task force?¡±


    Xiaozhou shifted on his feet nervously, then reluctantly injected the epinephrine into Chu Yan¡¯s body. In a few seconds, she woke up and gulped for air. She looked around with sorrowful eyes, to which Xiaotao sneered, ¡°That was a well-timed death!¡±


    ¡°It always happens when I get very emotional,¡± she answered, biting her lips.


    ¡°Now tell us the truth!¡± Xiaotao urged her.


    ¡°But I¡¯ve told you everything I know!¡± Chu Yan argued, getting more and more agitated. ¡°I never meant to hurt anyone! Please take me home!¡± Then she started to breathe with difficulty, as if she was going to copse again.


    Everyone in the room red at us. They probably thought that we were too cruel to the girl. Xiaotao didn¡¯t dare to speak too loudly after that for fear of over-stimting her. As Chu Yan¡¯s breathing slowly recovered, I whispered to Xiaotao, ¡°I think we¡¯ll have to take it easy on her.¡±


    Xiaotao nodded. I asked Chu Yan a few simple questions like whether she remembered the date, which school she attended, and who her parents were.


    She told us that her father was a businessman. Because of her illness, she had never gone to school before. Her father was often away for work. She usually spent her days at home reading books and drawing pictures.


    I told her that she could go home if she promised to answer a few more questions. She nodded in agreement. I showed her the photo of Cao Da from my phone and asked her, ¡°Do you remember this man?¡±


    Chu Yan shook her head.


    ¡°Why did you go out that day?¡±


    ¡°To buy some sanitary pads,¡± she replied.


    ¡°What were you wearing?¡±


    ¡°A dress, a pair of ts, and I was carrying a small bag...¡± she answered. ¡°But they¡¯re all gone now.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that some perverts would follow you if you go out alone?¡± I asked. ¡°Do you know how to defend yourself?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she shook her head.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s all for now. You can go home now.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± she cried. Her eyes lit up. ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve really misunderstood you. You¡¯re not a bad guy at all!¡± Her sweet voice made the men around me stare at me with envy.


    ¡°Should we really just let her go?¡± Xiaotao wondered.


    I nodded. Once the officers took her away and everyone else had left the room, I told Xiaotao, ¡°None of the answers she gave was the truth. I¡¯m sure what she did was not purely self-defense, but premeditated murder!¡±

 Chapter 160

    <h4>Chapter 160</h4>


    ¡°But why would a girl like Chu Yan want to kill a triad boss?¡± wondered Xiaotao. ¡°Could she actually be a professional assassin? That¡¯s a bit too far-fetched, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to investigate her father¡¯s background,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ve already found the prime suspect. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll reach the truth of the matter soon enough.¡±


    The next day, Xiaotao called me and told me that they¡¯d found Chu Yan¡¯s father and that he¡¯d soon be brought in for questioning. Dali and I rushed to the police station. When we arrived, Xiaotao was already waiting with Chu Yan¡¯s father in the interrogation room. The man was bespectacled and seemed gentle-mannered. After taking a seat, I perused through the information that the police had gathered about the man. He was highly educated, and he used to work in a scientific research institution before turning to business. He was now a self-made entrepreneur.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start, Mr. Chu,¡± said Xiaotao.


    Chu Yan¡¯s father cleared his throat and began, ¡°My daughter is a pitiful child. She was born with this strange disease, and the doctor told me that she would not live much longer than twenty years. Her mother was also frail and sick, and she died when my daughter was little. I scoured the world for a cure to my daughter¡¯s disease, but to no avail. She has always been on medication all her life. Swallowing pills and getting injections are like normal daily activities for her. Still, she neverined and soldiered on. I¡¯ve shed many tears when I think of the fates of my wife and daughter, but I managed to stay strong because my daughter has alwaysforted me and stayed by my side.¡±


    ¡°She disappeared a few days ago,¡± he continued, ¡°and I was worried sick. I couldn¡¯t do anything else but spent my every waking moment looking for her. I even ordered the employees of mypany to help me. Thankfully, you brought her home safely. I¡¯m sure what she did could be counted as self-defense, right? How could a girl who¡¯s stayed at home all her life ever have any connection with the underworld?¡±


    I scrutinized the man¡¯s expressions and found out that he had been telling the truth.


    ¡°Does Chu Yan have any friends?¡± I asked him.


    He shook his head. ¡°She never goes out of the house. She never went to school either due to her condition. The only person from the outside world that she interacted with would be her tutor.¡±


    ¡°Is the tutor a man or a woman?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a female college student,¡± he replied. ¡°She was very kind and friendly to my daughter. They were practically sisters. Butter something happened and she had to go back to her family, so she couldn¡¯t be my daughter¡¯s tutor anymore. My daughter was very sad when she found out.¡±


    When he spoke of the tutor, he subconsciously adjusted his sses. It was obvious that he was hiding something from us.


    I gave Xiaotao a signal, and she asked him if he¡¯d like to have another cup of tea. He thanked her.


    ¡°Can you tell us more about this tutor?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve always been very busy at work every day,¡± he replied. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t know much about her...¡±


    I noticed that he had gotten a little nervous.


    ¡°Tell us what you know, then!¡± I demanded.


    ¡°Well... The girl¡¯s name is Xiao Lan. I heard that her family is very poor, so she has to work while she studies to pay for her tuition. Although I hired her as a tutor, she did more than teach my daughter to read and write. She took very good care of her as if they were sisters. Both my daughter and I are very grateful to her, and I paid her quite handsomely too.¡±


    By that point, his micro-expressions betrayed him. I knew he wasn¡¯t telling the truth, but he wasn¡¯t a suspect, so there was no way that I could pressure him. Xiaotao and I exchanged a look, and Xiaotao said, ¡°Okay, thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Chu. You can go back now.¡±


    ¡°Um... What will happen to my daughter?¡± he asked Xiaotao nervously.


    ¡°That¡¯s up to the court, not us.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s physically frail,¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t think it would be appropriate for her to be detained in jail...¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that,¡± Xiaotao assured him. ¡°This is a special case. She¡¯ll be allowed to stay home before the trial.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much, Officer!¡±


    As soon as he left, Xiaotao immediately asked her officers to track down Xiao Lan. Eventually, they did find a university student in Nanjiang City who matched the descriptions, but the girl was already dead!


    We headed to the hospital where Xiao Lan died. The doctor checked her medical records and informed us that she died of intracranial hemorrhage. She could have been rescued, but she arrived toote. In fact, she took herst breath in the ambnce.


    ¡°Intracranial hemorrhage,¡± I mumbled. ¡°Was it an impact to the head?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± answered the doctor. ¡°She was probably hit by a car.¡±


    ¡°Probably?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    The doctor exined that the ambnce found her lying on the side of the road. The person who called 120 was never found. It might have been the driver who hit her.


    Xiao Lan¡¯s body had already been cremated, so no more evidence could be collected from her. My first hunch was that her death was caused by Chu Yan¡¯s father, but in that case, how did the triad boss Cao Da fit into the picture?


    I asked the doctor what else he remembered. He seemed reluctant, so I assured him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the police will keep everything under wraps.¡±


    ¡°Well, when she was sent here, I noticed ayer of mucus on her lower body and between her legs. I¡¯m not a forensics expert, but I¡¯m pretty sure that it was semen. It¡¯s despicable! Some bastard was taking advantage of her when she was unconscious!¡±


    Things started to make sense when I heard this, but there were still some missing puzzle pieces. I fell into deep thought and everything around me became a blur.


    Xiaotao had to shout my name several times before I came back to reality.


    ¡°What happened to you, Song Yang?¡± she asked. ¡°You suddenly left the room without saying anything. It was like you were sleepwalking!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said. ¡°We have to get Xiao Lan¡¯s photo and question someone!¡±


    That someone was Baldy. He was still detained at the police station, so we returned and met him there.


    ¡°Do you know this woman?¡± I asked, showing him the picture of Xiao Lan.


    Baldy stared at the photo for a long time before replying, ¡°Yeah. I remember the mole at the corner of her mouth. She used to work at the Tianxiang Pavilion nightclub.¡±


    I smiled. Now all the puzzle pieces had fallen into ce, forming a clear picture. I¡¯ve figured out the truth behind this case!


    ¡°How did she die?¡± I asked.


    Baldy was about to answer but stopped short.


    ¡°Um, I¡¯m sorry, Song-ge!¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t know this girl after all!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie to us, bastard!¡± snapped Xiaotao. ¡°Tell us the truth or I¡¯ll put you in the same cell as the Blood Wolf gang!¡±


    Baldy¡¯s cheeks twitched. ¡°I really don¡¯t know her, Officer Huang! You know how every girl looks alike with makeup on nowadays!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to know the truth behind your boss¡¯s murder?¡±


    Baldy was clearly a little shaken, so I added, ¡°Your boss killed this girl, didn¡¯t he? Do you know why he died so tragically? It was because of the karma that he umted in his life! And now that his murder is still unsolved, his soul is cursed to wander aimlessly in this world, unable to reincarnate!¡±


    I made all of that up, of course. But I knew that people of the underworld were generally superstitious, so I wanted to give Baldy a little scare. Sure enough, Baldy¡¯s eyes widened, and he cried, ¡°Forgive me, boss! Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll help you move onto the next life!¡±


    Once he was done crying, he wiped his tears and confessed, ¡°The boss didn¡¯t kill that girl. I did!¡±


    He exined that Xiao Lan was very poor, and to make matters worse, her mother had cancer. Although Chu Yan¡¯s father paid her a lot, it was still far from enough to pay for her mother¡¯s cancer treatment. One of her ssmates suggested working at the Tianxiang Pavilion nightclub, and she went there thinking that she would be hired as a waitress. She found out what she¡¯d gotten herself into toote. At first she refused to do it, but after receiving threats from the gang members, she epted the reality that there was no escape. At the very least, she was only required to entertain the upper crust members of the ck Panthers gang and not any random man on the street. Besides, the money she earned from this line of work was indeed substantial.


    Half a year after that, Baldy visited the nightclub to let off some steam. He was in a tempestuous mood, and Xiao Lan, who was assigned to entertain him, did something to annoy him. He flew off the handle and threw an ashtray at her. It hit her head and she copsed immediately. When he checked up on her, he found that she was already not breathing.


    Baldy was terrified. The gang had one rule, and that was to never burden the gang with a murder charge. Fortunately, he was in the gang¡¯s own turf, so he was free to take care of the body however he saw fit. He smoked a few cigarettes to work up his courage and was preparing to take the body to an isted ce and bury it. But just then, he had an idea. The girl was dead, and she still looked ¡®fresh,¡¯ so why not take her to the boss a special ¡®gift?¡¯

 Chapter 161

    <h4>Chapter 161</h4>


    Baldy delivered the body to the boss, iming that the girl had fallen in the nightclub and died there. Before disposing of it, he meant to give it to the boss as a special gift. The boss was delighted and praised Baldy for being such a loyal underling. Then the boss disappeared into a room with the dead body.


    However, a few minutester, the boss burst out of the room and yelled for Baldy to get his ass in there. It turned out that Xiao Lan was still alive. She was merely in a deepa earlier. Just when the boss was having sex with her, Xiao Lan suddenly coughed. For a necrophiliac, it was the worst thing that could¡¯ve happened!


    The boss was now angry and very annoyed. Had Xiao Lan been sent to the hospital earlier, she could¡¯ve been rescued, but it was toote then. The boss told Baldy to take care of the girl¡¯s body quickly and quietly, and then he¡¯d deal with himter.


    So, Baldy left Xiao Lan on the side of the road and called 120. No one saw the girl at the nightclub again, so everyone assumed she was dead.


    Xiaotao clenched her fist the whole time Baldy was speaking. When Baldy was done, she raised her hand and was about to hit him. Baldy flinched as Xiaotao spat, ¡°You lot are no different from wild beasts!¡±


    ¡°I admit it!¡± replied Baldy. ¡°It was cruel; it was evil! But I¡¯ll readily ept all kinds of punishments, whether it be time in prison or the death sentence!¡±


    ¡°Everything you told us was the truth,¡± I said, ¡°except for one small detail¡ªyou didn¡¯t do it. It was someone else!¡±


    Baldy¡¯s eyes widened and his jaw dropped.


    ¡°You¡¯re joking, Song-ge!¡± he eximed. ¡°Who would admit to such a crime if they didn¡¯t really do it?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± I replied, ¡°it could be that you¡¯re protecting someone!¡±


    Baldy went silent. I must¡¯ve guessed it right. The little detail that betrayed his non-involvement was the part where he mentioned burying the body in an isted ce. It was indeed true that if he really was in that situation, getting rid of the body would be cleaner, quicker, and safer than just abandoning it by the roadside and then calling the ambnce.


    There was nothing the underworld gangs hated more than betraying your own people, especially to the police. Xiao Lan¡¯s case had the name of the ck Panthers gang¡¯s upper echelon written all over it, and Baldy was obviously only trying to protect his boss.


    Still, no matter how much we tried to force the truth out of Baldy¡¯s mouth, he insisted that he was the only one responsible for Xiao Lan¡¯s death.


    ¡°Fine, you useless scum!¡± snapped Xiaotao. ¡°You can go back to your cell now.¡±


    It would be pointless to focus on Xiao Lan¡¯s case now. Not only had much time passed since her death, there were no witnesses or physical evidence that could link it back to the actual perpetrators. Thus, we had to relent to the fact that nothing could be done.


    Chu Yan¡¯s case, on the other hand, was now crystal clear. She must¡¯ve known that Xiao Lan was working at the nightclub. She was saddened by Xiao Lan¡¯s death, and probably snooped around for the truth and found out that it was caused by the head of the ck Panthers gang.


    No one dared to talk much when it came to crimes caused by the triads. That meant that the police couldn¡¯t solve the case either, since there were no witnesses or clues. But Chu Yan loved Xiao Lan like a sister, and she vowed to avenge her death, so what could she do? The only choice she had was to use herself as a bait and kill Cao Da herself!


    Luck was on her side, too. If the venom-stained knife hadn¡¯t been next to her, it would all have been for naught.


    Everyone sighed heavily when they heard of the truth of the case. Who would¡¯ve thought that such courage and lust for justice that harkened back to ancient warriors would be found in a young frail woman?


    On the next day, the police went to Chu Yan¡¯s house with an arrest warrant. She calmly epted her fate. Considering her physical condition, she would only need to go to the police station out of formality. She would soon obtain a bail and return home to wait for her trial in court.


    Although every detail of this case was kept strictly confidential, Baldy had unfortunately seen Chu Yan¡¯s ¡®resurrection¡¯ with his own eyes. There was a risk that this knowledge would be spread to the rest of the ck Panthers gang, turning Chu Yan and her father into their prime targets!


    Thankfully, the Blood Wolf gang kept the ck Panthers gang busy. Several members of their gang died by the hands of the ck Panthers gang, after all. The two gangs descended into a war and the police had to intervene to prevent them from burning down the city. In the process of it all, the ck Panthers gang finally elected their new boss.


    Meanwhile, police officers would guard the perimeters of Chu Yan¡¯s house to protect her from the gangsters.


    After a while, it was as if the whole police force was enamored by Chu Yan. The officers woulde back from guarding Chu Yan¡¯s house smiling and blushing. Some of them were heard saying that looking at Chu Yan¡¯s gorgeous face through the window, with the light streaming in and shining on her as she spent her days drawing and painting, was like seeing an angel sent from the heavens above.


    Even Dali wasn¡¯t his usual self. After the case had been resolved, he would often stare nkly out of the window and sigh heavily. Our ssmates would often pass pictures of hot women around, and Dali would usually join in with glee. But recently he would merely nce at the pictures and sigh.


    On a day almost a year after that, Dali sprung out of bed very early in the morning and got dressed. I had no idea what had gotten into him so I asked him where he was going.


    ¡°It¡¯s Chu Yan¡¯s trial today!¡± he chirped. He nned on going to court and listening to the trial, so I was dragged along with him.


    After a six-hour trial, the judge eventually ruled Chu Yan to be guilty of voluntary manughter and sentenced her to ten years in prison. Then, the judged paused and added, ¡°The sentence will be suspended until two years after the ruling.¡±


    Everyone froze. Chu Yan was already eighteen years old¡ªshe wouldn¡¯t live as long as two more years. This meant that she would never have to go to jail.


    Everyone stood up in tears and apuded. I noticed that most of the people in the crowd were police officers, and to my surprise, Baldy was there too! pping was a serious disruption of court order, and the judge banged his gavel so many times to stop it that he almost broke the gavel, yet no one paid any attention. I saw Chu Yan and her father crying with joy, and the apuse grew even more deafening.


    This was truly a case of an angel¡¯s revenge. In Chu Yan, I saw the purest and most beautiful soul that I had ever encountered!

 Chapter 162

    <h4>Chapter 162</h4>


    In the few days following the resolution of Chu Yan¡¯s case, Baldy continuously pestered. He would call me every few minutes, asking me out for a meal together. I refused every time, but after that he sent me arge gold chain in the mail. I returned it, of course.


    Once, the bastard even sent a prostitute to my dorm for me. Although she tried to dress up like a college girl, there was no mistaking her real profession. I became the butt of my roommates¡¯ jokes for a long time after that because of it.


    Baldy, being a gangster, could only think of gold and women as the best ways to repay me for solving his boss¡¯s murder. I told him repeatedly to stop bothering me, but to no avail.


    ¡°Song-ge,¡± he told me, ¡°I¡¯ve only ever respected two people in my life¡ªthe boss, and you. You managed to solve a mysterious murder case within a few days. There¡¯s only one word to describe people like you¡ªgenius! From now on, you will forever be my big brother!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind making new friends,¡± I replied, ¡°but can you please not make a huge deal out of it? Besides, I¡¯m not even a real police officer. What use am I to you?¡±


    ¡°You may not be a policeman, Song-ge,¡± Baldy said, ¡°but you¡¯re even better than that! I¡¯ve asked around, and I heard that you¡¯re close friends with the mighty Sun Tiger! Even the Director-General knows you!¡±


    Iter found out that the ck Panthers gang had just chosen a new boss. Baldy, being a friend of the old boss, was in a precarious position at the moment, and he needed a powerful ally to protect himself. With a connection to the police, no one would dare to hurt him.


    Still, I insisted that I couldn¡¯t ept any of his ¡®gifts.¡¯ How would I face Xiaotaoter if I did?


    A few dayster, Baldy came knocking on my door. I was surfing the inte in my dorm room at the time when I heard his voice calling out, ¡°Does Song Yang live here?¡±


    ¡°What the hell are you doing here?¡± I spat as I opened the door. Based on his looks, it was obvious at first nce that he was a member of the triad. All my roommates were scared stiff when they saw him.


    Baldy looked weirdly timid and awkward. Just then, a man stepped out from behind him. He looked to be in his mid-twenties. His ears were pierced, and although he was wearing a normal suit and leather shoes, it was apparent from his temperament that he was not an ordinary sryman.


    ¡°Are you Song Yang?¡± he asked coldly. ¡°Come outside and have a chat with us.¡±


    Dali took out his mobile phone and mimed the words, ¡°Want me to call the security guards?¡±


    I shook my head. I was sure that there was nothing to fear from these guys since I had done nothing to provoke them. Besides, what good would it do to call the security guards?


    When I got outside, I realized that these two weren¡¯t the only ones there. A handful other gangsters were gathered there too.


    The man pped Baldy¡¯s head, then stared at me menacingly and asked, ¡°I heard that you¡¯re the one who solved my father¡¯s murder. Baldy here refuses to tell me who the killer is no matter how much I beat him up, so I¡¯m here to ask you myself.¡±


    So it turned out that this man was Cao Da¡¯s son. That exined why Baldy was so diffident in front of him. I noticed that the corner of Baldy¡¯s mouth was bruised. It was obvious that he¡¯d been this man¡¯s captive and was dragged here.


    A handful of powerful figures within the ck Panthers gang were vying for the highest position in the gang, and I heard rumors that said whoever could avenge Cao Da¡¯s murder by attacking the murderer would be proimed the new leader. It was surprisingly heroic of Baldy to keep the identity of Cao Da¡¯s real murderer secret, even in the face of torture and at the risk of his own life.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said, staring straight into the man¡¯s eyes. ¡°I was involved in the investigation, but everything regarding this case is confidential. I can¡¯t disclose anything. All I can say is that Cao Da¡¯s death had nothing to do with gang disputes.¡±


    He came closer to me and stretched out his hand. I thought he was going to hit me, but he merely fixed my cor. What a cheesy attempt at intimidation, I thought. He must¡¯ve learnt that from a movie.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± he whispered, ¡°the secret stays with me. Just tell me who killed my father, and maybe when I be the gang leader, I¡¯ll give you a nice vi in the countryside. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°I have nothing to tell you,¡± I replied, stepping away from him.


    ¡°Fine,¡± he said. He turned to Baldy and spat, ¡°What about you? Got anything to say?¡±


    ¡°Boss,¡± Baldy whimpered. ¡°You know how much of an idiot I am! I know nothing!¡±


    ¡°Maybe this will help you remember something!¡± shouted the man. He then punched and kicked Baldy until he curled up on the ground. Baldy endured the assault silently, resolutely refusing to divulge anything. A few guys who just got back from ying basketball stumbled upon the scene and immediately turned and bolted away in fear.


    I felt a deep sympathy and respect for Baldy at that moment. He could¡¯ve just uttered the words ¡°Chu Yan¡± and the beatings would instantly stop, but he stubbornly remained silent. It seemed that the guy had genuinely fallen in love with the angelic Chu Yan, and was resolved to protect her no matter what. Iter found out that after Chu Yan¡¯s death, Baldy would visit her grave every Valentine¡¯s Day, bringing her 999 roses.


    I couldn¡¯t bear to watch Baldy getting hurt anymore, so I shouted, ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡±


    The man stopped kicking Baldy and grinned at me, saying, ¡°I know you¡¯re with the police, so I won¡¯t bother you. But I¡¯m only teaching my underling a lesson here.¡±


    He then slipped a business card into my pocket.


    ¡°Call me before dawn,¡± he crowed. ¡°Otherwise, I¡¯ll split Baldy¡¯s skull in half.¡±


    ¡°I will hunt you down!¡± I shouted. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure you rot in prison!¡±


    The man chuckled and bent down to pat Baldy¡¯s face.


    ¡°Who got you into this state, Baldy?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No one...¡± answered Baldy. ¡°I... fell down the stairs...¡±


    ¡°Did you hear that?¡± sneered the man. ¡°You know nothing about the underworld. Even if Baldy gets killed, his ghost wouldn¡¯t dare tell the police who did it! Now let¡¯s go!¡±


    The men lifted Baldy up and carried him away. Baldy stared at me with pleading eyes as he was leaving. He looked both sad and helpless, but above all, I could see that he was begging me not to say Chu Yan¡¯s name under any circumstances.


    Once they left, Dali jumped out from behind the door and asked, ¡°What the hell just happened, dude? Did they hurt you?¡±


    I shook my head wordlessly. I was at a loss about what to do and felt depressed. I contemted the matter for a long time, then called Xiaotao to ask her opinion.


    ¡°You¡¯vended yourself in a hot mess, Song Yang,¡± she told me after I exined the situation to her. ¡°There really isn¡¯t much that you can do now. The underworld has their own rules, and the police can hardly do anything when ites to matters like this.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t go to sleep that night. The thought of Baldy being tortured hurt as if a knife was plunged into my heart. We weren¡¯t exactly friends at the time, but I felt solidarity for him knowing that he would rather endure pain than let harme to Chu Yan and her father. Besides, Cao Da¡¯s son was using him to intimidate me.


    After much deliberation, I called Sun Tiger and asked him if he could rescue Baldy.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s nothing I can do, kiddo,¡± he answered. ¡°They may be gangsters, but we can¡¯t do anything to them without a proper warrant.¡±


    ¡°But they¡¯re torturing Baldy as we speak!¡± I argued.


    Sun Tiger sighed. ¡°If he¡¯s found dead, then we¡¯ll open an investigation to find those who killed him. But until then, all we have is a verbal threat. We can¡¯t do much with that. Don¡¯t forget, kiddo, Baldy chose to walk this path himself. In fact, he was involved in many illegal activities too. You shouldn¡¯t feel too sorry for a guy like him. He¡¯ll meet an ugly end sooner orter anyway.¡±


    I hung up the phone in despair. I finally realized how restricted the real world was with its rules and regtions. Even a director like Sun Tiger, or perhaps someone more powerful than him, couldn¡¯t cross some lines.


    Take Xiao Lan¡¯s death for example. No one could bring justice to her murderer, not even the police. In the end, it took a girl like Chu Yan to avenge her death!


    I couldn¡¯t sleep a wink that night. As I was about to get up from bed the next morning, I heard a knock on the door. Dali was brushing his teeth. He answered the door and rushed back in, holding a stic box in his hands. The surface of the box was wet with beads of condensation.


    ¡°It¡¯s a delivery for you, dude,¡± Dali told me. ¡°Did you order seafood or something?¡±


    I didn¡¯t recall ordering anything onlely. Dali urged me to open the box and check out what was inside. He told me someone probably sent me some fresh crabs. They were in season at the time.


    I pulled up the lid. Dali immediately screamed and copsed to the floor. Almost half of the box was filled with ice, and it was stained red. On the pile of ice sat a single human ear.


    I noticed the earring on it which looked very familiar. I wondered for a while where I had seen it before. And then, it all came back to me...

 Chapter 163

    <h4>Chapter 163</h4>


    This ear definitely belonged to the man from the day before. Judging by the incision, the cut was clean and fast. From the degree of blood solidification, I surmised that the ear was cut off about five or six hours ago.


    I couldn¡¯t think of anyone so skillful who would help me like this. What puzzled me most was how this person found out about this dispute I had and how did he find the man? The only people I talked to about this were Xiaotao and Sun Tiger. They refused to do anythingst night, but did they secretly and quietly attack the man after all?


    That didn¡¯t sound likely, though. Xiaotao¡¯s fighting technique was Sanda, the martial arts taught in the police force. They generally did not train with knives or swords at all. As for Sun Tiger, I¡¯d never once seen him fight before, but I couldn¡¯t imagine a man like him cutting someone¡¯s ear so cleanly, then putting it into an ice box and delivering it to me.


    I closed the box and resealed it. Freshly cut body organs could be stored for a long time under refrigerated conditions, and if it was retrieved within ten hours, it could be reconnected to the owner. Seeing that the ear was ced on ice, I guessed that its owner woulde and fetch itter.


    Sure enough, at about seven o¡¯clock in the morning, the man from yesterday rushed into my room with a few of his henchmen. His right ear was wrapped in a bandage that was soaked red with blood. He red at me and looked as if he was about to attack me, but instead he gritted his teeth and knelt down to the ground in front of me. His men knelt down after him. My roommates¡¯ jaws dropped when they saw what was happening.


    ¡°Please forgive me for what I did yesterday,¡± said the man. ¡°Can you please return that thing to me?¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s Baldy?¡± I asked.


    ¡°He¡¯s doing fine,¡± the man replied. ¡°I didn¡¯t hurt him at all! I swear!¡±


    ¡°No, that won¡¯t do,¡± I said coldly. ¡°I won¡¯t give this back to you until I see him!¡±


    The man raised his hand and proimed, ¡°I, Cao Mou, swear to the heavens that if I deceive you, I¡¯ll get strangled to death the moment I leave through this door!¡±


    To the underworld, getting ¡®strangled to death¡¯ was considered the most serious oath. I knew that he was telling the truth then, so I gave him the box.


    Once the group of people left, Dali exploded out of the bathroom and eximed, ¡°Holy shit, dude! That was awesome! He acted as if he was going to beat you up yesterday, but he was kneeling on the floor begging you today! How did you do it, dude?¡±


    I smiled and shrugged. I had absolutely no idea what was going on. I didn¡¯t ask anyone to cut off the guy¡¯s ear!


    At about half past seven, Baldy ran towards my room and I could hear his voice in the hallway long before he reached me.


    ¡°Song-ge! Song-ge!¡± he shouted.


    He was indeed uninjured. His face was full of bandages, but it was evidently from the old injuries. The minute he saw me, he knelt down to the floor.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked.


    Baldy sped his hands together in respect and replied, ¡°You saved my life, Song-ge! I don¡¯t know how I could ever repay you. Come on, let me buy you a nice meal!¡±


    He then urged me to go out with him and asked me which restaurant around here was the most expensive one. I pointed to a bun shop, where two bowls of egg drop soup and six meat buns would only cost five yuan.


    ¡°You¡¯re kidding me, Song-ge!¡± he shouted. ¡°I should treat you to a breakfast that costs at least a thousand yuan! You saved my life after all!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re in a college town, stupid!¡± I chuckled. ¡°What business would a fancy restaurant have around here? Besides, the buns here are delicious. The fillings are so meaty and juicy¡ªyou should try them!¡±


    Baldy obediently took a bite of a bun. Then he asked me, ¡°Which faculty are you studying in, Song-ge?¡±


    ¡°Electronics,¡± I answered.


    Baldy stepped into the middle of the restaurant and shouted, ¡°Everyone listen! Song Yang of the Electronics Faculty is going to buy everyone breakfast. Order whatever you like¡ªSong-ge here will pay for it all!¡±


    The whole ce erupted in cheers. Plenty of people got up from their seats to order more soup and buns. Baldy looked on with a wide grin on his face. I never went back to that restaurant after that day, because the shop owner would have such an oleaginous smile on his face whenever he saw me.


    Baldy went on to tell me what happenedst night animatedly. The old boss¡¯s son was about to kill him, but right at thest second, a shadowy figure came out of nowhere and all the lights were turned off. The next thing he heard was Cao Mou¡¯s piercing scream.


    ¡°Do not hurt this man,¡± he heard a voice say. ¡°Apologize to Song Yang before dawn. Otherwise, you will never see your ear again.¡±


    The lights came back on and all the men were ordered to search the whole ce, but the mysterious figure was gone without a trace. Cao Mou was so furious that he was almost going to chop Baldy into pieces and feed him to the fish, but his men stopped him and convinced him that Baldy¡¯s life was not worth his ear.


    Baldy asked if I was that shadowy figure. Iughed sheepishly but said nothing. In my mind, I was wildly going through the list of people that I knew to figure out who it could¡¯ve been. Was it one of those people involved in the cases I solved? But no one fit the characteristics that Baldy described.


    After breakfast, Baldy offered to take me into the city to have some fun. I refused him repeatedly, to which he replied, ¡°You won¡¯t let me treat you to a nice meal, you won¡¯t ept any of my gifts, and now you say you don¡¯t like going to nightclubs! How can I ever repay you then, Song-ge?¡±


    ¡°Just stay alive!¡± I answered. ¡°You may be helpful to me in the future.¡±


    ¡°Right!¡± Baldy thumped his chest. ¡°This life of mine is yours, Song-ge! One word from you and I¡¯ll walk through fire and cross oceans without question, Song-ge!¡±


    Eventually, I managed to send him away. I was dog tired because, first of all, I didn¡¯t sleep at allst night, and second of all, Baldy could be so tiring sometimes. When I returned to my room, I found the dorm warden there waiting for me. She warned me never to invite any hooligans into the dorm ever again and scolded me for the next few minutes. I could only respond with a nod.


    After she left, Dali burst intoughter and said, ¡°The gangsters are all afraid of you, you¡¯re afraid of the dorm warden, and then she¡¯s afraid of the gangsters! It¡¯s aplete circle!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± I spat.


    ¡°So, what did you have for breakfast?¡± he asked.


    I climbed into bed and answered, ¡°Just some buns and soup nearby. You know the ce. It¡¯s free for all right now, so you should go grab some too.¡±


    I closed my eyes to get some rest, but then a thought shed in my mind. This person was able to urately cut off someone¡¯s ear in the dark. Could it be that this person had Cave Vision like me? But Cave Vision was a secret technique that only members of the Song family could learn.


    Apart from that, I was an only child, and as far as I knew, Grandpa never mentioned anything about other rtives. As I pondered upon the subject, I drifted off to sleep out of exhaustion.


    The few days after that went by uneventfully. Then I received a call from Xiaotao who told me that a new case had just urred and asked if I wanted to help her with the investigation.


    ¡°Did you have to ask?¡± I responded. ¡°You know I¡¯m always eager to do it!¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not murder this time. It¡¯s difficult to exin. Why don¡¯t you juste over now?¡±


    I agreed and rushed to the police station with Dali. Xiaotao handed us three envelopes the minute she saw us. They contained the bonus for Dali, Lao Yao, and me for our contributions in solving the murders by Qu Tingting and Chu Yan. We each received more than eight thousand yuan, and I was excited to spend it on new equipment.


    Xiaotao then led us to a conference room where we met a policeman aged about forty who introduced himself as Old Zhang. I noticed that one of his buttons was gone. The police had a strict dress code. They could get sry cuts just from the most minor details. Only detectives and those involved in criminal investigations were allowed to wear casual clothes when they were on duty.


    Iter learned that this button was rted to a strange thing that he sawst night.


    A woman from the area that Old Zhang patrolled had been reported missing three days ago. The missing woman was an artist and she often went out to the fields alone to get inspiration for her art. She would sometimes be gone for several days at a time, which was why the police didn¡¯t take the report seriously at first.


    Last night, Old Zhang was patrolling the area. He wanted to check if the woman hade back. When he got to her house, he noticed that the door was ajar. He pushed it open and saw a thin man standing alone in the room.


    The man was about 180 cm tall. He wore a white trench coat, a pair of sunsses, and was carrying something that looked like a sword in his hand.


    Old Zhang was frightened. He realized that this man might be a gangster, so he reached for his taser.


    ¡°Police, don¡¯t move!¡± shouted Old Zhang.


    The man swung his sword at Old Zhang just as if he was a samurai in the movies. All he saw was the glint of silver light from the de, and the man was gone. Old Zhang was then left with a taser that was sliced in half and a missing button.


    Then Old Zhang saw the man jump out the window¡ªbut they were on the sixth floor!

 Chapter 164

    <h4>Chapter 164</h4>


    Old Zhang pulled the taser out of his bag and showed it to us. We were surprised by how cleanly it was cut in half¡ªeven the battery was cut clean through! Evensers wouldn¡¯t have the ability to do this. This proved how extraordinarily skillful the swordsman was.


    A thought suddenly came to me¡ªcould it be that this mysterious swordsman was the same person who helped mest time with Cao Mou?


    Old Zhang then showed us the button that was cut off his shirt and eximed, ¡°This button was made of copper, but look at how cleanly it was cut in half! Thank heavens that man didn¡¯t try to cut my throat, or else my head would¡¯ve rolled off my neck while I was still standing!¡±


    ¡°I think he was sending a message here,¡± I stated. ¡°Which would¡¯ve been easier¡ªcutting a tiny button in half, or slitting your throat and killing you in one move? This could be a silent threat.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s bold!¡± Xiaotao mmed the table. ¡°Threatening the police! We must catch this man!¡±


    Old Zhang seemed shaken by my deductions. I asked him, ¡°Did you notice anything missing at the scene?¡±


    He shook his head and replied, ¡°I checked the ce after the man was gone. Every valuable item in the house was untouched.¡±


    I wondered if the man was looking for something else when Dali interjected, ¡°Do you think that man is somehow rted to this case?¡±


    ¡°Probably,¡± I nodded. ¡°By the way, Old Zhang, what is the missing woman¡¯s name?¡±


    ¡°Xu Xiaohui,¡± replied Old Zhang.


    Xiaotao asked him if he still remembered what the man looked like. He answered that if he could see the man again, he might be able to recognize him. Xiaotao asked an officer to take him to the sketch artist. Once he was gone, we turned our attention to the taser again. We studied it closely and couldn¡¯t stop marvelling at how skillfully it was cut in half.


    I didn¡¯t tell Xiaotao what happened that morning with the cut ear, because I had a hunch that the man who sliced this taser had something to do with me. He showed mercy to the underlings, andter to Old Zhang. I believed that he was not a bad person.


    ¡°Huang-jie!¡± shouted Xiaozhou from outside the room. ¡°You shoulde and see this! I think you know this person!¡±


    We went to the sketch artist. At first nce, everyone could tell exactly who it was from the face sketch.


    ¡°That¡¯s Zhang Yixing!¡± eximed Dali. ¡°So he¡¯s a badass warrior both on and off screen!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure the man looked like this...¡± stated Old Zhang.


    Although the swordsman looked somewhat like Zhang Yixing, I was very skeptical that he was indeed the actor. It was more likely that Old Zhang didn¡¯t quite remember what the swordsman looked like and just gave the sketch artist a vague description based on a familiar face.


    This matter was then put on hold for the time being. Xiaotao still had other cases to deal with and saw no point in spending time and energy on hunting down this lone ranger who might not turn out to have any connection to the missing woman after all.


    At that point, we all assumed that there was nothing extraordinary in the disappearance of Xu Xiaohui. Unbeknownst to us, it would turn out to be one of the most baffling cases that I had ever worked on.


    Early morning a few dayster, a sharp scream broke through the tranquility of the Ronghua Meat Factory in Nanjiang City. Xiaotao rushed there immediately after receiving the report. Dali and I went with her too.


    As soon as we entered the meat factory¡¯s courtyard, the heavy stench of blood and internal organs filled our nostrils. We were greeted by a butcher about forty years old wearing a leather apron. He informed us that he was the one who lodged the report. He introduced himself as Old Li. The incident happened at around five in the morning, and it was so horrifying that one of his co-workers was literally scared out of his wits.


    When I asked him to specify what happened, he gulped and answered, ¡°There was a pig that... talked!¡±


    It turned out that he worked the night shiftst night, and they received a truck full of live pigs at around four in the morning. Once they¡¯d unloaded the truck, they took the pigs to the ughterhouse to clean them and ughter them. In some abattoirs, the pigs would be ughtered via electric shock. But here, they were killed by hand with a knife. The butcher would pierce through the pig¡¯s neck with a long knife. The pig would then struggle for a few minutes as it bled, but it would then be sent to the main workshop for processing.


    The main workshop housed the assembly line. The processing of the pigs almost didn¡¯t even require the workers to touch the pigs at all. Old Li and his colleague, Xiaosheng, were stationed there, and they were responsible for hanging the pigs on the hooks. Xiaosheng was in his early twenties, and he did not have much experience in the business. That was why Old Li was there as a mentor.


    As usual, they made a cut at the joint of the pigs¡¯ hind leg and hung the pigs upside down on the hooks. However, when Xiaosheng was working on one of the pigs, he noticed that it looked different from the other pigs. He asked Old Li if this pig was sick or deformed, to which Old Li replied that all the pigs had had their blood and urine tested before they were delivered, and none of them should have any diseases. Old Li surmised that the pig probably had an injury prior to being sent there.


    And so, they continued working, but when Xiaosheng hung the aforementioned pig, it suddenly opened its eyes. Xiaosheng was startled. Old Li quickly assured him that this was normal, and that sometimes some pigs remained alive at this point. But then Xiaosheng argued that the pig seemed to be crying!


    Old Li looked at the pig and saw that tears were streaming down the pig¡¯s eyes. Pigs had tear nds like human beings, but they never expressed sadness or any other emotions through their tears at all. This pig, however, not only seemed to cry, but it was even moving its mouth and made strange noises. At the same time, its forelimbs were moving as if it was trying to write something.


    At that moment, the assembly line started, and the pig desperately struggled and twisted its body, letting out a low, weird scream. Then Xiaosheng suddenly yelled, ¡°Stop! Stop! The pig is talking! And it said that it¡¯s a person!¡±


    The assembly line was fully automatic. Before anyone could do anything, the pig was plunged into the hair removal machine which contained boiling water. After that, the pig¡¯s body was scrubbed with metal wires, and when it reemerged, it was quickly sawed in half. When Xiaosheng saw its internal organs, he copsed to the ground and screamed his lungs out.


    Old Li pulled the switch and turned the assembly line off. This was something they would never do unless there was a real emergency.


    He then examined the internal organs and noticed that they were a little different.


    ¡°I-It was a person!¡± Xiaosheng slurred between sobs. ¡°We just killed a person! We¡¯re murderers!¡±


    We were all shocked by Old Li¡¯s story. Dali¡¯s jaw dropped and it hung open for a long time. Through our silence, we heard a wild cackleing from inside the workshop.


    ¡°We¡¯re murderers!¡± the voice said. ¡°We¡¯re murderers! We killed a human being!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s Xiaosheng,¡± Old Li said gloomily.


    ¡°Are you sure that pig was a human being?¡± I asked him.


    Old Li thought for a while and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve been ughtering pigs for more than twenty years. That... thing looked nothing like a pig.¡±


    ¡°I want to see the body,¡± I told him. ¡°Take us there.¡±


    When we passed through the ughterhouse, we saw a few dead pigs in a pig pen. Blood pooled on the floor and solidified into a thick congealedyer. The stench of blood was even heavier here than in most murder scenes. Indeed, the people who worked here would have to be psychologically strong.


    ¡°What tools do you use to ughter the pigs?¡± I asked.


    Old Li picked up a long metal spear that was wrapped in a cotton cloth from the wall and exined, ¡°We use this to pierce through the pigs¡¯ necks. That usually kills them instantly.¡±


    ¡°Was the butcher who ughtered the pigsst night experienced?¡±


    Old Li nodded. ¡°He¡¯s an old colleague of mine. He¡¯s never failed to kill the pigs.¡±

 Chapter 165

    <h4>Chapter 165</h4>


    When we reached the workshop, we saw a guy dancing in disheveled clothes. He shouted at us, ¡°You¡¯re all going to turn into pigs! And then you¡¯ll get ughtered like an animal!¡±


    ¡°Why is he so affected by this?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    Old Li sighed and replied, ¡°Xiaosheng was dating a girl a while ago, but when she found out that he worked at a ughterhouse, she called him cruel and inhumane and dumped him. He¡¯s been unhappy ever since. Seeing what he did this morning probably broke him because he was already vulnerable in the first ce.¡±


    ¡°Silly girl,¡± scoffed Xiaotao. ¡°Doesn¡¯t she eat meat?¡±


    ¡°There was a monk in my hometown,¡± said Dali, ¡°who¡¯d hand out these pamphlets that said those who ughter pigs would reincarnate as pigs themselves in their next life!¡±


    ughtering pigs might be seen as a dirty and cruel job by many, but it was necessary in order to cater to the demands of pork consumed every day. Needless to say, butchers and those who worked in ughterhouses were essential to society.


    Xiaotao asked a female police officer to escort Xiaosheng to the car and calm him down. We might be able to get some statements from himter, although the chances of that happening looked slim.


    The entire assembly line had been stopped. Rows of dead pigs hung on the iron hooks. There was a huge chainsaw in the middle, and the ¡®pig¡¯ that had been cut in half was hanging beside it. All its internal organs fell into the blood tank below. Dali rushed out while covering his mouth the minute he saw that.


    ¡°Would you like me to take it down?¡± Old Li asked.


    ¡°No,¡± I replied. ¡°This is the murder scene. It¡¯s better to keep everything as is.¡±


    Xiaozhou handed me a pair oftex gloves. I put them on and began to examine the internal organs. Grandpa had trained me about the inner organs of human beings, so I was very familiar with how they looked. To test me, Grandpa would show me photos of the internal organs of different animals and asked me to pick out the ones that belonged to human beings.


    ¡°It¡¯s a human being,¡± I said after ncing at the organs. ¡°In fact, I¡¯m pretty sure it was a female. Look, here are the womb and the ovaries!¡±


    Everyone was stunned. I asked Old Li to get me a stepdder. I climbed up and examined the cross section of the ¡®pig¡¯s¡¯ body. What I found was shocking.


    There were many surgical sutures on her body. Her forearms and calves were cut off and connected to pig¡¯s trotters. Her pelvis was modified so that she could stand on four limbs like a pig. Her body was also filled with arge amount of fat, which caused her weight to increase dramatically. This meant that her broken limbs had to support extra weight, causing the joints between her limbs and the trotters to be infected. She must¡¯ve been in excruciating pain before she died!


    Her cyx was also attached to a pig¡¯s tail, using the muscles on the back of her neck to connect them. The muscle¡¯s tensile force made it impossible for her to lower her head, so she had to lift up her head permanently. The bridge of her nose was broken and her cartge, fat and skin were used to connect that part to a pig¡¯s snout. Even her ears were cut off and a pair of pig ears were attached. Her tongue had been removed too.


    In short, this woman had been turned into a pig by stic surgery!


    Everyone¡¯s expressions changed when they heard my findings. All of the police officers gritted their teeth, trying to hold back the fury. Even I was barely able to keep calm.


    Cosmetic surgery was often used to change a person¡¯s appearance. In theory, a human could be transformed into another animal, but it would require a long andplicated operation and a lot of patience to modify the structure of the human body while using drugs and anaesthetics to prevent them from dying.


    This cruel procedure would beparable to the ancient torture method called Lingchi. The murderer in this case could be said to be extremely psychopathic!


    Xiaotao clenched her fist tightly. Hot tears welled up in her eyes as she gnashed her teeth.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what your name is,¡± she said to the corpse, ¡°but I swear to you that I will hunt down whoever did this to you and beat them to a pulp so that even their mother can¡¯t recognize them!¡±


    I could see everyone¡¯s anger in their eyes. I was afraid that their emotions would get out of control, so I quickly added, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s examine the body and collect evidence!¡±


    After taking pictures of the scene, I took down the corpse with Old Li¡¯s help. Then I put on a pair of rubber boots and stepped into the blood tank to pick out every internal organ that I recognized to be from the victim. A few police officers offered to help, but I refused.


    Finally, all of the victim¡¯s internal organs were picked out. I told Xiaozhou to take blood samples from the corpse for testing because the internal organs had been contaminated with pig blood.


    I borrowed a pair of tweezers from the forensics team and took a small sample of cartge from the victim¡¯s nose. I held it in front of my eyes and examined them closely, then asked Xiaotao, ¡°How much do you know about stic surgery?¡±


    ¡°Not much,¡± she answered. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± I continued, ¡°for the murderer to do this kind of thing, it shows that he must be a very meticulous person. The artificial cartge used in stic surgery is generally made of silicone. The silicone used would have a serial number, which could then be used to trace back to its manufacturer and distributor. Unfortunately, in this case, the cartge used is solely pig cartge, so we¡¯re at a dead end.¡±


    I then turned my attention to the victim¡¯s limbs.


    ¡°Although these limbs were drastically modified, they remained flexible enough when the victim was hung upside down. My guess is that she tried to write the words ¡®I am human¡¯ with her hand. Also, because she was human, the stab to her neck didn¡¯t kill her like it would immediately kill a pig. She was probably only unconscious. Then when the blood rushed to her head when she was hung, she regained consciousness again.¡±


    I nced at the assembly line. The victim was still conscious when she was dragged into the hair removal machine. She was plunged into boiling water before she was scrubbed with the iron wire, and finally her body was cut in half by the chainsaw. I dared not imagine the pain and suffering that she went through in the moments before her death.


    ¡°Are there any clues on the body, Song Yang?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    To be frank, there wasn¡¯t much information to gather from the body at all since the murderer didn¡¯t actually kill her¡ªthey just mutted her. Besides, after being submerged in the hot water, any trace of the murderer on the victim¡¯s body would¡¯ve been washed off.


    ¡°This body is a valuable clue in itself,¡± I said, ¡°Who do you think could do this?¡±


    ¡°A stic surgeon?¡± Xiaotao responded immediately.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I nodded. ¡°To be more precise, a stic surgeon with their own practice. It would take a long time to turn a human being into a pig. A surgeon who works at a hospital would never be able toplete this task.¡±


    Xiaotao called some police officers over and ordered them to investigate all of the stic surgery clinics in Nanjiang City and gather information about all the doctors involved. Another group of officers would track down the truck that delivered the pigs that were with the victim.


    I then added that they should acquire the lists of medicines used by each clinic in the past month.


    Once the officers left, I went back to examine the corpse even more closely. I was almost at a loss because Grandpa had never taught me how to examine a dead body like this one. Xiaotao noticed the helpless expression on my face and asked, ¡°If there really is nothing you can do, maybe we should let the forensics team take over?¡±


    Because of the conditions of the victim¡¯s body, the only clues to be obtained would have to be gained from the internal organs, and in that regard, utilizing modern forensic science would be much more efficient.


    I contemted for a while and said, ¡°Hand the internal organs over to the forensics team, but leave the body to me!¡±


    ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Xiaotao wondered.


    ¡°I want to restore her to her human form!¡±


    1. Also known as , a form of torture and execution used in Ancient China where a knife was used to remove portions of the body over an extended period of time, resulting in slow and agonizing death.

 Chapter 166

    <h4>Chapter 166</h4>


    I told Xiaotao that we should take the body back to the station first. I then asked Dali to get some things for me like a spat, bone powder, mung bean flour, ked lime, fish gtin, and a sewing kit.


    ¡°Bone powder?¡± asked Dali. ¡°What the hell is that? Where can I buy it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s animal bones ground into fine powder,¡± I exined. ¡°You can look for it where they sell bone carvings, or maybe even some nt nurseries. Some people use it as fertilizer.¡±


    ¡°What about fish gtin?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s usually in the gtinous fatty part of the belly of a fish,¡± I answered. ¡°You can get it at the fish market.¡±


    Dali then left and Xiaotao called for the forensics team to deal with the internal organs, but there was bad news. The coroner could not work on this case because he was busy performing autopsies on the bodies of the gangsters. At that point, the ck Panthers gang and the Blood Wolf gang were still at each other¡¯s throat, and dead bodies would turn up here and there as a result of their conflict. Just the night before, another fight between the gangs had erupted, and the morgue was full of dead gangsters again.


    ¡°I guess we have no choice,¡± I sighed. ¡°We have to call for Bingxin¡¯s help.¡±


    Xiaotao¡¯s face fell. ¡°Are you sure Sun Tiger will be fine with that?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask him yourself?¡±


    Xiaotao called Sun Tiger and after persuading him for a long time, he finally relented, on the condition that she be sent home before sundown. I was sure that Sun Tiger would agree anyway. This would be a great opportunity for Bingxin to learn, after all.


    Xiaotao hung up the phone and said, ¡°Your sweetheart will be here soon.¡±


    I nodded and said nothing. I was too busy thinking about the case and was in no mood to joke around.


    We hurried back to the police station. Just as we were about to enter the building, Bingxin arrived in a cab, and she jumped out of it cheerfully and gleefully shouted, ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie! Song Yang-gege! What¡¯s the case about this time?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go inside and see the body,¡± I answered vaguely.


    Bingxin took my arm and jumped up and down joyfully like a little bunny.


    ¡°I¡¯m so excited to work with you guys again!¡± she chirped. ¡°I¡¯ve been bored to tears with nothing to do these few days! I¡¯m so d you guys called for my help!¡±


    Seeing that neither of us said anything in reply, she continued, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why do you guys look so down? Is it a really difficult case?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll understand when you see the body,¡± Xiaotao replied curtly.


    Xiaotao pushed the door to the morgue open, and the first thing Bingxin saw was the body sawed in half.


    ¡°Is that a human body?¡± she gasped. Then, with one close look at the internal organs and the bone structure, she understood everything. She covered her mouth and cried, ¡°Who did this? What sadistic animal did this?!¡±


    I briefly exined the details of the case to her. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she kept repeating, ¡°It¡¯s horrible! It¡¯s horrible!¡±


    When she calmed down, I told her to test the internal organs. Bingxin nodded, put on a white coat andtex gloves, then took the internal organs packed in stic bags to another work table and started dissecting them.


    I went back to the body and thought about what I should do first. I should get rid of the parts that did not belong to the victim, then rearrange the human body parts ording to human anatomy to reconstruct the victim¡¯s body.


    Traditional Coroners often worked with dismembered corpses, but the ancients always made sure to reconstruct the body, otherwise they believed that the soul would not rest. Hence, there was a Song family technique called Corpse Reconstruction, which not only helped in solving murder cases, also allowed the soul of the dead to rest in peace.


    I picked up a scalpel and started to work. I removed the pig ears and trotters, the transnted tail, and the other surgical sutures, then rearranged the body parts ording to human anatomy. The hardest part was the removal of excess fat. Once the liquid fat had solidified, they would turn intorge white pieces of gtinous mass. There was a clear line between the added fat and the original fat, and I carefully separated them.


    Xiaotao looked a bit ufortable, so I told her, ¡°You can wait outside if you like.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I never thought I¡¯d see you dissect a body like a surgeon!¡±


    ¡°My method is a bit amateurish, though,¡± Iughed. ¡°You can ask Bingxin about it. Thank goodness this scalpel is very sharp, which makes things much easier.¡±


    At that moment, Dali returned with a big bag. He was overjoyed when he saw Bingxin there.


    ¡°Miss Sun!¡± he cried. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°Song Yang-gege asked me for help,¡± Bingxin replied through the mask.


    When Dali saw the corpse spread over the table, his face turned green. ¡°Why did you cut the corpse into pieces, dude?¡±


    ¡°No time to talk,¡± I waved my hand. ¡°Get me some hot water.¡±


    I poured the bone powder, mung bean flour, and ked lime into a metal container. When Dali returned with the hot water, I poured that into the container too. Once the mixture had cooled down a bit, I kneaded it with my hand till it turned into a paste. This sticky paste was called bone paste in the books.


    I then mixed the fish gtin and the pig fat that I had just scraped off the victim¡¯s body into another metal container, then heated it with an alcohol burner. I waited until the mixture melted before adding starch to it and set it aside to cool.


    I then filled the gaps between the bones with the paste and carefully trimmed the edges with the spat. Bone paste solidified quickly once cooled, and it would feel just like bone to the touch.


    This turned out to be quite a lot of work. From time to time, I would check the human anatomy poster on the wall. Eventually, I reconstructed the victim¡¯s pelvis, ribs, teeth, and the bridge of her nose.


    The skeleton was notplete, though. The forearms and the lower part of the legs were missing. Fortunately, this would not hinder me from solving the case.


    At that moment, Bingxin was done dissecting the internal organs and was about to take them to theb for testing.


    I then covered the bones with the victim¡¯s flesh and skin, and filled the body with the mixture of fish gtin and pork fat. Finally, I stitched it up with needles and threads. As a human body began to take shape, Dali eximed, ¡°That¡¯s awesome, dude! You really are worthy of being Song Ci¡¯s descendant!¡±


    I smiled and continued to work, now focusing on the victim¡¯s head, which would take almost the same amount of time and effort as the rest of the body.


    A person¡¯s face was not justposed of a single piece of skin. The cartge, muscles and teeth underneath the skin were just as crucial, if not more, in the attempt to reconstruct the victim¡¯s face. The amount of fat underneath the skin had to be carefully adjusted to the right proportion in order to recreate what the victim looked like.


    Bingxin then returned to the room and announced, ¡°The tests areplete, Song Yang-gege...¡± She paused suddenly when she saw how I had restored the victim¡¯s body to its human form. She gasped and was stunned speechless.


    ¡°Nailed it!¡± I eximed as I stood up. My back ached terribly from crouching for the past three hours.


    The female corpse thaty on the metal table had no limbs, no hair, and no breasts. Her body was also full of stitches, but her face had been convincingly reconstructed. Xiaotao, Dali and Bingxin looked on and gasped in disbelief.


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing, Song Yang!¡± cried Xiaotao. ¡°Even a 3D modelling software wouldn¡¯t have done it better!¡±


    ¡°Some of the features on her face were just my guess,¡± I said, ¡°but I¡¯m sure her real face didn¡¯t look much different than what I produced here.¡±


    Xiaotao immediately called for the forensics team toe and take photos of the reconstructed corpse. They were all surprised when they arrived. They took pictures of the corpse from various angles and used them to find a match in the citizen registration database to identify the victim.


    I asked Bingxin what she found from the testing. She looked at her test results report and said, ¡°The victim is about 26 to 27 years old. Her blood type is B. She had no smoking or drinking habits. There was partially digested pig feed in her stomach. She probably ate it because she was starving. Apart from that, there was digested food matter in her intestines too. Judging by the degree of digestion, it was most likely left over from thest meal she ate about seven days ago. All her internal organs had lesions on them, and they seem to be quite recent. The liver lesions are particrly serious. I detected sedatives, anesthetics, and immunosuppressants in her liver. There were traces of hyaluronic acid and Botox in there too. These are drugs used in surgeries. I¡¯ve made a specific list of drugs that were found in the victim¡¯s body.¡±


    ¡°Is it possible to determine the dosage of the drugs used?¡± I asked.


    Bingxin considered it for a while and answered, ¡°I think I can calcte the rough estimates of those.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± I eximed. ¡°These would be key evidence from which we can find the criminal, not to mention that they can be used to convict them in court too. Thanks, Bingxin!¡±


    Bingxin blushed and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, Song Yang-gege! It¡¯s nothingpared to what you¡¯ve done!¡±

 Chapter 167

    <h4>Chapter 167</h4>


    ¡°Do you still need the internal organs?¡± I asked Bingxin.


    ¡°No,¡± she shook her head.


    I then cut open the victim¡¯s abdomen with a scalpel and stuffed the internal organs inside, making sure that each of the organs were positioned correctly. Then I fixed them in ce with thread and needle.


    ¡°What are you doing, Song Yang?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°I want the victim to have a body that¡¯s asplete as possible,¡± I answered with a heavy sigh.


    ¡°You¡¯re such a kind soul, Song Yang-gege!¡± eximed Bingxin.


    I smiled. It was only something any Traditional Coroner would¡¯ve done. I then burnt a stack of joss paper in honor of the victim while softly reciting, ¡°Let the heavens be my witness. In the name of my ancestor, the great magistrate Song Ci, I, Song Yang, vow to find the person who wronged you and bring them to justice. So you can rest in peace and move on to the afterlife now.¡±


    It could just be my imagination, but I heard a faint cry in the morgue in response to what I¡¯d just said. I looked around and saw everyone else just staring at the dead body silently.


    After the autopsy, Dali, Bingxin, and I left the police station as there was nothing left for us to do. The minute we left the building, Bingxin took my arm and cooed, ¡°You still owe me a meal, Song Yang-gege!¡±


    ¡°Next time, maybe,¡± I said.


    ¡°You¡¯re not trying to break your promise, are you?¡± Bingxin pouted. ¡°Who knows when we¡¯ll meet again!¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± I reluctantly answered. ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡±


    All three of us then went to a Korean-style barbecue restaurant. Bingxin had a small appetite, and she ended up not eating much. Because of our simr professions, we spent most of the time talking to each other about work-rted things.


    Meanwhile, Dali couldn¡¯t get a word in edgewise as Bingxin and I talked, so he focused on eating and managed to finish a stack of tes full of beef slices. It looked more like I was treating him to a meal, not Bingxin.


    Perhaps it was because of the case we were investigating, but none of us ordered any pork during that meal.


    After the meal, we parted ways at the bus station. Bingxin repeatedly reminded me before getting on the bus to inform her of any progress in the case. She told me that she wanted to see the psychopath who did such a heinous thing captured with her own eyes.


    Two dayster, Xiaotao called me and said that we should immediately get to the police station. When we got there, she told us that the forensics team had identified the victim. Her name was Xu Xiaohui. She was a frence painter. Both Dali and I were shocked when we heard that name.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same person who went missing?¡± Dali asked.


    ¡°Yes, it is,¡± replied Xiaotao.


    Xiaotao showed us the photo of Xu Xiaohui. She was an innocent-looking beautiful young woman. When I thought of what happened to her, a raging fury surged up inside of me. I just couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of depraved animal would ever do such an unspeakably atrocious thing!


    Xiaotao had also investigated all the stic surgery clinics and hospitals in Nanjiang City. The other police officers had taken the list of drugs that Bingxin prepared and checked them one by one. In the end, it was found that five clinics had recently used all the drugs on the list, which meant that all five clinics were suspect.


    I told Xiaotao I wanted to see the locations of these five clinics. She unfurled arge map of Nanjiang City onto the table, then marked the clinics with pins. She then pointed to a sixth location and said, ¡°And here is Xu Xiaohui¡¯s house.¡±


    I looked at the map and silently contemted for a while.


    ¡°Should we go visit each of these locations?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°I think we should go to Xu Xiaohui¡¯s house first,¡± I answered.


    Xiaotao called for Wang Yuanchao and the four of us then headed to the victim¡¯s house. Old Zhang, the patrolling police officer from before, saw us and shouted, ¡°What are you doing here, Officer Huang? Did something happen to Xu Xiaohui?¡±


    ¡°She was murdered,¡± answered Xiaotao.


    Old Zhang¡¯s eyes rounded to the size of saucers, and he mumbled, ¡°Murdered? She¡¯s dead? But I¡¯d just seen her not too long ago! Such a kind and lovely girl, too. She¡¯d always say hello to me every time we met...¡±


    Old Zhang then led us to the victim¡¯s house. As we stepped inside, we found that the house was clean and tidy. There were some sketches lying around, and the shelves were full of books.


    ¡°Do you know her family?¡± Xiaotao asked Old Zhang.


    ¡°Her parents are out of town,¡± he replied. ¡°She¡¯s studying here, and she¡¯d paint to earn some pocket money. She¡¯s a quiet girl most of the time. I¡¯d never seen her bring any friends back here, much less a boyfriend.... By the way, should I inform her family about this?¡±


    ¡°Not at the moment!¡± I immediately replied. I was afraid that the news would be too big of a blow to her parents right now. We could just inform themter when more was known about the case.


    We put on thetex gloves and began searching the house. I found nothing special in the living room, but all of a sudden I heard Dali shout, ¡°Dude! Look at what I found!¡±


    It was a diary from the drawer of the victim¡¯s writing desk. In it, the victim had neatly jotted down her daily ns and schedule. It looked like Xu Xiaohui managed her time very well.


    I quickly flipped the diary to November 7th, the date when Xu Xiaohui went missing. But then I realized that the page had been torn off! On the nk page next to it, there was a handwritten note that read, ¡°Do not investigate this case, Song Yang!¡±


    I showed it to everyone there. Xiaotao gasped and wondered, ¡°You mean someone knew that you were going toe here?¡±


    ¡°Could it be a threat left by the killer?¡± Dali guessed.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so,¡± I replied. ¡°The murderer wouldn¡¯t do such a bold and risky thing. It would only draw attention to them. I think this was left by that mysterious swordsman who attacked Old Zhang that night.¡±


    ¡°But why would he tear off the most important page of the diary?¡± Xiaotao pondered.


    ¡°The key point is that this person knows me, and he knows that I will investigate this case.¡±


    I was even surer now that the swordsman was the same person who cut off Cao Mou¡¯s ear. The note didn¡¯t sound like a threat, but more like a warning to protect me from danger. But who was he? Why wouldn¡¯t he show his face to me?


    I flipped through the diary. It seemed like an ordinary daily nner, but then, I noticed that another page had been torn off¡ªNovember 3rd. What could it mean?


    I contemted it over and over again, and finally got it. ¡°The victim must¡¯ve met with the murderer on November 3rd! That swordsman probably tore off the page to keep me from questioning the murderer!¡±


    ¡°You really are a genius, dude!¡± praised Dali.


    Xiaotao ordered Yuanchao to track down the victim¡¯s recent call records while the rest of us would remain here and continue searching the house for possible clues. I found an old group photo of a high school ss pressed inside an old book. The victim was an introverted person who had few friends. Perhaps she was still in contact with her former ssmates from high school?


    Yuanchao was impressively efficient. When we went downstairs and was about to leave, he had already returned with the call record in hand. On November 3rd, the same number called the victim three times.


    ¡°I asked the IT team,¡± said Yuanchao. ¡°They said the owner of this number is called Wu Li.¡±


    Xiaotao called the number right away. Wu Li was shocked when she learned that Xu Xiaohui had died. She said that on November 3rd, there was a ss reunion party for their high school ss. Xu Xiaohui was reallyte, so Wu Li called her multiple times to check where she was.


    This was an important clue. Xiaotao asked Wu Li if we could meet her now, and she agreed and gave Xiaotao an address.


    We then met Wu Li at the address she just gave, which turned out to be a caf. Xiaotao, Dali, and I walked straight into the caf, but Yuanchao stopped at the entrance and just stood outside.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t youing in?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    Yuanchao pointed at the ¡®No Smoking¡¯ sign on the door and shrugged.


    ¡°Seriously!¡± uttered Xiaotao.


    ¡°Uncle Wang smokes and drinks every day, doesn¡¯t he, Xiaotao-jiejie?¡± whispered Dali. ¡°Isn¡¯t he worried about getting cancer?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him,¡± scoffed Xiaotao. ¡°Bullets and knives will get to him before cancer does.¡±


    Dali stared at Xiaotao.


    ¡°What? You know I¡¯m right!¡± Xiaotao retorted.


    The three of us took our seats in the caf and ordered coffee. Xiaotao ordered an extra cup oftte to go and asked the waiter to deliver it to Yuanchao who was still standing outside.


    When I had drunk half of my cup of coffee, an officedy with a short haircut carrying a small handbag entered the caf.


    ¡°Are you guys police officers?¡± she asked as she approached our table. ¡°My name is Wu Li!¡±


    Xiaotao invited her to take a seat and ordered her a cup of coffee. Wu Li thanked her, then asked how Xu Xiaohui died. Xiaotao replied that it was not possible to disclose any details at the moment since the case was still under investigation. She then asked Wu Li about the reunion party.


    Wu Li recalled that nothing special happened that day. Xu Xiaohui had always been a quiet girl who mostly kept to herself. She only had a few close friends, and they were all girls.


    ¡°Is there any stic surgeon among your former ssmates?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, there is one!¡±

 Chapter 168

    <h4>Chapter 168</h4>


    The three of us exchanged looks. It seemed that I¡¯d stumbled upon a gold mine here.


    ¡°Does Xu Xiaohui¡¯s death have anything to do with stic surgery?¡± asked Wu Li in confusion. ¡°But she¡¯s such a natural beauty! Someone like her wouldn¡¯t need stic surgery, would she?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the name of the stic surgeon?¡± I asked.


    ¡°His name is Kong Hui,¡± Wu Li replied. ¡°We met him at the reunion party. When we learned that he¡¯s now a stic surgeon with his own practice¡ªlots of people were excited and wanted to get their face done with him. Actually, he gave me his business card too. Hold on, I¡¯ll get it for you.¡±


    Wu Li fumbled in her purse for the card and handed it to us. The card read ¡°Aili stic Surgery¡ªDr. Kong Hui.¡± I recalled that the name of the clinic was one of the five clinics on Xiaotao¡¯s list. This made Kong Hui much more suspicious now.


    On one hand, I was excited to find a clue that led to the suspect so quickly, but on the other hand, it was so easy and straightforward that I couldn¡¯t help but suspect that something was wrong.


    ¡°What is the rtionship between Kong Hui and Xu Xiaohui like?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°Rtionship?¡± Wu Li smiled. ¡°Well, you see, when we were in high school, Kong Hui was really unpopr. He was short, dark-skinned, poor, and I even heard rumors about his father being a prisoner in abor camp. But fast forward to the present and things are drastically different! He¡¯s a very sessful stic surgeon, he drives an expensive BMW, and I think he had something done to his face too because he looks handsome now! That man ages like wine! I even joked with Xiaohui how she must¡¯ve regretted rejecting him when he tried to woo her back then!¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Xiaotao was stunned.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s all ancient history now!¡± Wu Li sipped her coffee. ¡°Back when we were in high school, Kong Hui would write dozens of love letters to Xiaohui. Once, on Valentine¡¯s Day, he stood in the middle of a circle of lit candles near our dorm and confessed his feelings to her. But it was past curfew then, and I don¡¯t know who did it, but someone poured a basin of cold water on him from upstairs, and Kong Hui just stood there soaked to the bone! He never talked to Xiaohui ever since.¡±


    ¡°Did the two ever get back in touch with each other after the reunion party?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°I... I don¡¯t know!¡± Wu Li¡¯s tone suddenly changed. ¡°Officer, you¡¯re not suspecting Kong Hui to be responsible for Xiaohui¡¯s death, are you?¡±


    ¡°Do you have anything to do with her death, then, Miss Wu?¡± Xiaotao shot back.


    ¡°No, absolutely not!¡± Wu Li denied vehemently. Her face had gotten pale. ¡°I¡¯m a good friend of hers! I¡¯d never do anything to harm her!¡±


    ¡°Then stop making random guesses,¡± replied Xiaotao with a thin smile, ¡°and do not spread any gossip about the case to anyone else, understood?¡±


    Xiaotao wanted to intimidate her a bit just to prevent her from leaking any information about the case, but in fact it was clear to us that Wu Li was innocent and had nothing to do with Xiaohui¡¯s death.


    After we said goodbye to Wu Li, the four of us headed straight to Kong Hui¡¯s stic surgery clinic. When we asked for him at the front desk, we were informed that Dr. Kong was still performing surgery. We waited for half an hour, then a patient with bandages around her head was wheeled out of the operation room, and a man in a whiteb coat walked out behind her.


    ¡°Nothing scares me more than stic surgery!¡± cried Dali.


    ¡°Shut up, idiot!¡± hissed Xiaotao. She then went up to the man in white coat and said, ¡°Are you Dr. Kong?¡±


    The man nodded, then looked Xiaotao up and down. ¡°Are you here for stic surgery or liposuction?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Neither,¡± answered Xiaotao, showing him her badge. I observed his expressions closely and saw that his pupils shrank ever so slightly. This man could be very suspicious indeed.


    Then Xiaotao asked him several questions in a row: Did he know a woman named Xu Xiaohui? Did they talk when they met at the reunion party on November third?


    Kong Hui smiled. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen her in ten years. I met her at the party, of course, but we merely said a few words and that was it. It was just a small talk anyway.¡±


    The man was calm, but his hands still betrayed him. As he answered the questions, the veins on his hand kept popping. This indicated elerating blood flow which usually happened when one was in a state of distress.


    ¡°What was your schedule like from November 6th to November 13th?¡± Xiaotao asked again.


    ¡°Nothing out of the ordinary,¡± he answered. ¡°I travel from home to work in the morning and then back home again in the evening. What is this about, officer? What happened to Xu Xiaohui?¡±


    Xiaotao was about to answer him, but I interrupted her, ¡°She was in danger, but she was rescued and her conditions are stable now!¡±


    ¡°You mean she was hit by a car?¡± Kong Hui asked, his pupils dted.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± I asked.


    Kong Hui¡¯s expressions changed dramatically.


    ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t, officer,¡± he said. ¡°You were far from being clear, so how could I have known what happened to her?¡±


    I kept looking straight into his eyes. It was a trick that I learned from Yuanchao. He taught me that guilty people or those who were trying to hide something would blink a lot. As I expected, Kong Hui didn¡¯t dare to look straight at me.


    ¡°Well, she should be able to tell us exactly what happened when she wakes up,¡± I said.


    I noticed beads of cold sweat on the sides of Kong Hui¡¯s nose and on his forehead.


    ¡°Would you please let us into the operating room, Dr. Kong?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not,¡± refused Kong Hui. ¡°We just had an operation in there and it hasn¡¯t been properly sterilized yet. I¡¯m afraid it would be unsanitary for you to enter right now.¡±


    ¡°Oh, surely it¡¯ll be fine, Dr. Kong,¡± answered Xiaotao. ¡°This clinic doesn¡¯t deal with infectious diseases after all.¡±


    We entered the operating room and I asked Dali to get my Autopsy Umbre from the car. The room¡¯s walls were painted white and the lower half was tiled. There was a surgical table in the middle with a spotlight on top of it. There was a curtain around the surgical table too.


    I closed the door, opened the window, and checked the whole room with my Autopsy Umbre. The operation on the victim must¡¯ve been long-drawn-out andplicated, so it had to have left some trace in the room. Yet, I found the room to be spotless with nothing particrly noteworthy at all.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think this is the crime scene,¡± I said.


    ¡°That makes sense,¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°His clinic apparently receives quite a lot of patients. Kong Hui would not risk his business andmit the crime here. Besides, there are many staff members here. He could very easily be found out.¡±


    At that point, all of us were pretty sure that Kong Hui was the murderer. It was just as Grandpa once said: the moreplicated the murder method, the easier it was to find the murderer. Because of the horrifying way Xu Xiaohui died, it was much easier to narrow down the identity of the prime suspect. Had Kong Hui killed her with a more mon¡¯ method, like stabbing or strangtion, we would¡¯ve spent much more time running in circles trying to determine who could¡¯ve done it.


    ¡°Are we going to bring him back to the police station?¡± Dali asked.


    ¡°Not yet,¡± Xiaotao answered. ¡°We can¡¯t just arrest anyone without strong evidence. Besides, it¡¯s a better idea to lull him into a false sense of security for now.¡±


    We decided to leave the clinic, but before that Xiaotao spoke to Kong Hui politely and made sure that he thought we didn¡¯t suspect him at all. This was the usual modus operandi used by the police. The more they suspected someone, the more they tried to make that person feel safe.


    Some murderers might be clever, some might be stupid, but there was always onemon mentality among them¡ªthey always believed that they could escape with impunity.


    Once we were outside the clinic, I looked back at the patients entering the building. They were all young and beautiful women.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you stay here, Dali?¡± I suggested. ¡°You¡¯ll have plenty of beautifulpany while you observe Kong Hui¡¯s movements. You can use the opportunity to practice your skills in picking up girls too!¡±


    ¡°Okay, sure!¡± he nodded eagerly.


    The rest of us returned to the police station where one of Xiaotao¡¯s officers had just brought in the farmer who delivered Xu Xiaohui to the ughterhouse. We questioned him for a few minutes and found out that as he was driving to the ughterhouse that morning, he found a pig on the side of the road, so he loaded it into the truck. At that time, he thought he was really lucky because it was like he¡¯d just picked up an extra thousand yuan.


    The man seemed to be an honest farmer. During the questioning, he often asked if there were any problems with his pigs and anxiously asked, ¡°Did anyone get sick from eating pork, officers? How much do I have to pay in fines?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Xiaotaoforted him. ¡°You can go now.¡±


    At noon, Xiaotao ordered some takeaways for everyone and we ate lunch together at the police station. Just when we finished our meal, Dali returned. His eyes were all red and watery.


    ¡°What happened, Dali?¡± I asked with augh.


    ¡°This is all your fault, dude!¡± he snapped at me. ¡°You and your bright idea about picking up girls! I got pepper spray in my eyes!¡±

 Chapter 169

    <h4>Chapter 169</h4>


    I had expected something like this to ur, because I¡¯d secretly asked Dali to take pictures of the stitches on Dr. Kong¡¯s patients. To his credit, Dali did manage to take a few, but one girl evidently thought he was a pervert, so she used the pepper spray on Dali.


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, Dali,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll make it up to you somehow. Let me see the pictures you took!¡±


    He handed me his phone, and I asked a police officer to print out the pictures. Ipared the pictures to the stitches on the victim¡¯s body.


    ¡°Look at this part,¡± I pointed at a picture. ¡°It obviously looked like they were sewn by the same person.¡±


    Stitches were just like handwriting. Every doctor had their own habits and their own unique ¡®signature.¡¯ Still, this wouldn¡¯t be enough evidence to convict anyone in court.


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± nodded Xiaotao. ¡°There¡¯s no doubt that Kong Hui is the murderer. We should concentrate our time and resources on trying to get evidence against him and get him arrested as soon as possible. Great job once again, Song Yang!¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡±


    For the moment, Dali and I had nothing else to do so we went back to our dorm. I assumed that the case would be resolved soon, but Xiaotao texted me the next day saying that a few police officers in the task force asked to withdraw themselves from the investigation team, but they did not specify their reason for doing so.


    Then, three dayster, the case still hasn¡¯t progressed yet. I was about to go to the police station myself, but one of my roommates handed me a letter and told me, ¡°I got a letter for you, Song Yang.¡±


    ¡°A letter?¡± I took it from him. It felt a little unusual in my hand. The envelope seemed to contain something else in it. There was nothing else written on the envelope except my name and address. My first hunch was that someone might¡¯ve sent me some infectious virus as a way to take revenge on me due to the cases I¡¯d solved. It was not too far-fetched to think that I¡¯d made some enemies by now.


    But after feeling the content of the envelope for a while, I finally realized what it really was. I tore it open and, sure enough, there was a bullet inside.


    This was amon way for people in the underworld to threaten people. Basically, it was a warning. They sent me a bullet in an envelope this time, but if I don¡¯t stop snooping around, they would ¡®send¡¯ me another way, using a more, let¡¯s say, direct method.


    I immediately took out my kit and sprinkled some seaweed powder on the envelope. There were three sets of fingerprints on it. These would include my roommate¡¯s fingerprints, the postman¡¯s, and mine. Then I wet the stamp and carefully peeled it off. I sniffed at the back of the stamp. The person who sent me this letter was very cautious, because there was no sign of saliva on the back of the stamp.


    There was the Nanjiang Post Office stamp on the letter, but I knew that there was nothing to be gleaned from this fact.


    I called Xiaotao and told her about it. She was silent for a few seconds before she said, ¡°Actually, I received one just like that myself yesterday.¡±


    I was stunned.


    ¡°I¡¯ve asked for the forensics team to test it,¡± she said. ¡°The bullet is a 7.62mm sniper rifle bullet made in Russia. Ordinary people would never be able to acquire a gun like that.¡±


    Hearing this, I nced out of the window, thinking there might be a sniper lying on the top of the building right opposite the dorm now, just waiting for their order to shoot.


    The only time I ever heard of such a threat was when the actor Edison Chen received such a letter containing a bullet when his photo scandal erupted in the news. When I saw the news on TV, my thought was, why would anyone be so scared of a tiny bullet? But now that I¡¯d received such a threat myself, I found that my hands were shaking.


    It was clear now why those police officers refused to participate in the investigation.


    ¡°I never expected a stic surgeon like Kong Hui to have connections with the underworld!¡± sighed Xiaotao. ¡°Thisplicates matters. Song Yang, I think you should withdraw from this case.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Me?¡± Xiaotaoughed slightly nervously. ¡°Well, I¡¯m a police officer. It¡¯s my duty to bring criminals to justice, even if my life is on the line. Besides, I don¡¯t think they¡¯d do anything to me. With my rank, if anything happened to me, the whole police force would be enraged, and when that happens, even they¡¯d know that they¡¯d bitten off more than they can chew.¡±


    ¡°In that case,¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯ll stay on the case and work with you until the end!¡±


    ¡°No, Song Yang!¡± Xiaotao¡¯s tone suddenly changed. ¡°From now on, you¡¯re no longer a part of the task force!¡±


    She then hung up the phone. I immediately grabbed my coat and ran outside. I had a feeling that someone was staring at me from behind, but when I turned around, no one was there.


    This eerie feeling lingered all the way from my dorm to the police station. I had no idea if it was just my imagination or if there really was someone watching me.


    When I reached the station, a police officer told me that Xiaotao had already left to investigate the case. I called her, but it didn¡¯t get through. I thought that she must¡¯ve been at Kong Hui¡¯s stic surgery clinic, so I rushed there straight away. I was about to enter the clinic when I felt someone tapping my shoulder from behind, and I heard a voice ask me, ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    I was shocked. I never thought that these people would dare to act in broad daylight. But then I realized that it would make no sense for them to evene near me. I¡¯d seen how ck organizations worked in the movies. All they had to do was follow me discreetly and shoot me from afar. That way, I wouldn¡¯t even know what hit me, and there would be no witnesses too.


    And so, I turned around and saw that it was just Hamster.


    ¡°Thank god, it¡¯s you!¡± I cried, immensely relieved. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°Never mind that,¡± replied Hamster. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be here, Song-ge!¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you still with the ck Panthers gang?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s history now, Song-ge!¡± he said. ¡°I slept with one of the boss¡¯s women. I thought it would be safer to run now before anyone finds out.¡±


    My cheek twitched. What a life you lead, Hamster! I thought.


    ¡°Anyway,¡± Hamster continued, ¡°Officer Wang knew that you¡¯de, so he asked me to wait for you here. He asked me to tell you not to investigate this case for the time being. He¡¯s working secretly with Officer Huang to check Kong Hui¡¯s background. But seriously, Song-ge, you received the bullet letter, didn¡¯t you? Surely you¡¯d know it¡¯s best toy low for a while!¡±


    ¡°Did Yuanchao receive it too?¡± I asked.


    ¡°They all did!¡± Hamster nodded. ¡°This Kong Hui guy is no small fry, Song-ge! My guess is that he¡¯s helped the underworld people a lot.¡±


    ¡°Do you know him?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know him, but I know the underworld. Think about it, Song-ge. Many of these gangsters are fugitives. What could be more convenient for fugitives than to change their face entirely? And look at this clinic! Do you think a guy in his mid-twenties would be able to set up such a big clinic on his own without any help?¡±


    Hamster made a lot of sense, so I decided to follow his advice and went home. Xiaotao and Yuanchao were busy investigating for the next few days, yet there was absolutely nothing that I could do to help them. I was particrly worried about Xiaotao, who didn¡¯t answer my texts and calls at all.


    One day, I received a spam text on my phone. It was an ad for an online game. I was about to delete it, but at thest minute I realized that the sender was Xiaotao. I followed the link and logged into the game. It was a decent game, though the graphic was quite poor and the animation was often glitchy, so there weren¡¯t any other yers at all.


    I picked up a task in the Beginner¡¯s Level and walked around the virtual vige. Then I saw another yer whose avatar¡¯s name was Peachy and was delighted.


    ¡°What a unique way to meet!¡± I typed.


    ¡°What is my room number?¡± Peachy asked.


    ¡°503!¡± I answered. ¡°What¡¯s my roommate¡¯s name?¡±


    ¡°Dali the Imbecile!¡± she replied.


    Now that we¡¯d confirmed each other¡¯s identity, I quickly put on the clothes I had in the game¡¯s package. Although we were in the virtual world, it still felt embarrassing to be naked in front of Xiaotao¡¯s avatar.


    ¡°I¡¯ve recently been closely followed by some people in the shadows,¡± typed Xiaotao. ¡°I think my house has been bugged too. This is the safest way for us to meet.¡±


    ¡°Who is Kong Hui connected to?¡± I asked. ¡°Is it the ck Panthers gang or the Blood Wolf gang?¡±


    ¡°Neither,¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°I suspect that he¡¯s connected to a much stronger and darker force!¡±


    1. His private photographs with various women were distributed over the .


    2. Xiaotao¡¯s name means ¡®peach¡¯ in Chinese.

 Chapter 170

    <h4>Chapter 170</h4>


    Xiaotao said she suspected that Kong Hui might be rted to several murder cases. By that, she didn¡¯t mean that he was the murderer, but he was the one who helped the real murderers escape by performing stic surgery.


    At that point it was all a conjecture, and she hadn¡¯t gathered much evidence to back up her im yet.


    Upon hearing this, I murmured, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that the criminals we caught...¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about that,¡± Xiaotao interjected. ¡°I¡¯ve verified the identities of all the people we caught.¡±


    ¡°Captain Lin caught wind of the bullet letters we received,¡± Xiaotao added, ¡°and he ordered me to stop the investigation and let the counterterrorist squad handle it. I didn¡¯t promise him anything though.¡±


    At that moment, another yer who was ten ranks above Xiaotao came up from behind and shed Xiaotao¡¯s avatar to death. She had to wait a few seconds to be ¡®resurrected,¡¯ and when she returned, she screamed, ¡°Asshole! What kind of vige is this? You can¡¯t even stand around here chatting without getting killed! Ugh, now I need more coins to buy more equipment!¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s the other yer?¡± I asked.


    The yer who just ¡®killed¡¯ Xiaotao was named Zhang Kangmei. Xiaotao asked the yer a few questions and discovered that it was Yuanchao.


    ¡°You did that on purpose because you don¡¯t like me bossing you around, don¡¯t you?¡± Xiaotao used.


    ¡°Sorry, my hand slipped,¡± replied Yuanchao.


    ¡°Anyway, what did you find?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    While Xiaotao was checking Kong Hui¡¯s background these few days, Yuanchao was investigating the murder of Xu Xiaohui.


    ¡°I talked to one of Kong Hui¡¯s ssmates,¡± said Yuanchao. ¡°He saw Kong Hui trying to chat up with Xu Xiaohui that day, but she ignored him. He told me that the expressions on Kong Hui¡¯s face after that changed drastically and he¡¯d never seen him like that before.¡±


    ¡°Is that it?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Well, it is a simple case, really,¡± I said. ¡°Kong Hui always had an inferiorityplex, but he felt that he was no longer that pitiable boy that he was in the past. He now has a sessful career, lots of money, and he¡¯s even handsome now. He must¡¯ve thought that he was finally good enough for Xu Xiaohui. But to his surprise, her feelings remained unchanged. This must¡¯ve caused a huge blow to his ego.¡±


    ¡°So he killed her just for that?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°It might sound like it¡¯s not a big deal,¡± I replied, ¡°but this is evidently something that¡¯s been troubling him all these years! Think about it. What kind of message could he be trying to convey by turning the beautiful Xu Xiaohui into a pig? He must¡¯ve wanted her to die as an ugly beast, without any dignity and grace.¡±


    ¡°What a prick!¡± cursed Xiaotao.


    ¡°He must have another private operating room,¡± I conjectured. ¡°Another ce where he could operate on those gang members. That¡¯s probably where he operated on the victim too.¡±


    Xiaotao typed three exmation marks and added, ¡°You¡¯re quick-minded as usual, Song Yang! Now all we have to do is find that operating room, and we¡¯d have enough evidence to arrest him!¡±


    ¡°But everyone is being watched closely now,¡± said Yuanchao. ¡°What can we do?¡±


    ¡°Where was Xu Xiaohui found by the farmer again?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Near a highway,¡± replied Yuanchao.


    ¡°Right!¡± I said. ¡°Then let¡¯s start from there! I¡¯ve got a n!¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± eximed Xiaotao. ¡°We¡¯ll meet there at midnight. Don¡¯t contact each other before that. Just remember to do something to distract those people watching us.¡±


    After that, Xiaotao¡¯s mood must¡¯ve improved, because she tried to attack Yuanchao with ten consecutive attacks as revenge for what he did earlier. But Yuanchao¡¯s avatar was a warrior with a thick armor and high strength level, so he didn¡¯t even budge.


    ¡°Bastard!¡± spat Xiaotao. ¡°How did you get so good at this game?¡±


    Yuanchao said nothing in reply. He merely shed her once, killing her in one move again. I quickly quit the game myself.


    Dali noticed the game on myputer screen and asked me, ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you today? You¡¯re ying an online game? Is it good?¡±


    ¡°Nah,¡± I replied. ¡°It¡¯s terrible. I¡¯m going to the library for a while.¡±


    I didn¡¯t want Dali to get involved in the investigation. We could be in real danger this time, after all.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you!¡± said Dali. ¡°I met a hot librarian recently. Maybe I¡¯ll see her again!¡±


    We both then walked to the library together. The hot librarian was nowhere to be found, so instead Dali took a bunch of Gu Long¡¯s books off the shelves and read them. I was a little surprised by that since Dali was never much of a bookworm.


    After spending the whole afternoon in the library, we then went to the cafeteria for dinner. At around ten o¡¯clock, I told Dali I was going out.


    ¡°Another murder?¡± Dali asked.


    ¡°No,¡± I replied. ¡°I¡¯m going on a date with Bingxin. Don¡¯t tell Xiaotao, okay?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± cried Dali. ¡°I never thought you¡¯d be a cheating bastard!¡±


    I then snuck out of college and took a cab to the agreed ce. I had to walk through a wastnd next to the highway for a long time after getting off the cab. After a while, I saw Xiaotao and Yuanchao at a distance.


    ¡°You¡¯re early!¡± cried Xiaotao. ¡°Shall we begin?¡±


    Before I could answer her, I heard a voice calling my name. I turned around and saw the idiot Dali. He was almost out of breath from running after me.


    ¡°So you really are investigating a case!¡± he yelled. ¡°How could you lie to me, Song Yang? Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡±


    ¡°What the hell are you doing here?!¡± I snapped.


    ¡°I¡¯m your trusty assistant, remember?¡± he proudly answered. ¡°You need me!¡±


    ¡°Did anybody follow you?¡± asked Xiaotao, scanning the surroundings.


    Dali looked around too and answered, ¡°I don¡¯t think so!¡±


    I took out a small vial from my bag which contained a potion that I had just prepared recently. I never thought that it woulde in handy so soon.


    I told everyone to step away from me, because I might look a bit scary in a few minutes. I dipped a silver needle into the potion, took a deep breath, and pierced it into my neck. At first, I felt nothing but pain. Then, my sense of smell was overwhelmed by a heady stench, and my vision began to distort. I copsed to my knees. Drool streamed down my mouth and my whole body twitched violently.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on, Song Yang?¡± asked Xiaotao with concern.


    I was drenched in cold sweat by that time. I mustered up all the strength that I had to say, ¡°I¡¯m fine. My body is just getting used to it.¡±


    This ¡®potion¡¯ was actually a medicine formted with bee venom and several other traditional Chinese medicinal herbs. When the needle was pierced at a specific acupoint, it would stimte the olfactory center in the brain and make it a thousand times more sensitive than usual. This meant that my sense of smell was now far better than a police dog¡¯s. This trick was called the Heavenly Dog Tracking Technique. It worked by directly entering into the nervous system, which made it very risky and it could have a serious negative side effect, so it was considered one of Song family¡¯s forbidden techniques and must only be used when absolutely necessary. For the first few minutes, it would make you drool uncontrobly, you would feel dizzy and lose your sense of bnce, causing you to fall to your knees like a dog¡ªhence the name.


    After the nose was activated, I could sense the surrounding smell of gasoline, dirt, and grass very clearly. The smell was so heavy that my nose ached, almost as if my nose was swollen.


    It took me five minutes to get used to it, but eventually, I managed to get up.


    ¡°What exactly are you doing, Song Yang?¡± asked Xiaotao. ¡°You scared me to death!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m tracking the trail left by Xu Xiaohui,¡± I said. ¡°All of you, please don¡¯t move, and Uncle Wang, no smoking!¡±


    ¡°Roger!¡± they nodded.


    I took a deep breath. Instantly, I detected a rancid smelling from Dali.


    I suddenly realized one thing¡ªDali had been acting weird today. He¡¯d been following me all day as if he was monitoring me. Apart from that, I noticed that there was something off about his speech and behavior today.


    I activated my Cave Vision and observed his face closely, and noticed that there was a seam on his hairline!


    Dali noticed my behavior and asked, ¡°Why are you staring at me, dude?¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯re handsome.¡±


    I pretended to be following a trail and went to Yuanchao. I faced away from Dali and made a few hand gestures to Yuanchao, making sure that Dali couldn¡¯t see it.


    Yuanchao nodded. He walked towards Dali, then suddenly the sound of a gunshot pierced my ears like a thunderp, and the strong smell of gunpowder filled my nostrils. I turned around and saw Yuanchao holding his gun firmly in his hand while Dali was on the ground, his two hands holding one of his legs.


    ¡°What the fuck are you doing, Yuanchao?!¡± shouted Xiaotao.


    ¡°He¡¯s not Dali!¡±


    1. Chinese , best known for wuxia novels and serials.

 Chapter 171

    <h4>Chapter 171</h4>


    The fake Dali sat on the ground with his legs folded, crying.


    ¡°Are you crazy, Uncle Wang?¡± he yelled. ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie, I¡¯m really Dali!¡±


    Xiaotao was confused and didn¡¯t know who to believe. ¡°Even if you suspect him, don¡¯t you think shooting him is a bit reckless?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s got calluses on his hands,¡± replied Yuanchao simply.


    His observation skill was indeed impressive. In fact, Yuanchao had suspected Dali to be fake the moment he saw Dali running after me, so when I gestured to him to subdue the fake Dali, he took action straight away.


    Then, the fake Dali¡¯s expressions changed, and his voice altered dramatically too.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± he said. ¡°Neither of you can escape now. Even your police uniform won¡¯t protect you!¡±


    ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°You have no business knowing that, Miss Officer,¡± sneered the fake Dali. ¡°I¡¯m warning you. Some cases should be left unsolved. We¡¯ve given you warning. There is only one oue for those who don¡¯t listen to us¡ªdeath!¡±


    ¡°You dare to threaten us?¡± snapped Xiaotao. ¡°Look at yourself!¡±


    ¡°Where is the real Dali?¡± I asked.


    The thin smile on the fake Dali¡¯s face grew wider. ¡°I don¡¯t know. He should be alive now, but if I don¡¯t go back alive tonight, then I can¡¯t guarantee that he¡¯ll stay that way for long...¡±


    Yuanchao kicked the fake Dali squarely on his stomach. The man fell t on his back. Yuanchao always had a fiery temper, and the thing that angered him the most was arrogant criminals. Then Yuanchao grasped the fake Dali¡¯s face with his wide palm and tore off his skin.


    We were all stunned for a few seconds when we saw the man¡¯s true face. He waspletely bald, had no eyebrows, and no nose. He only had two holes where his nostrils should be, just like Voldemort in Harry Potter. There were bloody scratches on his face because the mask was glued to his face.


    Yuanchao examined the mask in his hand for a while, then handed it to me. I found that it was made of rubber. This gave me a sense of relief, because I had been worried that they had cut off Dali¡¯s real face and stuck it on this man.


    ¡°So you are a faceless ve, correct?¡± I asked.


    ¡°How did you know?¡± the man was startled.


    ¡°The Song family has been dealing with criminals for thousands of years,¡± I replied. ¡°We know you more than you know anything about us.¡±


    No matter how much the times had changed, the many hidden upations associated with the underworld did not change much. These upations included fortune-tellers, prostitutes, mercenaries, and so on, and much of it was still to be seen today.


    Faceless ves were one of these upations. They had to cut off their noses from the first day they joined the organization. They would wash their face with special medicine day and night, making their skin as soft as bread dough. That way, they could easily morph into anyone. They also practiced changing their voices so they could mimic other people¡¯s voices.


    Experienced faceless ves only needed to massage their face in a certain way and they would immediately look like someone else. The fake Dali was evidently not at that stage yet; he still needed a rubber mask to look like Dali. Still, I had to admit that his voice sounded just like Dali¡¯s, and his acting had been very convincing indeed.


    Such people could easily act as assassins, but in most cases, they would be used to spy and gather intelligence instead. They were no different from shadows. They had no names and no identities of their own. They were often killed by their employers because they knew too much. Few people even knew of their existence.


    ¡°Where is Dali?¡± I asked again.


    ¡°As long as I¡¯m safe, he¡¯s safe,¡± he replied.


    ¡°Your acting is good,¡± I sneered, ¡°but it¡¯s not good enough that I can¡¯t see through your lies. It looks more like you¡¯re just their foot soldier. You¡¯re just a pawn they use to monitor me. Dali has no value as a hostage, you know that. Your boss won¡¯t have any interest in him.¡±


    His face changed instantly. It looked like I hit the nail on the head. If they really needed a hostage to threaten us, no one could be more suitable than Bingxin. She would be easier to subdue and her kidnapping would immediately trigger us into action.


    ¡°Who do you work for?¡± I asked again. ¡°The ck Panthers gang? The Blood Wolf gang?¡±


    I watched his reaction carefully. It seemed that neither was correct. Instead, the faceless ve burst intoughter, saying, ¡°You nave boy! You¡¯re stupid enough topare us to small powerless gangs? We are like a dragon that should not be provoked!¡±


    Yuanchao punched him and kicked him over and over again. Xiaotao had to yell at him multiple times before she could stop him. When he was finally pulled away, Yuanchao angrily pointed at the faceless ve and yelled, ¡°If you open your mouth again, I¡¯ll beat you into a pulp!¡±


    The faceless ve bit his lip and held his tongue. It was obvious that he was afraid of Yuanchao now.


    At that moment, I noticed that the effect of the potion was starting to wear off. I hurriedly said, ¡°Uncle Wang, can you tie this man up and carry him? We have to carry on with our investigation now!¡±


    Yuanchao agreed and lifted the man up with no effort. The man was scared stiff, yet he still murmured, ¡°Kong Hui works for the organization. If you touch him, you¡¯re as good as dead!¡±


    ¡°Good!¡± scoffed Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯d love to see what your boss looks like anyway!¡±


    I breathed in and focused on the scent on the ground. I caught the whiff of some body odors and the scent of drugs on the grass. I followed the trail until I saw tire marks on the side of the road. As expected, Kong Hui had carried the victim here with a car.


    Xiaotao took photos of the tire tracks to keep as evidence. Then she asked me, ¡°Want me to drive to follow the track?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I shook my head. ¡°I can¡¯t smell if I¡¯m in the car. I¡¯d have to trouble everyone to follow me on foot.¡±


    I continued to sniff at the tire prints and smelled something else. It could be that Xu Xiaohui had peed in the car, and that made it more convenient for me to follow the trail. We walked along for a while, and half an hourter, we reached an old residential area. By this time, the effects of the ¡®potion¡¯ were just about to wear off.


    I saw an off-road vehicle parked near the apartment building so I asked Xiaotao topare its tires with the tire tracks in the photo we¡¯d just taken. Sure enough, they matched. We were ecstatic.


    ¡°Kong Hui¡¯s secret operating room must be nearby,¡± I dered.


    Then the faceless ve spoke up again, but this time the arrogance in his voice was gone. He almost sounded like he was pleading when he said, ¡°I advise you to stop investigating now. Don¡¯t provoke the organization. There¡¯s no going back after this. Don¡¯t you want to live peacefully for the rest of your lives?¡±


    Yuanchao red at him scornfully.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been ready to put myself in the line of danger the minute I put on my police uniform,¡± Xiaotao stated. ¡°If there really are underground organizations that the police have no power over, then I think it¡¯s my duty to change that!¡±


    ¡°I have the blood of the great magistrate Song Ci flowing in my body,¡± I echoed. ¡°Why should I listen to you?¡±


    Ever since the day Grandpa was killed, I vowed to arrest Jiangbei Daggers or die trying. In fact, I had a feeling that the ominous entity rted to this case might just be the one connected to Jiangbei Daggers.


    The faceless veughed. ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t try to stop you then! It¡¯s none of my business anyway. You¡¯ll learn what regret feels like the day they get your family and loved ones!¡±


    Xiaotao and I looked at each other. There was no sign of hesitation in them. Instead, they were full of courage and determination.


    I sniffed around the car, then followed the scent to a room. I picked the lock with a wire and pushed the door open. We were met with the sight of Kong Hui¡¯s secret operating room...

 Chapter 172

    <h4>Chapter 172</h4>


    Kong Hui¡¯s secretir was about the same size as a normal hospital operating room. There was an operating table in the middle of the room with a spotlight above it, and a refrigerator next to it which contained all the drugs one would need for stic surgery. Apart from that, I saw jars with preserving liquid in them that contained ears, noses, and even entire faces!


    Xiaotao took photos of these ¡®specimens¡¯ with her mobile phone. Among them, she found a face that belonged to a person who¡¯d been reported missing.


    There was a huge gas tank next to the refrigerator with abel written in English. It was probably a type of general anesthetic. Next to it was a table with misceneous objects ced on top. Surgical robes were hung on the wall. There was a cab full of disinfected tools like scalpels and hemostats on the other side of the table.


    Yuanchao handcuffed the man to a heating pipe, and began searching through the drawers. I went to check the operating table. There were some blood stains next to the operating table. I took a cotton swab and smeared it and put that into an evidence bag. If it was found to be Xu Xiaohui¡¯s blood, Kong Hui would definitely be convicted as the murderer.


    Then, suddenly, Yuanchao said, ¡°Guess what I¡¯ve found!¡±


    He held up a notebook in his hand. We stared at it. Xiaotao gasped and responded, ¡°Is it full of newspaper clippings of...¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± I cried as I nced at the handwriting in the notebook. It looked just like the letter that Jiangbei Daggers sent Grandpa! I turned to the faceless ve and asked him, ¡°What is the connection between your organization and Jiangbei Daggers?¡±


    His pupils contracted the second he heard those words.


    ¡°N-no connections at all!¡± he answered.


    I was furious. I kicked his injured leg and shouted, ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡±


    ¡°Song Yang!¡± Xiaotao held me back. ¡°Calm down!¡±


    I couldn¡¯t keep calm. I had been searching for Jiangbei Daggers for so many years. The faceless ve shivered in fear and pleaded, ¡°Please don¡¯t make me say it! I¡¯ll die if I reveal anything!¡±


    I grabbed a scalpel and threatened him, ¡°You¡¯ll die if you don¡¯t say anything! More than that, I will make sure you die slowly and painfully!¡±


    ¡°No, please, I beg you!¡± he responded. ¡°I¡¯m just one of their lowly pawns! I can¡¯t tell you anything!¡±


    At that moment, the door suddenly banged shut. Xiaotao rushed over to check, and she immediately shouted, ¡°We¡¯re locked inside!¡±


    I then smelled something strange. I heard a gurgling noise. I turned around and found a tube that was leaking gas into the room. This tube was connected to the anesthetic.


    ¡°We have to open the door now!¡± I shouted, frightened.


    Yuanchao tried to knock down the door, but because the door opened inwards, it had no effect. After a while, I noticed that Yuanchao¡¯s movements grew slower and weaker. Then, I felt light-headed, and I saw that Xiaotao was feeling the same way too. Everything in front of me began to dissolve into a blur. In the middle of the room, I saw the faceless ve biting his thumb.


    I quickly grabbed a piece of medical gauze. I tried to run to the bathroom to soak it in water so I could cover my nose and mouth with it, but no sooner had I taken a step than I fell to the ground helplessly.


    Xiaotao copsed beside me. We were both still conscious, yet we couldn¡¯t move our bodies at all.


    The sound of the faceless ve¡¯s cackles filled the room.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I warn you?¡± he jeered. I could hear him clearly. I saw him approaching me, then he grasped my hair and held up my head. He was wearing a gas mask, and he had bitten his thumb off to break free from the handcuffs.


    He pped my face and taunted, ¡°Weren¡¯t you so bold just a minute ago, boy? Why are you so quiet now?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t speak. I couldn¡¯t even lift a finger. All I could do was re at him.


    He took the gun from Yuanchao and toyed with it in his hand.


    ¡°Maybe I should use his gun to shoot you and this woman,¡± he said. ¡°Then I¡¯ll use this woman¡¯s gun to shoot him. After that, I¡¯ll dump all your bodies on the side of the road. Let¡¯s see how the police will solve this case! Hahaha!¡±


    He pointed the gun at me and was just seconds from pulling the trigger. Right at that moment, Yuanchao lunged at him and threw him to the ground. The gun went off but it didn¡¯t hit me. Then the gun fell out of the faceless ve¡¯s hand and slid under the cab.


    Thisst exertion sapped all the strength that Yuanchao had left. The faceless ve grabbed a scalpel and stabbed it into Yuanchao¡¯s leg and twisted it.


    ¡°You can¡¯t feel it, can you?¡± he hissed. ¡°That¡¯s too bad. Maybe I should make you watch as I dig out all your internal organs!¡±


    At that moment, the door opened suddenly. The faceless ve was startled. A man barged in and he shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t kill them!¡±


    I thought he was here to save us. But the next word out of his mouth made my heart sink.


    ¡°I want to turn them into pigs!¡± he crowed. ¡°Then they¡¯ll wish they were dead!¡±


    This man turned out to be Kong Hui himself.


    ¡°What a great idea, Dr. Kong!¡± the faceless veughed. ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to see yourst masterpiece. Now I¡¯ll be here to watch the whole process!¡±


    ¡°That woman was just a failed product,¡± scoffed Kong Hui. ¡°These three would give me a chance to hone my skills. I believe that I can use this method to serve the organization one day! Do me a favor and help me move them to the back room!¡±


    They both started to lift Xiaotao up. She tried desperately to hold onto my hand, but all our strength had been drained by that point. Thest thing I felt was our fingers touching.


    I heard their conversation in the back room. The faceless ve was saying, ¡°This woman is pretty, isn¡¯t she? Do you mind if I have fun with her first?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare, you bastard!¡± snapped Kong Hui. ¡°She is high-quality material for my experiment. I won¡¯t let you ruin it!¡±


    Then they returned and began to lift me up. I was carried to the back room where there was a bed, a sofa, and a TV. I didn¡¯t see Xiaotao anywhere. When I got close to the sofa, the cushion was lifted up. I then realized that the sofa was hollow, and there was just enough room inside it for two people.


    Xiaotao and I were stuffed inside the sofa, then the cushions were ced above us, trapping us in a dark narrow space. My body waspletely paralyzed by then, and I couldn¡¯t feel Xiaotao beside me at all¡ªI could only hear her rapid breathing.


    The two men continued talking as they picked up Yuanchao.


    ¡°This guy¡¯s too heavy!¡± snorted the faceless ve.


    ¡°Bring the saw over,¡± said Kong Hui. ¡°I¡¯ll cut off his calf...¡±


    It was like a knife was plunged into my heart. I was frustrated and annoyed at my own helplessness at the moment. But all of a sudden, the sofa cushion was lifted up slightly, and a slender hand reached inside. The hand shoved a pill into Xiaotao¡¯s mouth. She tried to resist it, but to no avail. Then I heard a voice whisper, ¡°Suck on it. Don¡¯t swallow!¡±


    It was a delicate and slender hand, just like a woman¡¯s, yet the voice turned out to be a man.


    After that, another pill appeared in the palm of that slender hand. The pill was shoved into my mouth. I tasted it, and secondster I feltpletely refreshed. Wasn¡¯t this my own Mind Clearing Pill?


    The Mind Clearing Pill had powerful detoxification and mind refreshing effects. Just seconds after having the pill fed into my mouth, my tongue could move again. I quickly asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°The person who warned you!¡± the voice replied.


    ¡°Is your surname Song?¡± I asked.


    He avoided answering the question. ¡°Young master, I will only ask one thing of you¡ªplease forget about this case once you escape from this ce!¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m a police officer!¡± Xiaotao argued.


    ¡°So what?¡± the voice countered. ¡°Do you know how many police officers they¡¯ve killed? This organization is not something to be messed with!¡±


    ¡°Young master,¡± he continued, ¡°I beg your forgiveness for my failure in protecting your grandfather, but please, don¡¯t put yourself in harm¡¯s way! You are thest burning candle of the Song family. If you die, our long line will forever be extinguished!¡±


    There was no doubt in my mind now that this man belonged to the Song family.


    Xiaotao tugged at my hand and whispered, ¡°Let¡¯s see what this guy looks like!¡±


    I nodded. We pushed the cushion away and emerged from the sofa. However, though the man was speaking not seconds ago, all we saw was a faint ray of silvery moonlight shining through the open window into the empty room.

 Chapter 173

    <h4>Chapter 173</h4>


    When Xiaotao and I got out of the sofa, I noticed that the man had left one more pill on the table. I picked it up and held it in the palm of my hand.


    Xiaotao made a signal to me and we headed to the front room together. The two men had cut off Yuanchao¡¯s pants and tied a tourniquet to his thigh. They were just about to saw his calf off.


    ¡°How did you...?¡± Kong Hui was startled when he saw us.


    The faceless ve quickly grabbed a scalpel and aimed it at Yuanchao. Xiaotao shot his wrist, making him scream in agony. The scalpel flew out of his hand and across the room.


    ¡°Run!¡± screamed Kong Hui. He dropped the hacksaw in his hands immediately and ran out of the room. The faceless ve followed him close behind.


    I shoved the Mind Clearing Pill into Yuanchao¡¯s mouth and hurried over to chase the two men with Xiaotao. When we got outside, we saw the two men scrambling away in panic. Xiaotao fired at the sky and shouted, ¡°Freeze or I¡¯ll shoot!¡±


    They did not stop at all. I could hear a roaring from a distance and a bright spot of light slowly approaching in the dark. It turned out that there was a railroad track in the area, and a train was fast approaching us.


    The two men were about to cross over to the other side of the railroad tracks. Xiaotao stopped and aimed her gun at Kong Hui, then she shot him in the leg. Once he was shot, he immediately slowed down, and the distance between us got shorter and shorter. He kept turning around in panic too, so in no time at all I started catching up to him.


    When he was within my grasp, I jumped at him and threw him to the ground. Kong Hui bared his teeth and pulled out an extra scalpel.


    ¡°Do you know what you¡¯ve gotten yourself into, boy?¡± he taunted. ¡°You¡¯ve made a big mistake provoking us!¡±


    He was about to stab me. I was so close that there was no way for me to dodge the attack, and thus I pushed my fingers into the gunshot wound on his leg. He screamed in pain, and I grabbed a brick on the ground nearby and hit him on the head with it, making him faint straight away


    I breathed a sigh of relief, although my heart was still beating like a drum.


    While I was fighting with Kong Hui, the faceless ve had fled to the railroad tracks. The train was about to arrive, and if he got to the other side just in time, we would never catch up with him. Then, just as he was on the tracks, a gunshot sounded, and the faceless ve was stopped for a fraction of a second. Due to that, he was hit by the oing train and turned into an amorphous pulp!


    My jaw dropped. I turned around. I saw that Xiaotao hadn¡¯t shot her gun. In fact, she was just as shocked as I was. About twenty meters behind her was Yuanchao, holding a smoking gun in his hand.


    It turned out he noticed that the faceless ve was about to escape, so he took his aim and shot him from that distance. It was an impressive feat indeed. Realizing that the man was dead, Yuanchao pulled out a silver canister from his jacket and took a sip.


    Xiaotao ran over to me and put handcuffs on the unconscious Kong Hui. ¡°This case is over now, right?¡± she sighed.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked Yuanchao.


    He was bleeding a lot due to the cut on his leg, but because the effect of the anesthetic hadn¡¯t worn off yet, he couldn¡¯t feel any pain.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± he answered.


    When Xiaotao saw that Yuanchao¡¯s leg was practically soaked in blood, she gasped and shouted, ¡°You¡¯ll die if you lose any more blood! Sit down right now and don¡¯t move! I¡¯ll call 120!¡±


    Not long after, the ambnce arrived and the police followed soon after. Kong Hui was taken away. At present, Dali¡¯s whereabouts were still unknown. Xiaotao borrowed one of the police cars and we both hurried back to my dorm.


    It was now one o¡¯clock in the morning. Xiaotao and I barged into my room, startling my roommates. One of them asked me, ¡°Where¡¯s Dali, dude? Why¡¯s he not with you?¡±


    ¡°Something just happened,¡± I answered. ¡°Did you notice anything unusual about Dali recently?¡±


    ¡°Well... yeah, yesterday he told us he just received a text saying he won some money and that he was going to buy us a nice meal. But then he returned and told us the text was a scam after all.¡±


    ¡°When was this?¡±


    ¡°Last night,¡± my roommate replied. ¡°You both went to the library after that!¡±


    There was only one ce where you could withdraw money in our college¡ªthe ATM machine. Xiaotao and I rushed there. The machine was covered with ss walls on all sides, so it was impossible to hide a body near it. Then I noticed that there was an ¡®In Maintenance¡¯ sign hanging on it.


    I knocked on the ATM machine repeatedly, but Xiaotao pointed to the surveince camera in the corner and argued, ¡°Won¡¯t that capture them if they really hid Dali in there?¡±


    I looked around. There was a manhole nearby and it looked like it had been opened recently.


    ¡°Let¡¯s open that!¡± I cried, pointing at the manhole. It was made of iron and it took us a lot of effort to pry it open. I looked down into the hole and Xiaotao asked me, ¡°Is anybody down there?¡±


    ¡°I think there is...¡±


    I climbed down thedder. In a dark corner I saw Dali with his hands and feet tied up. He was sitting in the sewer and his mouth was stuffed with a piece of cloth. He was stripped of all his clothes. The minute he realized that it was me, Dali screamed his lungs out.


    I untied the ropes. Dali hugged me and sobbed uncontrobly. I had tofort him for a good few minutes before managing to calm him down.


    He told me that he received the text message yesterday, so he hurried to the ATM to check his ount bnce. Then someone came up from behind and covered his nose and mouth with a handkerchief. The next thing he knew, he found himself in the dark surrounded by stinky water with rats scurrying around him. It scared him so much that he almost fainted again.


    Dali had been there for almost a whole day. His body was considerably weak now. I had to carefully carry him out of the sewers. Xiaotao couldn¡¯t hold in herughter when she saw the state that Dali was in.


    ¡°You¡¯re such a meanie, Xiaotao-jiejie!¡± he cried. ¡°How could youugh at me?¡±


    ¡°How do you feel?¡± I asked him. ¡°Should we take you to the hospital?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry!¡± he replied.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then!¡± I put my jacket on Dali and we went to a nearby food stall. Dali was clearly starving. He gobbled up a mountain of food like a vacuum cleaner. Then Xiaotao checked her watch and said, ¡°I¡¯m going back to the station now. You two should go to bed soon.¡±


    Before she left, Xiaotao and I simultaneously reminded each other, ¡°Stay safe!¡± and that made us bothugh.


    ¡°What happened when I was gone?¡± asked Dali, puzzled. ¡°What¡¯s going on between you two?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell youter!¡± I replied.


    A few dayster, Xiaotao called and told me that they found an ATM card in Kong Hui¡¯s house with arge amount of money in the ount. There was so much money in there that it would make a corrupt politician blush. This was clearly the reward Kong Hui received from the ¡®organization¡¯ for his work.


    ¡°Do you have ess to the ount¡¯s activities?¡± I asked after a brief contemtion.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± replied Xiaotao.


    ¡°Then check the dates of each payment transferred into the ount,¡± I said, ¡°and find out the cases that urred right before and after the dates!¡±


    ¡°Ah, what a brilliant idea!¡± eximed Xiaotao. ¡°I should¡¯ve thought of that! Thanks again, Song Yang!¡±


    This proved to be an extremelyborious task, and it took several days for Xiaotao toplete it. I was shocked to hear her discovery. It turned out that there had been more than twenty cases in thest ten years where the captured criminals were substitutes who had been operated on by Kong Hui.


    As for the whereabouts of the real criminals, nobody knew, and it seemed that they were all under the protection of the ¡®organization,¡¯ so it was probably toote to track them down now.


    The only hope we had left was to get some information on the ¡®organization¡¯ from Kong Hui. My guess was that he was just a minor figure in the organization, and he probably received an order from them to find a way to make some people ¡®disappear¡¯ without a trace. He thought of turning human beings into pigs through stic surgery. But in order to do that perfectly, he needed to experiment and practice his skills, so he decided to use his old crush who had just spurned him as the subject of his experiments. That way, he could vent his anger on her too.


    The next day, Xiaotao called me and asked me to go to the police station. She told me that Kong Hui would not reveal anything even after long sessions of interrogation.


    I met Kong Hui in the interrogation room. He had been detained in the cell for a few days at that point. Hisplexion had turned sallow, his hair was messy, and his eyes were swollen. I asked him a few questions, and he kept answering me with a simple ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I scrutinized his micro-expressions but saw no signs that he was lying.


    It then dawned on me. I asked the officers to check the gunshot wound on his leg, and it was obvious that it was fake. I knew this because I had pushed my fingers into the gunshot wound, so it could not have been that small.


    I leaned back into my seat and asked him, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Kong Hui,¡± he replied.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re not!¡± I shot back. ¡°You¡¯re his substitute! When did you switch with him? Where is the real Kong Hui?¡±


    The fake Kong Hui grinned and calmly answered, ¡°How would I know? I¡¯m just one of their pawns.¡±

 Chapter 174

    <h4>Chapter 174</h4>


    No matter how much we tried, the fake Kong Hui refused to reveal any information. However, although he might not say anything himself, a doctor¡¯s evaluation found that stic surgery was performed on his face a few months ago.


    In other words, this mysterious organization had prepared a stand-in for Kong Hui even before the incident urred!


    Still, I was sure that I caught the real Kong Hui that night. In that case, he must¡¯ve switched out with this man as he was already in custody, which meant that there was a mole working for the organization within the police force.


    This made me feel even more powerless and helpless. We were truly facing a fearsome enemy this time. I surmised that the organization must¡¯ve gone to great lengths to protect Kong Hui because they wanted to protect their secrets.


    Xiaotao and I walked out of the interrogation room full of frustration, and she told me to go back to my dorm for now. She would report the incident to her superiors and they would start investigating all suspicious criminals from major cases in thest ten years.


    At the time, New Year¡¯s Day was fast approaching, which meant that it was soon going to be final exams season too. There were much fewer college students in the Inte cafes and restaurants nearby now. One day, I received a call from Bingxin. I heard her sobbing as soon as I picked up the phone.


    ¡°Song Yang-gege, Dad¡¯s in trouble!¡± she told me.


    I told her to calm down and tell me what exactly happened. She told me that Sun Tiger was on his way to Wuqu City when he was involved in a car crash. That was all she knew. She couldn¡¯t call him or contact him in any way, so she felt like going to the police station to find out more.


    I agreed and we went to the police station together. We met Xiaotao there. Bingxin went up to her and said, ¡°Tell me what happened, Xiaotao-jiejie! Don¡¯t hide anything from me! Is my dad still alive?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much,¡± Xiaotao replied. ¡°It¡¯s not as serious as you might think. You know how tough your dad is! He just broke a few ribs and a leg, and he¡¯s now safe in the Wuqu City Hospital. I¡¯ll try and contact him now.¡±


    Xiaotao went to aptop and dialed a number using an Inte phone. Soon after, Sun Tiger appeared on the screen. His head was wrapped in bandages and his leg was in a thick cast. The first thing he said was, ¡°What are you doing there, Bingxin? Aren¡¯t you about to take your final exams?¡±


    Bingxin burst into tears and asked, ¡°Dad, what happened to you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± he replied. Then he started to move around to prove it. ¡°You see? It¡¯s nothing! Ouch!¡±


    We let Uncle Sun and Bingxin talk without interrupting. Meanwhile, I whispered to Xiaotao, ¡°Was it really an ident? Or was it a murder attempt?¡±


    Xiaotao sighed. ¡°The truck that hit Sun Tiger¡¯s car had no license te. It was suspiciously full of stones weighing tons, and the driver immediately disappeared after the ident. That doesn¡¯t sound much like an ident, does it?¡±


    I was stunned. ¡°Who would be so bold to dare threaten Director Sun¡¯s life?¡±


    ¡°Well, the reason he was going to Wuqu City in the first ce was to deliver the files rted to the organization to the Director-General. But this car ident happened as soon as he left the city. I think this organization really is more powerful than we expected! Still, Sun Tiger was determined to deliver those files. The first thing he did after the ident was to contact Director-General Cheng immediately and inform him what happened. Then he refused toe back to Nanjiang City and instead preferred to be sent to the Wuqu City Hospital for treatment.¡±


    ¡°Director-General Cheng has already gone to the hospital and met Sun Tiger,¡± Xiaotao added. ¡°His order was to temporarily stand down and do nothing to provoke the organization. He¡¯ll report it to the head of Public Security Departmentter.¡±


    ¡°This is awful,¡± I shook my head. ¡°It sounds just like Hydra in Captain America!¡±


    Because Bingxin was there, Sun Tiger did not mention the organization in the video call. He merely gave normal daily orders to Xiaotao. Bingxin felt much better now that she¡¯d spoken to her dad.


    ¡°Song Yang-gege!¡± she chirped, back to her usual mood. ¡°Do you have any ns for New Year¡¯s Day? Wannae to our house for dinner?¡±


    I was just contemting my answer when Xiaotao interjected, ¡°No! My father arranged a blind date for me on New Year¡¯s Day, and Song Yang has agreed to go with me.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Why does Song Yang-gege have to go with you on your blind date?¡±


    ¡°To be my shield!¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay,¡± Bingxin smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll lend you Song Yang-gege for a day then!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll lend me Song Yang? What is he¡ªyour toy?¡±


    ¡°Well, he¡¯s not yours anyway!¡± Bingxin pouted. After that, she took my arm and said to me, ¡°Come on, Song Yang-gege! Now that we¡¯re both in the city, why don¡¯t we go shopping together?¡±


    Xiaotao looked on with narrowed eyes as Bingxin pulled me away. I turned around and told her, ¡°See you on New Year¡¯s Day!¡±


    I thought Xiaotao¡¯s blind date only involved going to a restaurant and having a simple meal, but I waspletely wrong. Apparently, rich people had a different idea when it came to blind dates.


    On New Year¡¯s Eve, Xiaotao sent me an email of invitation to a New Year¡¯s party at the famous Huidu Hotel. The host was Xiaotao¡¯s father, of course, and many celebrities would be there too. Her father was nning to introduce her to his preferred future son-inw on that asion.


    I went numb when I learned that. I¡¯d never been to any kind of fancy parties like that. I would have no idea how to act and what to wear!


    ¡°Should I rent a suit?¡± I asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°No,¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°Just wear your usual clothes. Trust me, wearing a suit would just make you look awkward!¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll need your guidance on that day. I¡¯m worried that I mightmit some faux pas!¡±


    ¡°How much scarier can these people bepared to the dead bodies that you¡¯ve dealt with?¡±ughed Xiaotao.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a point...¡± I agreed.


    On New Year¡¯s Day, I was left alone in my dorm room while everyone else had already gone to a party. Dali told me they were going to a single guys¡¯ party and he asked me to reflect on the reason why I was not invited. I red at him.


    Although Xiaotao told me to wear my usual clothes, I still felt that I shouldn¡¯t look too casual, so I decided on wearing a newly-bought jacket along with my best pair of jeans and sneakers.


    When I reached the hotel lobby, a waiter took my invitation card and led me to a hall. I froze the minute I entered the door. None of the people inside dressed casually at all. In fact, they were all smartly dressed and they each held a ss of champagne as they talked andughed with each other. It felt like I¡¯d just stepped into a movie set!


    Judging from the rings on their fingers, their expensive watches, their glittering jewelry¡ªit was clear that they were all very wealthy!


    I didn¡¯t know anyone there, so I stood awkwardly in the hall for a few minutes. Finally, Xiaotao arrived. She was wearing a sexy evening dress that hugged her curves, paired with a pair of pearl earrings. She even put on light makeup too. All in all, she looked just like a movie star.


    ¡°And you told me to wear my usual clothes?!¡± I asked her.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Xiaotao shrugged helplessly. ¡°My father told me to dress up... It¡¯s hard to go against that stubborn man...¡±


    She then pointed to a man wearing an expensive-looking suit and leather shoes.


    ¡°That¡¯s my blind date,¡± she told me. ¡°My father is going to introduce us to the guests tonight. It¡¯s all so farcical it¡¯s embarrassing! I just want to dig a hole and stay in there forever!¡±


    ¡°This looks less like a blind date and more like an arranged marriage, Xiaotao!¡± I smiled bitterly.


    I then looked at the man intended for Xiaotao. He seemed a bit familiar. Then it dawned on me¡ªhe was the son of a millionaire I met in Qu Tingting¡¯s poisoning case! I couldn¡¯t believe what a coincidence it was.


    ¡°Now, please act as convincingly as you can,¡± ordered Xiaotao. ¡°I don¡¯t want to end up spending the rest of my life with a man I don¡¯t even know!¡±


    She then called for a waiter and asked him to get her some things. After a while, the waiter returned with a small-ish box. Xiaotao picked it up and opened it. There was an Omega watch inside it. She then told me to stick out my arm so she could put it on for me.


    ¡°So you¡¯ve even prepared a prop!¡± I remarked. ¡°You¡¯re very thorough!¡±


    ¡°No, silly!¡± she shook her head and smiled. ¡°This is my gift to you!¡±

 Chapter 175

    <h4>Chapter 175</h4>


    I was stunned. This Omega watch was worth ten thousand yuan at least!


    ¡°I can¡¯t ept such an expensive gift from you!¡± I told Xiaotao.


    ¡°Oh,e on,¡± Xiaotaoughed. ¡°No one deserves it more than you! In the past six months, you¡¯ve helped me solve more crimes than we usually do in a year! In fact, I may be promoted again soon. Sun Tiger even told me that if I keep going at this pace, he¡¯d have to give up his position to me in three years! Just think of it as a sign of gratitude for helping me, Great Detective Song!¡±


    Xiaotao knew exactly what to say to sway me. With her emotional intelligence, her serious and responsible attitude, her fierce love of justice, and my help, reaching Sun Tiger¡¯s rank and position was not out of reach for her at all.


    ¡°If you rise to the rank of director one day, will you change?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Of course not!¡± she smiled sweetly. ¡°I¡¯ll always be your Xiaotao!¡±


    Her words made my little heart tremble. If there hadn¡¯t been so many people there with us, I might really be unable to hold myself back.


    Like me, Xiaotao waspletely unfamiliar with the other guests in the lobby. So we just stood near the buffet table and chatted with each other as we nibbled on some food. I recognized some of the richest people in Nanjiang City among the crowd, so I joked, ¡°You know, if this building is bombed today, the stock market in Nanjiang City may copse in an instant!¡±


    ¡°Did you think my father wouldn¡¯t think of that?¡± asked Xiaotao. ¡°Did you notice those guys in suits who walk around and don¡¯t talk to anyone? They¡¯re all officers from the special forces. Same goes to those two men standing next to the exit. They¡¯re there to ensure that the exit won¡¯t be blocked in the event of an emergency.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± I eximed. ¡°No wonder they don¡¯t look like the rest of the guests!¡±


    At that moment, the man Xiaotao was set up with approached us with a ss of champagne in his hand.


    ¡°So we meet atst, Miss Huang!¡± he smiled.


    He then took Xiaotao¡¯s hand and leaned his head down, as if about to kiss her hand the way Westerners did. Xiaotao quickly gripped his hand and shook it and said, ¡°Nice to meet you, Young Master Wang!¡±


    Xiaotao shook his hand very firmly. Young Master Wang pulled back his hand awkwardly and exined, ¡°I¡¯ve spent too much time abroad. I should¡¯ve minded my etiquette. Please forgive me.¡±


    Then, Young Master Wang turned his gaze to me. He was evidently startled when he recognized me, but he hid it very well.


    ¡°So you¡¯ve invited your colleague too, Miss Huang?¡± he asked.


    Xiaotao ced her hand on my shoulder and replied, ¡°He¡¯s not my colleague. He¡¯s my boyfriend!¡±


    Gongzi¡¯s expressions changed dramatically. I smiled and extended my hand saying, ¡°Nice to meet you again, Young Master Wang.¡±


    He cleared his throat and mumbled, ¡°Of course!¡± as he shook my hand. Then he turned to Xiaotao and said, ¡°I heard that you¡¯re a police officer, Miss Huang. What made you choose this line of profession?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? Are you saying that police officers are beneath you?¡±


    ¡°No, absolutely not,¡± Gongzi quickly corrected her. ¡°I think it¡¯s a noble profession! However, from the perspective of a businessman, police officers can do no more than catch a few criminals, yet the businessman can help build the city or even the entire country. We provide the economic lifeline to countless people with employment opportunities. I think our society can benefit more from someone so talented as you are if you¡¯re a businesswoman, Miss Huang.¡±


    Young Master Wang was very satisfied with his little speech. He grinned, showing rows of perfect white teeth.


    Xiaotao and I looked at each other and tried our best to hold in ourughter. ¡°Without the police,¡± I said, ¡°you might not be able to stand here in a party without worrying about your safety...¡±


    Although he was outwardly very calm, I saw beads of cold sweat on his forehead. He was probably afraid that I would expose his secret. He was found sleeping with another woman in thest case, after all.


    ¡°Thank you for your helpst time, by the way, Officer...¡±


    ¡°My name is Song Yang, and I¡¯m not a police officer, just a consultant.¡±


    Xiaotao looked puzzled. Young Master Wang hurriedly added, ¡°I was involved in a small case not so long ago. Thanks to Mr. Song, I was proven to bepletely innocent. Wasn¡¯t that right, Mr. Song?¡±


    ¡°But Song Yang never participated in any small cases,¡± interjected Xiaotao. ¡°Which one is it, Song Yang?¡±


    ¡°The serial poisoning case.¡±


    I tried to be very discreet about it and did not mention Young Master Wang being in the hotel. After all, I wouldn¡¯t want topletely embarrass the guy. Still, I didn¡¯t need to say much before Xiaotao connected the dots and realized that it was the asion when she was not with me at the crime scene. She had read the case files, though, so she knew exactly what went on.


    ¡°Would you like to dance with me, Miss Huang?¡± Young Master Wang asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to dance,¡± Xiaotao replied, her voice full of contempt. ¡°You go ahead!¡±


    Young Master Wang frowned slightly and nced at me. I saw him gritting his teeth in anger, possibly as an attempt to intimidate me. What more do you want? I thought to myself. I tried my best not to embarrass you outright.


    ¡°Until we meet againter, then...¡± Young Master Wang smiled politely to Xiaotao and turned away.


    ¡°What was my father thinking?¡±ined Xiaotao once Young Master Wang was out of earshot. ¡°He¡¯s just setting me up with any dude he can find, as long as they¡¯re rich!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s quite handsome though...¡± I teased her.


    ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± Xiaotao retorted. ¡°Didn¡¯t you notice how his eyes never left my chest even when I was talking to him? It wouldn¡¯t surprise me if he turns out to be a sex addict!¡±


    What she said made me nce at her chest. She was wearing an evening gown with a plunging neckline. Plus, she was already very curvy, so it was very eye-catching. I blushed when I caught myself staring at her cleavage and quickly looked away.


    We soon got very bored standing there. Many people came over to chat us up during the time, but because we had nothing inmon with them at all, the conversations didn¡¯tst much longer than a few minutes before it trailed off awkwardly, and they¡¯d leave us to ourselves again. There were even some very well-dressed girls who came up to me and asked if I wanted to dance with them, but I declined them all.


    Xiaotao was even more anxious than me. She kept muttering impatiently, ¡°Why isn¡¯t my father here yet?¡±


    At that moment, the band yed a familiar piece of music¡ªit was the world-famous tango song Por Una Cabeza. The guests immediately cleared the floor in the middle of the hall, and pairs of dancing men and women began to fill in the open space.


    ¡°Let¡¯s dance!¡± cried Xiaotao.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t know how...¡±


    ¡°I know how, and I¡¯ll teach you! It¡¯s getting too boring just standing here!¡±


    I had no other choice but to relent. I held Xiaotao¡¯s hand as she spun. She went undercover as a dancer once, and so she had to take some dance lessons. She was very light on her feet and danced effortlessly, while I stumbled with every step. I kept looking down, afraid of stepping on Xiaotao¡¯s feet, but she said, ¡°Keep your chin up and your chest forward! The secret to dancing is confidence! Even if you don¡¯t know how to dance, pretend you¡¯re great at it!¡±


    I followed Xiaotao¡¯s rhythm and counted the steps carefully. I stepped on her toes for a total of four times, and each time she would let out a yelp. Slowly, though, I found the rhythm and even Xiaotao was surprised at my progress.


    ¡°You¡¯re a fast learner!¡± she eximed.


    ¡°I can¡¯t bear to hurt your toes!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s very sweet of you!¡± Xiaotaoughed. ¡°You¡¯ve changed so much since I first met you.¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve been a good influence.¡±


    Xiaotao giggled.


    It was a marvelous feeling dancing with Xiaotao. Holding her slender waist in my hand, I could feel her body temperature slowly rising through the thin fabric of her dress. Our faces were so close we could feel each other¡¯s breath. I saw a blush slowly creeping up on her cheek, and it made my cheeks burn in response. Her bright red evening dress bloomed like the petals of a flower when she spun.


    Towards the end of the song, something across the room suddenly caught my eye. I kept staring at it until Xiaotao asked me, ¡°What are you looking at?¡±


    ¡°That man over there,¡± I answered. ¡°He¡¯s acting weird!¡±

 Chapter 176

    <h4>Chapter 176</h4>


    The man was standing very still near the buffet table. He kept drinking one ss of champagne after another. His face was extremely pale, and his eyes looked zed over.


    I told Xiaotao about it, and she nced over at the man.


    ¡°I know him,¡± she said. ¡°He¡¯s the head of Suda Express¡ªChen Da!¡±


    I was very familiar with thepany. Suda Express was a famous logisticspany. They were the ones who delivered my parcels whenever I buy anything online.


    ¡°He¡¯s acting really weird!¡± I remarked.


    Xiaotao nodded. ¡°His face is almost white like a ghost! He probably didn¡¯t have much rest, or perhaps he could be taking drugs...¡± Xiaotao then lowered her voice and added, ¡°These rich people lead very messy lives, Song Yang! I¡¯m going to have to stay vignt tonight, just in case...¡±


    ¡°Did you notice that he never blinked?¡± I asked.


    Xiaotao stopped dancing and looked at the man.


    ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± she said. ¡°He looks almost dead! His eyes don¡¯t move at all!¡±


    I nced at him with the corner of my eye. He was looking in our direction too. The sight of two people who suddenly stopped dancing probably caught his attention, so I put my arms around Xiaotao¡¯s waist and continued to dance.


    ¡°Should we go there and question him?¡± Xiaotao whispered.


    ¡°You¡¯re the guest of honor today,¡± I said, ¡°so it¡¯s probably not a good idea. But in any case, stay alert.¡±


    At that moment, the song suddenly stopped, and the guests stopped dancing and talking abruptly too. It turned out that the party¡¯s host, Xiaotao¡¯s father Huang Yunhong, had arrived.


    Mr. Huang was a man in his fifties. He dressed modestly, but his clothes were obviously high-quality and expensive. He looked very energetic for a man of his age. He held a carved walnut wood cane in his hand as he walked into the hall, stopping to greet and smile at the guests on the way.


    He was taken hostage by Li Wenjia some time ago and was put under prolonged hypnosis, but it seemed that he had nowpletely recovered.


    Although Mr. Huang was not young anymore, I could still clearly see his resemnce to Xiaotao in his eyebrows. He took a microphone and announced with confidence, ¡°Thank you all for taking the time to join us! I wish you a great year ahead, and I hope your life will be filled with prosperity and that your family is well and happy!¡±


    Mr. Huang spoke enthusiastically and earnestly. Everyone pped. I could imagine that this was how Xiaotao learned to be so sociable: attending various fancy parties, entertaining numerous guests, and all that.


    ¡°Your father is such a charismatic guy!¡± I eximed.


    Xiaotao snorted.


    Then, Mr. Huang continued, ¡°I invited everyone here today for two reasons. One is to thank my business partners; and the other is to announce the engagement of my precious daughter, Huang Xiaotao, and Young Master Wang!¡±


    I was shocked. Were they engaged now? I turned to Xiaotao and saw that she was just as shocked as I was, if not more. Her eyes widened, and she shouted, ¡°But I never agreed to this!¡±


    However, her shouts were drowned out by the thunderous apuse and cheers.


    ¡°Come here, Xiaotao!¡± Mr. Huang beckoned.


    The eyes of the crowd then turned to her. The guests were all smiling, many whispered things like, ¡°She¡¯s so beautiful!¡± and ¡°What a match she¡¯ll be for Young Master Wang!¡±


    ¡°You told me it was just a blind date, Father!¡± Xiaotao protested. ¡°How did it end up being an engagement instead? You never asked for my opinion!¡±


    Mr. Huang turned to the guests and said, ¡°My daughter is always like that. Please don¡¯t be surprised!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean I¡¯m always like this?¡± Xiaotao argued. ¡°I won¡¯t ept this no matter what! You can never force me into a marriage, and I won¡¯t be sold off just so you can cooperate with the Wang Corporation!¡±


    ¡°Stop making a fool of yourself!¡± urged Mr. Huang. ¡°Young Master Wang is a man of great talent. He has a sessful career, and he has studied in the United States. He¡¯s more than good enough for a police officer like you!¡±


    Although he was reprimanding Xiaotao, he still kept the smile on his face because we were still in front of all the guests. I saw how Xiaotao¡¯s ears had turned red. Then, she suddenly grabbed my arm and announced, ¡°No, I¡¯m not good enough for him, because I already have a boyfriend!¡±


    Her father¡¯s eyes widened. Before he could respond, he was interrupted by a sudden scream, which diverted everyone¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Oh my god, she¡¯s bleeding!¡±


    The crowd turned to the source of the scream, and there was a richdy who had copsed to the floor with a pool of blood slowly spilling out of her body. The crowd panicked immediately. Some even knocked down the tables and chairs while others ran and screamed.


    I saw a man trying to escape from the chaos that ensued and shouted, ¡°Stop that man!¡±


    The bodyguards responded immediately and caught the man. He avoided three or four of the bodyguards and slipped through their grasps like a slippery fish. His suit jacket was torn off in the fight. More guards swarmed to him, and he suddenly pulled out a dagger. I noticed that this man was indeed Chen Da.


    The guards were experienced fighters, so the dagger did not faze them. They quickly got hold of Chen Da and pinned him to the ground. Still, Chen Da managed to slip out of their grasp again and bounced back up to his feet. He ran in the opposite direction, which was towards the window.


    I realized that the man was going tomit suicide. Before I could do anything, I heard a strange noise in the room. I turned to the direction of that noise and saw that it was the sound of Xiaotao tearing of the lower part of her dress to make it easier for her to run. She rushed towards the buffet table and kicked it. The table slipped just in time to block Chen Da¡¯s way.


    Chen Da squarely mmed into the table, yet there was no change of expression on his face. It almost seemed like he could feel no pain. Soon, the guests caught up with him again and they subdued him.


    The bodyguards had stepped in the pool of blood, leaving trails of bloody footprints. I almost cursed at them for destroying the crime scene.


    I rushed over to the victim. She was stabbed through the right shoulder de with a knife, but I could see that she was still faintly breathing. I shouted for someone near me to call for an ambnce, then turned her over so shey on her back. This was to prevent her blood from umting in the internal organs and clogging the trachea.


    I put my ears on the victim¡¯s chest and listened. I found that there was a lot of blood in her lungs. She was almost asphyxiated now, and her nostrils were full of blood. If she wasn¡¯t rescued soon, she might die before the ambnce arrived.


    ¡°Does anyone have a syringe?¡± I shouted.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± a man who looked like he was the victim¡¯s secretary asked me. ¡°Don¡¯t mess around! We have to wait for the doctor!¡±


    I red at him. ¡°If no one gives her first aid, she¡¯ll die before the doctor arrives! Get downstairs now and buy a syringe! Hurry up!¡±


    The secretary was stunned for a while, but then uttered, ¡°Okay, right away!¡±


    Soon, he returned with a first-aid kit. I took out the syringe and pierced it through the victim¡¯s chest, drawing blood from it. The people around me stared suspiciously and kept muttering, ¡°Who is this kid?¡±


    ¡°Is he a doctor?¡±


    ¡°Who will bear the responsibility if he kills her? She¡¯s the head of Ronghua Pharmaceuticals after all!¡±


    I ignored them and continued pumping out four tubes of blood. Then, the victim was finally able to breathe. She opened her eyes slightly, and the secretary knelt beside her and took her hand, saying, ¡°Director Zhang! You¡¯re awake!¡±


    ¡°What happened to me?¡± she asked weakly.


    ¡°Someone tried to kill you, Director Zhang,¡± the secretary exined. ¡°This young man just saved your life!¡±


    Thedy looked at me and was about to say something, but I stopped her.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t talk for now,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s wait for the ambnce! Fortunately, none of your vital organs were hit, so you¡¯ll definitely be fine.¡±


    Then the people around me changed their tune and started praising me for being brave and smart. They truly were hypocrites. Not only did they mock me just minutes ago, but they also did nothing to help and just stood there idly as the event happened. Yet, now they were trying to show their concern for the victim.


    I noticed that there was amotion on the other side of the room. Then I heard Xiaotao¡¯s voice shouting, ¡°Come here, Song Yang! The suspect is dead!¡±

 Chapter 177

    <h4>Chapter 177</h4>


    While I was rescuing the victim, the suspect Chen Da was subdued by Xiaotao and the guards and they tried to interrogate him. I walked towards them and heard a guard exining nervously, ¡°I just kicked him a little... I didn¡¯t even use that much strength, I swear!¡±


    ¡°Kicked him a little my ass!¡± cursed Xiaotao. ¡°You¡¯re going to the police station with meter!¡±


    I asked her what happened exactly. It turned out that after subduing Chen Da, they couldn¡¯t get him to say a single word. One of the guards lost their temper and kicked Chen Da in the stomach, which caused him to fall to the ground. When they checked, they found that he¡¯d already stopped breathing.


    I touched Chen Da¡¯s carotid artery and confirmed that he was indeed dead. But the feel of his skin unnerved me. it felt dry and stiff, just like a corpse. I put my ears against his chest and listened. I was taken aback. I checked it again and again, then tried moving his joints.


    Atst, I sighed and announced, ¡°This is a dead man!¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°We know.¡±


    ¡°No, I mean...¡±


    I looked around at the guards and paused. This would be another bizarre case. It would be better if I kept the details secret for now.


    When the police arrived, Mr. Huang walked towards me holding a cane. He had just witnessed my actions in the chaos. He looked me up and down and asked in a strange voice, ¡°What kind of family do you belong to, boy?¡±


    It was the first time Xiaotao¡¯s father ever spoke to me, so I naturally behaved as politely as I could.


    ¡°We¡¯re just normal working people,¡± I answered.


    Mr. Huang nodded and said, ¡°You kept your calm very well in times of distress. You seem to be a capable young man.¡±


    He then called Xiaotao to his side and said something to her. I didn¡¯t hear what he said, but Xiaotao kept yelling back at him saying things like, ¡°You have no right to intervene!¡± and ¡°I will never marry him!¡±


    A police officer went to Xiaotao to report something and she coldly dered, ¡°We¡¯ll talkter, Father. I have work to do.¡±


    The police took the body away and we got into a police car. Xiaotao said, ¡°Guess what my father just said to me? He told me to break up with you for the sake of the family business and marry that idiot.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps in the eyes of a businessman, financial benefits always outweigh love and affection...¡± Imented.


    ¡°I¡¯ve always hated being born into this family,¡± Xiaotao confessed. ¡°I wish I was born in an ordinary family. By the way, what were you trying to say back then?¡±


    ¡°Right, it¡¯s about the dead suspect. He seemed to have been dead for a week.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Xiaotao eximed with rm. ¡°But how is that possible? He clearly died in front of me back then!¡±


    ¡°Yet his body and internal organs show the signs of rot that indicates he¡¯s been dead for a week.¡±


    ¡°So he¡¯s a walking corpse?¡± Xiaotao was dumbfounded.


    ¡°Have Chen Da and the head of Ronghua Pharmaceuticals ever been in conflict with each other before?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not that I know of,¡± Xiaotao shook her head. ¡°One had a deliverypany, and the other sells drugs and medicine. They¡¯re obviously notpetitors. Besides, people with a public profile like Chen Da wouldn¡¯t get his hands dirty and attack his enemy himself, much less in public!¡±


    I called Dali and asked him to bring my tools to the police station.


    ¡°You¡¯re gonna bother me even during the holidays?¡± heined.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± I replied, ¡°I¡¯ll buy you a nice mealter.¡±


    After arriving at the police station, Xiaotao told me to give her a minute because she¡¯d like to change back into her normal clothes. I took off the watch that she gave me and said, ¡°The act is over now, so take this back. I¡¯m not used to wearing something so expensive.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly,¡± sheughed. ¡°I told you it¡¯s a gift! It¡¯s yours now!¡±


    I relented and put the watch in my pocket. Xiaotao was gone for a while and returned in her usual uniform.


    ¡°I can finally move freely again!¡± she remarked.


    A few minutes after that, Dali arrived.


    ¡°Don¡¯t these criminals take any days off at all?¡± he whined when he saw me. ¡°You know, I think aw should be passed to make criminals whomit crimes on holidays receive double the punishment!¡±


    ¡°Stop acting like a big baby,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°The holidays have always been the busiest time for us police officers. I¡¯m used to it now.¡±


    We then headed to the morgue. Dali cowered behind me as we walked into the room, fearing that he¡¯d might be assaulted by the sight of a gruesome-looking corpse again.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I assured him, ¡°the dead body doesn¡¯t look too bad this time.¡±


    I might have said so, but I knew that this time the autopsy wouldn¡¯t be so straightforward.


    From the deceased¡¯s pocket, I found a bunch of keys, a half-pack of cigarettes, a lighter from a hotel, and an Apple iPhone. I handed these over to Xiaotao. I sniffed at the clothes and the hair carefully, and detected the slight smell of rot and decay. I then collected some skin samples and cut some hair to keep as evidence.


    After that, I used the seaweed ash to extract fingerprints on the dead body. There were about four or five sets of fingerprints, and they were most probably left by the guards. Still, I used transparent cellophane tape to collect each of these fingerprints so the forensics team couldpare them to their databaseter.


    Then, I cut off the deceased¡¯s clothes to expose his chest and abdomen. There was a clear mark of the shoeprint on his stomach. Cells would lose their healing and repairing functions once they were dead, so anything that was done to a dead body would always leave traces that wouldn¡¯t fade.


    I noticed signs of nail scratches on the deceased¡¯s neck. This was probably left by the guards in the scuffle. I asked Xiaotao toe over and see. The scratch was quite deep but it didn¡¯t bleed, and the skin at the wound rolled up instead of contracting. Xiaotao had seen a lot of corpses in her days, so she knew at first nce that this injury was post-mortem.


    ¡°So he really was dead!¡± she gasped.


    ¡°You don¡¯t say, Xiaotao-jiejie,¡± mocked Dali.


    ¡°Shut up, idiot!¡± she snapped. Then she asked me, ¡°Is it really possible to manipte dead bodies like a puppet, Song Yang?¡±


    ¡°By conventional knowledge, no.¡±


    ¡°What about by unconventional knowledge?¡±


    I listed a few that I could think of¡ªXiangxi zombies, voodoo magic, and the Thai ghost pets.


    Xiangxi zombies had always been a mysterious legend that circted in the Xiangxi area. ording to legends, two men wearing white turbans were often seen walking in the mountains, and in between them was a jumping ¡®zombie¡¯ which was supposedly a corpse that had a spell stuck on its forehead.


    It was not until the 1950s when the PLA soldiers happened to meet such ¡®zombies¡¯ that the mystery was solved. It turned out that the two men were undertakers and they carried the corpse through the winding roads of the mountains in bamboo baskets. Because bamboo poles were flexible, it created an illusion that the corpse was ¡®jumping.¡¯


    Voodoo magic was first discovered in South America, and it pertained to the legend of Haitian zombies, which inspired the world-famous game Resident Evil. There were foreign tourists who stayed with a Haitian tribe and they happened to see a group of people with stiff limbs plowing the fieldte at night. After dawn, they automatically returned to their graves andy there. They looked no different from dead bodies. Later, scientists discovered that these people were poisoned by a type of potent neurotoxin that put their bodies in a state that mimicked death.


    Thest one was the Thai pet ghosts, of which aplex ritual and methods were used to mummify child corpses. However, this ritual was supposed to control the child¡¯s soul, not their corpses, so it had nothing to do with dead body maniption after all.


    My ancestors had recorded simr cases too, yet they were all proven to be either faked or living people disguised as dead bodies in the end. When Chen Da died, he was in full view of close to a hundred people, so the possibility that his death was faked was close to zero.


    In short, I was stumped.


    ¡°There¡¯s another possibility, though!¡± Dali interjected. ¡°It could be done using supernatural tools!¡±


    ¡°Did you get that idea from that trash novel again?¡± I frowned.


    ¡°But it could be real, dude!¡± he argued. ¡°After all, we¡¯ve solved so many bizarre cases before.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t deny that,¡± I said, ¡°but we must notmit an intellectual leapfrog and disregard all possible natural exnations yet at the moment.¡±


    I then rolled up my sleeves and added, ¡°I need your help to get me some things, Dali. I need the cups used in cupping therapy, a bottle of high alcohol content rice wine, some towels, some salt, and a pound of unripe persimmon!¡±


    1. People¡¯s Liberation Army


    2. A form of medicine.

 Chapter 178

    <h4>Chapter 178</h4>


    ¡°What are you making this time, Chef Song?¡± Dali joked.


    ¡°Just hurry and go, will you?¡± I snapped.


    Once Dali had gone, I brought the samples I collected from the corpse to the forensics team for testing. When I returned to the morgue, I saw Xiaotao standing at the door talking to several officers. I asked her what happened and she replied, ¡°The richdy who was attacked had been rescued. We learned from her secretary that herpany was recently in a dispute with Chen Da¡¯spany. The richdy usually delivered her goods through Chen Da¡¯spany, but there was another logisticspany that offered their services at a much lower price, so the richdy broke their previous contract and switched to the otherpany instead.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t umon forrge corporations to breach contracts. It was understandable too that the richdy would be interested in switching to the otherpany since they offered a much lower price. I didn¡¯t think that Chen Da would risk losing everything and murder the richdy just for this trivial matter. Besides, hispany was established enough that the loss of one client wouldn¡¯t affect their business much.


    Even if he did hate the richdy for it, would he be so stupid to kill her himself, and in public to boot?


    The police had also discovered that Chen Da hadn¡¯t been to work for the past week. He was thepany¡¯s president, so no one dared to inquire too much about it. Besides, ording to his employees, Chen Da often travelled alone for vacations and for work.


    Apart from that, it was found that 20 million yuan was taken from Chen Da¡¯s ount recently, almost emptying it.


    ¡°Where did Chen Da travel to?¡± I asked.


    ¡°He loved travelling and had been all around the world,¡± answered the officer.


    ¡°Who withdrew the money out of his ount?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re still investigating that with the bank!¡±


    I thanked him and told him he did a great job.


    ¡°Why would a sessful businessman be so stupid and murder someone?¡± wondered Xiaotao. ¡°Do you think there could be more to this, Song Yang? Maybe a personal grudge?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re still in the initial phase of investigation right now,¡± I replied. ¡°I think it¡¯s best we don¡¯t jump to premature conclusions. I know one thing for sure, though. Chen Da is definitely not a murderer¡ªhe¡¯s the victim.¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± nodded Xiaotao.


    After a while, Dali returned panting heavily and carrying big bags in his hands.


    ¡°Dude!¡± he cried. ¡°It was so hard to buy persimmons in this season. I had to search through several supermarkets before finding these unripe ones. What do you need it for anyway?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll find out soon,¡± I smiled.


    When we returned to the morgue, I remarked, ¡°I discovered something puzzling when I checked the deceased¡¯s internal organs. Although they had stopped functioning for a week, there were still no signs of decay. I think I¡¯d better check his stomach contents.¡±


    I asked Dali to get me a pot of hot water. I soaked the towel in it and pressed it on the corpse¡¯s chest and back. Then, I handed Dali the pestle and mortar from my bag and asked him to pound the unripe persimmons into a paste.


    Dali went about this task eagerly. When he was done, I added salt into this paste and patted it on the corpse¡¯s chest.


    ¡°What does this persimmon paste do, dude?¡± asked Dali.


    ¡°It contains tannic acid which contracts the muscle tissues and squeezes out the contents of the stomach.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just cut the body open and see for yourself?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re sure you want to see that?¡±


    Dali didn¡¯t reply. He just pouted and looked away.


    ¡°But he¡¯s been dead for a week, Song Yang,¡± Xiaotaomented. ¡°Would the muscle tissues really contract?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I shook my head.


    Dali and Xiaotao looked surprised.


    ¡°That¡¯s a first!¡± Dali eximed. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯d ever heard you admit that you don¡¯t know something so frankly!¡±


    Iughed. ¡°I¡¯m just testing this method myself. If it works, it means that this body is somehow not really dead yet. If it doesn¡¯t, then there¡¯s no doubt that this is just a corpse.¡±


    Once I¡¯d covered the body with the persimmon paste, nothing happened for about fifteen minutes. Then, it suddenly arched its back, making the legs of the table it was lying on squeak against the floor. The sound was very loud and eardrum-piercing.


    ¡°It¡¯s waking up!¡± screamed Dali. He ran and hid behind me. I noticed that even Xiaotao was biting her lips nervously.


    I assured them that everything was fine. It was just the contraction of the muscles. At that moment, the body looked as if it was about to vomit. I asked Dali to quickly get a container and we hurriedly turned the dead body over. Dali put an aluminum basin under its mouth. Then, brown liquid flowed out of the body¡¯s mouth and into the basin.


    Dali winced in disgust. When there was nothinging out of the corpse¡¯s mouth anymore, I took the basin in his hand and sniffed it. There was a very strong alcohol smell.


    ¡°There¡¯s red wine, rice wine, champagne and various other kinds of alcohol in this,¡± I said. ¡°It looks like the deceased hadn¡¯t consumed anything except alcohol.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I did see him drinking ss after ss of champagne at the party!¡± Xiaotao remarked.


    ¡°Party?¡± asked Dali. ¡°What party? Were you both at a party together? No wonder I saw you waking up early to shave and do your hair this morning!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s focus on the case right now!¡± I said.


    Since the deceased was able to vomit, it seemed that the muscles of his body were not yet in the state of necrosis. This meant that he was not truly dead, only that his internal organs were in stagnation. I couldn¡¯t imagine how anyone could survive this condition.


    The fact that he threw up this much alcohol meant that he must¡¯ve drunk even more than this. Why would he do that? He was in a semi-vegetative state, so would he still feel the pleasure brought on by drinking?


    ¡°What happens when someone drinks alcohol?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You get drunk, of course!¡± answered Dali.


    ¡°You¡¯ll also blush,¡± said Xiaotao, ¡°your heartbeat will quicken, the blood flow in your body would increase, and you¡¯d feel excited!¡±


    I then noticed some red and white residues in the aluminum basin. They looked like the shells of a drug capsule. These would have to be testedter.


    It then urred to me that this basin was made with aluminum. Dali shouldn¡¯t have picked this basin, because the human stomach invariably contained hydrochloric acid which would easily corrode aluminum. Coroners would usuallyyer a stic film in the basin before collecting the stomach contents.


    Still, Dali¡¯s oversight helped me notice another curious point about this case. I lowered my face very close to the basin and studied the deceased¡¯s stomach contents even more meticulously.


    ¡°What¡¯s so interesting about dead people¡¯s vomit, dude?¡± asked Dali. ¡°Why¡¯d you have to put it so close to your nose like that?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± I replied, ¡°I need to study the wine¡¯s appearance closely, then sniff it carefully before I can taste it.¡±


    ¡°Oh my god,¡± cried Dali, holding his mouth. ¡°I can¡¯t take it anymore!¡±


    He rushed out of the room, barely able to refrain from throwing up.


    ¡°What an idiot!¡± Xiaotaoughed.


    ¡°Come here and take a look at this,¡± I waved at Xiaotao.


    ¡°What is it?¡± she asked when she came over.


    ¡°There¡¯s no sign of stomach acid in this vomit,¡± I replied.


    Xiaotao sniffed andmented, ¡°You¡¯re right! Usually, vomit has a sour smell to it, but there¡¯s none of that here.¡±


    I must admit that at that point the case got me a little excited. How did the murderer do it? How did they turn a living person into a walking corpse?


    I put the basin down and went over to the body. I searched all over it and finally found a tiny inconspicuous puncture wound left by a needle on the victim¡¯s lower back. I stared at it for a while and stated, ¡°This puncture wound was left recently! Probably around four hours ago!¡±

 Chapter 179

    <h4>Chapter 179</h4>


    ¡°Do you think he was injected with poison?¡± asked Xiaotao. ¡°Should we test it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get a sample now,¡± I replied.


    I brushed the inside of a cup used in cupping therapy and held it over a me. Then, I ced it on top of the puncture wound. I repeated the process and ced a few more cups on the victim¡¯s abdomen where the liver should be. If there was any toxin in the human body, it would prate the skin and hair follicles, which could be pulled out using this traditional Chinese medicine technique.


    Apart from that, this technique worked best on slow-acting toxins. I suspected that the victim was not poisoned but was injected with an unknown drug that turned him into a ¡®living corpse!¡¯


    We waited for a while, then suddenly Xiaotao eximed, ¡°Song Yang, look!¡±


    Droplets slowly seeped out from the skin under the cups. I pulled off the cups and used cotton swabs to collect samples of these droplets. These would be given to the forensics team for further testing. The samples collected from the puncture wound and those from the liver area were kept separate and should be tested separately too.


    At that moment, an officer came in and said, ¡°Huang-jie, someone just died at the hospital!¡±


    We were both shocked. Xiaotao instantly asked, ¡°Is it the richdy?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± answered the officer, ¡°it¡¯s her secretary. The richdy has been kidnapped!¡±


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a look. We had nned to question the richdy after the autopsy. Neither of us had predicted that the murderer would make his next move so quickly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the hospital now!¡± Xiaotao shouted.


    We got into a police car immediately. Dali came along too, and I exined what was going on to him on the way. The idiot paid no attention to the details of the case, though. All he asked was what kind of food and drinks were served at the party and whether I saw any celebrities there.


    Several police cars were already parked outside the hospital. We headed straight to the richdy¡¯s ward and found that the door had been cordoned off from the public by police tape.


    One of the officers tasked with guarding the richdy reported that the richdy was very flustered when she woke up. She kept begging them to protect her and to stay alert at all times, but when asked who was trying to harm her, she mmed up and refused to speak. At noon, the officers went out to grab lunch, and that was when things went south. When they came back, they found the secretary killed and thedy gone.


    ¡°Have you checked the surveince video?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    ¡°We¡¯re still talking to the hospital about it,¡± the officer answered.


    As soon as we entered the ward, the heavy stench of blood filled my nostrils. The secretaryy dead on the floor face down in a pool of blood. ss fragments littered the floor.


    I kneeled down to examine the body. The victim¡¯s back was riddled with deep wounds, and they were all round in shape. I pried one of the wounds open with a pair of tweezers and picked out a ss fragment from it. I looked up and saw that the IV bottle was missing from the stand. That gave me an idea of what the murder weapon could be.


    ¡°There should be a serial number on the IV bottle, right?¡± I asked the officer.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he nodded.


    ¡°Go to the nurse and find out this serial number,¡± I ordered. ¡°Search for it around the hospital. If you find a broken IV drip bottle with the corresponding serial number, that¡¯s the murder weapon!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s awful!¡± Dalimented while covering his mouth. ¡°He was beaten to death with the IV drip bottle?¡±


    I asked Dali to put on the gloves and help me turn the body over. I found that two of the victim¡¯s nails were broken. I looked around and find that the curtains were closed and undisturbed. There was no sign of fighting in the room either. I turned my gaze to the door and asked the officer, ¡°Was the door open when you found the body?¡±


    ¡°It was open when we came back,¡± he replied. ¡°The nurse did mention that they usually leave the doors to single wards like this one closed for hygienic purposes, though.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s check for fingerprints!¡± I said to Dali.


    I pulled out the Autopsy Umbre and an ultravioletmp from my bag. Dali held themp as I turned the Autopsy Umbre around the body. The same set of fingerprints were found on the bed, on the victim¡¯s body, and on the doorknob.


    I looked at the victim¡¯s hand again. It looked like there was dandruff under his nails. The murderer¡¯s skin cells were often found under the victim¡¯s nails in many murder cases, so this was very important evidence. Xiaotao jumped up excitedly when she saw it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll call the forensics team right away!¡± she cried.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited,¡± I shook my head. ¡°This is not dandruff or any kind of human skin tissue at all.¡±


    I pointed at the body and continued, ¡°The murderer attacked him from behind. He fell facedown. Judging from this scenario, the victim had no chance to scratch the murderer at all.¡±


    Then I ced the victim¡¯s hand under my nose and smelled it. ¡°It smells like processed leather.¡±


    ¡°Leather?¡± Xiaotao wondered.


    ¡°Do you remember what kind of bag the richdy had?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°It was too chaotic to notice that kind of detail back then,¡± she replied. ¡°Wait, are you implying that the victim was clutching at the richdy¡¯s bag, and then it was violently snatched away from his hand?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not all,¡± I added. ¡°The truth is, the richdy wasn¡¯t kidnapped at all. She was the real murderer!¡±


    Everyone gasped when I revealed this fact.


    ¡°Look,¡± I added, ¡°there were no traces of outsiders breaking into the room. The victim copsed close to the bed, so where would the murderer stand to attack him? On the bed? That¡¯s not possible since the richdy was still lying there.¡±


    I stood up and scanned the room. Then, I began to reenact the case.


    ¡°At the time, the richdy was sitting on the bed. She then asked her secretary to get her bag. As soon as the victim turned his back, she grabbed the IV drip bottle, broke it against the bedframe and hit the victim with it. The victim fell to the floor. She jumped out of bed and snatched the bag from the victim¡¯s hands.¡±


    ¡°But why would she kill her own secretary?¡± asked Xiaotao. ¡°Did she lose her mind? Didn¡¯t she know that there are surveince cameras in the hospital? She must know that we¡¯d catch her in no time!¡±


    ¡°This murder and Chen Da¡¯s own murder attempt at the party have one thing inmon,¡± I said. ¡°They were acting in a way that they would never do in normal circumstances.¡±


    I wondered what in the world could make them suddenly behave so abnormally.


    The police then obtained the surveince video. Sure enough, at about 2 pm, the rich woman was seen sneaking out of the room while still wearing the hospital gown and holding her bag in her hands. It was also clear that no one had entered the room apart from the secretary. This proved that the richdy was undoubtedly the murderer.


    ¡°What about the murder weapon?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°It¡¯s in the bag, of course!¡± I replied. ¡°She acted as if she didn¡¯t want anyone to know that she murdered someone, which means that she was definitely conscious at the time.¡±


    ¡°But wouldn¡¯t she look suspicious if she ran out of the hospital dressed like that?¡± asked Dali.


    I gave it a thought and answered, ¡°No!¡±


    I drew the curtains and looked outside. There were many people wearing the hospital gown in the hospitalpound. It wouldn¡¯t look conspicuous to walk around dressed like that within the hospital, but it would indeed look suspicious if she tried to leave like that.


    ¡°What happened to her car?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s still in the hotel¡¯s underground parking lot,¡± an officer replied. ¡°The secretary apanied her in the ambnce when she was sent here.¡±


    ¡°She must¡¯ve nned to take the cab somewhere if she took her bag with her,¡± another officer chimed in. ¡°Should we check all the cabs that came to the hospital today?¡±


    I looked at the car park outside and considered the question, then replied, ¡°I won¡¯t rule out the possibility of that happening, but I think it¡¯s more likely that someone picked her up downstairs.¡±


    ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± Xiaotao asked the officers. ¡°Go get the surveince videos of the parking lot now!¡±


    They left and then returned with the surveince videos of the parking lot. There were three cameras there. We quickly yed the videos on aptop. As we were in the middle of one of the videos, Xiaotao suddenly interrupted and told an officer to pause it and rey thest few seconds.


    What happened in the video was that it changed from the scene in the car park to nothing but the blue sky. We checked the other two cameras and sure enough, the picture video turned to that of the sky right about the same time it happened to the first camera.


    ¡°Very cunning!¡± eximed Xiaotao. ¡°They pushed the camera upwards so we can¡¯t see anything!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and check the car park now!¡± I urged.

 Chapter 180

    <h4>Chapter 180</h4>


    Before we left the ward, I asked the police officers to track down a few clues for the case. Firstly, I wanted to see the richdy¡¯s phone records. I needed to know who she was in contact with recently. Secondly, I needed to see her bank ount activities. Lastly, because she was the president of a pharmaceuticalpany, I wanted to see the list of drugs that herpany had recently developed.


    Dali, Xiaotao, and I then went down to the parking lot. I brought the Autopsy Umbre with me too. When we got there, Dali stood under a surveince camera and announced, ¡°Dude, I¡¯ve made a major discovery! The murderer is 1.8 meters tall!¡±


    ¡°Because the camera is 1.8 meters from the ground?¡± Iughed.


    ¡°Uh-huh!¡± Dali nodded enthusiastically. ¡°You see, your reasoning skills have rubbed off on me!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong, though,¡± I argued, pointing at the camera. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be as tall as the camera to reach it. I¡¯d say the suspect could be anywhere from 1.75 to 1.8 meters tall.¡±


    The sky was clear that day, so I opened the Autopsy Umbre and scanned the area beneath the camera. I found a clear set of footprints there, and judging from the length of the feet, I inferred the suspect¡¯s height to be about 1.7 and 1.75 meters.


    Apart from that, I noticed another curious detail. The footprint of one foot seemed to be deeper and heavier than the other. ¡°The suspect¡¯s left leg is limp,¡± I concluded.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you say the suspect had a stroke this time?¡± Dali asked.


    ¡°While people who had a stroke might have a limp,¡± I exined, ¡°not all of them necessarily had a stroke. Right now, there¡¯s evidence that the suspect has a limp, but we can¡¯t make any conclusions about what caused it yet.¡±


    Xiaotao took pictures of the footprints with a camera that she brought. When the forensics team arrivedter, they would make a mould of the prints and keep it as evidence.


    I examined the positions of the three cameras and found that there were no ovepping areas between them, so the suspect was definitely not captured on camera after all.


    I went back to inspecting the footprints on the ground with the Autopsy Umbre. They led to a parking space nearby. Xiaotao examined the tire tracks there and stated, ¡°It¡¯s an SUV.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t narrow down our search at all, I¡¯m afraid,¡± I sighed.


    ¡°Let¡¯s ask the employee at the parking ticket booth anyway,¡± responded Xiaotao.


    We found the employee in question, but didn¡¯t glean much information from her. She had seen up to a hundred cars by that time of the day, so we left without any further clues.


    The police had all packed up and left the hospital at that point, so we had no reason to stay either.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a short rest for now,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°There¡¯s a caf nearby. I haven¡¯t had a drop of water to drink all afternoon!¡±


    We entered the caf and sat at a table by the window. After ordering three cups of coffee, Xiaotao asked me, ¡°Do you have any theories about this case so far, Song Yang?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± I muttered, ¡°so many things just happened so quickly. In half a day, two murders have urred. I have no idea what¡¯s happening anymore.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just run some ideas by me?¡± she suggested.


    I thought about it for a few seconds and began toy out my analysis of the case.


    ¡°From what we¡¯ve seen so far,¡± I said, ¡°both cases are clearly rted to the richdy. I think the mastermind behind this case has a deep connection to her. It¡¯s likely that they¡¯ve got some devastating information about her that forced her intomitting murder.¡±


    ¡°But why kill the secretary?¡± Xiaotao wondered.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it matters at all who she killed,¡± I replied. ¡°If the mastermind wanted the secretary dead, they had plenty of opportunities to kill him a long time ago. I think they just wanted to force the richdy into a corner and make her do something to prove her obedience to them. Something that would prevent her from ever turning back. I think her next move is what we really should be worried about.¡±


    ¡°But we don¡¯t have a single clue about what she¡¯s going to do next!¡± Xiaotao grumbled.


    Just then, my attention was caught by an old woman with gray hair by the road. She was carrying a bup sack and her clothes were tattered. She wiped the windows of a car with a grimy rag then stretched out her hands to beg for some money. I suddenly realized that beggars like her usually stayed at one ce for a long stretch of time.


    ¡°That beggar may have seen the killer!¡± I eximed. ¡°Let¡¯s go ask her!¡±


    We rushed out of the caf and approached the old beggar.


    ¡°Did you see an SUV driving out of the hospital an hour ago?¡± asked Xiaotao. ¡°There should be a tall man and a fat woman wearing a hospital gown inside.¡±


    ¡°Who wants to know?¡± the old beggar replied curtly.


    Xiaotao showed her her police badge, to which the old woman immediately waved her hand and answered, ¡°I didn¡¯t see nothing!¡±


    It was typical of beggars to be secretive, especially towards police officers. Xiaotao then handed her a hundred yuan and asked again, ¡°Do you remember anything now?¡±


    The old woman¡¯s eyebrows raised. Then she tapped her head with her knuckles and crowed, ¡°I¡¯m starting to remember something... But it¡¯s all very blurry...¡±


    Xiaotao handed her another hundred yuan and spat, ¡°What about now?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes!¡± eximed the old beggar. ¡°I did see a man like that today. He had a scowl on his face and kept shooing me away when I got near him. There was a woman in his back seat too.¡±


    Xiaotao showed the old beggar the picture of the richdy and asked if the woman in the car looked like that.


    ¡°Yes,¡± nodded the old beggar. ¡°That¡¯s definitely her!¡±


    ¡°Do you remember what the man looked like?¡± Xiaotao asked. ¡°Would youe to the police station with us and help us sketch a portrait of him?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, no, no!¡± the old beggar refused vehemently. ¡°I don¡¯t remember anything at all! I¡¯m just a confused old woman!¡±


    She then tried to walk away from us immediately. Beggars were generally very reluctant to go anywhere near the police station, so her reaction was unsurprising. I pulled her aside and told her, ¡°You must¡¯ve been cold and hungry standing outside all day. Why don¡¯t youe and have a bowl of noodles with us?¡±


    It was an offer she couldn¡¯t refuse. I asked Dali to take her to a nearby Lanzhou beef noodles stall. He tried to shirk off the task at first, iming that it would be too embarrassing for him to be seen with a beggar. I red at him until he finally relented.


    ¡°Oh, god,¡± Xiaotao sighed. ¡°I just spent two hundred yuan in exchange for a few words!¡±


    ¡°You should get Xiaozhou to install a portrait software on hisptop and meet her here,¡± I said.


    ¡°What a great idea!¡± Xiaotao pped her hands in excitement.


    Xiaotao called Xiaozhou instantly. It would take him some time to get here from the station, so we went into the noodle stall and joined Dali and the old woman. She must¡¯ve been starving, because by the time we got there she¡¯d already devoured a whole bowl of noodles. We hurriedly ordered another bowl for her so we could make sure that she didn¡¯t leave before Xiaozhou got here.


    In order to distract her, we chatted with her and asked her about her life. She told us that her old house and her crops were flooded, and her son and daughter-inw were both killed in the flood. Then, her husband contracted a terminal disease soon after that so she lost him too. Beggars would usually exaggerate their misfortunes, so I knew I had to take her words with a grain of salt. It was more likely that the beggars on the street were secretly connected to underworld gangs and ck organizations.


    As the old woman was busy chowing down the third bowl of noodles, Xiaozhou finally arrived in a police car. The old woman was startled. She put down the chopsticks and tried to run away, but Xiaotao assured her, ¡°Rx, he¡¯s only here to deliver something to us.¡±


    The old woman sat back down hesitantly. Xiaozhou came over to us with aptop in his hand and chirped, ¡°Huang-jie! I just got the results from theb testing!¡±


    ¡°Nevermind that,¡± Xiaotao waved her hand. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about thatter.¡±


    She then opened theptop and said to the old woman in a coaxing voice, ¡°Why don¡¯t we y a little game? Let¡¯s see, which nose looks the most like the one that man in the car has?¡±


    The old woman then went on to identify the features of the man until there was enough data for the portrait software to produce aplete sketch of a face. She looked at the sketch and confirmed that it looked just like the man she saw earlier.


    The old woman left soon after that. Then Dali eximed, ¡°This case turns out to be an easy one, huh? It¡¯s barely been a day, but we¡¯ve already found out what the suspect looks like!¡±


    I wasn¡¯t so optimistic, though. ¡°We can¡¯t really do much with just a face. At best, this can help us get an arrest warrant.¡±


    ¡°Song Yang is right,¡± agreed Xiaotao. ¡°There are many cold cases where we have the suspects¡¯ sketch, fingerprints, and even their DNA, yet they remain unsolved. Catching criminals isn¡¯t always a straightforward affair. Sometimes, when luck is against us, the case remains shrouded in mystery no matter how many clues we uncover...¡±

 Chapter 181

    <h4>Chapter 181</h4>


    I asked Xiaozhou about the results of theb testing, and he told me that the capsule found in the victim¡¯s stomach contained Cednid, which was amon drug used to treat heart disease.


    ¡°A heart medicine, huh?¡± I mumbled. ¡°Any other discovery?¡±


    Xiaozhou replied that the drug sample I took from the victim¡¯s skin was an unknown chemical, while the substance that was injected into the victim¡¯s body four hours ago was an unknown biological enzyme. The effects of these two substances could offset each other, which was to say that the victim had both the poison and the antidote injected into his body!


    ¡°I get it now!¡± I eximed. ¡°The murderer controlled Chen Da by injecting poison into his body then forced him to act a certain way by promising to give him the antidote!¡±


    Xiaozhou nodded in agreement, then added, ¡°The dose of antidote found in the victim¡¯s body is too small, though. It wouldn¡¯t be enough topletely neutralize the poison.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s probably the cause of death,¡± I said. ¡°Once the victimpleted his task, the murderer rushed to inject the antidote into his body, but it was impossible because the bodyguards had subdued him.¡±


    ¡°You mean to say that the murderer was there at the party?¡± Xiaotao was shocked.


    ¡°That is a possibility,¡± I replied. ¡°But perhaps Chen Da was just a pawn. Perhaps the murderer didn¡¯t care at all if Chen Da died or lived. Still, it¡¯s not a bad idea to investigate the background of the guests¡¯ at the party.¡±


    Xiaotao immediately made some phone calls to direct some officers to check the hotel¡¯s parking records.


    It was gettingte, so Xiaotao told Dali and me to go back to our dorms. Before I left, I told Xiaozhao, ¡°You should tell the coroner to dissect the body and extract the poison from the victim¡¯s liver. Just inject the poison into a couple of mice and observe the effects over time.¡±


    The next day, Dali and I went to the police station early in the morning. When I saw Xiaotao, I noticed that herplexion was slightly sallow.


    ¡°Did you stay upte against night?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No,¡± she sighed. ¡°I had a quarrel with my father.¡±


    I asked her if it was about the arranged marriage, but she replied that it was more than that. Because of the incident at the party, the richdy¡¯s pharmaceuticalpany¡¯s stock fell to the lowest point since its conception. Since Xiaotao¡¯s father had tens of millions of shares in thepany, he suffered a terrible loss. He asked Xiaotao to reveal some details about the investigation of the case, which angered her because instead of valuing the gravity of the murdersmitted, all her father ever thought about was money and the stock price fluctuations.


    ¡°Nothing matters to him except money, money and money!¡± Xiaotao grumbled resentfully. ¡°Why was I born to such a horrible father?¡±


    ¡°But how did the stock price fall so quickly?¡± asked Dali.


    ¡°It¡¯s because once those rich folks at the party saw the murder attempt on the richdy, they immediately rushed home to sell their shares in herpany, causing dramatic fluctuations in the stock price!¡±


    ¡°Did you discover anything from yesterday¡¯s investigation?¡± I asked.


    Xiaotao then reported their findings to me one by one. They didn¡¯t find anyone who looked like the suspect in the hotel¡¯s surveince videos. From the bank, they found that the person who withdrew the money from Chen Da¡¯s ount was Chen Da himself. There had been norge deposits amounting to 20 million yen in any ountstely, so the money should still be in someone¡¯s hands in the form of cash. Lastly, the richdy received a call from an unknown number at around 3 pm yesterday, and the callsted about one minute.


    Apart from that, there was a setback to the investigation. Amid the chaos that happened yesterday, a key piece of evidence was lost¡ª it was the knife that Chen Da used to stab the richdy.


    ¡°The knife is gone?¡± I groaned. ¡°What about the little experiment with the mice? How¡¯s that going?¡±


    ¡°You can go see for yourself now!¡± Xiaotao replied.


    The three of us went to Xiaozhou¡¯sboratory. He had injected the poison obtained from the victim into two micest night. They were now lying motionless in the cage as if they were dead.


    My skills were useless in this instance, so I asked Xiaozhou to dissect one of the mice to check its internal organs.


    ¡°That¡¯s just cruel!¡± Dali eximed with a frown.


    ¡°It¡¯s the only way we can solve the case,¡± I replied. ¡°Besides, these mice were bred to be used in medical experiments anyway.¡±


    ¡°Um, actually...¡± Xiaozhou meekly interjected. ¡°I¡¯m not very good at dissecting animals myself. You should go ahead and do it, Song Yang.¡±


    I sighed. This was not my expertise at all, but out of everyone here, it seemed that I was the one best suited for the job. I put the mouse in a sterile box and pinned its two front limbs on its side. Then, I went ahead and cut its belly open with a scalpel. The mouse did not resist at all. Once the abdominal cavity was open, I found that the internal organs were all in a stagnant state. It looked no different from a dead mouse, except for the fact that its heart beat very slowly. How slowly? Once every ten seconds!


    ¡°It¡¯s basically in a fake death condition!¡± shouted Dali with fascination.


    I stabbed the mouse in the heart, killing it immediately. Then I recited the reincarnation mantra and prayed that it would be reborn as a human being in its next life. Then I took the other mouse and injected it with the antidote extracted from the victim. Within minutes, the mouse ¡®woke up¡¯ and seemed to return to its normal behavior.


    ¡°That¡¯s incredible!¡± eximed Xiaotao. ¡°I would never believe that drugs could do this if I didn¡¯t see it with my own eyes!¡±


    ¡°This is interesting,¡± I thought out loud. ¡°The poison and the antidote are both clearly specially formted. Wouldn¡¯t that just cost too much? Why not just use ordinary poison instead? Who would go to such trouble?¡±


    ¡°Would it really cost that much, dude?¡± asked Dali. ¡°Can¡¯t someone just buy some chemicals and mix them together?¡±


    ¡°You may not realize it because you¡¯re ay person,¡± Xiaozhou exined, ¡°but any chemist knows that it takes a lot of manpower and resources to develop a drug. Take the painkillers, for instance. It cost hundreds of millions of dors when it was first developed. You can¡¯t just cook up some drugs in your kitchen without having a strong financial backing.¡±


    ¡°Xiaozhou is right,¡± I nodded. ¡°Ordinary people do not have the ability and the financial resources to develop these drugs. Yet, the richdy owns a pharmaceuticalpany. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s too much of a coincidence?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps herpany developed these drugs!¡± Xiaotao realized.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I agreed, then spected further. ¡°Perhaps the murderer used to work for the richdy, probably as a researcher. Then, a dispute might have arisen between them, so the murderer used the drug to attack the richdy.¡±


    ¡°By the way,¡± I added, ¡°I figured out how the murderer threatened the richdy using that missing knife!¡±


    Firstly, Chen Da was injected with this fake death drug, followed by a small amount of antidote to keep him alive just enough to carry out a task for the murderer, which was to stab the richdy. The murderer did not intend to kill the richdy at all, only to poison her with the fake death drug by coating the drug on the knife. Once Chen Da hadpleted the task, his life didn¡¯t matter to the murderer anymore.


    Once the richdy was rescued, she would find that her heart was beating very slowly and that her blood flow was almost stagnant. She would then realize what was going on, and when she received the call from the murderer, she would have no choice but to submit to the murderer¡¯s demands. This was when she was ordered to kill her secretary and get into his car.


    ¡°But if herpany developed the drug, wouldn¡¯t she have ess to the antidote too?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°That is the point that still puzzles me,¡± I replied. ¡°I think this is the key question that we need to answer if we want to solve the case. There¡¯s one more thing that I¡¯m curious about¡ªwhat medical value can this fake death drug possibly have?¡±


    We all thought about it for a long time, yet none of us coulde up with a possible answer.


    ¡°Enough with this ruminating!¡± Xiaotao suddenly eximed. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the richdy¡¯spany and see what we can find out there!¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± I nodded.


    Xiaotao, Dali, and I then headed to Ronghua Pharmaceuticals soon afterwards. Because their president was missing, the wholepany seemed to be in disarray. We were kept waiting for a long time before we were ushered into an office to meet an executive manager whose surname was Wang. He was thepany¡¯s research and development director.


    ¡°What kind of drugs is yourpany developing?¡± I asked matter-of-factly. ¡°May I see a list of these drugs?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s apany secret that I can¡¯t disclose,¡± the man replied nervously.


    ¡°The president of yourpany has been kidnapped and every second could mean the difference between her life and death!¡± I stated. ¡°We¡¯re the police and we have the right to see this information. If you want to save your president¡¯s life, then please cooperate with us!¡±


    ¡°R-Right!¡± the man bit his lip. ¡°I¡¯ll call the board of directors right away!¡±


    He excused himself and made the call outside the office. When he was gone, Xiaotao chuckled andmented, ¡°You¡¯re acting exactly like a police officer now, Song Yang!¡±


    ¡°I learned from the best!¡± I replied, blushing.

 Chapter 182

    <h4>Chapter 182</h4>


    The executive kept us waiting in his office for a few minutes. He returned with a list of drugs, which I nced over and didn¡¯t find what I was looking for at all.


    ¡°You¡¯re the director of the R & D department, aren¡¯t you?¡± I asked. ¡°Are you involved in the development of each new drug?¡±


    Director Wang shook his head and exined, ¡°Only in the paperworks.¡±


    ¡°Do you know of any drugs in development that could cause fake death-like symptoms?¡±


    Director Wang frowned and fell silent for a while, then answered, ¡°None that I know of, no. What do you mean fake death-like symptoms? Can you describe it more specifically?¡±


    I told him of the symptoms I observed on the victims. Director Wang listened intently and shook his head in confusion. Then he added, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it had anything to do with this, but I do remember the president personally supervising the development of a drug which beganst year. That¡¯s all I can tell you, though. Any information regarding this drug, including the personnel involved, is confidential.¡±


    ¡°Can you get us the data of this study?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Director Wang smiled weakly. ¡°I don¡¯t have the ess to the data.¡±


    ¡°Who has the ess then?¡±


    ¡°Only the president herself.¡±


    This definitely smelled fishy. ¡°Can you take us to the president¡¯s office?¡±


    Director Wang did so, and when I saw aputer on the desk I asked, ¡°Is that where the research data is stored?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Director Wang nodded.


    ¡°Can we bring theputer back with us?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Director Wang shook his head frantically. ¡°Absolutely not!¡±


    ¡°Do you want your president to die?¡± I countered.


    ¡°Even if that happens,¡± Director Wang argued, ¡°I can¡¯t let you take away such important trade secrets. If I do that, the president will surely fire me!¡±


    ¡°How would she do that if she¡¯s dead?¡± I chuckled in amusement.


    ¡°Then the board of directors will fire me!¡± maintained Director Wang. ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t matter what you say. You can¡¯t touch thisputer without the permission of the board of directors or a proper search warrant from the court!¡±


    He urged us out of the office as politely as he could and left us. Dali cursed under his breath when he was gone, saying, ¡°How ridiculous! The president is in trouble and all he thinks about is his job?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d be surprised how cutthroat the society within apany can be,¡± Xiaotao exined. Then she asked me, ¡°Do you think Lao Yao can hack into theputer?¡±


    ¡°Unlikely,¡± I sighed. ¡°Theputer isn¡¯t even turned on, and we couldn¡¯t get anywhere near it. In this case, even a genius hacker like Lao Yao would be stumped.¡±


    ¡°How about we try to convince the board of directors?¡± Dali suggested.


    ¡°No, that would take too much time,¡± I replied. ¡°By the time they¡¯re convinced, the president would be dead. At least we learned something from this. I¡¯m pretty sure that thispany did indeed develop the drug that caused the fake death-like symptoms. The most important thing right now is to focus on finding the murderer!¡±


    We were about to walk out of the building when we heard Director Wang running up to us, shouting, ¡°Stop right there, you thieves! Give it back to me now!¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I asked. ¡°Are you seriously using the police of theft?¡±


    ¡°Drop your act!¡± spat Director Wang. ¡°That police badge you showed me was probably fake! You were probably sent by ourpetitors to take advantage of the chaos we¡¯re in right now!¡±


    ¡°Careful, Director Wang,¡± Xiaotao warned. ¡°Before you go any further, why don¡¯t you call the police station and ask them if we¡¯re fake police officers?¡±


    His face fell and he hesitated.


    ¡°What went missing?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The hard drives of the president¡¯sputer!¡± he answered. ¡°I had a bad feeling after you left, so I went back into her office and checked theputer. Turns out only the shell of the CPU remained! Everything else is gone!¡±


    Xiaotao and I exchanged looks. We rushed back to the office, and sure enough, theputer hard drives were gone. I scanned the room and noticed a surveince camera in the hallway facing the president¡¯s office.


    ¡°Can you get us the video from that camera?¡± I asked Director Wang.


    ¡°Sure,¡± he said, ¡°but you see how the ss separating the president¡¯s office is opaque, don¡¯t you? I don¡¯t think the camera captured anything at all to be honest...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to take a look nheless.¡±


    Director Wang led us to the security department where we obtained the video from said camera. At around 10 o¡¯clockst night, someone was captured sneaking into the president¡¯s office. When the person¡¯s face was clearly shown, Director Wang gasped and remarked, ¡°But that¡¯s the president!¡±


    Thedy left the office door open when she sneaked inside, which made it possible for us to see her taking the hard disks. She seemed to be constantly looking in one direction. I had a hunch that someone must¡¯ve been standing there at the time, monitoring her every move. It was very likely that the person was the mastermind behind this case.


    Thedy left the door open when she got out. She might have done this intentionally. I examined the video more closely and noticed another small detail¡ªthedy was constantly tapping her foot on the ground.


    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s a secret code?¡± I asked Xiaotao.


    She tried repeating the way thedy tapped her foot and tried to decipher it ording to the rules of Morse Code, but found that the message didn¡¯t mean anything. She tried it again using the Four-Corner Method, but to no avail.


    ¡°You¡¯re overthinking this, Xiaotao-jiejie!¡± Dali interjected. ¡°She¡¯s simply tapping out numbers¡ª41163222222. That¡¯s a phone number, right?¡±


    Xiaotao watched the video again and snapped her fingers, ¡°Damn it, you¡¯re right! It¡¯s handy to have simple-minded people around sometimes!¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Dali pouted. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like apliment at all!¡±


    ¡°Numbers starting with 411 are foreign, though...¡± I muttered. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a phone number. Director Wang, do you know of any 11-digit numbers that are rted to work?¡±


    Director Wang thought for a moment and said, ¡°Give me a moment!¡±


    He left the room, then returned with a pile of documents. He told us that these were thepany¡¯s projects in development, and they were all given 11-digit project numbers. I searched through the documents and finally found one with the same number that thedy was signalling¡ªbut it was just an anti-cancer drug.


    I didn¡¯t know much about pharmaceuticals, so when I read through the project report, it all seemed to involve normal medical research and nothing stood out to me.


    ¡°Are you the one supervising this project?¡± I asked Director Wang.


    He nced through the document and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± he replied. ¡°There are just so many anti-cancer drugs that we¡¯re producing.¡±


    I watched his eyes closely and confirmed that he wasn¡¯t lying.


    This puzzled me. Had we reached a dead end? Were we just running around in circles here? Xiaotao called the station to get the number checked, and after a while she received a call informing her that it was an Australian phone number, but they were unable to identify the phone owner.


    ¡°Looks like that¡¯s it for today,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°You guys should go back to your dorm for now. I¡¯ll call you if there¡¯s any progress.¡±


    I kept staring at the document silently in deep thoughts, not hearing what Xiaotao was saying. She had to call my name several times before I finally looked up at her and asked, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Seriously!¡± Xiaotaoughed. ¡°Don¡¯t stress yourself out too much, this is an abnormal case and you¡¯ve never worked on anything like this before. It¡¯s only natural that we need a bit more time to solve it. You should go back to your dorm and rx.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to study when I go back since final exams areing up soon,¡± I sighed. ¡°Not exactly my idea of rxing.¡±


    ¡°Your final exams areing up soon?¡± asked Xiaotao, surprised. ¡°You guys shouldn¡¯t havee out here with me! Go back and study now!¡±


    I nodded, but my mind was still fully on the document. I handed it to Xiaotao, and she read through it andmented, ¡°Ah, it¡¯s a medicine targeting liver cancer. I¡¯ve got an aunt who has liver cancer. Maybe she can try taking this medicine. Is it on the market, Director Wang?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask the sales department about that,¡± he replied with a sheepish smile.


    ¡°What do you know?¡± Xiaotao joked.


    Because of Xiaotao¡¯s question, I quickly did a search on theputer in the room and said, ¡°It¡¯s never been marketed. In fact, there are no reports about it on the Inte at all, almost as if it¡¯s never been developed in the first ce!¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s preposterous!¡± cried Director Wang. ¡°Could someone be misappropriating the funds for this project?¡±


    ¡°Who do you think would do that?¡± I sneered.


    Director Wang hesitated to answer, so I helped him, ¡°It¡¯s your president, obviously.¡±


    Director Wang scratched his head and mumbled, ¡°But that doesn¡¯t make any sense! Why would the president do that? It¡¯s her ownpany!¡±


    ¡°There could only be one reason for it,¡± I dered. ¡°She was secretly developing another drug using the funds for this anti-cancer medicine!¡±


    1. A character-input used for encoding Chinese characters into aputer.

 Chapter 183

    <h4>Chapter 183</h4>


    The development of a new drug required a lot of manpower, material resources, financial resources and space. It would be nigh impossible for the richdy to do it secretly, so she had to hide the tree in a forest and set up a cover project where she could obtain the resources she needed.


    ¡°That makes a lot of sense,¡± remarked Xiaotao after listening to my theory. ¡°Why did she decide to lead us to this document, then?¡±


    ¡°Is it possible for us to trace back more information about this project?¡± I asked Director Wang.


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask the HR department,¡± he replied.


    Xiaotao suggested we go out and grab lunch now since it was probably going to be another long day of work ahead of us. During the meal, Dali pulled out a small notebook of English terms and phrases and began to memorize them.


    ¡°What an industrious student!¡± Xiaotaoughed and teased him.


    ¡°I¡¯ve failed this exam multiple times, Xiaotao-jiejie!¡± Dali pouted. ¡°I¡¯ve got to work hard if I want to graduate!¡±


    Xiaotao turned to me and asked, ¡°What about you, Song Yang? Got good grades?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re just average,¡± I replied. ¡°I¡¯ll be happy if I pass all the exams.¡±


    We went on to chat happily for a while, but at one point Xiaotao suddenly turned listless and unhappy. I asked her if something was troubling her and she replied with a simple ¡°Yeah.¡± I asked if it had something to do with Wang Gongzi and she was surprised.


    ¡°How did you know?¡± she asked. ¡°Are you the tapeworm that lives inside my stomach?¡±


    Iughed. ¡°You sighed heavily when that young couple entered the restaurant, so I guessed it might have something to do with this.¡±


    ¡°Amazing deduction, Detective Song!¡± she praised. ¡°You can even read other people¡¯s minds! At this rate you¡¯ll surpass Sherlock Holmes soon!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve still got a long way to go,¡± I humbly replied.


    It turned out that after meeting Xiaotao at that party, Wang Gongzi waspletely smitten with her beauty and her sexy figure and began to call her non-stop to ask her out for dinner. Last night, he even turned up near her apartment and pestered her about going on a date together, but Xiaotao kept insisting that she was not interested. After a while, the man finally relented and went home.


    Because her father had set his eyes on Wang Gongzi to be his future son-inw and the economic rtionship between the two families, Xiaotao had to be careful not to offend Wang Gongzi too much. However, that only served to embolden him and made him even more annoying.


    ¡°Holy shit, Xiaotao-jiejie!¡± cried Dali. ¡°I never thought arranged marriages would still be a thing in this day and age! This is simply feudalistic!¡±


    Xiaotao sighed. ¡°My family has always been very strict with rules. I can¡¯t just marry anyone without my father¡¯s consent. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been troubled about this for days. I even had the idea that if my father forces me to marry this guy, I¡¯d cheat on him just to embarrass my father!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not serious, are you?¡± I asked.


    Xiaotaoughed. ¡°Would you like to join me in my n to get back at my father?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m not very good at climbing down windows...¡±


    ¡°Here I am... Just being the third wheel again...¡±ined Dali.


    Weughed and joked, but it was obvious that Xiaotao was still troubled by the matter, so I asked her, ¡°Do you have any feelings for the guy?¡±


    Xiaotao screwed up her face and replied, ¡°Sure! Hatred! Disgust! Those are feelings too, right? Ugh, it¡¯s like we don¡¯t even speak the samenguage! We basically live on differents!¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you sit down with him and spell it out clearly to him that there¡¯s no chance you two are going to work?¡± I suggested. ¡°Maybe that would discourage him. If that doesn¡¯t work, then I can act as your boyfriend.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, about that,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°I don¡¯t think your act was very convincing the other day.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not that experienced in this matter, so...¡± I smiled wanly.


    ¡°Maybe we should practice going out together more so we¡¯d look more convincing as a pair. Then perhaps that guy would just give it up.¡±


    I noticed that Dali¡¯s expressions turned sour again, so I just answered her briefly, ¡°Okay!¡±


    We returned to thedy¡¯spany after lunch. Director Wang had been waiting for us at the front desk. The moment we arrived, he sprung up to his feet and announced that he¡¯d made a major discovery. Through the HR department, he found out that theb used in the development of the drug was located in a warehouse in the south of the city, and the richdy was the owner of that property.


    This was undoubtedly a major breakthrough. Xiaotao called Yuanchao to tell him to bring a few special police officers there and rush there, and we immediately set off.


    We came to the south of the city where we found the warehouse on privatend. The richdy had bought three warehouses here. We tried to enter thergest one, but the gates were locked with iron chains. I picked the lock with an iron wire that I brought with me, then Yuanchao shoved the doors open.


    It was pitch-ck inside. We tried to find the light switches but they were nowhere to be found. The air inside was arctic cold. I activated my Cave Vision and scanned the whole building. Dali followed close behind me, his hands tugging at the sleeves of my shirt like a child. Xiaotao walked behind Dali.


    I saw some wooden crates stacked in a corner. We walked further into the building and came to a separate room. One of the walls was made of ss, and through it I could see long tables inside where multipleb equipment were ced on top. As I entered the room, I saw a document on the table. I picked it up and read it.


    ¡°I see... I see!¡± I mumbled as I read.


    ¡°We¡¯re dying of suspense here, Song Yang!¡± Xiaotao interjected. ¡°Tell us what you see!¡±


    ¡°The fake death medicine was developed to be used with the freezer¡ªits purpose is to put people into deep hibernation!¡±


    ¡°Whoa!¡± eximed Dali. ¡°Sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi movie!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that advanced, to be honest, ¡° I said. ¡°In fact, there have been advances in cryogenics for many years now. There are cases of people with terminal illnesses who were frozen before their death so they could be thawed and ¡®reawakened¡¯ when medical advances improved in the future. It¡¯s the closest thing we have to immortality. The richdy was trying to develop a drug that could be injected into a body that would reduce its activity to the level of a hibernating bear, which is almost equivalent to the state of death, so that the body can be stored cryogenically for hundreds, or maybe even thousands of years!¡±


    ¡°But that kind of research would benefit the whole of mankind!¡± cried Xiaotao. ¡°Why did she go to so much trouble to keep it a secret?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps she was looking to be the pioneer of the technology to monopolize it and make herself a fortune,¡± I exined.


    ¡°Nothing scares rich people more than death,¡± Xiaotao muttered gloomily. ¡°If they find out that there¡¯s technology that can extend their lives indefinitely, they¡¯d be willing to spend a fortune to get their hands on it!¡±


    ¡°And maybe decades from now,¡± said Dali, ¡°rich people will be able to live forever while the poor have to eke out a living...¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so pessimistic,¡± Xiaotao patted Dali¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Perhaps, by the time this technology bes popr, you¡¯d be a rich man yourself!¡±


    At that instant, there was a loud noise outside. Dali shrieked in fear and hid behind my back.


    ¡°How do you find me so quickly without being able to see in the dark?¡± I joked.


    Xiaotao sped at her chest and said, ¡°Seriously, I was more rmed by your scream than by that noise! You should really consider bing an opera singer with that voice!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Dali blushed in shame. ¡°It was an automatic response!¡±


    I slowly led Xiaotao and Dali out of theboratory. I found that there was a rustling movement from behind the wooden crates. I told Xiaotao and Dali to wait for me while I checked them out. I climbed onto the pile of crates to see what was hiding behind it. Suddenly, a hand emerged and it grabbed my ankle tightly. My heart nearly jumped out of my throat!


    I looked down with dread and saw a zombie-like man breaking open one of the crates slowly climbing out. He was naked andpletely emaciated. His skin had no lustre to it at all. The only sign that he was alive was the light that reflected off his eyes.


    I shouted Xiaotao¡¯s name, then she ran towards me with Dali following behind her. They turned on the shlight on their mobile phones so they could see what was going on. When Dali saw the ¡®zombie,¡¯ he once again screamed his lungs out. Xiaotao kicked his butt and yelled, ¡°What are you, a canary? Do you have to scream every time you sense danger?¡±


    I thought that nickname fit Dali nicely, but it was not the time to be joking around. I asked Dali to help me lift this person up. We carried him to the open space in the middle of the room. The man struggled to lie down because all his joints were stiff, and he tried to speak but realized that he¡¯d lost his voice.


    ¡°How did he end up this way?¡± asked Xiaotao


    I quickly examined his body and replied, ¡°He¡¯s been injected with arge dose of the hibernation drug which caused his whole body to deteriorate, but it stopped short of killing him.¡±


    At that moment, the man¡¯s eyes began to glisten, yet no tears would flow from them because his body was too dehydrated. It was truly a gut-wrenching sight to see.

 Chapter 184

    <h4>Chapter 184</h4>


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re safe now,¡± Iforted the man. ¡°We¡¯re the police. How long have you been trapped here? Blink once for each week you¡¯ve been here.¡±


    The man blinked eight times. Xiaotao gasped and cried, ¡°He¡¯s been here two months!¡±


    Evidently, the development of the hibernation drug had been sessful. It allowed the man to survive for so long without food and water, and it also appeared that he was still conscious of what was happening to him. But that fact made me shudder. It meant that the man had been lying helplessly in the dark as his body slowly wasted away, inching closer and closer to death every day without the ability to do anything about it. What a horrifying way to die! It was as terrifying as being buried alive!


    I noticed that the man¡¯s eyes kept fixating on a particr direction. ¡°Is there someone else in there?¡± I asked.


    His eyes darted up and down.


    I quickly picked up a crowbar and rushed to the crates. I pried them open with haste, and discovered another person tightly stuffed inside. He was in a simr condition as the first man, and was barely alive. The horror I felt in that moment was beyond words.


    Before the other officers arrived, I asked Dali to help me pry open all the crates there. Eventually, we found thirteen living corpses in total. The fourteenth body we found was already dead. Judging by the looks of it, he hadmitted suicide using a nail from the crate when he could still move his body.


    We carried these people out of the crates carefully one by one. They were all severely dehydrated, and they¡¯d lost so much weight that it was disturbingly easy to lift them up.


    When we were done, Yuanchao arrived with a few other police officers. They were visibly dismayed when they saw the half-dead bodies lying there.


    ¡°Should I give them some water?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± I answered. ¡°Their organs are all dried up at this point. Drinking water now will instantly kill them! We have to get them to the hospital!¡±


    Xiaotao ordered Yuanchao and the other officers to bring these people to the hospital immediately. We stayed there to pick up some more clues. The lights were turned on by that point, so we returned to theboratory and found a photo in a drawer. It was a picture of fifteen researchers in white coats standing around the richdy. Everyone was smiling and appeared happy.


    I ced a ruler on the table and started measuring. Xiaotao looked on in confusion and asked me what I was doing. ¡°I¡¯m measuring their height!¡± I exined.


    ¡°Right!¡± cried Xiaotao. ¡°The murderer should be about 1.75 to 1.8 meters tall, right?¡±


    Apart from his height, we also had a rough idea of what he looked like through the sketch from the poor beggar. Because of that, it took me no time at all to identify the man standing next to the richdy as the mastermind of this chilling case.


    So he was indeed one of the researchers. Something must¡¯ve happened that motivated him to attack his colleagues and employer.


    Xiaotao handed the photo to the forensics team and asked them to ID the people in it through their database. We then went into Xiaotao¡¯s car and waited there. We just sat in silence the whole time because the scene we just saw disturbed us too much.


    To what extent could one be vicious? I thought I had seen enough evil by that time in the previous cases I¡¯d worked on, yet their brutality paled inparison to the murderer of this case.


    Xiaotao¡¯s phone rang suddenly and we all jumped in surprise. She picked up her phone and had a short conversation before hanging up. I asked her, ¡°Any progress?¡±


    ¡°It was Yuanchao just now,¡± she replied. ¡°He was calling from the hospital. The doctors are trying their best to save the victims¡¯ lives, but the prognosis for their conditions isn¡¯t very hopeful.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure the murderer has the antidote that will save them!¡± I said. ¡°We have to catch him as soon as possible!¡±


    Xiaotao¡¯s phone rang for the second time. It was the forensics team. They had found a match for a person with all the characteristics of the murderer. The suspect¡¯s name was Xu Gang. He was a physician who had studied and worked abroad before. He had also worked in several pharmaceuticalpanies in the past, which cemented the fact that he was definitely the killer we were looking for.


    Xiaotao immediately mobilized all avable police officers to search for Xu Gang all over Nanjiang City. His residence, the ces he usually frequented and all hotels were searched.


    All I could do at that point was wait, which made me extremely anxious. The next day, I received a call from Xiaotao at night, ¡°We can¡¯t find Xu Gang, Song Yang! Can you help us with your divination technique, maybe?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a normal murder case,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that technique won¡¯t work this time.¡±


    I heard Xiaotao¡¯s disappointed sigh on the phone. My heart sank hearing it, and I honestly wanted to help her, so I said, ¡°Perhaps I can give it a try anyway.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± cried Xiaotao, full of excitement. ¡°I¡¯ll go and pick you up now!¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I replied. ¡°I can do it here on campus. Juste here and wait for me. Actually, by the time you arrive, I¡¯ll probably have the results...¡±


    ¡°Alright then!¡± chirped Xiaotao.


    Dali was already in bed, so I woke him up and told him we had stuff to do. I took a map of Nanjiang City that I bought not too long ago, picked up my bag of tools and went outside.


    We found an empty ssroom where I couldfortably get to work. We couldn¡¯t turn on the lights because the security guards might see us. It was almost winter too, so it was very chilly.


    ¡°Why must you always do things at night, dude?¡± Daliined as he shivered from the cold.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s just more effective at night.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t just a joke. The best time for the divination technique was during midday or midnight.


    I burnt an incense stick and spread out the map on the table. I marked Xu Gang¡¯s house and the crime scenes on the map. I asked Dali to stand on guard and warn me when the incense waspletely burnt out. Before that happened, I warned him not to disturb me under any circumstances.


    I held apass in one hand and began the process. I factored in the characteristics of the killer into the hexagrams and calcted the possible actions that he could take. My mind was so focused on the task that I hardly noticed the time. The next thing I knew, someone was shaking me and calling my name.


    I woke up from the daze and saw Dali¡¯s worried face.


    ¡°Dude! Song Yang! Were you possessed by the devil or something? The incense ispletely burnt out now!¡±


    I stared at him nkly, which worried Dali even more since it was his first time seeing me going through this process.


    ¡°I was watching you the whole time, dude,¡± he said. ¡°You looked like you were totally possessed! I think your eyes even rolled to the back of your head! I was dead worried! By the way, did you figure out anything?¡±


    I drew arge-ish circle on the map. Because it wasn¡¯t a straightforward homicide, I only managed to calcte an approximate range where Xu Gang could be found. Dali blinked incredulously as he stared at the circle.


    ¡°Is that where the murderer is, dude?¡± he asked with wonder. ¡°But how did you figure that out? Was it through magic or something?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve only done it once before,¡± I exined, mentally exhausted by that point. ¡°But it worked out finest time...¡±


    I looked at the circle on the map. The range was a bit too wide for my liking, to be honest. If Xu Gang realized that the police were closing in on him, he might decide to run and hide, and in that case, I feared that we might be looking for a needle in a haystack.


    Dali and I packed up our things and went to the college gate to wait for Xiaotao. Soon, two police cars arrived. It was Xiaotao and Yuanchao. Xiaotao told us to get in the car, and once we got inside, I asked her, ¡°Why is it just you and Yuanchao?¡±


    ¡°The officers have been working non-stop for thest twenty-four hours,¡± she exined. ¡°I didn¡¯t have the heart to drag them along anymore. The four of us will do for tonight.¡±


    I told her about my results, which showed that Xu Gang might be hiding near a candy factory. When she heard that, Xiaotao¡¯s eyes rounded to the size of saucers.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked. ¡°Why are you startled?¡±


    ¡°God!¡± she eximed. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I think of that? We found out that Xu Gang¡¯s wife used to work in a candy factory, but wepletely forgot to search the area! I¡¯m sure he¡¯s hiding there, Song Yang! Looks like your method has been incredibly helpful again!¡±


    I was immensely relieved. It seemed that the scope could be narrowed to a reasonable size now.


    I asked Xiaotao about Xu Gang¡¯s wife, and she replied with a sigh.


    ¡°She died a year ago,¡± she added. ¡°From what we found, it seems that she contracted a terminal illness and was euthanized.¡±


    ¡°Euthanized?¡± I was stunned. ¡°But isn¡¯t that illegal in China?¡±


    ¡°She was euthanized abroad,¡± Xiaotao rified. ¡°You know, I¡¯ve thought about this myself. If I ever get terminally ill, I wouldn¡¯t want to suffer a slow and agonizing death. I¡¯d probably go to Sweden or Find where I can die peacefully...¡±


    I wasn¡¯t listening to Xiaotao at all. My mind was drawn to the fact that the development of the hibernation drug also started a year ago. Could it be that this case was crucially rted to Xu Gang¡¯s wife?

 Chapter 185

    <h4>Chapter 185</h4>


    The candy factory was rtively small in size. It was perhaps more appropriately called a workshop. When we reached the residential area neighboring the factory, we got out of the car. It was an old area that was sparsely popted and it had no neighborhood watch. Xiaotao knocked on a door and asked the resident which building housed employees of the candy factory, and the resident replied that it was Building C.


    We headed to said building. Yuanchao was about to turn on a shlight, but I quickly stopped him. We stopped in front of the buildings and observed it. There were only a few rooms where the lights were on.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just bring in a police dog?¡± muttered Dali.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have Xu Gang¡¯s scent, so what use is a police dog, you idiot?¡± snapped Xiaotao.


    Her words gave me an idea. ¡°I remember that the richdy smelled heavily of perfume. Perhaps her scent still lingers on in Xu Gang¡¯s car!¡±


    I went on to sniff at the cars parked near the apartment buildings, and just as I expected, there was indeed an SUV there that had a strong perfume smell on one of its doors. It smelled just like that richdy. I wasn¡¯t a police dog, though, so that was all I could confirm. I couldn¡¯t follow her track straight to the house where the murderer was, neither could I use the tracking method I used in the previous case because I hadn¡¯t prepared the elixir.


    I looked around the car. There was a ck thread in the crack of the door.


    ¡°Do you recognize this?¡± I asked Yuanchao.


    He held it between his fingers then lit it up with a lighter.


    ¡°It looks like a soundproofing material found on the walls of night clubs!¡± he stated.


    ¡°Soundproofing?¡± My eyes lit up. ¡°I see it now. Xu Gang must¡¯ve trapped the richdy indoors. He was afraid that the sound of her crying for help would give out her location, so he covered the walls with ayer of soundproofing material.¡±


    Xiaotao followed my line of thought and added, ¡°He¡¯d want to make it oblivious to people¡¯s eyes too, so he won¡¯t nail the material to the wall. Rather, he¡¯d use the wallpaper glue instead.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± I agreed. ¡°Which means that his house must smell of wallpaper glue!¡±


    DaIi red at us and said, ¡°How did you guys find out all that just from a strand of fiber?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just the basic skill of deduction, you idiot!¡± Xiaotaoughed. ¡°You should learn it too sometime.¡±


    We then split up to find a house that smelled of wallpaper glue, but we agreed not to act or cause rm if any of us found it. Instead, we should just keep in touch through our mobile phones.


    I smelled each house from door to door. When I reached the top floor, I finally detected a house that was emitting a distinct scent of glue. I got excited and was about to call Xiaotao, but before I could do that, the door opened. Out came Xu Gang, who walked out casually towards me. We stood there silently regarding each other for a while, then I politely asked him, ¡°Excuse me, does Wang Dali live here?¡±


    ¡°Drop the act, Detective Song!¡± sneered Xu Gang. ¡°You really are as good as the rumors suggest. I never expected you to find me so soon.¡±


    I was taken aback. I dialed Xiaotao¡¯s number discretely while my phone was still in my pocket, then deliberately spoke loudly, ¡°You¡¯re pretty good at hiding yourself! It took me a lot of effort to climb up to the top floor just to find you!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that little trick, detective,¡± said Xu Gang, ncing at my hand. He then shouted, ¡°I know the police are downstairs! Xu Gang lives in Unit 603! Why don¡¯t you hurry up here and catch me?¡±


    I was quite embarrassed about the blunder. I observed Xu Gang¡¯s face and found that he waspletely calm. He didn¡¯t look like a criminal at all. In fact, he was just a middle-aged man wearing pyjamas¡ªthe picture of banality.


    Xu Gang turned around and headed back into the house. He stopped at the door and said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard of you, Detective Song. I know you¡¯ve solved many difficult cases. It¡¯s an honor to be one of your subjects. Why don¡¯t youe inside and have a chat with me before the police arrive?¡±


    That didn¡¯t sound like a good idea at all. Xu Gang noticed my hesitation, so he added, ¡°You¡¯ll regret it if you don¡¯te in.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°Lead the way.¡±


    I followed him into the house. It looked exactly as I had imagined. The walls were covered with ck soundproof material. The furniture in the room was covered with stic film and looked very new.


    ¡°I¡¯d nned to move here with my wife after we got married,¡± Xu Gang exined. ¡°But she was gone too soon...¡±


    ¡°Was your wife¡¯s death rted to the hibernation drug?¡± I asked him.


    He sat down on the sofa with a wide grin on his face and replied, ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me? I¡¯d love to hear what the great Detective Song thinks!¡±


    ¡°You joined the research team to develop the hibernation drug because your wife was terminally ill,¡± I began. ¡°You wanted to put her in deep cryogenic sleep before she died, but something happened which slowed down the development of the drug. That made you resent your colleagues and employer because their ipetence indirectly caused your wife¡¯s death.¡±


    Xu Gang nodded and crossed his legs. ¡°You¡¯re mostly right, but you¡¯ve got a lot of the details wrong.¡±


    ¡°Correct me then!¡± I said. ¡°Tell me exactly what happened!¡±


    He then began recounting his tale. The hibernation drug was his life¡¯s work. He started working on it when he was still studying at Harvard University. When he returned to China, the richdy recruited him to help herpany develop new drugs. She provided the funds; he provided the brains. When the time came for the drug to be marketed, the richdy promised him that he would be paid 30% of the drug sales.


    And so, Xu Gang worked his ass off day and night to develop the groundbreaking drug. He believed that it would revolutionize modern medicine and make history. Perhaps, he might even be awarded the Nobel Prize for it too! But just when things were looking up, his wife was diagnosed with a terminal disease which was practically incurable based on the current medical knowledge. This motivated Xu Gang to work on the hibernation drug even harder because he believed that it could save his wife¡¯s life.


    Tragedy struck again, though. Just as the drug was in its final phase of development, there was a fire in theb and it burned everything down, dashing all hopes that the drug could ever be marketed. Xu Gang copsed to his knees and wept bitterly as he watched the fire consume the wholeb. After that, he had no choice but to send his wife abroad to be euthanized.


    After losing his wife, Xu Gang waspletely heartbroken. He fell into depression and remorse for a whole year, not having the will to continue with his research. Then one day, he was reading a foreign medical journal when he saw a report about Chinese researchers who had sessfully developed a hibernation drug and was now in the final clinical trial.


    He almost couldn¡¯t believe his own eyes. He started to investigate the matter and discovered the shocking truth. The richdy colluded with the other researchers to cause the fire in theb. The purpose was to steal all the research data and publish it themselves so the richdy would get all the profits from the sales of the drugs. The other researchers received generous rewards for their cooperation, of course. They all betrayed him, and it was all just for money!


    Xu Gang was furious. Their avaricious greed caused him to lose everything that mattered to him. He vowed to take revenge on those scums!


    He found himself a newboratory to cook up the hibernation drug, then injected all the researchers with it and trapped them in wooden crates to leave them for dead. He left the best parts of his n for the richdy. He wanted her not to die, but to suffer as much as possible and pay for what she did!


    As he was speaking, Xu Gang clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, barely able to hold in his anger. I thought he looked like a wild beast raring to go in for the kill.


    Then I heard footstepsing from downstairs. It was clearly Xiaotao and the rest finally arriving. This gave me courage to ask Xu Gang, ¡°Why did you have to kill Chen Da too?¡±


    Heughed. ¡°Chen Da was involved in the conspiracy too. He secretly transferred the materials to theirb. His sins weren¡¯t so terrible, though, so I let him die a rtively quick death. But that woman is different. I lost my family because of her. I want her to taste the misery and despair that she caused me! I want her to die slowly and painfully!¡±


    ¡°Where is thedy?¡± I asked.


    Xu Gang burst out inughter. ¡°Do you think that I¡¯ll just tell you, Detective Song? No, it¡¯s your job to find out where she is. Anyone who was injected with the drug can survive for two years without food and water, even if they¡¯re in an environment where oxygen is scarce. So take your time, Master Detective!¡±


    The footsteps from downstairs were getting closer and closer.


    ¡°Xu Gang,¡± I pleaded, ¡°you don¡¯t need to do this! Technically you haven¡¯tmitted a murder yet. Please tell me where thedy is, and perhaps you¡¯ll receive a lighter sentence! It¡¯s not toote to turn back from the path of evil!¡±


    Xu Gang pulled out a dagger from his pocket and coldly replied, ¡°Turn back? From the moment my wife died, there¡¯s been no turning back for me!¡±

 Chapter 186

    <h4>Chapter 186</h4>


    I broke into cold sweat when I saw the dagger in Xu Gang¡¯s hand. It was a critical moment, and it was absolutely crucial that I keep my head cool. I told him, ¡°You gain nothing from killing me, Xu Gang! You¡¯ll just bemitting one more crime!¡±


    Xu Gang smirked. I was sure that he was going to stab me. Thankfully, Xiaotao and Yuanchao kicked the door down and entered right at that moment. They aimed their guns at Xu Gang and shouted, ¡°Drop your weapon now!¡±


    ¡°You misunderstand me,¡± Xu Gang stated calmly. ¡°I have no intention of hurting anyone.¡±


    At that point, Xu Gang stood between me and Xiaotao and Yuanchao. It would be extremely easy for Yuanchao to shoot him at that distance.


    ¡°Drop your weapon and raise your hands!¡± shouted Xiaotao again.


    Xu Gang ignored her and told me, ¡°I¡¯ve heard of your reputation, Detective Song. You¡¯re supposed to be a master detective who can solve any murder case no matter how difficult. So, do you think I¡¯d be stupid enough to let myself be arrested and tell you where that vile woman is? You¡¯re gravely mistaken...¡±


    I suddenly realized that his n was tomit suicide all along. I lunged forward and desperately tried to snatch the dagger away from him. But as soon as I made a move, Xu Gang impaled the dagger into his throat with swift uracy and copsed lifelessly to the floor.


    Xiaotao was stunned. I quickly turned Xu Gang¡¯s body over, only to see the arrogant smirk frozen on his dead face. His body was still convulsing, but the knife had plunged too far into his throat that it cut off the major veins in his trachea.


    ¡°I¡¯ll call 120 now!¡± shouted Xiaotao in panic.


    ¡°No,¡± I shook my head. ¡°It¡¯s toote...¡±


    At that moment, Dali entered the room panting. He was shocked by the scene and yelled, ¡°Holy shit!¡±


    I closed Xu Gang¡¯s eyes. Although he was a criminal, I still recited the Reincarnation Mantra for him. Xiaotao made a call and ordered a group of officers toe and clean up the scene. In order to prevent the neighbors from seeing the dead body, we closed the door. Dali had never seen anyonemit suicide before, so he was trembling with fear. He dared not take a look at the dead body, so he just stood there facing the wall the whole time like an idiot.


    We searched the room, but found nothing consequential. I recalled what Xu Gang said before he died¡ªhe said that the person injected with the hibernation drug would survive two years in an environment with limited oxygen. This might be a hint that the richdy was trapped in a closed space.


    Apart from that, he also mentioned his desire to see the woman losing everything she had. This gave me an idea.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go search the richdy¡¯s house!¡± I told Xiaotao.


    We did not wait for the police to arrive before leaving. The richdy¡¯s house was a small mansion situated in a prominent high-end residential area. I picked the lock open with my iron wires and we barged into the house with haste. As soon as we entered, my nose was hit with a heavy stench of blood.


    When we got to the second floor, we were greeted with a macabre scene. There was a man lying face down in a pool of blood. He was still wearing silk pajamas. The furniture around him was in disarray. Judging from the degree of solidification of the blood, the murder must¡¯ve urred about forty-eight hours ago.


    I looked around and remarked, ¡°There are signs of struggle here. Look, there are fragments of a vase on the floor.¡±


    Xiaotao picked one of those fragments up and examined it closely.


    ¡°There¡¯s blood on it!¡± she eximed.


    There were no obvious signs of injury on the deceased despite the pool of blood he was lying in. I turned the body over and was stunned. There was a huge gash on his chest. The murder weapon was nearby too¡ªan ice pick. It also took no effort to identify the victim at all, because right above him on the wall hung a portrait. It was the richdy and a man who looked very much like the deceased. He was obviously her husband.


    There was a mobile phone in the victim¡¯s pocket. I checked it, and found that he¡¯d sent a text message to his maid two days ago. It read, ¡°We¡¯re going on vacation. You don¡¯t need toe here for the time being.¡±


    ¡°Do you think Xu Gang killed him, Song Yang?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°No,¡± I responded. ¡°It¡¯s the richdy!¡±


    The victim¡¯s position in the room proved that the murderer was sitting on the sofa when he was killed. The fact that he was only wearing pajamas hinted that the murderer couldn¡¯t have been a stranger. There was also a woman¡¯s cigarette holder near the ashtray on the coffee table. It was likely that the murderer was smoking a cigarette while sitting on the sofa, then they grabbed the ice pick and stabbed the victim¡¯s chest with it.


    There were shoe prints on the carpet. The size seemedrger than the victim¡¯s feet, so it was probably Xu Gang who came in wearing shoes after the murder. He probably forced the richdy to kill her husband. There was probably an altercation between the two after that, and Xu Gang probably hit the richdy in her head with the vase.


    I walked to the door and found traces of nail scratches on the door frame. There were nail fragments coated with nail polish on the floor too. Xu Gang probably dragged the richdy out, but she clung desperately to the door, leaving these marks.


    I continued to look around the room, and found a family portrait. Apparently the victim and the richdy had a beautiful young daughter who seemed to be about seven or eight years old.


    ¡°I wonder if the girl is safe?¡± Xiaotao sighed.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope so!¡± I replied.


    We left the mansion soon after that.


    ¡°Leave the task of finding the woman to me,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°Both of you should go back and study for your finals now.¡±


    I nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ve got two suggestions for you. Xu Gang stole 20 million yuan from Chen Da. He could buy a lot of things with that money¡ªa house, for example. You should follow the money and see where it leads you. Also, check whether Xu Gang bought any decoration materials recently.¡±


    Xiaotao¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Are you suspecting that he¡¯s trapped the richdy in the walls?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s highly probable,¡± I exined. ¡°The richdy will live for two more years, which means that her body won¡¯t rot until then. Hiding her inside the walls would make it nigh impossible to find her. If I was Xu Gang, this is what I would do.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re gonna have to smell all the walls in Nanjiang City to find her!¡± eximed Dali.


    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary,¡± Xiaotao shook her head. ¡°We can just use an infrared detector or a police dog instead. Anyway, forget about this case for now and leave everything to me!¡±


    For half a month after that, Dali and I were busy with our studies and final exams. I received no news from Xiaotao in the meantime. I would text Xiaotao asionally to ask her about the progress of the case, but she would always reply that they hadn¡¯t found the richdy yet.


    Then, one day, Xiaotao called and asked me if I had some time to spare. I told her I just had one exam that morning and would be free for the next two days.


    ¡°Good,¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°We found that Xu Gang used some money to buy some spots in multiple cemeteries.¡±


    ¡°Cemeteries?¡± I was shocked. Could the richdy be buried alive?


    Xiaotao picked me up in the afternoon. We drove to a cemetery on the outskirts of Nanjiang City. Other police officers followed us close behind. We contacted the person in charge of the cemetery and found an empty vault bought by Xu Gang.


    The officers pried the vaults open, but to our disappointment, it was empty. My heart sank. Xiaotao stomped her feet in frustration and cried, ¡°It¡¯s empty! Let¡¯s go to the next cemetery!¡±


    Xu Gang had ced vaults in all cemeteries in Nanjiang City. We checked three cemeteries that day, and found nothing in all of them.


    The day was getting dark by then. Everyone was getting discouraged. The murderer was already dead, yet the task force was still kept busy running around in circles looking for the victim. In fact, a few officers approached Xiaotao and suggested that she give it up already. It was just a waste of manpower and resources anyway, and besides, the richdy would survive for two years, so perhaps the best course of action would be to let themunity patrol officers to slowly look for her instead.


    I had a feeling that Xu Gang knew this would happen. In other words, we were simply ying into his hands by giving up the search!


    Still, the police had limited time and resources. To find the richdy, Xiaotao had to put aside a few other cases. Captain Lin had spoken to her about it several times, urging her to stop the investigation and close the case.


    The officers were beginning toin now, too. Xiaotao sighed and told me, ¡°I might not be able to carry it out much longer, Song Yang!¡±


    I pped my hands to get the officers¡¯ attention and announced, ¡°I know everyone¡¯s tired right now, so let¡¯s do this for just three more days! If we don¡¯t find the woman by then, we¡¯ll just end the investigation there.¡±


    My words managed to lift the officers¡¯ morale a little, but Xiaotao smiled wanly and whispered, ¡°Three days is a bit too short, Song Yang...¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I responded. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to keep the officers motivated. By the way, where was Xu Gang¡¯s wife buried?¡±

 Chapter 187

    <h4>Chapter 187</h4>


    ¡°What?¡± Xiaotao asked, full of doubt. ¡°Why would Xu Gang hide the person he hated the most in his wife¡¯s tomb?¡±


    ¡°To mislead us, perhaps!¡± I answered.


    Xiaotao made a brief phone call, and when she hung up, she told me, ¡°What a bizarre coincidence! His wife was buried here in this cemetery!¡±


    She then asked the person in charge to lead us to Xu Gang¡¯s wife¡¯s tomb. There were a bunch of withered lilies ced on the tomb. The photo above it was of a gentle and beautiful long-haired woman. I sniffed at the flowers and stated, ¡°Xu Gang was here shortly before his death.¡±


    ¡°Pry the tomb open!¡± ordered Xiaotao.


    The officers did so with a crowbar. When it was opened, one of them shouted, ¡°There¡¯s something in there!¡±


    It was a small box, ced right beside the remains of Xu Gang¡¯s wife. He must¡¯ve left it there. None of the officers dared to touch the box. They feared that it could be a bomb.


    ¡°You cowards!¡± snapped Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I held Xiaotao¡¯s arm to stop her. ¡°Let me do it!¡±


    I slowly opened the box. There were fourteen syringes inside it, as well as a note that read, ¡°Well done, Detective Song! You are as good as you¡¯re rumored to be. These are the antidote to the hibernation drug.¡±


    I was a little shocked that Xu Gang could predict my being there. There were fourteen syringes here to save the researchers. Evidently, Xu Gang didn¡¯t realize that one of them hadmitted suicide.


    The officers¡¯ expressions turned strange when they found out what was inside the box. They said nothing, but I could guess what those expressions meant. They were thinking that since the researchers were now saved, there would be no need to go on looking for the richdy.


    I asked them to take the syringes to theb and test them. If there were no problems with them, then they could go ahead and inject the antidote into the researchers¡¯ bodies. It was already dark by then, so Xiaotao told me to go back to my dorm and resume our search the next day.


    The next morning, I went straight to the police station after getting up. Xiaotao was already there waiting for me. She informed me that the researchers were all safe and in stable condition now. Their statements matched what Xu Gang told me. Then, Xiaotao asked me, ¡°Where should we search for the richdy today?¡±


    ¡°Will it just be the two of us?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Xiaotao sighed. ¡°It¡¯s the end of the year, and the task force members are all exhausted, so I told them to rest today. Besides, we don¡¯t necessarily need lots of people to find the richdy.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°Then let¡¯s go to thedy¡¯spany, and then her house!¡±


    The richdy had been missing for close to a month by now. Herpany had since weathered the storm and re-stabilized. The board of directors were in the process of electing a new president. When the directors spoke to us, they hinted subtly for us to end the search for their former president.


    This disturbed me. The richdy used to be the most important person in thispany, yet now her employees had forsaken her and were eager to rece her. She was slowly rotting away somewhere in the dark, and the world outside seemed to have forgotten her.


    We left thepany and went to the richdy¡¯s house. We stumbled into a few people there. They were people who had set their eyes on the richdy¡¯s mansion. When those people found out that the richdy had gone missing, they knew that the mansion would be auctioned sooner orter, so they came here to take a look at it before deciding to buy it in the future.


    ¡°Will I be forgotten this way too if I go missing?¡± Xiaotao wondered gloomily.


    ¡°Being forgotten is a fate that no one can escape,¡± I said. ¡°But I will remember you as long as I live.¡±


    Xiaotao smiled, then sighed again. ¡°Oh, if only I had some spare time. I¡¯d really love to go out with you on a proper date sometime.¡±


    We both entered the richdy¡¯s mansion. It had been cleaned up a long time ago, but that was fine because we didn¡¯te here to find clues, only to find inspiration about where to go next. I looked at their family portrait and asked Xiaotao, ¡°Where does her daughter go to school?¡±


    ¡°An exclusive private boarding school,¡± replied Xiaotao.


    ¡°Does she know what happened to her parents?¡±


    ¡°Most probably, yeah. It¡¯s been quite a while after all, so I¡¯m sure someone must¡¯ve told her. I hear she¡¯s been adopted by her rtives.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and meet her!¡±


    ¡°Now? But it¡¯s the weekend! I don¡¯t know where her rtives live!¡±


    I was about to call it a day, but then it urred to me that we should just try our luck and go to the girl¡¯s school anyway. Perhaps we could find some clues there.


    The school was abination of a junior high school and a high school. It had sophisticated infrastructure and looked nothing like the school that I went to. It felt like I was visiting those schools in movies and TV dramas. I¡¯d never imagined that such a school would actually exist in real life.


    Xiaotao sighed when she saw a couple in high school uniforms walking slowly along a tree-lined road.


    ¡°Look at them,¡± shemented, ¡°Don¡¯t they look cute? I never thought I¡¯d see such a scene in real life! How I envy them!¡±


    ¡°You envy them for being students of such a nice school?¡± Iughed.


    ¡°No, I envy their youthful vigor. Life is so carefree when you¡¯re young! Anyway, do you y basketball?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve had balls thrown at me before, but I¡¯ve never yed in my life.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll teach you then!¡± Xiaotaoughed. ¡°Come on! Let¡¯s go to the school gym! Maybe we can find some clues there!¡±


    There were a number of high school boys ying basketball at the gym. Xiaotao strode up to them and asked for the ball. They were a bit surprised at first, but relented. Xiaotao then effortlessly did the one-step and three-stepy-up. The boys then screamed and shouted in awe.


    ¡°That was awesome!¡± they yelled.


    Xiaotao returned to me with her cheeks flushed, and she asked me, ¡°Were you impressed? Did you fall in love with me when you see how cool I looked?¡±


    I blushed to the roots of my hair when I heard that. Xiaotao was only joking when she said it, but I noticed that she¡¯d turned as red as a tomato herself.


    Then she suddenly gasped and eximed, ¡°Hey, you¡¯re taller than me!¡±


    ¡°You just found that out?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re always so shy and timid, so I never noticed it.¡±


    After saying that, she stepped closer to me. I was so nervous I could hear my own heartbeat¡ªbut no, it wasn¡¯t just mine, I could hear Xiaotao¡¯s heartbeat too. Her face inched closer to mine. I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off her bright round eyes and her long eyshes.


    I held Xiaotao¡¯s arms with my hands. I could hear her breathing shorten. Xiaotao closed her eyes. Just when I was about to do the bravest thing I¡¯d ever done in my life, the boys started to chant, ¡°Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!¡±


    The romantic atmosphere disappeared like a puff of smoke. Xiaotao spat in anger, ¡°Those freaking bastards! Let¡¯s go!¡±


    We continued walking around the school. It was almost noon by then, so I suggested we have our lunch in the school cafeteria to save money and time. I was about to borrow a meal card from a student in exchange for money, but the employee working at the cafeteria saved us this procedure. ¡°Just pay me with cash,¡± he said.


    So we bought ourselves a hearty meal there. To my surprise, the food was delicious¡ªexquisite, even¡ªit was much better than the food served in some restaurants! Plus, the price was really affordable too. It was a far cry from the kind of food I was used to back in my highschool.


    As I ate, I wondered aloud, ¡°Now that her parents are gone, can the girl still study here?¡±


    ¡°Her mother already paid theplete tuition fees for her to study here till she graduates high school, so she¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear,¡± I nodded. ¡°At least she won¡¯t have to worry about moving to another school.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if she¡¯ll be okay, though,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°She used to be her parents¡¯ precious daughter and they treated her like a princess, and now she¡¯s got no one left. It must be a rude awakening for her. Besides, the school is full of spoilt rich kids. I worry that she¡¯ll be bullied for what happened to her.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true...¡± I sighed.


    School wasn¡¯t always a safe ce for children. Sometimes, it could be even more hostile than adult societies. Most people got through it just fine, but for some, their school experience could leave them traumatized well into their adulthood.


    Once we finished our meal, we went to the girl¡¯s ssroom. We found out that she was in second grade. There were only twenty students in her ss, and the ssroom looked spacious and not crowded at all. The walls were covered with colorful pictures of animals and flowers. They were preparing for New Year¡¯s Day and the festive mood was tangible from the decorations in the room.


    The ssroom looked fine and there was nothing else to see there, so we decided to leave. Just as we were stepping out of the door, a thought came to me.


    ¡°How many days will school be closed for New Year¡¯s Day this year?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s around five days,¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°It¡¯s right next to the weekend.¡±


    ¡°Come on! We have to check the ssroom one more time!¡±

 Chapter 188

    <h4>Chapter 188</h4>


    Xiaotao and I re-entered the ssroom. I sniffed at the walls, but the wallpaper appeared to be scented, so I couldn¡¯t detect the presence of any human body inside.


    ¡°Are you sure the richdy is hidden here?¡± asked Xiaotao. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t she be easily discovered here?¡±


    I tore down the wallpaper and ayer of soundproofing material was exposed.


    ¡°With the soundproofing material,¡± I said, ¡°no one would suspect anything.¡±


    Xiaotao ripped the wallpaper on the other wall down and was shocked. ¡°Song Yang!¡± she shouted. ¡°There¡¯s no soundproofing material on any of the walls except that one! She must be in there!¡±


    A janitor heard themotion and rushed into the room. He was stunned when he saw us tearing down the wallpaper. He demanded to know who we were, so Xiaotao showed him her police badge and said, ¡°We¡¯re investigating a case. Please go get some people in here and bring along some tools to break down the wall!¡±


    The janitor froze for a moment, then argued, ¡°But Officer, must you break down the wall? How will I exin this to the headmaster?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that,¡± Xiaotao reassured him. ¡°I¡¯ll take responsibility for everything that happens here. You¡¯ll be noted for your contribution too. And you might even be featured in the newspaper!¡±


    The janitor¡¯s heart melted when he heard that. He shook his head modestly and said, ¡°The newspaper? No... I¡¯ll be too embarrassed to have my picture on the front page! Right, I¡¯ll go get help straight away!¡±


    Soon after that, the janitor returned with a few other men and some tools. I reminded them to be very careful because there could be someone hidden behind the wall. They were taken aback when they heard that.


    ¡°Is it a corpse?¡± asked the janitor.


    If the richdy really was behind that wall, then it would be pointless to hide the fact from these people, so I answered, ¡°No, it¡¯s a living person.¡±


    The men were horrified. They carefully tore down theyer of soundproofing material, exposing newlyid bricks behind it. When I saw that, I was convinced that we¡¯d found the richdy. The school would¡¯ve been empty during the holidays, so Xu Gang could very easily sneak into the ssroom and hide the richdy behind the wall.


    More importantly, this would be fitting revenge for Xu Gang. He would¡¯ve wanted the richdy to slowly die while she was separated from her daughter only by a wall. She would be able to hear the sound of her daughter¡¯s voice reading and talking andughing, yet she would not be able to see her or to speak to her, and she would have to endure it for two long years¡ªit would simply be a fate worse than the tortures of hell!


    When the men broke down a few bricks, the wall suddenly vibrated. Everyone backed away in fright.


    ¡°She¡¯s really in there!¡± cried Xiaotao excitedly. She then immediately called for the ambnce and reported to the police station.


    The men dared not continue breaking down the wall, so I said, ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡±


    I put on the gloves and carefully knocked each brick down. It was aborious and time-consuming task. Once I¡¯d knocked down enough bricks to create a hole, we saw a pair of legs trapped in there and heard the sound of whimpering.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid,¡± Iforted the richdy. ¡°We¡¯re the police. We¡¯re here to save you!¡±


    The whimper grew louder, and it sounded like she was crying now. Judging from her voice, she was probably gagged.


    Once the police arrived, I asked the officers to help me break down the wall. We were horrified when we finally saw the condition that the richdy was in. She was stuck in the narrow space inside and she couldn¡¯t move at all so she had to remain standing. Her eyes and mouth were sewn up with threads. She had lost a lot of weight and was practically just skin and bones; her head had beenpletely shaven, and her legs were covered with her own urine.


    The paramedics carefully lifted thedy out of the wall. She kept whimpered and groaned and fumbled her hands about, but because her joints had be stiff, her movements were disturbingly rigid.


    I took her hand and told her, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. You¡¯re safe now.¡±


    She hugged me and cried uncontrobly. It was only after a few minutes before she finally calmed down and could be taken into the ambnce.


    She was then sent to the hospital. Fortunately, there was an extra antidote, so her life would not be in critical danger. Although she did murder two people, it was Xu Gang who forced her hand, so she would most likely not be charged for it. She would soon be able to resume her normal life.


    Now that the case was finally settled, I asked Xiaotao if she wanted to take a vacation for two days. She smiled feebly and replied, ¡°There¡¯s still a lot of work to do, so no rest for me! I held them off so I could work on this case, and now I¡¯ve got to go back to them.¡±


    Xiaotao drove me back to my dorm. Just as she was about to leave, I worked up my courage and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be done with finals next week. I hope you¡¯ll find some time out of your busy schedule to go out with me, Officer Huang.¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± answered Xiaotao. Then she gave me a peck on the cheek and grinned.


    As she drove away, I stood outside the college gate staring nkly at nothing, savoring the warmth that lingered on my cheeks...

 Chapter 189

    <h4>Chapter 189</h4>


    After the resolution of the Xu Gang case, I only had a few final exams left. On thest day of exams, Dali and I walked out of the exam hall feeling like a heavy weight had been lifted off our shoulders. We debated where we should get our lunch. It would be ourst winter in college, and who knew when we¡¯d meet each other again after graduation? Thinking that it might be ourst chance to get together, Dali and I invited all our roommates to go out for a drink at the bar.


    As we walked downstairs from our room, I saw a woman wearing a luxurious mink fur coat and a pearl ne around her neck standing near the dorm entrance as if she were waiting for someone. I assumed that she was one of the students¡¯ parents until she called my name when she saw me.


    ¡°Are you really Song Yang?¡± she asked almost breathlessly. ¡°I¡¯ve finally found you!¡±


    I froze for a while when I realized that she was the richdy. She¡¯d made full recovery it seemed, and looked just as she did before the tragedies urred. I could tell that she hade here to thank me, but to be honest, her presence here made me feel slightly ufortable.


    ¡°Should I leave?¡± whispered Dali.


    ¡°No!¡± I quickly responded. ¡°Stay here with me!¡±


    The richdy slowly approached us and said, ¡°Oh, you have no idea how hard it was to finally locate you! I didn¡¯t expect to find the great detective to be such a handsome young man! I must properly thank you for saving my life that day!¡±


    I humbly replied that it was nothing at all, and that I was merely doing my job as a detective. Besides, it wasn¡¯t like I was the only one responsible for saving her. Still, she was adamant in calling me her saviour. She was trapped in that wall, she said, neither living, nor dead. With no idea what would happen to her, she couldn¡¯t see anything, nor could she scream or make any noise. She desperately tried to knock on the wall to get the attention of the people outside when she heard movement during the day, but no one seemed to hear her. It was simply hellish torture!


    Then, one day, I found her. My voice was like the voice of God in that moment, she said. She had been thinking about me all the while she was in the hospital, and she vowed to find me so she could repay my kindness in any way she could.


    She then pulled out a check and a pen from her handbag and handed them to me with a smile, ¡°This is the only way I know how to repay you. Please, write whatever amount you wish on this check and it¡¯s yours.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I smiled wanly. ¡°I¡¯m with the police. I can¡¯t possibly ept your money just for doing my job!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve asked around about that, too,¡± she replied. ¡°You¡¯re a special consultant, so you¡¯re not exactly an officer. Please ept the money! I don¡¯t know how I¡¯ll live with myself if I don¡¯t repay you somehow!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯d be rude to refuse her, dude!¡± whispered Dali. ¡°Just take it!¡±


    I sighed, knowing that she would never leave if I don¡¯t ept her gift. I wrote one hundred yuan on the check and returned the pen to her. The woman frowned, ¡°You¡¯re not mocking me, are you?¡±


    I then added two zeros behind the hundred yuan, making it ten thousand yuan, but she still shook her head and cried, ¡°Still too little!¡±


    ¡°I know you¡¯re rich, ma¡¯am,¡± I told her, ¡°but ten thousand yuan is a fortune to me. I can¡¯t possibly ept any more than this. It¡¯s already against my principles to ept money from the victim...¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡± the richdy interjected. ¡°You saved me from a fate worse than death! No amount of money is enough to repay you for what you¡¯ve done. Please just ept a little more money than this, if only for the sake of making me feel better!¡±


    I put the check into my pocket and firmly told her, ¡°Please excuse me!¡± Then I turned around and went back to my dorm room.


    After a few minutes, Dali came up and ced an ATM card on my desk. ¡°I told her you would never agree to it,¡± he said, ¡°but she insisted on giving this to you, otherwise she¡¯d never let me go.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯d she go?¡± I asked.


    I ran to the balcony and saw the richdy driving away. I checked the card on myputer and found out that it contained a million yuan of cash deposit in it.


    It didn¡¯t feel right to ept this much money from her, so I said, ¡°Maybe I should donate it?¡±


    ¡°All the same. If you donate the money, then it means that you¡¯ve epted the money anyway. You know, if you really don¡¯t want it...¡± I could guess what was going toe out of his mouth, so I red at him.


    ¡°Uh...¡± he continued hesitantly, ¡°maybe you can ask Xiaotao-jiejie what she thinks! But seriously, dude, I see no problem in just epting the money anyway. You saved her life, after all!¡±


    ¡°No one should owe anyone just because someone did the right thing!¡± I argued.


    ¡°Wow, how noble of you!¡± teased Dali, though not without an undertone of admiration. ¡°If I were a girl, dude, I would¡¯ve fallen in love with you right then!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Iughed and shooed him away.


    It¡¯s not that I was trying to be a noble knight or anything like that at all. In fact, the amount of money was indeed tempting, but Grandpa had always warned me not to treat the solving of murder cases as a business venture, otherwise it would sooner orter bring cmity to myself and those around me. Besides, it was also a matter of principle.


    Even so, I received a whole bunch of gifts from various people around New Year¡¯s Day, including a VIP Gold Member Card for a nightclub in the city. You could probably guess who sent me that gift. In the end, I returned them all except for a New Year¡¯s greeting card sent by the Wuqu City police force.


    Now that final exams were over, the college looked half-deserted. My family called me to urge me to return home in time for the new year celebration. After two of our roommates had gone home, Dali and I had a hot pot meal in our room together onest time before the end of the semester. We chatted well into the night, and on the next day, I saw him off at the train station before we parted ways.


    Coincidentally, it was the day that I was to go on a date with Xiaotao, so I was a bit more nervous and agitated than usual. Dali noticed this, but thought that I was upset that we wouldn¡¯t be seeing each other for quite a while. He was moved by it, and assured me that we¡¯d meet again in no time and went on about the beauty of friendship and other nonsense like that before getting on the train.


    As I left the train station, I received a call from Xiaotao. ¡°Sorry, Song Yang,¡± she said. ¡°We¡¯ll have to cancel our date today.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked. ¡°Another case?¡±


    ¡°Sun Tiger invited everyone to lunch,¡± she replied. ¡°He asked you toe too.¡±


    ¡°So we¡¯ll still be seeing each other then, right?¡± Iughed. ¡°Where is it? I¡¯ll get there right away.¡±


    She told me the address and added, ¡°Hurry up, everyone¡¯s already waiting for you. The party won¡¯t start until you get here!¡±


    I was ttered. I called a cab with haste and headed to the restaurant. The waiter at the entrance brought me to a private room, where I found familiar faces waiting for me. There were Sun Tiger, Xiaotao, Yuanchao, Xiaozhou, several other police officers, and even Bingxin was there. I was mildly surprised at her presence.


    Bingxin was very d to see me. She dragged my arm and led me to the seat next to her. Xiaozhou was on my other side.


    ¡°Change seats with me, Xiaozhou,¡± Xiaotao ordered.


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± replied Xiaozhou with a mocking grin. As Xiaotao sat down next to me, Bingxin stared daggers at her. Xiaotao returned the re. I was caught right in the middle and it was an embarrassing position to be in.


    ¡°How are your legs, Uncle Sun?¡± I asked with genuine concern.


    Sun Tigerughed. ¡°I recovered a long time ago, kiddo! You know I¡¯m made of iron! I can take the same car crash twenty more times and I¡¯d be fine! Come, let¡¯s enjoy ourselves today! Order anything you like, kiddo!¡±


    Once the food had been ordered, Bingxin said to me, ¡°Are your final exams over, Song Yang-gege? Why don¡¯t youe over to my house to celebrate the new year?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not homeless, you know?¡± Iughed. ¡°I¡¯ll be back home with my family for the new year of course!¡±


    Bingxin sighed. ¡°I¡¯m always so lonely around New Year¡¯s. Last year, Dad was still working on New Year¡¯s Eve and I had to spend the night alone at home, eating instant ramen. Can you imagine how sad it was? Anyway, can I go celebrate with your family this year instead?¡±


    Xiaotao¡¯s face fell. ¡°Are youpletely shameless? Who would invite themselves over to other people¡¯s homes?¡±


    Bingxin scrunched up her nose and stuck out her tongue. ¡°Well, I have that privilege because I¡¯m Song Yang-gege¡¯s childhood sweetheart!¡± She then chirped to her father, ¡°Dad, can I go spend New Year¡¯s Day at Song Yang-gege¡¯s home please?¡±


    Sun Tiger was in a drinkingpetition with Yuanchao. He distractedly replied, ¡°The train is packed this time of the year! Probably not a good idea!¡±


    Bingxin pouted and replied, ¡°You can just drive me there! It¡¯s not that far away!¡±


    ¡°Ah, right!¡± nodded Sun Tiger. ¡°Okay, then!¡±


    I didn¡¯t expect Sun Tiger to agree to it so easily. He was probably nning to work on the New Year¡¯s Day again. Bingxin turned to Xiaotao and smirked, which angered her.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to ask me if I agree?¡± I asked.


    Bingxinughed. ¡°But of course you¡¯ll agree!¡±


    I myself saw no reason to refuse her, to be honest. It would be herst chance to rx and have fun, because once she graduated and became a coroner, she would barely have time to breathe. Still, Xiaotao was right there next to me! What could a guy do in this situation?


    1. About 1,400 USD.


    2. About 140,000 USD.

 Chapter 190

    <h4>Chapter 190</h4>


    I looked around and saw that it was all merry and rowdy around the table. Sun Tiger was still in a drinking duel with Yuanchao, while the rest of the officers wereughing and having lively conversations. It was in stark contrast with the icy atmosphere that I was stuck in, what with Xiaotao and Bingxin bickering with each other non-stop.


    After three rounds of drinks, Sun Tiger suddenly announced, ¡°Right! I¡¯ve invited you all here today for two reasons¡ªfirst, to celebrate; and second, for work!¡±


    I was confused for a moment. Xiaotao looked unsurprised. She whispered to me, ¡°When Sun Tiger treats you to a meal, you can bet that there¡¯s work he wants you to do.¡±


    It turned out that as the year was about to end, a special team was set up to deal with unsolved cases in nearby small townships. This year, the Director-General himself requested that I be included on the team too. Xiaotao mentioned that this was nothing new to them. In fact, it was during the holidays like these that police officers tend to be the busiest.


    Apart from me, Bingxin was to join the team too, as she was now the intern coroner. This type of work didn¡¯t tend to be very risky or dangerous, so Sun Tiger agreed to let her participate without much opposition.


    When Sun Tiger finished speaking, Xiaotao raised her ss and said, ¡°We have Master Detective Song with us this year, so we should be able to get everything done in no time and finally celebrate the new year like normal people!¡±


    Everyone cheered and apuded.


    ¡°So where are we going, Uncle Sun?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Your task this year is to go to Qinglian County south of Nanjiang City,¡± he exined. ¡°A number of murder cases urred in the small town, but I¡¯m sure they won¡¯t take you much effort to solve at all.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re being too kind, Uncle Sun,¡± I smiled.


    These high expectations put on me made me feel slightly nervous, because I knew that the most difficult cases were often the simplest ones. Besides, time had passed since the murders urred, so no clues and perhaps no witnesses could be found anymore. I had a hunch that it would be quite a challenge to solve these cases.


    ¡°But, Dad!¡±ined Bingxin. ¡°Song Yang-gege was going to go home for the new year celebration! He¡¯s not a police officer, so you have no authority to force him to work during the holidays!¡±


    Sun Tigerughed. ¡°My daughter¡¯s right, kiddo! I must ask you to do me a favor this time. I promise you that when you alle back, I¡¯ll treat you all to a grand meal. By the way, you¡¯re getting famous within the police force. I think you should be the leader of the task force, what do you think?¡±


    Many people seemed to show signs that they agreed with this arrangement, but I had been the task force leader before in the Wuqu City case. I found the task simply too tedious. I¡¯d rather just focus on the investigation of the cases instead.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a better idea, Uncle Sun,¡± I suggested. ¡°Let Xiaotao lead the task force instead! She¡¯s a much better leader than I am. Also, that way I can just focus on solving the case.¡±


    Sun Tiger nodded. ¡°Okay, Xiaotao will be the team leader then.¡±


    Xiaotao smiled ever so slightly. She clinked her ss of juice with mine and whispered, ¡°Thank you!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re very wee,¡± I replied with a smile.


    We would be leaving for Qinglian County that same evening. After the meal, I showed Xiaotao the ATM card that the richdy gave me and exined to her what had happened. I then asked her to give it back to the richdy.


    ¡°That¡¯s admirable of you,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°If you were a police officer, I¡¯d rmend you for a medal or something.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m serious about this,¡± I emphasized. ¡°You must return it to her. I don¡¯t want to kowtow to her the next time we meet...¡±


    Xiaotao wouldter tell me after the New Year that the case had a great impact on the richdy. She resigned from her position as president of herpany and stayed home every day, meditating on Buddhist scriptures.


    I went back to my dorm room to pack up, then cancelled my train ticket home and called my family telling them that I¡¯d be back a few dayster than originally nned.


    Xiaotao picked me upter that evening. Bingxin was also in the car, and she asked me to sit with her in the back. I was always caught in an awkward situation when the two of them were in the same ce, so I had to think up the most diplomatic answer fast.


    ¡°You¡¯re nning to get your driving license soon, aren¡¯t you?¡± I asked Bingxin. ¡°You should sit in front and learn how to drive from Xiaotao then.¡±


    We took off, andter met up with Yuanchao at the toll station. At around four o¡¯clock in the afternoon, we reached Qinglian County. It was a small townprising of just a few streets. When we arrived at the police station, we were greeted by a group of people standing near the entrance holding a huge banner which read, ¡°A Warm Wee to the Task Force Team!¡±


    As we approached them, a plump officer barked, ¡°Ready, start!¡±


    Then the rest of the group shouted in unison, ¡°Wee to Qinglian County!¡±


    It was such a cringe-inducing scene that we felt embarrassed for them.


    The plump officer turned out to be Officer Feng, who was the director of the county police station. He shook our hands earnestly and announced, ¡°It is our honor to have you here! We¡¯ve been looking forward to your arrival. I¡¯d like to extend a warm wee to all of you on behalf of the whole county! By the way, which one of you is the legendary Master Detective Song?¡±


    Bingxin nudged me forward and eximed, ¡°Here he is! The inimitable Master Detective Song!¡±


    Director Feng gasped. ¡°But you¡¯re only a young man! We¡¯ve heard of your exceptional feats and we¡¯re immensely impressed! It is our honor to wee you here!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so polite, Director Feng,¡± I scratched my head awkwardly. ¡°I¡¯m just a consultant to the police, not even a proper officer.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re nning on organizing a lecture on the ancient knowledge of the Traditional Coroners. I hope you won¡¯t mind being our guest of honor, Detective Song!¡±


    I was staggered. Was he really asking me to give a lecture on my family¡¯s secret arts? Xiaotao looked at me and sniggered. I noticed then how much fame did not agree with me.


    Director Feng had booked hotel rooms for us and invited us to dinner straight away, but Xiaotao waved her hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s do thatter. We¡¯d like to talk about the case now.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Director Feng nodded. ¡°Please follow me.¡±


    We were led into the police station, where a fair-skinned tall police officer brought us a stack of files. Director Feng introduced him as Officer Chen, and he was his mostpetent officer. Officer Chen would be assisting us in the investigation of the cases while we were here.


    Officer Chen greeted us briefly with a nod, Xiaotao returned the nod, and we dove straight into the files.


    The case-solving rate for this branch was really low. There had been only two murders here this year, but neither were solved. The first case involved a dismembered body, but the identity of the victim had not been determined. The body parts were found at a construction sitest June. Because it was summer, the body parts were severely dposed and the body was basically unrecognizable. There were many workers who had worked here temporarily but they had since left, so no real investigation was ever conducted.


    The other murder case involved a young female hairdresser who was disfigured. Her body was found in a nearby forestst April.


    I was more concerned with the dismembered body case, because it seemed that the murderer was more skilled. I asked Officer Chen, ¡°Had any other simr cases happened before?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he answered with a stony face.


    ¡°This is only a small town,¡± Director Feng chimed in. ¡°We¡¯re not likerge cities where the poptions arerger. We don¡¯t have that many criminals here.¡±


    I thought I noticed a slight agitation in Director Feng¡¯s expressions when he spoke. It almost seemed like he was hiding something from me.


    Bingxin had been reading the case files as well. She asked, ¡°Can I go see the body now?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Officer Chen replied. ¡°I¡¯ll take you there.¡±


    Xiaotao immediately ordered two other police officers to follow them. Firstly, they were to serve as Bingxin¡¯s assistants should she need any help, and secondly, they would protect her should anything happen. Xiaotao was being vignt as usual.


    By the time we were done discussing the cases, it was already dark. Director Feng insisted on inviting us to dinner, and we thought it best not to refuse him. At the restaurant, Director Feng paid the most attention to Xiaotao. He chatted with her and even poured drinks for her, probably because she had the highest rank among all of us. His position as the director of the county police station might sound impressive, but in truth, his real power and authority was limitedpared to Xiaotao. Besides, being posted at a small town like this one meant that there would be little chance of promotion.


    The rest of the party seemed to be enjoying themselves. They talked andughed¡ªthe atmosphere seemed lively on the surface. Still, I couldn¡¯t help but feel that there was a tension in the air between our group and the local officers...

 Chapter 191

    <h4>Chapter 191</h4>


    It was close to eight o¡¯clock in the evening, yet Bingxin still hadn¡¯t arrived. ¡°I¡¯d better go check on her,¡± I told Xiaotao.


    She stopped me, then told me to bring some food for her. Iughed and said, ¡°So you do care about her!¡±


    ¡°Of course I do!¡± she replied. ¡°We¡¯re the only women in the team! Who would take care of her if I don¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Oh, but must the master detective deliver the food himself?¡± Director Feng interjected. ¡°Surely any other officer can do it!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d better do it myself,¡± I said. ¡°Her dad did ask us to take good care of her, after all.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right,¡± added Xiaotao, ¡°her father is Sun Tiger, by the way.¡±


    Director Feng¡¯s cup slipped through his fingers. He shot up to his feet and cried, ¡°You should¡¯ve told me earlier! I¡¯m terribly sorry!¡±


    He then insisted on going with me. Yuanchao came along too. We headed towards the morgue in the police station and found Bingxin carefully studying the broken bone fragments. Officer Chen was right beside her.


    Director Feng hurried to Bingxin and said, ¡°Miss Sun, I¡¯ve been remiss as a host! Please forgive me! You should take a rest and have some food!¡±


    Bingxin stared confusedly at us, probably wondering why Director Feng¡¯s attitude changed so suddenly.


    I echoed Director Feng and told Bingxin to take a rest and have dinner, but she refused. She said she was really puzzled by the bones, and it would drive her crazy if she didn¡¯t make sense out of it.


    There were more than six hundred bone fragments. Apart from being dismembered by the killer, the victim¡¯s body had also been gnawed at by the stray dogs at the construction site. In fact, the body was discovered when someone noticed the dogs fighting over a human limb. When the police got to the scene, the body parts were so scattered that they could barely identify it as a human corpse.


    I asked Bingxin what she¡¯d discovered so far, and she replied, ¡°Judging by the bone size, the victim was most likely a male in his thirties. His bone joints are thick, so he must¡¯ve been engaged in manualbor during his life. I just can¡¯t identify what type of bones they are! All the things I learned in the textbooks are useless!¡±


    ¡°How about this?¡± I suggested. ¡°I¡¯ll show you how to do it tomorrow. I promise you that I¡¯ll be able to identify them within an hour!¡±


    Bingxin¡¯s eyes lit up with excitement. ¡°Just do it now, Song Yang-gege! I want to see it now!¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I shook my head. ¡°I need time to make some preparations.¡±


    I wrote down a list of Chinese herbs and handed it to Officer Chen, asking him to buy them for me.


    Bingxin then began to eat right inside the morgue. She had changed so much since we were young. She used to be scared of cockroaches, but now, she could sit down and have a meal right next to a pile of bones without batting an eye.


    In order to make up for his indifference to her earlier, Director Feng started to ask Bingxin all sorts of questions. He even nned to let a female officer apany her and assist her while she was here. Bingxin didn¡¯t know how to respond to his barrage of questions, so she just replied with a pursed smile.


    ¡°Right,¡± I interjected, ¡°since we¡¯re already here, could you show us the body from the other case?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do that, Detective Song,¡± Director Feng answered. ¡°The corpse was cremated. The victim¡¯s family demanded it. People here are very religious, sometimes they make it difficult for us to do our job...¡±


    After a while, Officer Chen returned with the materials that I needed, so we went back to the hotel.


    There still wasn¡¯t much to do on the first day. Some police officers were ying cards in their room. I shared a room with Yuanchao. The minute we came back, he hopped onto the bed andy there drinking from his silver sk the whole night, not saying a single word to me. I was used to that by now, so I spent the time surfing the Inte. At around midnight, the sound of firecrackers outside broke the silence in the room. It was going to be the new year soon, and I suddenly felt a little homesick.


    The sound of shattering ss downstairs broke my train of thoughts. It was quickly followed by the deafening noise of a car rm. Yuanchao jumped out of bed and looked out the window.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s smashing a car window!¡± he said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go downstairs now!¡±


    We quickly put on our coats and ran out. As we passed by Xiaotao¡¯s room, I heard her voice shouting through the door, ¡°Yuanchao! Whose car got broken into?¡±


    ¡°It was too dark to tell,¡± he answered.


    Xiaotao slid her car key through the crack of the door and yelled, ¡°The bastards! They even dared to smash a police officer¡¯s car! Move my car to a safer spot with a surveince camera, will you?¡±


    ¡°Do you need to ask Uncle Wang to do that?¡± I asked. ¡°Why don¡¯t you do it yourself?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not wearing clothes!¡± answered Xiaotao. I heard the sound of Bingxin giggling behind Xiaotao. It turned out that they had just taken a shower and were having a chat.


    Yuanchao and I went downstairs and found that all of the cars from Nanjiang City had been damaged one way or another. Even the windshield of Xiaotao¡¯s car had been smashed into. I looked around and saw no one there.


    ¡°This is ridiculous!¡± I spat.


    We went back up and told Xiaotao what we saw, and she yelled, ¡°Son of a bitch! How dare they! I¡¯ll get their fingerprints tomorrow and catch the damn rascals!¡±


    ¡°Who do you think would do this, Uncle Wang?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The local gangsters, perhaps,¡± he replied.


    I¡¯d heard that people in small towns tend to be very xenophobic and distrusting of outsiders. There were even cases when the police went into a vige to arrest a suspect, and all the vigers would run out to protect them. They would even push police cars into a ditch to discourage officers from outside of town to ¡®meddle¡¯ in their affairs.


    The truth is, people in small towns usually form tight-knitmunities. Everyone is either a friend or a rtive, hence they would obviously protect each other from outsiders, even if the outsiders are the police.


    Director Feng weed us with great fanfare when we arrived. This meant that the whole town must¡¯ve known that we were here.


    I couldn¡¯t go to sleep that night. Early the next morning, Xiaotao reported the incident to Director Feng. He promised that they would pay for the damages and vowed to capture the hooligans who did it.


    I asked for an empty room and began concocting a solution. It took me three hours to prepare it. Theposition of this solution wasn¡¯t important, only its density was. I then asked Officer Chen if there was a pit or a pond nearby. He responded that there was an abandoned limestone quarry near the construction site, where there was a limestone pit. I told him to take me there.


    Xiaotao, Yuanchao, and Bingxin came with me too. Bingxin brought along the victim¡¯s bone fragments. We stopped at the edge of the pit. I told the police officers to pour water into the pit. Once it was a quarter full, I told them to stop and add the solution that I¡¯d prepared earlier. Then I told the officers to add more water until the pit was half full, then I added the solution again. This step was repeated until the limestone pit waspletely full.


    Bingxin watched on with great interest. ¡°What kind of magic trick are you doing here, Song Yang-gege?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m preparing the Bone Density Fluid,¡± I exined. ¡°As the name suggests, it¡¯s a liquid that has the same density as human bone. Look!¡±


    I picked up one of the bone fragments and threw it into the liquid. The bone sank to the bottom.


    ¡°Nothing happened, Song Yang-gege!¡± cried Bingxin, blinking. I heard some officers sniggering in the background.


    ¡°Patience,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll throw more bone fragments in there. Look!¡±


    This time the bone fragments were suspended in the middle of the liquid. This startled everyone. ¡°Throw it all in!¡± I ordered.


    Two police officers poured the contents of the bag containing the victim¡¯s bones into the ad hoc pool. After a while, the broken bones floated to the top. I pointed and exined, ¡°See, the topyer is the skull, below it are the bones of the hands and feet. Then beneath that are the bones of the arms, the legs, and the pelvis. Then the vertebrae are at the bottom of the pit.¡±


    Bingxin pped her hands excitedly. ¡°Oh my god, that¡¯s awesome, Song Yang-gege! This method would save half¡ªno, more than half¡ªthree quarters of the time!¡±


    I used a to pick the bones up, then with Bingxin¡¯s help we managed to piece the bones together into aplete human skeleton in less than an hour. Although it might sound wrong, I must admit that when the task wasplete, I felt quite proud of myself.


    Then, I examined the bones closely, and learned that the human skeleton was notplete¡ªit was missing two phnges on the right hand!


    1. Bones of the fingers.

 Chapter 192

    <h4>Chapter 192</h4>


    Bingxin was here as the intern coroner, so I gave her the opportunity to use her knowledge and identify the victim. She studied the bones for a while, and concluded, ¡°The victim was a male of about 35 years of age. He was about 1.7 meters tall. The thick joints of the hand indicate that he was engaged in manualbor all year round. Two of his phnges are missing. It¡¯s uncertain whether the bones were lost before or after his death.¡±


    She then picked up the fragments of the skull and added, ¡°The cause of death is an impact to the head with a heavy blunt object roughly triangr in size. The width of the object is probably about 50 centimeters. Could it be a hammer? But that¡¯s a weird shape for a hammer...¡±


    I considered it for a while and suggested, ¡°Perhaps a clothes iron?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Bingxin answered with glee. ¡°A clothes iron! Why didn¡¯t I think of that?¡±


    ¡°Coroners do not need to explicitly identify what type of weapon was used,¡± I reminded her. ¡°You only need to describe the shape and characteristics of the weapon. You could easily mislead the investigator if you name the weapon. It¡¯s unprofessional.¡±


    Bingxin stuck out her tongue and mockingly answered, ¡°Yes, Professor Song!¡±


    Then she picked up the tibia and examined it, and said, ¡°After his death, the victim¡¯s body was dismembered using a long jagged object. Then the remains were eaten and gnawed on by a type of carnivorous animal.¡±


    ¡°You can just say that the body was cut up using a saw and eaten by dogs,¡± Imented, slightly amused.


    ¡°But you told me not to name them!¡± Bingxin pouted.


    I sighed and Xiaotaoughed.


    ¡°It seems that you need more practice, Miss Sun!¡± Xiaotao remarked.


    ¡°Continue with your analysis!¡± I urged Bingxin.


    She picked up a bone and ced it under the sunlight. ¡°Once the victim was dismembered, the killer cooked the corpse in a pressure cooker which caused the periosteum to peel off.¡±


    ¡°Oh no,¡± Xiaotao groaned. ¡°Not another psychotic cannibal!¡±


    It was too soon to jump to that conclusion. The killer might¡¯ve boiled the body just so they could handle it more easily. Cooked bodies wouldn¡¯t produce suspicious odors. They would not emit the signature stench of blood at all, even when discarded in the open. Judging from this, it followed that the killer handled the victim¡¯s body quite professionally. I suspected that this was not the killer¡¯s first victim.


    Bingxin picked up a rib and studied it for a long time. Then she suddenly gasped and announced, ¡°There¡¯s a wound on the victim¡¯s back, as if he was stabbed by a sharp and narrow object!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the pration angle?¡± I asked.


    She acted it out and exined, ¡°The killer probably attacked with a knife from behind, like this.¡±


    ¡°What about the wound on the skull you described earlier?¡±


    She acted it out again and exined, ¡°He was hit from the front, right on his forehead.¡±


    I had a hunch that we¡¯d stumbled upon a major discovery. I asked Bingxin, ¡°Was the victim standing up or lying down when he got stabbed?¡±


    Bingxin looked at the bone for a long time and finally shook her head defeatedly, crying, ¡°I¡¯m stumped!¡±


    I took a closer look at the bone and stated, ¡°He was stabbed while still standing up, because the knife was pulled out after it pierced the victim¡¯s body. Look here. The scar obviously showed that the knife was pulled downwards here.¡±


    Bingxin pped her hands again and eximed, ¡°You¡¯re truly a genius, Song Yang-gege! Your analysis is much more thorough than my professors¡¯!¡±


    ¡°Is this detail important, Song Yang?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°Very important!¡± I answered. ¡°If the victim was lying down when he got stabbed, it could be that the killer hit him on the head to immobilize him before finishing him off. However, the victim was still standing when he got stabbed, and at the same time he was hit on the forehead. Which means...¡±


    ¡°The killer has an aplice!¡± Xiaotao finished my sentence.


    Xiaotao asked me if there was anything else to add. I re-examined the vertebrae, which were the bones that were most easily deformed. The joints clearly indicated that the victim was engaged in heavy physicalbor, yet why were the vertebrae inpletely normal conditions?


    An idea shed in my mind about the possible profession that the victim was engaged in, though I was still unsure. ¡°Tell Xiaozhou to test the bone marrow!¡± I ordered.


    Then the bones were packed up and we returned to the police station. The local officers listened to our discoveries and analysis, and they were all immediately convinced of its veracity. The coroner even jotted down what I said in a small notebook.


    ¡°Master Detective Song truly deserves every bit of his reputation!¡± squawked Director Feng. ¡°You¡¯ve only been here for two days and you already solved a case! How wonderful!¡±


    I shook my head and smiled wanly, exining, ¡°It¡¯s too early to say that the case is solved, Director Feng. We¡¯ve only just begun!¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m sure that with someone like you on our team,¡± he continued, ¡°the killer will be captured in a matter of a few days!¡±


    His oleaginous words made me feel incredibly ufortable.


    Xiaotao assigned some tasks to the officers. She ordered a group of officers to investigate the family of the victim of the other case, while Yuanchao and I would investigate the spot in the forest where the body was found. Bingxin would be following Xiaotao.


    I found the arrangement very reasonable indeed. If either of them was to follow me, the other would be dissatisfied, so it was best that they should be working together. In fact, I was beginning to see that they both made an excellent team.


    Director Feng sent someone with us for protection. I told him that would be unnecessary, but he insisted on it adamantly. Before we left, he pulled me aside and whispered, ¡°Detective Song, you might hear some oundish rumors when you¡¯re out there. Please remember that they¡¯re all unfounded! Don¡¯t ever believe them!¡±


    I stared at him with curiosity. Rumors? Had he secretly done things that he¡¯d prefer to be kept under wraps?


    He seemed to notice my suspicion, so he quickly added, ¡°It has nothing to do with me, of course. I¡¯ve never done anything to bring shame to the police force¡ªyou can trust me on that!¡±


    Then he reminded us to keep the receipts for any payments made, as we wouldter be reimbursed, and asked us toe back early for dinner.


    I was greatly relieved when I finally got into the car and escaped Director Feng¡¯s clutches. ¡°He thinks you¡¯re the Li Lianying of our team,¡± Yuanchao mocked me with a snigger.


    I red at him, but then realized that it actually rang true. In Director Feng¡¯s eyes, Xiaotao was clearly our leader. His position as a small county director was nothingpared to hers as a task force leader of a metropolitan branch. Because of my reputation, he must¡¯ve thought of me as Xiaotao¡¯s ¡®favorite,¡¯ which exined his fawning attitude towards me. Perhaps he even assumed that I muste from a powerful family to be appointed as a consultant to the police at such a young age. Unfortunately for him, I was really just an ordinary college student who could be of no use to him at all.


    The crime scene where the corpse was discarded wasn¡¯t very hard to locate. In the forest not half a mile away from the main road, there was an area still cordoned off by a police tape. No one usually came here, and when the corpse was found, it had already been here for a week.


    Because of constant rain and wind, the clues at the scene were all but gone. Still, I at least obtained one crucial piece of information: the exact location where the killer left the corpse.


    Using the crime scene as the starting point, I walked for about five hundred meters, where I found a small vige. I remembered it being mentioned in the case file, and we all agreed during the discussion that the suspect probably lived there.


    A tractor carrying bricks slowly approached us. A middle-aged man who was the driver asked us, ¡°What are you lot up to?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re the police,¡± I exined. ¡°We¡¯re here to investigate the murder.¡±


    ¡°The police?¡± he eyed us suspiciously. ¡°How many times do you need toe here? It¡¯s almost the new year and you¡¯re spoiling the festive mood, don¡¯t you know? Those dead women aren¡¯t from this vige anyway! You should try investigating somewhere else!¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± I was staggered. ¡°How many women have been found there?¡±


    The man stopped the tractor engine and got down. ¡°You don¡¯t sound like you¡¯re from around here, do you? Are you new or something? They found four or five women there. Didn¡¯t they tell you?¡±


    ¡°Were they all found in the same condition?¡± I asked.


    The man thought about it for a few seconds. ¡°Yeah... They were all disfigured, weren¡¯t they? And they all wore red dresses too. It¡¯s a crying shame, what happened to them. I heard they were all brutally killed!¡±


    I cursed at Director Feng and all his ancestors under my breath. This was clearly not a simple murder case. Instead, we were dealing with a serial killer!


    1. Theyer of connective tissue enveloping the bones.


    2. A highly influential imperial who was Empress Dowager Cixi¡¯s favorite attendant.

 Chapter 193

    <h4>Chapter 193</h4>


    Why did Director Feng conceal such an important detail from us? Wasn¡¯t he afraid of getting fired?


    I continued to ask the middle-aged man about the case, but he waved his hand and answered, ¡°We¡¯ve told the police everything we know, haven¡¯t we? Why don¡¯t you go back and ask them yourself? You¡¯re from the city, aren¡¯t you? Well let me give you some advice¡ªgive it up and go home. You won¡¯t find any killers to catch here, because it was a ghost who did it!¡±


    ¡°A ghost?¡± I asked. ¡°How?¡±


    The man sighed. ¡°You policemen just love asking questions, don¡¯t you? I¡¯ve got these bricks to deliver right now, but you cane find me at my house after lunch if you like.¡±


    He left us his address, then climbed back onto the tractor and drove away.


    It was barely an hour before noon, so we decided not to return for lunch. I called Xiaotao to inform her of our major discovery. She was both shocked and angered, and she told me that she would confront Director Feng about it right away.


    Yuanchao had some snacks in his car, so we had a simple lunch there and waited until noon to drive to the vige where the middle-aged man lived.


    Because it was right around new year, the vigers were all at home. As we drove into the vige, all the people we passed stared at us with eyes full of suspicion. Dogs barked at us and chased the car. It seemed that every house had a dog here.


    When we reached the middle-aged man¡¯s house, I saw him squatting in front of his door with a bowl of rice in hand. He was chatting with a young woman. He said some pretty lewd and vulgar stuff, which prompted her to blush and call him a pervert.


    ¡°You¡¯re early, aren¡¯t you?¡± he yelled when he noticed us, visibly annoyed. ¡°I haven¡¯t even finished my lunch yet!¡±


    ¡°We cane backter if you want,¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± he replied, putting down his chopsticks. ¡°Come on in!¡±


    He was unmarried, so it was a simple house with simple furnishings. There weren¡¯t many windows in there to let natural light in, so it was quite dark and stuffy inside. He made us tworge cups of tea and sat us down at the table. The first thing he asked us was whether we saw a sealed well at the front of the vige.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I answered. ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s haunted by the ghost of a woman!¡±


    He went on to tell us the whole background of the ghost, which started during the Qing Dynasty. There was a girl, aged only sixteen, who was beautiful and delicate as a flower, but unfortunately, she was born in a very poor family. Her parents married her off to a man from the same vige. He was an official, but he was already in his fifties. The girl was naturally distraught. She cried basins full of tears and begged her parents to change their mind, but the matchmaker and her parents nagged her and persuaded her to go with the n, so she had no choice.


    But it seemed that they weren¡¯t fated to be a happy couple, because on the night of the wedding, the groom drank too much and fell ill, of which he never recovered from.


    But the girl was already officially his wife, so she had to serve him and take care of him every day. The man¡¯s condition worsened day after day. He was almostpletely bedridden, and the girl dutifully tended to him, cleaned his urine and excrements every day without uttering a word ofint.


    One day, the girl noticed her husband getting very gloomy and depressed. She asked him what he wanted to eat so she could make it to cheer him up. He replied that he¡¯d like nothing more than fritters fresh out of the pan, so the girl set up a pan in the room and started to fry them. The man took a bite and told the girl a bug had fallen into the pan, so the girl lowered her face to the pan to look for the bug, but right at that moment, the man shoved her face into the hot oil. The girl screamed so loud it shook the whole house. Other members of the family were at home at the time, and they were all spooked by the girl¡¯s haunting scream of agony.


    The girl managed to break free from her husband¡¯s hand and copsed to the floor. Her demure face had been disfigured into a red mass of flesh.


    The man told her he had to do what he did to prevent her from ruining his family¡¯s reputation by remarrying after he died. He had to destroy the most valuable thing she had¡ªher beauty¡ªso that she would have to remain as a mourning widow for the rest of her life should he die!


    The girl bawled her eyes out for three whole days, until shepletely lost her mind. She would roam around the vige during the day, and if she ever encountered a beautiful woman, she would rush up to them and try to attack their face. Her inw family felt humiliated, so they shut her up in the house, not letting her near any mirror lest she be triggered. But this did nothing to hold her back at all. She escaped at every chance, and managed to even stab one of her inw¡¯s face with scissors. Over time, the family found her to be too much of a nuisance, so they flung her into a dry well and threw down some food and water every day so she could survive.


    Nobody knew how long she lived like that. It was said that at night, when it was quiet, you could hear her cries which turned intoughter, then back to forlorn cries again.


    After her death, it was rumored that the well became haunted by her ghost, and there would often be incidents of young and beautiful women mysteriously falling to their deaths into the well. Some people said that it was because the girl¡¯s soul was lonely, so she had to pull other people down there to apany her. Others said that it was because she envied the women¡¯s beauty. Whatever the reason, the vigers decided to seal the well, but on every seventh night of the month, a haunting cry could be hearding out of the well, because that was the day she died.


    Then the middle-aged man sighed and remarked, ¡°What a pitiful girl!¡±


    Yuanchao and I were pretty much unimpressed. I even thought what a waste of time it was. I never believed that ghosts could ever kill people, and the police didn¡¯t either.


    ¡°What does it have anything to do with the murders?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re not a smart policeman, are you?¡± the man sneered. ¡°Think about it! Those dead women were all disfigured! They all wore red dresses¡ªthat¡¯s what brides wore in the olden times! The ghost of that girl must¡¯ve killed those women, obviously!¡±


    ¡°Were you present when the bodies were found?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No,¡± he replied stiffly. ¡°I was working. You can go ask Old Wu over there. He knows.¡±


    I mentally made up my mind to return to the police station after that, thene back hereter. We excused ourselves and were about to leave the man¡¯s house when he shouted, ¡°I won¡¯t be sending you off then! Nice talking to you!¡±


    We got into the car, and Yuanchao tried to start the car but it just wouldn¡¯t start. He checked the gas meter and found out that the car was out of gas, yet he remembered that it was full when we came here.


    I suddenly detected the smell of gasoline. When I looked out, I found the vigepletely empty¡ªeveryone had gone inside and closed the doors!


    ¡°Get out of the car now, Uncle Wang!¡± I shouted.


    When we got outside, we saw a hole punctured through the fuel tank and a pool of gasoline on the ground underneath the car. At that moment, a number of vigers surrounded us. Their eyes were full of murderous intent, and they were all holding iron rods, bricks, sickles and other weapons.


    I now understood that the middle-aged man shouted before we got out to signal these people to get ready. The story he told us was probably meant to buy them some time to prepare themselves. I couldn¡¯t believe how bold these vigers were¡ªthey even dared to attack the police!


    This would be my first time in this kind of situation, so I¡¯d be lying if I told you I was not afraid. Still, I knew that I had to keep calm and not panic. I yelled at the men, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that assaulting police officers is a serious offence?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re just stupid vigers, aren¡¯t we?¡± a man sneered. ¡°Why should we care about anything like that? All we know is that we must protect our people from outsiders! Get these city boys,ds! I¡¯ll give you one fat pig for each limb of theirs you manage to tear off!¡±


    They swarmed towards us the moment that man uttered those words.


    ¡°Get in the car!¡± urged Yuanchao. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with them!¡±


    I wished I could¡¯ve stayed outside to help him, but I knew the truth that if I was there, I would only be in his way.


    ¡°You must be careful!¡± was all I could say.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me,¡± replied Yuanchao calmly. ¡°Get inside and protect yourself!¡±


    1. Lasted from 1644 to 1911.

 Chapter 194

    <h4>Chapter 194</h4>


    Once I got into the car, Yuanchao leaped and kicked two guys into a nearby pigpen with both of his feet. Those men flew backwards like a sandbag, stunning the people who were charging towards Yuanchao. They stopped and hesitated to approach Yuanchao, but the man from before shouted, ¡°Get him! He¡¯s alone and there are many of us! Don¡¯t be scared!¡±


    The crowd was emboldened by this, and they yelled and rushed towards Yuanchao with renewed courage. Still, they were mowed down like bowling pins. One man tried to attack Yuanchao from behind with a sickle, so I shouted, ¡°Watch out, behind you!¡±


    Yuanchao leaned back, narrowly dodging the sickle, then he grabbed the man by the waist and flung him forward, knocking three or four people to the ground along with him.


    At that moment, another man attacked from the side, hitting Yuanchao with a wooden staff squarely on the head. The staff snapped, but Yuanchao didn¡¯t even flinch. The attack only managed to awaken the beast within Yuanchao. He roared like a lion and grabbed the man¡¯s head and knocked it on the car. That man cked out and copsed immediately.


    I got very worried when I saw blood dripping down Yuanchao¡¯s forehead. I hastily called Xiaotao. When she heard that we were in danger, she assured me she woulde with reinforcements within half an hour.


    Then I heard a loud crash. A man had broken the car window and reached his hands inside to grab me. Yuanchao rushed over and knocked the man out with a punch. Another man kicked him on the waist, and Yuanchao almost lost his bnce for a second, but he quickly turned around and knocked the man to the ground.


    Yuanchao could take any of these guys one on one just fine, but it was a different matter when they all surrounded him and attacked at the same time. I felt I must do something to help them. I opened one car door, then with all the might that I could muster, I kicked it open, and it hit one of those guys and he copsed to the ground. This gave Yuanchao a chance to grab two other men and bump their heads together.


    He then came over, closed the door, and instructed, ¡°Don¡¯t get involved! Just protect yourself!¡±


    He then went back and fought the other guys. It felt embarrassing having to rely on him alone to protect my life, especially when he was already injured. Still, Yuanchao managed to knock down all those people. I could see that he used the fighting technique of the Armed Police. By then, all the men moaned and groaned in pain on the ground,pletely incapacitated.


    Yuanchao himself was injured too. His body was covered in dirt and grime, and blood dripped down from his forehead to the bridge of his nose.


    There was still one man standing, though. It was the guy from before. He shouted, ¡°Fuck you! I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±


    He was wielding a hatchet. He ran towards Yuanchao, but Yuanchao dodged sideways just in time. The man continued to swing the hatchet wildly at Yuanchao, but his uncontrolled rage was to his own detriment. Yuanchao seized an opening and kicked the man¡¯s belly with his knee. The man screamed and the hatchet in his hand fell to the ground. Yuanchao had knocked the wind out of him.


    ¡°You people killed my brother!¡± the man still yelled as he writhed on the ground. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you! I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±


    Yuanchao spit out the blood in his mouth and replied, ¡°You can tell us more at the station!¡±


    The man screamed in fury and grabbed his knife again, but Yuanchao kicked his hand and the knife flew out again. The man knelt on the ground and began to cry.


    I got out of the car and was about to check Yuanchao¡¯s injuries. To my surprise, he simply lit up a cigarette and assured me, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Just some scratches.¡±


    We then waited for a while until Xiaotao and the others arrived. They were met with a spectacr scene. Yuanchao and I were standing in the middle of almost a dozen men lying on the ground. Bingxin gasped and ran straight towards me, asking, ¡°Are you okay, Song Yang-gege?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± I replied. ¡°You should check Uncle Wang. You did bring the first aid kit, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Bingxin noticed the blood on Yuanchao¡¯s forehead and cried, ¡°Oh, Uncle Wang! Come with me now! I¡¯ll take care of that right away!¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± asked Xiaotao. Director Feng and the other officers were with her too.


    I exined it to her briefly. To be fair, I had no idea why these people attacked us either. I noticed Director Feng¡¯s suspicious expressions, as if he was hiding something from us. I asked him, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell us it was a serial murder case?¡±


    ¡°I... I...¡± he stuttered. ¡°It¡¯s a bitplicated...¡±


    ¡°Complicated?¡± spat Xiaotao. ¡°Are you covering for the real killer here? Did your son do it?¡±


    Director Feng turned pale and waved his hands frantically in denial, ¡°No! Absolutely not! It¡¯s nothing like that at all! I would never cover for the murderer! If I did that, I would¡¯ve resigned!¡±


    He looked furtively left and right then mmed up again. Xiaotao and I pulled him aside to a ce where nobody else could hear us and asked him to exin himself.


    He told us that they knew from the start that the murders involved a serial killer. The first murder urred in March two years ago. The victim was a supermarket cashier, a young and beautiful woman. When she was found, her face was disfigured and she was wearing a red dress. They conducted an investigation but found that she had made no enemies at all.


    Soon afterwards, two simr cases urred two months and four months after that. It was immediately obvious to everyone that they were perpetrated by the same killer¡ªa serial killer. So, they reported it to the Metropolitan Branch, who sent two experts to help them solve the case. They finally pinned down a prime suspect, named Wu Mou, who lived in the same vige that we were in now. Wu Mou had a history of molesting women and stealing women¡¯s underwear. He had been in contact with the two victims, so the experts believed that he must¡¯ve been the killer. At that time, concrete evidence against him was found, and he was arrested.


    Last January, Wu Mou was executed for the murders. But to everyone¡¯s horror, shortly after his death, a simr murder urred again!


    This terrified Director Feng. They had unjustly executed the wrong guy! He knew that all the officers involved would be punished if it was ever found out! Still, he reported it to the Metropolitan Branch anyway. Surprisingly, the Metropolitan Branch regarded the new case to be a copycat murder, and had nothing to do with the cases from before.


    That being said, both Director Feng and Officer Chen knew that this wasn¡¯t true, because there were many details about the recent murder that the public could not have known. Still, there was nothing they could do¡ªthey could only plead the Metropolitan Branch to help them with the recent cases. As long as the real killer of the recent murders was found, everything would turn out fine.


    ¡°What kind of concrete evidence did you find?¡± I asked. ¡°Had the victims been sexually assaulted? Did Wu Mou have any alibis?¡±


    ¡°The third victim was raped by Wu Mou on the night of the incident,¡± he replied. ¡°He confessed to it himself. We also found the underwear of the second and third victims in his house. Wouldn¡¯t you say that they were concrete evidence against the suspect yourself, Detective Song?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly,¡± I shook my head. ¡°They only proved that he was the rapist, not the killer.¡±


    ¡°Who are the experts sent from the city?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°An Officer Zhang and a coroner named Dr. Qin,¡± Director Feng replied. ¡°Dr. Qin had years of experience in the field, so Officer Zhang basically listened to everything he said. The investigation was mainly conducted by Dr. Qin.¡±


    Xiaotao and I exchanged looks. We never expected Dr. Qin to be so shady! He¡¯dmitted such a terrible error, and he managed to keep it under wraps for so long!

 Chapter 195

    <h4>Chapter 195</h4>


    The group of men who just attacked us were all handcuffed. I remembered one of them shouting about us killing his brother. I asked him what his name was, but he ignored me. He just red at us with eyes full of vengeance and gritted his teeth. It seemed that he really didn¡¯t like the ¡®experts from the city.¡¯


    ¡°Trust me, we¡¯re nothing like those people,¡± I assured him. ¡°If you cooperate with us, we¡¯ll be able to clear your brother¡¯s name!¡±


    ¡°That bastard named Qin said the exact same thing, and my brother ended up getting executed anyway!¡±


    He then burst into tears and lost control of his emotions. I asked him his name again, in a much gentler tone, and he finally answered that he was Wu Laosan, Wu Mou¡¯s brother.


    He worked in a factory in the city. Yesterday, he saw how the police weed the task force from the city and was so infuriated that he sneaked into the hotel parking lot and smashed the windows of our cars. He was told that we¡¯d fallen into his trap and came to the vige ourselves, so he rounded up the other vigers and attacked us.


    Assaulting police officers was indeed a serious crime, the punishment of which ranged from spending a few days in the cell to prolonged imprisonment. In theory, Wu Laosan could¡¯ve been sentenced to more than five years in prison for armed assault, but Xiaotao gave this order instead, ¡°Let all the other guys go, but take Wu Laosan back to the station and put him in jail for five days!¡±


    It would be New Year¡¯s Eve in six days, and Xiaotao would only hold him for five days, meaning that he would be able to return just in time to reunite with his family for the new year. Wu Laosan didn¡¯t seem to appreciate it, though. As he was taken into the car, he yelled, ¡°These bastards are trying to kill me too! You must avenge me if I nevere back!¡±


    ¡°Ungrateful bastard!¡± sneered Xiaotao as she rolled her eyes.


    Director Feng looked at us anxiously, as if waiting for his own punishment. I didn¡¯t think that he was responsible for this injustice, but he still shouldn¡¯t have hidden it from us.


    ¡°Director Feng,¡± I said, ¡°if you fully co-operate and assist us in the investigation and help us catch the real killer, we promise not to investigate the matter again.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Detective Song!¡± he nodded enthusiastically. ¡°I¡¯ll do anything you ask and cooperate with you fully!¡±


    ¡°Have you heard of the story about the ghost in the well?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he replied. ¡°The vigers told us about it when the first murder urred.¡±


    ¡°Do you believe it was a ghost who killed those women, then?¡± I asked.


    He shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m a firm materialist. I¡¯m convinced that it was a human being who did it!¡±


    ¡°What ghost are you guys talking about?¡± asked Xiaotao in confusion.


    I waved my hand and told her, ¡°We¡¯ll talk about itter in the car.¡±


    Once we got into the car, I ryed the folklore that the viger told me earlier in the afternoon. Xiaotaoughed andmented, ¡°What a story! A killer ghost out for young and beautiful women!¡±


    ¡°So you don¡¯t believe it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I believe that ghosts can¡¯t murder anyone, only humans can. You always say that yourself, don¡¯t you?¡±


    So it seemed that none of the police believed that ghosts could kill humans. I assumed that the real killer had utilized the folklore in order to defect the suspicion away from themselves, but it obviously wouldn¡¯t work. Why would they do it, then? One reason could be that the killer wasn¡¯t highly educated and perhaps superstitious. The other reason might be that it was all just a coincidence that the victims fit the narrative of the folklore.


    I wanted to go out and investigateter in the day. I wondered if Xiaotao had the time, so I asked, ¡°Is there any progress in the case of the dismembered corpse?¡±


    ¡°Tests are still being done,¡± she replied. ¡°We should have the results tonight.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going outter this afternoon to do some investigating. I think we should bring Bingxin along too...¡± I was concerned that Xiaotao would be upset about that, so I cautiously asked her, ¡°Are you okay with that?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°I worry about her when she¡¯s left alone. At least we can look out for her if she¡¯s with us.¡±


    Bingxin was very happy to hear that we would be out investigating together.


    Later that day, we went out into town to inquire about the story of the ghost in the well. We first asked the shopkeepers. It turned out that almost all of the local people here were familiar with the story, but those that came from other ces were not. We then went to a bookstore there and I found a book that contained the collection of local folklores which included the full version of the story.


    ¡°Why are you so interested in the ghost story, Song Yang-gege?¡± asked Bingxin. ¡°You know that ghosts can¡¯t kill people!¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a guess?¡± I smiled.


    She held her chin and contemted it. ¡°Are you trying to mislead the killer into thinking that you believe the story, so as to lull them into a false sense of security?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not thatplicated, Miss Sun,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°I bet Song Yang just wants to find out how far the story had spread. That way we can narrow down the search for the killer.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. It seems that the story isn¡¯t so popr. Only people who grew up in this town are familiar with it. This means that the real killer is definitely a local.¡±


    Bingxin sighed. ¡°Not only do we have to solve the dismembered corpse case, but now we¡¯ve got to find a serial killer too? Will we ever make it back in time for the New Year?¡±


    ¡°Well, you can experience New Year¡¯s Eve like a police officer¡ªeating instant noodles in the car while listening to the sound of fireworks and firecrackers,¡± answered Xiaotao.


    Bingxin stuck out her tongue and cried, ¡°No thanks!¡±


    At that moment, we passed by a tailor¡¯s shop, where I noticed a red dress hanging on the wall. I stopped in my tracks and stared at it. Xiaotao noticed this, and asked, ¡°Should we go in and take a look?¡±


    I nodded. We entered the tailor¡¯s shop and found a woman hard at work at the sewing machine. She greeted us without even looking up at us. I signalled to Xiaotao not to show her police badge.


    ¡°Can you make a down jacket?¡± I asked the seamstress.


    ¡°Is it for you?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yes!¡± I answered.


    The seamstress got up and picked up a tape measure. I noticed that her face looked unusual for some reason. It seemed that half of her face was strangely stiff, and her eyelids were a little crooked. Noticing my gaze, she immediately lowered her head shyly as she came over to measure me.


    ¡°Have you had stic surgery done on your face before?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    The seamstress didn¡¯t answer her, so Xiaotao added, ¡°I¡¯ve had it done before myself. It caused someplications though, and it nearly wrecked my face! It cost me a fortune to fix it! Even now I¡¯m still feeling the effects from it! I¡¯m allergic to everything now!¡±


    That got the seamstress¡¯s attention. ¡°Where did you fix it?¡± she asked.


    Xiaotao gave the name of a random hospital as an answer, then added, ¡°You sufferedplications from a stic surgery too, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes...¡± the seamstress replied meekly. ¡°I made a bad choice of the hospital that time, and I suffered for it. I couldn¡¯t even go out and meet people for a long time. Thankfully, it gradually got better after all these years.¡±


    A man walked out of the back room and asked the seamstress, ¡°Who are you talking too, Qin?¡±


    ¡°Just the customers,¡± the seamstress replied. ¡°They¡¯re ordering a down jacket.¡±


    The man seemed to be her husband. His face was unremarkable, but he had a strong and muscr body. He eyed us up and down and asked, ¡°You don¡¯t sound like you¡¯re from around here. What business do you have in this town?¡±


    ¡°Visiting rtives!¡± I answered.


    The man nodded. ¡°The town hasn¡¯t been very safetely. You people should be careful.¡±


    I asked him their names, and the man handed me a business card. His name was Zhang Qiang, and his wife was Li Qin. I pointed at the red dress on the wall and asked, ¡°Who would order that kind of dress these days?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that?¡± replied Zhang Qiang. ¡°We couldn¡¯t sell it for ages, so it stays there on the wall as a decoration of some sort...¡±


    Xiaotao grabbed my arm and cooed, ¡°It¡¯s beautiful, darling! Would you buy it for me?¡±


    I asked them the price, bought the dress, and we left the tailor¡¯s shop.


    Bingxinter asked, ¡°Have you had stic surgery before, Xiaotao-jiejie?¡±


    ¡°What a question!¡± Xiaotao feigned indignation. ¡°Why would a natural beauty like me ever need stic surgery? I was only pretending back there so we could tease out more information from them.¡±


    Bingxin was shocked. ¡°You mean you guys are suspecting the couple in the tailor¡¯s shop?¡±


    ¡°Everyone is suspicious to the police,¡± Xiaotao replied.


    We then returned to the police station. Xiaozhou had tested some traceponents in the victim¡¯s bone marrow. Xiaotao and Bingxin went back to work. Meanwhile, I asked Officer Chen to bring me the files of the serial murders.


    I found that the victims of the four murders were all young and beautiful women. Hot cooking oil was used to disfigure them. When their bodies were found, they were wearing a red dress and there were traces of them being bound on their hands and feet. None of them had been sexually assaulted except for the fourth victim.


    My gaze turned to the photo provided in the case files, where I noticed an rming detail¡ªthe red dress that the first victim was wearing looked exactly like the one hanging on the wall of the tailor¡¯s shop!

 Chapter 196

    <h4>Chapter 196</h4>


    I asked Officer Chen if they still kept the material evidence from the case. He told me that they were all gone because they thought the case was solved. There was an expiration date on the evidence and it had to be disposed of after that date.


    I pulled out the red dress that we bought earlier and showed it to Officer Chen. I asked him if he¡¯d seen it anywhere before.


    ¡°Yes, of course I¡¯ve seen it!¡± he answered without hesitation. ¡°The first victim wore the exact same dress! Where did you get it?¡±


    I told him what happened and what we found. Officer Chen fell into deep thoughts and muttered, ¡°Zhang Qiang... Zhang Qiang... Ah, yes! The first victim was his sister-inw! Zhang Qiang made that dress for her himself! He wasn¡¯t our suspect, though.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± I asked.


    ¡°He had a solid alibi,¡± Officer Chen exined. ¡°He was with his wife at a hot pot restaurant at the time the murder urred. They had a receipt from the restaurant to prove it. Besides, there had been no problems between him and his sister-inw.¡±


    ¡°I want to see the evidence collected in the recent case!¡± I told him.


    Officer Chen took me to the evidence room. Ipared the red dress in the recent case and the one worn by the victim. They didn¡¯t match. The one on the victim looked nothing like the one from Zhang Qiang¡¯s shop. It looked like it was bought online.


    ¡°How did youe to the conclusion that the victims in the first three cases were killed by the same person?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Based on the two details that have not been disclosed to the public,¡± he replied. ¡°One was the knots tied on the ropes around the victims¡¯ hands and feet, which were identical in all cases. The second detail was the fact that all the victims were killed by getting hit on the back of their heads with a heavy blunt object.¡±


    I flipped through the case files. The four victims were indeed all hit on their heads with a heavy object, but there was an anomaly here. Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t directly examine the victims¡¯ bodies anymore, so the amount of information that could be obtained was greatly reduced.


    Xiaotao came to the room and told me to follow her. We ended up in theboratory, where Bingxin and Xiaozhou were. It turned out that Xiaozhou had detected traces of manganese residue and some fluoride in the victim¡¯s bone marrow, but they just couldn¡¯t figure out what that meant and what the victim¡¯s upation was.


    ¡°He was a car mechanic, of course!¡± I remarked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± eximed Xiaotao. ¡°That¡¯s amazing, Song Yang!¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± echoed Bingxin. ¡°How did you find out so quickly?¡±


    I smiled and admitted that I¡¯d been suspecting the fact since earlier that day when we were examining the bones. People engaged in heavybor their whole life would normally have deformed vertebrae, but the victim¡¯s vertebrae werepletely normal. This meant that his job involved physicalbor, yet he ofteny t on the ground while working¡ªwhich fit the description of a car mechanic. The finding from Xiaozhou¡¯s testing just corroborated that.


    The sky was dark now, and I was pretty sure the auto repair shop that the victim used to work in must¡¯ve been closed. Xiaotao suggested we rest for the day and investigate the victim¡¯s identity tomorrow instead.


    I thought the progress we were making was too slow to rest now, to be honest, but this was a cold case, and one must be patient and not rush things when investigating a cold case.


    Director Feng invited us to dinner again, but Xiaotao inly refused to eat fancy food for the day. She said it was in the middle of winter and nearing the end of the year, so it was the perfect asion to have a big hot pot meal together to boost our morale! Bingxin pped excitedly and agreed immediately. I had no idea why girls always got so excited about hot pot.


    Xiaotao sent a message to everyone in the task force, telling them we¡¯d have a hot pot meal together tonight and everyone should buy some ingredients and the pots. At around eight o¡¯clock at night, we all gathered at the hotel. Yuanchao turned up with enough alcohol for the whole police force. Xiaotao had bought expensive and high-qualitymb meat for everyone.


    It got lively and rowdy pretty quickly. I looked around and suddenly noticed that Bingxin was nowhere to be found. I checked my phone and saw a text message from her that read, ¡°Song Yang-gege! I¡¯m in the room. Can you buy me some sanitary pads please?¡± There was an embarrassed emoji at the end of the text too.


    I replied, ¡°Give me a minute.¡± Then I walked into town. It was already about nine o¡¯clock at night, so the streets were pretty dark. I went to a convenience store and bought two packs of sanitary pads, one for day use and one for night use. I bought a pack of ginger tea as well, as it would alleviate symptoms of menstrual cramps.


    I paid the money for the items, then walked back to the hotel. On my way, I suddenly felt as if someone was following me. I looked behind, and my eyes widened in horror!


    It was a woman in a red dress! She had long hair which covered her facepletely. Seeing such a thing in a dark street frightened me of course, but I knew right away that this was no ghost¡ªsomeone was trying to trick me!


    The woman in red and I stood there facing each other for a few seconds, then she turned and fled into an alley. Her footsteps were so light it almost looked like she was floating instead of walking.


    I knew that this woman must¡¯ve had something to do with the murders. I didn¡¯t have the time to contact Xiaotao now¡ªI had to follow her!


    ¡°Stop right there!¡± I shouted.


    I chased after the red phantom. Although the alley was dark, I had no problem seeing at all with my Cave Vision. The woman was very fast. As I ran after her, I used my phone to check the map of the area and found that there would be a fork in the road up ahead.


    I tried to intercept the woman by using a shortcut, but then realized that the woman was gone. I stood therepletely alone in the dark alley, and my heart was racing like crazy in my chest.


    I thought it would be best to call Xiaotao over anyway. As I lowered my head to dial her number, a pair of cold hands suddenly wrapped around my neck from behind me. A voice whispered in my ears, ¡°Anyone who is against me must die!¡±


    I was suffocating, but I desperately tried to hit her with my elbow, and it worked! I turned around and saw the woman¡¯s hair flying in the air, revealing a face that looked like it was melting like hot wax. I froze. My brain went nk. Was the legend true after all?


    The woman stretched out her arms and tried to choke me again. Fortunately, I was quick enough and flung the stic bag in my hand straight at her face. She screamed in pain, and that emboldened me.


    The woman turned to run away, her hands covering her face. I shouted for her to stop and chased after her. But before I could get anywhere, a blinding bright light suddenly appeared. I couldn¡¯t see anything else for a moment. I raised my hands to cover my eyes. I heard some movements, but before I could identify what it was, I felt a sharp pain in my arm¡ªsomeone had hit me with a heavy metallic object! Momentster, I could feel that the heavy object was going to hit my head. In my mind, I was thinking to myself, ¡°I¡¯m done for.¡±


    But just before the object hit me, I heard a rustling noise, like that of a gust of wind. Then it sounded like a heavy object had just fallen to the ground. I heard the sound of footsteps scurrying away, getting further and further away from me.


    Because of that bright light, I still couldn¡¯t see anything. That was the biggest weakness of my Cave Vision. If I was in a dark ce, sudden bright lights would blind me for up to a few seconds.


    Judging from the series of movements just now though, I knew that someone had appeared to save me just in time.


    A hand pulled me up to my feet. It was a delicate hand, like that of a woman. But when the person spoke, it sounded unmistakably male, and it was a familiar voice, too.


    ¡°You won¡¯t give me a break, will you, Young Master?¡±


    I was stunned. It was obviously the man in the trench coat who¡¯d saved me before.


    ¡°Who are you? Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Go back to the hotel now!¡± he answered. ¡°It¡¯s not safe out here!¡±


    He then turned away. All I saw was a faint figure in a white trench coat, as my eyes hadn¡¯t readjusted to the darkness yet.


    ¡°Did you see who attacked me?¡± I shouted.


    ¡°You do the investigating yourself,¡± he answered without looking back. ¡°My only task is to protect you.¡±


    ¡°Would it kill you to help?¡± I argued.


    He was silent for a while, then replied, ¡°They were wearing masks, but it looked like they were a couple.¡±


    He then disappeared into the darkness. Only a cut steel pipe was left on the ground. The cut was both smooth and neat, as if it was done at a high speed with a sharp de. The mysterious man¡¯s fighting skills might well be far above even Yuanchao¡¯s. Who was he? How did he always end up appearing at the most critical time to rescue me? Had he been secretly tracking me all along?

 Chapter 197

    <h4>Chapter 197</h4>


    Instead of leaving the scene, I called Xiaotao and told her what happened, then I asked her toe here and bring my tools along as well.


    When they heard that I¡¯d been attacked, everyone rushed over immediately.


    ¡°Are you hurt?¡± Xiaotao asked the moment she arrived.


    ¡°No,¡± I shook my head. ¡°Do you remember that mysterious guy who saved us that time? He was here again.¡±


    Xiaotao nced at the cut steel pipe and was stunned. ¡°Your mysterious bodyguard is so good at this it¡¯s terrifying! But why didn¡¯t he just catch those people? He could¡¯ve done so easily!¡±


    I shrugged. Who knew what that guy could be thinking?


    I asked Xiaotao to hold the UVmp and checked the footprints on the ground with my Autopsy Umbre. There were three sets of footprints¡ªone from the mysterious guy, another from a pair of size 40 sneakers, and another from a pair of size 35 leather shoes. I asked Xiaozhou to take a ster cast mold of the footprints as evidence.


    ¡°Do you think these two people are rted to the serial murders?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°Most likely,¡± I replied. ¡°They were probably trying to kill me...¡±


    But that was just a guess. If they really wanted to kill me, wasn¡¯t this method a little bit too inefficient? Why didn¡¯t they just ambush me and stab me with a dagger?


    I noticed the solidified cement on the steel pipe, yet there were no fingerprints on it. Apparently, the killer was wearing gloves. At that moment, Yuanchao returned from the other side of the alley, holding the exact same steel pipe in his hand.


    ¡°I got this at a construction site nearby,¡± he said.


    So the killer didn¡¯t bring it with him in the first ce? Why did this seem like a rushed attack?


    ¡°Why did you buy sanitary pads, Song Yang?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°Oh my god!¡± I pped my forehead. ¡°Bingxin is still sitting on the toilet waiting for this!¡±


    ¡°You should¡¯ve just asked me,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ve got sanitary pads in my bag. Don¡¯t go out alone at night ever again, understood?¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± I nodded.


    After investigating the scene for a while, we returned to the hotel. In addition to the identity of the killer, I was much more curious about the identity of my mysterious bodyguard. We were still walking by the road, and I suddenly turned and walked in front of an approaching car.


    The car stopped with a loud screech, and the driver yelled, ¡°You fucking idiot! Are you trying to kill yourself?¡±


    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± Xiaotao asked with shock.


    ¡°I wanted to see if that mysterious guy would show up and save me,¡± I replied.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be joking!¡± cried Xiaotao. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit too risky? What if you actually died? If you want to find out who he is, then we should be using our investigating skills to find the answer instead!¡±


    The next day, Xiaotao told Bingxin to rest for the day. We then went out to visit the auto repair shops in town together. There were only a few auto repair shops here, so even before noon, we made a major discovery. There was a mechanic named Cao Dazhuang who went missingst year.


    ¡°Did you report him as a missing person?¡± I asked his boss.


    The boss showed me a text message Cao Dazhuang sent to himst year, which read, ¡°Sorry I have to leave without saying goodbye, Boss. My cousin needs help in the city, so I have to go. You don¡¯t need to pay for my sry this month!¡±


    This was a usual ploy used by murderers. I believed that the victim was indeed Cao Dazhuang, but I still required DNA evidence. We asked the boss for Cao Dazhuang¡¯s address, and he replied, ¡°He rented a room in town, but he probably moved out a long time ago.¡±


    We still asked for the address anyway, and tracked down thendlord of the room and asked him about Cao Dazhuang. He informed us that Cao Dazhuang left without saying anything, but his friend hade and helped him pack. The friend even paid his utility bills.


    ¡°What was that friend¡¯s name?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember,¡± thendlord shook his head. ¡°It was more than half a year ago after all.¡±


    ¡°Tell me anything you can recall about the friend.¡±


    Thendlord thought about it for a while and answered, ¡°I think he was a tailor. I once saw this man in his shop and even talked to him about this once.¡±


    I asked the address of the shop he mentioned, and it really did turn out to be Zhang Qiang¡¯s shop. Xiaotao and I exchanged looks. I was pretty sure that this case was connected to the serial murders now.


    We thanked thendlord and left. Xiaotao asked me if we should go back to the tailor¡¯s shop, but I said no.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right!¡± Xiaotaoughed. ¡°It¡¯s your usual tactic, isn¡¯t it? Don¡¯t rm the suspects!¡±


    The more the police suspected someone, the less they would make moves against that person¡ªthis was amon tactic used in criminal investigations. It seemed that, like me, Xiaotao was suspicious of Zhang Qiang!


    I¡¯d developed a habit after investigating many cases. If I suspected someone, I would imagine themmitting the crimes and see if the image fit their characteristics. At present, it seemed that putting Zhang Qiang fit the position of the murderer quite well.


    Xiaotao asked me what our next move would be. I told her that I needed some time to sort out my thoughts, so she suggested going out for lunch.


    I bought a map of the whole county from the newsstand by the roadside, and then went to a fast-food restaurant with Xiaotao. I spread the map on the table and marked the resident locations of the four victims. As Xiaotao returned to the table with our food, she asked, ¡°Are you going to use your divining technique again, Detective Song?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I shook my head. ¡°I was just thinking about the points where all the victims intersect.¡±


    ¡°Well, they¡¯re all beautiful young women...¡±


    ¡°What you¡¯re talking about is their simrities,¡± I corrected her. ¡°I¡¯m talking about where they might intersect. In other words, where would they all go despite having different upations?¡±


    ¡°Young women like clothes, usually,¡± offered Xiaotao. ¡°Perhaps they were targeted by the murderer when they ordered clothes at the tailor¡¯s shop. The couple are getting more and more suspicious...¡±


    ¡°You think so?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Perhaps I should send officers to investigate where they had been before they died, so we can verify this.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s do a simtion of the crimes this afternoon!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± cried Xiaotao, nervous.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I assured her. ¡°It¡¯s just a normal simtion, not Murder Reenactment.¡±


    We went back to the police station and held a short meeting discussing the case. Xiaotao instructed an officer to investigate the whereabouts of the four victims a month before their deaths. Cao Dazhuang¡¯s rtionships were to be investigated too. After that, Xiaotao and I went to an empty conference room to simte the first murder. ording to the case file, the victim was disfigured with hot oil when she was still alive, while the fatal injury that killed her was the blow to the back of her head. This was where I detected an anomaly.


    ¡°Perhaps there were two murderers,¡± Xiaotao theorized. ¡°Just as you suggested earlier!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m worried about,¡± I replied. ¡°If we were the murderers, what should we do to make sure the police never suspected us?¡±


    ¡°First of all, we would make sure not to leave any fingerprints, so we must wear gloves. Secondly, the murder weapons must not be too specific, like electric drills or rare chemicals, which are too easy to trace. Apart from that, the body should be discarded in an isted ce. Theter it is discovered, the better it is for the murderers.¡±


    ¡°And if you¡¯re a tailor and the victim was wearing the clothes that you made,¡± I continued, ¡°would you take it off?¡±


    ¡°Of course I would!¡±


    ¡°What do you think is the most suitable method of disfiguring the victim?¡±


    ¡°Probably alkaline water,¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°Edible alkali can be bought anywhere. It wouldn¡¯t be suspicious when it¡¯s found, it can be stored anywhere, and it¡¯s easy to clean up. Burning a pot of hot oil is a bit too troublesome, not to mention the fact that it would leave unmistakable traces.¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± I nodded. ¡°Now you understand why I feel the first murder case was a bit too messy¡ªalmost like the murderers were amateurs! Yet in the subsequent cases, the murders seemed much more professional. The murderer even tried to mislead the police with local folklore, which none of the police believed, by the way. Perhaps... perhaps the first murder was a passionate crime, done in the spur of the moment, and the other murders were just copies of the first one to mislead the police!¡±


    At that point, my mind seemed to clear and I finally saw a path towards the final answer of the case.

 Chapter 198

    <h4>Chapter 198</h4>


    ¡°What are you thinking about, Song Yang?¡± wondered Xiaotao.


    ¡°Before I tell you, I¡¯ve got a little test for you,¡± I said. ¡°How many types of serial killers are there?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Xiaotao thought about it for a while and answered, ¡°There are sociopathic serial killers who are obsessed with power and control; psychotic killers who arepelled to kill by the voices in their head; missionary serial killers who believe it is their religious or social duty to kill a certain demographic; and the hedonistic serial killers who are driven by lust and thrill.¡±


    These were the standard ssification of serial killers, but they only dealt with their motivations.


    ¡°Serial killers generally have their own clear style and targets,¡± I stated. ¡°The victims all wore a red dress, they were all disfigured, and they were all hit on the back of their head. These three points make us think that we¡¯re dealing with a serial killer, when in fact, we¡¯re not.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying, Song Yang?¡±


    ¡°This is an atypical serial killer,¡± I said. ¡°The murderers identally killed someone close to them. They were afraid of exposing themselves, so they killed several people in a row in the same style to make the police think that a serial killer did it to divert the suspicion away from themselves!¡±


    ¡°I get it now!¡± eximed Xiaotao. ¡°The three cases after the first one were intended to mislead the police!¡±


    I nodded. ¡°The first case must¡¯ve been their first murder. It was done sloppily, and they made a lot of mistakes. They should¡¯ve taken off the victim¡¯s red dress, but they didn¡¯t. When the body was found, some people connected it to the folklore, so they simply continued to kill other women to make it seem even more like the ghost did it. Gradually they developed a methodical murder technique and got better and better at it.¡±


    ¡°This means that the couple at the tailor¡¯s shop are even more suspicious now!¡± Xiaotao remarked. ¡°Why do you think they killed the first victim?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure why exactly,¡± I replied, ¡°but I don¡¯t think they hit the victim on the head with a heavy object at all. It¡¯s more likely that she bumped into it or was shoved against it. In fact, it was probable that the first murder was an ident!¡±


    ¡°Then why did they kill Cao Dazhuang?¡±


    It seemed that Xiaotao had linked the two cases together now. I agreed with this view, and the murderers responsible for all these deaths were most likely the couple at the tailor¡¯s shop.


    ¡°I think they were trying to silence him,¡± I muttered. ¡°Cao Dazhuang probably discovered the truth somehow, but he was a man, so the couple couldn¡¯t make it seem like he was killed by the ghost. That¡¯s why they had to make sure that his body was dismembered to make it impossible for the police to identify him.¡±


    It could be said that the dismembered corpse case was the critical point where all these murders could be connected to each other. Once the rtionship between Cao Dazhuang and the tailor was discovered, the whole truth of the case would immediately be clear!


    For now, though, everything was still theoretical. We didn¡¯t have any material evidence to support our suspicions. We couldn¡¯t just work backwards from our own conclusion either. To wit, Dr. Qin probably thought Wu Mou was very suspicious, so he set his mind on him as the murderer and threaded every piece of evidence he found into the narrative that the murderer was indeed Wu Mou. The intuition of the investigator was, in this sense, a double-edged sword.


    ¡°Should I order some officers to monitor the couple¡¯s movements?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°Not for the moment,¡± I shook my head. ¡°Let¡¯s first check Li Qin¡¯s medical record secretly and see if she has any history of mental illness.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Xiaotaoughed. ¡°What are you getting at, Song Yang?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps this would be a major breakthrough in the case,¡± I replied. ¡°Or it might prove that everything we thought was wrong. In any case, just investigate the matter for now!¡±


    I had nothing to do for the time being, so I nned to return to the hotel. When I came out with Xiaotao, Director Feng somehow found us and he brought a fat middle-aged man along with him. The man was introduced to us as the mayor. When he heard that the experts from the city were here to help with the murder cases, he immediately thought of inviting us to dinner tonight.


    Xiaotao frowned and dragged Director Feng to the side and whispered, ¡°Didn¡¯t you promise us you¡¯d cooperate fully with the investigation? Why are you trying to waste our time now?¡±


    ¡°The mayor kept insisting, so I really had no choice, Officer Huang!¡± Director Feng replied. ¡°Could you please just honor his wish just this one time? He seemed desperate...¡±


    Xiaotao let out a heavy sigh and told me, ¡°You should go back and take care of Bingxin, Song Yang. I¡¯ll handle the dinner.¡±


    ¡°I can go with you too! Are you sure you can handle it alone?¡±


    Xiaotao gave me a grateful smile, but insisted, ¡°If her dad finds out that we left Little Miss Sun all alone during her period, he¡¯d kill me for sure! Go back and apany her, Song Yang.¡±


    I noticed that Xiaotao¡¯s attitude towards Bingxin had changed. She used to resent her presence, but now she didn¡¯t even mind me spending time alone with Bingxin anymore. Her trust genuinely moved me.


    I then returned to the hotel alone, where I found Bingxin writhing in bed due to her menstrual cramps. I made her a cup of ginger and brown sugar tea and asked for a hot water bottle from the bar downstairs. Her pain alleviated slightly after drinking the ginger tea.


    ¡°You¡¯ve be so considerate now, Song Yang-gege!¡± Bingxin remarked. ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie alwaysined of you being too blunt and straightforward, but I think you¡¯ve changed a lot!¡±


    ¡°Have I, though?¡± I asked. ¡°Haven¡¯t I always been this way?¡±


    ¡°No, absolutely not!¡± Bingxin pouted. ¡°You never held the door open for me before. In fact, I got pped in the face by the door once when I was behind you. Then when I couldn¡¯t reach something on the shelf, all you did was get me a stool. And when I was terrified by the thunder, you exined the scientific cause of lightning and thunder instead of justforting me!¡±


    Iughed meekly. Had I been such an idiot in the past?


    ¡°You must¡¯ve hated me, huh?¡±


    ¡°Not at all, Song Yang-gege!¡± Bingxin smiled. ¡°I always find you adorable. You¡¯re always so serious and earnest, not like those guys who¡¯ve got a lot of charms but no substance at all!¡±


    Bingxin started to blush, so I quickly changed the topic. ¡°Are you really nning toe to my house for the New Year?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± sheughed. ¡°I¡¯ve long wanted to visit the Song family¡¯s legendary old estate!¡±


    ¡°But my house is haunted, you know?¡± I teased her. ¡°At night, you can see people wearing ancient official uniforms walking around the house. I heard Grandpa say they¡¯re the ancestors of the Song family.¡±


    ¡°Stop it!¡± she yfully shoved me. ¡°You know I¡¯m afraid of ghosts!¡±


    I wasn¡¯t just trying to scare her, though. When I was young, I really did see some figures wearing ancient official uniforms around the house. When I told Grandpa about it, he immediately took me to the ancestor¡¯s shrine and burned some incense and joss paper in their honor.


    Although my house was built in the modern style, the history of the estate could be traced back to the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In fact, the hill behind our house was full of old tombs for past family members of the Song family. The famed Song Ci was not the only noteworthy member of our family either¡ªhe was only the most famous one.


    Bingxin and I went on to chat about the things she learned at medical school. Xiaotao finally came backter that night.


    ¡°Ugh, that was the worst dinner I¡¯ve ever been to!¡± sheined when she came into the room. ¡°The mayor spent the whole time boasting about how great a man his son is. It sounds like he¡¯s trying to introduce him to me as a prospective husband!¡±


    ¡°At least you got to have a nice meal for free,¡± said Bingxin. ¡°All we had for dinner was takeaway.¡±


    ¡°Wanna change ces, then?¡± asked Xiaotao. ¡°If the mayor knew that you¡¯re Sun Tiger¡¯s daughter, he¡¯d bring his son over to meet you right away! Why do people in small towns like sucking up to people so much?¡±


    ¡°You do realize that I¡¯m from a small town too, don¡¯t you?¡± I smiled bitterly. ¡°Right, I¡¯m going back to my room.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± Xiaotao stopped me. ¡°The mayor had another reason to invite me to dinner. It¡¯s probably rted to the case!¡±

 Chapter 199

    <h4>Chapter 199</h4>


    ording to Xiaotao, the mayor mentioned a girl named He Jiajia during the meal. He said she was a friend¡¯s daughter who had recently disappeared. The mayor hoped that we could help find her while we were here.


    ¡°She¡¯s his illegitimate daughter, isn¡¯t she?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I think so too,¡± Xiaotaoughed. ¡°He looked too concerned for the girl to be a friend¡¯s daughter.¡±


    ¡°These officials have such messy private lives!¡± Bingxin eximed. ¡°If I ever find out that my dad has an illegitimate daughter, I swear I will run away from home!¡±


    ¡°Perhaps Song Yang is your half-brother!¡± Xiaotao joked.


    Bingxin threw a pillow at Xiaotao and yelled, ¡°Shut up!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m joking, I¡¯m joking!¡± Xiaotaoughed. ¡°How can your dad ever be rted to Song Yang? His body is too thick and muscr, and his skin is too dark!¡±


    Bingxin pursed her mouth, ¡°By that logic, I can¡¯t be rted to him either!¡±


    ¡°Maybe you should get a DNA test, just in case,¡± Xiaotao shot back.


    ¡°Ah, stop it Xiaotao-jiejie!¡± shouted Bingxin. She then burrowed herself into the thick nket and disappeared.


    By the looks of it, it seemed that the rtionship between these two had really improved.


    I coughed and muttered, ¡°What else happened?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right! The mayor was worried that his daughter might fall prey to the serial killer, which is why he pleaded for us to speed up the investigation and catch the killer as soon as possible.¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°But we don¡¯t have any evidence yet! You should order some officers to follow the couple anyway, just in case the worst happens.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do that, but it can¡¯t be that much of a coincidence, right?¡±


    ording to the period of time between the murdersmitted by the killer, there was a real possibility that another murder had urred, but I said nothing.


    Yuanchao didn¡¯t return to the hotel that night, as he went back to the city to check for some clues. The officer that Xiaotao instructed to investigate the victims¡¯ whereabouts returned, but he couldn¡¯t obtain any information at all since it happened too long ago. This meant that we weren¡¯t able to confirm if the victims did visit the tailor¡¯s shop.


    At noon the next day, Yuanchao called us and said he¡¯d asked all the hospitals in the province but found no records of Li Qin suffering any mental illnesses.


    This was not good news to me at all. Did we really get it all wrong?


    ¡°Why do you think she¡¯s mentally ill?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°The man who attacked me that night was most likely the tailor, so I thought that Li Qin probably had a split personality, and the motive for the murders was in fact...¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± urged Xiaotao. ¡°What¡¯s the motive? You¡¯re killing me with the suspense, Song Yang!¡±


    ¡°No, no...¡± I shook my head. ¡°It¡¯s a far-fetched idea, not to mention that I have no evidence to back it up now.¡±


    ¡°Just tell me anyway!¡±


    ¡°The motive was to cure Li Qin!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Xiaotao stared at me. ¡°Where did thate from?¡±


    I told her that when we went to the tailor¡¯s shop that day, I noticed that Li Qin was a bit nervous, especially when Xiaotao asked her about her stic surgery. I thought she might¡¯ve suffered mentally after the botched surgery, which triggered her mental illness, especially when she saw beautiful young women. Her husband might kill those women to help alleviate her condition.


    I read a simr case file in the bureau before. A few years ago, there was a serial killer case where the real killer turned out to be a shy and introverted girl. She had dual personality. Her other personality waspletely different¡ªshe was confident and cheerful. This personality was awakened every time she was in high distress. When the introverted girl fell in love with a man, she would kill someone before going on a date with him just so she could switch to her alter ego. No one would¡¯ve ever thought that that would be the real motive behind the murders. In fact, if the girl hadn¡¯t surrendered and confessed, she probably would¡¯ve gone scot-free.


    Some time ago, I read a bunch of case files and carefully analyzed the motivation behind each case. I came to a conclusion¡ªif you can¡¯t find the motive with normal people¡¯s logic, try abnormal logic instead because murderers aren¡¯t always logical or normal!


    But now that Li Qin did not seem to have a history of mental illness, my spection was most likelypletely wrong. I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little discouraged.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you can¡¯t determine the motive,¡± Xiaotaoforted me. ¡°We can just ask them about it after arresting them!¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°But we have no evidence and we still can¡¯t determine the killer¡¯s motive. How can we arrest them now? You don¡¯t n to be like Dr. Qin and catch the wrong person, do you?¡±


    ¡°Then what if we just confront them directly? Why don¡¯t we go meet them at the tailor¡¯s shop again?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t just barge in there without a reason!¡±


    ¡°But we do have a reason!¡± Xiaotao smiled. ¡°Didn¡¯t you order a down jacket from them? It should be ready today!¡±


    I burst intoughter. I¡¯dpletely forgotten about it!


    Xiaotao asked Xiaozhou for a photo of the molds of the footprints taken that night. As we got out of the police station, we bumped into Bingxin who was carrying her bag of tools.


    ¡°There won¡¯t be any autopsies today,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°What are you doing carrying your bag around like that?¡±


    ¡°I got bored staying in the room all day,¡± replied Bingxin. ¡°I¡¯m here as the intern coroner, after all! I have to do something!¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you leave your stuff here and follow us to the tailor¡¯s shop?¡± I suggested.


    Bingxin jumped with excitement. ¡°Awesome!¡±


    Xiaotaoughed. ¡°Silly girl! We¡¯re going to investigate a murder case, not a party!¡±


    It was at the close of the year, so Zhang Qiang¡¯s tailor shop was very busy. When we arrived, he told us to take a seat and wait for a while. I told him not to worry because we weren¡¯t in a hurry.


    The couple actually lived there at the shop, so their personal belongings were all over the ce. Xiaotao pretended to look at the clothes as she eyed the shoe shelf. I stood up to cover her from the couple¡¯s sights. She picked up the shoes one by one and examined the soles.


    ¡°None of them match!¡± cried Xiaotao, shaking her head.


    I checked the shoe size and said, ¡°But the sizes match!¡±


    Xiaotao sighed. ¡°They probably threw away the shoes they wore that night.¡±


    That got me excited. ¡°If they really did that, it proves that the couple must really have something to hide!¡±


    I turned around and found Bingxin engaged in a conversation with a middle-aged woman. Li Qin was sitting at the sewing machine staring at Bingxin. She got so distracted that the needle of the sewing machine pierced her finger. She let out a sharp cry, and Zhang Qiang immediately went over and checked her hand, asking her if she was okay.


    I noticed the intense jealousy in Li Qin¡¯s eyes as she was staring at Bingxin. This little detail intrigued me.


    At that moment, a tall and muscr man walked in and shouted, ¡°Is my coat ready, Qiang?¡±


    ¡°Ah, Wang-ge!¡± Zhang Qiang answered. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s on the rack over there!¡±


    The man grabbed the coat and asked, ¡°How much do I owe you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly, Wang-ge!¡± Zhang Qiang waved his hand. ¡°Just take your coat! You don¡¯t owe me anything!¡±


    The manughed and said, ¡°Right, I¡¯ll buy you a drinkter! Thanks for this!¡±


    Seeing that the man was Zhang Qiang¡¯s friend, I turned to Xiaotao and whispered, ¡°I¡¯ll go talk to him!¡±


    Just as I was about to leave, Bingxin ran after me and shouted, ¡°I¡¯m going too!¡± Then she whispered, ¡°Thatdy is so annoying! She¡¯s been asking me a million questions! She even offered to introduce me to a young man!¡±


    Xiaotaoughed. ¡°You should be d that you¡¯re so popr! Both of you go on ahead, I¡¯ll stay here to keep an eye on the couple.¡±


    Bingxin and I followed the man. He crossed the street and went into a hair salon. There were a number of women in that hair salon wearing skimpy clothes. It was obvious at first nce that this was an unsavory ce.


    ¡°Are we really going in there, Song Yang-gege?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely!¡± I nodded. ¡°This is our perfect chance!¡±

 Chapter 200

    <h4>Chapter 200</h4>


    The man was about to enter the hair salon when I yelled, ¡°Stop!¡±


    He turned around and angrily yelled, ¡°Who the hell are you? How dare you tell me to stop!¡±


    I was sure then that this guy was a gangster. I showed him my badge. The words ¡°Nanjiang City Police¡± were enough to deter him. His tone softened immediately.


    ¡°Ah, forgive me, officer!¡± he said. ¡°I was just going to get myself a haircut.¡±


    I nced at his short-cropped hair and sneered, ¡°A haircut, huh?¡±


    He smiled and continued, ¡°Ah, well I haven¡¯t gone inside, have I? That means I haven¡¯tmitted any crimes, right officer?¡±


    ¡°Forget about that,¡± I waved my hand. ¡°I¡¯m going to ask you some questions.¡±


    ¡°Fire away, officer!¡±


    ¡°Do you know Zhang Qiang?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do! We grew up together! You see these pants? He made them! Why do you ask, officer? You know, if hemitted a crime, his shop is right there. Why don¡¯t you go ask him yourself?¡±


    A police officer would not answer every question. I stared straight at him without saying anything until his guilty conscience made him look away. I learned this trick from the other police officers.


    ¡°Do you know his wife Li Qin and his friend Cao Dazhuang?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°Sure do,¡± he replied. ¡°they all grew up together. Are you investigating Dazhuang¡¯s disappearance? That bastard hasn¡¯t contacted me for more than half a year!¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t answer that question,¡± I said sternly. ¡°What was Li Qin¡¯s upation in the past?¡±


    The man had a contemptuous smile on his face as he pointed at the hair salon behind him and said, ¡°She did that!¡±


    He went on to say that Li Qin was the prettiest girl in town when she was in school. Plenty of boys in the ss had a crush on her, but Zhang Qiang loved her most earnestly.


    The man was Zhang Qiang¡¯s roommate in the school dorms back then. Zhang Qiang would talk about Li Qin every night after the lights were turned off. Li Qin herself paid no attention to any of the boys at school, so Zhang Qiang always believed that he had a chance with her.


    The year Li Qin graduated from high school, she took the 300 yuan that she saved up and moved to the city. When Zhang Qiang heard that she was about to leave, he borrowed a motorcycle and rushed over to the bus station to meet her. When he got there, he finally confessed his feelings to her.


    Sadly, Li Qin bluntly told him that she didn¡¯t want to spend all her life in this small town. She hated everything here, including Zhang Qiang.


    Those words pierced Zhang Qiang¡¯s heart. He became depressed for months after that.


    Unfortunately for Li Qin, the outside world was cruel and uncaring. At first, she wanted to be an actress, so she worked in the film and television industry for a few years. Then she went on to be a model when acting didn¡¯t work. She was the prettiest flower in the small town, but in the city, she couldn¡¯tpete with the other women at all! In order to get ahead in her career, she started to turn to facelifts and stic surgery. In the end, modeling failed too, so she had to turn to less and less dignified jobs. She then started dating rich old men, but all of them basically just treated her like a ything.


    In the eyes of the tall and muscr man, what Li Qin did was no different from prostitution. In fact, she was even worse than a prostitute, since some prostitutes returned from the city with enough money to set up a small shop, yet she came backpletely penniless.


    ¡°Get to the point!¡± I interrupted him.


    The man apologized, then added that as Li Qin got older, it became harder and harder to find jobs in the city. She got more and more stic surgeries until her face was botched.


    At the same time, she had used up all of her savings, and she was left with no choice but to return to the small town. All her friends had their own careers and families by then, and they all thought of her with both sympathy and contempt when they saw her return as a failure.


    Most people even thought that she deserved everything she got, but Zhang Qiang was different. He epted her regardless of what she went through and even took out his own savings to help her. Later, they got married and opened a tailor¡¯s shop together. Li Qin worked herself to the point of exhaustion when she was in the city, and as a result, she couldn¡¯t get pregnant. Thus, the couple remained childfree to this day.


    The townsfolk didn¡¯t agree with their marriage. Most of them couldn¡¯t understand why Zhang Qiang would ever ept a woman like Li Qin. Yet, no matter what the others said, Li Qin remained the perfect woman in Zhang Qiang¡¯s heart. In fact, if anyone dared to mention Li Qin¡¯s past in front of him, he would instantly get angry and confrontational.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t take a woman like that even for free!¡± croaked the man. ¡°I feel bad for my buddy, though. So, was my information helpful to you at all, officer?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°You can go now!¡±


    ¡°Thank you, officer! Perhaps we can have a drink together the next time we meet!¡±


    Bingxin and I turned around and walked out of the alley. I sighed and remarked, ¡°It¡¯s a familiar tale, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± replied Bingxin. ¡°That woman is pitiful. She should¡¯ve just focused on her studies when she was in school!¡±


    ¡°Not everyone is like you, being at the top of the ss every year!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true! I once was second in ss. I was so sad my dad had tofort me for days...¡±


    I wondered how many girls ended up like Li Qin in this country. They were born into ordinary families and limited opportunities. They would try desperately to change their destinies, but most of them would only return home having lost everything just like Li Qin.


    Perhaps one in a thousand of them would seed and be famous actresses or celebrities, but who could imagine what they had to go through and what they must sacrifice to reach their goals?


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think her name is too in for a model, Song Yang-gege?¡± I heard Bingxin ask when I was still deep in thoughts. ¡°She should¡¯ve changed her name if she wanted to be famous!¡±


    Bingxin¡¯s words made me realize something. I ran back to the salon as Bingxin shouted, ¡°Where are you going, Song Yang-gege?¡±


    The man was still at the salon door, bargaining with a woman. He was stunned when he saw me.


    ¡°W-Wait, officer! I haven¡¯t agreed to anything yet so it¡¯s still not a crime, right?¡±


    The woman in heavy makeup beside him anxiously cried, ¡°What are you talking about? This is a hair salon! We don¡¯t do anything illegal here!¡±


    I was not in the mood to argue with them, so I bluntly asked the man, ¡°What was Li Qin¡¯s name when she worked in the city?¡±


    The man scratched his head and muttered, ¡°Um... Well, it was a catchy name...¡± He thought about it for a few seconds and finally remembered, ¡°Right! She was called Li Rumeng!¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± I patted him on the shoulder.


    I then left the salon. When I looked back, the man actually entered the hair salon again, so I called Director Feng and reported them.


    ¡°What did you find out, Song Yang-gege?¡± asked Bingxin when she saw me. ¡°You look so happy!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you, Bingxin! Li Qin did indeed change her name when she was in the city. No wonder we couldn¡¯t find any medical records on her!¡±


    I called Yuanchao and asked him to go back to the major hospitals in the province and ask for Li Rumeng¡¯s medical records.


    When we returned to the tailor¡¯s shop, Xiaotao was standing at the entrance, one hand holding a jacket and one hand on her hips, looking very impatient.


    ¡°What took you so long?¡± sheined.


    ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting,¡± I replied. ¡°Did you find out anything?¡±


    ¡°I chatted with the couple for a while. They told me they had known each other since childhood. They were too busy with work so they don¡¯t have any children. Their lives were peaceful and uneventful ording to them.¡±


    Sure enough, we wouldn¡¯t discover anything had we asked Zhang Qiang directly.


    Xiaotao looked at me with narrowed eyes and asked, ¡°You look suspiciously cheerful! What did you discover?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you everything when we get back to the station!¡±

 Chapter 201

    <h4>Chapter 201</h4>


    As I walked, I repeated what I heard from the tanned fellow. Now, all that¡¯s left was to wait for the results of Yuanchao¡¯s investigation. I asked Xiaotao if she wanted to go back to the station.


    "We¡¯d just be waiting even if we went back. Why don¡¯t we look for a cafe and have some ice cream?" She suddenly eximed, "Ah, how could I have forgotten? Bingxin can¡¯t have anything cold. Why don¡¯t you decide?"


    Indeed, only those with high emotional intelligence would take note of such details. Bingxin pointed to a stall serving beef soup. "I want that. My dad never allows me to eat at a roadside stall."


    With a wave of her hand, Xiaotao said, "Let¡¯s go then!"


    We were taking our time savoring a bowl of beef soup when Xiaotao¡¯s phone rang. She handed the phone over to me after saying a few words. "Is it Uncle Wang?¡± I asked.


    On the phone, Yuanchao reported, "Song Yang, through my investigation, I found that Li Rumeng was hospitalized in the city¡¯s fourth psychiatric hospital. I have the medical records faxed from the hospital in my hands. She has Dissociative Identity Disorder."


    As soon as I heard the term, I immediately realized, "So she does have a split personality!"


    Yuanchao began to read her records. "The patient had suicidal tendencies due to cosmetic surgery failure. In order to escape from reality, she created another personality, switching to the ego part of her personality when she was younger. This personality shows great hostility to the main personality and disys self-destructive behavior! After electroconvulsive therapy, she basically recovered, but there is still a risk of rpse."


    Her medical record was a little different from what I had imagined, but it was still in the right direction. Li Rumeng was mentally ill!


    Yuanchao asked, "Is there anything else that I should check?"


    "No. Juste back first!" But I added, "You¡¯ve worked hard, so I¡¯ll buy you a drink when you return."


    After I hung up, Xiaotao asked, "What should we investigate next?"


    I mmed the table and announced, "Investigate Cao Dazhuang¡¯s death. That¡¯ll be our breakthrough in tearing off this couple¡¯s mask!"


    Sheughed. "Weren¡¯t you just at your wits¡¯ end? How did youe up with another idea all of a sudden?"


    "Perhaps the gears in my head are running again! Before this, I was worried I might cause a miscarriage of justice, just like Dr. Qin had, so I was slow to act. But now, I¡¯m 99% sure that this couple are the murderers."


    "How should we... investigate Cao Dazhaung¡¯s death? There¡¯s only the skeleton left from the corpse."


    "Do you remember what thendlord said? At the time, Zhang Qiang helped Cao Dazhuang move on his own initiative. What does that mean?"


    Xiaotao eximed excitedly. "I got it. The ce where Cao Dazhuang lived was the first crime scene! But it¡¯s already been so long¡ªhow are we going to investigate the scene?"


    "We can only use forensic methods. Let¡¯s go over and see if there are any traces of the murderer¡¯s DNA left behind. It¡¯s not that easy to clean a murder scene."


    "Well, this depends on luck then! But with a face as fair as yours, I believe we¡¯ll find something."


    I responded with a bitterugh. "Then ording to what you say, Bao Gong would never have been able to solve any cases! You two go over first. I¡¯ll go to the tailor¡¯s and get some DNA samples forparison."


    Bingxin interjected, "You¡¯re going alone? Let me go with you!"


    I shook my head. "No, it¡¯s more convenient if I go on my own. Follow Xiaotao."


    I could feel that Li Qin was hostile towards Bingxin, so it¡¯d be safer if I went alone.


    Xiaotao asked, "What excuse will you give him?"


    I borrowed a lighter from the uncle eating next to me, ¡°identally¡± burning a hole in the down jacket I had just received. "I¡¯ll ask him to mend the hole in my jacket. It¡¯s a good reason, isn¡¯t it?"


    Xiaotaoughed. "You¡¯re bing more and more wicked..."


    After we split up, I went to Zhang Qiang¡¯s tailor shop. Right now, the shop wasn¡¯t as busy, and the couple were having their meal. As soon as he spotted me, Zhang Qiang put down his bowl and asked, "What¡¯s the matter? Is the down jacket ufortable?"


    By observing his bodynguage, I detected nervousness in his eyes but I didn¡¯t use Cave Vision. If the color of my eyes were to suddenly change right before him, he would¡¯ve discovered it.


    The man who had attacked me that night was undoubtedly Zhang Qiang. He must¡®ve already realized that I was with the police, and I too knew that he was the murderer, yet both of us feigned ignorance. How intriguing!


    I pointed out the hole in my jacket that needed mending. He assured me he would fix it and got right to it.


    I looked around and found Li Qin behind a bolt of cloth with half her face exposed, casting a wary eye on me. Zhang Qiang stuck a cigarette between his lips and asked while he sewed, "What do you do, young fe?"


    "What do you think?"


    "You don¡¯t look like a student, but you don¡¯t resemble an office worker either. Are you a writer?"


    I smiled. "You¡¯re right!"


    He looked up curiously. "What sort of books do you write?"


    "Criminal investigation. I heard that there have been several murders here, so I¡¯m here for research!"


    I was deliberately testing him. The corners of Zhang Qiang¡¯s eyes twitched, but he soon forced a smile. "Looks like you¡¯re doing well. You even have such a beautiful girlfriend. The city is where opportunities are abound. You can even make a fortune typing a few words. Unlike us, we work ourselves to the bone day and night just to earn that little bit!"


    I modestly replied, "I¡¯m doing okay. That¡¯s right, I heard that the first victim was your sister-inw. Can you tell me more?"


    Zhang Qiang looked up, his eyes chilly. "She¡¯s dead, what else can I say?"


    I calmly met his gaze and asked, "Did you see the murderer?"


    "I was outside, eating with my wife. The police have already questioned me. Go to them if you¡¯re looking for research materials!"


    I persisted. "Did the police suspect you?"


    He curled his lip contemptuously. "So what if they suspect me? They have no evidence!"


    We red at each other for a few seconds before Zhang Qiang said, ¡°You¡¯re not a writer, are you?"


    I smirked. "Then what do you think I do?"


    "I think you¡¯re a policeman!" Zhang Qiang¡¯s face twisted into a murderous expression.


    Fearful that further probing would reveal my identity, I quickly changed the subject. "Hey, you¡¯ve dropped cigarette ash on my jacket."


    Zhang Qiang looked down and quickly dusted off the cigarette ash, conveniently putting out his cigarette in the ashtray next to him. Making sure that I had obstructed Li Qin¡¯s line of sight with my body, I quickly nabbed a cigarette butt¨Cnot the one he had just put out¨Cand hid it in my pocket. First off, there was still a bit of smoldering at the end which made it difficult to hide. Secondly, Zhang Qiang would¡¯ve discovered it.


    The one I nabbed was of the same brand as the one Zhang Qiang had been smoking. The bite marks on it also looked very simr. In all likelihood, his saliva should be on it.


    However, I had underestimated Zhang Qiang. The moment he looked back up and nced at the ashtray, his expression turned ugly. He proceeded to count them and asked aloud, "Why is there one missing?"


    For a moment, I was shocked. This man even remembered how many cigarette butts there were in the ashtray!


    Zhang Qiang counted them again and stood up, eyes awash with ill intention. "Did you steal it?"


    I bluffed with false bravado. "Are you crazy? Why would I steal a cigarette butt?"


    He glowered at me and roared, "Did you steal it?"


    I shouted back at him, matching his volume. "You psycho! Are you crazy?"


    Right then, Li Qin smashed her bowl and ran to the back room, crying with her face buried in her hands. ¡°Darling!¡± Zhang Qiang seemed distressed for his wife. He turned to me sternly and threatened, "Say it again and I promise you I¡¯ll knock out your teeth!"


    His angry bellows attracted the attention of some passers-by, emboldening me to retort, "Do it then! We were just worried that we wouldn¡¯t have a reason to detain you!"


    Wickedughter erupted through his teeth. "In fact, I recognized you when you first came. The three of you are experts from the city." Eyes glowing, his voice dropped to a low whisper. "You¡¯re here to arrest me!"

 Chapter 202

    <h4>Chapter 202</h4>


    I was stunned. Never would I have expected this guy to be so arrogant. So, I secretly unlocked my cell phone in my pocket. Because I often used the voice recorder, Ipleted my task without having to look at my phone. ¡°Then you admit that youmitted all those murders?"


    Zhang Qiangughed scornfully and began to y the fool. "What are you talking about? I don¡¯t understand what you mean at all."


    What a cunning man! I scoffed at him. "Fine, just you wait. We¡¯ll find evidence sooner orter."


    Zhang Qiang pretended to be confused. "What do you mean? By the way, I¡¯m done mending your jacket. Here you go!"


    As I grabbed my jacket and was about to leave the tailor¡¯s shop, Zhang Qiang cracked a sinister smile. "It¡¯s getting dark. Be careful on your way!" Then, he dragged a finger across his throat in a cutthroat gesture.


    This episode greatly surprised me, exceeding anything I had anticipated. But fortunately, I obtained a sample of his DNA.


    I hurried over to Cao Dazhuang¡¯s old house. The police were already there. When I entered the room, they were all gathered around a boy who was engrossed in a game of League of Legends. I asked curiously, "What¡¯s going on?"


    Xiaotao¡¯s expression was one of helplessness. "This damn nerd refuses to get up until he finishes his game. So we all have to wait!"


    "Who¡¯s a damn nerd? Watch how you speak. How disrespectful you are to drop by unannounced and order me to leave!¡± The boy adjusted his thick sses andined, not bothering to turn around.


    Xiaotao red at him with her hands on her hips. "If I didn¡¯t respect you, I wouldn¡¯t be standing here like an idiot, watching you y your game."


    On theputer screen, Garen suddenly jumped out from the underbrush. With a wave of his sword, the boy¡¯s in-game character¨CRiven¨Cwas instantly in. I said, "Bro, you¡¯re terrible at this. You might as well surrender now!"


    The boy refused. "No, I won¡¯t give up until thest moment!"


    I looked around and noticed that the room was in a state of neglect. There were lunch boxes and cigarette butts strewn all over the ce, including cardboard boxes that he hadn¡¯t bothered to discard from when he had first moved in. However, the fact that this house was rented by the nerd was good news for me. It was likely he had never once cleaned the ce.


    The boy finally ended the game. He stood up and stretched himself. "You can check the ce, but don¡¯t touch the important files in my hard disk."


    Xiaotao retorted, "Who has time to go through your important files?!"


    After the boy went out, we closed the door and began to investigate the scene. The floor was covered with ayer of cheap rubber mat to make it look like the actual floor, which seemed that way at a nce. The technical support officers uncovered the rubber mat to reveal a concrete floor. They sprayed it with luminol and used ultraviolet light to look for traces of blood.


    Bingxin deliberately asked, "How can anyone live like this? Xiaotao-jiejie, is your ce this messy?"


    Naturally, Xiaotao didn¡¯t back down. "Why don¡¯t you ask Song Yang? He¡¯s slept over at my ce."


    Bingxin hid her shock with feignedposure. ¡°Hmph, what¡¯s the big deal? We slept together in the same bed when we were young, didn¡¯t we, Song Yang-gege?"


    I scowled and said, "I¡¯m not a famous escort from the capital. What¡¯s there to boast about?"


    I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d have a chance to show off my wit amidst their fun.


    The technical support team didn¡¯t find anything on the floor, walls or bathroom. All of a sudden, Bingxin let out an ear-piercing scream and grabbed my arm. "Ahhh! There¡¯s a mouse!"


    Looking down, a little mouse had emerged out of nowhere and started sniffing around. Perhaps sensing the smell of human beings, it scampered back under the table.


    I mocked, "You¡¯re not even afraid of the dead, why should a mouse scare you? Wait a minute, there are mice!"


    Xiaotao seemed speechless. "Song Yang, your reaction¡¯s a little slow. So what if there are mice?"


    I excitedly exined, "Maybe we¡¯ll find some clues in the mouse hole!"


    Upon hearing this, Bingxin turned stiff at once. I urged her to get some air if she couldn¡¯t stomach it, but she shook her head firmly.


    A mouse in the house meant the presence of a nest of mice because they reproduced extremely quickly.


    I asked an officer to move the table. Then, I started tapping near the bottom of the wall with my knuckles. As soon as I heard a hollow sound, I immediately instructed, "Remove the bricks here, but do it gently."


    They didn¡¯t have tools with them, so they went out to buy some. The nerd ran in and cried, "Hey, don¡¯t knock down my wall. You¡¯ll leave after you¡¯re done. Won¡¯t thendlord drive me away?"


    Xiaotao said, "I¡¯ll exin it to thendlord."


    The nerd mourned, "Look at what you¡¯ve done to my house! How am I supposed to sleep at night? Don¡¯t I getpensation for this?"


    Instead of answering, Bingxin pointed to the books on the shelf and asked, "Are you also sitting for the postgraduate admission exam?"


    The nerd shyly scratched his head. "Y-yes!"


    As it turned out, the nerd experienced trouble finding a job after graduating from university. Despite informing his family that he would take the postgraduate admission exam, he had actually rented a ce outside and spent all his time ying video games in a bid to escape from reality.


    Bingxin continued, "I n to sit the postgraduate admission exam as well, but I¡¯ve always had poor English. Is it okay if I ask you a few questions?"


    He turned crimson. "Y-yes!"


    Bingxin consulted him on a few idiot-proof junior high school English questions, to which the nerd earnestly exined. As far as I knew, Bingxin had perfect proficiency in thenguage. Back in school, she attended an international summer camp and couldmunicate smoothly with foreigners.


    Perhaps it had been a long time since the nerd had spoken to a girl. With Bingxin¡¯s continuous praise and ttery, he seemed to have experienced a drop in IQ andpletely forgot about hispensation.


    Xiaotao watched them with a smile, as if she were appraising a promising student!


    Some timeter, the wall was removed. A nest of mice was hidden in the hollow space behind the bearing wall. Someone shone a shlight, unleashing chaos. Their squirming furry bodies were so revolting everyone was afraid to get started.


    The nerd squealed. "How disgusting! Don¡¯t you dare let them out! How am I to sleep if you do?"


    I turned to Xiaozhou and said, "Go to the nearby market or a restaurant. Get a raw crabshell and a wooden barrel."


    Xiaozhou left with an officer and soon brought me what I asked for. I ced the wooden barrel horizontally, quickly roasted the crabshell with a lighter and threw it in. Squeaks were followed by a swarm of mice flocking to the wooden barrel. I immediately turned the barrel upright and shut them all inside.


    Xiaotaomended me. "That¡¯s amazing. How did youe up with that idea?"


    I grinned. "This is a traditional method for catching mice. Mice love the smell of crabshell smoke, just like cats drawn to catnip. Traditional Coroners often dealt with mice and cockroaches, so some of these folk remedies were also recorded in the book."


    Bingxin shouted, "Song Yang-gege,e take a look. There¡¯s something in the mouse hole!"


    There were two delicate bones among a pile of rubbish in the hole. I picked one up with tweezers andpared it to my fingers. Ordinary people would easily mistake them for pig bones but they were actually human phnges.


    It suddenly hit Bingxin. "So the fingers missing from the body were here all along!"


    I nodded. "It looks like the murderer dismembered the body here, but the mouse happened to fish in troubled waters and stole two fingers back to its nest to gnaw on, leaving us evidence instead."


    The nerd shrieked. "What do you mean? Someone was murdered and dismembered here? That¡¯s terrifying!"


    We didn¡¯t pay any attention to him. I went onbing through the pile of rubbish and found a band-aid with blood that was faintly discernible on the underside of the cotton. The mouse must¡¯ve dragged it back to its hole to lick the sticky part because the adhesive on the band-aid had a sweet taste.


    I handed the band-aid, phnges and cigarette butt I stole from Zhang Qiang¡¯s shop over to Xiaozhou for testing. Before we left, Xiaotao stuffed 300 yuan in the nerd¡¯s hand aspensation, but it was really more like hush money. She warned him against spreading the matter.


    "Song-ge, what about this barrel of mice? We can¡¯t just release them, right?"


    The best way to get rid of mice was to fumigate them with sulfur fumes, but the stuff was poisonous and it might harm the stray cats and dogs on the street. I suggested, "Throw some dry ice into the barrel and let them suffocate to death. Remember to properly dispose of their bodies, or we might see a fall in the price of mutton skewers in the county tomorrow...¡±

 Chapter 203

    <h4>Chapter 203</h4>


    We quickly rushed back to the station. Although it was already past seven, no one mentioned anything about dinner. We were all anxiously awaiting to hear the results from Xiaozhou.


    If the DNA on the band-aid wasn¡¯t Zhang Qiang¡¯s, then we would have to watch the murderer go unpunished, unless hemitted another crime. But that was thest thing I wanted to see.


    At eight, Xiaozhou exited theboratory. Like a cat on hot bricks, Xiaotao immediately asked, "What¡¯re the results?"


    He said with conviction, "The two phnges are consistent with the DNA of the corpse. As for the DNA on the band-aid...." he paused intentionally, "It matches the DNA on the cigarette butt given to me by Song Yang!"


    We cheered happily from the bottom of our hearts. Xiaotao rapped her knuckles on the table and everyone soon quieted down. In a stern voice, she instructed, "Get ready to pull in the!"


    We quickly made our way over to Zhang Qiang¡¯s tailor shop. The inclothes officers in charge of surveince had already found thendlord. Upon our instruction, thendlord went up and knocked on the door. "Open up, I¡¯m here to check the electricity meter."


    After several knocks, still no one answered. Thendlord asked, "Officer, what crime has Zhang Qiangmitted? Is it rted to those murders?"


    I asked, "How did you know?"


    Thendlord burst outughing. "I¡¯m rather close to thendlord of that area. In the evening, she mentioned that you investigated a tenant¡¯s house and seemed to have found some important clues."


    Xiaotao cursed, "Damn it, I gave him hush money for nothing!"


    The nerd was useless at keeping things under wraps. News of our investigation had spread throughout the area in less than a few hours. Zhang Qiang had probably absconded from the crime. Iter learned that the situation was even more serious than I had initially thought.


    I pulled out a wire and picked the lock. Everything in the shop was as it had been, as if the owner had gone out temporarily.


    In the back of the tailor¡¯s shop was the couple¡¯s bedroom. I noticed a long strand of hair on the floor and picked it up. "Doesn¡¯t Li Qin have short hair?"


    Xiaotao asked, "Did they take a hostage?"


    There were some cosmetics on the dressing table, which I examined one by one. In one of the bottles of makeup remover, I caught a whiff of ether.


    This was an open room with no hidden spaces, so where would they hide someone? I opened the wardrobe only to smell a strong stench left by extended periods of not bathing. On top of that, there were scratches on the door.


    I was astounded. We had visited the tailor¡¯s shop several times but never expected that someone would be held captive here.


    Maybe it was a girl they were about to kill. Our arrival must¡¯ve obstructed their ns, so they knocked her out and hid her. Now, this girl had be their hostage!


    I looked around and noticed that the calendar on the wall was crooked. As it turned out, there was an unbolted window concealed behind it. Using my Cave Vision, I detected that the dust on the window frame had just been wiped clean and showed traces of fingerprints on it, indicating that someone had climbed out of here.


    I climbed through the window to the back alley and found wheel tracks on the ground. I quickly concluded, "They fled less than an hour ago."


    Xiaotao immediately ordered, "Check Zhang Qiang¡¯s license te number. Contact the toll station and ask them to stop the vehicle. The rest of you will take all the exits along this road!"


    "Wait a minute!" I gestured with a wave of my hand.


    I called thendlord and asked him to describe Zhang Qiang¡¯s vehicle. He said it was a white van usually used for transporting goods. The conspicuous words ¡°Qiang¡¯s Tailor¡¯ Shop¡± had been spray-painted onto the doors along with his telephone number.


    Xiaotao instructed the officers to inform the county traffic police to coordinate on intercepting them.


    Meanwhile, the three of us hopped into Xiaotao¡¯s car and started chasing after them. About half an hourter, one of the officers sent news that they had caught sight of Zhang Qiang¡¯s van, so we got a move on it.


    As we turned onto that road, we could hear sirens from a distance away. Xiaotao immediately hit the gas pedal in an attempt to catch up to them. The white van elerated down the road with a fleet of police cars in pursuit, siren lights shing as an officer bellowed through a loudspeaker, "Pull over immediately or we will use coercive measures!"


    However, the white van didn¡¯t stop at all. Considering that there might be hostages inside, the police were afraid to push too hard and trailed behind the van the entire time.


    I told Xiaotao to stabilize the car so I couldunch my Cave Vision to examine the van. The two vehicles were more than fifty meters apart, forcing me to dte my pupils to the maximum just to see the inside of the van. There was only the driver in the vehicle. "Zhang Qiang isn¡¯t here, nor is there a hostage. Obstruct the van at once!"


    At Xiaotao¡¯smand, the police cars quickly nked the van from the left and right, bringing it to a stop. I hopped off Xiaotao¡¯s car. As the police surrounded the van, I heard fearful cries. "Help! Help! It¡¯s going to explode!"


    Everyone else stopped dead in their tracks, while I went to open the car door. A middle-aged man was in the driver¡¯s seat, hands fastened around the steering wheel with tape. He was wearing a bomb vest packed with wires and explosives along with something that had a blinking red light.


    "Don¡¯t move. Let the bomb squad handle it!" Xiaotao stopped me as I reached out my hand.


    I weighed the vest and found that it was very light. Iughed, "It¡¯s fake."


    Once I had removed the vest from the man, I found that the explosives were indeed empty paper packages. The blinking light was really a dismantled digital watch that looked quite like the real thing.


    When asked about what had happened, the man exined that he had been kidnapped by a man and two women on his way home from work. They robbed him of his car, ced a bomb on him and taped his hands around the steering wheel. Then, they warned him not to stop once he started driving or else he would die.


    Zhang Qiang was an expert in acting. At the time, the threat in his tone probably sounded real and his expression authentic. The man was scared out of his wits and had to do as he said.


    Huang Xiaotao angrily mmed the car. "Damn it, just when we were about to catch him! What a cunning bastard!"


    I got the man to describe his car¨Ca red Santana¨Cand license te number, which Xiaotao shared with the traffic police.


    I asked, "Of the two women, one of them has long hair. What does she look like?"


    He thought for a moment and said, "She¡¯s in her early twenties, quite beautiful. But she looked a little dazed and confused."


    Xiaotao dug up a photo from her cell phone and asked, "Is that her?"


    The man nodded. "Yes, yes! That¡¯s her!"


    Xiaotao pped her forehead and heaved a long sigh. "I was afraid of this."


    I asked her what¡¯s wrong and she whispered, "It¡¯s the mayor¡¯s illegitimate daughter!"


    Zhang Qiang had made a fool out of us and was probably already out of the county. Right now, we felt discouraged but we couldn¡¯t give up thatst ray of hope. We still had to go after them. Xiaotao instructed the other officers to go after the couple. She and Bingxin would stay with me while I took a look at the van.


    Once in the van, I found only some rags and snack wrappers. There was an empty pill bottle under the driver¡¯s seat but thebel had been torn off. There was no way I could tell what drug it was by smelling the bottle alone. The bottle itself looked new, without a speck of dust on it.


    I hadn¡¯t seen any signs of illness in the two. Did Li Qin¡¯s mental illness rpse? Then this was probably a sedative.


    I put the pill bottle down and said, "Xiaotao, they could still be in the county."


    Xiaotao was surprised. "Are you sure?"


    I hesitated. "I¡¯m only thirty percent sure. I suspect Li Qin¡¯s illness might have rpsed. Zhang Qiang might have taken the hostage elsewhere to dispose of her. After all, it¡¯s more convenient for them to flee after they get rid of the hostage."


    Xiaotao said, "Then they¡¯ll definitely head to the forest. It¡¯s the most hidden ce in the county! Get in the car!"

 Chapter 204

    <h4>Chapter 204</h4>


    After getting into the car, Xiaotao radioed Yuanchao and asked him to join us. We stopped at that stretch of the highway, got down from the car and went on foot.


    The woods were secluded and quiet at night, and we couldn¡¯t use shlights because that might expose us. Bingxin tightly held onto my arm while my other hand was sped with Xiaotao¡¯s. I looked around with my Cave Vision and continued sniffing the air.


    When we came to a particr area, I motioned for them not to make any noise. Amidst the silence came the cry of a girl, prompting us to walk in that direction.


    Fog rose from the forest floor which was unusual because it was winter.


    Bingxin whispered, "Song Yang-gege, could this ce be haunted?"


    I assured her. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ve seen so many ghosts."


    Hearing this, Bingxin clung harder to my arm. Right then, Xiaotao pointed and said, "Look!"


    There was a red Santana parked in the clearing, and the license te number was the same one the owner had reported. Zhang Qiang was very careful indeed, going so far as to drive into the woods instead of leaving the car on the side of the road. There were scratches on the paint, presumably made by branches in the woods.


    The car door was open and the seat was still warm, indicating that they had just left. Perhaps the hostage was still alive!


    When I emerged from the car, I caught a glimpse of a woman dressed in red in the rearview mirror. Her long hair draped over her clothes, which seemed to be an ancient red wedding dress. But as soon as I turned around, she disappeared.


    Was the disfigured Qing Dynasty girl really wandering about here? If the story was true, then she must have great resentment. It wouldn¡¯te as a surprise if she turned into an evil spirit after death.


    Ghosts were merely remnants of spiritual energy in the world. They had no self-awareness, but they were greatly territorial and didn¡¯t like being disturbed.


    Xiaotao asked me if I had seen something, to which I replied vaguely. "It¡¯s nothing. Let¡¯s continue looking for them!"


    I walked hand in hand with Bingxin on my left and Xiaotao on my right, though there wasn¡¯t any significance in that. I was afraid we would get separated since the fog had thickened.


    As we made our way through the dense white fog, I suddenly felt a cool draft on my neck, as if someone was breathing against it. But it could¡¯ve also been the wind. In this sort of environment, any small detail might be subjectively magnified.


    Bingxin shouted in horror. "Song Yang-gege, I think someone¡¯s following us!"


    "Just keep walking. Don¡¯t be afraid, it can¡¯t do anything to you," I assured her.


    Bingxin shivered uncontrobly. "Is this ¡®thing¡¯ a person or a ghost?"


    I silently recited the Song family mantra my grandfather taught me, and the feeling of being followed gradually dissipated. I suddenly wondered why this ghost had wandered out. Was it because it had been affected by the yang energy of the living?


    Zhang Qiang was a killer, so he carried a strong murderous aura. At the same time, ghosts preyed on the weak but feared the strong. Perhaps it was afraid of Zhang Qiang and targeted us instead.


    During the uing New Year holiday, I nned to read up on the other methods of exorcism handed down from my ancestors. In the past, I had regarded these as feudal superstitions, so I merely skimmed through them. Now, I understood that there were certain things in this world that couldn¡¯t be exined by science. If ghosts truly existed, then a coroner was definitely one of the professions most likely to bump into one.


    Faint feminineughter suddenly echoed through the woods. "You can¡¯t kill me! I¡¯m your shadow, your soul. You¡¯ll never get rid of me, you ugly bitch!" the woman bitterly spat, her voice shrill.


    Sun Bingxin trembled with fear and clutched my arm tightly. I motioned for them not to talk.


    Then came Li Qin¡¯s voice. She screamed, "Darling, kill her now! I can¡¯t take it anymore!"


    The shrill voice burst out in scornfulughter. "You¡¯ve killed me four times now. Has it worked? You¡¯re the one who deserves to die the most. You¡¯re worthless, pathetic and ignoble. You don¡¯t deserve to live in this world and you¡¯re unworthy of love.¡±


    Li Qin screamed, "That¡¯s enough! Shut up!"


    At this point, Zhang Qiang¡¯s voice sounded as he spoke in a vicious tone. "You fucking bitch! Don¡¯t insult my wife. She will always be the most beautiful woman in my eyes."


    Sardonicughter ensued. "You don¡¯t even know how many men have slept with the apple of your eye. Even a public toilet is cleaner than her. Only a loser like you would regard her as treasure."


    "Shut up!" Zhang Qiang roar was followed by the sound of a loud blow, as if someone had been pped in the face.


    "Darling, why did you hit me?" Li Qin cried weakly.


    Zhang Qiang apologetically replied, "I¡¯m sorry. I was hitting that awful woman. I¡¯ll kill her now!"


    In that instant, I realized that the woman was actually Li Qin¡¯s other personality. Her personalities were constantly switching back and forth, so she was mocking herself.


    Of course, it was impossible for Zhang Qiang to kill this other personality because it was part of Li Qin. The other personality mentioned that they had killed her four times. That is to say, Zhang Qiang had dressed the women to resemble Li Qin in her younger days and murdered them in front of her to symbolize killing off the other personality, so Li Qin¡¯s mental state could remain stable for a period of time.


    All the victims were Li Qin¡¯s other personality¡¯s scapegoat!


    I didn¡¯t expect this at all! I thought he had murdered them to appease his wife¡¯s jealousy.


    Xiaotao rushed into the scene and pulled out her gun. "Police! Freeze!"


    Zhang Qiang shouted, "Don¡¯te any closer, or I¡¯ll kill her!"


    Bingxin and I followed closely. Zhang Qiang held a knife against the hostage¡¯s neck. The girl was still disorientated. She wore a flowing red dress, her skin pale from the cold.


    Li Qin hid behind Zhang Qiang and peeked at us with a panicked look in her eyes.


    Xiaotao only made our presence known forck of a better option. If she didn¡¯t show up, the hostage might be killed. She made an urate judgement of the situation.


    Zhang Qiang grinned sinisterly at me. "I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d meet again. It looks like the experts they sent this time aren¡¯t idiots. It only took you a few days to uncover me."


    I asked, "Why use such an extreme method instead of sending her to treatment if she¡¯s ill?"


    Zhang Qiang shouted hoarsely, "Are there any known cases of dual personalities being cured? I can only use this method because I love my wife!"


    Li Qin suddenly wrapped her hands around her head and screamed, "Darling, what are you talking about? I¡¯m not ill! I¡¯m not ill!"


    Zhang Qiang turned around and nervouslyforted her, "No, I¡¯m not talking about you. I¡¯m talking about them."


    Right then, Zhang Qiang realized that he had revealed a w and immediately threatened, "Put down the gun or I¡¯ll kill her. She¡¯s the mayor¡¯s daughter. I know you won¡¯t let her die."


    "Why do you know her identity?"


    "Qinglian County is full of gossip. Who doesn¡¯t know this?¡±


    As Xiaotao lowered her gun, Zhang Qiang began to push his luck by making conditions. "Move three kilometers away from here immediately. Don¡¯t follow me, or I¡¯ll kill the hostage!"


    Xiaotao coldly cautioned, "If that knife falls on her neck, you¡¯ll no longer have a bargaining chip!"


    Zhang Qiangughed. "My life is worth nothing, but I know that you¡¯ll have to face the consequences if she dies."


    Xiaotao sniffed contemptuously, "You small county fools have never seen the world. The life of a county mayor¡¯s illegitimate daughter isn¡¯t going to stop us from solving a crime. I can honestly tell you that there are only two roads ahead of you. Kill the hostage and be shot by me. Your wife will be arrested. Or surrender and we¡¯ll show leniency."


    Zhang Qiang scoffed. "You think I believe that you¡¯ll show leniency?! I killed four people. I know they¡¯ll execute me!"


    I corrected him. "Five!"


    Heughed, "Your investigation is very thorough. Yes, I killed Cao Dazhuang as well!"

 Chapter 205

    <h4>Chapter 205</h4>


    I asked, "Why did you kill Cao Dazhuang? Weren¡¯t you two buddies?"


    My intention was to stall for time. Xiaotao¡¯s radio had sounded a few times earlier but she didn¡¯t answer it, indicating that a police toon was headed our way.


    Zhang Qiang answered, "He deserved to die!"


    I tested the waters. "You silenced him because he discovered your secret?"


    Zhang Qiang roared, "That bastard ckmailed me!"


    Earlier this year, Cao Dazhuang had discovered their secret. But instead of calling the police, he ckmailed Zhang Qiang for hush money. At first it was thousands, then tens of thousands. Relying on their familiarity with each other, Cao Dazhuang mistakenly assumed that Zhang Qiang wouldn¡¯t dare hurt him.


    Finally, Zhang Qiang visited Cao Dazhuang at his home to negotiate for a one-off payment so this matter could be closed. He couldn¡¯t stand being asked for money every few days. However, they couldn¡¯te to an agreement so Zhang Qiang killed him. Then, he dismembered the body in the house and disposed of it at a construction site.


    When he recounted the incident, he only mentioned that he had killed them. However, the autopsy results clearly showed that there were two people involved. He was clearly taking the me for his wife!


    His feelings for his wife were definitely sincere, which made her a good target to start with. I could force him to put away his weapon by using Li Qin, but she remained hidden behind Zhang Qiang the entire time, leaving me no chance to approach her.


    Zhang Qiangughed sinisterly. "The county police are as dumb as pigs. They didn¡¯t even uncover anything from their investigation."


    Xiaotao retorted, "And yet here we are before you. This is what you get for looking down on the police!"


    Zhang Qiang dismissed, "Enough of your smart remarks! The whole county knows about you because of Director Feng, that fucking idiot. I knew you were police officers as soon as you got here. That night, my wife was frightened and ran out when her illness rpsed. Otherwise, how could you have suspected me?"


    Zhang Qiang nced at Li Qin anxiously. She seemed especially sensitive to the words "illness" and "rpse."


    As it turned out, this matter had triggered the attack that night. Zhang Qiang thought too little of us. In fact, we would¡¯ve sniffed him out even in the absence of an attack.


    At this moment, the rustle of footsteps sounded in the woods. Yuanchao brought with him a team of policemen, their cold guns pointing at Zhang Qiang. Startled, he inched the knife closer. He shouted, "Who said you could call for backup?"


    Xiaotao spread her hands. "As you can see, I¡¯ve not answered my radio. They managed to find us on their own."


    Zhang Qiang was rmed. He snarled, "Get back or I¡¯ll kill her!"


    Xiaotao ordered the others to stand down. The officers dispersed but adopted a scattered encirclement strategy. The woods were foggy and visibility was poor at night so Zhang Qiang hadn¡¯t noticed.


    Zhang Qiang listed his conditions once more. He asked for a car with a full tank of gas and warned the police not to follow.


    Remaining at an impasse was frustrating. The hostage¡¯s condition didn¡¯t look good either. Her life could be threatened by Zhang Qiang¡¯s excessive use of sedatives. I gritted my teeth and made a decision. "Why don¡¯t I switch ces with the hostage? It¡¯s easier for you to move if you take me."


    Xiaotao stared wide-eyed at me.


    Zhang Qiang sneered. "Just who do you think you are?"


    "I¡¯m her captain. My life is worth more!"


    Xiaotao refused. "Song Yang, what are you babbling about? I¡¯m the captain. Take me."


    Bingxin interjected, "My dad is the director. Hold me hostage instead!"


    Zhang Qiang threw his head back inughter. "Hmph, you¡¯re even fighting over this. What great dedication! Even I¡¯m tempted to give you a round of apuse."


    He pointed the knife at me. "Judging by your fair and silky skin, you must have the highest position. Come here!"


    What poor vision he had! But this was good too. I had hoped he would take me.


    I slowly walked over, and just as I was about to reach him, Zhang Qiang suddenly pushed the girl to the ground and pulled me. With one hand holding the knife against my neck, he used his other hand to search my body for a gun.


    When he was done, he nodded. "Alright,e with us! You two don¡¯t move. Darling, let¡¯s go."


    Xiaotao and Bingxin looked at me anxiously but I shook my head gently and motioned for them not to follow.


    As Zhang Qiang dragged me from the back, I saw that the officers led by Yuanchao had formed a big encirclement, closely following us. We retreated until we came to the Santana when Zhang Qiang pushed me into the car. I asked, "Do you really think you can escape?"


    "I¡¯ve gotten away with it for so long, so why can¡¯t I escape now? The police always think they¡¯re smart but you¡¯ve underestimated my intelligence!"


    Just then, Li Qin shrieked, her face contorting into a changed expression. She sneered, "Haha, you two are going to die."


    Zhang Qiang cursed, "Get out of here, you fucking bitch!"


    Li Qin had already switched to her other personality. She bolted into the woods, turned around and mocked, "I¡¯m not in the mood to apany you to your grave. Have fun by yourself, loser!"


    Zhang Qiang shouted, "Stop right now!"


    All of a sudden, a white figure flew out of the woods. Shock was written all over Zhang Qiang¡¯s face as he quickly raised the knife to my chest but the white figure was still a step ahead. A cold glint shed before my eyes. And just like that, Zhang Qiang¡¯s hand was separated from his arm.


    His severed hand flew deep into the woods. It was several seconds before blood sprayed out of the wound like a fountain.


    Clutching his severed arm, Zhang Qiang screamed, "Who the hell are you?"


    This time, I finally caught a glimpse of the man¡¯s real appearance. He looked to be in his early twenties with a face that bore a striking resemnce to the celebrity Zhang Yixing, except he was more handsome. He was dressed in white from head to toe¨Cfrom his trench coat down to his boots. The long sword in his hand looked very much like a samurai sword. But judging from the carvings on the hilt, it was most likely a lost ancient Chinese weapon¨Cthe Tang Sword.


    We locked eyes for several seconds when he suddenly bowed. With the skillful disy of an exquisite sword-retracting technique, he drew the sword back into its scabbard and turned to leave.


    A few seconds after he disappeared into the woods came the police. I stopped an officer who had arrived from that direction and asked, "Did you see a man in a trench coat?"


    The officer stared nkly and answered, "No!"


    It had clearly only been a few seconds between the man¡¯s departure and the officer¡¯s arrival. Could he have gone into hiding? The police arrested the couple while I ran after the man, heading off in the direction where he had disappeared. I looked around, hoping to find him with my Cave Vision because I wanted to know his identity and his purpose for sticking around to protect me.


    I discovered footprints on a tree trunk, and when I looked up, I found the man sitting on a branch. Was the man proficient in Qinggong? He managed to climb up the tree without exerting much strength.


    His tone icy, he said, "Young Master, could you not dig your grave in the future? Your life doesn¡¯t belong to you alone."


    I asked, "Who are you? Why do you appear whenever I¡¯m in danger?"


    The branch shook and the man disappeared. I ran after him and shouted, "I¡¯ll jump off a building tomorrow. I hope you catch me!"


    "Try it then." His voice was already far away.


    Xiaotao¡¯s voice sounded from behind me. "Who wants to jump off a building?"


    I turned around to see Xiaotao walking over. She confirmed Zhang Qiang¡¯s capture but wasn¡¯t sure who the perpetrator of his severed hand was. The de was extremely sharp; the cut was more precise than one made with a scalpel. There was a high chance they could still reattach Zhang Qiang¡¯s hand.


    She asked, "Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s your mysterious bodyguard?"


    I nodded.


    She chuckled. "You volunteered to be a hostage because you knew he woulde to save you, didn¡¯t you? With regards to your behavior, I only have this to say to you¨Cyou¡¯re ying with your life!"


    "As long as we get the guy right?"


    She patted me on the shoulder and smiled, "Now that we¡¯ve solved this case, we can finally rx."

 Chapter 206

    <h4>Chapter 206</h4>


    The couple¡¯s trial preparation work was handed over to Director Feng. That night, I slept soundly. In the morning, Xiaotao called me to the station, citing an urgent matter. Her tone sounded especially grave.


    I thought that something had happened to the couple. Suspects had been known to swallow razor des, wires and detergent after being arrested in order to avoid trial.


    I made my way into the conference room only to face an onught of colorful ribbons. The perpetrators were Xiaotao and Bingxin, who were lying in ambush behind the door. The officers all cheered together, "The great Detective Song is here!" Someone even brought out an enormous cake.


    The surprise came out of the blue andpletely overwhelmed me. Because we had solved the case, everyone could go home for the New Year. Thus, Xiaotao proposed to hold a celebration to thank me for my huge contribution.


    She ced a small party hat on my head and pulled me over to cut the cake. I asked, "It¡¯s so early. Why are we eating cake?"


    Xiaotao waved her hands. "Let¡¯s have something else then. Bring out the pot!"


    Like a magician performing a sleight of hand, the crowd brought out an induction cooker, a pot, some ingredients, and began to cook hot pot. Iughed, "We¡¯re still in the public security bureau and there¡¯s training going on downstairs. Do you have to be so unbridled?"


    Xiaotao rightfully insisted, "Yes! We¡¯re not going to do anything today except eat till we¡¯re full, drink till we¡¯re satisfied and sleep like babies. That¡¯s an order!"


    "Yes ma¡¯am!" everyone shouted noisily.


    I rxed well the entire day. After enjoying the hot pot, Xiaotao and Bingxin went shopping for clothes while I went to an Inte cafe with several policemen to y League of Legends. It turned out that even the police yed this game, though their gaming skills were rather poor. Despite being thrashed by the students on winter vacation, they were still very happy.


    I had some errands to run in the afternoon. When I went back to the hotel to grab my things, I bumped into Xiaotao and Bingxin. Bingxin asked, "Would you like to watch a movie?"


    "What¡¯s so great about those terrible New Year movies? By the way, I¡¯m going somewhere. Would you like toe along?"


    I headed to the vige to burn a few stacks of joss paper and recite the Song family mantra. I intended to make amends for frightening the poor ghostst night.


    Bingxin ced her hand over her mouth in shock. "Song Yang-gege, you¡¯re so kind... But was it really a ghost that followed us?"


    Iughed. "The truth is mystical and we might not see the whole picture. In fact, I don¡¯t know if it is."


    Xiaotao mysteriously added, "Actually, we¡¯ve seen ghosts before, as early as in our first case."


    Bingxin asked excitedly, "Really? Tell me everything!"


    When we arrived, the big stone covering the well had been removed, much to my surprise. I asked a viger about it, to which he replied that a master came two days ago, iming to be a collector of yin objects. He exined that the well was haunted because the resentful spirit was attached to something inside.


    Last night, it had been foggy when the master was conducting his ritual. Many vigers witnessed the female ghost in red emerge from the well with their own eyes. The master¡¯s method was earth-shattering. He eventually subdued the ghost and fished up an ancient jade bracelet from the well.


    The master didn¡¯t ask for payment, only the jade bracelet. He maintained that this was the rule in their profession¨Cthe object must be relinquished to him.


    I was shocked. Did such a profession really exist?


    Since the ghost was gone, there was no need to burn the joss paper. Just as we were leaving the vige, I noticed a parked car. It looked as if something had gone wrong. A middle-aged man of extraordinary temperament was changingponents in the front. Next to the car was a vulgar looking, pockmarked man with a cigarette between his lips. He openly stared at Xiaotao¡¯s chest and raised his eyebrows lecherously. Xiaotao returned his look with a re.


    At a nce, I could tell the man wasn¡¯t decent folk. Just then, the middle-aged man finished repairing the car. He wiped the engine oil off his hands andined, "Don¡¯t you know to give me a hand? The only thing you know how to do is stare at beautiful girls. It¡¯s so embarrassing to let you out of the house."


    The pockmarked manughed. "What do you mean by that? Didn¡¯t I y my partst night?"


    The middle-aged man dismissively said, "You¡¯re one to talk! You drove that thing into the woods and almost hurt the innocent."


    Xiaotao shed her bagde and asked, "Hey you two, what are you doing here?"


    The pockmarked man grinned. "Hey beautiful, I really couldn¡¯t tell that you were an officer! My buddy and I are antique dealers who came to the countryside to collect antiques."


    From his microexpressions, he seemed to be telling the truth.


    Xiaotao pointed at the middle-aged man and asked sternly, "What¡¯s an antique dealer doing carrying a knife?"


    Around the middle aged man¡¯s waist hung a pair of short knives. He rified that it was for self-defense but Xiaotao insisted on examining them. The two knives were unusually sharp, one cold to the touch while the other was the exact opposite.


    Xiaotao said, "Controlled weapons. I have to confiscate them!"


    The middle-aged man hurriedly exined, "No! These knives are very important to me and I¡¯ve never used them to hurt anyone."


    Xiaotao shot me a look and quietly asked if he had lied.


    I stared at the middle-aged man for a few seconds. He smiled and seemed to be observing me as well. This was the first time I hade across someone who wasn¡¯t shocked by the color change in my pupils caused by the Cave Vision. A few secondster, heughed, "Your eyes certainly stand out from everyone else¡¯s!"


    This man had a strong aura but I couldn¡¯t say what it was. I turned to Xiaotao, "He¡¯s not lying. You can give the knives back to him!"


    The middle-aged man took his knives and nodded appreciatively. "Thanks!"


    When they were leaving, the pockmarked man was still staring at Xiaotao. The middle-aged man pinched his ear and chastised, "Keep looking. Just wait till I get back and tell your wife."


    The pockmarked man gave a cry of innocence. "Can¡¯t I just look?"


    Xiaotao asked me, "What do you think these two do?"


    I thought for a moment and spected, "They don¡¯t look like fugitives, yet they have that Jianghu spirit. Yet they don¡¯t seem like ordinary antique dealers either." Suddenly, it urred to me that the middle-aged man might be the master who had subdued the ghost.


    But when I turned around, they were no longer there.


    We went back the next day after handing over the interrogation and trial to the county bureau.


    When we left, the mayor took me by the hand and thanked me profusely. Too embarrassed to admit the identity of his illegitimate daughter, the mayor simply said that we had eliminated evil for the people and he was duty-bound to help us if we needed anything in the future.


    On the other hand, Director Feng looked rather conflicted. Although the case was solved, he was worried his position would be jeopardized once we reported the miscarriage of justice. There was no doubt that we would report the case, but I didn¡¯t think he needed to worry. The unlucky man in question was definitely Dr. Qin.


    Bingxin went home with me. Before we parted ways, Huang Xiaotao patted me on the shoulder with ¡°extra¡± care. "Don¡¯t you dare do anything out of line, or I¡¯ll kill you!"


    Bingxin made a face. "Song Yang-gege isn¡¯t yours. Who says you¡¯re in charge?"


    I suggested, "If you¡¯re worried, you¡¯re wee to join me for New Year¡¯s!"


    Xiaotao sighed, "I would love to but I still have a lot of work to do. Instant noodles taste so good on New Year¡¯s Eve!"


    I said, "By the way, let me take a look at the couple¡¯s trial records."


    Xiaotao nodded.


    A few dayster, I received a copy of the trial records that Xiaotao had sent by express. Written on it were the words: Burn after reading. Do not share this with anyone.


    There were several aspects I hadn¡¯t expected. As it turned out, Li Qin¡¯s Dissociative Identity Disorder had basically recovered. She only suffered from mental instability and the asional depression.


    Once when she was busy in the kitchen, her sister put on her favorite red dress from her younger days and asked her with a smile. "Jie, do I look like a young you?"


    Li Qin suddenly lost her cool. In her head, she saw her sister turn into her younger self and mock her with all sorts of vitriolic words. She emptied the pot of hot oil on her sister¡¯s face. Her poor sister screamed and slipped to her death after bumping her head into a metal window frame.


    At the time, Li Qin was terrified. After Zhang Qiang returned, she cried and offered to turn herself in. However, Zhang Qiang ended up dealing with the aftermath for her. Recalling the local folklore, Zhang Qiang threw his sister-inw¡¯s body near the vige, making it look as if she had been killed by a ghost. Later on, it was proven that this trick couldn¡¯t fool the police.


    After the body was discovered, the police had visited and investigated them. Since the couple had always been on good terms with Li Qin¡¯s sister, they didn¡¯t suspect them. That was because it wasn¡¯t murder at all.


    The red dress had originally been hung in their store. In an attempt to prevent its disappearance from being noticed, Zhang Qiang quickly made the same one overnight. The red dress hung in the store for two years until it was purchased by Xiaotao.


    From then on, Li Qin¡¯s illness began to recur intermittently. The two personalities often quarreled with each other and very fiercely at that. The other personality would ridicule and insult her using abusivenguage, pushing Li Qin towards her breaking point.


    One day, a customer in a red dress visited the store when it was already dark. Li Qin fancied her as her younger self and killed her. Being the loving husband he was, Zhang Qiang cleaned up her mess once again.


    That incident prompted a brainwave, so he decided to simply pass himself off as a serial killer. The county police would never uncover the truth...


    Zhang Qiang found that every time Li Qin killed a young girl dressed in red, her illness would improve for a period of time. So, he began catching the victims himself and let his wife do the rest. The third victim was a girl who came to them for help after being raped by Wu Mou. Unexpectedly, she had walked out of the frying pan and into the fire. Therefore, unlucky Wu Mou became the fall guy.


    The couple gradually progressed from an ident to a path of no return, bing skilled habitual murderers who learned various ways to obstruct the bureau¡¯s investigation. From start to finish, Zhang Qiang had done it all for his wife, to improve her condition. He even murdered his buddy to protect his wife.


    After reading the file, I couldn¡¯t help but surmise that love was really a selfish thing!


    1. The ubiquitous yin-yang symbol holds its roots in Taoism/Daoism, a Chinese religion and philosophy. The yin, the dark swirl, is associated with shadows, femininity, and the trough of a wave; the yang, the light swirl, represents brightness, passion and growth.

 Chapter 207

    <h4>Chapter 207</h4>


    Three days before the Lunar New Year, Bingxin followed me back to my hometown. At first, my aunt had assumed that I brought my girlfriend back. I quickly exined that she was Officer Sun¡¯s daughter.


    My aunt and Sun Tiger barely interacted with each other. She had heard of this person and greatly weed Bingxin¡¯s visit.


    The family was still unaware of my deeds over the past six months and I didn¡¯t intend to reveal that either. During the Lunar New Year, we ate, drank and went frolicking up the hill. Since this was the first time she was visiting my home, Bingxin found it all very exciting.


    On the first day of the Lunar New Year, I wanted to visit Grandpa¡¯s grave, so I went out with Bingxin early in the morning. When we arrived, we saw a man in a white trench coat standing expressionlessly in front of Grandpa¡¯s grave.


    I recognized him as the mysterious man who had saved me all those times!


    I entrusted Bingxin with the task of snapping a photo of the man. This time, I had to find out who he was.


    Despite hearing footsteps behind him, the man remained motionless. I asked, "Why don¡¯t you have your Tang Sword with you today?"


    He replied without turning around. "I¡¯m afraid a lethal weapon would offend the spirits of the dead."


    There were a bunch of flowers on the tomb. I curiously asked, "Did you know my grandfather?"


    He replied, "Your grandfather was a great man but unfortunately, he was born at the wrong time and met a rare formidable enemy."


    My curiosity grew stronger. "From your tone, you sound like a member of the Song family."


    After checking our surroundings, he said, "When your grandfather died, he told you not to track down the Jiangbei Daggers. I hope you¡¯ll listen to him. You have yet to realize what your weaknesses are. There are some forces you can¡¯t touch."


    Hearing this, I was fired up. "Were you there when my grandfather died?"


    He replied dully, "If I had been there, that wouldn¡¯t have happened."


    Aside from me, no one else knew what Grandpa said right before he died. No, I was wrong. There was another person at the scene. I asked coldly, "Are you the Jiangbei Daggers?"


    Heughed. "Stop overthinking it. Like you, I am surnamed Song. My name is Song Xingchen. Your grandfather¡¯s death was no ident. When he was your age, the Song family had warned him not to interfere with the Jiangbei Daggers¡¯ affairs. But he didn¡¯t listen and was determined to investigate, and finally came to a bad end... "


    What he said confused me. Were there other branches of the Song family?


    Judging from the voice of the Jiangbei Daggers, he was at most a middle-aged man of thirty. Wouldn¡¯t that make him too young to even have been alive when Grandpa was my age?


    Song Xingchen turned and headed down the hill, but I quickly overtook him. "Stop, I still have questions for you!"


    He walked as he said, "I know you have the same character as your grandfather so you¡¯ll definitely go on investigating. I¡¯ll leave you with these words: The Song family is more powerful than you think, and the Jiangbei Daggers more cruel than you can imagine. Never be an official or an officer and you¡¯ll have no trouble with safety. Remember, your life doesn¡¯t belong to you alone."


    For a long time after hearing these words, I found it hard to regain myposure. Bingxin stared nkly at the spot where Song Xingchen disappeared and asked, "Who¡¯s the mysterious hottie?"


    I asked, "Did you manage to snap a picture of him?"


    Bingxin nodded. "I got it."


    Having said that, she found that her cell phone had crashed when she tried to unlock it. Upon restart, all her photos were missing. Bingxinmented, "Aw, even the selfies I took in your house are gone. How did this happen?"


    When I examined her cell phone, it seemed to have been hacked. The firewall on cell phones offered minimal protection, so technically, that wasn¡¯t hard to do.


    Song Xingchen had clearly been standing in front of me yet someone had covertly hacked into Bingxin¡¯s cell phone which indicated that he wasn¡¯t acting alone. The thought gave me the heebie-jeebies. No wonder he always showed up in time.


    Ever since I was little, I presumed my family was the only remaining descendants of the Song family. No unfamiliar rtives attended Grandpa¡¯s funeral either. But could the truth be exactly as he said¨Cmaybe the Song family was really a powerful force?


    When I returned home, I asked my aunt if there was anyone called Song Xingchen in the Song family.


    She said the name rang a bell but she couldn¡¯t remember, so I dropped the subject.


    We enjoyed a rtively warm climate here so there was only a thin sheet of snow during the Lunar New Year. The flowers would soon bloom. On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Bingxin cheerfully suggested we go out for a hike. I said, "The county hill hardly makes for an enjoyable hike. Let¡¯s hike up Mount Tai when we get the chance."


    Bingxin pouted, "You really suck at romance. I just wanted to spend more time with you! This year, we¡¯ll both have internships, so we might not have the chance to get together."


    I said, "Fine then, let¡¯s have a pic too."


    Bingxin pped her hands excitedly. "That¡¯s great! I get to have a pic with you!"


    After informing my family that we wouldn¡¯t join them for dinner, we brought arge bag of charcoal, a firelighter and frozen mutton skewers and climbed up the hill. The strong wind made me tear up while I was grilling the mutton skewers, much to Bingxin¡¯s amusement.


    After gobbling up our food, Bingxin took out a stack of cards and said, "Let¡¯s y truth or dare!"


    I shrugged helplessly. "What a stupid game. Can¡¯t we y something that stimtes the mind?"


    Bingxin sulked. "Your intellect is already well-developed, but your emotional intelligence leaves much to be desired. ying this game can cultivate that. It¡¯s of great benefit to you."


    I remained doubtful. "Really?"


    We sat on the ground and took turns drawing cards. If we drew the same suit, the punishment was to choose to reveal a truth or take on a dare, and the questions had already been prepared. Bingxin was the first unlucky one. She chose truth, so I read out the question on the card. "If you were visiting your crush in their home and suddenly had the runs, what would you do... What sort of question is this?"


    Bingxin grinned, "Ask where the restroom is!"


    Then, it was my turn to step on a mine. I opted for truth but was asked a rather sensitive question. "How many pornographic movies have you collected?"


    I was embarrassed. Which guy didn¡¯t have a small collection? Bingxin warned, "You¡¯ll be punished if you don¡¯t answer honestly!"


    Counting with my fingers, I admitted, "If I¡¯m being honest... six or seven."


    Bingxin was dumbfounded. "And here I thought you were a pure, innocent boy! I really want to see your collection though. What type of girl do you like?"


    I straightened up andined, "How many questions have you asked?"


    Laughter filled the air as we yed on. Because some of the questions were too ufortable, I chose a dare instead. But this was what I got¨Chug amppost and yell at the top of your lungs, ¡°I¡¯m cured!¡±


    Bingxin apuded and burst outughing. "I want to see you do it!"


    I scratched my head awkwardly. "There aren¡¯t anympposts around here. I¡¯ll just hug a tree!"


    She refused. "No way. You chose the dare yourself so you¡¯ll have toplete it by hook or by crook."


    "Fine, I¡¯ll go down the hill and grab amppost."


    There was a small vige nearby but the ce was probably deserted during the Lunar New Year. As soon as we arrived at the bottom of the hill, I heard the loud nging of gongs, drums beating, and firecrackers. It turned out that someone was getting married. I broke out in cold sweat. "Let¡¯s go somewhere else."


    Hands on her hips, Bingxin solemnly said, "No way. You must obey the rules of the game. The card states that you have to hug the firstmppost youe across."


    I sighed and gritted my teeth. Throwing caution to the wind, I flung my arms around themppost and allowed my emotions to ferment before shouting, "It¡¯s a miracle! I¡¯m finally cured!"


    Several passers-by watching the wedding threw a look of surprise at me. Choking withughter, Bingxin covered her stomach. I vowed, "I¡¯m nevering to this vige again! Let¡¯s get out of here!¡±


    Just then, a shrill cry pierced the air. "Ahh! There¡¯s a dead body!"

 Chapter 208

    <h4>Chapter 208</h4>


    A frightened bride and groom stood beside the crowd of people who had surrounded the wedding car. I immediately urged, "Let¡¯s go have a look!"


    Bingxin teased, "Didn¡¯t you say you were nevering back to this vige?"


    I argued, "I can¡¯t pretend I didn¡¯t see that, can I?!"


    Sheughed. "Seeing a dead body thrills you, doesn¡¯t it?"


    As we squeezed into the crowd, I noticed that the door of the frontmost cary open and a man hung out of the driver¡¯s seat. Skin white as ash, his eyes were staring nkly and his hands remained outstretched, holding the steering wheel stiffly. What was even more bizarre was his outfit¨Che was actually dressed in bright red ancient wedding robes.


    The crowd chattered noisily. "How unlucky!"


    "This man doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s from our vige. How did he get into the wedding car? Did a zombie crawl out of the grave?"


    "Hush, don¡¯t you talk about such an unlucky thing during the new year!"


    An old man in a Chinese tunic suit stood up. There was a red flower and the words ¡°father of the bride¡± pinned to his chest. He quickly waved. "Get some people over here to remove this unlucky thing."


    I stood up and interjected, "Wait a minute! You can¡¯t touch the crime scene!"


    The old man looked me up and down and asked, "Who are you? I don¡¯t remember inviting you."


    When I shed my consultant badge, the crowd seemed surprised and eximed, "He¡¯s an officer!" How easy it was to scare them with the badge!


    The old man¡¯s attitude took a one-eighty turn. He said, ¡°Officer, as you can see, this man isn¡¯t from our vige and I don¡¯t recognize him either. This has nothing to do with my family. God knows who was so wicked to ce the corpse into the wedding car."


    I nodded. "I understand. Everyone, please move away first. I¡¯d like to examine the body. I¡¯m going to call the county police toe and deal with the scene."


    The old man turned to the crowd and said, "My apologies everyone, it looks like there won¡¯t be a wedding today. I¡¯ll invite you again some other time. Nephew, quickly go to the hotel and cancel the wedding banquet."


    Except for the bride and bridegroom, the others refused to go back to their homes and remained standing there to watch the bustle. I highly doubted there was any chance of chasing them away before the police arrived.


    I asked Bingxin to call the police while I crouched down to examine the body. The corpse¡¯s joints were particrly stiff, so much so that it was almost impossible to move. But it didn¡¯t seem like the usual rigidity caused by rigor mortis. It was as if it had been frozen.


    I noticed the rashes around the dead man¡¯s neck and wrists, and the overall redness of his skin. Worried that he might have an infectious disease, I borrowed a piece of red cloth, ced it on the dead man¡¯s chest and used Organ Echolocation.


    My preliminary judgment was that the time of death was within ten hours, that is,test night. The deceased wore nothing under the bridegroom robes. Since the material of the garment was rtively thin, the freezing of his joints had obviously urred naturally.


    Since there were so many people around, I thought it wasn¡¯t a good idea to cut open the dead man¡¯s clothes. Instead, I ran my hands through his entire body but found no wounds.


    Bingxin asked, "Song Yang-gege, did this man die of carbon monoxide poisoning?"


    I muttered, "It doesn¡¯t seem like it!"


    "Would you like me to go back and fetch your tools?"


    I shook my head. "No, I don¡¯t trust you to walk several miles alone in the hills."


    Bingxin giggled. "So you do know to worry about me!"


    In fact, I had my own selfish reasons. Not only was I in an unfamiliar ce, but I was also surrounded by chatty, rambunctious vigers. It was an understatement to say that I felt more at ease having an acquaintance with me.


    I stood up and asked, "Whose car is this?"


    An honest looking middle-aged man stood up and said politely, "Officer, I lent the car to my uncle for the wedding. This incident has nothing to do with me at all. I parked the car here yesterday and went drinking with some buddies. This car was originally intended to chauffeur the bride and bridegroom. I didn¡¯t expect to see a man sitting inside as soon as I opened the door. But today being a happy asion, I didn¡¯t want to lose my temper. So I pushed him and asked him toe out of the car. Who would¡¯ve thought he¡¯d fall t with his body all stiff. It scared me half to death... "


    From his expression, I concluded that he wasn¡¯t lying. The car¡¯s windows had been covered with ultraviolet protective film so the inside of the driver¡¯s seat wasn¡¯t visible from the outside. That¡¯s how the body remained undiscovered from the moment it had entered the carst night.


    At this moment, the scene turned chaotic as the vigers automatically gave way and shouted, "Captain Lu is here. Everyone, move out of the way!"


    A pudgy police officer showed up with several policemen in brand-new uniforms. I recognized him as the captain of the county police, but with thousands of people in the county, he probably didn¡¯t know me.


    There had been no criminal cases in our county for decades. A total of five or six policemen made up the team, so they normally did nothing but patrol. My grandfather¡¯s death three years ago could be ssified as one, but in fact, Sun Tiger had taken over the case at the time.


    Officer Lu walked up to me, raised an eyebrow and asked, "Were you two the ones who reported the case?"


    I affirmed, "Yes!"


    The bride¡¯s father exined, "Officer Lu, my daughter was going to get married today but we never expected something like this to happen. Thanks to this officer¡¯s timely appearance, the situation was under control."


    Officer Lu asked me, "Are you a policeman? You don¡¯t look like it. Show me some identification!"


    Officer Lu¡¯s tone was rather rude and he didn¡¯t seem easy to deal with either. I handed over my credentials. He looked at it and sounded suspicious as he read, "Special Consultant? I¡¯ve been a policeman for so many years, yet I¡¯ve never heard of such a title. Are your credentials fake? Do you know that it¡¯s a crime to impersonate an officer?"


    Upon hearing this, everyone started talking at once. "After all this time, he turns out to be an imposter!"


    "Nowadays, there are all sorts of people, even ones who dare to impersonate officers!"


    I added flippantly, "You can check with the city bureau."


    He arrogantly waved me away. "What¡¯s there to check? Get out of here now and stop obstructing the investigation. Don¡¯t make me drag you away in handcuffs!"


    I had learned that these small town officers were more likely to put on airs. Since the case happened in his jurisdiction, it really wasn¡¯t my business. Swallowing my pride, I turned to Bingxin and said, "Let¡¯s go!"


    Bingxin widened her eyes in shock. ¡°Song Yang-gege, why are you being so amodating? You¡¯re going to leave just because he asked you to?"


    I said in a low whisper, "Don¡¯t worry, he won¡¯t be able to solve the case. The city bureau will have to take over eventually."


    Arms akimbo, she insisted, "That¡¯s no good either. I can¡¯t watch you get humiliated in public!"


    She made a call. It went without saying who the recipient was. After a few brief sentences, she handed the phone to Captain Lu and said, "It¡¯s for you."


    Officer Lu curiously took the phone curiously and asked, "Who? You¡¯re the director of the city bureau? Haha, stop joking. If you¡¯re the Director, then I¡¯m the Director General!" I clearly heard Sun Tiger cursing on the phone, "Fuck!!¡±


    Officer Lu hung up the call and returned the phone to Bingxin. "You have a lot of courage to call someone and get him to impersonate the director. Get the hell out of here before I handcuff both of you!"


    I was left speechless. Officer Lu was the perfect example of the old adage, ¡°the ignorant are fearless.¡± Although Sun Tiger was formally his boss, it was useless if he had never met him.


    Bingxin counted expressionlessly. "One, two, three..."


    Officer Lu asked, "Hey, why are you counting?"


    Bingxin smiled. "Do you believe me if I say that your phone will ring when I count to fifteen?"


    Officer Lu looked puzzled. "Stop acting crazy. Aren¡¯t you going to go?"


    "Ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen..."


    Right when Bingxin counted to thirteen, Officer Lu¡¯s cell phone suddenly rang. When he saw the caller id, his attitude immediately underwent a turnaround. He held the phone and respectfully said, "What can I do for you, Chief? ...What did you say?! How am I supposed to know that he¡¯s really the Director of the city bureau... Understood! I know I was wrong. I¡¯ll go back and write as many reports as you want."


    After hanging up, Officer Lu looked at us with awe. Bingxin smiled at me. "This is why they say it¡¯s better to look for the person in charge rather than the big boss!"

 Chapter 209

    <h4>Chapter 209</h4>


    Officer Lu said respectfully, "Forgive me for offending you earlier. Please don¡¯t make any reckless statements when you get back. Thank you."


    "I won¡¯t. I¡¯ll just tell my father how you yelled at us. We¡¯ll see if you can still be Captain!" Bingxin pouted.


    Officer Lu folded his hands and implored, "Please don¡¯t. How about I take you two for lunchter as an apology?"


    "Hmph, who cares about that?!" Bingxin snorted coldly.


    I thought that we had given him enough of a lesson and calmly added, "Officer Lu, let me give you a little advice. It doesn¡¯t matter if we¡¯re officers or if we¡¯re acquainted with the Director. Could you be more polite in your future? Is this how you usually speak to the public?"


    "Yes, yes, you¡¯re right. My attitude was wrong. I¡¯ll definitely change!" Officer Lu nodded repeatedly.


    Then, he turned to the vigers who were watching and said, "Everyone, these two have been sent by the city bureau. It¡¯s all just a misunderstanding. He¡¯s a real police officer." The crowd smiled as if they were happy to hear that.


    After rifying the misunderstanding, Officer Lu enthusiastically asked me about the case.


    I couldn¡¯t help thinking what a chameleon the man was. With the snap of a finger, he had transformed into someone else entirely. I was a little reluctant to render my services to such a man. I made up my mind to solve the case on my own. With Bingxin¨Cmy personal ¡°license to act¡±¨Cby my side, I reckoned there wouldn¡¯t be any problems in terms of procedure.


    I gave a brief introduction of the case and said, "I¡¯ll need to borrow your morgue. We¡¯re going to continue the autopsy there."


    Officer Lu replied, "Of course. I¡¯m a little embarrassed to say that our team isn¡¯t equipped with a coroner. We really appreciate your advice on the case. These people are my subordinates. You may order us for anything you need."


    "Okay, let¡¯s transport the body back first!"


    These amateur criminal investigators¡¯ ability to handle the situation, orck thereof, was immediately demonstrated. They came without a body bag and had to borrow sheets from nearby houses to wrap the body. Officer Lu had even obtained some string and traced a line around the body.


    "Why are you doing that?" I wondered out loud.


    "Don¡¯t you usually do this?" Officer Lu blinked in confusion.


    "Just take a picture." I snickered.


    Officer Lu immediately instructed a subordinate, "Go borrow a camera and buy a roll of film."


    I pped my forehead. These officers werepletely unprepared so I might as well do everything on my own. When I told him I would handle it, Officer Lu asked, "Do you need me to do anything else?"


    ¡°Take their statements." I answered.


    Officer Lu eagerly went on his way. The officers worked separately as they questioned the onlookers one by one. But due to poor division ofbor, the same person would be asked the same questions by several different police officers. It was a miracle if they could solve any crime with that level of efficiency.


    I asked the owner of the car to bring me some envelopes to rece the evidence bags, two pairs of rubber gloves and a packet of milk powder.


    While waiting, Bingxin asked, "Song Yang-gege, do you really want to help this sort of man solve a case?"


    "I won¡¯t be someone else¡¯s cat¡¯s paw. Can we take over this case?"


    Bingxin exined, "Neither of us are officers so theoretically, it¡¯s impossible. But I¡¯ve thought of something!"


    She called Sun Tiger and said, "Dad, give me a position!"


    "Stop making a fuss!" Sun Tiger shouted at her from the other end.


    However, Bingxin continued to act willfully. "I¡¯ll be joining the police force next year anyway. It¡¯ll happen sooner orter."


    "No way! Give the phone to your Song Yang-gege. I¡¯ll talk to him,¡± said Sun Tiger.


    Sun Tiger wasn¡¯t concerned with the details of the case. He worried if there might be any danger for fear of our safety. Knowing he fretted over Bingxin, I rified the situation. "Uncle Sun, this doesn¡¯t seem like a case of intentional homicide. I get the feeling it was an ident."


    "Oh, I¡¯m relieved to hear you say so. Do you need help with anything, kiddo?" he asked.


    "Can the city bureau take over the case?" I suggested.


    "We can file the case, but the bureau has been short staffed recently. So I can¡¯t send anyone, not to mention Huang Xiaotao... I know! I¡¯ve thought of someone. I¡¯ll send him over as the Captain of your Special Investigation Team but don¡¯t expect him to help you solve the case."


    He sent me the man¡¯s contact information and introduced him as Officer Ma. He specifically urged us to pick Officer Ma up when he arrived.


    After the call ended, Bingxin asked, "Who did my father send?"


    "Officer Ma." I replied.


    Her lips curled in a strange smile. "Haha, why did he send him? My dad sure knows how to put his men to good use."


    From their remarks, Officer Ma sounded really "special.¡±


    When the owner of the car finally brought the items I asked for, I put on the gloves and got into the car, holding the milk powder in my hand as I gently blew it onto the seat and steering wheel. Fingerprint analysis didn¡¯t necessarily require aluminum powder. Milk powder also made for a suitable substitute, and because of its light texture, milk powder adhered to the oils secreted by human hands.


    I found several sets of fingerprints on the steering wheel and the door handle. Although they might not be of great significance, I photographed them with my cell phone anyway. There was a little saliva on the middle of the steering wheel, probably left behind when the dead man sneezed from the cold.


    "Song Yang-gege, why do you think this might be a case of manughter? Were you lying to my dad or do you really think so?" asked Bingxin.


    "It¡¯s just my intuition!" I admitted.


    Bingxinughed, "Your intuition has always been urate."


    "Alright now, that¡¯s enough ttery."


    After the evidence was collected, we wrapped the body in sheets and carried it into a police car. The owner asked me if we would seize his car.


    "No, but don¡¯t wash your car and try not to use it," I added, and the owner agreed.


    At this moment, a loud quarrel sounded from the house. Officer Lu and the others rushed over immediately, then reported back to me. "It¡¯s nothing. The bride and bridegroom were arguing. The bridegroom thinks that the deceased is the bride¡¯s ex-lover."


    I muttered to myself, "Ex-lover?"


    "Song Yang-gege, do you think it¡¯s possible the dead man killed himself in the wedding car for revenge on the bride?" asked Bingxin.


    "He would have to be terminally ill. Otherwise, this sort of revenge is too self-destructive. Call the bride over. There¡¯s something I¡¯d like to ask her!"


    "I¡¯ll go get her!" Officer Lu unctuously replied.


    Not long after, the bride came running, her face stained with tears. "Officer, you have to give me justice. My fiance insists that the dead man knew me. He also suspects that I had an affair with him, so he wants to break off our marriage and has asked me to return the bridal gifts to him. Please prove to him that¡¯s not true!"


    I wondered how I could do that. "Do you know him?" I asked.


    The bride asserted, "I¡¯ve never seen the man."


    Her microexpressions implied she was telling the truth, so I nodded, "Alright, I believe you."


    "That¡¯s it?!" Officer Lu burst out in surprise.


    ¡°What else would you like to ask?" I retorted.


    "This corpse showed up at the wedding, which makes me certain that this has something to do with the couple! At the very least, we have to ask how they knew each other, and if the bride had any exes. The most important question is whether they had an alibist night,¡± summarized Officer Lu.


    The bride was terrified by his words. Officer Lu was really an amateur in solving crimes, wasting police forces on groundless trivial matters.


    I assured the bride, "You can go back now. I believe this case has nothing to do with you, but you should carefully consider if you want to live the rest of your life with such a mistrustful man."


    The bride blushed. "Thank you, officer. I¡¯ll be sure to think it over."


    As the bride walked away, Bingxin beamed, ¡°Song Yang-gege, how gentle you are!"

 Chapter 210

    <h4>Chapter 210</h4>


    We followed the police back to the county, unavoidably passing by my home, whereupon I immediately slumped my body to prevent being spotted. If my aunt went out shopping and caught me sitting in a police car, she would question me to no end.


    When we arrived at the county police station, the other officers carried the body in while Officer Lu introduced the ce to me. He shared how hard he had worked over the years and hoped we would put in a good word with the director when we returned to the city. Then, he pointed to a certificate on the wall, proudly showing off his victory. I thought it was the result of solving a crime, but when I moved closer to get a good look, I saw the words, "Third prize in the Municipal Public Security Bureau¡¯s Table Tennis Competition.¡± What a leisurely policeman!


    The morgue had long been turned into a storage unit. Several officers sorted out the mess so we had space to ce the corpse. Naturally, they had no forensic equipment. Bingxinined, "They don¡¯t even have a forensicboratory. How are we supposed to conduct the autopsy? Why don¡¯t I run back to your house and get your tools?"


    "There¡¯s no need. This¡¯ll do."


    Conducting an autopsy with the naked eye was the most basic skill for a Traditional Coroner. The condition of this corpse wasn¡¯t soplex that I required tools.


    Bingxin soon returned after buying some seaweed and burning them into ashes like I asked. I blew the seaweed ashes onto the clothes of the deceased. Beyond my expectations, I managed to sessfully extract arge number of fingerprints this time, about five or six groups.


    Bingxin did a double take. "There are so many fingerprints! Could it be a group of murderers?"


    "Bring me a pair of scissors," I said.


    Soil immediately spilled from within once I cut through the dead man¡¯s clothes.


    ¡°Why is there so much soil? Let me wipe it off for you!"


    I shot Officer Lu a death stare. "Don¡¯t move!"


    Picking up some soil, I sniffed at it, then folded a piece of paper and very carefully scooped up a little so Bingxin could smell it too. She took a deep breath andmented, ¡°It stinks.¡±


    I decided to test her. "Can you tell what the stench is?"


    "Like the stench of rot!"


    "That¡¯s right!" I nodded.


    The deceased had extensive rashes. His hands and feet were covered in shallow scratches that appeared to have been caused by his clothes. "The clothes were forcefully worn on him. That¡¯s why so many fingerprints were left behind. Thatbined with soil that smells of rot¨Chave you thought of it?" I asked.


    Bingxin took a moment trying to put two and two together. Finally, she shook her head. "I can¡¯t figure it out!"


    "I¡¯ll give you another hint," I smiled.


    I grabbed a handful of soil, baked it on the alcohol burner for a while and asked Officer Lu to hit the light switch. As the room sank into darkness, flickering pale blue mes danced on the soil, appearing almost unreal. Stunned, Officer Lu asked, "Wh-what happened?"


    Bingxin was quick on the uptake. "Does the soil contain phosphorus?"


    Phosphorus was a substance with a very low ignition point. Heating it slightly would cause it to burn. Human bones containedrge amounts of phosphorus, which would seep into the soil after dposition. Therefore, will-o-wisps could often be seen floating above the graves on hot summer nights.


    "Yes!" I responded.


    "So the soil is grave soil and the dead man was wearing these clothes. Ah, I got it! A ghost marriage!"


    I told Officer Lu to turn the lights back on before exining, "This soil contains a lot of phosphorus, which proves that the family who arranged the ghost marriage has an ancestral tomb just like my family. So this family used to be arge n."


    I turned to Officer Lu who should know better given that this was his jurisdiction.


    Officer Lu mumbled, "The biggest n in the county would be the Song family. I heard that the Song family used to be high-ranking officials and the sons were given three acres ofnd upon birth... Consultant Song, you¡¯re not part of that Song family, are you?"


    "I am, though it¡¯s really not as exaggerated as you say." I admitted.


    Three acres ofnd upon birth? That waspletely fabricated by outsiders. However, it was true that the Song family used to be arge family before it gradually declined.


    "Are there any big families in the surrounding viges and towns?" I asked.


    "I¡¯ll send someone to check as soon as possible!" answered Officer Lu.


    Bingxin asked, "Soil was found on the man¡¯s body. Was he buried alive?"


    "Very likely!"


    "If that¡¯s the case, then it¡¯s still intentional homicide." Bingxin¡¯s brows were slightly puckered.


    I said, "It¡¯s attempted murder because he managed to escape."


    "How can you tell that he escaped?" Bingxin curiously asked.


    I raised the dead man¡¯s hand and showed her his cracked nails. "There are wooden splinters embedded in the dead man¡¯s hands and the cracks in his nails were most likely caused when he pushed the coffin open. He shows no signs of being beaten or tied up. His limbs also show no indications of being manipted after death. My guess is he escaped from the coffin but didn¡¯t recognize where he was. So upon seeing a car parked there, he climbed in and wanted to drive away."


    "But why did he die? Was it sudden death?" she contemted.


    "It was sudden death, but the direct cause of it remains unclear..." I stared at the wooden splinters on the victim¡¯s finger and asked Bingxin, "Can you test to identify what kind of wood is this?"


    She shook her head helplessly. "I can¡¯t without any tools."


    I grabbed the dead man¡¯s foot and stared at his sole. He was wearing a pair of ancient boots that matched the rest of his outfit. Bingxin asked if I had discovered anything. I said, "Isn¡¯t it time we go home for dinner?"


    Bingxin smiled as she threw me a yful punch. "I¡¯m still really pumped up. Why are you talking about dinner?"


    "No, my aunt will lecture us if we don¡¯t make it home on time for dinner. Let¡¯s go!"


    Officer Lu repeatedly waved. "No! Let me treat you two to dinner in the evening. Won¡¯t you give me the honor? I¡¯ll ask my subordinates to join us as well. You can tell them about the case, Consultant Song."


    "No, we can¡¯t. Dinner is already waiting. We¡¯ll see you tomorrow."


    Just as we were about to leave, Officer Lu asked if I had any orders for him. I asked him to check the recent death records in the county, to which he readily agreed.


    After we left the station, Bingxin queried, "Why did you stop the investigation halfway?"


    ¡°Make a guess!" Iughed.


    "Oh, I see. You¡¯re afraid that if we continue investigating, the police will solve the case, and you don¡¯t want to do Officer Lu any favors," said Bingxin with a roll of her eyes.


    I nodded. "Smart girl. We¡¯ll have to be patient. When Officer Ma arrives tomorrow, we can continue with our investigation."


    After dinner, I took out a handwritten, thread-bound book titled "Diverse Tests For Various Poisons." It was a toxicology encyclopedia written by a Song family ancestor named Song Haowen. He was afraid that the book might be used as a reference to poison others once it was circted. Thus, he never published it so only a handwritten copy was passed down.


    Winter nights in the South were freezing cold. I was sitting in bed reading the book with a hot water bottle in my arms when Bingxin suddenly entered the room in her pajamas. Shemented, "There¡¯s nothing interesting on the telly. Song Yang-gege, are you reading an ancient book again? Tell me a story!"


    "But this book is really boring." I replied.


    Bingxin pursed her lips. "I insist on listening to a story!"


    Then, she slipped into my quilt, shaking my arm as she begged me for a story. I eventually gave in to her ceaseless whining and chose a few chapters from the book rted to folk legends, such Zhen poison. Apparently, one could kill by boiling a Zhen feather in some water. There was also a kind of insect called the Duanhu. Illness would befall a person if a Duanhu spat on their shadow. The phrase, to attack someone by innuendo, originated from the myth.


    These stories were hardly enough for Bingxin as shepped them up with relish. There was a paragraph in the middle that told the story of Sun Simiao who was freeloading at his sister¡¯s house. Because his brother-inw had grown increasingly annoyed, his sister suggested she would pretend to be ill so he could cure her. That way, his brother-inw wouldn¡¯t drive him away.


    Sun Simiao¡¯s sister then wiped her body with the leaves of a locust. Then shey in bed, her body covered in green as she moaned about an imaginary illness. As soon as Sun Simiao read her pulse, he suddenly burst into tears, crying that her condition was hopeless.


    His sister reminded him that she was merely pretending and asked why he took it so seriously. Sobbing, Sun Simiao exined that the poison had entered her liver and she was beyond help.


    At this point, I suddenly came to a realization and was just about to share it with Bingxin when I noticed that she had fallen asleep curled up beside me.

 Chapter 211

    <h4>Chapter 211</h4>


    Bingxin slept soundly, curled up with her hands under the pillow. Her loose pajamas slipped down to reveal a pale corbone, yet shey asleep as unguarded as a child.


    Had this been Xiaotao, I might¡¯ve blushed. But I felt nothing for Bingxin. She was just like a sister to me.


    I carefully slid out of bed and tucked her in. Then, I gathered a set of bedding and quietly sneaked to the other room to sleep.


    The next morning, Bingxin woke up and asked, "Song Yang-gege, how did I fall asleep in your bedst night? Did you do anything to me?"


    "I swear to God I didn¡¯t!"


    ¡°Ding, ding, ding...¡± Bingxin gesticted with her hands.


    Knowing that she was up to her tricks again, I yed along. "What does that mean?"


    "That¡¯s the sound of my rising goodwill towards you,¡± sheughed.


    I quickly changed the subject. "Go and wash up. We have to meet Officer Ma at the bus station."


    "I want you to braid my hair!" Bingxin willfully begged.


    "Don¡¯t you usually wear your hair up in a ponytail? What decade is this? Braided ponytails have long gone out of fashion!" I argued.


    "No, I want you to braid my hair! Otherwise, I¡¯m not going," Bingxin refused to back down.


    Once that stubborn temper of hers acted up, there was no way around it so I had to braid her hair. This being the first time I did anything of the sort, I felt that the finished hairstyle was hideous. However, Bingxin seemed rather satisfied when she inspected her reflection in the mirror.


    As we arrived at the bus station, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what Officer Ma looked like. We sat there waiting anxiously for what seemed like forever. At around eight, an old man in outdated clothes asked me the way. He was wearing a khaki jacket, brown trousers, and a pair of muddy military rubber-soled boots. The man was carrying a crumpled stic bag and looked as if he were visiting rtives in the county.


    While I was still in the middle of a conversation with the old man, Bingxin suddenly covered her mouth and tried to stop herughter from spilling out. She jumped out and cried, "Hello Uncle Ma!"


    The old man¡¯s eyes brightened. "Sun Bingxin, why are you here?"


    "Are you Officer Ma?" I asked in surprise.


    The old man grinned, revealing with his teeth that still had a piece of garlic chives stuck between them. "Right, you must be the Detective Song that Xiao Sun mentioned!"


    I thought to myself, Is this man really an officer? Why does he look like a grandpa who works in a farmer¡¯s market?


    On our way to the police station, Bingxin exined that Officer Ma used to be Sun Tiger¡¯s teacher. He worked as a civilian police for more than forty years and his lifelong wish was to be a police officer. Only on the eve of his retirement did he finally realize his dream which Sun Tiger had arranged. However, he retired after only a year and never took part in any cases.


    This time, Officer Ma was so excited to be appointed as the head of the Special Investigation Team that he failed to get a good night¡¯s sleep, going through criminal investigation books all night. I said, "Officer Ma, just leave this case to us. All you need to do is give yourmand and oversee the case!"


    ¡°How can I take credit for the hard work of you young ones? Let¡¯s see, you can use me as an errand boy. Let me know if you need anything. By the way, have you had your breakfast? I bought some tea eggs and steamed buns. You can eat them if you like," added Officer Ma.


    We said we had our breakfast, to which Officer Ma replied, "Xiao Sun has actually exined the situation, so I¡¯m merely here in name. So I¡¯ll be under your orders and won¡¯t interfere in your actions."


    I couldn¡¯t help liking Officer Ma because he seemed like a kind old man. I asked if he was tired and whether he would like to go to my ce to rest, but Officer Ma motioned with a wave of his hand, "Solving the case is more important. Let¡¯s head to the station first."


    When we arrived at the county police station, Officer Lu was already waiting for us outside. The city bureau had sent a noticest night informing the county police that a Special Investigation Team would be sent to take over the case. Assuming that a group of people would be sent, Officer Ma arrived at the station early in the morning to await their arrival, only to be greeted by an old man apanying us.


    Officer Lu blinked his small eyes in consternation and asked, "Consultant Song, why is there only one person with you? Is this the city bureau¡¯s Special Investigation Team?"


    "This is Officer Ma, the city bureau¡¯s oldest police officer, with a rich working experience. He will be in charge of this case," I introduced.


    Apart from that, I didn¡¯t know how else to introduce Officer Ma since I was terrible at lying.


    Officer Ma smiled at the policemen and pulled out some snacks from his stic bag. "It¡¯s my first time here so I brought you some specialties from Nanjiang City. It¡¯s but a small token to show my respect!"


    The smile on Officer Lu¡¯s face turned into a frown. "Consultant Song, what do you mean by asking an old man to take over the case? You¡¯re deliberately doing this so I can¡¯t make any contributions!"


    Since he had torn off his mask of diplomacy, I rudely shouted, "Yes!"


    His face turned red with anger. "What are you trying to do? You¡¯re not a even member of the police force. Why won¡¯t you let me take credit? Do you think it¡¯s easy to get a murder case in this small county?"


    I waspletely unwilling to help such an officer climb up the rungs of the bureau but I kept my mouth shut. Instead, I said, "I¡¯m a selfish man! With the thousands of yuan I get from my bonus for solving the case, I can buy the skins I like on League of Legends!"


    "You-you-you fu-" Officer Lu pointed at me, face red as a tomato. His lips mouthed the word, ¡°fuck,¡± but he refrained from cursing out loud.


    "If you want credit, then solve the case yourself. I already shared many clues yesterday. If you solve the case before I do, then the credit goes to you. We would never rob you of that. But don¡¯tin if we solve it first!" I said.


    "I certainly don¡¯t believe you. When I catch the murderer, you¡¯ll definitely take credit. Even if the city bureau sent an ordinary officer, his position would still be greater than a small county captain. The superior oppresses his subordinates¨Cdo you think I don¡¯t know this trick?"


    The man used his despicable mind to understand how us upright folk thought, going so far as to confuse us with corrupt officers mixed up with dirty officials.


    "Officer Ma, what¡¯s your rank?" I asked.


    "I used to be a superintendent, but I¡¯ve retired.¡±


    I continued, "A retired Superintendent, a consultant with no real authority, and an intern coroner¨Cthere aren¡¯t any high-ranking officials who can oppress you. You can investigate the case without any worry."


    Officer Lu cast a doubtful nce at Bingxin and asked, "Her father is the director. If you take away my credit, who am I supposed toin to?"


    "Believe it or not, if I wanted to do that, would I give you a heads up? Here¡¯s a piece of advice¨Cif you want credit, use your own abilities. You¡¯re not going to solve anything with talk alone." I turned to Bingxin and said, "Come on, let¡¯s continue with our investigation."


    "Shouldn¡¯t we continue with the autopsy?" asked Bingxin.


    "There¡¯s no need," I assured.


    At this point, I realized that Officer Ma wasn¡¯t walking with us. When I turned around, I saw him talking to Officer Lu briefly before he came up to us. "Officer Ma, what did you say to him?"


    "I told him young people shouldn¡¯t be so eager to get a name for themselves. It¡¯s most important to do your job well," he exined.


    I almost burst outughing. Officer Ma was truly a sincere, warm-hearted man. "Xiao Song, I¡¯ve got some criticisms for you too!" eximed the man.


    "Oh? What did I do?" I wondered out loud.


    "You mentioned that you would buy gaming skins with your bonus. Indulging in online video games is very bad for you. It¡¯s been said on television that this can be a sort of mental drug. Many young people who lose themselves to this addiction eventually bezy and destroy their own future,¡± he lectured.


    I blushed with shame. That was merely an excuse I had simply made up casually. I quickly ¡°repented,¡± saying, "I¡¯ll never y video games again. If I do, I¡¯ll chop my hands off!"


    "There¡¯s no need to punish yourself like this. Bingxin, you should also watch over your boyfriend and remind him to spend less time on video games."


    I was about to exin that we weren¡¯t in a rtionship but Bingxin was already a step ahead. "Uncle Ma, Song Yang-gege isn¡¯t my boyfriend," she said.


    "Oh!"


    Smiling sweetly, she grabbed my arm and announced, "To tell you the truth, I¡¯m pregnant with his child. We¡¯ve already secretly obtained a marriage license!"

 Chapter 212

    <h4>Chapter 212</h4>


    Officer Ma stood there speechless for a long time before he ventured, "Is-isn¡¯t this... a little too soon?"


    "It¡¯s not like we have a choice. We¡¯ve already jumped the gun," said Bingxin shyly.


    Knowing that Bingxin was deliberately teasing Officer Ma, I didn¡¯t expose her but quietly appreciated her acting skills.


    "You mustn¡¯t let your father find out. He suffers from high blood pressure and might get so angry that he¡¯ll faint.¡±


    "Haha, I tricked you!" Bingxin doubled over withughter as she covered her stomach.


    "You¡¯ve been ying your little tricks since you were little," sighed Officer Ma.


    "That¡¯s because it¡¯s fun to trick you, Uncle Ma. You take everything so seriously!"


    "But I still like to remind you two to always be careful with these things. Otherwise, you might really end up in that situation..." Officer Ma continued lecturing us on sex education for more than ten minutes. Covered in cold sweat, I could only repeatedly nod. What a serious man he was!


    I invited Officer Ma to stay with me, but he insisted on doing otherwise. Fortunately, Bingxin had her methods. She told him we had to run home to grab something but quietly filled a basin with hot water and soaked his feet for him. Then, she tucked him into bed with the excuse of warming him up. Defenseless against her methods, the old man fell asleep.


    I told my aunt the old man was a professor from my university who was here for work and entrusted her with his care. I also told her not to expect us for lunch.


    As soon as we left, Bingxin grabbed my arm and asked, "Song Yang-gege, where should we start?"


    "Follow me," I replied.


    Upon arriving at the county¡¯s logistics hub, I shed my badge and asked if there had been any trucks transporting soil waste recently. Yesterday, I noticed some cement particles,terite and quicklime in the soles of the dead man¡¯s shoes. Theposition was rather varied, leading me to think it was soil waste from a construction site.


    Since few trucks operated during the Lunar New Year, it was easy to narrow them down. The person in charge told us that a few trucks had transported some soil waste two days before and passed through a small vige on the south side of the county.


    The vige was only three or four miles away from where the body had been found. I thought this was a reasonable lead.


    When I went out to try and hail a cab, there were none because of the holiday. Seeing that it was almost noon, I said to Sun Bingxin, "I¡¯ll order a cab from Didi. Let¡¯s go have lunch first.¡±


    We found a restaurant that served grilled fish. In the middle of lunch, Bingxin suddenly outside and eximed, "Look!"


    Officer Lu and his subordinates were asking questions from door to door. Much to my surprise, they had actually started their own investigation. While the effort wasmendable, their methods were rather silly.


    "Will they discover something first?" Bingxin nervously asked.


    "No way. They must¡¯ve taken a photo of the deceased and went around trying to confirm his identity. They can do that for a whole year and stille up with nothing.¡±


    "What if they get lucky?"


    "The dead man isn¡¯t a local or even Chinese. They won¡¯t find anything," I chuckled.


    Bingxin sounded shocked. "How do you know he¡¯s not Chinese?"


    "The dead man is about twenty years old. The BCG vine has been widely administered in China since 1981. Almost every person born after 1981 has a crater-shaped vine scar on their arm. There are also a small number of people with a special constitution who aren¡¯t left with a scar. However, for anyone with the scar, its shape and location doesn¡¯t deviate from that. Yet this person¡¯s vine scar is located on his thigh so he¡¯s unlikely to be Chinese. I¡¯m leaning towards South Korean," I exined.


    "Wow, how do you even know that? Song Yang-gege, you¡¯re amazing! You¡¯re very good! Why don¡¯t you suspect that he might be Japanese?"


    "My judgment was based on the vine scar. If he were Japanese, the scar would be shaped like a plum blossom on his arm," I surmised.


    "Is it possible that he¡¯s from some other country?" asked Bingxin.


    "That possibility is very low because the Japanese and Koreans often sit on their knees or with their legs folded. After a long time, the bones of their knees and instep be deformed, which I¡¯ve observed in the victim."


    Head tilted to the side, Bingxin mused, "Is it possible that he was a Chinese who studied in Japan or Korea as a child and returned home after?"


    "Think about it. This man climbed out of the coffin and escaped in a panic. Why didn¡¯t he knock on somebody¡¯s door for help? Is it possible that he didn¡¯t speak thenguage so he chose to steal the car and run for his life?"


    Bingxin apuded in admiration. "Song Yang-gege, your analysis makes so much sense! A single conversation with you is worth more than four years of my education."


    I smiled modestly. "I just happened to be lucky."


    "I never thought he would be Korean. I assumed all Korean boys were long-legged oppas. This man looks so ordinary!" she quipped.


    "Do girls like long-legged Korean oppas?" I asked.


    "Yes! Boys like Song Joongki, Lee Jongsuk and Lee Minho..." She listed a bunch of Korean actors, her eyes filled with infatuation. Some of these names werepletely unfamiliar to me.


    Suddenly realizing that this could be a breakthrough in the case, I picked up my cell phone and called Lao Yao. When the call connected, his disgusting voice drifted from the other end, "Xiao Song-song, do you miss me?"


    Goosebumps instantly flooded my skin. ¡°Lao Yao, I have a job that requires advanced technical skills. Do you want it?"


    "How much will you pay?" He was straightforward as usual.


    "Do you have to be so direct?"


    Lao Yao broke into uglyughter. "You don¡¯t like me like this? Then I¡¯ll be more gentle next time!"


    Big round beads of cold sweat wet my hair. I knew the conversation was headed in a vulgar direction so I went straight to the point. "I¡¯ve sent you the money through WeChat. Hack into the South Korean embassy for me. I want the list and photos of South Korean men who have gone missing in China in the past month."


    Lao Yao was all charged up at once. "Fucking hell! What a challenge! Should I also insert our national g on their webpage to symbolize our resistance against the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense? That¡¯ll raise my prestige within the country.¡±


    I repeatedly refused. "No, don¡¯t leave any clues. You can insert all you want after we¡¯ve solved the case..." I realized how suggestive this sounded because I immediately heard Lao Yao¡¯s wickedughter. "Insert the national g!"


    I had sent Lao Yao 2,000 yuan. Upon confirmation, he replied, "No problem, I¡¯ll call you tonight! Xoxo!"


    I was so nauseated I wanted to throw my phone away. As soon as I hung up, Bingxin curiously asked, "Was that your boyfriend?"


    "Fuck, you might as well kill me! This guy is a super hacker with zero integrity. His name is Lao Yao." I couldn¡¯t help but curse.


    Bingxinughed, "He seems very interesting. I must meet him when I get the chance."


    "No way!" I interjected.


    There was no doubt in my mind that Lao Yao would show her my photos. It wouldpletely overturn the glorious image Bingxin had of me so it was better for the two not to meet.


    When the car I had requested for arrived, I looked out of the window and saw that Officer Lu and his team had already questioned the entire street. I turned to Bingxin and said, "Let¡¯s continue with our investigation."


    Upon arriving at the vige, Bingxin asked an old farmer, "Uncle, I¡¯d like to ask you some questions. Are there any families in the vige who were great families in the past?"


    "Why do you ask?" The old farmer frowned.


    "We study history and we¡¯re conducting research to find out more about the history of local families," she exined.


    The old farmer pointed to the hill in front of him. "The biggest family in our vige used to be the Qin family. Half of the vige belongs to them. They even built the Qin family ancestral hall on top of the hill."


    "Does the Qin family have an ancestral tomb?" I asked.


    The old farmer ignored me, only answering after Bingxin repeated the question. Clearly, there was a huge difference in his behavior towards the two of us.


    "Yes. It¡¯s to the south¨Cthat hill over there¨Cbut it¡¯s now deserted. There¡¯s a stone statue on top of the hill. They say that General Qin Qiong of the Tang Dynasty was their ancestor!"


    As far as I knew, Qin Qiong¡¯s hometown wasn¡¯t here. If the Qin family were rted to Qin Qiong, they were probably coteral descendants.


    Bingxin thanked the old farmer and turned to me with a smile. "I didn¡¯t expect to find them so easily."


    "Don¡¯t rejoice just yet. They might not admit to it!"

 Chapter 213

    <h4>Chapter 213</h4>


    After going round the vige, we realized that half of the vigers were named Qin. When asked if there were any families who recently held a funeral, one of the viger¡¯s eyes wandered left and right before he insisted he didn¡¯t know and shut the door.


    The Qin family were all rtives and close friends. They clearly knew something but refused to divulge any information.


    After a round of questioning, the vigers had their guard up against us. Just as we were at our wits¡¯ end, I saw Bingxin crouching under a locust tree talking to a little boy who was sniffling. "Little one, answer a question and I¡¯ll buy you some candy, alright?"


    The little boy nodded and Bingxin proceeded to ask, "Do you know who recently had a death in the family?"


    The little boy pointed to the big yard right in front of him. Bingxin rubbed his head and smiled. "Good boy!" Then, she handed him five yuan so he could buy candy.


    "You really have your ways!" Iughed.


    We walked into the big yard and knocked on the door. A middle-aged man with white hair on his temples answered the door and asked coldly, "Who are you looking for?"


    "I just want to ask a few questions. Has your family had a funeral recently?" I asked politely.


    ¡°It¡¯s the Lunar New Year. How dare you curse me? Get lost!"


    The middle-aged man was just about to close the door but I wedged my foot inside the gap. Tears rolled down my face as I grimaced in pain. I suspected he had used all his strength. I shed out my badge and said, "Please cooperate!"


    His expression turned to hard resolve as he repeated, "My family hasn¡¯t had any deaths recently! If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask around in the vige."


    I looked him in the eye and said, "Your hair has just turned white, hasn¡¯t it? Perhaps a rtive of yours recently passed away? I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s your daughter? She met an online friend andmitted suicide for love."


    At this point, these were merely spections. How could a country girl and a Korean boy know each other? The biggest possibility was an online rtionship.


    The man bit his lip. "Nothing of the sort happened. You¡¯re barking up the wrong tree!"


    Then, he pushed me out and shut the door with a bang.


    His expression betrayed himpletely but he refused to admit it. What a stubborn man! I felt helpless at how defensive the entire vige was against the outside world and refused to answer any questions. Bingxin asked, "Why don¡¯t we get a search warrant?!"


    "We don¡¯t have key evidence at the moment so we might not get it. Besides, it¡¯ll take quite some time and by then, it¡¯ll be toote," I added.


    "What should we do then? The suspect is clearly right in front of us!" fretted Bingxin.


    I sighed. I finally recognized how important Xiaotao¡¯s presence was. There was nothing else we could do but head home.


    Just as we reached the vige entrance, Lao Yao called and eximed, "Xiao Song-song, I found it!"


    There was only one Korean who had been reported missing recently in Nanjiang City and his name was Zheng Zaihao, a foreign student about 20 years of age. I got Lao Yao to send me his photo.


    Within seconds, I received the photo which matched the dead man. Bingxin pped her hands with glee, "Song Yang-gege, it¡¯s amazing how quickly you¡¯ve found another lead!"


    I smiled, pausing in silent contemtion. Hacking into the embassy database was ssified as illegal means. The South Koreans would definitely protest if they found out. Of course, straying from ordinary procedures would yield quick results.


    "Let¡¯s go back and hit him with a surprise!"


    "There¡¯s no way that man will speak," Bingxinmented.


    "Watch me y a little trick!" Iughed.


    So there we were, back at the man¡¯s house. A few knocks on the door and we were greeted by a frustrated face. "Why are you here again? I already told you that no one has died in my family."


    I held up my cell phone and showed him Zheng Zaihao¡¯s picture. "You know this man, don¡¯t you?"


    His pupils contracted for a brief moment, but as expected, he still denied, "I¡¯ve never seen him!"


    I gave a coldugh. "Is that so? He has now reported to the police and used you of kidnapping and false imprisonment. Because he¡¯s a South Korean, this involves diplomatic rtions so the police are paying special attention to the case. Do you want to talk at your house or would you like to take a trip to the station in a couple of days? How would it look when a police car drives into the vige to take you away?"


    The man swore loudly, "That fucking Korean bastard caused her death. I was merely teaching him a lesson. How dare he make a false usation!"


    The man knew that he had spoken too rashly. His voice faltered, "Let¡¯s talk inside!"


    The living room was shrouded in dimness since there weren¡¯t any lights and the smell of joss paper and red candles still lingered in the air. He must have held the ghost wedding here.


    The man brought out a picture of a smiling young girl in her prime. "This is my daughter, Qin Lu," the man introduced, his tone sorrowful.


    He exined that Qin Lu had just graduated from high school and was going to take the entrance examination for a medical school in the city. She had to work in the city while preparing for the admission exam. Qin Lu was the apple of his eye so Mr. Qin regrly visited his daughter in the city whenever he had the time. However, Qin Lu recently behaved very strangely. She seemed distracted and often stared into the mirror and giggled to herself. These details had no way of escaping his observant eyes. He realized that his daughter was in love. She was all grown up. He didn¡¯t have the right to interfere but he repeatedly warned her to protect herself well.


    More than a week ago, the city police asked them to collect Qin Lu¡¯s body which was a bolt from the blue to the family! Qin Lu¡¯s mother suffered a cerebral thrombosis and had to be hospitalized.


    Qin Lu¡¯s body was recovered from a river. ording to the coroner¡¯s autopsy, she hadmitted suicide. Unable to ept the news, Mr. Qin turned on Qin Lu¡¯sputer, went through her chat records one by one, and read all her diary entries to find out how his daughter died.


    As it turned out, Qin Lu met a Korean student through an online English forum. Both of them usuallymunicated in English. The boy pretended to be a rich kid and sent many photoshopped photos of himself that made him appear extremely handsome. Like many girls, Qin Lu enjoyed watching Korean dramas. Captivated by this "long-legged oppa," she became docile and listened to his every word.


    A month ago, the foreign student visited Nanjiang City and slept with Qin Lu. He imed that his credit card was frozen and he couldn¡¯t go back home. Qin Lu foolishly handed over thousands of yuan meant for her living expenses.


    Who would¡¯ve thought the foreign student was such an animal? He merely wanted to fool around with Chinese girls. After he left with her money, there were no more messages from him. Heartbroken and indignant, Qin Lu sent him many emails that all went unanswered. She felt too ashamed to face her parents after being cheated of her virginity and feelings so she chose tomit suicide.


    Upon discovering the truth, Mr. Qin was deeply saddened. In his own words, if the bastard had been in front of him at the time, he would¡¯ve broken his neck!


    Mr. Qin mobilized everyone in the family to look for the bastard. As they say, ¡°God watches over the righteous.¡± It turned out that the boy¡¯s real name was Zheng Zaihao and he was studying in one of the universities in Nanjiang City. Although Mr. Qin was overwhelmed with the desire to kill the Korean bastard and pay tribute to his daughter with his head, he knew that it was a crime to kill, so he thought of a better revenge.


    Just before the Lunar New Year, an unsuspecting Zheng Zaihao exiting the school gates was dragged into a van and forcibly brought to the vige by the Qin family whoid in ambush. Throughout the journey, Zheng Zaihao muttered in Korean gibberish but since they didn¡¯t understand thenguage, they pretended it was the cry of livestock and ignored him.


    They locked Zheng Zaihao in the firewood shed and began to prepare for the ghost wedding. On New Year¡¯s Eve, they forced the bridegroom¡¯s robes onto Zheng Zaihao andpelled him to marry Qin Lu, who was dressed up as the bride. Then, they sealed them in the coffin together and carried them up to the hill to be buried.


    During the entire process, Zheng Zaihao almost went mad with fear and repeatedly begged for mercy.


    In truth, Mr. Qin didn¡¯t really intend to bury him alive. The coffin wasn¡¯t nailed shut and was covered only with a thinyer of soil so he was fully capable of escaping on his own.


    He engineered such a lesson so Zheng Zaihao would never cheat a girl¡¯s feelings again.

 Chapter 214

    <h4>Chapter 214</h4>


    At this point, Mr. Qin suddenly stood up and pushed his hands towards me. "This was my idea alone. Since you¡¯re already here, then you might as well handcuff me!"


    "Song Yang-gege, this girl is so pitiful. Can¡¯t we just forget it?" Bingxin pleaded.


    Even if I wanted to handcuff him, I didn¡¯t have any on me. "If what you say is true, Qin Lu¡¯s coffin would have been unearthed. Have you already buried it again?"


    "Y-yes!" There was a shift in Mr. Qin¡¯s expression.


    I wondered why he suddenly grew nervous so I said, "Show it to us!"


    "Alright, I¡¯ll take you there now," he nodded.


    There were many tombs covered with overgrown weeds on the hill. Noticing the locust trees around us, I simply asked, "What wood is the coffin made of?"


    "It was made from an old locust tree that grew on this hill."


    Sure enough, this was the cause of Zheng Zaihao¡¯s death.


    When we came to a newly-dug grave, Mr. Qin said, "This is my little girl¡¯s grave!"


    Staring at the bare burial mound, I sighed, "He couldn¡¯t have escaped if you used this burial method."


    "We didn¡¯t bury the coffin under so much soil at the time!" the man insisted.


    "Is that so?" My eyes flickered suspiciously at him.


    "Song Yang-gege, it really doesn¡¯t look like an intentional homicide. Please show Mr. Qin some leniency!" Bingxin persuaded.


    I rubbed my chin in contemtion. Although it all added up, my intuition seemed to be telling me otherwise.


    If it had been a shallow burial as he imed, he was deliberately allowing Zheng Zaihao to escape. The risk of doing so was so great that he might as well have buried him alive because Zheng Zaihao would certainly report to the police when he escaped. When the time came, the Qin family would have to face a series of charges, including kidnapping and false imprisonment. In addition, the victim was a foreigner, which almost guaranteed the Qin family would suffer heavy consequences.


    "Open the coffin!" I said.


    Mr. Qin immediately refused, "No, no! My little girl has just been buried and cannot be disturbed. I swear, she¡¯s the only one in the coffin."


    I insisted on opening the coffin but Mr. Qin was just as persistent in his refusal. He would rather be handcuffed than open the coffin.


    "She¡¯s the only one in the coffin," he repeated over and over again.


    Whenever a person lied, they often emphasized whatever the opposite of the truth was. For example, a child who stole some money would often repeatedly say, ¡°I really didn¡¯t take the money in the dresser.¡± Mr. Qin¡¯s particr use of words nted a seed of doubt in my mind.


    "Are there two people buried in the coffin?" I asked.


    In a panic, Mr. Qin quickly assured me. "That¡¯s nonsense. There¡¯s really only one person inside!"


    "If you won¡¯t tell me the truth, I¡¯ll have to ask Zheng Zaihao. I¡¯m afraid the information he reveals will be even more unfavorable to you." I chuckled.


    To my surprise, Mr. Qinposed himself and said, "Ask him then. I don¡¯t care."


    I decided to take a dominant position and fiercely pressed on, "Is there anyone else in the coffin? If you don¡¯t tell the truth, that¡¯ll be another charge."


    Under direct eye contact, Mr. Qin was finally discouraged. "Officer, this has nothing to do with me. That asshole must have been punished for doing something so despicable to my daughter."


    Upon hearing this, Bingxin and I were shocked. We didn¡¯t think there was another case within the case!


    Mr. Qin said that on the second day of the ghost wedding, they had gone up the hill to take a look only to find that the grave had been dug open and the coffin lid had fallen to one side. In the coffiny Qin Lu and a man locked in an embrace. The man¡¯s clothes were disheveled and his trousers had fallen to his ankles. Worse still, his penis was still inside the dead body. But the strangest thing was, the corpse had both arms wrapped tightly around the man.


    The crowd was rooted to the spot. Someone recognized the man as the old bachelor, Xiao Boli. Obviously, Xiao Boli had wanted to desecrate Qin Lu¡¯s body and somehow died.


    If it were to be reported to the police, they would have trouble exining the situation since Qin Lu was still wearing the bridal dress and phoenix hairpiece. But if they wanted to handle it themselves, what should they do with Xiao Boli¡¯s body? Furthermore, Qin Lu¡¯s arm was as stiff as an iron rod and couldn¡¯t be moved at all. They had no choice but to bury the coffin in this manner.


    "When was this?" I asked.


    "Yesterday morning," Mr. Qin replied.


    My expression changed. "You might have really killed someone this time!"


    Mr. Qin Dashu was stunned. "That¡¯s impossible. Xiao Boli wasn¡¯t breathing at the time. I think the Qin ancestors were disgusted with his actions and brought down retribution on his head."


    "Open the coffin so I can conduct an autopsy!" I sighed.


    When Mr. Qin left to fetch the tools, I turned to Bingxin and said, "It¡¯s better if you don¡¯t see this."


    Bingxin pursed her lips. "What¡¯s the big deal? I¡¯ve seen tons of male corpses at school. By the way, how did this necrophiliac die?"


    "He most likely died the same way that Zheng Zaihao did. Poisoned by the locust tree, he fell unconscious and was buried alive as a dead man. However, there¡¯s still one thing I¡¯m not sure about, that is, did Mr. Qinmit intentional homicide? Did Xiao Boli identally save Zheng Zaihao when he came to rape the body? Or did Zheng Zaihao first escape before Xiao Boli raped the corpse?¡±


    "So you want to examine the body to see if there¡¯s any soil under his fingernails?" Bingxin suddenly realized.


    "That¡¯s right!" I replied.


    "Song Yang-gege, which scenario do you hope it¡¯ll be?" asked Bingxin.


    A faint smile yed across my lips. "Just look at you! That¡¯s called having preconceptions! I don¡¯t hope for anything. I¡¯ll wait to examine the body and deduce the truth from the facts."


    "I still hope Mr. Qin won¡¯t have to go to jail," she said.


    Mr. Qin was a father who deeply loved his daughter. Perhaps Bingxin¡¯s heart had given birth to sympathy because she saw a trace of Sun Tiger within Mr. Qin.


    A whileter, Mr. Qin came back with a spade. Just as he was about to shovel dirt, I interrupted, "I¡¯ll do it!"


    "No, no. It¡¯s better I do the rough work!" he insisted.


    I shook my head. "I¡¯m not being polite with you. I¡¯m afraid you might destroy some details."


    Mr. Qin muttered, "What could there be in the soil? Isn¡¯t it all the same?"


    How mistaken he was! Dozens of clues could be gathered from the soil alone. I slowly shoveled, scooping up a bit of soil before I crouched and picked out a de of grass to carefully examine. Then, I asked Bingxin if she noticed anything. I tested her whenever I got the chance in order to train her into apetent assistant.


    "This de of grass was cut by a shovel, and it happened not too long ago," observed Bingxin.


    I nodded and looked around. Ayer of turf was missing from the area around the grave. "Go over there and see if there are any traces of scrabbling on the ground!" I instructed.


    We worked separately, and soon I caught sight of the coffin. It was indeed made out of locust wood. "Why use locust wood?" I asked Mr. Qin.


    He exined, "We couldn¡¯t order a coffin in time because it happened so suddenly and it was also New Year¡¯s. So I cut down an old locust tree and made a coffin from the wood. After all, I used to be a carpenter."


    "Isn¡¯t locust wood unsuitable for striking the coffin?" I asked.


    "I checked with a fortune teller. Based on my little girl¡¯s birth chart, the fortune teller said that she has an unstable life so using expensive wood is only detrimental to her.¡±


    Bingxin came back and excitedly reported, "Song Yang-gege, there aren¡¯t any traces of scrabbling. They all look like shovel marks."


    "Did it rain yesterday?" I asked.


    Bingxin recalled, "There was light rain in the early morning.¡±


    I turned over ayer of soil and looked underneath.


    Giving in to his curiosity, Mr. Qin asked, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. What are you looking at? Why don¡¯t you quickly open the coffin?¡±


    I thought to myself, We¡¯re trying to prove your innocence, okay?


    The soil in the grave was evenly wet. It didn¡¯t rain heavily yesterday so there was no way the wetness prated so deeply into the soil. This showed that the soil was coveredter.


    We were one step closer to proving Mr. Qin¡¯s innocence. Truth be told, I was sincerely happy with this development.


    Before opening the coffin, I examined it. The four corners of the coffin lid showed no signs of being nailed. Then, I pried open the coffin with the shovel, turning over the coffin lid with a crash. I was immediately greeted with the pungent smell of fresh locust trees.


    There were two bodies lying in the coffin¨Cone was the bride in her phoenix headpiece and wedding dress and the other was a disheveled man. The pale bride had wrapped her arms tightly around the man, lips curled into a Mona Lisa smile. The whole thing was very strange!

 Chapter 215

    <h4>Chapter 215</h4>


    Crying out in horror, Bingxin immediately hid behind me.


    "What¡¯s so scary about a dead body?" I asked.


    "Who said I was scared?¡± Bingxin tried to argue her way out, ¡°It¡¯s just an instinctive reaction to seeing something unusual¨Cexactly how I¡¯d react to seeing a handsome boy."


    Mr. Qin couldn¡¯t bear to look straight into the coffin. "What a sin against my daughter¨Cbeing defiled even after death! Please hasten the autopsy and bury her."


    In truth, the smile on the girl¡¯s corpse was merely caused by the muscle contractions in her face after death. However, when matched with the position of her hands and her attire, it seemed strange. Seeing this at night would certainly scare someone into wetting their pants.


    I put on the rubber gloves I had prepared in advance and moved the dead girl¡¯s arm. Her joints were abnormally stiff, so much so that they were impossible to move.


    The man¡¯s expression was one of pure panic. Because of his posture, I couldn¡¯t use Organ Echolocation and could only judge the time of death¨Cwhich was about 30 hours ago¨Cfrom the opacity of his pupils and rigor mortis. That was to say, he wasn¡¯t really dead at the time but was buried alive and died from asphyxiation.


    The dead man¡¯s fingernails were damaged and wooden splinters were stuck in the flesh of his fingers, but there was no soil under his nails which proved that the coffin was open when he arrived.


    His cheeks and throat had a tinge of purple, which was an obvious sign of asphyxiation. There were also rashes on his skin, just like Zheng Zaihao. Bingxin asked, "Song Yang-gege, is this a symptom of being poisoned by locust toxin?"


    "To be exact, it is the toxin of the ck Locust. The fresh sap of the ck Locust is poisonous. However, this toxicity cannot bepared to snake venom. The level of toxicity produced is only enough to prevent the tree from being eaten by wild animals so it¡¯s generally not fatal," I exined.


    Country folk had this saying, "Don¡¯t nt mulberry trees in the front, willow trees in the back, and locust trees in the yard." The reason for this superstition was to prevent children from being poisoned whenever they climbed a locust tree. Many superstitions had a rationale behind them.


    I came clean to Mr. Qin. "I¡¯m sorry, I lied to you about something. Zheng Zaihao is dead."


    "I didn¡¯t kill him!" Mr. Qin¡¯s eyes widened in shock.


    "I know you didn¡¯t kill him,¡± I said. ¡°His death was caused by a series of coincidences."


    When Zheng Zaihao was buried in the coffin, he came into contact with arge amount of sap from the locust tree. As soon as he escaped, he fled the entire way, speeding up the blood flow in his body and causing the locust poison to enter his liver.


    Furthermore, he had been under extreme stress and fear. The temperature also happened to be extremely low that night. When he entered the car, his body and mind rxed at once. With various factors acting on his body at the same time, he eventually died in the driver¡¯s seat.


    Xiao Boli only came to the graveyard after Zheng Zaihao had escaped. Upon seeing the beautiful girl in the open coffin, he was blinded by lust and raped the body. Doing that sort of activity sped up one¡¯s breathing, so he inhaled arge amount of locust poison and fell unconscious. The next day, when Mr. Qin and the others arrived, they assumed he was dead because his breath was so weak it went unnoticed. After they buried him, Xiao Boli woke up in the coffin, yelling, but no one came to save him. Coupled with the corpse¡¯s tight embrace, it was almost impossible for him to breathe so he finally suffocated to death.


    Mr. Qin had merelymitted negligent homicide and inadvertently added fuel to the mes, pushing a man closer to his death.


    Iforted him, "All the evidence before us shows that you did give Zheng Zaihao the chance to escape and you didn¡¯t kill him. The evidence may be beneficial to you in court."


    "I knew I would end up going to jail." A bitter smile appeared on his lips.


    "I¡¯m going to ask you something I know I shouldn¡¯t ask. Why didn¡¯t you kill him so he couldn¡¯t report you to the police? Isn¡¯t that safer? Zheng Zaihao would surely have brought a case against you if he had escaped."


    Mr. Qin shook his head, "I¡¯ll go to hell for killing someone. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to do such a thing. Besides, my daughter used to like this Korean bastard. I didn¡¯t want my daughter to grieve in the underworld."


    Bingxin pulled at my shirt. "Song Yang-gege, you haven¡¯t exined the most important part. Why was the corpse hugging the man?"


    "It wasn¡¯t exactly a hug, but this action-" I said, crossing my arms.


    "Are you trying to make me anxious? Regardless of which action it was, why would the dead move?"


    I exined that it was merely a simple nerve reflex, just like how a frog could still move under the stimtion of electric current even with its head cut off. This was called the Lazarus Phenomenon. In the Bible, Lazarus was an old man who had been resurrected from the dead by Jesus. If the vertebra of a recently dead body was stimted, both its hands would slowly cross in front of the chest as if it had been resurrected.


    Xiao Boli must have touched the dead girl¡¯s spine while he was doing the deed. Or perhaps the static electricity generated by the friction from his moving body stimted the corpse so its arms tightly wrapped around the man, indirectly causing him to faint.


    This shared the same principle as the Song family¡¯s Corpse Reanimation. A portion of energy remained in the maic pulse of the human body. Proper stimtion could make the body "move."


    Bingxin eximed, "Wow, so it¡¯s actually real! You¡¯ve opened my eyes!"


    "There have been cases of people raping corpses and being hugged by them. I think this might be God¡¯s way of leaving us thatst bit of dignity!"


    "Officer, how long will my prison sentence be?" asked Mr. Qin.


    "The penalty for manughter varies. In your case, your circumstances allow for greater discretion in reducing your sentence. We won¡¯t arrest you so you can turn yourself in! This will definitely win you leniency," I counseled.


    "Uncle Qin, I¡¯ll find you the best public defender. You should be able to fight for a suspended sentence. If you behave well during your probation, your sentence may also be reduced," Bingxin assured the man.


    ¡°I still have one more tiny request," Mr. Qin turned to the both of us.


    I nodded, "Go ahead."


    Uncle Qin sighed, "Can you publicize the case in the newspaper so people are aware of it? My hope is that Chinese girls will know what self-esteem and self-love are, and won¡¯t be fooled by those foreign men. I have already lost my daughter and I hope no other family has to suffer the same tragedy.¡±


    His words struck a chord with me and I found myself dering, "Yes! I promise to do this for you!"


    Wiping away the uncontroble tears that welled up in his eyes, Mr. Qin sighed, "Thank you, thank you so much. Meeting the two of you was a stroke of good luck. I only did such a foolish thing because I couldn¡¯t let it go. My daughter died for nothing while that Korean bastard still lived to harm other young girls in the future. I just couldn¡¯t ept how unfair the situation was."


    As Bingxin consoled the man, I pulled out a stash of yellow joss papers and burned them while chanting the reincarnation mantra. Just as I finished, Bingxin asked me what to do with the two corpses. I said, "If we want to separate them, we¡¯ll have to saw off Qin Lu¡¯s arm. I don¡¯t think Mr. Qin would be happy with that. Xiao Boli has no rtives anyway, so we might as well bury them like that."


    By the time we reached the bottom of the hill, it was already dark. Mr. Qin brought his car around and offered to send us home before turning himself in.


    Taking onest look at the hill, he sighed with regret, "s! This old locust tree grew on the graves of my ancestors yet I cut it down with great disrespect. This is my retribution."


    "You shouldn¡¯t think of it like that,¡± I said. ¡°Perhaps it is your ancestors who are protecting the descendants of the Qin family!"

 Chapter 216

    <h4>Chapter 216</h4>


    When we returned to the station, Officer Lu and the others had nothing to show for despite their exhausting day. At the sight of us bringing in the suspect to surrender, Officer Lu¡¯s jaw dropped in disbelief. Just as we were about to leave, he suddenly stood in my way and used, "You cheated!"


    I almostughed out loud at the absurdity of his im. "How did I cheat?"


    Officer Lu was so angry he was almost incoherent as he pointed at me, "H-h-how is it possible you solved the case in a day? There¡¯s no way I¡¯d believe that. You must have concealed some clue or knew who did it."


    "Wow, you actually guessed it,¡± I yed along. ¡°In fact, the dead man told me everything in a dreamst night."


    Officer Lu actually fell for it. "Really? Why did he look for you instead of me?"


    "Maybe you look too fierce!" I said.


    I left Officer Lu frozen in puzzlement, and exited the station with Bingxin.


    "What a pity! Why didn¡¯t you make a bet with him in the beginning? We could be watching him bark like a dog right now," Bingxinughed.


    In my eyes, Officer Lu was perhaps too foolish to be considered an opponent. There was no fun in betting against a small county policeman who had never solved a case. "That extra time might as well be spent with you," I teased.


    "Song Yang-gege, how thoughtful you are!" she blushed.


    Officer Ma spent a day at our house, chatting with my aunt. In the evening when we returned, he asked if there were any developments in the case. I said, "They¡¯re going to conduct the hearing."


    Officer Ma was filled with astonishment. "What?! You¡¯ve caught the culprit? s, there goes my treasured bottle of Maotai! "


    "What do you mean?" I asked curiously.


    It turned out that Sun Tiger had aroused Officer Ma¡¯s skepticism when he imed I would solve the case within three days. The two men bet on a bottle of aged Maotai that Sun Tiger long had his eyes on. All these years, Officer Ma had refused his request but now he had the chance to change that.


    I fought the urge tough out loud. Sun Tiger had such a wicked sense of humor. Forget Officer Ma, any other policeman who didn¡¯t know me wouldn¡¯t believe that I could solve a crime so quickly.


    The follow-up of the case would be handled by Officer Ma. Tomorrow, he would head down to the station, settle the handover procedures and escort Mr. Qin to the city for legal proceedings. This arrangement benefited Mr. Qin since there were betterwyers in the city.


    That night, I had a strange dream in which a formidable ancient general dropped to one knee before me and cupped his fist, saying, "Many thanks for upholding justice for my Qin family descendants. I, Qin Shubao, have nothing to offer other than ten years of good fortune which I bestow upon you."


    I woke up shortly after, and on the next day, I went to buy a lottery ticket but I didn¡¯t win.


    Later on, I started a business partnership with Wang Dali upon graduating. Only after ten years of smooth sailing and never having to worry about money did I trulyprehend the existence of miracles too wonderful for words. It seemed that the dream had reallye true!


    Winter vacation passed quickly. Bingxin couldn¡¯t bear to leave after her marvelous time here.


    Xiaotao sent me a message saying, "You little brat, have you already given Sun Tiger a grandchild? Quicklye back!"


    "Is there another case?" I asked.


    "No, I just miss you," she confessed.


    I smiled, "I¡¯ll bring you some gifts!"


    ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll be waiting for you," she replied.


    Before leaving for the city, my aunt told me to light some joss sticks for my Grandpa. I approached the Song family ancestral tablets, lit three joss sticks and said to my Grandpa¡¯s spirit tablet, "Grandpa, I¡¯ve taken over your mantle. One day, I will definitely bring the Jiangbei Daggers to justice. When that dayes, I¡¯ll be back to inform you so you can be at peace."


    I stood up and ced the joss sticks into the censer. My eyes were suddenly drawn to a spirit tablet in the middle that read: Ancestor Song Xingchen¡¯s spirit tablet.


    I was dumbfounded. Had Song Xingchen lied to me? Perhaps that wasn¡¯t his name at all.


    I thumbed through the genealogical records and unexpectedly discovered that there were more than a dozen people named Song Xingchen among my ancestors. These people were all from coteral families. More than half of these people named "Song Xingchen" died before they could reach a ripe old age, as if they had been engaged in dangerous work.


    However, there were no records of Song Xingchen in the books left by my ancestors, as though they were mere shadows. There were asional mentions of a mysterious guard dating from the Song Dynasty to the Republic of China. It seemed that such a character had always existed in the Song family.


    Suddenly struck by a thought, I conjectured that Song Xingchen wasn¡¯t a person but a code name, a spirit, or a belief.


    Like shadows, they secretly protected every descendant of the Song family who stepped into this world. Coincidentally, although the Song family strictly abided by the family rule of never bing an official or an officer to preserve our safety, each generation had a descendent who cooperated with the government to solve crimes.


    Protection from the elusive Song Xingchen suggested that they already acknowledged me!

 Chapter 217

    <h4>Chapter 217</h4>


    I nned to go back with a present for Xiaotao but I could find nothing in the small town. So, I decided to buy the gift in the city.


    On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Bingxin and I went back to Nanjiang City. I asked Bingxin what would make a lovely present for a girl.


    "Is it for Xiaotao-jiejie?" she asked.


    I readily admitted to it. It was useless lying to her since they were the only two girls I knew.


    ¡°Give her something she can use daily!¡± Bingxin advised. ¡°That way, she¡¯ll think of you whenever she uses it. Without her even knowing, her affection for you will grow every time. Why don¡¯t you give her a pretty umbre? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯ll be very sweet she opens the umbre every time it rains? It¡¯s just as if you¡¯re shielding her from the wind and rain."


    "That¡¯s a good idea!¡± I said, enlightened. ¡°I¡¯m d I asked you."


    Bingxin beamed like a cat that got the cream. "Do you remember when my birthday is?"


    "March 18th! I get it, I¡¯ll give you a birthday present when the timees."


    "Pinky promise!" she said, before hooking my pinky with hers.


    With Bingxin¡¯s advice, I bought an exquisite umbre and met up with Xiaotao. As soon as she opened the gift, Xiaotao frowned, "Who gave you such a bad idea for a gift? Was it Miss Sun?"


    "What¡¯s wrong? Don¡¯t you like the umbre?"


    "You¡¯re so terrible at romance, you know!¡± said Xiaotao as sheughed in between her sentences. ¡°Don¡¯t you know what it means to give an umbre? Well, courtesy demands reciprocity. Next time she has a birthday or something, I¡¯ll buy her a clock."


    "I know what it means to give a clock!" I said.


    After such a long time apart, Xiaotao invited me out for a meal, during which sheined how terrible her New Year¡¯s was. It had nothing to do with work, but rather, the terrible mess of a situation at home.


    During the Lunar New Year, her father invited Young Master Wang to their home for dinner. The young master¡¯s attempt to ingratiate himself irked her no end. It seemed her father had already considered Young Master Wang as his prospective son-inw.


    "Why don¡¯t you tell him off? I doubt he would continue to pester you if you do."


    I could hear the sneer in her voice. "I know exactly what the man¡¯s real intentions are. Young Master Wang has an older brother who is better than him in all aspects. Naturally, such an outstanding man is expected to inherit the Wang Conglomerate in the future. The young master is fully aware he has no ability of his own, so he¡¯s chosen a different path instead. He wants to marry me and take over my father¡¯spany."


    "There¡¯s not much else I¡¯m useful for, but I¡¯m avable twenty-four hours, seven days a week just for you. You¡¯re wee to use me as a shield against his annoying advances," I offered.


    "That¡¯s perfect. Young Master Wang has invited me to dinner tomorrow. I¡¯ll have to trouble you then!"


    There was also a small matter I required her help with, that is, the promise I made to Mr. Qin. Xiaotao immediately agreed to help me find a trustworthy reporter to publicize the ghost marriage case and create a little positive social influence.


    The next day, I apanied Xiaotao to a hotel for her appointment with Young Master Wang. During our meal, I drew so much hatred from the man he seemed close to blowing up. I never expected this incident to be the glue that sealed a bitter enmity between us. Looking back, perhaps the animosity in his eyes should¡¯ve clued me in.


    Time flies when there¡¯s much to do. After returning to university, I was upied with trivial matters such as make-up exams, selecting courses and preparing for an internship. As part of our course, we had to attend an internship for two months. At the end of February, I received an overseas phone call from a man who spoke with a strong London ent. I couldn¡¯t understand a word he said except for hisst sentence¨Che asked if I had an email so I gave him mine.


    Then, I received an English email in my inbox. After a long arduous attempt at tranting the email with the help of a trusty English-Chinese dictionary and Dali¡¯s assistance, I barely pieced together what the email was about. It turned out that my dissertation on analytical methods for drug residues within bone marrow had taken the West by storm. The International Forensics Association had invited me to participate in an academic forum in Hawaii and also ept an award.


    My mouth hung open in shock. The paper I had written for the purpose of obtaining a few academic credits had unexpectedly won an international award!


    However, on second thought, it wasn¡¯t so surprising after all. Research in the field of forensic science had already reached the point of data saturation. So when I put forward my views on forensic science from the perspective of a Traditional Coroner, naturally, they were all considered new discoveries.


    "Oh my God, Song Yang! You¡¯re fucking amazing!¡± gushed Dali. ¡°No way dude, I have to make sure everyone knows about this! You¡¯re definitely the pride of our school for winning an international award."


    "Can you calm down for a second?¡± I sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare go around spreading anything.¡±


    "Professor Song, can you take me with you to Hawaii when you ept the award?¡± he pleaded. ¡°Just tell them that I¡¯m your personal assistant. I¡¯ve never been abroad in my life. Take me with you to see the world. I¡¯m curious to see what American girls look like."


    "Who said I was going to ept the award?" I asked.


    I typed out a short reply that read: Thank you! I¡¯m too busy! I¡¯m not going!


    Then, I quickly hit send.


    "Fuck! How could you refuse them?¡± Dali stared at me in wide-eyed shock. ¡°This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!"


    I shrugged, disconcerted. "I¡¯m not in academic research, so what¡¯s the point of epting the award? And what if there¡¯s a case when I go to Hawaii?"


    "Why would there be a case? We¡¯ve just celebrated Lunar New Year and everyone is upied with getting back to work. Even criminals have jobs, don¡¯t they?"


    Coincidentally, we really had a case a few dayster. That morning, we had just returned from sses when I received a call from Xiaotao, asking me to go over to look at a case.


    When we arrived at the station, I noticed Bingxin was there as well. "Have you started your internship?" I asked.


    "No, I volunteered,¡± she exined. ¡°I don¡¯t have any sses this semester so I thought it¡¯d be better toe here and umte some practical experience."


    "Oh, so we¡¯ll be seeing a lot of you then?" asked Wang Dali.


    "Yeah, I¡¯m almost considered part of the permanent staff,¡± she nodded. ¡°Make sure toe look for me to hang out!"


    Xiaotao solemnly reminded, "Sun Tiger and I have made three rules. Firstly, don¡¯t put Miss Sun in danger. Secondly, never put Miss Sun in danger. And thirdly, never ever put Miss Sun in danger!"


    "My father didn¡¯t really say that,¡± she waved a fist in protest. ¡°He told me, firstly, to avoid a crime scene in the middle of the night. Secondly, he told me not to participate in the arrest and trial. And thirdly, I am never to act alone."


    "I summarized it for you,¡± Xiaotaoughed. ¡°That¡¯s basically what he means."


    I asked, "Aren¡¯t you sitting for the postgraduate admission exam?"


    "I¡¯ve already been admitted," answered Bingxin.


    My heart was filled with envy. When we were kids, I had even coached her in mathematics. In a sh, a stark contrast had formed between us¨Cshe had flourished into a straight-A prodigy, while I sunk into the bottom of the barrel.


    "Let¡¯s cut the chit chat and go take a look at the body!" said Xiaotao with a wave of her hand.


    Before we went into the morgue, she stopped and turned to Wang Dali, "I¡¯d like to caution you that what you see next might leave you traumatized for the rest of your life. Are you sure you¡¯d like to continue?"


    "Even ghosts don¡¯t scare me anymore,¡± Dali pointed out with a toothy grin, ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a corpse? What¡¯s there to be afraid of?"


    A knowing smirk pulled at the corners of Xiaotao¡¯s lips. "That¡¯s up to you. Anyway, I¡¯ve already warned you so the consequences are yours to bear!"


    Xiaotao flung the door open, revealing the scene within. The dead body was not ced on the autopsy table but beside it. When we finally had a clear view, Dali immediately screamed in horror and jumped behind me, grabbing my shoulder with his trembling hands.


    Looking at the scene before me, even I drew in a sharp gasp. To be precise, it wasn¡¯t a corpse, but a kite made out of human skin!

 Chapter 218

    <h4>Chapter 218</h4>


    The kite was about one and a half meters long and one meter wide with a pentagonal shape. The entire human leather had been stretched tightly over the bamboo framework, and a broken-off kite string was attached to it.


    From the physical characteristics, it was obvious this was a woman¡¯s skin. All the hair on the body had been removed. The dead woman was split down the middle at the nose bridge, her face evenly divided into the left and right sides and her hands and feet spread on both sides. When looking directly at the kite, it was as if a strange, grotesque person was trying to give you a hug.


    "Dude, that thing is terrifyingly disturbing," cried Dali as he trembled uncontrobly.


    "She told you not to look, but you said you could handle it,¡± I chastised. ¡°You didn¡¯t wet yourself, did you?"


    Dali quickly reached down and felt his pants. "I didn¡¯t!"


    "When the kite was delivered, many officers were scared out of their wits. An old man was even frightened to death at the scene," said Bingxin.


    "Where was it found?" I asked.


    Xiaotao briefly narrated the incident. Early this morning, in one of the parks, a kite was seen drifting out of nowhere. The dense morning fog that backdropped the floating kite heightened the eerie effect of the scene. At the time, there were quite a few park-goers, including the elderly who were busy with their morning exercise. At first, no one noticed anything until someone suddenly shouted, "There¡¯s someone in the sky!"


    The public exploded in cacophonous panic. Many were so frightened they wet themselves or fainted. When they finally came to their senses, they found an old man lying on the ground, blue and breathless. Because the incident had caused such grave repercussions, the deputy director ordered the case to be solved within a week.


    "Deputy director? Where¡¯s Sun Tiger?" I asked curiously.


    "My dad is attending another meeting in the province,¡± exined Bingxin. ¡°During his absence, the deputy director is in charge."


    "Was the old man really frightened to death?" I asked.


    In truth, it was almost impossible to be frightened to death. I wondered if there was more to it than what meets the eye.


    "I knew you would make that connection,¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°The old man had quick-acting heart relievers with him, possibly indicating the presence of a heart disease. At the time, he was sent to the hospital and the doctor identified that he had indeed died of a myocardial rupture. The body is now in the hospital morgue. I left an officer there to wait for the family members to im the body."


    ¡°Let¡¯s look at the old man¡¯s bodyter," I said.


    "I knew you wouldn¡¯t let this pass,"ughed Xiaotao.


    "Nothing¡¯s worse than death,¡± Imented. ¡°It¡¯s safer we take a look. If we neglect something rted to the case, we¡¯ll only regret it."


    As I went to examine the kite, I asked Bingxin, "Have you done an autopsy?"


    "How am I supposed to conduct one? It¡¯s not even a proper corpse..." she bitterlyined.


    I measured the length of the pelvis with my hand and stated, "The deceased should be a woman in her early twenties, 1.6 meters in height, and has never given birth.¡±


    Putting on a pair of rubber gloves, I carefully felt the surface of the human skin. It was still considerably supple and firm. All the hair on the surface had been cleanly removed. I sniffed at it and picked up the smell of mirabilite. The fat underneath the skin had also been properly removed.


    "The work done on this human skin is really professional!¡± I eximed. ¡°The killer must have working experience in this field."


    "Yes,¡± concurred Xiaotao. ¡°The leather used to make my handbag isn¡¯t as soft."


    Hearing how casual our conversation was, Dali turned pale. I turned to him and said, "Run out and get me a bottle of white vinegar and a bamboo brush used for cleaning pots and pans.¡±


    Dali agreed and quickly left the morgue. I opened the Autopsy Umbre and got Bingxin to turn on the ultraviolet light. No fingerprints had been left on the surface of the skin but there were traces of textile patterns. The murderer must have worn gloves.


    Upon examining the skin on the hands, I noticed it felt rather tough despite the fact that they were a woman¡¯s hands. This indicated that her hands were especially strong when she was still alive, yet there were no calluses on her fingers. From the back, she showed no signs of a hunchback so she most likely wasn¡¯t engaged in heavy physicalbor. There were sores on her buttocks which suggested that she often sat.


    I thought for a moment and conjectured, "The deceased might have been a foot reflexologist."


    "Song Yang-gege, how could you tell?" asked Bingxin.


    "It¡¯s just conjecture,¡± I smiled. ¡°I might not be urate this time."


    Xiaotao made a phone call to her subordinates, ordering them to investigate if there had been any missing foot reflexologists reported missing in Nanjiang City recently.


    "Here¡¯s something that¡¯s a cause for doubt¨Cwhy did the murderer divide the victim¡¯s skin down the middle of the nose bridge?¡± I pointed out. ¡°Not only is it more difficult, but this method also damages her face, which greatly reduces the overall effect of the crime. Why don¡¯t you tell us what you think, Bingxin?"


    Bingxin paused to think. "The deceased appears to be a young and beautiful woman,¡± she noted. ¡°Perhaps the murderer was jealous of her appearance and wanted to destroy her face."


    I shook my head. "Then why not disfigure her outright?"


    "Haha, I got it!¡± eximed Xiaotao. ¡°That¡¯s because the fatal wound is on the neck and the murderer is trying to cover that up. Look, don¡¯t you see a small piece of damaged skin on the neck? If youpare the two sides, you¡¯ll notice the damage pattern matches.¡±


    "You¡¯re right!¡± I acknowledged. ¡°But such a cover-up is meaningless. The murderer obviously has another purpose. Try using a lessplicated reasoning."


    "What is it?" they asked at the same time.


    "During the process of tanning, the skin shrinks so the wound besrger. If there¡¯s a hole in the neck, the kite can¡¯t fly because the air is going to leak through it..." I exined.


    Bingxin stared in wide-eyed wonder but Xiaotao remarked, "You¡¯ve got a really weird way of thinking!"


    "I¡¯m thinking from the murderer¡¯s point of view. If we pursue the murderer¡¯s line of thought, we would discover that the dead woman was merely a piece of leather in the eyes of the murderer. The murderer felt nothing throughout the entire process of peeling the skin off her body and turning her into a kite, which also suggests that the murderer is skilled in skinning. Furthermore, this sort ofposure isn¡¯t something you¡¯d see in a younger person. Therefore, I think the murderer is at least 40 years old."


    Xiaotao puckered her brow. "Please don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s another sadistic serial killer."


    "Sadistic serial killer?! How exciting!" eximed Bingxin.


    "Please pay attention to your words,¡± said Xiaotao with a roll of her eyes. ¡°Should you say something like that out loud?!"


    Bingxin spat out her tongue. "It¡¯s not like I¡¯ll say that when others are around."


    While the two were going back and forth, I carefully examined the human skin again. "Xiaotao, you don¡¯t have to worry,¡± I said. ¡°This time, even if the murderer is a serial killer, there should be quite a significant period of time between the killings."


    "Why is that?¡± asked Xiaotao.


    I lifted the skin open and showed it to her. "Look at the cut¡ªit wasn¡¯t done in one go. There are many pauses in the middle, which tells me the murderer has limited strength. The most tiring part of the entire process is separating the skin from the body. The murderer is either old or has a physical ailment."


    Bingxin pped her hands. "I got it! The murderer must be a cynical old bachelor. Perhaps he holds contempt for girls working in this industry, so he¡¯s decided to punish them in this manner!"


    Both Xiaotao and I stared at her, struck speechless by her words.


    ¡°Was I wrong?¡± faltered Bingxin.


    "Miss Sun,¡± sighed Xiaotao. ¡°I know you¡¯re a Pisces who loves getting lost in your fantasies, but we¡¯ve hardly broken the surface with this case. Can you not make any wild guesses? Preconceptions are a huge no-no when ites to solving crimes!"


    "The murderer is not necessarily a man,¡± I added. ¡°It could also possibly be a woman."


    "I know, I won¡¯t babble any more nonsense!" cried Bingxin indignantly.


    Just then, Dali returned with what I wanted. I found a basin, filled it with white vinegar and soaked the bamboo brush for a few minutes. Finally, I heated the vinegar with an alcohol burner and fumigated the skin with vinegar smoke.


    The murderer used mirabilite in the process of creating the human leather. When smoked with the acidic white vinegar, certain traces would appear.


    After repeating the process twice, a cloud of smoke filled the room, the sour smell assaulted our noses, causing Bingxin to sneeze incessantly. She was well aware that she shouldn¡¯t sneeze inside the morgue so she covered her mouth with tissue paper.


    I asked Dali to turn on the venttor. As the smoke dispersed, a shallow mark gradually appeared on the skin.

 Chapter 219

    <h4>Chapter 219</h4>


    As the white vinegar smoke fumigated the body, creases slowly appeared on the human leather, all of which were caused during the tanning process. There were also some scratches which might have been caused during handling.


    There were ligature marks on the wrists and ankles, indicating that the deceased had been bound before her death.


    Arge ssh mark was visible on the body, with a line of liquid flowing from the neck to the chest. As soon as I sprayed por solvent onto the leather, it immediately turned purple. "Blood!" I cried.


    "The dead woman died after a fatal neck wound and shed a lot of blood at the time,¡± summarized Xiaotao.


    I turned the human leather over and carefully examined the ligature marks. "The skin on the victim¡¯s waist and thighs are a little loose,¡± I noted. ¡°Combined with the ligature marks, the dead woman must have been starved for a period of time and depleted of her fat reserves. That makes it easier for the murderer to peel off her skin. On top of that, the victim was probably missing for more than a week... "


    I sprayed more por solvent on the human leather and raised the ultraviolet light again for further examination.


    "Song Yang, what are you looking for?" asked Xiaotao.


    I was looking for traces other than blood. Earlier, when I heard Bingxin sneeze, a thought suddenly crossed my mind. Making leather involved exposure to mirabilite, quicklime, softening agents and other chemical products, which were all very harsh on the human respiratory tract. Leather makers generally had respiratory issues. So could the murderer have left saliva when sneezing?


    With this in mind, I quickly instructed, "Bingxin, can you test theposition of the skin¡¯s surface?"


    Bingxin nodded, "Roger!"


    Bingxin swabbed some samples and headed next door for testing. Xiaotao chuckled, "Since Miss Sun volunteered for field work, she¡¯s even robbed Xiaozhou of his job. He was just protesting."


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it normal for top students like her to have more than one job?" I joked.


    Xiaotao asked, "Should we look for the victim¡¯s remains next?"


    "No,¡± I replied. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the hospital and take a look at the old man!"


    Xiaotao told us to wait in the parking lot while she delegated tasks to her subordinates. Then the three of us headed to the hospital. The officer Xiaotao had assigned to watch the body was chatting with a nurse outside the morgue. Upon noticing Xiaotao¡¯s arrival, he stood up and respectfully saluted her. Xiaotao nodded and said, "We¡¯re here to look at the old man."


    "Damn, look at how domineering Xiaotao-jiejie is!"


    "I am their team leader after all!¡± sheughed. ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve now been promoted to First ss Supervisor."


    I gasped, "Looks like Captain Lin won¡¯t be able to train you much longer!"


    The lighting in the morgue was dim and many bodies were parked together, covered with white sheets. Dali¡¯s itchy fingers lifted one of the sheets and at the sight of the corpse underneath, he let out a scream of horror. It was a suicide jumper so his nose was smashed and his flesh was a mangled bloody mess. "You cowardly idiot!¡± I reproached. ¡°Why would you do that when you know you¡¯ve got the courage of a mouse?!"


    Dali defended himself, "I¡¯ve never been to the morgue before. I¡¯m just curious!"


    The officer brought us to the old man¡¯s body. He looked to be about 70 or 80 years old, with a head of white hair. His face was frozen in the look of terror before he died. I listened with the Echolocation Rod and found that his heart had ruptured.


    If a person was frightened to death, their entire heart would rupture. This cause of death was quite rare.


    Xiaotao asked, "Do you have any more doubts?"


    "I can¡¯t say I don¡¯t. There were many old men in the park. Why him?"


    "The old man had heart disease and forgot to take his medicine which led to the tragedy,¡± she exined. ¡°He had a pill organizer on him and the box written with today¡¯s date was still full."


    "What is the dead man¡¯s identity?" I asked.


    "An ordinary retired veteran soldier."


    At this moment, there came a loud wail from outside. The nurse quickly stopped the visitor, "Madam, madam, you¡¯re not allowed to enter the morgue!"


    An olddy¡¯s voice cried out, "My darling, how could you leave like this? How could you bear to leave me all alone? What am I supposed to do from now on?"


    When we exited the morgue, we saw an old woman about 70 or 80 sobbing her heart out as she held onto the nurse for support. As soon as she saw us, she pleaded, "Officer, can I see my husband?"


    "I¡¯m sorry for your loss,¡± consoled Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll take you to see him now."


    The olddy walked into the morgue, crying even harder when she saw her dead husband. In an attempt tofort her, I told a little white lie and assured her that he had passed away painlessly. In truth, dying from a heart rupture was an agonizing process.


    Soon, the olddy¡¯s tears subsided under our constion. She wiped away her tears with a handkerchief and asked, "Can I take away my husband¡¯s body?"


    Right when Xiaotao agreed, I noticed a small detail. The olddy¡¯s fingernails had burn marks but I couldn¡¯t be sure if the cause was heat or chemicals. "May I ask you a few questions?"


    I enquired about her name, job and family. The olddy, surnamed Hu, had worked at a printing factory for many years. In her younger years, she had met the old man on a blind date and after more than 50 years together, the rtionship was still going strong.


    "Did you get your ring when you first got married?" I asked.


    Old Madam Hu replied, "No, back then we were so poor. How could we afford a ring? My husband gave this to me on our golden anniversary."


    "May I have a look at it?"


    "Go ahead!" said the olddy.


    Truthfully, I was less interested in her ring as I was with her fingers. I noticed that the corrosion on her fingernails had been left behind from the past. "When I worked in the printing factory, I used to touch starch paste with my bare hands, causing them to look like this," exined Madam Hu.


    "You should protect your skin or you might develop skin cancer," I advised.


    Old Madam Hu sighed, "What¡¯s the point in doing that? Right now, I feel as if my heart is dead. Thank you, officers. I¡¯ll take my husband with me now."


    Xiaotao told the policeman to wheel the body onto the van and transport it to the funeral home with Madam Hu.


    As I watched Madam Hu leave, I was suddenly struck with an idea and pulled out a silver needle with a spade-like end which was mainly used for testing drugs.


    Making haste, I ran out to the officer who was wheeling the body down the corridor and cried, "Hey, what¡¯s wrong with you? You left the dead man¡¯s hand hanging out!"


    Taking advantage of his confusion, I quickly pulled the dead man¡¯s hand out. ¡°Just look at that! How disrespectful it is to the deceased!" I admonished.


    "I¡¯m sorry, Ipletely missed that!" the officer apologized.


    As I ced the dead man¡¯s hand back onto the gurney, I pricked it with a silver needle hidden in my hand and quickly withdrew it. Then, I pretended to solemnly lecture the officer before letting him leave.


    Of course, my actions were witnessed by Xiaotao who grinned, "Song Yang, your acting skills have improved."


    ¡°If you lie down with dogs, you¡¯ll get up with fleas,¡± I winked.


    ¡°What are you up to?¡± she asked.


    I held up the silver needle which contained a little bit of the dead man¡¯s skin tissue. "I took a little DNA sample."


    A trace of confusion reflected in her eyes. "We¡¯ve confirmed his identity,¡± she said. ¡°Why do you need a DNA sample?"


    I smiled mysteriously. "Consider this an impulse to satisfy my curiosity! I have a little conjecture but I won¡¯t tell you what it is for the time being. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯llugh if I¡¯m mistaken!"


    "What¡¯s there to be shy about?¡± she teased. ¡°What¡¯s next then, Great Detective Song?¡±


    "If you can spare some officers, I suggest they make a trip down to the printing factory to verify what Madam Hu said."


    My words threw Xiaotao into shock. "What are your reasons for doubting the olddy?¡± She argued, ¡°Making a human skin kite to kill her husband seems like an overlyplicated way to get rid of him, does it not?"


    I smiled wanly. "It¡¯s just my intuition. Isn¡¯t it characteristic of the police to suspect everything?"


    "Okay,¡± Xiaotao nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll send someone to check it out. Where should we head next?"


    "Let¡¯s take a break and go kiting in the park!"

 Chapter 220

    <h4>Chapter 220</h4>


    Since it was the weekend, there was a crowd of people in the park. "It¡¯s busier in the mornings," remarked Xiaotao.


    "Let¡¯s buy a kite and have some fun," I said.


    "Are you serious?!" blurted Xiaotao in surprise.


    "I¡¯ve never flown a kite. Let¡¯s get one!" I urged.


    We went to a kite stall and I picked out a butterfly kite while Xiaotao picked a centipede one that made a buzzing sound. Dali, on the other hand, couldn¡¯t decide. I happened to notice a peculiar kite in the back of the stall. It was an ugly kite printed with a still of Xiao Yanzi from the TV series, My Fair Princess. That¡¯s not to say that Zhao Wei was unappealing but rather the kite was. The kite was awash with a reddish hue that dyed Xiao Yanzi¡¯s face with tworge red blotches, making her look like a vige girl. The kite was extremely huge and covered with dust. At a nce, it was obvious the seller was stuck with it.


    I pointed at the kite and said, "Dali, get that one."


    Without even thinking, Dali refused. "There¡¯s no way I¡¯m getting that. It¡¯s hideous! How embarrassing would it be to fly that kite!"


    "It¡¯s either that or nothing!" I insisted.


    "I never thought you¡¯d be such a controlling man. I do pity your future girlfriend," muttered Dali almost imperceptibly.


    Xiaotao covered her mouth so herughter wouldn¡¯t spill out.


    "Cut the bullshit and hurry up dude!" I said.


    Left with little choice, Dali reluctantly bought the kite. Along the way, people pointed at him inughter, mocking his special aesthetic sense. Xiaotao smiled quizzically, ¡°Why are you punishing him?"


    "We¡¯re doing a reconstruction of the crime,¡± I exined. ¡°Dali, can you fly a kite?"


    Dali patted his chest proudly. "Of course! I¡¯ll teach you guys how.¡±


    Dali proceeded to do as he said but ironically, it was he who had trouble with his kite. Because his kite was too big, it shook from side to side, swaying with the wind. On the contrary, our little kites fared much better.


    After some time, Dali¡¯s kite finally rose into the sky, standing out among a bunch of colorful kites.


    "Song Yang, I think I understand your intentions now..." said Xiaotao as she stared at Dali¡¯s conspicuous kite.


    "What do you mean?" Dali turned to us, his expression vacuous.


    "Isn¡¯t this kite special? A lot of people were watching throughout the entire process of getting it to fly.¡± I prompted, ¡°Now, think about the human skin kite that¡¯s even bigger than this. How did the murderer get it to fly? Someone would¡¯ve called the police before the murderer could even get that far so the kite was most likely dropped from a height."


    I looked around and instructed, "Dali, reel the kite in. Let¡¯s do an experiment!"


    After Xiaotao and I gave our kites to two children, we headed to a nearby building and climbed up to the roof. Then, I got Dali to throw the kite down.


    The kite slowly fluttered down with the wind and fell into a tree. ¡°From which direction did the kite drift?" I asked.


    Xiaotao shook her head. "I¡¯m not quite sure but I¡¯ll check!"


    "You might as well ask the bureau of meteorology what the wind was like this morning," I suggested.


    Two quick phone callster, Xiaotao informed me that the human skin kite had flown into the park square from the southeast direction coinciding with the direction of the wind this morning.


    Armed with that information, I dered, "Let¡¯s conduct a few more experiments to zoom in on where the murderer was."


    We tested across several buildings, throwing the kite many times until it finally turned into a torn mess. Eventually, I managed to iste what I thought was the most suitable position. It was a balcony on the sixth floor of one of the buildings where the kite could float down to the park square without any deviations.


    I noticed a mouthful of yellow-green phlegm in the corner¨Ca sign of excess heat caused by yin deficiency. There were also wisps of blood visible, indicating the presence of respiratory diseases.


    Dali grimaced as he watched me swab some samples and secure them in an evidence bag. "Oh my God,¡± he eximed. ¡°That¡¯s fucking gross!"


    "What¡¯s the big deal?¡± I retorted. ¡°Chinese Detective Li Changyu once solved a case in which the murderer urinated at the scene of the crime. He managed to identify the murderer by testing the urine."


    "That¡¯s not as disgusting as this!" he cringed.


    Having obtained samples, I nced at my watch. "We might break the record with how quickly we¡¯re going to solve the case this time."


    Xiaotao widened her eyes in shock. "You¡¯re confident about that?"


    "ording to our previous hypothesis, the murderer is likely an old person, and the elderly are stubborn and set in their ways,¡± I observed. ¡°Besides, their usual motive is vengeance for an old grudge. Combined with the fact that the murderer¡¯s MO requires a lot of effort and has left behind plenty of evidence, I¡¯m certain the case will be solved by tomorrow at thetest."


    "If we solve the case by tomorrow,¡± started Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll treat both of you to a seafood dinner."


    "We¡¯ll starve tonight,¡± I said to Dali. ¡°And feast tomorrow!"


    Dali made a gluttonous gesture of wiping his saliva. "Then I¡¯ll start starving myself at noon."


    Right then, I received a call from Bingxin. "Song Yang-gege, where have you guys been?¡± she asked. ¡°I found something!"


    "Wait for us. We¡¯re heading back to the station now." I said.


    Downstairs, just as we were leaving themunity, I asked the security guard at the gate if anyone elderly had driven in this morning. The security guard shook his head and reported that he hadn¡¯t seen anyone like that.


    Fixing my gaze at the camera above my head, I asked, "Do you have the surveince video?"


    The security guard looked away in embarrassment. "The facilities in ourmunity are outdated. The residents don¡¯t stay for long so we often have trouble collecting maintenance fees. These cameras have long broken down but we¡¯ve never repaired them. They¡¯re merely for show."


    "Why do you think the murderer drove here?" asked Xiaotao.


    "It¡¯s impossible for the murderer to have folded the kite, yet such a huge kite would¡¯ve been conspicuous if it were carried into themunity on foot. Hence, the murderer must have a car! Unless... "


    "Unless what?" questioned Xiaotao.


    My eyes lit up. "That¡¯s right! Get someone to find out where the old man lived!"


    "Can¡¯t you finish what you were about to say?!" grumbled Xiaotao. ¡°That¡¯s only going to make me more anxious!¡±


    When we returned to the station, Bingxin asked us where we had been. Hearing that we went kiting, she pursed her lips in discontent. "How could you go without asking me? You¡¯re too much!" sheined.


    "We only went to investigate the case,¡± I exined. ¡°What about theb results?"


    Bingxin reported that saliva enzymes not containing the victim¡¯s DNA had been detected on the human skin kite. It must have been left by someone else, most likely when the murderer sneezed.


    I nodded and handed her samples of the phlegm I had found and the old man¡¯s DNA. "Could you test the phlegm against the saliva left on the kite and see if they match?¡± I instructed. ¡°Also, pleasepare the human skin kite and the old man¡¯s DNA."


    "Whypare the two sets of DNA?¡± asked Xiaotao. ¡°What secrets are you hiding, Song Yang?"


    "I¡¯m not intentionally keeping you guessing,¡± I replied. ¡°At the moment, I can¡¯t be certain so let¡¯s wait until theb resultse out."


    Vague conjectures had formed in my mind but it wasn¡¯t yet appropriate to share them since they weren¡¯t necessarily correct. So I had to confirm them first.


    "As a Traditional Coroner, you seem perfectly at home using modern technology!"ughed Xiaotao.


    "The method isn¡¯t important,¡± I rified. ¡°I¡¯ll use whatever means helpful to solve the crime. I believe if Song Ci were alive today, he wouldn¡¯t have left such convenient technologies unused."

 Chapter 221

    <h4>Chapter 221</h4>


    The next thing to do was to wait. The three of us headed out for a meal but Dali ended up skipping lunch entirely, all to make room for our seafood feast tomorrow. Before leaving the restaurant, we made sure to take away Bingxin¡¯s lunch.


    Xiaotao had some formalities toplete but Dali and I found ourselves at leisure. We decided to take a stroll outside since running to an inte cafe didn¡¯t exactly encourage the exemry image we were going for.


    It was already early spring and the mellow afternoon sun caressed the skin and warmed the body.


    Dali asked me about my ns after graduation¨Ctake the postgraduate admission exam, sit for the civil service exam or look for a job? I suddenly felt a wave of mncholy wash over me. In a few months, I would say goodbye to my campus life and head out into society. I hadn¡¯t even considered what I would do in the future. ording to the Song family rule, I could never take the civil service exam, yet I had no other skills apart from solving crimes. In other words, I was a highly intelligent loser.


    "Song Yang, don¡¯t you want to work in an office?" asked Dali as he lightly pped me on the shoulder.


    "It¡¯s not a question of whether I want to or not,¡± I sighed. ¡°I still have to worry about my livelihood. A good-for-nothing like me can only be an office worker."


    "Would you like to start a business with me?" he asked, eyes glistening with eagerness.


    "Start a business?¡± I said. ¡°What sort of business? Selling mutton skewers?"


    Dali tsked loudly in disapproval. "Just look at how short-sighted you are! You¡¯ve got to take a long-term view. There are still many business opportunities to explore in Nanjiang City!"


    As far as I could tell, Dali¡®s flexibility and versatility gave him every chance at sess if he decided to start a business. I grinned, "If you start a business, take me on and I¡¯ll work for you. How about that?"


    "Why the hell are you being so polite with me?¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯ve broadened my horizons but I¡¯ve not really returned the favor. I feel guilty man. I wish I could be your financial support. When I¡¯ve established my own career, I¡¯ll make you manager. You don¡¯t have to do anything, just solve your crimes and get paid. That¡¯s the best way I can support you as a buddy!"


    "CEO Wang,¡± I teased. ¡°Can you tell me what business you¡¯re nning to start?"


    Looking up into the sky, Dali boldly dered, "The Wang Barbecue Co.! What do you think of that?"


    ¡°Will you only sell barbecues?¡± I asked. ¡°What about edamame and beer?"


    "Other projects can be slowly developed in the future,¡± exined Dali with great seriousness. ¡°Right now, I¡¯ve just established thepany so my current focus is on Series A financing. Failure or sess depends entirely on whether my father beats me to death."


    This goofball was actually pulling a fast one on me. At the time, I truly believed that he wanted to start a barbecue stall. Who would¡¯ve thought it was another one of his tricks? In truth, he already had a business n for some time. When his business eventually took off with a bang, we were all thrown into shock.


    Right then, I received a call from Xiaotao who shouted excitedly into my ear, "Song Yang, there¡¯s been a big discovery. Guess what?"


    "The old man is rted to the dead woman?" I calmly voiced my conjecture.


    Xiaotao eximed in surprise, "You guessed it all along, didn¡¯t you? Well, Great Detective Song, pleasee to the conference room on the third floor. We¡¯re waiting to hear your opinion!"


    When we entered the conference room, everyone was already there. The officers reported all the clues they had gathered. The printing factory had been closed for many years and its old employees had all beenid off. The person in charge was uncontactable so they couldn¡¯t confirm if Madam Hu had actually worked at the printing factory.


    Meanwhile, the identity of the dead woman had been determined. Her name was Tang Xiaojuan and she hailed from Yundian Province. A few years ago, she came to Nanjiang City to work as a masseuse in a foot reflexology center. She didn¡¯t have any friends or a boyfriend, keeping mostly to herself, but she did have a Godfather.


    Tang Xiaojuan¡¯s Godfather was a retired veteran soldier whom she met with on public holidays. Many of her colleagues suspected that she was being kept by a sugar daddy and privatelyughed at her for being so blinded by money she was willing to sleep with such an old man.


    "Who is her Godfather?" I asked the officer who had discovered this lead.


    "I wasn¡¯t able to find out his identity!" He smiled wryly.


    The other lead we had was Bingxin¡¯s major discovery¨Cthe old man and the dead woman¡¯s DNA was 99% simr, indicating they were immediate family members. That is to say, Tang Xiaojuan¡¯s "Godfather" was actually her biological father.


    Additionally, the phlegm we found at the scene was consistent with the DNA in the saliva enzymes discovered on the human skin kite, which confirmed that the person who spat at the scene was the murderer.


    "How did you guess that the old man was rted to the dead woman?" asked Xiaotao.


    "It alles back to the same point, that is, people aren¡¯t so easily frightened to death. Even if the old man had heart disease and suddenly saw a kite made of human skin, he might feel some difort at most and take his medicine immediately. Therefore, I wondered if this human skin kite was made from a person he knew. That would exin why the moment he caught sight of it, he received such a strong blow he was frightened to death! From this, it¡¯s obvious that the old man¡¯s death was no ident. So I think we can turn our focus to Madam Hu."


    The old man¡¯s surname was Yang while the dead woman went by Tang. Thus, we could surmise that she was an illegitimate daughter.


    The room seemed less tense at once. Clearly, they were all relieved that the end of the tunnel was near. Truthfully, I wasn¡¯t that surprised. Often, the moreplex the case, the easier it was to solve. The real challenges were the simple and neat cases.


    At this moment, Wang Yuanchao stormed in and plopped into his seat without a word. Xiaotao rapped her knuckles against the table and growled, "Wang Yuanchao, shouldn¡¯t you at least exin why you¡¯rete? Where¡¯s your sense of discipline?!"


    Wang Yuanchao paid her no attention and casually lit a cigarette. "I managed to look into the matter you asked. The old man lived in amunity near the park and frequented the park every day for his morning exercise. Here¡¯s the other thing¨Che only married Madam Hu five years ago."


    As soon as the words fell out of his mouth, the room exploded into loud discussion and the suspicion around Madam Hu increased.


    Bingxin nced at theb report, raised her hand and interrupted, "By the way, I forgot to mention one thing. I managed to obtain a clue from the phlegm sample. Whoever spat has asthma."


    "Asthma may be an old ailment caused by chronic exposure to chemicals,¡± I said. ¡°You should check Madam Hu¡¯s medical records. If she has asthma, we can basically confirm she¡¯s the murderer."


    ncing at her watch, Xiaotao said, "It¡¯s almost six now. Let¡¯s try to tackle both tasks at the same time. Wang Yuanchao, contact the hospital immediately to get her medical records. The others will follow me to pay Madam Hu a visit." And with a wave of her hand, she coolly instructed, "Let¡¯s get a move on it!"


    "I¡¯m going too!" squealed Bingxin excitedly.


    But Xiaotao was quick to douse her enthusiasm with a bucket of cold water. "Don¡¯t forget the three rules!"


    ¡°What can an olddy do to us?" argued Bingxin.


    "It¡¯s still a no,¡± said Xiaotao, refusing to budge. ¡°It¡¯s a matter of principle!" She thereupon turned around and threatened to punish anyone who dared indulge Bingxin with a bonus deduction.


    Before leaving, I asked Bingxin for the DNA test report.


    At the gates of themunity, Xiaotao radioed the other officers to warn them against driving in for fear that Madam Hu wouldmit suicide by jumping off the building if she saw the policeing for her.


    The others remained hidden and stayed on watch while the four of us, including Wang Yuanchao, got out of the car and made our way to her door on foot. After several knocks, Madam Hu answered the door, only to pause in surprise at the sight of us. But she quickly regained herposure and asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?"


    ¡°May we go in and talk?" I asked.


    "Sure, pleasee in!" nodded Madam Hu repeatedly.


    The ce was neatly organized. On the table was a photo of the couple taken in their youth. This was something I hadn¡¯t expected. It seemed the couple knew each other early on. After Madam Hu brought us tea, I asked, "Did you and Mr. Yang have any children?"


    "When I was young, I relocated to Yundian Province in the ¡®Down To The Countryside¡¯ movement. One year, during a terrible flood, my body was soaked in the floodwaters for an entire night, causing weakness and infertility. I tried for many years but never seeded." She sighed, "Now I¡¯m all that¡¯s left in this house."


    "When were the two of you married?" I asked.


    "Haven¡¯t I already mentioned this?¡± she said. ¡°In the seventies."


    Suddenly, Madam Hu burst into a violent coughing fit, covering her mouth with a handkerchief. I noticed that she had coughed up a mouthful of bloody phlegm.


    I decided there was no reason to beat around the bush any longer. When she had finally stopped coughing, I stared into her eyes with my Cave Vision and went straight to the point. "Why did you kill that girl?"


    A loud crash echoed in the room. In a panicked fluster, Madam Hu quickly cleaned up the broken pieces from the teacup she had knocked over. She forced a smile and feigned ignorance, "Officer, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about!"

 Chapter 222

    <h4>Chapter 222</h4>


    Madam Hu¡¯s poor acting skills gave her away at once. I didn¡¯t need to use my Cave Vision to know she was lying.


    Xiaotao took out her gun and mmed it against the table. "We¡¯re actually here to arrest you."


    Madam Hu¡¯s face crumpled at those words. Lips trembling, she faltered, "D-do you have an arrest warrant?"


    "Yes, would you like to see it?" asked Xiaotao without so much as batting an eyelid.


    In truth, we came in a hurry so Xiaotao didn¡¯t get a chance to submit an affidavit to the court. Perhaps due to the olddy¡¯s guilt, such a bluff managed to fool her. She lowered her head, her wrinkled hands shaking uncontrobly. "To be honest,¡± she started. ¡°I expected you toe, but I didn¡¯t think you¡¯de so soon!"


    "That¡¯s because you left too many clues," I exined.


    Old Madam Hu sighed, "I don¡¯t regret what I did. He asked for it!"


    She detailed how everything came to be. Back then, she and Old Man Yang were high school ssmates. With the implementation of the ¡°Down To The Countryside¡± policy, the two of them relocated to Yundian Province. At the time, she was drawn to the handsome and talented young man. Having secretly fallen in love with Mr. Yang, she hinted her feelings for him, both explicitly and implicitly.


    In her younger days, she too was a beautiful girl. Madam Hu made frequent overtures to Mr. Yang who paid special attention to her at first. But as the saying goes, to snag a man, let him do the chasing. Right when the couple seemed to be headed towards a union, a "third party" appeared!


    And this "third party" was a local girl¨Cyoung and beautiful, with a pair of clear eyes that seemed unaffected by the ugliness of the world. Many educated youths fell for her, iming she was a fairy from the mountains. However, Madam Hu believed her innocence was really ignorance andck of education, and that her beautiful skin hid an empty soul.


    Every time the young Mr. Yang looked at the girl, there was something else in his eyes. Finally, Madam Hu¡¯s greatest fear became a reality. She saw with her own eyes Mr. Yang¡¯s confession to the girl...


    She spoke to the girl in private and advised her to stay away from Mr. Yang. They had different life paths and the educated young man would return to the city sooner orter, leaving the young mountain girl behind as a distant memory.


    However, the most irrational thing in this world is love. Although they returned to the city with thousands of miles separating the two, the girl seemed to upy Mr. Yang¡¯s every waking thought. He even visited her whenever the opportunity arose. Such a distinct contrast in their identities and the backwardness of the times made it impossible for them to marry. But for her, he was willing to stay single for the rest of his life.


    Madam Hu secretly shed tears of heartache over his resolve. No matter how she tried, she had no way of moving him so she decided to wait.


    Thus she waited and waited as this miserable love triangle tormented the three of them for forty years. Old Madam Hu thought she would carry this regret into her grave but unexpectedly, the woman died from illness five years ago. The chance to enter the old man¡¯s life was here and she finally married him as she had always dreamed of.


    Despite being well aware she was only a substitute to fill the loneliness in his old age, she had no regrets orints. After all, she had loved the man deeply all her life, and every day with him was a blessing she cherished.


    But who could have predicted the arrival of a girl from Yundian Province who would shatter their peaceful, idyllic life? Bearing almost the exact same appearance as the "third party" of that year, this girl was the woman¡¯s daughter!


    Ever since the girl walked into their lives, the old man devoted all his time to her, bing indifferent to much else. Enraged, Madam Hu watched on in hatred as she wondered if the love she had exchanged her entire life for would so easily be destroyed.


    This time, she was certain she had no way of winning back her man so she decided to retaliate instead and vent a lifetime¡¯s worth of resentment.


    Hence, a mad n for vengeance was born!


    When Madam Hu moved to the countryside, she had learned tanning techniques from the local leather maker. After she wasid off from the printing factory, she also worked as a leather maker for a period of time in order to make a living. Because she was exposed to chemical fumes all year round, she developed chronic asthma.


    She rented an apartment on the top floor of the building and purchased the necessary tools. The preparation process alone took three months.


    About a week ago, Madam Hu tricked the girl into moving to the apartment upstairs with the excuse that she had already rented the ce for her. The poor girl was still in the dark because in her eyes, Madam Hu was a kind and friendly olddy.


    When Madam Hu took her to see the apartment, she surprised her with an ether rag over her mouth, rendering her unconscious. The girl was left bound and hungry for an entire week before Madam Hu slit her throat to bleed her dry. Then, she stripped off all her skin and turned it into a huge kite.


    Her intention was to show Old Man Yang the woman he loved as a mere vapid, substanceless piece of skin. After he finally epted the loss, she would thenfort him and re-enter his life.


    With everything ready, she chose to carry out her n this morning since the dense fog made it easier to conceal her moves.


    Even then, she never could have foreseen that the human skin kite would frighten the old man to death. She was so devastated by his death that she almost felt relief instead of fear at our visit.


    "Let this 40-year-long one-sided love draw to an end!" Old Madam Hu gently stroked the photo of her and Mr. Yang taken during their move to the countryside, her lips curling into a nasty grin. "Anyway, I¡¯m thest one standing. That makes me the final victor!"


    The juxtaposition of love and hatred hidden behind this sadistic murder left us speechless in astonishment.


    I pulled out the DNA test report. "Madam Hu, you might have gotten one thing wrong,¡± I said. ¡°Your husband wasn¡¯t in love with anyone else. The girl you murdered was his biological daughter."


    Madam Hu stared at us in wide-eyed shock. "That¡¯s impossible!" she sputtered.


    "This DNA test proves that they were indeed father and daughter,¡± I replied. ¡°The girl was in her twenties. Twenty years ago when Mr. Yang visited his first love in Yundian Province, they must have conceived this child. After her mother died, she came to Nanjiang City alone, partly for work but also to look for her father. Daughter and father were finally reunited, only to be misunderstood by you. Is there anything crueler than to see a kite made out of his own daughter¡¯s skin drifting down from the sky? He died on the spot of a heart rupture because it was too great a blow!"


    Madam Hu was frozen in shock for a full ten seconds before she buried her face in her hands and wailed, "Why didn¡¯t he tell me? Why didn¡¯t he tell me?!"


    A heavy stone seemed to weigh on our hearts at the sound of her mournful cries. But as Shakespeare had written, hoist with his own petard, perhaps behind every pitiful man is a legitimate cause for having sunk to such lows. Two lives were lost and her own future was still uncertain. Her misery was her own doing.


    Xiaotao threw her handcuffs on the table and fumed, "Put them on yourself!"

 Chapter 223

    <h4>Chapter 223</h4>


    Dali and I walked out the gates of the school to look for a barbecue stall. Halfway through our meal, a few vans suddenly elerated up the street and came to a screeching halt. I had a bad feeling about this.


    A group of long-haired burly men covered in tattoos jumped out of the van, the earrings on their ears gleaming under the streemp. They crossed the street and sauntered towards us, frightening Dali so much that a mutton skewer fell out his open mouth. "Dude, are these gangsters? I think they¡¯re looking for us."


    The other customers at the barbecue stall ran away in fright. Someone took out a photo, nced at me and then looked at the photo again. Loud whispers circted among the gang. It seemed Dali was right¨Cthey wereing for me.


    Dali urged me to run but I leisurely took a bite out of my mutton skewer and said, "Don¡¯t worry!"


    "Fuck, how are you still so calm?!" yelled Dali in wide-eyed shock.


    I wasn¡¯t calm at all but I knew I couldn¡¯t outrun them. Besides, I had Song Xingchen by my side. If they so much as touched a hair on my head, Song Xingchen would definitely deal with them.


    Right then, a long-haired man wearing sunsses boldly plopped into the seat opposite me and fiddled with the photograph in his hand. It was a picture of me in school that had been secretly taken. "Dude, that¡¯s you, right?" he asked.


    ¡°Yes!" I nodded.


    The long-haired man grabbed a mutton skewer, munching on it as he spoke. "Sorry, someone paid us to cripple one of your legs. Are you going to cooperate or should we beat you so hard you can¡¯t move and then cut off your leg?"


    This was probably the first time I had ever seen gangsters behaving so reasonably. But his attitude didn¡¯t surprise me. After all, they had no enmity with me and only targeted me because of money.


    Dali pointed at himself and asked, "Does this involve me?"


    The long-haired man merely cast a dismissive look at Dali and ignored him.


    "Who hired you?" I asked.


    "Do you think I would reveal that? Once I receive the money, I make sure to get the job done. We have to be professional in this line of work."


    Then, he hooked a finger and his subordinate immediately handed over a bottle of Erguotou. "You can empty this bottle and suffer less when we chop off your legter,¡± he said, mming the bottle of alcohol on the table. ¡°Don¡¯t me us for being rude if you don¡¯t cooperate!"


    Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a man sitting at the edge of the stall, drinking bubble tea instead of eating skewers at a barbecue stall. Who else could it be but Song Xingchen?


    Having him here was a huge reassurance. "We aren¡¯t enemies,¡± I fearlessly argued. ¡°You¡¯re still a young man. Are you sure you want to be disabled when you have your whole life ahead of you? You better leave now!"


    "Oh, aren¡¯t you a brave one?!¡± He seemed excited by my provocation. ¡°Come out. I don¡¯t want to start fighting at someone else¡¯s stall. If we destroy the ce, it¡¯ll only affect their business!"


    How rare it was to see such an honest and straightforward gangster!


    Of course, I remained where I was. The long-haired man was about to stretch out a hand to lift me from my seat when a Lamborghini suddenly fled down the street. It was going so fast I thought it might crash into the barbecue stall.


    The gangsters turned their attention to the Lamborghini, eyes fixed on the car that stopped abruptly in front of us. Out jumped an angry Baldy who marched straight towards the long-haired man and greeted him with a crisp p on the face. "What the hell are you doing Baldy-ge?" he asked.


    "That p was nothing! I wish I could stab you right now! " Baldy shot a fierce re at him and continued pping the others. "You, you and you! Always giving me trouble!" he fumed.


    His subordinates were very obedient, not flinching even when they were pped sideways. Soon, Baldy¡¯s hand turned red from pping the entire gang. He walked over and bowed respectfully. "Song-ge, I apologize for my boys¡¯ck of discipline. I¡¯m sorry you had to see this."


    The long-haired man couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. "Baldy-ge, you know this kid?" he asked.


    "Where are your manners? Call him Song-ge!" Baldy gave him another resounding p, leaving a palm print on the man¡¯s left and right cheeks. I almost felt a little sympathetic for the poor fellow. Dali, on the other hand, was rooted to the spot from shock.


    As it turned out, the long-haired man was one of Baldy¡¯s subordinates. When Baldy heard that he had taken on a private job to cripple me, Baldy quickly came to the rescue. Fortunately, he hade in time.


    After repeatedly exining that this was just a misunderstanding, Baldy turned to the long-haired man and asked, "Which son of a bitch sent you here?"


    "I¡¯ve taken his money. I can¡¯t reveal anything!" he cried indignantly.


    Hearing this, Baldy prepared to give him a back-handed p but I quickly interrupted, "It was Young Master Wang."


    The long-haired man froze in puzzlement. "How did you know?" But he immediately corrected himself, "No, no! It¡¯s not him!"


    I sneered at his poor attempt of a lie. His acting skills couldn¡¯t even fool a toddler. The only one who hated me and had enough money to hire these gangsters was Young Master Wang.


    "Young Master Wang huh,¡± said Baldy. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of this kid. Hees from a wealthy family. Song-ge, your enemy is my enemy. I¡¯ll get my subordinate to chop off one of his legs!"


    I instantly refused with a wave of my hand. "Sigh, do you want to go to jail so badly? How can you say such words in front of me?" I teased.


    Baldy rubbed his head and smiled awkwardly. "How do you n on teaching him a lesson then?"


    Young Master Wang had hired people to cripple my leg. How could I dismiss this matter with augh? "Don¡¯t do anything that breaks thew!" I warned.


    "Sure thing! I promise I¡¯ll make this kid so sorry he can¡¯t even cry,¡± Baldy¡¯s eyes lit up with excitement. ¡°Let¡¯s go!"


    When I turned around, Song Xingchen had already quietly left. This guy came and left without a trace, just like a ghost. I was a little curious about where he usually lived.


    Although it was a false rm, Dali was so astonished he hadn¡¯t spoken a word. "Dude, you¡¯re awesome! You¡¯ve got friends on both sides of thew. My admiration for you surges like ocean waves. I can hardly hold back myself..."


    "What an exaggeration!¡± I rolled my eyes at him. ¡°He¡¯s the only gangster I¡¯m friendly with. Let¡¯s finish our meal and go back to school."


    Dali wiped his mouth. "I¡¯m not in the mood to eat anymore. Let¡¯s go!"


    At this moment, the stall owner brought over arge te of mutton skewers. "I didn¡¯t order these!¡± I blurted.


    "Before that baldy left, he ordered 300 skewers for you and paid for everything,¡± exined the man. ¡°There¡¯s about half of that here. You two eat up while I prepare the others."


    I shook my head at Baldy¡¯s overzealousness. I said, "That¡¯s enough. Please pack them up for me!"


    Back in the dormitory, the four of us struggled to finish the mutton skewers. The next morning, we all ran to the bathroom, a great lesson in why too much of a good thing could be bad.


    Early the next day, Dali and I went down to the station to continue sorting out clues. When we arrived, Xiaotao looked at me strangely. "What¡¯s the matter? Do I have something on my face?" I asked.


    "We have a guest here,¡± she replied. ¡°Is this rted to you?"


    "Who is it?" I said, perplexed.


    Xiaotao brought us to the detention room where Young Master Wang was being held. At the sight of me entering the room, he immediately turned a spiteful re in my direction. Baffled, I asked Xiaotao why he had been arrested.


    It turned out that after the young master¡¯s unsessful attempt at crippling me, he went out for a drink and met a voluptuous beauty in a bar. Several sses of alcoholter, the two were ready to head to the hotel. However, they were too excited to make it to a hotel room so they ended up having sex in the car.


    Unexpectedly, the woman suddenly shouted ¡°rape¡± in the middle of intercourse which immediately sobered up Young Master Wang. He quickly covered her mouth but it was toote. What was even more shocking was the sudden appearance of a bunch of reporters in the empty parking lot. They swarmed around him, hoping to obtain news material. Of course, "good citizen¡± Baldy immediately called the police.


    Thus, Young Master Wang was arrested. But this was nothingpared to the storm that awaited him in the morning. His insolence had offended the reporters. So this morning, all the major media outlets stered his ferocious face all over the front page along with a report of the famous entrepreneur¡¯s attempted rape. Young Master Wang blew up in rage!

 Chapter 224

    <h4>Chapter 224</h4>


    I thought that no one knew about the altercation I had with Young Master Wang at the school gate that day, but I truly underestimated the school¡¯s gossip mill. Within two days, Dali came running. "Song Yang, I heard you got into a fight with a rich guy at the school gates and you even smashed his car! Did you really do that?"


    "Who the hell told you that?¡± I asked, shocked. ¡°We exchanged a few words, that¡¯s all. I certainly didn¡¯t get into a fight, nor did I smash his car!"


    "It¡¯s all over campus,¡± he said. ¡°There are even several versions. There¡¯s another one that says you pped him and walked away, leaving the rich guy begging for your forgiveness as he chased after you."


    I suddenly felt the urge to kill myself. Didn¡¯t these gossipmongers use their brains at all?


    I solemnly told Dali the truth of the matter, to which he excitedly eximed, "Fuck! He gave you a nk cheque and asked you to leave Xiaotao-jiejie?! How drama-like!"


    ¡°He¡¯s also a 90¡¯s kid. I¡¯m guessing he learned it from TV."


    Young Master Wang was merely showing off. Cheques had a withdrawal limit, otherwise I could simply fill in $10 billion and he would go bankrupt instantly.


    "This won¡¯t do,¡± said Dali. ¡°I have to go spread the truth and clear your name!"


    With that, he ran out as swift as the wind and I couldn¡¯t stop him in time.


    March saw a calm, peaceful Nanjiang City. Although there were a few minor cases during this period, I wasn¡¯t required to step in. Many students at school were already busy looking for jobs. Even Dali often went missing, saying he was doing market research toy down the foundation for his future business.


    Whenever I asked him what business he was interested in, he would shush me with a mysterious grin. I thought that if Dali really were to start a business, I would invest a million yuan as starting capital.


    One day in mid-March, I received a call from Xiaotao. "Is there a case?" I asked.


    "It¡¯s not so much a case, rather, we¡¯ve run into a little trouble,¡± she exined. ¡°It¡¯s an explosion case and the corpse is in pieces. Can you drop by?"


    "I¡¯ll be right there!" I replied.


    Xiaotao informed me where the scene of the explosion was. Since Dali wasn¡¯t around today, I brought my tools and rushed over on my own. The scene of the explosion was an old bungalow so the neighbors weren¡¯t affected by it, which was perhaps the silver lining. All that remained of the house that had razed to the ground was burnt rubble. Officers walked back and forth over the debris, searching for the remains of the body.


    Bingxin was squatting on the ground, anxiously trying to restore the corpse with the charred fragments thaty on the tarpaulin before her.


    Standing beside her was Xiaotao who soon noticed my arrival. "Song Yang, there you are," she said.


    "How thorough the explosion was!" I spat my tongue.


    "You¡¯ve got that right,¡± she let out a dryugh. ¡°Last night, residents nearby heard a loud noise that shook their house and furniture. They ran over and found a huge fire. We¡¯ve been busy since early morning yet we¡¯ve only managed to find a quarter of the corpse..."


    She then briefly exined what they knew. The deceased was a middle-aged divorced machinery factory worker who lived alone. The police found an update on his WeChatst night that said, ¡°I¡¯m sick and tired of this world. Goodbye!" From the residue left at the scene, they confirmed it was a gas explosion but Xiaotao discovered that the st was mostly concentrated on the main load-bearing structures of the building. There was no need for such an exaggerated move if the man¡¯s purpose was tomit suicide so everyone unanimously agreed that the suicide was fake.


    While we were speaking, the officers found more corpse fragments. "Song Yang-gege,¡± said Bingxin. ¡°Can you use your method from before to help me restore the corpse?"


    I kneeled down to check, grabbed a tweezer from my toolbox and pulled at the epidermis of the corpse fragment. When I examined it with Cave Vision, I immediately discovered something off so I leaned in and sniffed.


    Human bodies, much like pigs, cattle, and sheep, were made up of protein and fat. People were nauseated by burnt human bodies because they smelled simr to roasted meat.


    "Song Yang-gege! Song Yang-gege, did you hear what I said?"


    Bingxin¡¯s repeated calls pulled me out of contemtion. "We can¡¯t use the same method,¡± I rified. ¡°Last time, we were dealing with a pile of bones. This time, the corpse was burned. Throwing the pieces into the water would destroy them."


    Bingxin stared at me in astonishment. "Wasn¡¯t the deceased killed by the explosion? Why do you say that the corpse was burned?!"


    "Come over here and take a look,¡± I pointed. ¡°There¡¯s a gel-likeyer under the carbonized epidermis tissue of the corpse. This is liquefied fat. The blood vessels under the skin are rosy and have expanded, which is the result of the body being heated over a small fire. The momentary burst of heat during an explosion has no way of producing such an effect."


    I pulled apart the epidermis with my tweezers and showed it to her. Bingxin slowly leaned in until our skin was almost touching. We were both so focused on the corpse we didn¡¯t notice how close we were. Xiaotao suddenly coughed loudly and interrupted, "Song Yang, do you mean that the body was destroyed to wipe out any evidence?"


    I looked around and nodded, "It¡¯s been done very thoroughly too, perhaps a little overdone!"


    "What do you mean by that?" Xiaotao expressed puzzlement.


    "The corpse was originally burned which already is the best way to destroy evidence, yet it was still blown apart in the end. Isn¡¯t this overkill? Did the murderer want to conceal the fact that the body was burned after death? Or maybe the burning of the corpse itself would reveal clues to the crime!" I spected.


    I suddenly noticed a chicken w-like object on the tarpaulin¨Cit was the hand of the deceased. I examined it in my palm, repeatedly looking for clues.


    "The victim¡¯s hand wasn¡¯t tightened into a fist, which means he wasn¡¯t burned alive," observed Bingxin.


    "After killing the victim, the murderer burned the body over a small fire and then blew it up. Is the murderer some sort of sick pervert?" I wondered.


    Bingxin pped her hands excitedly. "Ah, I get it now!¡± she squealed. ¡°The murderer must be a man-eating maniac belonging to an evil cult. He roasted the victim¡¯s body until the skin turned crisp and the flesh tender, but only ate the internal organs so he would gain the victim¡¯s strength. Then, he stuffed a bomb into the victim¡¯s stomach and blew the body to pieces."


    "Miss Sun, there you go again with your wild imagination!" admonished Xiaotao as she pped her forehead.


    At the word "internal organs,¡± I was immediately struck with an idea. I grabbed some of the corpse fragments and pulled apart the carbonized skin. The signs that indicated the corpse had been burned were atypical. At first, I thought it had been slowly burned over a small fire but my gut told me there was something else. I suddenly understood what it was.


    ¡°What are you looking for?¡± asked Xiaotao as she watched me search among the corpse fragments.


    "Internal organs!" I said.


    Even after going through all the fragments, I hadn¡¯t found any internal organs. Could it have been as Bingxin spected?


    "Please do a carboxyhemoglobin test on the corpse," I instructed Bingxin.


    Bingxin agreed and immediately took a few corpse fragments into the police vehicle to do the testing. Xiaotao asked me if restoring the corpse was possible. ncing at the officers still busy searching for corpse fragments, I shook my head and sighed, "It¡¯ll be difficult and I don¡¯t think it¡¯s important."


    "Why do you say that?" she asked.


    "What the murderer was trying to cover up with the explosion wasn¡¯t the victim¡¯s identity, but the cause of death,¡± I exined. ¡°Let¡¯s wait for Bingxin¡¯s results. Meanwhile, I¡¯ll try piecing together as many corpse fragments as I can!"

 Chapter 225

    <h4>Chapter 225</h4>


    Back then, when Grandpa was imparting his knowledge to me, he asked me to restore a huge mess of human bones with my eyes blindfolded so I was well acquainted with the shape and structure of every human bone and quickly pieced together half a human figure.


    With each corpse fragment I handled, I would carefully examine it, my observations leading me closer and closer to the idea I had formed in my head. But without an entire corpse in front of me, I couldn¡¯t yet confirm my conjecture. I could only rely on Bingxin¡¯s findings.


    It was almost dark when a delivery guy entered the neighborhood and came to the door on an electric bike. Xiaotao instructed several officers to pick up our food and soon, hot lobster rice boxes were handed out to the others courtesy of our generous team leader.


    I removed my gloves to receive the rice box from Xiaotao. "Eating in front of a corpse is really something else!" I said.


    "Why don¡¯t you eat in the car?" she asked.


    "It¡¯s alright,¡± I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m trying to work as fast as I can and piece together a few more fragments."


    While I was eating and studying the corpse fragments, an officer walked over with a ckened object in his hand saying that he had found it in the rubble.


    It turned out to be a pinhole camera with a burnt USB cable attached to the back. It was highly unlikely a middle-aged man would install something like that in his home so perhaps it was rted to the murder. "Do you think Lao Yao will be able to find anything from that?" asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°Let¡¯s ask him!¡± I said as I put down my food.


    I made a call to Lao Yao who answered with his usual enthusiasm. I went straight to the point and asked him if he was familiar with installing pinhole cameras. Lao Yao seemed to be eating and mumbled almost inartictely, "I¡¯ve never bought any. I usually hack into other people¡¯sputers and spy on them with their cameras. Now do you know why I have your photos?"


    I couldn¡¯t help but turn gloomy at the thought. Previously, I had forgotten to turn off myputer when I was taking a shower, giving this guy the opportunity to hack myputer and take a photo of me. "Ahem,¡± I coughed. ¡°Let¡¯s focus on the matter at hand. Can you take a look at the camera?"


    "I¡¯ll try,¡± he replied. ¡°Since it¡¯s a pinhole camera, it must have been connected to the Wi-Fiwork to send out data so it should be traceable. What¡¯s the LAN IP address?"


    I asked an officer to head down to the property manager to ask for that information. After Lao Yao agreed to help, he immediately hung up without so much as a mention of hispensation this time. How strange! I thought. But I was certain he wouldn¡¯t forget to ask about itter on.


    Right then, Bingxin exited the police vehicle. She was dressed in a whiteb coat, appearing much like a wise, old doctor and smelling of chemicals. Hanging me the test report, she said, "Song Yang-gege, the content of carboxyhemoglobin in the corpse fragments is within normal range. The victim¡¯s death wasn¡¯t caused by a fire."


    "It wasn¡¯t caused by a fire?!" asked Xiaotao in surprise.


    I breathed out a sigh of relief. It seemed I was onto something. "That sounds about right,¡± I said. ¡°The victim was burned with a hot object. In forensic terminology, it¡¯s known as a contact burn."


    As the skypletely darkened, the officers turned on floodlights. Under the illumination of the floodlights, I carefully separated the skin of the corpse to show them the underlying dermis. The victim¡¯s skin was severely dehydrated, pale in color with a sheepskin-like texture. There was ayer of congealed fat on top and rose-colored extravasated blood on the bottom. This was synonymous with burns caused by an extremely hot object.


    However, such signs frequently appeared on the bodies of fire victims because it wasn¡¯t umon for high-temperature objects to fall onto the body during a fire, for instance, in circumstances where the victim is pummeled to the ground by an entire wall. The possibility that our victim had burned to death was ruled out with Bingxin¡¯s test results.


    And judging from the characteristics of the burns, the object that had scalded the victim to death was made out of metal! The first thing came to mind was arge iron te. Perhaps the murderer had deliberately tortured the victim by heating up a piece of iron te till it was sizzling hot and threw the victim onto it. However, Iter discovered that almost all the corpse fragments showed the same burn marks on them. There was no way arge iron te could achieve that because there would be areas where the iron te couldn¡¯t reach.


    So my conclusion was that the victim had been wrapped in a huge high-temperature metal object and this metal object was very simr to the shape of the human body. What could it be?


    Shock swept across Xiaotao¡¯s face as I presented my deductions. "What a cruel way to kill someone!¡± she eximed. ¡°This definitely isn¡¯t an ordinary case."


    "Is there any possibility that the victim was unable to move at the time, allowing the murderer to burn his skin little by little with a soldering iron or a clothing iron?" asked Bingxin.


    "The possibility of this is almost zero,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t the victim move? There are only three possibilities¨Canesthesia, being tied up or serious injury. From my examination of the corpse, I found no ligature marks or any traces of an injury, at least not on the corpse fragments that have been found."


    ¡°I¡¯ll conduct another test to ascertain if the victim inhaled any anesthetic drugs," suggested Bingxin.


    She was about to proceed when I stopped her. "That¡¯s impossible as well,¡± I interjected. ¡°What sort of powerful anesthetic can keep someone unconscious even after being burned alive? When doctors operate, patients might be put under anesthesia, but if every nerve in the body is fully anesthetized, the victim would¡¯ve surely died from such arge dose. The other point is that if the murderer used a soldering iron or clothing iron to burn the victim bit by bit as you said, uneven scorch marks and edge marks would be left on the corpse due to the inconsistent force and heat. But this corpse disys no such signs. Except for the victim¡¯s sole where the burn was most severe, the burns on the victim¡¯s entire body are even.¡±


    Awed, Bingxin gave a thumbs up. "Great Detective Song, tell us your conclusion then!"


    Truthfully, the conclusion I had arrived at seemed strange even to myself. But from all the signs, this was the most usible exnation. "The victim was burned to death in a scorching hot suit of armor!" I dered.


    The girls stared at me in speechless confoundment, astonished by my remark. "How deep the murderer¡¯s hatred must be?!" gasped Xiaotao.


    I refused toment while the details of the case were still unclear. It was best not to jump to conclusions.


    Eighty percent of the corpse had been recovered while the rest remained unfound. It was already 9 in the evening when I prompted, "It¡¯s gettingte. I¡¯m guessing the rest of the corpse fragments are buried under the debris. Let¡¯s stop looking for the time being."


    "Alright,¡± nodded Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll dismiss the team so they can go home and rest. I¡¯ll also make sure to file the case with the bureau early tomorrow morning."


    "Song Yang-gege, how do I determine the victim¡¯s identity? Do you have any tricks up your sleeve?" asked Bingxin.


    The victim waspletely unrecognizable and there were still no signs of the most crucial part¨Chis skull. In addition, the house had also beenpletely destroyed. I took a moment to mull over the problem and said, "Compare the victim¡¯s DNA to his next of kin. Both his parents will do. As long as the victim isn¡¯t a twin, we can be 99% sure of his identity."


    "That¡¯s a great idea!" replied Bingxin.


    Xiaotao instructed a few officers to clear up the scene before dismissing the team. She assigned an officer to drive me and Bingxin back. Bingxin had recently moved home since she didn¡¯t have any sses at the moment. On our way back, I asked, "Has your father returned from his meeting?"


    "God knows what important meeting he¡¯s attending,¡± she said. ¡°He¡¯s still away."


    "Doesn¡¯t that make you a free bird?¡± Iughed. ¡°There¡¯s no one here to tell you what to do."


    She pursed her lips. "There¡¯s no difference with him being away or not. I still have to do the cooking. By the way, would you like to drop by my ce and hang out?¡±


    I mentioned I had ss tomorrow, blushing with shame as I heard the words leave my own mouth. Despite being in the second semester of my final year, I was still making up for a credit deficiency. There was no doubt I had exposed what a hopeless student I was!


    As we approached Bingxin¡¯s house, she grabbed my arm and pouted, "Song Yang-gege, have you forgotten something important?"


    Thanks to her reminder, I remembered that it was her birthday today. Pulling out the present I had prepared for her, I chuckled, "Happy birthday!"


    "Thank you, Song Yang-gege!" Bingxin sweetly smiled.

 Chapter 226

    <h4>Chapter 226</h4>


    Early the next day, Xiaotao sent me a text asking me to drop by the station at 10 to discuss the case. Dali and I took attendance in ss, then slipped out the door as soon as our professor looked away.


    At the school gates, I saw Lao Yao standing there as if he were waiting for someone. How rare indeed. Lao Yao was a well-known homebody who never left his ¡°cave.¡±


    "Lao Yao, who are you waiting for?" I asked.


    Lao Yao¡¯s eyes brightened at the sight of me as he skipped over with ae-hither look. "Xiao Song-song, I¡¯m waiting for you of course!" he flirted.


    My head was covered with beads of cold sweat. Being in public certainly didn¡¯t stop this guy from behaving scandalously. I deftly dodged his wandering hands and said, "About what I asked yesterday, did you manage to find out anything?"


    "I was waiting just to tell you this,¡± he said. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find anything and I think the problem lies with the hardware. I was just at your dormitory but your roommates said that you had gone out. So I decided to wait here for you and head to the station together. "


    "Are you going with us to the station?" asked Dali in surprise.


    Lao Yao gave Dali an arrogant nod. "I¡¯m a proper technical consultant. Why can¡¯t I go?"


    Dali was shocked by his words, his tone filled with bitterness as he asked when Lao Yao had been appointed technical consultant. I spilled the truth of the matter and exined it was Xiaotao¡¯s idea, which earned me a sad puppy face from Dali.


    "You haven¡¯t had breakfast yet, have you?¡± asked Lao Yao. ¡°Well, I haven¡¯t eaten either. There¡¯s a stall selling steamed buns outside campus. Let¡¯s go!" And with that, he spanked my buttocks. I thought to myself, This guy really knows how to take liberties!


    After breakfast, we went down to the station together. Lao Yao greeted Xiaotao warmly as soon as he saw her. Heplimented how supple and soft her skin was and asked what skincare products she was using, all the while touching and hugging Xiaotao without care. We were stunned to see how intimately he behaved with her. Perhaps this was gay privilege.


    "How rare of you to visit?¡± she quipped. ¡°Are you also here for the meeting?"


    Lao Yao looked surprised. "Meeting? Are there any good-looking guys? I just wanted to take a look at what you found at the crime scene. I don¡¯t believe anyone can surpass my technical skills so I think the problem lies in the hardware."


    It turned out that Lao Yao¡¯s self-esteem was threatened when he failed to discover anything which was why he suddenly made a trip to the station.


    We apanied Lao Yao to the evidence room to check the pile of odds and ends we discovered at the crime scene yesterday. Just as he reached out a grubby paw to sift through the evidence, I stopped him at once. "Hey, put on some gloves!"


    "I hate wearing gloves,¡± heined. ¡°But I¡¯ll do it since you asked."


    Once again, I felt myself erupting in cold sweat while an amused Xiaotao had a goodugh at my expense.


    Lao Yao searched among the bits and pieces for a long time before zooming in on a cable. "Look, just as I said!" he eximed.


    Wasn¡¯t that the USB cable we found yesterday? When I asked what was wrong with the cable, he ignored me and carefully examined it. Then, he asked if we had seen a brick-sized object. After further reflection, Xiaotao said, "It¡¯s not on the evidence list but it¡¯s probably still in the crime scene!"


    Lao Yao wrinkled his brow. "Let¡¯s go over and look for it now!"


    "Before we go, tell us what your theory is!" I said with a wave of my hand.


    As it turned out, Lao Yao spected that there was a video signal converter at the crime scene. This cable was a little different from the ordinary USB cable and looked like it was connected to a converter. Gesticting with his hands, he described that the device was about yeigh big. It was used to convert images and sounds into data and could be connected to the Inte or transmitted via Bluetooth in close range. Lao Yao suspected that it was thetter. That is to say, at the time of the crime, the murderer had taken the video with him.


    The converter was most likely still buried under the rubble. It would be a crucial piece of evidence if it were found and the damage wasn¡¯t too serious. Perhaps the murderer might also appear in the crime scene on film.


    "We¡¯ve got some matters to handle right now so you¡¯ll have to go to the crime scene first!"


    "Alone?"ughed Lao Yao yfully.


    Xiaotao got the message and said, "I¡¯ll assign a handsome officer to apany you. All necessary expenses will be reimbursed."


    Lao Yao was so happy the corner of his eyes were all crinkled. "How thoughtful of you, Xiaotao-jiejie,¡± he gushed. ¡°Xiao Song-song, I¡¯ll see youter!"


    As soon as Lao Yao slid away, Dali reminded, "Xiaotao-jiejie, you don¡¯t know how sneaky this guy is! He¡¯ll definitely go shopping and bring back a stack of receipts for you."


    "Let him try then!" she scoffed.


    Unsurprisingly, Lao Yao did exactly what Dali said he would do. Halfway to the crime scene, he stopped to buy a bag that cost more than 1,000 yuan and brazenly returned to submit the receipt for reimbursement. To his utter dismay, Xiaotao only reimbursed his meal and left him with the words: all necessary expenses. As the saying goes, it takes constant vignce to stave off ¡°evil!¡±


    "There¡¯s still an hour before the meeting starts,¡± said Xiaotao, ncing at her watch. ¡°Would you like to get breakfast?"


    "We¡¯ve already eaten. Why set the meeting sote?" I asked.


    "I get the feeling it¡¯s going to be a big case,¡± sighed Xiaotao. ¡°So I thought I¡¯d let the others sleep in because we might not have the chance for any rest soon."


    These tiny details highlighted Xiaotao¡¯s delicate human touch. I suggested taking this extra time to conduct a little experiment to which she nodded. "Sure thing. I¡¯ll keep myself busy with something else."


    When Dali and I arrived at the forensicboratory, we found Bingxin already there, engrossed in work. Curious, I asked her what she was testing.


    "I¡¯m screening the corpse for drugs,¡± exined Bingxin.


    Then, I asked Dali to purchase a piece of fresh pork belly. "Your autopsy methods are beginning to resemble more and more like cooking,¡± jested Dali. ¡°This time, you¡¯re even using pork belly."


    "What¡¯s with all thementary?! Hurry up!" I chided.


    In truth, I was nning a simple burn test. When I asked Bingxin if she had any metal here, she pulled out a box filled with some metal sheets made out of copper, iron, aluminum and magnesium, which weremonly used for testing.


    Right then, Bingxin announced that she had the test results. "Song Yang-gege,¡± she pped excitedly. ¡°I¡¯ve found anesthetic drug residue in the corpse. Looks like your deductions may be wrong!"


    "It¡¯s irresponsible to discuss the drug effect without the dosage!" I argued. ¡°So what¡¯s the dosage?¡±


    Bingxin spat out her tongue andughed. "Haha, it seems I can¡¯t fool you. I found diethyl ether but the dosage wasn¡¯trge. It looks like it was administered via inhtion."


    "The murderer must¡¯ve knocked the victim unconscious with ether and kidnapped him,¡± I nodded. ¡°By the way, could you get me a blowtorch?"


    With everything ready, all that was left was to wait for Dali¡¯s return. A few minutester, he sauntered into the room with a piece of pork belly. "Here you go, fresh pork belly as you asked. What¡¯s it going to be¨Cstir fry or braised?" heughed.


    "Barbecue!" I dered with a cryptic smile.


    I ced the pork belly on the table, put on protective gloves and heated up a piece of metal until it glowed red. Then, I carefully picked it up with my tweezers and seared the pork belly with it. A puff of smoke immediately rose from the pork belly, delighting our noses with a delicious barbecue aroma.


    I tested the burn effect of each metal in turn and discovered that burns induced by the heated copper sheet resembled closest to the burn injury on the victim. After silver, copper was the metal with the highest thermal conductivity. In the past, hot pots used in winter were made of copper because it had a low melting point and strong malleability.


    "It looks like copper is the mainponent of the metal object that burned our victim to death. Have you thought of anything?¡± I asked Bingxin.


    She shook her head. "Could the murderer have covered the victim¡¯s body with copper sheets? What in God¡¯s name was the murderer trying to do?"


    "Let¡¯s not digress,¡± I urged. ¡°We¡¯ll focus on the murder weapon first. Copper sheets are highly unlikely since that would cause burn edge marks on the victim¡¯s skin. We¡¯ve seen no such marks on the victim¡¯s corpse, indicating that it must be a sheet of copper that perfectly covers the victim¡¯s entire body. What do you think that is?"


    Bingxin¡¯s eyes brightened with realization. "It can only be a suit of armor!" she blurted.


    Dali was so shocked he stood there mouth open and goggle-eyed. What little he knew about the case was what he had heard from me yesterday. "The victim was roasted alive in a suit of armor?¡± he faltered. ¡°Could this be some sort of weird ritual?"


    "The soles of the victim¡¯s feet suffered the most severe burns,¡± I started. ¡°He was most likely forced to walk on fire in heavy copper armor and finally died from extensive burns. I wouldn¡¯t call this a ritual ¡ª it¡¯s more like torture!"

 Chapter 227

    <h4>Chapter 227</h4>


    At exactly 10 o¡¯clock, we all gathered in the conference room. Besides the usual officers we often cooperated with, I noticed a fresh face. Xiaotao started with a brief ount of the case before we each stated the clues we had obtained so far.


    First of all, the victim¡¯s identity had been determined! A detailed investigation showed that the victim wasn¡¯t involved in any enmity with anyone. Neighbors described him as an entric man who seldom had contact with others. His only interests were smoking and drinking.


    The incident had taken ce in an old area of the city so there weren¡¯t any surveince videos. However, ording to residents, a short man wearing a tank top and a face mask was seen wandering the nearby area at about 11 that night. But because of his face mask, they weren¡¯t sure what he looked like.


    Then, an officer whom I had never seen before shared his findings. It turned out that he was a bomb disposal technician from the bureau. He said that the explosion showed signs of artificial tampering and the murderer¡¯s technique was quite professional, having constructed a crude homemade bomb using magnesium strips, an rm clock, phosphorus extracted frommercial fertilizers, and the gas tank in the victim¡¯s house. The angle of the st allowed for an immediate copse of the entire building structure which demonstrated how professional the murderer was,parable to a demolition expert!


    After Bingxin shared theb results, Xiaotao asked me if I had anything to say. "I just drew a picture,¡± I said, standing up. ¡°Let¡¯s all have a look at it!"


    Xiaotao asked an officer to turn on the projector and ced my pencil drawing on it. When the drawing was projected onto the white screen, the officers looked rmed.


    What I drew was a man in armor walking on red-hot charcoal. I summed up my hypothesis, "This is what it looked like when the victim was murdered!"


    "Why would anyone specially forge a suit of armor just to murder someone?" asked Xiaotao.


    Staring at the screen, I said, "Don¡¯t you think his death resembles a sort of performance?"


    "Performance?" Xiaotao looked at me in consternation.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t this remind you a lot of torture by the Bronze Toaster?¡± I prompted. ¡°Ancient people had little to amuse themselves with, so what better entertainment than an execution? They used to watch executions with relish, the ancient equivalent of watching a movie. The murderer tortured the victim with much effort and then destroyed the body with an explosion. There seems to be no point to that entire process. I imagine he must¡¯ve recorded the torture so others can enjoy watching it, or perhaps it was for his own gratification."


    When I put forward this hypothesis, there was immediate opposition. "But there was no armor found at the scene,¡± argued one of the officers.


    "The victim was tortured elsewhere,¡± I concluded. ¡°Just think about it. How loud would someone scream if they were tortured in such a cruel manner? The victim was most likely tortured in a secluded location isted from everyone else, perhaps an underground club, where the murderer tortured the victim to satisfy his audience¡¯s twisted urges."


    "Song Yang, isn¡¯t your idea a bit exaggerated?¡± Xiaotao remained skeptical. ¡°If such a ce indeed exists in Nanjiang City, why haven¡¯t we heard about it?"


    "I¡¯m sorry, I might have gone a bit too far with my spections but I still think the performance nature of the crime is a valid exnation," I said.


    Other officers seemed to agree with me as well, but another policeman asked, "How do you exin the pinhole camera we found at the scene?"


    "Perhaps the behind-the-scenes boss didn¡¯t trust the person who destroyed the corpse and asked him to record the whole process,¡± I ventured. ¡°Or maybe the destruction of the corpse was another performance!"


    As soon as the words fell, the room erupted into vociferous discussion. Xiaotao rapped her knuckles on the table, motioning for the room to settle down. "If this is the case, then this crime is a serious provocation to the police and the murderer must be arrested!"


    Xiaotao assigned tasks to the officers, mainly to investigate the surrounding areas of Nanjiang City and to look for secret rooms, basements, old warehouses and ces of the like to determine the first crime scene. But I was a little worried because I had a nagging suspicion that this was the first of a serial murder case and we would soon discover the next victim.


    A few dayster, we hadn¡¯t made much progress with the case. Although Lao Yao found the video converter at the crime scene, it was severely damaged so he couldn¡¯t recover any data at all. During the rubble removal, the fire brigade found the remaining corpse fragments, including the victim¡¯s internal organs. At least the victim¡¯s family would have aplete corpse to bury. But the murderer had been so thorough that even the restoration of the corpse contributed little information.


    One weekter, a loudmotion suddenly broke the calm of the night. The local police had been alerted by the sight of mes from a distance and contacted the fire brigade. When they arrived, they found a car aze in the middle of nowhere and quickly got to work. But after the fire was extinguished, what appeared to be human remains were found in the car so they immediately called in the criminal investigation department from the city.


    By the time Xiaotao contacted me, it was past 4 in the morning. Dali and I arrived at the scene which was a no man¡¯snd sandwiched between two roads. From a distance, a team of officers could be seen collecting evidence around the scorched car in the middle."Where¡¯s the body?" I asked.


    An ugly expression swept across Xiaotao¡¯s face. "How should I put this?¡± she said. ¡°The body has fused into the car. See for yourself!"


    Dali was about to tag along and take a look at the body, but I stopped him. This time, I was expecting a grisly picture. As I had imagined, the body had indeed melted and integrated with the car. Iplete internal organs and pulverized flesh were strewn all over the interior of the car, a spectacle almost too horrendous to endure. An officer even ran to the side to vomit for fear of damaging the crime scene.


    I felt the impulse to curse at the murderer¡¯s use of explosives to destroy the corpse. It made me, a Traditional Coroner,pletely useless!


    "Do you think it¡¯s the same murderer?" I asked Xiaotao.


    "It certainly looks like it!" She held up an evidence bag with a scorched pinhole camera inside.


    The car was surrounded with debris but no evidence had been found. I decided to examine it myself so I swept the surrounding area with the Autopsy Umbre and got Xiaotao to turn on the ultraviolet light. Unsurprisingly, I found a pair of footprints in the grass heading to and from the car. The footsteps were slightly heavier going to the car, indicating that the perpetrator was carrying the victim¡¯s body. After he dropped it off, his footsteps were obviously lighter without such a heavy burden on him.


    Judging from the size of the footprints and stride length, that person was about 1.8 meters tall with a sturdy and muscr body. How did Ie to that conclusion? When the suspect was walking to the car, his footprints were slightly heavier on the left, suggesting that he carried the victim¡¯s body over his left shoulder. That alone required certain strength.


    Xiaotao immediately assigned an officer to photograph the evidence while I continued walking with my Autopsy Umbre to track the direction of the footprints. They eventually disappeared on the gravel by the road. There were many tire tracks on the road, but the footprints I was tracing had been destroyed due to traffic.


    "The trail has gone cold again..." Xiaotao sighed in disappointment.


    I told her she could turn off the ultraviolet light. "The explosion has two perpetrators,¡± I said, carefully observing the ground. ¡°One of whom was the boss or the superior who has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. When his subordinate carried the dead body, he stood by the side giving orders. There might have been a dispute between the two as suggested by the push the subordinate gave his boss."


    "How could you tell?" asked Xiaotao, stupefied.


    It was already spring and weeds had begun to sprout. Pointing to the ones by the road, I exined that a patch of the tender leaves that grew at the top had been neatly pinched off which led me to believe that a man was standing here at the time. The weeds that grew at different heights triggered his obsessivepulsive nature so he subconsciously nipped them with his fingers.


    Since there were no footprints on the road, they had most likely driven here. Not forgetting the car that had exploded, there were two cars altogether so there must have been two people.


    Generally speaking, two people would usually cooperate in carrying the body. Yet only one set of footprints were found walking back and forth the road to the crime scene while the other person remained standing here, illustrating the rtionship between the two.


    From one of the footprints that was deeper at the back of the heel, I observed that the person standing in the grass had leaned backwards. Did he slip? The possibility of that was very low. It hadn¡¯t rained in the past few days and the grass was rough enough to provide ample friction. If he hadn¡¯t slipped, then perhaps the person carrying the body gave him a push as he passed by to show his dissatisfaction.


    The fact that he wasn¡¯t afraid to push his boss hinted that they might not be superior and subordinate in a true sense, but perhaps senior and junior.

 Chapter 228

    <h4>Chapter 228</h4>


    Judging by the footprints in the grass, the superior was a mere 1.6 meters tall with a weak and small stature. I pictured a well-dressed man who fussed over every minor detail.


    The man who moved the body was also the bomb maker. He was most likely the careless, temperamental kind whocked self-control.


    My analysis impressed Xiaotao. ¡°Could they be part of a criminal gang?" she asked.


    "I don¡¯t think so,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°Perhaps they are allies, each with their own role to y¨Cone responsible for the murder and torture while the other in charge of destroying the corpse. Theirmon interests are what connect them."


    Xiaotao scoffed, "Common interests? What benefit could they possibly get from torturing and killing people?!"


    "Although this is the second murder, I¡¯m not reconciled to admit anything while the details of the case remain unclear,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at the corpse first!"


    When we returned to the crime scene, we saw Dali leaning against a tree throwing up. It turned out that this idiot had slipped in unnoticed and peeked into the car only to be overwhelmed by the sight that awaited him.


    "Hands off the tree! There¡¯s evidence on it!" I yelled.


    Dali had vomited so hard his eyes were brimming with tears. He wiped his mouth with a paper towel and cried, "What evidence?"


    There were a few teeth and some broken bones embedded in the tree trunk. As soon as I pointed that out, Dali ran away screaming.


    "What a coward!"ughed Xiaotao.


    Teeth were the hardest bones in the human body. The explosives must have been ced in the middle of the victim¡¯s body for his teeth to have been sent flying and riveted to the tree by the impact. The perpetrator might have ced the victim¡¯s arms around the bomb or stuffed it into the victim¡¯s belly.


    "Where was the pinhole camera found?" I asked Xiaotao.


    Xiaotao gestured, ¡°Near a stone over there.¡±


    One of her father¡¯s rules was not to step into a crime scene at night so Bingxin wasn¡¯t with us.


    "I¡¯ll take a look inside the car!" I said.


    "Are you going in?¡± asked Xiaotao in wide-eyed astonishment. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll ask the other coroners to help clean up the scene tomorrow."


    "It¡¯ll be dawn soon,¡± I said. ¡°When the sunes out, the ultraviolet rays will inevitably destroy some of the evidence. Moreover, the car is seriously deformed from the explosion so there are only two ways to get the corpse out of the car¨Csqueeze into the car or take apart the car. The former is definitely the better option of the two and I¡¯m the best candidate here for the job so I¡¯ll go in and do an autopsy now!"


    "Alright then, be careful!" reminded Xiaotao as she waved me away.


    Xiaotao asked the officers to find me a protective suit which I put on after swallowing a Mind Clearing Pill. The officer who delivered the suit also handed me a wooden board and arge stic bag to "scrape" the corpse off the seats.


    Before entering the car, I checked the fuel tank. Generally speaking, a secondary explosion would surely ur in the fuel tank with such a violent explosion. However, the car¡¯s fuel tank was intact. Was the fuel tank empty at the time?


    When I carefully crammed myself into the car, the sight that greeted me almost stifled my breath! Flesh, blood and internal organs coated the interior of the car as far as the eye could see. There were skull fragments embedded in the roof and arge lung lobe hanging from the steering wheel. As soon as my feetnded, I stepped on a mass of slimy intestines. The seats werepletely burnt, exposing a bunch of bloody springs so it was impossible for me to sit. I had to bend my waist at an ufortable angle. Outside, Xiaotao asked if I needed her to shine a light but I refused.


    The protective suit was equipped with a gas mask but it was ineffective against the offensive smell that permeated the air. The nasty stench of human internal organsbined with the smell of burnt flesh and rubber prated the gas mask. I figured if I hadn¡¯t worn the gas mask, I would have passed out on the spot.


    The victim¡¯s viscera were mostly concentrated in the front seat. There was a foot under the seat and when I pushed the seat down, I found two charred arms in the back seat. The unusual location of where the arms hadnded suggested that the victim¡¯s hands were tied behind the victim and the bomb was probably tied around the waist.


    Judging from the shape of the palm and the fingers, the victim was a woman. There was an obvious ligature mark on her ring finger, most likely left behind from wearing a ring all year round!


    My current concern was to determine whether the victim was alive or dead at the time of the explosion. A coroner usually did so by looking for evidence of vital reactions in the corpse. If a person were injured while alive, the body would produce a response to the trauma that theoretically would not appear when the traumatic agent exerted action after death. One example of a vital reaction was an increase in telet count. However, explosions were an exception. An explosion would rip the body apart instantly so there wouldn¡¯t be a response even if the victim had been alive at the time. The murderer must have taken this into ount when choosing this method of destroying the body.


    I slowly felt along the severed limb and found the flesh soft¨Ca sign of subcutaneous congestion¨Cindicating that the victim had been dead for more than 10 hours.


    I moved on to look for the other body parts and before I knew it, dawn had arrived.


    "Bingxin is here! Do you need her help?" shouted Xiaotao.


    "Get her to spread a sheet of tarpaulin outside. Let¡¯s try to piece together the corpse."


    It was impossible to restore the corpse but I wanted to check which organs were missing and determine the cause of death.


    I started moving the corpse fragments I had found outside, some of which had turned into minced flesh that could only be scraped off with the wooden board. But I could still see which part they belonged to and I believed Bingxin could do the same.


    The entire process took about two hours, and when I finally got out of the car, my back ached. The ground was covered with a sheet of tarpaulin with body parts scattered all over it. In truth, it was a pile of stic bags and couldn¡¯t be considered a corpse.


    "Well done, Song Yang-gege,¡± said Bingxin. ¡°You¡¯ve found all the body parts."


    After I opened and examined each stic bag, I eximed, "We¡¯re missing something!"


    "I don¡¯t think we can recover all the broken bones but the internal organs are all here," replied Bingxin.


    I shook my head. "Are you sure about that? If you take a closer look, you¡¯ll find that we¡¯re missing an important organ!"


    Even after another thorough examination of the body parts, Bingxin was still clueless.


    "The tongue!" I prompted.


    A human tongue was about four to seven centimeters long, but that was only the anterior part. The whole tongue itself was huge which was discernible when a personmitted suicide by hanging from a rope tied around their Adam¡¯s apple. Because the whole tongue would be pushed out by the pressure, it could even reach the chest.


    How could such arge part have disappeared? Since the tongue extended into the throat, the victim¡¯s tongue was unlikely to have been blown into smithereens even if the head had exploded from the impact. I was certain there was more to this abnormality than meets the eye.


    Xiaotao immediately called for a sweep of the entire area, and after searching for about 15 minutes, someone shouted, "I found it!"


    An officer walked back with a ck stic bag containing the tongue. When I examined it, I noticed that apart from being burnt, the shape of the tongue wasn¡¯t damaged due to the organ¡¯s toughness. When I asked where he found it, the officer pointed to the front and said it was about ten meters away in the woods.


    It was clearly a huge exaggeration to say that the st had propelled the tongue more than 10 meters away.


    I carefully examined the surface of the tongue and found parallel slits of several centimeters long and a puncture wound containing some old blood at the apex of the tongue. The wound could not have been left by the explosion. A light bulb suddenly went off in my head and I quickly handed the tongue to Bingxin so I could examine the victim¡¯s hands and feet.


    When I turned around again, everyone had crowded around me, waiting for my conclusion. I confidently announced, "I know how the victim died!"

 Chapter 229

    <h4>Chapter 229</h4>


    The wound on the victim¡¯s tongue appeared to have been left by a hook that was used to forcibly pull the entire tongue out of her mouth, which eventually suffocated her to death.


    There were ligature marks on the victim¡¯s wrist but not on her ankles. If the murderer had used this sort of torture method on the victim, the victim would have first been bound at the legs so the victim¡¯s ankles should show some degree of chaffing.


    The absence of ligature marks on the victim¡¯s ankles meant that at the time, the victim¡¯s hands were tied behind her back but she could still move her feet. The murderer must have pierced a hook through the victim¡¯s tongue and forced her to drag a heavy object using her tongue alone until her entire tongue was finally pulled out from the root...


    Beyond a shred of a doubt, this was a kind of torture much like the previous case¨Can improved version of the ancient tongue-pulling punishment.


    These words put a frown on everyone¡¯s faces. Xiaotao clenched her fist and cried, "The murderer ispletely devoid of humanity!"


    Just then, an officer interrupted us. "Chief, we¡¯ve checked the license te number."


    The owner of the car was a middle-aged woman, a sales elite who had gone missing for a week. "It¡¯s the victim¡¯s car!" I eximed.


    "That¡¯s indisputable,¡± sighed Xiaotao. ¡°Are we supposed to just wait for the next victim to show up?"


    "Thest murder happened just a week ago,¡± I said after a moment¡¯s reflection. ¡°We can assume that the murderer¡¯s ¡®program¡¯ is to be performed once a week."


    "Do you mean to say we have a week left?" asked Xiaotao.


    "I¡¯m afraid not,¡± I bitterly denied. ¡°Perhaps the murderer might record it in advance so I¡¯lll give us six days at most. I can¡¯t help but wonder, since this is a program, who is the audience? After seeing such bloody content, not even one person has the conscience to inform the police? Are they all sickos? Or do they have a strict VIP membership that forbids them from divulging the contents?"


    "Can we start by investigating the audience?" asked Bingxin.


    "That¡¯s too wide a,¡± Xiaotao shook her head. ¡°So it doesn¡¯t make sense for us to start there."


    Without me even noticing, Dali had joined us. He raised his hand, trying to get Xiaotao¡¯s attention. "Xiaotao-jiejie, there is one detail you missed!" he added mysteriously.


    Both Xiaotao and I were surprised and eager to hear what amazing discoveries Dali had found. "An explosion happens in the matter of an instant,¡± he started. ¡°To capture the explosion, the murderer would have to use slow shutter speed photography."


    "Thank you for your input,¡± Xiaotao forced out a smile. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t help us at all."


    However, Dali¡¯s words had inadvertently reminded me of something. "Yes, why didn¡¯t I think of it?" I thought out loud.


    "I knew I could be useful," said Dali, his eyes lighting up with a triumphant smile.


    "The explosion and murder were done by two different people,¡± I stressed. ¡°Why do they film the explosion each time? Because the explosion itself is another ¡®program¡¯ to entertain the audience. I don¡¯t think there were a lot of people watching at the time so it¡¯s most likely a live stream and the murderers are two sadistic streamers who attract the audience¡¯s attention with the allure of novelty!"


    Xiaotao immediately ordered, "Drop everything else when we get back. I want everyone tob through each and every streaming tform!"


    "Chief, do you really think they would stream on popr tforms like Kuaishou and Douyu?¡± an officer interjected. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t someone have reported it to the police a long time ago?"


    "He¡¯s right,¡± I nodded. ¡°It¡¯s obviously not one of the ordinary streaming tforms. It¡¯s definitely a secret website with a strict membership that outsiders don¡¯t even know exists."


    "Then search through those live stream forums,¡± instructed Xiaotao. ¡°Regardless of how secretive the website is, they still have to advertise it!"


    I gave Lao Yao a call and asked him to help us locate this information. Upon hearing my request, he immediately agreed without any mention ofpensation which once again surprised me very much. Lao Yao solemnly condemned, "I can¡¯t stand people who corrupt the inte with such immoral acts. I¡¯ll definitely help you weed out those scum!"


    At the time, I was rather moved by Lao Yao¡¯s sense of justice though Iter learned that he now had an allowance and bonus. That was the real reason why the paltrypensation I offered was of little interest to him.


    Xiaotao said we could go back first but I refused. "We¡¯ll stay and give you a hand,¡± I insisted. ¡°I hope we solve this case as soon as possible!"


    "Then let¡¯s go back to the station together!" said Xiaotao.


    On the way back, I asked her why I hadn¡¯t seen Wang Yuanchao. She exined that he had gone on another lone-hero mission, disappearing to investigate the case. In fact, it had already been several days since Wang Yuanchao showed up at the station. But one thing was certain¨Che was not thezy sort.


    Wang Yuanchao had always been unregted and unrestrained. If his boss were anyone else but the understanding Huang Xiaotao, he would have been punished many times over.


    When we arrived at the station, Bingxin went to conduct further tests on the corpse while Dali and I were tasked to visit the major live stream forums and tforms. We sat in the conference room, scouring the inte for clues until 7 when Xiaotao had two hearty breakfasts delivered to us. We were spoiled for choice¨Csteamed buns, soy milk and pancakes. With Xiaotao on the case, we would never go hungry.


    The most troublesome part of our investigation was the online registration and verification process. My eyes soon grew tired from sifting through each forum, post by post. I asked Dali if he had found anything but didn¡¯t hear a reply. When I looked up, I saw a stupefied Dali staring at the screen with headphones plugged into his ears.


    I walked over only to catch thezy bum watching a live stream on Kuaishou. pping him on the shoulder, I lectured, "Are you cking off again?!¡±


    "I¡¯m looking for clues,¡± argued Dali. ¡°I just realized how many weirdos there are on Kuaishou. There¡¯s nothing these people won¡¯t do¨Cputting firecrackers on the crotch, eating rotten pork, and burning cars. There are even people who film themselves molesting girls on buses! What a bunch of degenerates!"


    I never expected to find such bizzare things on Kuaishou. In this technological age of live streaming, people were ustomed toparing how low they were willing to stoop or who could aplish the most grotesque feat. The birth of such murder streamers was inevitable.


    "Just give it a quick look-over,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯re looking for clues, not trying to gain a deeper understanding."


    "You would definitely be famous if you conducted a live autopsy," remarked Dali.


    I hammered his shoulder with my fist and shouted, "Shut up and get back to work!"


    When I returned to my seat, I found that someone had replied to my question of where I could find more ¡°exciting¡± videos, preferably ones with illegal content that was hidden from everyone else. The username, "Third Young Master" replied, "They are avable as long as you have the money!"


    From the tone of his message, this person seemed to have inside information so I logged into my bank ount¨Cthe one the rich woman had given me¨Cand took a screenshot of the bnce that showed one million exactly. "I have plenty of money!" I replied with an upload of the screenshot.


    Five minutester, Third Young Master mocked, "Haha, don¡¯t be ridiculous! How can you show off with this meager amount? Without at least 10 million yuan, you should stick to your porn sites!"


    I immediately called Xiaotao over, saying that I had found a clue. When everyone had gathered in the conference room, I showed them the message. Third Young Master was obviously an insider and also one of the audiences of this website.


    "What the hell?!¡±ined Dali. ¡°How did you find a clue so quickly? Is this what they call the protagonist¡¯s halo?"


    Rolling my eyes at him, I quipped, "Do you think you¡¯ll find clues by drooling at the pretty streamer?"

 Chapter 230

    <h4>Chapter 230</h4>


    Xiaotao felt that there was a risk of exposure if we proceeded rashly. If Third Young Master was indeed a member of this secret website, he must be very cautious. At present, the best way forward was to get Lao Yao¡¯s assistance.


    I called Lao Yao, put him on speaker and exined the situation. To which he replied, "Okay, leave it to me!"


    Obtaining this person¡¯s registration information through the forum¡¯s database was a piece of cake for Lao Yao. But a few minutester, the entire forum suddenly disappeared. "Aren¡¯t you going a little too far?¡± I blurted, shocked by his move. ¡°Why remove the entire forum?"


    "It wasn¡¯t me. As soon as I hacked into it, the database crashed. I was up against an expert!" Lao Yao sounded unhurried.


    "Can you recover the information?" I asked.


    A wry smile spread to his lips. "I¡¯ll give you an example. If you enter a house to steal something and the other party blows up the house, can you get anything?"


    "Well think of something else then!" I urged.


    All of a sudden, Lao Yao roared, "What the fuck?!"


    Everyone froze in puzzlement. I assumed he meant me and after I repeated his name a few times, Lao Yao finally replied, "That asshole just crashed my system by attacking me with more than a hundred zombies at the same time!"


    In my mind, Lao Yao was the expert of experts, yet someone managed to crash his system!


    Lao Yao¡¯spetitive spirit was aroused. "I¡¯ve rewired my system. Damn it, I must return the insult!" He gritted his teeth, refusing to contemte the idea of failure.


    Hence, Lao Yao began a long-range battle with the other hacker. Although the situation was broadcast live on the phone, I couldn¡¯t really understand what was going on either. The other party must have infected Lao Yao¡¯s system with a virus or forced arge amount of data to paralyze his system. It seemed the two were equal in strength.


    Like watching the Gods go to battle, usymen listened to the rapid-fire tter of his keyboard. Xiaotao raised her doubts, "Why would there be an expert hacker on such a small forum?"


    "Could this be the work of the people behind that secret website?¡± I spected. ¡°Being on the inte means they bear the risk of exposure, so perhaps they got a skilled hacker to act as their protector. When the other party senses a potential leak of information, he¡¯ll nip it in the bud."


    Xiaotao shouted into the phone, "Lao Yao, don¡¯t just focus on fighting him! Make sure you get a good grip on this guy!"


    But no reply came from Lao Yao, only the powerful tapping of his fingers on the keyboard. After a while, he took a deep breath and announced, "I totally wrecked that guy! But I¡¯ve also burned my CPU and hard disk. At least I got my revenge!"


    "I don¡¯t care about your situation,¡± Xiaotao rapped her knuckles on the table. ¡°Tell me what you¡¯ve found."


    "Xiaotao-jiejie,¡± Lao Yao drawled. ¡°I use proxy servers so my IP addresses are all foreign. Not revealing one¡¯s IP address is the basic requirement of a hacker. Of course, I wouldn¡¯t reveal that!"


    "What¡¯s the point of telling me this?!" chided Xiaotao.


    "Talk to youter! I have to get a newputer. Bye!" he cooed. And with that, he hung up.


    Xiaotao sighed, "The trail has gone cold again. This website is too well protected."


    "I¡¯ll go back and discuss with Lao Yao to see if we can find some other way,¡± I suggested. ¡°That hacker can¡¯t be online 24 hours a day, seven days a week, can he?"


    "I think it¡¯s possible,¡± Dali chimed in. ¡°They might be a team of hackers."


    There was some truth in Dali¡¯s words so it didn¡¯t seem like we could continue investigating the case from this angle. Right then, Bingxin ran into the room and yelled, "Come with me! I¡¯ve found something!"


    It turned out that Bingxin had discovered arge concentration of carbon monoxide, the mainponent of gas, in the victim¡¯s corpse. Since the amount was enough to poison an adult, she concluded that the victim died of poisoning.


    "Why did the murderer use carbon monoxide?¡± I mused. ¡°Its efficacy isn¡¯t that high. As long as there¡¯s even a little bit of air cirction, the victim would survive."


    Bingxin pped her hands in realization. "I think I know why. The crime scene was a secret room!"


    Grabbing a piece of paper, Bingxin started drawing a picture of the victim¡¯s death. In her drawing, the victim¡¯s hands were tied behind her back with an iron hook pierced through her tongue. There were chains on the hook that were attached to the window and the victim had to pull the windows open in order to survive.


    I picked up her pen and turned the window into a door, an extremely heavy door. This seemed more realistic.


    After staring at the paper for a long time, Xiaotao finally muttered, "This looks like a scene out of the horror movie, ¡®Saw.¡¯ The murderer forced the victim to kill herself under the false pretense of giving her a chance to survive!"


    "The first victim was forced to walk on fire in copper armor, and the second one had to open a heavy door with her tongue,¡± I analyzed. ¡°It does resemble the movie but our murderer isn¡¯t as fair as the viin in the movie because it¡¯s almost impossible for the victims to survive. A person can¡¯t survive third-degree burns that cover more than 70% of their skin. And there are a lot of blood vessels on the tongue. Even if the second victim¡¯s tongue hadn¡¯t been ripped off, she would have bled to death. The set up was unfair to begin with!"


    "At this point, all that I can say is I hope there isn¡¯t a third victim!" sighed Xiaotao, her head lowered.


    Xiaotao asked Dali and me to go back first. If there was any progress in the case, she would inform me. I agreed since there was nothing else I could do here. Meanwhile, Xiaotao was going to look for other clues. Just as we left the building, Dali and I saw Wang Yuanchao approaching.


    "Wang Yuanchao, where have you been these past two days?" asked Xiaotao.


    Covered in dust, Wang Yuanchao had huge dark circles under his eyes that indicated how busy he must have been. "I went to look for someone! Xiaotao, are you familiar with case no. 429 that took ce in 2006?" asked Wang Yuanchao.


    Xiaotaoughed, "2006? I was still in high school."


    "In fact, this case is very simr to the one from ten years ago!" he said, without so much as a change in his expression.


    To our surprise, Wang Yuanchao exined that ten years ago there was another torture murder case in Nanjiang City that imed three victims. At the time, the case had been solved and the convicted murderer was still serving his sentence at Mount Leopard Prison.


    Wang Yuanchao had gone to his old branch office and looked through the case files from that year. Finding simrities and also some differences between the two cases, he went to visit the convicted murderer but the old man remained tight-lipped.


    "Take us to see him now!" I urged.


    "That¡¯s exactly why I came back," nodded Wang Yuanchao.


    When we got into Wang Yuanchao¡¯s car, I noticed the case files were there so I took the opportunity to study them.


    The crime solving techniques they employed ten years ago were rather poor. The murderer himself had created three types of torture instruments. The first one was a spiked metal cor that continuously shrank around the victim¡¯s neck. The second instrument was a heavy object with des on the bottom slowly lowered by a mechanism. The victim was forced to push the oing object to prevent it from falling onto his body. And the third was a kind of bncing device, on which the victim was forced to stand still. Even the slightest movement triggered an injection of sulfuric acid into the victim¡¯s body.


    The design of the three self-made instruments of torture weren¡¯t as well-conceived as the current torture murder case and contained certain ws. For example, the third device had an electrical leakage during the operation which eventually electrocuted the victim to death.


    The convicted murderer was Qi Sheng, an old mechanical engineering professor. Once, a student of his had been seriously injured during practical ss so his parents sued the school who immediately found the best defensewyer to shirk all responsibility. Qi Sheng was faced with two choices¨Cpay the hugepensation or go to jail. He ended up borrowing from loan sharks and selling his house, and even lost his wife in the process.


    The mental strain eventually pushed Qi Sheng to breaking point and the idea of retaliating against society formed in his head! He believed that thew was only a tool to safeguard the privileged and the world required extrajudicial governance to maintain justice. So he used his skills to build torture devices, killing the dean, a teacher who abused children, and an unscrupulous liquor dealer who made and sold fake alcohol that blinded many people.


    Aside from the obvious motive, Qi Sheng¡¯s nscked sophistication and he left traces throughout the process of purchasing materials. Before a mountain of hard evidence, he finally confessed to his crimes andnded himself in jail.

 Chapter 231

    <h4>Chapter 231</h4>


    After reading the files, I thought the simrities between our torture murder case and Qi Sheng¡¯s case were indeed specious. Qi Sheng¡¯s case hadn¡¯t drawn much sensation. Would anyone pay homage to him or imitate him?


    When I asked Wang Yuanchao what he thought, he quietly took out a piece of paper from the storage box and handed it to me. It was a mechanical design blueprint. Perplexed, I asked him what it was.


    "This is the seed drill Qi Sheng designed when he was younger. It even won an award," said Wang Yuanchao as he exhaled a mouthful of smoke.


    I studied Applied Electronics so I knew a little about mechanical engineering. Unlike what mostymen thought, mechanical engineers didn¡¯t buildrge machines but studied the structural design of machinery. The design in this blueprint showed ingenuity.


    I immediately understood what Wang Yuanchao meant. "Do you think he¡¯s not the murderer?"


    Wang Yuanchao nodded. Back then, when the police investigated the crime, he didn¡¯t belong to the criminal investigation department so he didn¡¯t have the right to say anything. However, his instincts told him that although the suspect confessed to everything and all the evidence pointed to him, he wasn¡¯t the murderer.


    Later on, Wang Yuanchao had investigated the case himself. And the more he investigated, the more suspicions he had. Would a perfectionist who studied mechanical engineering all his life create such crude killing devices?


    This was clearly an insult to a professor of mechanical engineering!


    Thest time I experienced this feeling, I was looking at the fake Kong Hui. Although he confessed to everything, I perceived there something was wrong.


    "Then why did he confess?¡± I asked. ¡°Was it to hide from the loan sharks?"


    Wang Yuanchao shook his head. He wasn¡¯t sure either.


    Mount Leopard Prison had a long history which could be traced back to the Qing Dynasty. During the Republic of China, it had a terrifying reputation among ordinary citizens and was one of the locations where certain progressive figures had been imprisoned. After several reconstructions, it was now a modern prison.


    We parked the car outside and went through several checkpoints. At this moment, the inmates were allowed out of their cells for exercise. As we passed through thepound separated by barbed wire, many inmates threw themselves on the fence and wolf-whistled at Xiaotao. Others ced their hands over their crotch and made vulgar gestures. Xiaotao wrinkled her brow at their behavior.


    "Back off or points will be deducted!" threatened a prison guard.


    As the inmates obediently walked away, Dali asked me in a low voice, "What is he talking about?"


    I exined to him that inmates usually worked in factories to umte work points and scores were linked to performance. The points they gathered could be used to reduce their sentence or get released on bail. However, any small mistake could cause a huge deduction in points so inmates would usually behave if threatened with a point deduction.


    However, one of the inmates refused to leave. The man clung to the wire fence and red coldly at me. "You look good, Song Yang!"


    When I heard my name, I paused. At first, I didn¡¯t recognize who it was but upon closer inspection, I realized it was Deng Chao. Hair shaved to a buzzcut, he wore a loose uniform and the bruises on his face were especially eye-catching on his pale skin. He was probably beaten by the other inmates.


    We were once from the same school but I never expected to meet him like this. "How are you?" I asked.


    Deng Chao smiled sardonically, "You can put away your false sympathy. It¡¯s all thanks to you I¡¯ve fallen to this point. Why don¡¯t we go for another round huh?" Deng Chao, churning with rage, hadpletely lost the demeanor of a student.


    "Shut up! You brought this upon yourself. There¡¯s no point in ming others," Xiaotao condemned.


    At this moment, the prison guards blew their whistles to call the inmates to assemble but Deng Chao turned a deaf ear. When the prison guard shouted his number, Deng Chao looked straight at me, enunciating each word, "I¡¯ve lost everything, but what I have is time! I¡¯ll wait for the day I finally leave this ce. Then, all of you will..."


    ¡°Bang, bang, bang,¡± he vocalized, his hand mimicking a gun as he pointed at me, Xiaotao and Dali. Then, two prison guards forcefully dragged him away, pinned him to the ground and jabbed him with an electric baton. Deng Chao convulsed from the shock, but his eyes remained ruthlessly fixed on me.


    Dali sighed, "What a pity to see a former schoolmate turn into this."


    "There¡¯s no need for sympathy! These assholes deserve to slowly rot to death in this ce!" snapped Xiaotao.


    "Deng Chao wasn¡¯t sentenced to death?" I asked.


    "What¡¯s the difference between life imprisonment and a death penalty?¡± scoffed Xiaotao. ¡°Anyway, you¡¯ll never see him again. Stop staring at the fence. He¡¯s not the only one you sent in here. Be careful, someone might throw a knife at you."


    "In a sense, I have ruined many lives,¡± I sighed.


    "But you¡¯ve protected the lives of kind and innocent people,¡± Xiaotaoforted, giving me a soothing pat on the shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t feel guilty over these scum."


    We were taken to the visitation room by the prison guards. Xiaotao agreed when I suggested that Wang Yuanchao and I meet him while she and Dali waited outside.


    In the visitation room, the prison guards soon brought out an energetic, silver-haired old man. If he was wearing a Taoist robe instead of a prison uniform, he might radiate the graceful bearing I imagine a wise, immortal deity would have.


    Wang Yuanchao offered him a cigarette but the old man didn¡¯t take it. He cupped his fist and asked, "What can I do for the two of you?"


    "Well aren¡¯t you full of vim and vigor!" I said.


    The old manughed, "I usually practise Tai Chi. In a ce like this where one doesn¡¯t eat or sleep well, I¡¯ll copse if I don¡¯t take better care."


    "We¡¯re here to ask you about your case!" Wang Yuanchao cut to the chase.


    "I think you¡¯ve made this trip for nothing,¡± replied the old man. ¡°Haven¡¯t I already said that no one else was involved in the case? The court has already sentenced me to life imprisonment. Why continue investigating?"


    "Did you personally design those three killing devices ten years ago?" I looked him in the eye and asked.


    I made sure my question was specific in order to expose any ws in his reply. But to my surprise, the old man calmly admitted, "Yes, haven¡¯t I already confessed to this?"


    "Just because you confessed doesn¡¯t mean that you¡¯re the murderer!" I refused to budge.


    The old man burst outughing. "Aren¡¯t you a funny one! Who would be so stupid to take the me for a murder they haven¡¯tmitted?"


    I was shocked that he didn¡¯t flinch at all.


    I took out the two crime scene restoration drawings and handed them over. As soon as the old man saw the sketch, a little excitement swept across that impassive face.


    "There¡¯s someone imitating your method of torture and murder,¡± I started. ¡°These are the two devices he designed. What do you think?"


    "Not bad, looks like the youth of today have surpassed this old man,¡± he said, stroking his beard. ¡°The designs are much better than mine were back then. Did you see it with your own eyes?"


    "This was conceived from the restoration of the corpse,¡± I exined. ¡°The corpses were both destroyed by bombs."


    The old man looked at me with admiration in his eyes. "Looks like you¡¯re a talented young fellow, but I think your idea is a bitcking. The mechanism designed by that person may be moreplicated."


    Grasping the focus of his remark, I stared into his eyes with Cave Vision and asked, "Who is that person?"


    Once again, the old man answered without so much as a change in his expression. "Why are you so impatient? How would I know who that person is? I just think of him as a like-minded friend. What a pity I don¡¯t have the chance to meet him! Do you have a pencil? I¡¯ll correct your drawing for you!"


    After a brief exchange with Wang Yuanchao, he got up to ask a prison guard for a pencil.


    The old man leaned over the body and started drawing. A few correctionster, he handed me the paper and grinned, "If I were him, I would design it this way."


    I stared in wide-eyed astonishment at the picture before me. In just a few minutes, he managed to draw such detailed blueprints. The old man was definitely an expert.


    In the first picture, the victim was still walking on fiery charcoal in a suit of copper armor but he had added gears and springs on the armor so the entire armor could move more flexibly with each motion.


    The second picture, on the other hand, waspletely reconstructed. Instead of pulling the door with the victim¡¯s tongue, the iron hook was now attached to an axle mechanism that allowed the victim to turn off the gas valve with her tongue. This was indeed a more precise design. From the standpoint of the murderer, this was a safer n. Even if the victim seeded, there was no way she could escape.

 Chapter 232

    <h4>Chapter 232</h4>


    I detected a doubtful point in his words. "How do you know that the second victim died of gas poisoning?" I asked.


    The old man pointed to the drawing and grinned, "The picture says everything!"


    As it turned out, the wavy lines Bingxin had drawn hinted that the room was filled with some sort of gas. "Besides, this killing mechanism must offer the victim a small chance of escaping,¡± exined the old man. ¡°Otherwise, who would be willing to mutte themselves? Since it¡¯s a secret room, if I were the mastermind, I would certainly fill it with poisonous gas."


    "You seem to know the ropes!" I remarked.


    "I know a little," the old man modestly replied.


    He grabbed a cigarette from Wang Yuanchao¡¯s cigarette case, slid it between his lips and leaned in so Wang Yuanchao could light the cigarette. From the look in Wang Yuanchao¡¯s eyes, I recognized his impatience. Facing such a presumptuous prisoner, the chief instructor of the Armed Police Force was already nearing thest straw.


    I asked him for the lighter and lit the old man¡¯s cigarette.


    He took a deep inhale and slowly puffed out a perfect smoke ring. "If this person is really a copycat, I suggest you check what the victims did before they died."


    "Although being in prison istes you from the rest of the world, there are still ways to transmit information outside,¡± I bluffed, trying to extract information from this cunning old man. ¡°You could have designed these contraptions yourself and instructed someone outside to help you continue with your mission."


    "If only that were true,¡± the old man threw his head back inughter. ¡°I heard there¡¯s been a lot of wicked people and unspeakable things going outside these past two years. I¡¯ve long wanted to leave this ce and punish them all. But I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you. I¡¯m just an old geezer with one foot in the grave that nobody cares about!"


    His arguments were absolutely watertight but my intuition told me that he had some connection to the case. Although he refused to reveal anything, he might give us a hint to point us in the right direction. If we couldn¡¯t take a direct route, the curved path was just as good, anything to solve the crime!


    "Unfortunately, this person doesn¡¯t have such noble motives like you,¡± I prompted. ¡°He designed these contraptions and shared videos of the murders on the inte to make money."


    The old man raised an eyebrow. "Can I have a look?"


    "The police haven¡¯t found the website yet," I admitted.


    "What an ipetent lot you are!" he admonished, stubbing out his cigarette.


    Thud! Wang Yuanchao¡¯s chair violently collided against the floor. When I looked over, he had stood up and fixed a fierce gaze into the old man¡¯s eyes.


    "Yuanchao, calm down!" I urged. When Wang Yuanchao was seated once again, the old man solemnly added, "The creator of such an ingenious contraption must be a brilliant man. You should be careful. I wish you good luck then!"


    And with that, he got up and left the room.


    We left the visitation room and were greeted by an annoyed Xiaotao who had clearly overheard our conversation from this side of the door. "That old fox,¡± she cursed. ¡°He went around in circles but didn¡¯t actually reveal anything of use!"


    "But he did remind us to do one thing,¡± I smiled. ¡°He told us to check if the victims hadmitted any misdeeds. Since we have no other clues at the moment, we might as well investigate that."


    Xiaotao nudged the inattentive Dali and urged him to leave. Head bowed, this fellow had been preupied with his cell phone the entire time.


    "Wait a second! Let me show you a video I found!" he interjected.


    In the video stood a wealthy middle-aged woman beside her expensive BMW. There was an old farmer selling vegetables in front of the car who appeared to have been hit by the BMW. The woman started verbally abusing the old farmer for walking without paying attention and iming that he had feigned an injury so he could ckmail her for money.


    I hit the pause button and stared at the middle-aged woman for some time before I ventured, ¡°Isn¡¯t this our second victim?"


    "Yes, that¡¯s her! Dali, how did you find this video?" eximed Xiaotao.


    Dali smiled sheepishly. "You asked me to look for clues so I watched a bunch of videos online and identally came across this on one of the websites. Since the woman¡¯s ent sounded like she was from Nanjiang City, I thought it might be rted to the murder."


    "She insulted the old farmer in the middle of the street so the murderer designed a tongue-pulling mechanism for her,¡± surmised Xiaotao. ¡°The old man was right after all. The murderer is punishing the wicked. What sort of misdeed could the Bronze Toaster torture be rted to?"


    "That¡¯s hard to say,¡± I pondered. ¡°Back then, the Bronze Toaster was invented by King Zhou of Shang to torture innocent people for his amusement. It doesn¡¯t refer to a specific charge at all."


    Xiaotao patted Wang Dali on the shoulder and praised, "Not bad, you saved us a lot of effort. We¡¯ll go back to the station and investigate the first victim!"


    Upon leaving the prison, we headed straight back to the city. Xiaotao ordered Wang Yuanchao to go home. The man hardly had any sleep over the past two days and investigating the video didn¡¯t require all four of us.


    Soon, we arrived at the first victim¡¯s neighborhood. After a round of questioning, we discovered that the neighbors didn¡¯t have a good impression of the man so his death hadn¡¯t agonized anyone either. However, the charges against him¨Ca bad temper, not paying attention to hygiene, and littering¨Cmade him far from being a viin.


    A neighbor¡¯s little girl added, "That uncle smoked everywhere he went. Once, he even smoked on a bus and everyone had to remind him to extinguish it. How annoying!"


    Smoking was rted to fire and so was his cause of death, suggesting that this might be his crime.


    "Isn¡¯t it a little childish to kill someone over such a trivial matter?" sighed Xiaotao.


    "That¡¯s not the point,¡± I said. ¡°Rather, I¡¯m concerned with how the murderer obtained his information. Did he live nearby, or was he on the bus?"


    "You¡¯re right!¡± Xiaotao beamed. ¡°Let¡¯s check with the little girl!"


    Right then, Dali who had been quietly searching on the inte spoke up. "I found a video of him!" he shouted.


    This video was taken on a bus and featured a middle-aged man holding a cigarette between his fingers as he puffed out mouthfuls of smoke. Then, a pregnant woman politely reminded him to put out his cigarette but was ignored. One after another, the people around him began lecturing him for hisck of consideration for the public but even then, he refused to budge. This middle-aged man was undoubtedly the first victim.


    It seemed that the murderer often watched these short clips on Kuaishou and obtained information from them. As a streamer himself, it wasn¡¯t so surprising for the murderer to frequently watch these videos. I couldn¡¯t fight the feeling of frustration that washed over me. Every clue we had led to a dead end. It was already a week since the first murder had urred, yet we were at aplete standstill.


    "Song Yang, you¡¯ve been working sincetest night,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°You and Dali should go back. I¡¯ll inform you the minute we make any progress."


    "Alright then, Don¡¯t tire yourself out.¡±


    I loathed showing any negative emotions before Xiaotao. I knew she regarded me as her pir of support. If I voiced my discouragement, she would have even less confidence in solving the case. But as soon as I got on the bus with Dali, I could no longer hold back a heavy sigh. Watching me shake my head despondently, Dali said, "Dude, this isn¡¯t like you at all. How can you be so defeated just because of a case?"


    "I¡¯ll give you an example,¡± I started. ¡°Imagine ying a game of League of Legends where the opposing team gets a dozen kills in under 10 minutes from the start of the game. The other party has all upgraded but your team is still stuck at level one. Would you be happy?"


    "If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯d rather surrender," grunted Dali.


    "But there isn¡¯t an option to surrender in reality,¡± Imented with a bitter smile. ¡°I¡¯m more depressed than ever!"


    There was no denying the fact that this particr case made me feel more lost than I had been when I was hunted by Professor Li. At the time, I at least had a definite goal but now I didn¡¯t even know where to start.


    "Stop worrying about the case,¡±forted Dali. ¡°Go back and have a good rest. And we¡¯ll go for barbecued skewers in the evening to release some tension."


    I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. The overthinking and worrying had exhausted my body so I slept like a baby until the sky turned dark. Then, I followed Dali for barbecued skewers as nned. But to my utter surprise, this meal ended up exposing the most unexpected person!

 Chapter 233

    Chapter 233


    Old Madam Hu suffered through another coughing fit. She held out her trembling hands, ready to put on the handcuffs, only to suddenly sprint towards the window. But an alert Wang Yuanchao rushed over and stopped her at once."Let me die!¡± she begged. ¡°I killed the person I love. What''s the point of living?"


    Xiaotao immediately called up an officer to get her under control, specifically reminding him to keep a watchful eye over her so she didn¡¯tmit suicide.


    Before Madam Hu was escorted to the police car, they searched her for her keys, cell phone and wallet. Grabbing the keys, I said, "Let¡¯s take a look at her leather workshop!"


    Dali timidly quaked. "I-I¡¯m not going then,¡± he chuckled.


    I expected no less of him. When Xiaotao and I climbed to the top floor, I tried the keys one by one till I finally unlocked the door. We both held our breaths as I pushed the door open. The room was dim with the curtains all drawn, and a pungent smell of mirabilite, quicklime, as well as blood filled the air.


    The living room waspletely empty, but when we came to the bathroom, we found arge bloody barrel. There were uncleaned stters of blood all over the floor tiles, as well as pieces of flesh and fat. In the barrel, the figure of a curled up person twisted into an awkward position was vaguely visible. Because all her skin had been removed, the body looked small inparison. It had been preserved with quicklime so it didn''t give off a stench.


    Xiaotao covered her mouth in shock. "How could the olddy bring herself to do this?" asked Xiaotao as she puckered her brow.


    I sighed, "Unrequited love begets bitter hate. The hatred she umted for 40 years was enough to turn the olddy into a murderer!"


    "Song Yang, I can''t stand being in this ce any longer. Let''s get out of here!" said Xiaotao.


    "I¡¯lle backter with Bingxin to clean up the scene."


    Xiaotao suddenly red at me, a clear sign she was jealous. I truly wasn¡¯t implying anything. Undoubtedly, such gruesome scenes weren¡¯t meant for the average person. Bingxin was a coroner, while I was a Traditional Coroner, so it stood to reason that our ability to endure blood and gore was higher than the average person. "Fine,¡± I relented. ¡°I won''t call her. You can assign a few bold officers."


    "That''s more like it!"ughed Xiaotao.


    As soon as she got out the door, Xiaotao took in a long breath of fresh air and said, "This time, we really broke the record by closing the case within 10 hours. I¡¯ve decided to give the entire team three days off."


    "Are you sure it¡¯s alright for you to abuse your power like this?" I teased.


    "How can this be called an abuse of power?¡± she argued. ¡°This would¡¯ve taken others a month or even a year to solve. You¡¯ve earned us these three days! Do you have any ns then?"


    "I¡¯m thinking of going on a date with a certain someone," I confessed.


    "Well, that someone just agreed! I¡¯ll see you tomorrow then!" she smiled.


    Before the Lunar New Year, our ns for a date had somehow fallen through. In the warm springtime of blooming flowers and new beginnings, it seemed almost illogical for another repeat of a failed date. The next day we met at the Golden Dragon Mall and went to watch a movie after a meal together.


    I felt as if we both shared a tacit understanding and closeness that allowed us to feelfortable in each other¡¯spany even as our conversationpsed.


    After leaving the cinema, I asked her what Xiaotao wanted to do next, to which she replied, "I¡¯m tired. Why don''t we find a hotel to rest?"


    By now, I thought there was nothing Xiaotao could say to make me blush yet her words threw my heartbeat into high gear. Throat dry, I gulped, "A-are you sure?"


    Today, Xiaotao was wearing a id skirt, yellow sweater, and a little red beret. Without her usual sharpness, she looked just like the cute and innocent girl next door.


    "I only mean to take a short break. Are you thinking of something else?" she teased.


    I scratched my head awkwardly, not entirely sure how to answer that question.


    "Haha, I''m just teasing you,¡±ughed XIaotao. ¡°Let¡¯s go shopping for clothes!"


    As we were walking along the road, I suddenly had a strange feeling. "Is someone following us?" I asked.


    Xiaotao turned back and said, "Are you sure? Could it be your mysterious bodyguard?"


    My intuition told me it wasn¡¯t him. I never felt anything like this each time Song Xingchen followed me. But at this moment, the feeling of being constantly stalked by watchful, lingering eyes made me uneasy.


    Before it turned dark, I sent Xiaotao home and grabbed a cab back to school. As soon as I arrived at the school gates, a ck Porsche suddenly halted to a stop in front of me, the brakes screeching loudly.


    The man who got out of the car was none other than Young Master Wang. I suddenly realized who was following me the entire day!


    Young Master Wang walked up to me in his crisp suit and said, "May I have a word with you?"


    His malicious intent was clear from the moment he got out of the car so I coldly replied, "Why can¡¯t we just talk here?"


    Young Master Wang snorted, "You seem to have a good rtionship with Xiaotao."


    "I¡¯ve already made my position clear. I¡¯m her boyfriend. Is it fun to keep pestering her like this?"


    Young Master Wang threw his head back inughter. "Women have always thrown themselves at me. This is the first time I¡¯ve put so much effort into pursuing a woman but I never expected my opponent to be a poor student. I''ll be honest with you¡ªI¡¯ve never considered you my opponent at all. So what if you and Xiaotao solved a few cases together? What''s so great about that?"


    It turned out that the manners and modesty he had shown in front of Xiaotao was merely an act. This was his real face.


    "What are you trying to say?" I frowned.


    Young Master Wang took out a nk cheque with his signature. "Aren¡¯t you with Xiaotao for her money?¡± he mocked. ¡°Well, I can give that to you too. Take this cheque and fill in whatever amount you like. And from now on, you leave Xiaotao alone. How about that? Isn¡¯t this a good deal?"


    Disgusted by his behavior, I retorted, "Do you really think you can buy anything or anyone with money? Even if I walk away, Xiaotao will never fall for you."


    Young Master Wang sneered, "Right now, she¡¯s just pretending to be indifferent. With my abilities and means, there¡¯s no woman in the world I can''t conquer. I advise you to be realistic. This is the only chance you¡¯ll ever get to strike it rich."


    I took the cheque from his hand, earning the young master¡¯s smug apuse. "That''s it..."


    But before he could finish speaking, I tore up the cheque into pieces and threw it in his face.


    "You ungrateful piece of shit!"


    With a loud roar, Young Master Wang swung a punch at me. At the time, I was shocked as I didn''t expect him to start fighting in front of so many people.


    Suddenly, an unknown object came slicing through the air, issuing a whizz as it flew past me. Young Master Wang let out a scream and his arm slumped down limply. "Who did that?" he demanded.


    Right then, the ¡°hidden weapon¡± that struck him lightly floated to the ground. As it turned out, it was merely a straw. As far as I knew, there was only one person who could turn a straw into a weapon.


    I nced out of the corner of my eye and noticed a figure hiding behind the tree. Song Xingchen''s attire made him easy to spot. In an attempt to fool others, he had worn a peaked cap and was holding a cup of bubble tea in his hand. I didn¡¯t think this guy ate and drank the same stuff like us mortals did!


    I patted Young Master Wang on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Don¡¯te looking for trouble next time. You just might fail miserably."


    Then, I walked towards the school gates leaving a fuming Young Master Wang who bellowed, "Song Yang, just you wait! This is not the end!"

 Chapter 234

    <h4>Chapter 234</h4>


    The woman insisted that Young Master Wang raped her and the reporters had witnessed the scene with their own eyes so the young master was unable to justify himself.


    Needless to say, Baldy must have arranged this. The triads were really resourceful to have so easily set up Young Master Wang for the me.


    In fact, this was nothingpared to what I had seen in another case where an officer had been set up. A gangster shot and killed someone, dug out the bullet and reced it with a bullet from a police gun. Then, he stripped the body and dressed it in clothes that had the officer¡¯s fingerprints, not forgetting to scatter some of the officer¡¯s hair at the crime scene and forging his footprints. With all that ¡°evidence,¡± the case was airtight. Although the officer waster cleared, he had alreadymitted suicide with a sharpened toothbrush in prison.


    How terrifying it was to offend the triads!


    Young Master Wang vehemently shook the cell bars. "Xiaotao, I was framed. They were colluding with each other and this guy must¡¯ve done it!"


    Xiaotao nced at me in surprise but I calmly asked, "How can you be so sure I did it?"


    "Because yesterday, I..." the young master stopped abruptly.


    While he hesitated, I was happy to go on speaking. "What happenedst night? Would you like to share it with the police?"


    The rape usation against him was false but it was true he had hired gangsters to hurt me. Afraid to continue on with the subject, he red at me with hateful eyes.


    "You better behave yourself!" warned Xiaotao.


    When we turned around to leave, Young Master Wang heatedly maintained his innocence. "Xiaotao, I didn¡¯t do it. You have to believe me!"


    Xiaotao couldn¡¯t be bothered with him and asked me what happenedst night instead. I narrated the whole incident with Dali as my witness.


    "He deserves it!"ughed Xiaotao.


    "What will you charge him with?" I asked.


    "Right now, we don¡¯t have much time so I can¡¯t be bothered about him,¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°We¡¯ll just charge him with rape. After all, we have the evidence."


    Young Master Wang was detained for only one morning before he was released on bail by hiswyer at noon. At the time, I happened to pass by the same corridor as him. "Did you tell her everything?" demanded the young master.


    "So you have the guts to do it but you¡¯re afraid people will know?" I mocked in a tit-for-tat manner.


    He gnashed his teeth, face contorting as he threatened, "I¡¯ll get someone to rip off your tongue next time!"


    I didn¡¯t think anything of his words at first. But just when Young Master Wang reached the door, a thought suddenly crossed my mind. "Stop!" I yelled.


    Words reflected the subconscious mind. What a person said could inadvertently reveal what they had seen or done. To give an example, once Dali asked the oldest in our dormitory, who was also on the board of the Student Union, how to write the word ¡°wei¡± in ¡°weiqu¡±(wronged). What thetter replied was: ¡°Exactly how you write ¡°wei¡± in ¡°weiyuanhui¡±mittee).¡±


    I was certain the young master¡¯s use of words wasn¡¯t without reason. Based on my intuition, I spected that it had something to do with the case we were investigating.


    Without wasting a moment, I walked up to Young Master Wang. "Where did you see someone¡¯s tongue being ripped out?" I asked, using Cave Vision to observe his bodynguage.


    Though well disguised, Young Master Wang still revealed a hint of panic. ¡°I don¡¯t know what the hell you¡¯re talking about!" he argued.


    "Are you familiar with the scene of a man in copper armor walking on fire?" I continued questioning him.


    Beads of cold sweat wet his forehead as he bit his lower lip. "I have matters to deal with so I don¡¯t have time for an idle chat with you. Goodbye!"


    "Stop right there!" Imanded.


    For an instant, Young Master Wang was like a mouse that had been caught by a cat. His reaction made me absolutely sure he had something to do with the case.


    "Officer, my client is not required to answer any questions from you,¡± interposed thewyer. ¡°I will answer your questions on his behalf."


    "This is regarding another case,¡± I exined. ¡°You¡¯re only representing him in the rape case. If you want to speak for him, show me your representation agreement, otherwise I¡¯ll take this as a provocation to the Ministry of Public Security."


    Thewyer was stunned into silence. Usually, it was the other way around when I was asked toe up with an arrest warrant. I was pleased to find that I could turn around and use the same move against others!


    I asked a few passing officers to bring in Young Master Wang. In the conference room, Xiaotao was discussing the case with several officers. Seeing that I hade back with the young master in tow, she raised an eyebrow and asked, "What happened? It¡¯s been less than five minutes since he left. Is it a second offense?"


    "He might be rted to the serial murder case that¡¯s currently under investigation."


    Everyone stopped what they were doing; the grave look in their eyes solidified. An officer pushed Young Master Wang into his seat while Xiaotao interrogated, "Tell me, are you involved in the case or are you just part of the audience?"


    Face pale, the young master trembled like a leaf but still attempted to brave it out. "I refuse to answer any questions until mywyeres back!"


    "Looks like you won¡¯t y nice!¡± exploded Xiaotao as she heavily struck the table. ¡°Do you know how the police deal with criminals?"


    Young Master Wang was taken aback. "That¡¯s against thew! You have no right..."


    "What¡¯s the big deal?!¡± scoffed Xiaotao. ¡°Worsees to worst, I¡¯ll take off my uniform and turn myself in after I deal with you!"


    Xiaotao¡¯s disregard scared the young master into talking. "I-I¡¯ll confess! I¡¯ll talk!"


    When Xiaotao sat back down, I noticed she was rubbing her hands under the table. There was probably some truth to the fierce intimidation she had just disyed. After all, putting on a show of force to terrorize suspects had always been her forte.


    Young Master Wang exined that he was actually a member of the live streaming website called ¡°In-depth Live Stream.¡± The website was dedicated to airing hardcore content. Even the ¡°swamp eel¡± video that caused a great stir on the inte was child¡¯s ypared to the content released on this website.


    This website was a well-protected secret and didn¡¯t employ any publicity methods. Simr to entertainment clubs, only members could introduce new members. Young Master Wang had been introduced by a friend who knew he wanted something a little more thrilling. Each new member had to undergo a long probation period before they were allowed to enjoy the more taboo content.


    Two weeks ago, the websiteunched a very exciting live stream called "Hell¡¯s Judgment" by the streamer ¡°Storm Punisher.¡± The content was simr to the movie, ¡°Saw,¡± where the streamer trapped several immoral people in a ce equipped with an escape mechanism and gave them a chance to survive.


    In the first episode, a man was locked in aplicated contraption that was difficult to describe with words alone. There were retractable des attached to the device. If the victim wanted to pull out his legs, the des would fall onto his arms. But if he decided to move his arms, his legs would be lost. The design of this contraption was very borate.


    The man had been brought in for trial by the torturer because of the lengthy abuse he had inflicted upon his own mother. After crying for a long time, he finally sacrificed his hands before he escaping.


    That night itself, the website experienced a staggeringly high click-through rate and the in-stream donations went through the roof. The streamer actually made more than 2 million from that video.


    After watching the live stream, everyone had a heated discussion in the forum. They were all hungry for more. This was the real hardcore content, far more exhrating than watching people eat their own excrement or self-harm.


    Seeing the warm response from the audience, the website decided to move up the release of the next "Hell¡¯s Judgement" episode, going from the originally nned once¨Ca¨Cmonth schedule to once a week. Young Master Wang had watched the burning episodest week and the tongue-pulling one released this week.


    When he finished speaking, pin-drop silence enveloped the room.


    Finally, I asked, "Can anyone enter the website and watch the live streams?"


    Young Master Wang shook his head. "You have to pay!"


    Due to the special nature of the website, each member had to deposit an amount of 1 million US dors to ensure that they wouldn¡¯t leak the contents to the public. Incidentally, this rule also determined how wealthy the members had to be. However, due to Young Master Wang¡¯s recklessness, the existence of the most horrendous, bloodthirsty live streaming website in all of history had finally floated to the surface.

 Chapter 235

    <h4>Chapter 235</h4>


    Xiaotao cast Young Master Wang a look that seemed to imply he was worse than pond scum. "Get him aputer so he can log into the site for us to see!" she ordered.


    Young Master Wang shook his head and exined, "That¡¯s not possible. You can¡¯t ess the site from anyputer. The website has its own client that is connected not only to my homeputer but also my IP address. If someone steals myputer, it will automatically uninstall without leaving any trace."


    Thisplicated system definitely required a hacker who was proficient in programming. From the looks of it, this website was closely guarded from every aspect.


    "Let¡¯s go to your ce then. I¡¯d like to see what your interests are!" said Xiaotao.


    Young Master Wang bit his lip and nodded.


    In fact, the young master¡¯s statement had revealed an important piece of information¨Cthe dead man fromst week wasn¡¯t the first victim. Would Storm Punisher actually allow his captives to leave once they passed his trial? Considering this from the standpoint of a criminal, the possibility of that was very slim.


    Before we left, I instructed several officers to scour the entire Nanjiang City for any recent unidentified bodies, in particr men without arms.


    The four of us escorted Young Master Wang back to his home. I reported his address to Lao Yao and reminded him to bring his equipment to see if he could find any clues.


    Young Master Wang lived in an upscale residential area. On our way there, he even had the gall to smile at Xiaotao andment, "Xiaotao, this is the first time you¡¯re visiting my home!"


    As if he hadn¡¯t spoken, Xiaotao kept her hands firmly gripped around the steering wheel and looked straight ahead. Having invited a snub, Young Master Wang coughed in embarrassment.


    Right as we arrived at the gates of themunity, we heard a loud racketing from the guard booth. Poor Lao Yao was deemed suspicious by the security guard who was currently trying to chase him away. However, like gum on one¡¯s shoe, Lao Yao refused to leave. Xiaotao immediately asked Young Master Wang to exin the situation.


    After the young master ¡°rescued¡± him, Lao Yao¡¯s eyes lit up, his lecherous gaze sweeping across Young Master Wang¡¯s entire body. "Xiao Song-song, is this your boyfriend?" he asked.


    "Don¡¯t make me puke!¡± I snapped. ¡°I¡¯d rather drop the soap in front of Meng Da than go for this guy!" Lowering my voice, I rified that he was our suspect who incidentally hired gangsters to chop off my legsst night. Fortunately, God helped the righteous.


    Lao Yao¡¯s stance on the man immediately did a 180. He marched over and angrily pointed a finger at Young Master Wang¡¯s nose, his voice containing the usual foxy tone. "Let me warn you, Xiao Song-song is mine. If you dare do anything to him, I¡¯ll make you the next Edison Chen!"


    Dali cried, "That¡¯s great! We¡¯ll have another naked photo scandal!" I gave him the side-eye.


    When we entered the young master¡¯s home, we were greeted with luxury in every corner. All that was missing was a shoe rack made of gold. There was a huge artistic portrait of the man himself hanging on the wall. He looked extremely amorous wearing a suit with a rose stalk between his lips.


    Another artistic portrait featured him and a B-list Chinese celebrity. They were both scantily dressed, posed in the most suggestive position. "We broke up a long time ago. Don¡¯t think anything of it, Xiaotao!" Young Master Wang awkwardly exined.


    "Don¡¯t you worry,¡± sneered Xiaotao. ¡°The impression I have of you just keeps getting better!" Even fools could hear the sarcasm in her tone.


    Young Master Wang turned on hisputer while Lao Yao plugged in a USB cable, connected it to hisptop and got to work. A ck client appeared on Young Master Wang¡¯sputer. After entering his username and password, he obtained a verification code that was sent to his cell phone and read it out into the microphone. Thisst step was to confirm his identity through voice verification. The two-step password was indeed a strong insurance against outsiders.


    A line popped up on the screen: In-depth Live Stream¨CLive streams that rebel against human nature!


    "A bunch of rich people spending money to watch others abuse themselves,¡± mocked Xiaotao. ¡°Is this what you call going against human nature?"


    Theyout of the website was simr to other live streaming sites with many thumbnails spread across the page. Xiaotao clicked on one and saw two bikini-d beauties eating feces-colored ice cream, smearing it all over their bodies and licking it up. Dali covered his mouth and retched. "That¡¯s so disgusting!" he eximed.


    Meanwhile, Lao Yao stared straight at the screen with his mouth agape.


    Xiaotao clicked on another thumbnail. This time it was a naked man with countless fat maggots wriggling under his skin. He continued injecting maggot eggs into his skin with a syringe.


    It was so repugnant that even Wang Yuanchao wrinkled his brow. "This is revolting! How do you eat after watching these?"


    The more we explored, the worse we saw, each video frightening us a little more. From the time I started surfing the inte, this was undoubtedly the hardest thing I ever had to force myself to look at.


    Another streamer covered his anus with vaseline and then stuffed a beer bottle inside. Just when I thought it was over, he suddenly jumped up and dropped heavily to the ground on his buttocks, smashing the beer bottle inside his anus. Blood dyed the floor red as the streamer screamed in agony. A barrage of sky high in-stream donations floated across the screen.


    There was also a woman who stuffed an electric eel into her vagina and started live streaming intercourse with a man. The two were screaming from the pain of the electric shock the entire time.


    Another person deep-fried his finger in hot oil and munched on it until only the bone was left.


    There are all sorts of unbelievable things¨Cnecrophilia, flesh muttion, extreme body piercings¨Call of which made our blood run cold. If the streamers on Kuaishou were to see these fearless beasts, they probably quit live streaming entirely.


    Then, Young Master Wang quietly reminded Xiaotao to switch to another section. It turned out that the section we had been browsing through was called "Approaching The Boundary" thatprised of various self-harm and even suicide live streams.


    On the top of the page, I noticed all the sections, including "Approaching The Boundary," "The Dark Truth," "Torturing Out Human Nature," and "Monster Covered In Human Skin.¡± Xiaotao clicked on the second section, "The Dark Truth," which featured live streams of various crimes, For example, drugging women and raping young missuses or molesting women on the bus. In one of the live streams, several masked teenagersughed as they beat up an elderly civilian police officer. The old man¡¯s face was covered in blood and tears as he cried for mercy. But the streamer merely turned to the camera and said, "Take a good look. This is the true face of the civilian police!"


    Without warning, Xiaotao stood up from her chair and delivered a backhanded p to Young Master Wang¡¯s face. Based on my understanding of Xiaotao, this time she was bursting with fury.


    "You witnessed the humiliation of the police and still refused to report this?!" roared Xiaotao.


    Cradling his bruised face in his hands, the shivering young master faltered, "If I reveal the website, they¡¯ll cancel my ount and take my deposit."


    Upon hearing his misguided rationale, Xiaotao almost couldn¡¯t resist giving him another beating. I stopped her and cautioned, "Calm down!"


    ncing at the teenagers who were still thrashing the officer in the video, Xiaotao ferociously dered, "I¡¯m going to arrest these people! Lao Yao, record the video so we can analyze itter."


    "No, you¡¯ll alert them!" I quickly refuted.


    Xiaotao could only grit her teeth and bear the anger because she was perfectly clear about that. "After we¡¯ve solved this case, we¡¯ll arrest them all and get even!" I promised.


    "No, this case is no longer about these two sadistic murderers,¡± she said. ¡°We must uproot this illegal live streaming website!"


    At the mention of the two murderers, I suddenly remembered something that had previously slipped my mind. "Is there a psychopath who live streams explosions?"


    Terrified by the p he had just received, Young Master Wang hesitated to speak. "You¡¯re merely a spectator not a participant,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s not against thew so speak up!"


    He said that the man was called ¡°The Strongest Mantis Shrimp¡± andpared his poprity to those streamers who ate feces and self-harmed. Explosions were his thing, whether it was blowing up a scrap car or a toilet. The most crazy feat he had ever performed was stuffing an explosive into a pig¡¯s stomach and blowing the pig into bloody chunks.


    The Strongest Mantis Shrimp must have recently gotten in touch with Storm Punisher. Sincest week, the corpses of the victims murdered by Storm Punisher had been turned into exhibitions of explosions by The Strongest Mantis Shrimp. The destruction of the corpse wiped out all traces of the crime and provided entertainment value. With the spotlight shining on Storm Punisher, The Strongest Mantis Shrimp also gained poprity recently.

 Chapter 236

    <h4>Chapter 236</h4>


    Just as I had expected, the explosion itself was a performance.


    "Can we watch those videos now?" I asked.


    "No, these are all live streams,¡± Young Master Wang shook his head. ¡°They are only avable on Sunday nights. Besides, this client doesn¡¯t allow for the recording of videos. If you try to open it while other programs are running, it will crash."


    The client created by these hackers was phenomenal. If the source code were altered, perhaps even the intelligence agencies could use it!


    When I asked Lao Yao if he had found anything, Lao Yao apologized, "I¡¯m sorry. I was too engrossed in watching the live streams that I forgot to do anything!"


    "Why are you even here then?!" I fumed.


    "Xiao Song-song, look at how anxious you are!¡± His lips curled in a snarky smile. ¡°I¡¯m just teasing you. I¡¯ve been tracking the data stream. The data received by this client has aplicated encryption algorithm. I¡¯m afraid to make any big moves lest I alert the other party."


    "Do you think the person who replied to my post on the forum is an insider?" I asked.


    "Most likely,¡± nodded Lao Yao. ¡°Otherwise, why would a bunch of people suddenly attack me? Just forget about that. It¡¯s impossible to make a breakthrough from this angle."


    "Are they better than you?" I asked.


    My words seemed to have threatened Lao Yao¡¯s self-esteem. "Better than me?¡± he eximed, his voice rising an octave. ¡°You must be kidding! They just have more people on their side."


    A battle between hackers wasn¡¯t so different from an ordinary fight. After all, the side with the numerical advantage usually won the war. As soon as Lao Yao took any action, the people on the other side would attack him at the same time and instantly cripple his system. He didn¡¯t have the power or resources to fight back at all.


    "So after all this talk, what have you found?" I asked.


    Lao Yao picked a bottle of red wine from the table, poured himself a ss and leaned in to sniff the bouquet. "I just checked the background program and found a monitoring program that runs simultaneously with the client. But I altered the source code and turned it off! We can take thisputer away and run other programs on it now."


    I tried to open QQ on Young Master Wang¡¯sputer and it worked.


    "We have to confiscate yourputer and cell phone," I told Young Master Wang.


    "What about the voice authentication?" he asked.


    Lao Yao leaned into his office chair and sipped on the wine. "That¡¯s simple. The verification code is made out of letters and numbers. We¡¯ll record him reading the alphabet and numberster. I¡¯m great at synthesizing audio and creating deep fakes!"


    At first, the young master refused to hand in his cell phone. Under my strong insistence, he sent a mass message informing his acquaintances of the change in phone numbers. Then, he removed the sim card and handed it to me.


    When we were about to head back to the station, Young Master Wang ran after Xiaotao, shouting, ¡°Xiaotao, I hope you understand that I have my own circle of friends. Some of the things I do might seem strange to you but..."


    "Mr. Wang, as a suspect, I think you should stop speaking or you might reveal some other sordid secret!" sneered Xiaotao.


    Her words were no different from a p in the face. As we walked downstairs, Dali pped his thighs and roared withughter. "Oh my God, that was hrious!"


    "And my father wants me to marry such a man!" Xiaotao heaved a heavy sigh.


    "As he said, you do run in different circles,¡± I pointed out. ¡°And it¡¯s difficult for your father to meet people outside his. Judging by his outside appearance and sessful career, he seems like a good choice. But I guess your father never expected Young Master Wang to be a poisoned apple¨Cgood without but rotten within.


    Dalibed his fingers through his hair. "Your father should get to know honest men of humble origins like me!"


    "Poverty can¡¯t be equated to integrity,¡± scoffed Xiaotao as she rolled her eyes at Dali. ¡°As the saying goes, a woman¡¯s character is tested when her man has nothing, but a man¡¯s character is tested when he has everything. I think the old adage is true. When a person is poor, he doesn¡¯t have the opportunity to do anything bad. But once he has money, he also has many choices before him. That¡¯s when you know his true character!"


    "When will I finally get the chance to see my true character?"mented Dali.


    "Don¡¯t underestimate yourself!¡± encouraged Xiaotao. ¡°You still have a bright future ahead of you. You won¡¯t be penniless all your life!"


    "I¡¯ll take your word for it!¡± grinned Dali. ¡°Dude, I promise even when I¡¯m rich, I¡¯ll still be your buddy and staunch supporter!"


    In truth, Dali was indeed the most mediocre among us but a few yearster he became CEO Wang, the wealthiest one. Life was certainly full of twists and turns.


    Lao Yao and Dali took Wang Yuanchao¡¯s car back to the station. Upon arriving, Dali remarked that Wang Yuanchao had almost blown a fuse and beat Lao Yao up. Throughout the entire journey, the shameless flirt continuously asked Wang Yuanchao questions unrted to work, his grubby paws fondling Wang Yuanchao¡¯s muscr chest. I could hardly believe that coquettish man chaser actually dared to provoke Wang Yuanchao!


    The officers I sent returned with a case file. Half a month ago, a man¡¯s body was found in a river, his arms neatly sliced off by a sharp weapon. The precinct had already filed a case for investigation so Xiaotao sent someone over to handle the takeover procedure.


    "It looks like the murderer didn¡¯t allow the victim to live,¡± I mused. ¡°At the time, he hadn¡¯t cooperated with The Strongest Mantis Shrimp yet so the body wasn¡¯t destroyed by an explosion. Thus, we weren¡¯t alerted of the murder. I think the victim might have been killed by the murderer himself. If I can examine the corpse, I should be able to obtain some information!"


    "The body was dissected by the coroner a fortnight after the body was found," reported an officer.


    "What happened to the corpse after the autopsy?" I asked.


    "It was cremated!"


    I couldn¡¯t help but sigh. The number of bodies the Public Security Bureau received was more than the public could imagine. They couldn¡¯t just allow corpses to pile up in the morgue so the standard procedure was to send them to the funeral home.


    "Post mortem examinations must be filmed. Song Yang, since we don¡¯t have the body, will the video do?" asked Xiaotao.


    "We don¡¯t have any other choice. Let¡¯s just give it a try!"


    The rest of our work was all done on aputer. The officers watched live streams on the In-depth Live Stream site using Young Master Wang¡¯sputer and tried to gather as much information as they could. The n was to first locate these criminal streamers and bring them to justice after we caught Storm Punisher.


    Lao Yao spent all afternoon decoding data, trying to identify the other party¡¯s IP address.


    Meanwhile, I watched the autopsy video in Xiaotao¡¯s office. As usual, the timid Dali couldn¡¯t stand to see such gory scenes and quickly slipped away.


    In the middle of my perusal, Xiaotao walked in with two cups of Starbucks coffee in her hand and asked, "Have you found any clues?"


    "I¡¯m still looking!" I replied.


    She told me to scooch over and sat down beside me, her body leaning close to mine. I was nervous with cold sweat.


    "I¡¯ll watch it with you!¡± she said. ¡°Ever since we started working together, I feel like It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve witnessed a serious autopsy.¡±


    Hitting rewind, I started back from the beginning of the video. The picture showed a coroner and his assistant. They started off with aplete external examination, reporting their findings as they examined the corpse. The deceased was a naked 40-year-old man covered in moderate bruises. His ankles showed clear ligature marks that were very wide, unlike ones left by a rope. His two arms were severed by a sharp weapon about an inch below the armpit. The coroner believed that this was caused by a heavy weapon such as an axe, but obviously his conclusion was misguided! It was very difficult to hack off an arm with just one blow.


    The victim¡¯s face remained frozen in a terrified expression, his eyes wide open and his mouth agape, as if he had suffered something horrifying before his death. From the size of his pupils, the coroner estimated the time of death to be about two days before. At this point, I could no longer hold back from shouting at theputer. "Wait! There¡¯s a blunt force trauma on the bridge of his nose!"


    However, the coroner in the video seemed blind to it and continued to examine the other parts of the corpse.


    Then, he opened the dead man¡¯s mouth and dictated, "No signs of poisoning!"


    "Fingernails!¡± I yelled. ¡°Look at his fingernails!"


    The most urate way of determining if someone had been poisoned was to look at their nails. The lun of a poison victim usually showed an abnormal purplish¨Cred discoloration. Yet, the coronerpletely neglected this detail.


    "Look at how agitated you are!¡± Xiaotaoughed. ¡°It¡¯s almost like you¡¯re watching a football match.¡±


    "You¡¯re right!¡± I eximed. ¡°Watching the coroner perform the autopsy puts me in the same mood as watching the national team y football!"

 Chapter 237

    <h4>Chapter 237</h4>


    After a thorough external examination of the corpse, the dissection of the corpse officially began. "What do you think of his technique?" asked Xiaotao.


    "He¡¯s quite professional,¡± I admitted. ¡°The rib removal and evisceration were smoothly done. He looks like a coroner with at least 10 years of experience."


    "Really, Great Detective Song?!" teased Xiaotao.


    "Stop being so dramatic!" Iughed.


    Coroners had to examine many corpses and eventually formed a fixed pattern. First, they examined the eyes, the mouth, the body, then the internal organs. This made for a neat and methodical process, but it was easy to overlook certain details.


    Corpses weren¡¯t cars on an assembly line, so how could they all follow a simr pattern? After examining corpses for some time, most coroners became numb to it and conveniently conformed to this sequence.


    ¡°You hit the nail on the head!¡± nodded Xiaotao. ¡°When this case is over, I think we should hold a special seminar to improve the coroners¡¯ autopsy methods."


    "Are you being sarcastic?" I joked.


    "No, I really think so!" Xiaotao shook her head vehemently.


    I stared at the screen, watching the internal organs being removed from the corpse. But it wasn¡¯t a live autopsy so many details were unclear after all. Even under careful scrutiny, no information was obtained. I rewinded the video and meticulously observed the victim¡¯s original appearance once more.


    When the coroner turned the body over, I was so absorbed in the video I shouted without a second thought. "Dali, bring me my Autopsy Umbre!"


    As soon as I turned around and saw a smirking Xiaotao, I realized my mistake. "Sorry,¡± I fumbled. ¡°I was too focused."


    "You look handsome when you¡¯re concentrating,¡± sheughed.


    Herpliment brought a shy smile to my face but I quickly went back to the video, rewinding to the same point over and over again. Noticing my actions, Xiaotao asked me what I was looking at.


    "There¡¯s an injury on his scap,¡± I exined. ¡°Look, when the coroner moves his arm, there¡¯s an almost imperceptible protrusion on the skin of his shoulder which might be indicative of a bone fracture! I suspect the murderer must have hit the victim with a heavy object!"


    "Your eyes are amazing!¡± eximed Xiaotao. ¡°You can even see a bone fracture from across the screen."


    Eyes riveted to the video, I sighed. My inner thoughts at the moment were the same as that of countless perverts who watched porn in the middle of the night¨C"My turn! My turn!"


    The fatal wound was a downward puncture wound on the victim¡¯s back. "The wound seems to have been caused by an awl-shaped weapon,¡± the coroner hypothesized. ¡°From the angle of the puncture wound, the murderer is taller than the victim."


    I reyed this passage five or six times before repeatedly shaking my head. "What a big mistake! The murderer is definitely shorter than the victim and the murder weapon isn¡¯t an awl!"


    "What is it then?" asked Xiaotao.


    "It¡¯s a hook!¡± I dered. ¡°The murderer pierced the victim¡¯s back with a hook from the bottom. If he wasn¡¯t kneeling, then he must be rather short¨Cabout 1.6 meters tall. The puncture wound a hook makes is somewhat simr to that of an awl. But because a hook is curved, the sharp end will break the skin when pulled out. Do you see a p on the left and right side of the wound?"


    Xiaotao stuck her face to the screen and took a good look. After a long time, she finally concurred, "You¡¯re right!"


    When I asked Xiaotao to fetch a scalpel, she turned to me, puzzled. "What do you want a scalpel for?" she asked.


    "You¡¯ll find out soon!" I mysteriously replied.


    Xiaotao soon returned from the forensicboratory with a scalpel. When Ipared it to the screen, she suddenly realized, "I see! You¡¯re using the scalpel as a reference. What a good idea!"


    The scalpels used by the police were the same standard model. Using the scalpel as a reference would allow me to confirm the length of the wound and determine the size of the murder weapon.


    After a quick calction, I drew a curve on a piece of paper and said, "The murder weapon is about this big!"


    "Such a big hook is rather umon. Unless... it¡¯s the kind of hook used for hanging meat in a ughterhouse." she said, resting her chin on her hand.


    Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "There are only three ughterhouses in Nanjiang City,¡± she recalled. ¡°I¡¯ll send someone to look into them right away!"


    With that, she dashed out of the room, more impatient than everyone else when there was a clue.


    I continued to watch the video but the dissection part was of little significance to me. However, the contents of the stomach contained important clues. What the victim had eaten could reveal a ton of information. Naturally, a coroner would not neglect this point.


    The coroner cut the victim¡¯s stomach open and emptied the contents into an aluminum tray. There were some undigested vegetables and meat. Listening to the coroner¡¯s unhurried analysis of eachponent of the victim¡¯s stomach contents, I almost wanted to lean in to catch a whiff.


    At this moment, the assistant in the video suddenly cried, "What¡¯s this?"


    The coroner pulled out a wad of paper from the victim¡¯s stomach. Because it was already stuck together, it would definitely be damaged when unfolded, so the assistant brought it to the technical team for testing.


    I immediately turned off theputer and went looking for Xiaotao. "The coroner found a wad of paper in the victim¡¯s stomach,¡± I said. ¡°Is it in the evidence room?"


    "I just sent someone down to the precinct to collect the evidence,¡± she exined. ¡°It may take a while."


    Outside the window, the sky had already turned dark. "Why don¡¯t you go back first ande to the station early tomorrow morning?¡± suggested Xiaotao. ¡°After all, there¡¯s nothing you can do now."


    "What day is it?" I asked.


    "Wednesday,¡± she noted. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?"


    It was four days till Sunday and the murderer could be looking for his next victim. Perhaps, he might have already found someone and imprisoned them. But I didn¡¯t mention it for fear of getting Xiaotao in a fluster.


    I was just about to say I would see her tomorrow when Lao Yao excitedly came running towards us. "Xiao Song-song, there¡¯s a video!"


    "What video?" I asked incredulously.


    "The video of the murderer killing the victim,¡± he smiled triumphantly. ¡°I managed to restore it. Aren¡¯t I the best?"


    Then, he went on to exin that videos watched on the inte were actually stored in the CPU cache. Even the creators of the website never imagined that someone could restore it into a video file so they didn¡¯t guard against that possibility.


    I quickly phoned Dali. When the line connected, I heard the loud din of an inte cafe through the phone. The idiot had the cheek to lie that he was investigating in the library. "Come over now!" I yelled.


    When everyone had gathered in the conference room, Lao Yao turned on the projector. He had managed to restore all the videos that Young Master Wang had previously watched. Once the video was projected onto the opposite wall, Lao Yao giggled, "The quality of the video may be a little bad but it won¡¯t affect your viewing pleasure. Have fun!"


    The officers looked askance at Lao Yao but the video soon caught their attention.


    At first, all we could see was a sheet of ck. The sound of breathing and then a loud roar came from the speakers. "Let me out! Where am I? Help!" a man shouted.


    "Do you know what crime you havemitted?" said a voice that sounded like it had been digitally altered.


    "You fucking madman!¡± the man cried hysterically. ¡°Fuck you! Let me out now!"


    "You used the hands and feet your parents gave you to mistreat your mother,¡± the voice broke into a cold snicker. ¡°Yet you have no intention of repenting. That¡¯s why you¡¯re here to receive hell¡¯s judgment. Before you are two choices..."


    At this point, the light suddenly came on. In a secret room, a man dressed in thin clothes was bound in a star-shaped contraption. His hands and feet were fixed in ce with a heavy, sharp de hanging over his arms and thighs, only a few centimeters away from his skin. Upon seeing the situation, he struggled and shouted even harder.


    "I designed this contraption just for you,¡± the voice impassively continued. ¡°Your hands and feet are tied in ce but you can still break free with a little force. However, you should note that I¡¯ve ced an electric circuit on the upper and lower parts of your body. If you pull out your hands, you¡¯ll lose your legs and have to climb out of here like a humble sinner. But if you pull out your legs, you¡¯ll lose your hands and have nothing to support you from this day on."


    Hearing this, the man growled and cursed but the owner of the voice paid him no attention. "Make your choice! Wash your sins away under hell¡¯s judgement!"

 Chapter 238

    <h4>Chapter 238</h4>


    Trapped in the contraction, the man continued crying and screaming. Although we already knew his ending, we were still covered in cold sweat, worried for him.


    The sounds of a countdown timer echoed in the room and the man¡¯s expression grew terrified. "Was there a bomb nted in the room?¡± I mused. ¡°Looks like the murderer set a time limit for the victim to escape."


    "I fast-forwarded it earlier,¡± said Lao Yao. ¡°There isn¡¯t any explosionter on so it¡¯s probably fake."


    Four minutester, the man had tears streaming down his sweaty face and snot under his nose. Just when I thought he would buckle under the pressure, the man suddenly gave a loud roar and pulled his foot out.


    Xiaotao grasped my hand nervously, her hands damp with sweat.


    Although the man pulled his left foot out, the de on his arm remained in ce. He seemed to think he got lucky. Not just him, but even we, the audience, were relieved.


    The next second, the des snapped shut! Because it happened too quickly, the man didn¡¯t realize it at first. A few secondster, he noticed his severed limb and started squealing like a pig. Blood spurted out of the wound like a fountain, spraying all over the ground and onto the camera. Dali screamed in horror at the video but none of us could me him for it. Everyone seemed to feel the man¡¯s pain, helplessness and despair.


    The man turned pale, his lips blue due to excessive blood loss. He was shivering uncontrobly, probably because he felt cold.


    He gritted his teeth and pulled out his other leg. The des fell on his right arm at once. After losing both his arms, he staggered out of the contraption but immediately knelt to the ground weakly. Then, he struggled to prop his body up with his head and slowly disappeared from the picture.


    "It¡¯s not possible for him to survive with his arms cut off, is it?" asked Xiaotao.


    I nodded. "With this amount of bleeding, he wouldn¡¯t be able to survive if he doesn¡¯t receive medical assistance within five minutes! But this man looks strong enough to run some distance before his body goes into shock. The murderer must have killed him during this period."


    Lao Yao turned off the video and switched on the lights. Loud gasps filled the room. Many officers lit their cigarettes with quivering hands.


    "At the time, countless people watched this on the Inte, but none of them had the conscience to call the police,¡±mented Xiaotao. ¡°How ugly human nature truly is!"


    "This website has strict permission settings,¡± I said. ¡°People who are allowed to watch this live stream must be VIP members with the highest permission. They have long been ustomed to these dark, vile things so their hearts have grown desensitized. In their eyes, it¡¯s just entertainment."


    "If you stay in a fish market long enough, you won¡¯t think it¡¯s fishy!" remarked Xiaotao.


    "You¡¯re right!"


    A short restter, everyone had finally caught their breath.


    "Do you want to continue watching?" asked Lao Yao.


    "Wait a minute! Rey the video again!" instructed Xiaotao.


    About a third into the video, Xiaotao called for a pause and asked everyone to analyze the location from the picture. The officers each expressed their opinions. Some suggested that it might be a building along the river because the bottom of the wall was damp and moldy, but others pointed out that it could have been altered using technology. They proposed investigating manufacturers by looking at the incandescent light models.


    The room in the video was very clean with few leads to follow. Xiaotao asked me what I thought but I had nothing to offer.


    Dali suddenly eximed, "Xiaotao-jiejie, I¡¯ve discovered something! The des on this contraption look like they are driven by a hydraulic system. I think it was removed from agricultural machinery. You might be able to investigate from this angle."


    "That works, Dali,¡±ughed Xiaotao. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect your idea toe in handy."


    Dali scratched his head and chuckled, "Don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m an applied electronics student!"


    "Song Yang,¡± Xiaotao turned to me. ¡°Have you been defeated by Dali this time?"


    Dali¡¯s words reminded me of something. I asked Lao Yao to fast-forward the video to the moment when the mechanism started up.


    As I thought, I noticed the light bulb dim for a moment. "The power required by this contraption is very high, causing a drop in the voltage of the entire electric circuit. Can you go to the power nt to check the peak values of electricity consumption in all parts of Nanjiang City on that day?"


    Xiaotao¡¯s eyes brightened. "Your idea is good but it¡¯s too difficult to do that. Any high-powered electronic equipment will cause instantaneous voltage instability when it starts up. Almost every household in Nanjiang City has high-powered electrical appliances."


    "If that¡¯s difficult, why not..."


    ¡°Why not what?" Xiaotao wondered.


    I asked Lao Yao for the time interval between the activation of the two des. After fast-forwarding and then hitting rewind, he reported that it was 43 seconds.


    "The two peak power consumption periods are 43 seconds apart,¡± I started. ¡°And the time is locked at around 9 pm on the 8th of March. Is that enough information to pinpoint a location?"


    "You always have all sorts of ideas,¡± grinned Xiaotao. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll send someone over to look it upter."


    Aside from this, everyone else came up with a more reasonable suggestion. The murderer certainly didn¡¯t have the ability to produce these parts by himself so he must have purchased them. We could ask an expert to analyze the parts and visit the manufacturers.


    Xiaotao jotted down these two clues on a small notebook and the second video began ying. Like thest video, it was dark at first and we could only hear a man¡¯s deep breaths. Obviously, this person sounded older than the victim before.


    "Do you know why you are here?" asked the digitally-altered voice.


    "Please, let me out!¡± the man cried. ¡°I still have parents and children to look after. I¡¯ll give you whatever you want. Any amount is fine!"


    "You are a selfish, indifferent and heartless man who smokes in public and ignores other people¡¯s friendly reminders. That¡¯s why you are here to receive hell¡¯s judgement. Since you like forcing others to breathe in your cigarette smoke, now you can bask in the smell of your own burning flesh!"


    The video brightened with the ignition of a huge me. There was a pit on the ground brimming with burning charcoal. This time, the room wasn¡¯t lit and the illumination came solely from the charcoal.


    There was a man in copper armor standing in an empty spot on the edge of the fiery charcoal. Except for slight deviations, the armor looked almost the same as the one drawn by old man Qi. The man in the armor stood close to the wall, not daring to move for fear of stepping on the hot charcoal.


    "As you can see, the exit is right in front of you,¡± exined the voice. ¡°You must walk over the fire to escape. If you don¡¯t take any action, the temperature in the room will keep increasing and in five minutes, you will be roasted alive. Embrace the punishment for your crime!"


    "Watching this video makes me think that the most hateful person isn¡¯t the murderer himself, but the onlookers who cheered, praised and even rewarded the murderer!¡± condemned Xiaotao. ¡°It is they who have emboldened him. Perhaps you could even say that they are the ones who have created these twisted, sadistic murderers."


    "I feel the same way,¡± Imented.


    Xiaotao called for a break and asked if this was the same room as the one in the previous video. But everyone had differing opinions.


    "That¡¯s easy,¡± assured Lao Yao. ¡°Let me try something!"


    He opened an image processing software, ced screenshots of the two videos together and adjusted the transparency by 50%, aligning the lines bit by bit. The result showed that the second room was a little longer. Obviously, these were two separate rooms.


    "Lao Yao!¡± I shouted. ¡°Erge the second picture. There seems to be something on the wall!"

 Chapter 239

    <h4>Chapter 239</h4>


    Lao Yao erged the screenshot. There was mottled lime ster on the wall, mixed with bits of red that appeared to be amon shade. It looked like part of a slogan but the words were already unrecognizable.


    I tried recreating the words on my palm and eventually came to realize one of the words in the middle was "mouse."


    "Are there any slogans with the word ¡®mouse¡¯ in it?¡± I asked.


    "Down with the cow demon and the serpent god!" cried Dali.


    "I said ¡®mouse¡¯!" I retorted. The idiot buried his head in embarrassment.


    "Unlimited wonders await at the click of the mouse!¡± Lao Yao chimed in. ¡°When I was in kindergarten, I went to an inte cafe with those words written on the walls."


    Since the other words on the wall didn¡¯t match the slogan he mentioned, his input seemed meaningless as well.


    At this point, Wang Yuanchao¡¯s stoic voice interrupted my thoughts, "Our greatest responsibility is to guard against and exterminate all mice¨Cit¡¯s probably a granary!"


    I traced each word on my hand and found the phrase was indeed a match. Xiaotao scribbled the clue in her notebook and asked Lao Yao to resume the video.


    For several minutes, the man in the video begged for mercy but finally braced himself and stepped into the fire pit. With that one step, he immediately pulled his foot back, his screams filling the room. It took him some time before he attempted another step.


    As one could imagine, the temperature in the room was constantly rising at the time. Trapped in the imprable armor, he must have been covered in sweat and suffocating from the heat.


    The man wanted to run through the fire pit as fast as he could. However, the armor had springs attached to the joints, making it difficult for him to run so he was forced to slowly walk. I hadn¡¯t anticipated this detail but the old man in the prison did. I couldn¡¯t help but suspect that Old Qi was either a sadistic murderer or had something to do with the murderer!


    The man trekked through the pit, all the while screaming frenziedly. He was about to reach the end when he suddenly tripped, his entire body falling onto the hot charcoal. The violent convulsions he made sparked the surge of fiery mes.


    We watched anxiously as the man struggled in the fire for half a minute before he finally stopped moving. Besides the crackle of burning charcoal came the sizzling sound of roasted flesh. Melted fat dripped into the fire from the crevices of the armor, kindling a few spurts of small mes.


    I felt waves of despair that soon turned into unrelieved depression. A round of heavy sighs echoed, reflecting the low atmosphere in the room.


    Xiaotao¡¯s hand was shaking uncontrobly throughout the video but the expression on her face remained firm. "Listen up everyone, let¡¯s continue analyzing the video and try to catch this madman as soon as possible!"


    "Lao Yao,¡± I instructed. ¡°Rewind to the moment he fell!"


    Lao Yao did as I asked and yed the video three times. I told him to y it frame by frame and on a certain frame, I noticed something within the charcoal¨Ca long object that was glowing red.


    "There was a steel rail in the fire pit so the murderer had intentionally tripped him. It looks like hell¡¯s judgement isn¡¯t fair after all."


    "He only makes it seem fair but in fact, his deeds are secretly despicable!"


    Lao Yao erged the picture so everyone could study the rail. It looked like a section of a railway track, but obtaining that went beyond the means of ordinary people. An experienced officer stood up and pointed, "That¡¯s not a steel rail, it¡¯s an I-beam that¡¯s used in constructing ceilings and that¡¯s the model number on it! I know which manufacturer produces model number 64."


    Xiaotao immediately noted this clue while the others expressed their opinions on the armor parts.


    After a moment¡¯s contemtion, I asked, "Isn¡¯t an I-beam very heavy?"


    The old officer nodded. "I¡¯d say at least 30 to 40 kilograms."


    "The murderer is only1.6 meters tall,¡± I remarked. ¡°He might not be able to lift it."


    "That¡¯s a biased statement to make,¡± said Xiaotao, frowning. ¡°Although I might have some difficulty, even I could carry something that heavy."


    "Look, the pit on the ground was newly dug,¡± I pointed at the video. ¡°And the armor parts also weigh a fair bit, not to mention this heavy I-beam. The murderer must be the brains so I think it¡¯s difficult for him to cope with manualbor. I think he must have joined hands with someone else at this time, that is, the explosion madman¨CThe Strongest Mantis Shrimp!"


    "We already know this!" interjected Xiaotao.


    "The addition of The Strongest Mantis Shrimp changed the way the murderermitted the crimes,¡± I continued my analysis. ¡°The two men should have a rather close rtionship. Perhaps they¡¯re even living together, which means we can look for clues from The Strongest Mantis Shrimp¡¯s live stream!"


    ¡°That way, we¡¯ll have more clues..." added Xiaotao.


    Lao Yao started screening The Strongest Mantis Shrimp¡¯s video. We had to search through a bunch of videos because they were all unspecified. In the process, we were forced to watch a lot of horrific content. Many officers professed that they wouldn¡¯t be able to eat for some time.


    Finally, Lao Yao found several z-titled files which were all The Strongest Mantis Shrimp¡¯s videos. When he clicked on the first one, a masked man facing the camera appeared in the video. His burly figure and muscr pecs were exposed through the tank top that he wore. He had several tattoos that perfectly blended with his wild and unrestrained air.


    "It shouldn¡¯t be hard to find this man!" eximed Xiaotao.


    The location of The Strongest Mantis Shrimp¡¯s live stream was a public toilet. Although his voice had been digitally altered, the excitement in his tone couldn¡¯t be concealed. He gave a brief exnation while positioning several small bombs in a cesspit and then backed out of the picture.


    A short whileter, a man squatted over the pit and halfway through, a loud explosion sounded as feces flew all over the toilet, covering the man. Swearing, he quickly pulled up his pants and left while the streamerughed so hard he had trouble breathing. Then, another man entered the scene.


    "How long does this videost?" asked Xiaotao.


    Lao Yao replied, "Four hours."


    "You can stop ying this,¡± instructed Xiaotao with a wave of her hand. ¡°Let¡¯s move on to something else!"


    The Strongest Mantis Shrimp¡¯s live streams were really boring. No wonder he wasn¡¯t popr at first. But when the second video yed on the screen, we all eximed. Several officers even stood up in disbelief. Because the location in the video was the room our victim had been burned alive!


    "Song Yang, just as you spected, the two of them are well-acquainted with each other," acknowledged Xiaotao.


    This time, The Strongest Mantis Shrimp ced a bomb in a pig¡¯s stomach. Although the pig was still alive, it was in fact at itsst breath andy on the ground squealing. Xiaotao didn¡¯t care to watch on and instructed Lao Yao to switch to another video.


    ¡°Wait!¡± I shouted, staring at the video. When Xiaotao asked me what I found, I said, "That¡¯s an old sow!"


    Dali, who was sitting at the back burst outughing. "After staring at the pig for so long, that¡¯s all you found?"


    Other officers couldn¡¯t hold back theirughter either.


    But I soon brought our discussion back on track by asking, "Have you ever eaten meat from an old sow?"


    The confusion cleared from Xiaotao¡¯s face and her eyes suddenly brightened. "Yes, ording to the agriculturalw, meat from sows isn¡¯t allowed to be sold on the market. Farmers are supposed to euthanize sows that do not give birth and will bepensated by the Ministry of Animal Husbandry. Of course, there are also illegal vendors who turn old sows into minced meat and sell them to steamed bun stalls. However, Nanjiang City¡¯s Department of Food Safety has recently rectified the situation so there shouldn¡¯t be any on the market."


    "In short, the average person can¡¯t get old sows!" I concluded.


    The first victim was killed with a hook that Xiaotao analyzed to be a special iron hook used in ughterhouses. And in this video, The Strongest Mantis Shrimp managed to obtain an old sow. From these two points, it was certain that¨C


    The murderer was The Strongest Mantis Shrimp and his job was most likely rted to a ughterhouse.

 Chapter 240

    <h4>Chapter 240</h4>


    Xiaotao snapped her fingers and said, "Nanjiang City has three ughterhouses. This guy is muscr and has such noticeable tattoos that even Dali would be able to locate him."


    "Hey Xiaotao-jiejie, could you not use me as an antithesis?!"ined Dali.


    It was already 11 pm so Xiaotao ordered everyone to go home. The n for tomorrow morning was to visit the three ughterhouses so we could be certain that The Strongest Mantis Shrimp was at work.


    Although Xiaotao urged us to go home, none of us wanted to leave. After all, the more videos we watched, the more clues we could analyze.


    When the next video yed, The Strongest Mantis Shrimp was standing in the second victim¡¯s home. There was a sack on the bed behind him that seemed to contain the corpse. With a mask covering part of his face, he excitedly shouted at the camera, "Buddies, let¡¯s have some fun today! I have prepared a human body explosion! Hurry up, click on those rewards! When we reach a thousand, I¡¯ll blow up the body!"


    "From his ent, he sounds like a Northerner!"mented Wang Yuanchao.


    "Buddy, are you ok?!" Dali chimed in.


    I stared at him in frustration. This idiot could crack a joke regardless of the asion. Was this really a suitable time?


    We fast-forwarded the segment where The Strongest Mantis Shrimp began fixing the bombs. Atst, the streamer untied the sack and carried out the corpse. I told Lao Yao to pause the video so I could carefully examine the body, then told him to continue.


    The events that followed were almost the same as we spected, that is, the body was blown up with the entire house.


    The video featured him exploding a car. Because it waste at night, the surroundings were rtively dark. The Strongest Mantis Shrimp sounded exhrated, almost incoherent this time. I doubted we would find any important clues so I said, "Lao Yao, let¡¯s move on to Storm Punisher¡¯s video."


    Like the previous two, it was dark at the beginning. Storm Punisher recited the same presumptuous lines as if he were some high-ranking judge. But this time, there were no pleas of mercy from the victim, only loud whining.


    The scene lit up and everyone drew a sharp breath.


    There was a long-haired woman wearing a straitjacket with a hook pierced through her tongue. A chain connected the hook to a disc-shaped mechanism.


    A faint hissing sound that signalled a gas leak filled the room. In order to survive, the woman had to pull the mechanism with her tongue to close the gas valve.


    The structure of the mechanism was exactly the same as the designs the old man had drawn. I grew more and more certain that he was rted to the case.


    I called for a pause again and stared at the picture. "That straitjacket!" I eximed.


    "The number on the straitjacket has worn off." remarked Xiaotao.


    "That¡¯s a clue in itself,¡± I rified. ¡°Don¡¯t you see? There isn¡¯t any wear and tear throughout the entire straitjacket, suggesting that the murderer might have worn it off himself. If he had simply stolen it, why would he have to remove the numbers? That¡¯s because it would reveal personal information about him!"


    "Song Yang, do you mean to say that the murderer lived in a mental hospital for some time?" Xiaotao raised an eyebrow in question.


    "Judging from his character and manner of speaking, it¡¯s very likely that he has stayed in a mental hospital for quite a long time,¡± I conjectured. ¡°I think we should investigate the major mental hospitals."


    Xiaotao nodded and jotted the clue down.


    As the video continued to y, the woman made strange noises from her throat. In fact, the gurgling sound was her choking on the gas and coughing with her tongue stuck out. It was a strangebination of gagging and coughing.


    Soon, her cheeks turned red and her feet shook¨Csigns of mild poisoning¨Cas she slowly retreated.


    To survive, she had to persist in moving backwards, the metal hook in her tongue dragging in a downward motion as her tongue was ripped out inch by inch!


    Many officers were afraid to continue watching because of how unnerving the video was. Although the first two were just as cruel, the moment when the first victim¡¯s arms were chopped off happened in an instant while the second victim was trapped in the armor, painting a far less disturbing visual impact.


    "I¡¯m going crazy!" blurted Xiaotao with her head bowed.


    "Let¡¯s take a break,¡± I suggested. ¡°If we continue watching, no one¡¯s going to get any sleep tonight."


    After Xiaotao dismissed the officers, we left the station together. "It¡¯s already sote,¡± I said. ¡°Don¡¯t bother sending us back. We¡¯ll take a cab. Tomorrow morning, you¡¯ll investigate the ughterhouse while we head to the prison."


    "To see that old man again?¡± asked Xiaotao. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll call themter to arrange a meeting for you tomorrow!"


    "Xiao Song-song, I¡¯ve worked so hard today!¡± interjected Lao Yao. ¡°Won¡¯t you treat me to some turtle, bull penis ormb kidney?"


    "They¡¯re all aphrodisiacs! Aren¡¯t you afraid of getting a nosebleed tomorrow?" chided Dali.


    "That¡¯s fine,¡± Lao Yao raised an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯ll get Xiao Song-song to help me relieve the heat."


    Goosebumps prickled my entire body. "Can you still eat after watching those nauseating videos?" I asked.


    "Of course!" Lao Yao nodded.


    Lao Yao still insisted that I invite him out for a midnight snack but Xiaotao mentioned she had enough points on her credit card to redeem a seafood meal for one and promised Lao Yao he could have it some other time.


    "Seafood dinner?" cried Lao Yao cheerfully. ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie, you¡¯re the best!"


    Xiaotao sent him the redemption certificate through her phone. At the time, we were quite envious that Lao Yao had a sumptuous meal awaiting him. But weter learned that the so-called seafood meal was actually a bowl of rice, baked scallop, and a side dish made of kelp. Of course, Lao Yao came back whingeing and moaning about how he had been fooled. I had to admit, Xiaotao was an expert at dealing with this shameless guy!


    The next morning, I dragged Dali out of bed, grabbed a cab outside the school gates and headed straight to the prison. When I reported our destination, the driver looked at us strangely.


    "Aren¡¯t we going to the station?" asked Dali.


    "No, we¡¯ll take a two-pronged approach.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m going to visit that old fox again!"


    When we arrived at Mount Leopard Prison, I told the driver to wait for us at the gate so he could take us back to the city.


    "What are you two students doing here?" asked the cab driver.


    Dali deliberately imitated a vulgar gangster and growled, "We¡¯re fetching our boss out of jail! He was incarcerated for murdering someone but he¡¯s finally out for parole."


    Looking at the driver who was livid with fear, I reproached, "Why the hell did you scare him? How are we going to go back if he leaves?"


    At the instant those words left my lips, the cab driver fled, leaving us with a face full of exhaust fumes. "Look at what you¡¯ve done!¡± I admonished. ¡°That¡¯s the price of fooling around, you idiot!"


    "But it¡¯s fine when you do it!¡± argued Dali. ¡°Why does this happen when it¡¯s my turn..."


    "Well it depends who you¡¯re talking to!" Iughed


    Because Xiaotao informed the detention officer in advance, the guards took us directly to meet the old man. After waiting in the visitation room for a while, the rattling sound of shackles broke the silence. The old man was brought out by a prison guard, still looking as healthy and energetic as before. He greeted us with a smile. "You¡¯re early! Have you had your breakfast?"


    I quietly fished out three items¨Ca pack of cigarettes, an empty piece of paper and a pencil. When the old man saw the cigarettes, he was so delighted his eyes narrowed into a slit. Without a care for courtesy, he opened the pack, drew out a cigarette, and stuffed the rest into his pocket.


    "We made a mistake,¡± I started. ¡°It was actually three murders. There was another victim before the other two."


    The old man puffed away and asked, "Kiddo, are you asking me to restore the crime scene again?"


    "Yes!" I nodded.


    I described the first case, only describing the appearance of the victim when he was found. After a moment¡¯s contemtion, the old man picked up the pencil, started drawing and handed the paper back to me when he was finished.


    The sketch he drew looked exactly the same as the contraption in the video. I mmed the table and shouted, "Qi Sheng, tell me frankly, how are you rted to the murderer?"

 Chapter 241

    <h4>Chapter 241</h4>


    My intimidation did nothing to frighten the old man. "I already said I don¡¯t know him!" he grinned.


    I pointed to the drawing, my voice grave as I stated, "In truth, we¡¯ve managed to determine the exact design for these three contraptions through certain channels. The design you drew is basically the same as the murderer¡¯s. Do you still insist that you have nothing to do with him?"


    The old man lit another cigarette and exhaled a cloud of white smoke. "Do you know why?" he asked.


    "You¡¯re asking me?"


    "Excellent engineers have simr ideas,¡± he slowly exined. ¡°We use the simplest and most effective way to achieve our goals. I guess this is what they call, ¡®Great minds think alike!¡¯"


    I hadn¡¯t expected such a reply. Logically speaking, there was nothing wrong with his statement but my intuition told me there was a connection between the two.


    Seeing my silence, the old man arrogantly cocked his head. "Kiddo, you¡¯re still a bit wet behind the ears. You won¡¯t get any information from me because there¡¯s nothing you could possibly tempt me with,¡± he stretched his legs, pleased with himself. ¡°I¡¯ve already been sentenced to life imprisonment. How many years do you think I have left to live? Why should I help you?"


    I stood up and looked him in the eye, "So you do know something!"


    A hint of panic shed across the old man¡¯s face, confirming my spection that he knew something. But he soon regained his calm. ¡°If I don¡¯t say anything, what can you do?¡± he mocked. ¡°This uniform I¡¯m wearing means that I¡¯m protected byw. If youy a finger on me, you¡¯ll be locked up!"


    "Bastard!" I cursed through gritted teeth.


    What else could I do but resort to the most contemptible method¨Cbribery?


    "You don¡¯t live very well, do you?¡± I asked. ¡°Why don¡¯t I bring you some of your favorite food and two packets of Chunghwa cigarettes next time?"


    Many prisoners on death row and those serving life sentences were willing to give up evidence for a good meal. Criminal investigation films often had such passages¨Cwhen the police bring a te of dumplings to the criminal, they would drop all defenses ande clean. That wasn¡¯t artistic exaggeration. After all, prisoners were also human and had their own desires.


    "Who cares about food?¡± smiled the old man. ¡°Maybe if you let me spend a night with your mum, I¡¯ll tell you!"


    I knew he was deliberately provoking me. As long as I got rough with him, today¡¯s meeting would be over and I would lose the chance to visit him again. My hands trembled with anger, but I refrained from acting.


    The old man pointed to the clock on the wall and said, "It¡¯s already time. I think we¡¯re done here."


    He got up, ready to leave. I had to think of something. As long as he was human, he must have a weakness!


    Just as he was about to open the door, I suddenly cried, "But the man didn¡¯t y by the rules!"


    The old man paused, turned around and asked, "What did you say?"


    "He didn¡¯t let those who passed the trial go!¡± I continued. ¡°He murdered them instead!"


    I exined that the first victim had sessfully escaped but was killed in the end. And the second victim was ced in an unfair trial, deliberately causing him to fail.


    The old man stood unmoving for five seconds. "You are lying,¡± he enunciated each word. ¡°Show me proof."


    "Fine, that¡¯s easy!" I replied.


    I immediately dialed an officer¡¯s number. Aside from Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao, I had more than 20 numbers belonging to officers who I usually cooperated with stored in my cell phone. I spoke to one of the technical officers and asked for a screenshot from yesterday¡¯s autopsy video which showed the victim¡¯s back.


    A minuteter, a picture was sent to my cell phone. I handed it to the old man and summarized, "This man obviously escaped on his own, but he was attacked from the back so the murderer is not a true judge of hell."


    The old man gnashed his teeth and swore, "That motherfucking bastard! He¡¯s certainly no apprentice of mine..."


    As soon as the words left his lips, the old man realized his slip up and his face turned pale instantly.


    It suddenly dawned on me. "He¡¯s your apprentice!"


    "I didn¡¯t mean that,¡± he quickly refuted himself. ¡°I mean, he inherited my mission so he¡¯s just like an apprentice."


    Knowing that it was useless for us to continue, I stood up and said, "Take care of yourself, old man. When I catch him, I¡¯ll send you a pack of cigarettes."


    The old man suddenly charged at me, startling the daylights out of me. The guards responded quickly, breaking into the room and pressing the old man¡¯s head against the table. Despite repeated instructions for him to behave, the old man shouted at the top of his voice, "Give him a chance! Leave him a way out!"


    However, I ignored him and quietly exited the room. Outside, Dali was happy to see me after waiting for some time. He immediately rushed up and asked me if I had obtained any clues. "Let¡¯s go to the university to investigate."


    The old man used to be a professor and his students¡¯ files should still be in the school. From his reaction, it was clear that the murderer was very close to him. The rtionship between them seemed closer than teacher and pupil, perhaps even father and son.


    It was impossible to hail a cab at the gates of the prison. After waiting for what seemed like forever, we finally got lucky. We managed to carpool with a gangster who came to pick up his boss. During the journey, the cheerful gang boss chattered loudly without end, describing how he would find some beautifuldies to sleep with and beat his enemies to death. He even smoked and spat in the car, making for a terribly ufortable atmosphere. Dali and the driver were scared into silence.


    Having obtained an important clue, I was in a better mood. "Watch carefully. I¡¯ll show you how to put on a good act!" I whispered to Dali.


    I pretended to drop my consultant badge when I pulled out my cell phone, then turned to the gang boss and said, "Excuse me, I dropped something. Can you help me pick it up?"


    Just a moment ago, the gang boss was giddily prattling on about which nightclub had the most tender and charmingdies. But upon looking down, he suddenly froze. Then, he looked timidly at me and gulped.


    "Boss, I know a new ce that¡¯s filled with young students,¡± his ignorant subordinate continued to jabber on. ¡°I¡¯ll get you a little virgin. You can pop her cherry and have a good time tonight¨C¡±


    Before he could finish speaking, the gang boss pped him in the face and red, "What the hell are you talking about? I have to turn over a new leaf after getting out of jail or else I¡¯d be letting the government down!"


    Then, he respectfully used both hands to pass me my badge and smiled from ear to ear. "Excuse our rudeness. We were just fooling around. We don¡¯t mean anything we just said. Please don¡¯t take it seriously."


    I took my badge back, patted him on the shoulder and lectured, "You¡¯re finally leaving prison in a car but you don¡¯t want toe back in a prison bus, do you?"


    The gang boss nodded fervently. "Yes, I will definitely turn over a new leaf. I¡¯ll never repeat my past mistakes! How should I address you, sir?"


    I ignored his question and warned, "I remember you so don¡¯t let me see you in an uwful situation, okay?"


    The gang boss obediently nodded, his attitude aplete 180 from before.


    Throughout the rest of our journey, they sat in utter silence, behaving as meek as two students who had just received punishment. "Dude, your acting skills are textbook level!" whispered Dali.


    We soon arrived at the mechanical engineering school where the old man used to teach. With my consultant badge, we managed to obtain ess to the archives to look for files. The entire process was easy as pie.


    The head of the archives department was a middle-aged woman who brought out a whole storage box of student files. "There¡¯s so many?" asked Dali in surprise.


    "This isn¡¯t a lot to be honest,¡± said the person in charge. ¡°A professor usually teaches five or six sses a semester. Qi Sheng taught for more than 30 years so you can count for yourself how many files that would be."


    It was undoubtedly a huge project to check the files one by one. "We¡¯ll take these files with us first, screen though each of them and return them in two days," I said.


    The head of the archive department was somewhat reluctant at my request. But seeing that I worked with the police, she eventually agreed. After I thanked her, she asked, "Isn¡¯t Qi Sheng already in prison? Why is the police still investigating him? Did hemit another crime?"


    "I¡¯m sorry but we can¡¯t reveal that information,¡± I replied. ¡°I¡¯d also like to speak to the teachers in the school who were close to Qi Sheng."


    "You should speak to his ex-wife. She was also a teacher at this school."


    I was pleasantly surprised. "Where can I find her?" I asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re looking right at her!" She pointed to herself.

 Chapter 242

    <h4>Chapter 242</h4>


    I was delighted by the turn of events. It certainly saved me the trouble of looking for her. "Professor, shall we go out for a cup of tea?" I suggested.


    The head of the archive department agreed so we found a teahouse just outside the school and ordered a pot of green tea.


    She looked about 40 years old and was surnamed Gao. I was shocked at the huge age gap between her and Qi Sheng so I asked, ¡°Madam Gao, how long were you married to Professor Qi?"


    "More than 20 years. In fact, I used to be his student. Although he¡¯s old now, he used to be a handsome and dashing man in his younger days. Back then, everyone around me objected to our teacher-student rtionship but at the time, I was as stubborn as mule, my heart set on marrying only him. s! I wish I had listened to my family¡¯s advice. He had the sort of paranoid personality that made it hard for him to get ahead. Thenter on, he did such a terrible thing that even I couldn¡¯t believe at first. He destroyed my life. As the wife of a criminal, I was no longer allowed to teach and I was only given this job in the archives after begging repeatedly."


    Having shared as much, Madam Gao sighed deeply, her hands wiping away the tears on her face. I couldn¡¯t help but utter a few words of constion.


    "Was Professor Qi close to any of his students?" I asked.


    Without a second thought, Madam Gao replied, "Yes!"


    The student was Wang Yizhou, a boy very interested in mechanical engineering. He often met up with Qi Sheng to discuss engineering problems and attended all of his sses, even if he hadn¡¯t signed up for them.


    Wang Yizhou was a pitiful orphan who grew up tragically. Every Lunar New Year, Qi Sheng invited him home for the reunion feast, after which, they would fiddle with their little inventions together. Madam Gao used to tease Qi Sheng about their close rtionship and even suggested adopting him as their son since he liked the boy so much.


    The boy reciprocated Qi Sheng¡¯s fondness for him with the same love and respect. When Qi Sheng was arrested by the police, he knelt at the school gates for a long time after the police vehicle left. After he graduated and started working, he often visited Madam Gao until she finally divorced Qi Sheng and remarried.


    After listening to her narrate the past, I rummaged through a box of student files, all of which were arranged alphabetically, and found Wang Yizhou at once. The picture on his file showed a gentle-looking boy with sullen eyes behind a pair of sses. At the sight of this face, an rm bell went off in my head. My intuition told me that this man was the murderer!


    "Officer, it¡¯s been ten years since the case was concluded,¡± said Madam Gao. ¡°Why are you suddenly investigating the case again? Did this kid do something?"


    "Why would you think that? Does he seem like the kind of person who wouldmit a crime?¡± I asked in return.


    "Teachers have that special sixth sense when ites to judging people. I could tell that this kid was a bit paranoid like my ex-husband."


    "It¡¯s not surprising that many people are paranoid after hitting the 80s and 90s,¡± I remarked.


    But Madam Gao shook her head. "He¡¯s not just paranoid,¡± she exined. ¡°How should I put this.... he has a history of mental illness."


    Hearing this, my suspicions about Wang Yizhou further solidified so I asked her what illness he had.


    "It¡¯s not anything serious like schizophrenia. He had a contradiction with my family and in a fit of pique, mmed his head into the wall. When his family sent him into a mental hospital, he made all sorts of trouble inside. I heard he went off the rails and bit several nurses! In truth, that so-called mental hospital was of little help. It was more like a prison to iste the mentally ill from the rest of society. The more disobedient they behaved, the more severe the torture. He was treated with electroconvulsive therapy and behavioral therapy by doctors and force-fed sedatives for more than half a year. However, I could tell that his mental state was more unstable after he left that hellhole."


    "Family? Didn¡¯t you say he was an orphan?¡± I asked.


    "The boy¡¯s situation was a bitplicated,¡± she replied. ¡°As a child, he was an orphan butter, his father emerged out of nowhere and adopted him."


    I asked her what Wang Yizhou¡¯s father did for a living but Madam Gao was unsure. I remember that the three victims supposedly killed by Qi Sheng were the dean, a teacher who abused children, and an unscrupulous liquor dealer who made and sold fake alcohol.


    I pulled out a piece of paper, wrote down their names and asked Madam Gao, "Do you know these three people?"


    "I¡¯ve heard of them,¡± admitted Madam Gao. ¡°Back then, when Qi Sheng was tried in court, I attended the hearing. They are the victims from ten years ago, aren¡¯t they? But I only knew the first one personally, that is, the former dean of our school. Qi Sheng usually left him to his own devices even when he was up to no good. So the dean switched to more despicable means and giarized one of his academic papers. A big part of why Qi Sheng was so greatly stimted was definitely due to this person."


    I ended the conversation by thanking her and returning all the other student files except for Wang Yizhou¡¯s.


    By this time, it was already noon and Dali began toin about hunger. I was so busy investigating that I had forgotten about lunch entirely. We simply picked a nearby noodle shop and ordered two bowls of beef noodles. While waiting for our noodles to be served, I phoned Xiaotao and asked her how she was doing.


    "Not good,¡± a dejected voice sounded from the other end of the line. ¡°We¡¯ve sifted through all the employees of the three ughterhouses but we didn¡¯t find anyone who matched those characteristics."


    "What about employees who left?" I asked.


    "Do you think I¡¯d forget about that?¡± Xiaotao gave a weak, wateryugh. ¡°I even went through the list of employeesid off 20 years ago but I came up empty!"


    "If he doesn¡¯t work in a ughterhouse, could he be a self-employed butcher in a market?" I asked.


    "That¡¯s too wide a range to go searching,¡±mented Xiaotao. ¡°Sigh, looks like we¡¯re all headed for sleepless nights!"


    "I did manage to find something here,¡± I said, trying to cheer her up. ¡°Could you check someone¡¯s household registration information for me?"


    "Do you have an ID number?¡± she asked. ¡°Tell me and I¡¯ll send the information to your emailter."


    After scarfing down our noodles, I received Wang Yizhou¡¯s household registration information from Xiaotao. The columns that read, "Mother" and ¡°Father¡± were filled in as deceased. I thought the man who had suddenly popped out of nowhere was an adoptive father but when I looked at his father¡¯s date of death, I noticed that it was ten years ago.


    I couldn¡¯t help but exim in surprise at his name. "What a coincidence!"


    "Why are you surprised?¡± Dali looked at me puzzledly. ¡°It¡¯s not like you at all. Aren¡¯t you usually calm and collected?"


    "Here¡¯s a great discovery¨Cthe third victim killed ten years ago was Wang Yizhou¡¯s biological father!" I cried.


    Dali snatched the phone out of my hand and nced at the information. "Why do the father and son have different surnames?" he asked.


    "Wang Yizhou took his mother¡¯s surname,¡± I stated. ¡°Both mother and the son were probably abandoned by the father who came back yearster to adopt him."


    "What a heartless man!¡± Dali spat his tongue. ¡°He kowtowed in gratitude to the man who murdered his father!¡±


    "I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not that simple!" I shook my head.


    The first victim was the dean, the second was a teacher at the orphanage who abused children, and the third was Wang Yizhou¡¯s biological father, all of whom had an intersection with Wang Yizhou. Back when Qi Sheng confessed, Wang Yuanchao said he had a gut feeling he wasn¡¯t the murderer from the very beginning.


    At this point, the truth was imminent¨CQi Sheng didn¡¯t kill those men, Wang Yizhou did! Qi Sheng had taken the me for his beloved student!


    Ten years ago, the three victims were Wang Yizhou¡¯s experimental objects. Ten yearster, he had already turned himself into Storm Punisher, a murderer with experienced and refined methods.


    After hearing me out, Dali¡¯s eyes widened in shock. "That old man is pretty selfless. Why would he protect a murderer?"


    "Perhaps he didn¡¯t want his favorite student¡¯s future to be destroyed,¡± I spected. ¡°These are just my own conjectures but it¡¯s not difficult to prove them. Catch Wang Yizhou and we¡¯ll know the truth! Come on, let¡¯s go explore this sadistic murderer¡¯s thought process."

 Chapter 243

    <h4>Chapter 243</h4>


    That afternoon, Wang Dali and I traveled to four ces, namely, the orphanage where he lived in his childhood, the mental hospital, his father¡¯s house, and thepany where he worked for half a year.


    Under the trivial clues we obtained at each location, a picture of Wang Yizhou¡¯s life slowly took shape. Wang Yizhou¡¯s mother died when he was very young so he was raised in an orphanage. A lonely and quiet child, Wang Yizhou showed great interest in machinery. Every time a car drove by, he would stare at it intently, sometimes crouching in the yard all afternoon to watch the driver repair the car. Curious about how it worked, he asked so many questions that even the driver tried to avoid him. He often took apart clocks, toys and electrical appliances in the orphanage for research and was severely beaten severely by the teacher when his misdeeds were discovered.


    At the age of thirteen, he was adopted by his biological father but it wasn¡¯t a happy reunion that awaited him. His father had an explosive temper and Wang Yizhou was merely the child born from a drunken one-night stand.


    On one asion, Wang Yizhou yed an ingenious trick on the neighbor¡¯s child by creating a small contraption that poured a bucket of water from the ceiling when the door was pushed open. When the neighbor came toin, Wang Yizhou¡¯s father kicked him down to the ground. An idental knock on the back of his head against the windowsill caused a nosebleed and convulsions. Drink in one hand, his father said that he was just pretending and told the neighbor not to worry. But the apprehensive neighbor pitied him and sent him to the hospital, pulling him back from death¡¯s door.


    ording to the neighbors, Wang Yizhou often suffered injuries as a child, his unsmiling face always a sickly pallor.


    One time, he took three months to build a remote control robot that was mercilessly destroyed by his father, angry that he was always fiddling with garbage. That evening, Wang Yizhou¡¯s gut-wrenching sobs filled the neighborhood.


    Colleagues in thepany he worked at reported that Wang Yizhou was a freak! He was unusually quiet with zero interpersonal rtionships, and spent all his extra time reading mechanical engineering books. Once when his BMW broke down and the automobile service shop couldn¡¯t find the problem, all he had to do was listen to the sound of the engine to know which part needed fixing.


    However, Wang Yizhou left thepany after working for half a year because of bad interpersonal skills.


    After listening to their statements, I couldn¡¯t help but sympathize with Wang Yizhou. His great talents in mechanical engineering were overshadowed and suppressed by the hecious surrounding of his upbringing. Aside from his discerning teacher, Qi Sheng, no one else had ever given him so much as a word of affirmation or encouragement!


    Had Wang Yizhou been given the opportunity to further develop his talents, he might have been the next chief engineer for the J-20 fighter or even the Liaoning aircraft carrier.


    My mind suddenly harked back to a sentence I had read somewhere before: China¡¯s social system was the tether of geniuses. Wang Yizhou was perhaps the best example of this expression.


    You could say that the dark side of his heart was created by the beatings, indifference and insults he experienced when he was a child. But I wasn¡¯t a psychologist. All I could do was remove this terror from society and prevent him from using mechanisms to hurt innocent people again.


    By the time our investigation ended, it was already past seven in the evening. Dali was so exhausted he was close to copse. "Dude, how are you still so energetic?¡± he asked in amazement. ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired after running around all afternoon?"


    "Do you know why women don¡¯t get tired when they go shopping?" I asked.


    "Fucking hell, you¡¯re actuallyparing yourself to women?! Is this youing out?" he stared at me in wide-eyed shock.


    I immediately felt a burst of regret. Had I known he would make a fuss out of an innocentparison, I would¡¯ve kept my mouth shut. "Why are you behaving more and more like Lao Yao now?¡± I rolled my eyes at him. ¡°Is it amusing to make fun of me?"


    Although my mind was still vigorous, my legs felt like lead. As soon as we returned to the dormitory, I soaked my weary feet and slowly rxed. It wasn¡¯t until then that I truly understood the harshness of an officer¡¯s life.


    I slept till dawn when I was awakened by a call from Xiaotao. "Can youe over now? We¡¯ve located the crime scene!"


    "Coming!" I yelled.


    When Dali and I arrived at the address given by Xiaotao, we saw several police cars parked below a three-story building from a distance. On the ground floor, Bingxin suddenly ran out to greet me. "Wee Great Detective Song and Assistant Dali! We thank you foring down to the crime scene to lend your esteemed guidance."


    "Look at you,¡± Iughed. ¡°As expected of the director¡¯s daughter, you cane up with such ttery at the snap of the fingers."


    Bingxin tugged at my arm and shook me hard. "Song Yang-gege, you¡¯ve all been naughty!¡± grumbled Bingxin. ¡°Uncle Wang just told me that you watched a bunch of thrilling videos behind my back!"


    "With your courage, I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t be able to sleep after watching them,¡± I teased. ¡°It¡¯s good you missed out on that."


    "How dare you underestimate me?!¡± pouted Bingxin. ¡°I¡¯m not a child anymore. Don¡¯t you know, I¡¯ve got the courage of a lion..."


    "Where¡¯s the crime scene?" I said, quickly changing the subject.


    She took us to a spacious basement where Xiaotao, Wang Yuanchao and the other officers were present. This was the location where the first victim was held. The room was now empty but a thorough spray of luminol on the ground revealed arge amount of blood.


    "How did you find this ce?" I asked Xiaotao.


    "It¡¯s all thanks to your idea,¡± admitted Xiaotao. ¡°We obtained the information after a trip to the power supply bureau."


    The contraption created by Storm Punisher had been transported elsewhere. This was the situation they encountered when the police broke into the room.


    The owner of the basement had also been brought in for questioning. He said that the basement was rented out as a warehouse but was vacated some time ago and remained unupied. He had no idea that such a terrible thing happened here.


    The lock on the door showed signs of being forcefully opened, suggesting that Storm Punisher had snuck in unnoticed. He certainly wouldn¡¯t have been foolish enough to rent a ce and expose his identity.


    "The scene was carefully cleaned with disinfectant,¡± sighed Xiaotao. ¡°There¡¯s not even a hair left so I doubt we¡¯ll obtain any leads from the crime scene."


    "Have you found The Strongest Mantis Shrimp?" I asked.


    ¡°If we did, would we still be here?¡± her lips curled into a bitter smile. ¡°What about you?"


    I shared my discoveries to which Xiaotaomended, "You¡¯ve done the work of an entire team! It¡¯s incredible you found such an important clue in the short span of one day!"


    "Don¡¯t forget me!" interrupted Dali.


    I didn¡¯t think there was much else to investigate here so I suggested we head back to the station. After walking of the basement, my eye was suddenly caught by a small advertisement stuck on amppost.


    "What are you looking at? Have you found the cure to your illness again?" Bingxin joked.


    "Stop fooling around,¡± I reproached. ¡°I¡¯m looking at the advertisements for rent.¡±


    There were all sorts of advertisements on themppost¨Cplumbing services, professional locksmiths, even ones from couples looking to buy children for a hefty sum of money. Then, I noticed an advertisement about a basement for rent with the owner¡¯s contact information below.


    "How did the murderere to know about the vacant basement here?" I asked.


    A light bulb went off in Xiaotao¡¯s head. "Do you mean he lives nearby?"


    "Yes, he must be familiar with the area,¡± I looked around and nodded. ¡°He knew who posted the advertisement and may even be living in one of the rooms within our view."


    "Now that we know the murderer¡¯s identity, let¡¯s conduct a nket search and ask door to door!" suggested Xiaotao.


    The job was left to the police. We sat in the car chatting while we munched on the snacks Bingxin had brought with her. Some time past 9 pm, Xiaotao called me, her voice filled with an irrepressible excitement. "Song Yang,e here now! We¡¯ve found the murderer¡¯s home!"

 Chapter 244

    <h4>Chapter 244</h4>


    The three of us rushed over to the suspect¡¯s t which was located on the first floor of the residential quarters. Upon entering the room, a foul odor assaulted my nose. It was a poorly furnished two-bedroom t of twopletely different styles. It turned out that the two were housemates sharing the same t.


    The simple design of the t was ruined by the piled up cigarette butts in the ashtray and unthrown rubbish. However, the unfinished whiskey on the table, expensive take-out lunch boxes in the garbage and the snacks and drinks stuffed in the refrigerator all revealed a message¨Cthe people living here were originally very poor but had suddenly be very rich!


    The balcony waspletely enclosed with several knives used to ughter pigs, while chopping boards and sharpening blocks were scattered all over the floor. The Strongest Mantis Shrimp was indeed a butcher who quit his job after he became a streamer, casually throwing his tools around his home.


    There was a wet market nearby. Xiaotao sent officers over to inquire about our suspect so it was only a matter of time before we confirmed his identity.


    When we entered one of the bedrooms, we were greeted with a neat, spotless scene. There was aputer inside, shelves disys with car models and radios assembled by the owner himself and a disassembled remote control car on the table.


    Aplex contraptiony on top of the TV console. When I touched it with my finger, a small ball came rolling out from the starting point, triggering various mechanisms continuously along the way and finally falling into a box. It was very interesting.


    Dali jumped onto the bed with an rmed cry and covered his head with a pillow. "Song Yang, don¡¯t touch it! What if you trigger toxic gas or some kind of bomb?"


    "Don¡¯t you know anything?¡± I mocked. ¡°This is called a Rube Goldberg machine. It¡¯s a kind of educational toy."


    "Well don¡¯t touch it,¡± cried Dali. ¡°What if you leave fingerprints?"


    "You¡¯re one to talk!¡± Xiaotao admonished with displeasure written all over her face. ¡°Get off the bed, you idiot!"


    Needless to say, this bedroom belonged to Storm Punisher. There was enough evidence to be collected here to keep the technical team¡¯s hands full for some time. The small room could hardly fit the lot of us so we headed to the other room to have a look.


    The Strongest Mantis Shrimp¡¯s room was a chaotic mess, distinctive of the owner¡¯s careless and unrestrained lifestyle. The bed was heaped with dirty clothes, ground littered with cigarette butts, and both sides of the headboard covered with dried phlegm stains. The suspect probablyid in bed and spat phlegm on the walls.


    Beside the bed were bottles brimming with a suspicious yellow liquid as if he had performed some mysterious ceremony, though the more realistic exnation was that our suspect was toozy to brave the cold at night, using these beverage bottles to relieve himself instead...


    There was aputer by the window, and a dusty keyboard next to discarded skewer sticks. In the trash can were a few dubious wads of tissue paper and two dirty posters on the walls, probably the two people he most admired as an explosives fanatic¨CNobel, the man who invented dynamites and the character Deidara from Naruto.


    "What a pig!¡± Bingxin snorted in disgust. ¡°How can a person live like this? There should be aw to arrest such slobs and educate them."


    "This room is revolting!¡± echoed Xiaotao. ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay here a second longer than I have to. Even if the suspect was standing in front of me right now, I would have to put on a pair of gloves before arresting him!"


    I couldn¡¯t help thinking, how did two people withpletely opposite personalities be housemates? Did they start living together because they were both streamers or did they stumble upon each other¡¯s online identities after living together?


    At this moment, there came a chewing sound from behind me. I turned around to see a nonchnt Dali grazing on a creampuff Bingxin had given him earlier.


    "Go somewhere else if you want to eat!" I yelled.


    "Put it away!" shouted Xiaotao.


    Our irritated shouts frightened Dali so the creampuff slipped from his hands and rolled under the bed. He immediately dropped down to the ground to pick it up, but a whileter, I noticed he still had his head down, buttocks pointed in the air. I couldn¡¯t resist the impulse to kick him and aimed my foot at his buttocks. "What are you doing? Practicing yoga?" I teased.


    "Shh, don¡¯t talk!¡± Dali hastily cautioned. ¡°There¡¯s something under the bed!"


    Upon hearing this, we dropped to our knees and looked under the bed, only to see an object connected to many wires. There was a square box wrapped in a ck stic bag and a disy modified from a digital watch, the values on the screen continuously changing.


    It was a bomb!


    "Let¡¯s get out of here first,¡± Xiaotao¡¯s expression turned ugly. ¡°I¡¯ll call the bomb squad for emergency support!"


    As she spoke, the numbers changed a few times again, from zero to twenty, and then back to zero. I understood immediately. "Don¡¯t talk, it¡¯s a vibration-sensitive bomb!"


    The mainponents of the bomb were just like any other ordinary bomb except the trigger was a vibration sensor that would detonate as long as the surrounding vibrations reached a certain value. The technology wasn¡¯t that advanced with a principle simr to the voice-activated lights wemonly used. The Strongest Mantis Shrimp was an expert in homemade bombs. When we entered the building, we found that the voice-activated light on the first floor was broken, the parts possibly having been removed by him.


    When I spoke, the value fluctuated a few times and then dropped back to zero.


    "Song Yang, keep your voice down so you don¡¯t trigger the bomb," Dali¡¯s voice drifted over in a low whisper.


    "Speaking normally shouldn¡¯t be a problem,¡± I said. ¡°Otherwise, we would have already been blown to smithereens."


    At this moment, I heard a click that scared the wits out of me. Cold sweat ran down my forehead when I heard a voice say, "Ladies and gentlemen, let¡¯s y a game!"


    The digitally-altered voice had just finished speaking but the delight in his tone couldn¡¯t be masked at all. "Hello, officers of thew,¡± heughed. ¡°I am The Strongest Mantis Shrimp whom you have been looking for. First of all, I have to say I¡¯m surprised you found this t and I like to give praise where it is due. You¡¯ve all done a good job!"


    I stood up and saw an MP3 yer on the table that had started while our attention was drawn elsewhere. The MP3 file must have been recorded in advance.


    "I wonder if you¡¯ve found the gift I¡¯ve left you under the bed,¡± the voice added. ¡°...Do you see it now? Well, don¡¯t be nervous. Let me give you a brief introduction. This bomb has two methods of detonation. The first way to trigger the bomb is to reach a vibration value of 100. But don¡¯t worry, you can talk and move around normally. If you try dismantling it, you will... Bang! Don¡¯t make the mistake of sitting on the bed either, or else you¡¯ll also go bang!"


    Among the four of us, Dali looked the palest because he had been sitting on the bed in the other room.


    The sound from the MP3 yer was loud enough that the other officers came running into the room to ask us what was wrong. We tried our best to signal them not to talk or move.


    The Strongest Mantis Shrimp continued, "The second way to detonate is by remote control. I¡¯ve ced some hidden cameras in the house to monitor your every move. If someone tries to enter or leave after hearing this recording, I will press the remote control and send you all to hell!"


    "What the hell do you want?!" Xiaotao demanded through gnashed teeth.


    However, the other voice was merely a recording and unable to answer her.


    "Don¡¯t look so glum, everyone,¡± continued the voice. ¡°Smile. From now on, you must do whatever I say. Your lives are all in my hands. My first instruction for you is to take off your uniforms in five minutes."


    My gaze flicked up to meet the others, and a veil of uncertainty swept across our faces.


    Xiaotao quietly turned on her radio but left it on her waist belt. "Calm down, everyone,¡± she said, intentionally raising her voice. ¡°The murderer ced a remote control bomb in this room and no one is allowed to enter or leave the room. We will do as he says for the time being and try to buy some more time."


    A burst of consternation swept away the joy of finding the murderer¡¯s home. As it turned out, this entire incident was a trap the murderer had specially nned for us.


    I looked around, my eyes attracted by a hole that had been dug in one of the book spines on the bookshelf. Ever since the MP3 started ying, a red light shed from within the hole, suggesting that a camera had probably been ced inside.


    Pointing to it, I announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, don¡¯t worry! We won¡¯t die for the time being because we are now being live-streamed!"

 Chapter 245

    <h4>Chapter 245</h4>


    Xiaotao rushed to remove the book, finding a pinhole camera concealed within the spine. She was about to destroy it but I immediately stopped her. "Don¡¯t remove the camera for the time being. If the live stream is interrupted, we may all be killed."


    "Are we to let this bastard do whatever he wants?" retorted Xiaotao.


    The Strongest Mantis Shrimp would most likely force us to do all sorts of things, and press the detonate button once he grew tired of ying.


    A live stream was no different from a street performance. To attract more audiences, you would first make a loudmotion so in that vein, he wouldn¡¯t put us in danger with overwhelming requests for the time being.


    "Xiaotao, is there any recording equipment on it?" I asked.


    "It doesn¡¯t look like it,¡± Xiaotao replied upon careful inspection. ¡°If only Lao Yao were here, he could provide some technical support."


    Her radio was on, so every word we said could be heard outside. Lao Yao would probably find out soon.


    "Did you notice the remote control car that was taken apart in the other bedroom?¡± I asked. ¡°This bomb was hastily put together and the materials were obtained from avable sources. The range of the remote control from the remote control car would be rather limited."


    "My son has the same toy,¡± said an officer. ¡°The information in the manual states that the range is only 50 meters."


    Xiaotao nodded. "That¡¯s to say, The Strongest Mantis Shrimp is hiding somewhere within 50 meters."


    Right then, The Strongest Mantis Shrimp¡¯s voice sounded from the MP3 yer once more. "You¡¯ve got a minute left!" he prompted.


    "Do we strip?" asked someone as we stared at each other, wavering.


    "Strip and buy ourselves some time," Xiaotao coolly waved a hand.


    One by one, the uniforms began to fall to the ground. The rest of us were casually dressed so we could keep our clothes on. A minuteter, The Strongest Mantis Shrimpughed, "Good job! What an obedient lot, as expected of trained police officers. For your next task, you have five minutes to take off your pants!"


    "Bastard!" cursed Xiaotao.


    Apart from Bingxin who wore a denim skirt, the rest of us were wearing pants. Our faces colored with embarrassment. "Think of our current actions as a strategy to save our lives and dy time,¡± I said. ¡°Don¡¯t stress yourselves over the matter. Remember, the most important thing is to stay alive!"


    Looking at the bottles of urine by the bed, I knew we had more challenging tasks ahead!


    "Take off your pants!¡± sighed Xiaotao. ¡°Whatever he forces us to do now will be returned to him twofold!"


    With the warmer weather of spring, we were all wearing a single pair of pants. Having exposed their furry legs, the officers flushed with awkwardness.


    I suggested using the wardrobe door to block Xiaotao¡¯s body from the camera. "What¡¯s the point?¡± her lips curled in a bitter smile. ¡°It¡¯s not like I can keep hiding."


    Unbuttoning her pants, Xiaotao let them slip to the floor. Although we were currently trapped in a critical situation, we couldn¡¯t help but draw a sharp breath as her slender calves, toned thighs and sexy pink panties were revealed. Two red blots colored her cheeks. I bit my lip in indignation but I could do nothing about it, only silently cursing eighteen generations of The Strongest Mantis Shrimp¡¯s family.


    To our utter surprise, Bingxin suddenly removed her skirt.


    "You don¡¯t have to take it off!" cried Dali.


    Under her denim skirt, Bingxin actually had on a pair of white stockings, exposing less of her body than the rest of us. "Xiaotao-jiejie, put this on!" she said, handing Xiaotao the skirt.


    Neither I nor Xiaotao expected Bingxin to make such a move. A hint of gratitude swept across Xiaotao¡¯s face but she still persisted, "No need, everyone is naked anyway."


    Bingxin¡¯s denim skirt suddenly gave me an idea. "We can wrap our jackets around your legs,¡± I suggested. ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll blow us up over such a small matter."


    Having agreed that it was a feasible idea, the officers soon followed suit, easing the awkward atmosphere in the room.


    Five minutes passed before The Strongest Mantis Shrimp interrupted the silence once more. "Haha, aren¡¯t our police obedient? Where is their usual prestige?" he mocked. ¡°Your next task is to work in pairs and p each other in the face. Everyone must receive 50 ps each. I¡¯ll give you 10 minutes. There are thousands of eyes watching you right now so even if one of you fails at the task, I will detonate the bomb!"


    His words aroused a round of curses in the room. With awkward hand signals, Dali endeavored to remind the officers to keep their voices down. I looked under the bed and noticed that the vibration value of our voices would reach 20 at most so it seemed like this was negligible.


    Right, then Xiaotao¡¯s radio sounded, a calm Wang Yuanchao speaking from the other end. "This is Wang Yuanchao. We¡¯re checking the neighborhood and the technical team is installing a signal shielding device. The Public Security forces are also on their way. Just hold on for another ten minutes!"


    "Roger!" replied Xiaotao.


    "Because we don¡¯t know the exact frequency of the initiator, we will be shielding against all frequencies!¡± added Wang Yuanchao. ¡°When the timees, your radios and cell phones will be disconnected. But before that happens, I will inform you. After you¡¯ve left the t, the Public Security forces will take over."


    Sighs of relief resounded around the room. "Let¡¯s start then,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°If any of you are dissatisfied with me, now¡¯s the time to act! Come on then, I promise not to take it out on you after."


    Had Sun Tiger uttered these words, perhaps a bunch of officers would be lining up to p him. But Xiaotao¡¯s care for her subordinates went without saying. No one could bear hitting such a kind, generous team leader.


    "Let¡¯s work in pairs,¡± I instructed. ¡°Don¡¯t p for real. Keep your actions gentle!"


    I started off by pping Dali. "Who asked you to put your smelly socks in my washbasin!" I scolded despite my actions being so light they couldn¡¯t even hurt a fly.


    Dali retaliated with a soft pat on my face. "Why didn¡¯t you allow me to copy your answers during our exam?!"


    "Excuse me, Xiaotao-jiejie," started Bingxin.


    With Bingxin and Xiaotao¡¯s participation, the other officers began to divide themselves into pairs and pped each other as well. The scene was filled with excitement at once.


    50 pster, everyone¡¯s faces were a little red but unswollen.


    "What an obedient group of dogs!¡± eximed The Strongest Mantis Shrimp. ¡°In fact, you¡¯re really dogs, aren¡¯t you? Dogs wearing police uniforms!"


    "That fucking piece of shit!" fumed Dali. ¡°What¡¯s with all the bullshit talk? Didn¡¯t we already do as he asked?!¡±


    The Strongest Mantis Shrimp proceeded onto the next task. "Do you see those bottles by my bed?¡± he asked. ¡°That¡¯s the holy water that I¡¯ve managed to preserve over some time. I¡¯d like you to each down an entire bottle. Your time limit is five minutes. No need to fight each other, there¡¯s enough for everyone!"


    At this point, Wang Yuanchao radioed Xiaotao, "We¡¯re going to block the signal so prepare to withdraw!" Then his voice turned into radio static.


    "Put on your pants and go!" ordered Xiaotao.


    As soon as we rushed out of the room, Public Security forces in bomb suits charged into the scene. The police had already evacuated a 20-meter radius and formed an imprable barrier.


    Wang Yuanchao was indeed a highly-effective officer who worked swiftly. The situation was under control in less than half an hour. I found Lao Yao sitting in a police mobilemand vehicle with Young Mater Wang¡¯sptop on his leg.


    ¡°The poprity of your embarrassing live stream soared to tens of thousands of viewers,¡± said Lao Yao. ¡°The screen was full of rewards. Looks like the streamer achieved the effect he was looking for!"


    The live stream continued on hisptop. In the video, two bomb squad officers were crouching on the ground, attempting to dismantle the bomb.


    "Are you here just to watch the live stream?" I mocked.


    "I was the one who brought the signal shielding device from my dormitory,¡± he retorted. ¡°If you had relied on the police, they would have made you wait two hours going through their long-winded procedures. Otherwise, you¡¯d be drinking that holy water right now!"


    "You can tamper with radios?" I asked, unable to hide the wonder in my tone.


    "It¡¯s something left over from my middle school days!" heughed smugly.


    The dismantling of the bombsted nearly three hours, the entire process filling our hearts with anxiety. During this period, the police had to dissuade the many residents who insisted on returning to their homes by passing around bottles of mineral water to pacify them.


    Three hourster, a bomb squad officer finally stuck a head through the window. Due to theck of radio andmunication devices, he could only rely on shouting. "Captain, the bomb is fake!"

 Chapter 246

    <h4>Chapter 246</h4>


    "Damn it, we were tricked!" cursed Xiaotao.


    When we returned to the room, the bomb squad had already removed their astronaut-like explosion-proof suits and stood before a disassembled bomb on the bed.


    The bomb experts reported that the wires and sensors were real but the explosives were fake. The contents weren¡¯t TNT, but a piece of tofu.


    Looking at that piece of tofu, we felt thoroughly insulted. At the time, in that tense atmosphere, none of us even wondered about the authenticity of the bomb.


    Upon leaving the t, Xiaotaomanded, "The technical team will stay here and continue collecting evidence while the others return to the station with me first."


    The officers were about to enter their police cars when Lao Yao suddenly sprinted towards us, a shout splitting through the air, "Stop! Don¡¯t get in the car!"


    The words had just left his lips when a deafening explosion ripped our ears. A bright burst of light filled my field of vision as a strong billow of hot air hit me in the chest like a fist rippling through my flesh. The force that knocked me to the ground seemed to tear my body apart.


    It took me a while to regain my senses and I felt Bingxin¡¯s body pressing on top of mine. My ears buzzed, the sounds around me an intelligible hum.


    Ten meters away from me zed a huge me, the outline of a car faintly visible within. The horrid smell of burning flesh permeated the air. I quickly confirmed that Xiaotao, Dali, Wang Yuanchao and Bingxin were all there.


    Nearby, Xiaotao crawled up from the ground, tears sliding down her face like wax down a hot candle. Judging from her lips, she seemed to be shouting, "Put out the fire!"


    It seemed to take me forever to recover. The force from the sudden car explosion knocked over almost everyone within a 30-meter radius. Officers immediately ran towards the burning car with fire extinguishers, using their clothes to douse the roaring mes that eventually took a full minute to dissipate.


    I walked over to examine the burnt car. Charred, bloody pieces of flesh were scattered all over the interior and a lonely ckened badgeid on the floor.


    "Who is it?" I asked.


    "Officer Liu!" wailed Xiaotao.


    It was the old officer who had identified the I-beam at ourst case discussion. It was hard to imagine that not too long ago, he was still alive and chatting with us, yet in the blink of an eye, he had died for our country. The deep impact of this sad realization was simply indescribable.


    Lao Yao exined that the live stream suddenly cut to the police car, alerting him to the suspicious situation, prompting him to stop us from getting into the car. However, he was still a step toote.


    It turned out that The Strongest Mantis Shrimp had installed an ignition bomb in that car alone. The bomb squad went through every other car but came up with nothing which led me to believe that The Strongest Mantis Shrimp must have randomly chosen a car to ce the bomb in because he wasn¡¯t aware of which car belonged to whom.


    My guess was that he snuck the bomb in when we were trapped in the room before support had arrived. He counted on the fact that we would be less vignt after discovering a fake bomb and thought the rm was lifted. Who would¡¯ve thought he had hatched such a treacherous n?!


    Lao Yao called us to watch the live stream that was filled with positivements and rewards. On the screen was the burnt police car that had just been extinguished.


    "Buddies, what do you think of today¡¯s live stream? Isn¡¯t it exciting?!¡± The Strongest Mantis Shrimp gushed excitedly. ¡°Keep the rewardsing! If I reach a million, I will blow up another officer. Rest assured, I always keep my word!"


    "This is a clear provocation to the police!"


    Huang Xiaotao burst out in foulnguage and mmed herptop with a fist.


    "Don¡¯t be impulsive,¡± I urged, holding her arm down. ¡°He doesn¡¯t know we are watching the live stream. This is our trump card! It will help us prevent him frommitting the next crime!"


    "Xiaotao-jiejie, don¡¯t beat yourself up over this,¡±forted Bingxin. ¡°At least Uncle Liu passed away painlessly."


    "When we catch this man, I¡¯m going to spend some alone time with him,¡± Xiaotao vowed through gritted teeth. ¡°And no one is allowed to stop me."


    The debris and impact of the explosion had injured many residents and officers. Soon, several ambnces arrived. When cleaning up the scene, an officer discovered a metal box in the car which was immediately reported to Xiaotao.


    It was a twisted aluminum lunch box that had been blown out of shape. The surface waspletely charred by the mes. Wang Yuanchao broke it apart with little effort, revealing the contents¨Ca photograph.


    The photo depicted a time bomb ced under the table, next to a window through which the streets were visible. A sentence was written behind the photo: You have 10 hours! Good luck!


    "So he¡¯s asking us to find the time bomb that he nted somewhere?" asked Xiaotao.


    "That crazy motherfucker!" condemned Dali.


    The photo was passed around until it reached my hands. I carefully captured every detail of the photo using Cave Vision. "There¡¯s a floor-to-ceiling window, a fixed table with a brown stain on the tablecloth. It might be a cafe. From the shadow of the streetmp, the picture was taken at around 7 o¡¯clock in the morning or 5 o¡¯clock in the afternoon. The former is more likely, so this street goes north to south."


    I stared at a small figure at the end of the street and added, "There¡¯s a student in uniform who looks like he might be in middle school."


    "It¡¯s not a main road,¡± Wang Yuanchao concluded. ¡°7 in the morning is right during rush hour but there¡¯s almost no traffic on this street."


    Xiaotao took a moment to examine the photo. "There is a London ne tree on the street and a hardware store opposite. I also see arge ball of light in the reflection of the ss. Is it lighting equipment?"


    "It¡¯s a crystal chandelier inside a cafe," I replied.


    Xiaotao left a few officers to continue investigating the area while everyone else searched for the location of the bomb ording to the clues we determined from the photo. Lao Yao and Dali would return to the station to watch the live stream since The Strongest Mantis Shrimp was likely to reveal some information there.


    "I¡¯d bettere with you,¡± said Dali. ¡°It¡¯s a challenge staying in the same room as Lao Yao."


    "Up to you!" replied Xiaotao.


    If this crime had beenmitted ten years ago, the police might not have the resources to locate the bomb. However, we were in the age where the current police technology was approaching its peak. It was easy to locate anything anywhere within the city. At 1 pm, a phone call came through reporting the discovery of the bomb.


    Without further dy, we headed to the scene. It was a cafe that wasn¡¯t faring too well with few customers on ordinary days. Upon hearing there was a bomb in his shop, the owner was almost frightened to tears.


    The bomb squad wasted no time in dismantling the time bomb under the table. To be on the safe side, several armored personnel carriers surrounded the store. In case of a bomb, it could withstand the impact of the debris.


    "Being a bomb expert is really dangerous but also exciting," remarked Dali.


    "Aren¡¯t you in applied electronics?¡± asked Xiaotao. ¡°You can apply for this profession in the future."


    "I certainly can¡¯t!¡± Dali shook his hand vehemently. ¡°I¡¯m much too careless for this job..."


    During this time, I was on a call with Lao Yao. I asked him how the live stream was going, to which he replied, "There are many people berating the streamer, saying that his n to kill the police has failed again, and have stopped watching the live stream."


    "These assholes!" I cursed.


    Now that The Strongest Mantis Shrimp had openly dered war on the police, he must have installed more than one bomb. Sure enough, the police found a second aluminum lunch box in the cafe also containing a photo. This time the time limit was only five hours.


    However, the information was minimal, that is, a bare wall with a time bomb on the ground.


    "This time, our task is even more difficult,¡± sighed Xiaotao. ¡°Song Yang, do you have any ideas?"


    I stared at the photo for a long time and reluctantly shook my head. I wasn¡¯t a miracle worker who could determine the location based on a photo of a bare wall alone.


    From the other end of the line came Lao Yao¡¯s solemn voice, "This bastard said in the live stream that he¡¯s going to kill a bunch of policemen if the rewards reach 200,000 before midnight."


    Hearing this, it suddenly dawned upon Xiaotao. "That bastard nted a bomb in the public security bureau!"

 Chapter 247

    <h4>Chapter 247</h4>


    As we hurried back to the station, Xiaotao instructed the officers tob through the ce and notify the other jurisdictions.


    We had dinner at the station when the officers sent to investigate came back to report their findings, shedding light on The Strongest Mantis Shrimp¡¯s identity. His real name was Li Derong, a pork vendor in the wet market, though everyone called him Pork Rong. His explosive personality often led to him quarreling, even fighting with his customers over a few yuan. An avid fan of American movies, especially action ones, he could never pull his eyes away from a good explosion scene.


    One of the vegetable vendors reported that Pork Rong had previously sold detonators and bombs in the northeast. It wasn¡¯t an illegal or shady business since he mainly dealt with st fishers and often had his head buried in studying these things.


    Butst year, he suddenly quit. Naturally, with his sort of character, there was no way he could keep a secret. Neighbors and residents all knew that he had be a streamer on Kuaishou, fiddling with various bombs live. Once, he identally injured a passerby in his live stream so Kuaishou had to let him go. What he didter on remained a mystery to them.


    We searched for Pork Rong on the inte and found many of his live streams but they were nothingpared to the content on his videos on the In-depth Live Stream.


    After an emergency meeting, the officers looking for the bomb returned to inform Xiaotao of their failure to find any bombs despite searching in and out of the bureau.


    "Aside from the public security bureau, what other police are there?" asked Xiaotao.


    "The civil police, traffic police, auxiliary police and the SWAT team," Bingxin counted with her fingers.


    "That¡¯s too wide a range,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°We won¡¯t be able to find it even if we were given all night."


    "Those ces are all very difficult for him to enter,¡± I said upon reflection. ¡°The bomb must have been ced in a location where there are police that¡¯s also easily essible!"


    "A while ago when I was training the new cadets at the police academy, I thought their administration was a littlex,¡± Wang Yuanchao started. ¡°The boys would often sneak out to an inte cafe at night. Whenever I patrolled at night, I would catch at least a dozen of them sneaking out."


    Xiaotao mmed the table. "You¡¯re right! Let¡¯s head there now!"


    Bingxin was about to join the excitement when Xiaotao poured a bucket of cold water on her ns. "No going to the crime scene at night!" she reminded.


    "Ugh, why are you using that to restrain me again?!¡± protested Bingxin. ¡°But this is clearly a special case!"


    "It¡¯s still a no,¡± emphasized Xiaotao.


    "Then I¡¯m going to watch the live stream with Song Yang¡¯s gay buddy!" she angrily dered.


    A group of us arrived at the police academy, but it was still rather unrealistic to search through every nook and cranny of such arge school with our numbers. Wang Yuanchao found the dean and informed him we needed to broadcast an emergency message to the cadets through the PA system.


    When we came to the studio, Wang Yuanchao immediately picked up the microphone, cleared his throat and announced, "Emergency! This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill! I am Instructor Wang Yuanchao. We suspect that a criminal has nted explosives in your dormitories. All students are ordered to immediately drop all activities and search your dormitories and ssrooms. Each ss is required to send a representative to the field to report the situation."


    Wang Yuanchao¡¯s announcement was informative and precise despite his usualck of words. Clearly, he wasn¡¯t at all vague when he had something to say.


    A little whileter, a group of bright-eyed and bushy-tailed cadets gathered at the field. At the mention of a bomb, these young eager beavers puffed out their chests and expressed their willingness to track down the criminal with us. But to their utter disappointment, Wang Yuanchao refused with a straight face.


    Although they went through all the ssrooms and dormitories, the search yielded no results. No one noticed any suspicious movement in the school either.


    ¡°Another dead end," cried Xiaotao, her face like a wet weekend.


    It was already past 11 and Lao Yao couldn¡¯t find any clues either. At the moment, The Strongest Mantis Shrimp had yet to begin live streaming, and a countdown slowly ticked away on the screen. Arge audience was waiting for the pandemonium to start.


    "We¡¯ve neglected one thing!" I shouted.


    "What?" asked Xiaotao.


    "At 12 midnight, no matter the traffic police, the civil police, the auxiliary police or even the bureau officers are off duty,¡± I remarked. ¡°How can he be absolutely sure of killing an officer? Unless, he¡¯s found a location where he can bepletely certain there are policemen who won¡¯t be evacuated!"


    Xiaotao stared at me in wide-eyed shock as the same thought immediately crossed our minds.


    "The hospital!¡± we both shouted simultaneously.


    The injured policemen from the morning were now lying in a hospital ward which was easier to gain ess to than the public security bureau. Our suspect could simply slip into the ward wearing a white coat and a face mask and avoid the officers¡¯ scrutiny.


    "We might not make it!¡± Xiaotao swept a panicked nce at her watch. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry to the hospital!"


    We jumped into the car, frantically running all the red lights along all the way. Five minutes before midnight, we arrived at the hospital when Lao Yao called, "Fuck, the live stream has just started. The video shows a hospital!"


    "We¡¯ve arrived here as well," I replied.


    Right now, it was already toote to dismantle the bomb. Under Xiaotao¡¯s orders, we asked the nurses to help transfer the injured officers and the other patients in the same ward.


    Time seemed to speed up as the seconds ticked away. With bated breath, Dali and I supported an injured officer out the door, too nervous to speak.


    When the wounded were transferred to a safe ce, I looked at my cell phone that showed a minute left before midnight. Almost everyone was here.


    "Look around. Is there anyone missing?" asked Xiaotao.


    Except for the officers wrapped in bandages, everyone else was easily recognizable and was soon ounted for. However, a man suddenly shouted, "Xiao Zheng, Xiao Li and Lao Ma in Ward 403 aren¡¯t here!"


    The two officers who had escorted them were also missing, perhaps still stuck in Ward 403.


    The man¡¯s words seemed to flip a switch in Xiaotao, prompting her to turn and run in that direction at breakneck speed. Wang Yuanchao and I gave each other a knowing look and ran after her. Panting, I couldn¡¯t keep my eyes from my cell phone. But just 20 seconds away from midnight, a resounding boom filled the hospital. The explosion shook the entire building, sending shockwaves that swept along the corridor in our direction. Without the slightest hesitation, Wang Yuanchao blocked us from the impact with his own body, the rubble from the st hitting his back like a hailstorm, marked by the dull thud of hard matter against flesh.


    Xiaotao¡¯s eyes were red with madness, desperately trying to w her way out of Yuanchao¡¯s arms and into the heart of the st. When the dust finally settled a little, Wang Yuanchao released her.


    Before we had even reached Ward 403, we could already spot the debris and human remains on the ground. The mes roared and filled the room with thick, pungent smoke. Xiaotao pounded the wall and cursed, "That fucking bastard!"


    In the face of this mind-boggling situation, my head drew a nk and words offort seemed to escape me. Lao Yao¡¯s voice came from the Bluetooth headset in my ear, "Song Yang, the bomb was detonated 20 seconds earlier."


    I had originally assumed that the time on my cell phone was inurate. But now it seemed that The Strongest Mantis Shrimp had detonated the bomb ahead of time. Through the picture before, the bomb squad had analyzed that it was undoubtedly a time bomb. Had a remote detonator also been fixed on it?


    I stepped into the room and sniffed hard, inhaling the smoke into my lungs. It was the smell of nitroglycerin.


    Not only was nitroglycerin a well-known explosive, but it was also a cardiovascr medicine which could be found in the hospital¡¯s pharmacy. The Strongest Mantis Shrimp must have stolen it from the hospital to create the bomb.


    The smell of this substance was almost choking so I quickly walked out of the room and was greeted by an anxious Dali who came running breathlessly. "Thank God you¡¯re all right!" he eximed.


    "Dali, get me some acupuncture needles,¡± I said.


    "What for?"


    "I won¡¯t be led by the nose by this bastard any longer,¡± I said, seething in white-hot anger. ¡°I¡¯m going to use the Heavenly Dog Tracking Technique to locate this guy!"

 Chapter 248

    <h4>Chapter 248</h4>


    The Strongest Mantis Shrimp was most likely nearby to have been able to observe the situation in the ward for fear that the wounded would be transferred and his explosion would not achieve the expected effect. That exined why he hit the detonator and exploded the bomb ahead of time.


    Since there was such a heavy scent of nitroglycerin in the air, I decided to use the Heavenly Dog Tracking Technique!


    I walked to the further end of the corridor to take a few deep breaths of fresh air. A few minutester, Dali came back with the acupuncture needles. As this was the first time he witnessed my use of the technique, his mouth fell agape as he watched me prick my neck with the needles, rooted to the spot with shock.


    When thest needle entered the acupuncture point, it felt as if I had taken a fist to the nose, the smell of nitroglycerin in the air thick to the extent I felt that I had been submerged in a vat of the substance.


    Due to constraints, I didn¡¯t use the medicine I concocted from bee venom so I wasn¡¯t crawling on the ground like a dog. Of course, the miraculous effect of the technique was greatly reduced, but it was just enough for the task at hand.


    Led by my nose, I followed the direction of the scent while Xiaotao, still immersed in the loss of herrades, unlocked her gun bolt and followed closely behind, her grief rendering her speechless.


    Although there were all sorts of odors in the air, the strong smell of nitroglycerin was like an unbroken line that led me downstairs to thepound below. When I turned around, I noticed Ward 403 was in my direct line of sight.


    "He¡¯s nearby!" I blurted.


    The smell led us to the underground parking lot of the nearby shopping mall where a sudden dazzling light almost blinded our eyes. A van sped towards us. Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, Xiaotao raised her gun and pointed it at the van, shouting, "Stop! Police!"


    The van charged at us at full speed, but the re made it impossible for us to see the driver. Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao fired several shots at the front of the van, yet the van continued its course, about to crash into us. "Get out of the way!" I shouted.


    We leapt aside, tumbling on the ground. The van crashed into the wall next to the exit of the parking lot, issuing a reverberating bang. Sounds of gunfire triggered all the car rms and a few more shots originated from behind my ears.


    Looking up, I saw Wang Yuanchao shooting in a direction and a shadow beating a hasty retreat under the cover of the row of cars. It wasn¡¯t until I turned around that I realized there was no one in the van. The bastard took advantage of the chaos to jump out of the vehicle at the moment of the crash.


    Seeing that the bullet missed, Wang Yuanchao exploded forth like a leopard. I was about to chase after the suspect but Xiaotao interrupted, "We¡¯ll go around and surround him!"


    The three of us returned to the ground. There were only two ways out of the parking lot¨Cthe exit of the parking lot and an entrance to the mall. Xiaotao fired a shot at the mall¡¯s ss doors, smashed the lock and with a lift of her foot, nimbly kicked the door open.


    "The bastard is still live streaming!¡± shouted Lao Yao from the other end of the line. ¡°He¡¯s ced the camera on his hat so the audience can see him running frantically. The live stream is reaching the climax! I¡¯ll put you on speaker."


    The loud hubbub of the live stream came from my cell phone. This time, The Strongest Mantis Shrimp wasn¡¯t using a voice alteration software. His real voice was clear and unmistakable, "Buddies, I¡¯m being chased by the police now. Isn¡¯t it exciting? Don¡¯t forget to hit the rewards button. After tonight, all you¡¯re going to see in my live stream are the four walls of my prison cell!"


    Several more gunshots rang out, prompting The Strongest Mantis Shrimp to curse, "Motherfucker! This guy is crazy! But I¡¯m hiding now so he won¡¯t be able to find me! A round of apuse, mates!"


    When I asked Lao Yao where the suspect was, Lao Yao reported that he was hiding in the storeroom behind the cosmetics counter on the first floor, which I immediatelymunicated to Xiaotao. We ran hell for leather in that direction, not forgetting to inform Wang Yuanchao.


    As we approached the storeroom, The Strongest Mantis Shrimp dered, "Buddies, it seems I have exhausted my good fortune. But it doesn¡¯t matter¡ªI still have a bomb strapped on me so even if I die, I¡¯ll take a few officers with me!"


    I was caught off guard but soon regained my senses and immediately warned Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao against advancing any closer. At the same time, I instructed Lao Yao to turn off the hands-free.


    The situation was at a standstill with the four of us fanned out around the cosmetics counter. There was a small door behind the counter where the bastard was hiding. "Can you shoot him through the door?" whispered Dali.


    "I don¡¯t have many bullets left,¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°If we don¡¯t kill, we¡¯ll be in trouble."


    Wang Yuanchao spoke into the radio, gesturing to Xiaotao that reinforcements would arrive soon.


    "I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to catch him alive,¡± I said. ¡°We could attempt to lure him out and give Yuanchao a chance to shoot him in the head!"


    "I had the same idea!¡± nodded Xiaotao. ¡°Song Yang, you negotiate with him!"


    Without a negotiator on the scene, I could only wade through uncharted waters with gritted teeth. I cleared my throat and yelled, "Pork Rong, this is the police. We have you surrounded so I advise you not to do anything foolish. Come out of the room and surrender."


    "I¡¯m a true man who¡¯s unfazed by anything!¡± Pork Rong burst out in sardonicughter. ¡°I¡¯ve never been afraid in my life! If you¡¯re thinking of getting me to surrender, you can wait till the next life!"


    "You have only two choices ahead of you,¡± I calmly stated. ¡°Come out and surrender, or die in that room!¡±


    The door inched open and a hand holding a dead man¡¯s switch reached out, evoking a sharp intake of breath all around. It was the kind of detonator that only went off when released, often seen in movies.


    I had tomend him for such a crafty move.


    He slowly stepped out from behind the door, the improvised explosive vest on his body packed with explosives and wires. There was a wire connected to the detonator, indicating that a signal jammer would do nothing to stop him.


    Pork Rong was a tall, muscr fellow, his body covered with tattoos, his firm jaw speckled with a stubble. His features were typical of a rough Northeastern man¡ªthe baseball cap on his head fixed with a tiny camera was aimed at his own face.


    "Officer, I advise you to recognize the gravity of the situation,¡± gloated Pork Rong. ¡°I have 30 kilograms of TNT on me. As soon as my hand is released, the building will explode with a bang. No one¡¯s getting away!"


    When the reinforcements arrived, Xiaotao shouted, "Everybody, stay where you are. Don¡¯t shoot! He has a bomb!"


    "That¡¯s right!" Pork Rong grinned like a Cheshire cat.


    Dali¡¯s eyes were red and misty with teardrops that threatened to slide down his cheeks, a woebegone whisper sounded in my ear. "Dude, it¡¯s an honor to be able to die by your side. Let¡¯s be best buddies again in our next life."


    I flitted a white-hot side-eye. "Don¡¯t be stupid!" I retorted.


    Detonator in hand, Pork Rong sauntered towards us, forcing us to retreat, except for the grim-faced Wang Yuanchao. Noticing the only gun still pointed at him, Pork Rong red at Wang Yuanchao. "Fuck, why aren¡¯t you retreating?¡± he cursed. ¡°You were the one who shot me earlier, right? If you don¡¯t step back, I¡¯ll blow you to bits!"


    Wang Yuanchao fixed a ferocious gaze on him, the two engaging in a ring contest. "Don¡¯t be crazy! You only have one chance!" I yelled.


    "It¡¯s great if I kill even one of you and two just makes my day!¡± mocked Pork Rong. ¡°With so many officers apanying me to the underworld, I¡¯ve definitely seeded!"


    "Go onforting yourself with that bullshit then,¡± I sneered. ¡°Even if you take 10,000 people with you, you¡¯ll still end up dead. Is there anything more valuable than your own life?!"


    Pork Rong grimaced, the hand on the detonator stretching out in front of me. "You¡¯re the one who pushed me into a corner!¡± cried Pork Rong. ¡°Either we die together, or you retreat. There¡¯s no third option!"


    His hand was only a few centimeters away from me. If only I could grab the detonator, this crisis would be resolved.


    But if I fail, everyone dies!


    At the thought of the lives that were in my hands, my palm turned slick with cold sweat!

 Chapter 249

    <h4>Chapter 249</h4>


    Xiaotao seemed to see through my mind and shook her head at me almost imperceptibly. I gritted my teeth, giving up this dangerous idea for a practical reason¨CI couldn¡¯t beat Pork Rong.


    Seeing how agitated Pork Rong was at the moment, I attempted to take the edge off the situation. "Aren¡¯t you hungry after such a long night?¡± I asked. ¡°Why don¡¯t we get you something to eat?"


    "Do you think I¡¯m stupid?¡± sneered Pork Rong. ¡°I know you¡¯ll add some special ingredients to my food."


    "I¡¯m not that stupid,¡± I retorted. ¡°Our lives are in your hands. If you lose consciousness, the bomb will explode. If you don¡¯t trust me, we can do a drug test."


    "Fine then, I really am hungry,¡± acquiesced Pork Rong. ¡°Go and get me something to eat."


    Xiaotao red at me, the rage in her eyes a clear indication that she couldn¡¯t wait to tear the man apart with her own hands. "Xiaotao, get him something to eat and drink," I said.


    "And a pack of Chunghwa cigarettes!" added Pork Rong.


    Xiaotao furrowed her brow, disgruntled despite being fully aware that this was a n to buy us some time. However, she wasted no time in instructing her subordinates to order takeout.


    A whileter, the food was finally delivered by a wide-eyed delivery boy, stunned by the scene. The officers warned him not to let the cat out of the bag after he left.


    A sumptuous supper wasid across the floor before an arrogant Pork Rong. He adjusted the camera on his cap to face his dinner and boasted, "Buddies, do you see this? The police are waiting on me like my personal ves. This is probably your only opportunity to watch such a thrilling live stream! Tell me, aren¡¯t I amazing?"


    ¡°You¡¯re still streaming huh," I said in consternation.


    With the detonator in his right hand, Pork Rong, barely able to hold the chopsticks in his left hand, nonchntly scooped up a palmful of rice with his bare hand and stuffed it into his mouth. "Exactly!¡± eximed Pork Rong. ¡°Where can you find a dedicated streamer like me? Those people on the Inte are losers ying in the little league. But look at what an honest person I am! I said I would kill some officers and I did. Then I promised to blow myself up, and here I am. Bro, you¡¯re a handsomed, though not as good-looking as me. Would you like to make an appearance on my live stream?"


    "No, no! You continue!" I hastily waved my hands.


    After his meal, he nimbly unwrapped the packet of cigarettes with his unupied hand. I leaned in to pull out a cigarette and lit it for him. "Yes, it will definitely happen,¡± he gloated. ¡°Since you¡¯re not an officer, you might as well join me on the live stream."


    At the moment, Pork Rong was convinced he had the upper hand, thus rxing his defenses. I thought this was a great opportunity to obtain more information from the horse¡¯s mouth.


    "By the way, what website are you streaming on?¡± I asked. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t we find it?"


    "In-depth Live Stream!¡± smirked Pork Rong. ¡°You certainly can¡¯t watch the live stream because this website isn¡¯t essible to ordinary people."


    "Then how did you start working for them?"


    "The website came to me,¡± he exined. ¡°They said they liked my ability and wanted me to be a live streamer, so I agreed."


    "Did you earn a lot?" I deliberately gushed.


    "No, not at all!¡± he shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t earn as much as my friend, butpared to streamers from other websites, it¡¯s a world of difference. The streamers on this website don¡¯t want to leave once they¡¯ve signed because the pay is just too good."


    "Really?¡± I feigned astonishment. ¡°Who¡¯s behind the website?"


    "I know right! The boss behind the scenes is fucking awesome!¡± heughed. ¡°He has people on both sides of thew. I¡¯ll be straight with you, the police can¡¯t do shit to us. Even if you catch me, they have their ways of getting me out, so my advice is... "


    At this point, Pork Rong suddenly grabbed his cell phone and cried, "Hey, why was I cut off!"


    Lao Yao¡¯s voice came from the Bluetooth headset in my ears, "The live stream was interrupted."


    The website obviously didn¡¯t want a big mouth like Pork Rong shooting off his mouth about the big boss behind the scenes so they shut down his live stream.


    The change in the situation fuelled a burst of anger from Pork Rong who immediately stood up and kicked the unfinished takeout on the floor. "It¡¯s all your fault for asking so many questions!¡± used Pork Rong. ¡°Look what you¡¯ve done!"


    "You¡¯re going to die, yet you still care about the live stream?" I said, not bothering to hide the coolness in my tone.


    Pork Rong forcefully patted his chest and my heart skipped a beat, afraid that he might identally set off an explosion. "Live streaming is more important than my life,¡± remarked Pork Rong. ¡°A man must leave his mark on the world. I don¡¯t care if I die, but I want to be the peak that will never be surpassed in the live stream world!"


    "Now that my dream has been ruined,¡± he started. ¡°You shall all be buried with me."


    And with that, his right hand slightly loosened its grip on the detonator. Heart in mouth, and cold sweat pouring down her forehead, Huang Xiaotao suddenly eximed, "I have an idea!"


    "Speak!" demanded Pork Rong.


    "Aren¡¯t you doing this just to be famous?¡± asked Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll get the reporters now for a city-wide... no, a province-wide live stream. The whole country, even the world will know your name! When the timees, you¡¯ll be more famous than bin Laden."


    Pork Rong beamed with joy. "Looks like you understand what I want, little girl,¡± he chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll give you half an hour to gather the reporters!"


    "Half an hour isn¡¯t enough,¡± argued Xiaotao. ¡°It¡¯ll take us at least two hours to get reporters from the province!"


    "Well hurry up then!" growled Pork Rong.


    This was the first time I had evere across a person so desperate for fame, almost to the point of insanity. But then again,pared to the strange criminals I had caught, the fame-hungry Pork Rong seemed almost normal.


    Xiaotao immediately dispatched several officers but I wasn¡¯t sure what her exact orders were or if she had really instructed them to call the reporters. After all, this was just another tactic to buy us more time. What we had to do was fight a protracted war, wearing him down physically and mentally to the point where subduing him was a confirmed oue.


    The situation had been deadlocked for more than an hour. Pork Rong had eaten his fill, and after a long day¡¯s ordeal, he was already rather exhausted. He chain-smoked, attempting to jolt his mind out of sleepiness with endless hits of nicotine. During the waiting period, I had to unzip his pants so he could relieve himself.


    I observed that Pork Rong only ever asked for me, never the others, if he needed anything. Perhaps I looked the most harmless among a squad of armed and trained officers, and my previous actions had gained his trust.


    After another hour passed, Pork Rong sat on the ground, impatient as he demanded, "Where are the reporters?"


    Xiaotao pretended to phone her subordinate. "They¡¯re on the way,¡± she assured. ¡°They¡¯ll be here soon."


    Another huge yawn prompted Pork Rong to get his blood pumping. Face devoid of any embarrassment, he whipped out his penis and started masturbating before us. "Could you pay attention to your surroundings? There¡¯s ady present!" I chided.


    Pork Rong grinned, "I¡¯lle once and freshen up myself!"


    "Won¡¯t you be more sleepy after this?" Iughed.


    "I¡¯m different!¡± Pork Rong shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m more energetic when I¡¯m finished!"


    I could hardly believe we were standing around a criminal and watching him pleasure himself.


    "I¡¯ll leave the room first," said an awkward Xiaotao.


    "You¡¯re not allowed to go!¡± cried Pork Rong. ¡°Who am I supposed to look at when you go? This bunch of men? I¡¯m not gay!"


    I could almost hear Xiaotao¡¯s teeth rattling with fury. At this moment, Wang Yuanchao winked at me, motioning for me to leave the room so we could have a brief conversation. Just as I was about to walk away, Pork Rong shouted, "Where are you going?"


    "I¡¯m going to the restroom!" I yelled back.


    "Well don¡¯t take your sweet time! Who¡¯s going to light my cigarette if you¡¯re not around?"


    I thought to myself, Go on, throw your weight around! When we finally arrest you, a group of policemen will have their turn with you!


    I went outside and saw Wang Yuanchao already waiting for me there. "The murderer fully trusts you now,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re the only one who can approach him. I¡¯ll teach you a simple move to grapple him. Find an opportunity to take the detonator from him."


    "It would be great if I could subdue him but he¡¯s much stronger than I am!¡± Imented.


    "Grappling has nothing to do with strength,¡± exined Wang Yuanchao. ¡°It only requires a moment of explosive force. Let me show you first."


    Wang Yuanchao then instructed me to pose like Pork Rong. He was just about to demonstrate the moves when a Tang Sword was suddenly held to his neck.


    "Stop!" a frosty voicemanded.


    I turned around and a cold face entered my line of sight.

 Chapter 250

    At the cool touch of the de on his neck, Wang Yuanchao twisted his neck and bent over,nding a solid punch in Song Xingchen¡¯s abdomen.


    Song Xingchen didn¡¯t expect Wang Yuanchao to strike back, but his reaction time remained unparalleled, deftly shoving Wang Yuanchao and simultaneously stepping back. Their limbs entangled with each other in a fierce fight, dazzling my eyes with the afterimage of their rapid fists.


    Suddenly there was a glint of cold light that expeditiously travelled towards Wang Yuanchao¡¯s neck. They remained still in their positions, just like two Japanese samurai in a duel.


    I was worried that he might kill Wang Yuanchao, but a closer look revealed that a mere piece of cloth had been cut off from the neckline of Wang Yuanchao¡¯s shirt. Song Xingchen sliced his sword through the air and ced it back into the scabbard, his moves every bit as handsome as his appearance. It seemed they were engaged in a contest of skill.


    "Yuanchao, stop fighting,¡± I urged. ¡°He¡¯s my secret guard."


    Wang Yuanchao swept an inquiring gaze over Song Xingchen, looking him up and down, unable to conceal the hostility in his eyes.


    "I don¡¯t care how you n to arrest the criminal but you can¡¯t put yourself in danger!" said Song Xingchen.


    "But we have no way to catch Pork Rong!" I protested.


    "Who said you don¡¯t have any other ways?¡± Song Xingchen retorted. ¡°You can choose to retreat!"


    All of Song Xingchen¡¯s actions took my safety as the primary goal. Whether we could catch the criminal or not was of secondary importance. "You were sent by the Song family to protect me,¡± I said. ¡°But you have no right to interfere in my personal freedom. If I¡¯m willing to take on the risk, then what I say goes."


    Song Xingchen shook his head. "If you insist on doing this, I will sever your hand so you won¡¯t have the chance to put your life in unnecessary danger!"


    His eyes were as cold as ice when he uttered these words, leaving me without a sliver of a doubt that he would put it into practice.


    "Who the hell do you think you are?¡± Wang Yuanchao fumed. ¡°How dare you behave like this before the police!"


    "Not everyone follows your rules," Song Xingchen sneered and turned to me, "From now on, I¡¯ll be watching your every action. If you dare do something stupid, I¡¯ll be sure to give the criminal a heads up so your n fails before you can even start."


    "You¡¯re fucking crazy!" I yelled.


    Song Xingchen pointed the hilt of his sword at my chest, his tone solemn as he said, "Young Master, remember that your life is the most valuable thing to the Song family so you must live well!"


    With that, he leapt and disappeared into a tree. His behavior left me at a loss for words.


    For a long time, Wang Yuanchao stared in the direction Song Xingchen disappeared as if he were contemting something. "We¡¯ll cancel the n and continue to wear him down. When his body finally gives way, I¡¯ll go up and grab the detonator."


    "You must be careful!" I said uneasily.


    Suddenly, Xiaotao radioed us to report a change in the situation and urged us to return at once.


    We rushed back to the shopping mall, only to see an angry Pork Rong on the phone, his voice harsh and hostile as if he were in the middle of a heated argument.


    When I asked Xiaotao what had happened, she replied, "The other suspect called."


    As soon as the words left her lips, Pork Rong turned and shouted, "My buddy has something to say to you!" Then, he ced his cell phone on the counter and put it on speaker, from which a digitally altered voice sounded.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, I am Storm Punisher. First of all, I¡¯d like to apologize for my partner. He acted without authorization,..."


    "Don¡¯t you fucking act all high and mighty in front of others!¡± cursed Pork Rong. ¡°Stop trying to destroy my dreams. Can¡¯t you see how well I¡¯ve done?"


    "Shut up, you piece of shit!" Storm Punisher retaliated.


    Then, he added, "It¡¯s no good for both of us to continue this deadlock. After some thought, I¡¯ve found the perfect solution to our problem, and that is to exchange hostages. Right now, I have four hostages in my hands. Release my partner and I will tell you where I¡¯ve imprisoned them!"


    "You can lose the smart act!¡± shot Xiaotao. ¡°The police will not negotiate with you."


    "This isn¡¯t a negotiation, it¡¯s a deal,¡± said Storm Punisher. ¡°Even if my partner is arrested or dies with you, it bears no effect on me. You¡¯ve been investigating me for so long, but have you managed to stop me once? If you don¡¯t ept my conditions, I¡¯ll get him to blow himself up and then I¡¯ll torture the four hostages to death by the cruelest means!"


    Pork Rong raised the detonator and echoed, "Take a good look! This is me getting serious!"


    Our anger rose like an impossible build-up of steam that threatened to spill forth, but we gritted our teeth and swallowed the indignation in silence. Xiaotao cast a probing look at me, to which I nodded. "Promise him then!"


    "But if Pork Rong escapes, he will continue to kill more innocent people," argued Xiaotao.


    "At present, this is the only choice we have,¡± I sighed. ¡°We¡¯ll find some other way to catch them again.¡±


    While Xiaotao still hesitated, I assured, "I¡¯ll make the decision and take responsibility for it. You don¡¯t have to worry!"


    "I¡¯m not afraid of taking responsibility,¡± exined Xiaotao. ¡°I can¡¯t help but wonder. Did those officers sacrifice their lives for nothing?"


    This was a question I couldn¡¯t answer either, but I knew that if the four hostages were killed due to our refusal to yield, there would only be insurmountable guilt in my heart once I saw their bodies afterwards.


    "Have you decided?" asked Pork Rong.


    "Fine, we agree to exchange your partner for the hostages,¡± confirmed Xiaotao. ¡°But first, you have to tell us where the hostages are hidden!"


    "I¡¯ll tell you the location of the first two hostages,¡± said Storm Punisher. ¡°As for the other two, you¡¯ll know where they are when you release my partner."


    "No, we must save all the hostages!¡± Xiaotao objected. ¡°Otherwise, we won¡¯t release him!"


    "This is already a concession on my part. When I count to three, my partner will release the detonator and that¡¯ll be the end of our talk. One, two..."


    "It¡¯s a deal!" shouted Xiaotao.


    "That¡¯s right, you¡¯re a smart woman," snickered Storm Punisher.


    As soon as he revealed where he had hidden the two hostages, Xiaotao immediately sent officers to rescue them. I was still bowled over by the fact that Storm Punisher would call the police for a negotiation. This man was courageous, resourceful and deserved to be called a genius.


    Half an hourter, we stood around staring nkly. Although the call was connected, Storm Punisher refused to answer any of our questions¡ªeven my attempts were ineffective.


    Another half hour passed before an officer called and to report that the hostages had been sessfully rescued. Only then did Storm Punisher begin, "Now it¡¯s your turn to honor your promise..."


    "What if you don¡¯t hold up your end of the bargain?" asked Xiaotao.


    "Even if I do that, you¡¯ve already saved two hostages,¡± came Strom Punisher¡¯snguid reply. ¡°I have the upper hand so you don¡¯t have any room for bargaining."


    "Storm Punisher, this will be thest time you use this against us!¡± exploded Xiaotao. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to do this much longer. It won¡¯t be long before we meet again."


    Storm Punisher burst outughing. "You¡¯re like insects in my eyes!¡± he mocked. ¡°The Strongest Mantis Shrimp, turn on the video chat function and aim your camera at them. Leave the mall and walk to the nearest road. If anyone else dares to leave, I¡¯ll abandon our agreement!"


    Xiaotao motioned with her hands and the officers opened up a path for Pork Rong to pass. As soon as he left the store, he bolted and soon disappeared from our sight.


    "Very well then, I will now fulfill my promise to tell you where the other two hostages are hidden," said Storm Punisher.


    He leisurely enunciated each word, purposely taking his own sweet time so Pork Rong had enough time to escape. Just as hisst word fell, Xiaotao stuffed her phone into her pocket and quickly ordered, "Wang Yuanchao, catch up with the suspect at once! Shoot him on sight. Everyone else will follow me to rescue the hostages."


    "Come with me if you have a gun!" Wang Yuanchao shouted at the top of his voice.


    Arge bunch of strong, young officers charged out with Wang Yuanchao. I had long expected Xiaotao¡¯s defiance. In truth, the deal was really a gamble since both sides didn¡¯t trust each other. What other ns did Storm Punisher have?


    Hoping to add a guarantee to this search and arrest, I marched outside and shouted in the direction of the clearing, "Song Xingchen, I know you can hear me! Imand you to chase after and arrest the criminal!"

 Chapter 251

    <h4>Chapter 251</h4>


    Xiaotao told us to get in the car and as soon as our backs touched the seats, a loud boom sounded in the distance. Xiaotao drove on without turning back. I radioed an officer to ask what had happened, to which he reported, "The suspect threw a bomb at us but there are no casualties."


    "Alright, be careful then!" I cautioned.


    We sped towards the location where the hostages were held; two hostages were hidden at two different locations, dividing several police cars into two directions at the junction. Xiaotao, Dali and I headed to an old rented house in an urban vige within the city. At the scene, I grabbed the wire from my pocket and got to work unlocking the door. A loud wail came from within the house, "Don¡¯te in! Don¡¯te in!"


    Xiaotao¡¯s gaze flicked up to meet mine, fearing that the push of the door would trigger some sort of mechanism. "We¡¯re the police, here to save you!" I shouted through the door.


    The man in the house asked, "Really? Hurry up, save me! I can¡¯t hold on any longer!"


    Only after hearing his reply did I open the door. The police filed in, guns in hand. It was a bare house with no furniture and the windows had been nailed with wooden boards. When we arrived at one of the rooms, a strong light blinded my eyes which took a long time to get used to.


    The ground was covered with light bulbs, spanning the entire floor of the room. A skinny boy wearing only a pair of underpantsy on top of the light bulbs, his body slick and glossy.


    A quick sniff told me that it was gasoline. As it turned out, Storm Punisher drenched the victim¡¯s body with highly mmable unleaded petrol. If even one light bulb was broken, the heat from the fment would immediately ignite a fire and submerge his body in mes.


    When the boy saw us break into the room, he burst into tears. "Help me! I can¡¯t hold on any longer!"


    "That bastard lied to us!¡± Xiaotao cursed through gnashed teeth. ¡°He clearly said he would release the hostages yet he did this!"


    "Let¡¯s save him first. Get someone to turn off the switch," I sighed.


    As soon as one of the officers set off, a thought suddenly crossed my mind, prompting me to dash into the living room. The officer had just moved a stool under the junction box and stepped on it to flip the switch. "Don¡¯t touch anything!¡± I immediately stopped him. ¡°Let me have a look!"


    I climbed the stool and peered into the junction box. At first nce, everything seemed normal, but I soon noticed a red light shing in one corner. Although I wasn¡¯t sure what it was, I didn¡¯t cross out the possibility of a bomb!


    Without a doubt, I knew that Storm Punisher would never let us off so easily. "Don¡¯t touch the switch yet. Look for a foam extinguisher now!"


    The words had just left my lips when heart-rending screams split the quiet house, mingled with the smell of burning flesh. Dali ran out in a fluster, shouting, "Dude, save him!"


    I hurried back into the room and was greeted by the burning body of the victim who rolled and writhed over the light bulbs. No time to think, I removed my clothes and charged into the bright mass of mes, my feet crushing the light bulbs on the floor and issuing crisp crunches along the way.


    But dousing the fire with my clothes didn¡¯t work as the gasoline burned hard like an undying me. The boy hugged my leg in his struggle, setting my pants aze. Watching in disorientated horror, Xiaotao suddenly pulled out her gun, wanting to end his pain but I yelled, "No!"


    Fortunately, the officers rushed in with a fire extinguisher, aiming the nozzle at the victim until his entire body was enveloped in white foam and the fire was extinguished.


    Now wrapped in ayer of glistening foam, the motionless boy whoy on the ground appeared smaller than before, as if ayer of his flesh had been melted away. I ced my hand under his nose and shallow, intermittent breaths caressed my fingers. He was still alive! I gently picked him up while Xiaotao called for an ambnce.


    In truth, our presence was an indirect cause of this. The victim had only managed to maintain a bnce on the light bulbs due to his intense desire to survive but when he learned that the police hade to rescue him, his tense mind and body reflexively rxed and finally broke a light bulb.


    When I carried him outside, several policemen had already taken off their clothes and spread them on the ground for the victim. Deep burns covered his entire body, not leaving a single piece of skin intact. his whole body waspletely burnt. Severe burns like this would cause an infection that could trigger sepsis, eventually killing the victim. All we could do now was to try to keep him conscious by talking to him.


    Xiaotao left the room to pick up a call, but when she came back, her eyes were darkly ferocious, indicative of her current emotions. "The other hostage didn¡¯t make it!¡± she said.


    A whileter, the ambnce arrived to take the victim to the hospital, leaving the rest of us in depressing silence.


    Xiaotao assigned a few officers here to wait for the bomb squad to arrive, while the others were to return to the station first. There were several police cars parked outside the public security bureau and a group of policemen waiting for us. As soon as we got off the car, they surrounded us, faces wrought with guilt.


    "It was our own dereliction of duty!" they shouted.


    "Where¡¯s the body?" asked Xiaotao.


    Upon entering the morgue, I gasped at the sight of the body.


    It wasn¡¯t a corpse at all that awaited us, but a medieval instrument of torture, the Iron Maiden that was fashioned in the appearance of the Virgin Mary. The interior of this metal coffin was filled with many spikes that would prate the flesh when a person was encased inside it.


    The Iron Maiden on the b was dripping with blood. It turned out that when the officers found the victim, she was already trapped in this torture device with countless stab wounds on her body, causing excessive blood loss and eventually death.


    When the officers tried to open it, the victim suddenly screamed as if some mechanism had been triggered. Soon after, even her voice died off and they were left with silence. In an unexpected turn of events, the spikes inside this special Iron Maiden were designed to avoid any major organs. If it remained unopened, the victim would slowly bleed to death, but once opened, another set of spikes would be triggered and instantly pierce the victim¡¯s key organs.


    Since the victim¡¯s entire body was impaled with countless spikes, they decided to transport the entire torture instrument to the morgue.


    The officers¡¯ exnation was followed by tearful apologies but Xiaotao seemed unfazed by that. Her hands clenched into tight fists, she trembled as she shouted, "Why didn¡¯t you use your brains?! What¡¯s the point of apologizing to me?! You should apologize to the families of the victims instead!"


    "There¡¯s no point losing your temper now,¡± I consoled. ¡°This is another one of the murderer¡¯s tricks. You can¡¯t me this on them!"


    The body couldn¡¯t be examined so we had to wait until tomorrow when the mechanical experts took apart the torture instrument.


    Although it was already four in the morning, we were brimming with nervous energy, the sleepiness having been reced by the anxiety of waiting for Wang Yuanchao and the others to return. At dawn, they drove back and escorted a group of handcuffed men.


    I was ecstatic at the thought that we finally arrested the murderers, but closer inspection revealed that both our suspects weren¡¯t among the group.


    Wang Yuanchao exined that when they managed to catch up with the suspect, he saw Pork Rong enter a ck car. The police cars pursued at full speed but were thwarted when the suspect¡¯s car suddenly entered the woods and out came more than a dozen cars with identical license tes, blindsiding them all.


    An impatient Wang Yuanchao had maneuvered his vehicle into one of the cars, sessfully stopping it, only to find a gangster sitting in the driver¡¯s seat. It was a simr situation with the rest of the cars.


    Afterwards, these gangsters confessed that they had been paid by someone and knew nothing.


    "Did any of them slip through?" I asked.


    "We missed four other cars,¡± nodded Wang Yuanchao. ¡°The suspects might be in any one of them!"


    "I highly doubt that,¡± I sighed. ¡°He most likely abandoned his car in the woods. The cars you chased were all dupes."


    Storm Punisher¡¯s n was so meticulous he was on another level entirely.


    What¡¯s worse was Song Xingchen had appeared out of nowhere during the chase and interrupted them. While he had helped capture a few of these gangsters, he also injured a few officers!


    Because Song Xingchen didn¡¯t bother identifying himself, he was regarded as a suspect. Of course, this guy wasted no time in retaliating against three or four officers. I knew that Wang Yuanchao wasn¡¯t one to pass the buck and from his words, so it was clear the remaining cars wouldn¡¯t have gotten away if it weren¡¯t for Song Xingchen¡¯s ¡°assistance.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help the frustration that welled up from within. How could I have been so silly! This guy was obviously a lone ranger who didn¡¯t have any sense of team spirit. I shouldn¡¯t have sent him!


    "Are they badly hurt?" I asked.


    Wang Yuanchao shook his head. "Not really. His techniques are quite clever, leaving them with dislocated joints which I easily fixed."


    Thank God! Otherwise, I would¡¯ve been too ashamed to face these officers. My first thought was that Song Xingchen¡¯s skills and agility would make a great addition to Wang Yuanchao¡¯s brute force and tenacity, but what a big mistake that was! Together, they were more like positive and negative charges that offset each other.

 Chapter 252

    <h4>Chapter 252</h4>


    The sky gradually turned brighter, a tinge of orange seeping through the clouds. Xiaotao ordered us to go home and rest, which I dly obeyed. Tiredness had slowly crept up on me and I was ready to pass out. After a direct confrontation with the murderer, we each sustained our own losses, but one thing was certain: he wouldn¡¯t act for the time being.


    Just as I was about to leave, I remembered that Lao Yao and Bingxin were still at the station. The two had fallen asleep on the table after copsing from exhaustion.


    When I shook Bingxin¡¯s shoulder, she opened her bleary eyes, voice thick with sleepiness as she asked, "Did we get the murderer?"


    "He got away but we managed to save a few of the hostages,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll take you home now."


    Dali pointed to Lao Yao and then at himself, his crestfallen eyes seemed to say, If you¡¯re taking Bingxin home, does that mean I have to go with Lao Yao?


    Muddled from the sleepiness, Bingxin sleepwalked out of the station, almost leaning her body on me entirely. I quickly hailed a cab and told the driver to make a short detour to her home. On the way, Bingxin muttered, "I¡¯m sorry I wasn¡¯t able to help much. Song Yang-gege, can you persuade Xiaotao-jiejie to allow me to join you guys at night?"


    "So what if you were with us? At the time, even the SWAT team might not have done any good," I argued.


    "But I just want to be with you!" pouted Bingxin.


    I cajoled her by exining we needed someone in the rear to offer support, much like the strategies we applied in Battle City back when we were still ying with our Nintendos. In a war, protecting our base was of utmost importance. Otherwise, how could us ¡°soldiers¡± go out to battle at ease?


    "Song Yang-gege, don¡¯t worry!¡± Bingxin obediently nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll never lose our base with me around!"


    I turned around and found Dalizily sprawled on the passenger seat, allowing displeasure to do the talking.


    In front of Bingxin¡¯s home, she threw a huge fuss, insisting I walk her to the door but I refused. How could I sell Dali out and leave him alone with that sleazebag?


    "Exactly!" interjected Dali. ¡°Isn¡¯t there a saying that buddies are just as important as one¡¯s hands and feet?!¡±


    Bingxin snapped her head around and yelled, "Would you like to finish the rest of that sentence? If you dare, I¡¯ll kill you!"


    "Don¡¯t listen to his nonsense!¡± I urged. ¡°Liu Bei was obviously gay. Why would any straight man take that to be true?"


    "Pay attention to what you say in the future!" Bingxin snorted, casting a dissatisfied look towards Dali.


    Dali wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, flustered as he coaxed, "Bingxin-meimei, I like how sassy you are!"


    After she left, Lao Yao¡¯s previously closed eyes snapped wide open and an usatory re shot in my direction. "Xiao Song-song, you seem to be prejudiced against gay men. Come over here so we can have a good talk!"


    On the way back to the university, I was tempted to jump out of the car several times.


    Upon returning to my dormitory, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow but it was restless sleep that awaited me; I slept for five hours and had a terrible nightmare. I dreamt Storm Punisher trapped me in a contraption, and darkness engulfed my surroundings. "Song Yang, I want to y a game with you!" his cold-blooded voice filled my ears.


    When I awoke from my dream, my body was damp and sticky with sweat. A quick nce at my phone told me it was already two in the afternoon.


    There was a notification on my phone alerting me of the discussion group Xiaotao had set up for our task force, so anyone who discovered clues could inform the others.


    There were a few new notifications in the group. Officers who investigated theponents of the contraption traced their purchase to an online transaction. Because we already knew Storm Punisher¡¯s real identity, following this lead hardly posed a predicament.


    The technical team found evidence from the murderer¡¯s home that could be used in court but was of little help to our current situation.


    Xiaotao sent a team of officers to conduct a nket search within ten kilometers of the murderers¡¯ former ce of residence but there was still no clue about their whereabouts. The escape nned by Storm Punisherst night suggested that he had a powerful backer assisting him, most likely the people behind the website.


    Finally, there was another small matter that had nothing to do with the case, that is, the victim we rescuedst night managed to make it through the night. From the moment he regained consciousness, he threw a conniption fit, unable to ept the cruel fact that ny percent of his body was covered in severe burns.


    I phoned Xiaotao and asked, "Do you need any help? I can go over now!"


    "You¡¯re up early! Did you see the messages in the group?¡± asked Xiaotao. ¡°The case has now entered a stalemate. If it¡¯s not handled properly, this will be an unsolved case."


    "Not necessarily,¡± I remarked. ¡°These two murderers are self-absorbed people and love showing off. I can guarantee they will make another move."


    Xiaotao sighed, "Did I make the wrong decisionst night?"


    "You were decisive and did the best you could,¡± Iforted. ¡°Under the circumstances, there was no better solution."


    "Talking to you always puts me in a better mood,¡± chuckled Xiaotao. ¡°Why don¡¯t you switch professions and be a psychologist instead... By the way, speaking of doctors, I suddenly thought of something. Last night, the victim insisted on speaking to you. He said that if you don¡¯t go, he won¡¯t receive treatment. Please take some time to visit the No. 3 Hospital!"


    I knew it wouldn¡¯t be anything good, but I agreed anyway.


    I checked on Dali who was still sleeping soundly, turning sideways to hug his pillow, his lips murmuring, "Bingxin-meimei!"


    I shook Dali up and he opened his eyes in a daze. After repeating thrice for him to drop by the station after he woke up, Dali muttered a vague word of affirmation and dozed off again.


    I took a cab to the No. 3 Hospital where an officer stood on guard, waiting to escort me to the victim. Outside the ward, I heard a crash from within. "Get the hell out of here!" a loud voice bellowed.


    Expelled from the room, the doctor shot me a wary look and shook his head. "Be careful when you go in. That man needs to see a psychologist."


    I couldn¡¯t fight the uneasiness in my heart as I pushed the door open and walked into the ward. Wrapped in bandages, the patienty in bed like a mummy. "It¡¯s you! I remember you were the one who saved mest night!" he cried.


    I didn¡¯t know what else to say except, "Are you feeling better?"


    A cup of water abruptly flew towards my head and I quickly dodged, thankful for my quick reflexes. "I remember one of the officers was about to shoot mest night!¡± shouted the boy. ¡°Why did you stop her? Why didn¡¯t you let me die? I¡¯m a fucking basket case now. What¡¯s the point of living!"


    While he hollered abuse at me, his hands continuously grabbed the items around him, aiming squarely at me.


    "Don¡¯t be impulsive!" I patiently advised, arms trying to block those objects from hitting me. ¡°Once you¡¯ve recovered, you can receive a full-body skin graft. If you think it¡¯s my fault you look like this, I¡¯m willing to pay part of your medical expenses!"


    But my words seemed to further stimte him, his eyes glowing with red-hot anger and before I could react, he jumped down from his bed and rammed his head against the window grille. "I don¡¯t want your pity! Let me die, just let me die! I don¡¯t want to live!"


    He rattled the metal grille in a frenzy, his manic behavior convincing me that he might actually jump off the building. Hastening towards him, I attempted to cate and discourage him from any foolish actions. Out of the blue, he swung around and sped his fingers around my neck, squeezing hard and sessfully pinned me to the bed.


    Although this boy was on the skinny side, a crazy person¡¯s strength was not to be underestimated. As I felt the air being forced out my throat, a bunch of men in white coats dashed into the room, forcibly held him down and injected a sedative.


    The boy¡¯s heavy lids slowly shut, body slumped over in sleep. My fingers traced the red handprints that had surfaced on my neck and I thought to myself, What a close call!


    "Officer, are you hurt?¡± asked the doctor. ¡°The patient has been difficult to control sincest night. I think we should transfer him to a mental hospital."


    "Thanks for the hard work,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m afraid he¡¯ll only get worse if he is sent to a mental hospital. After all, such an experience isn¡¯t something anyone can just get over. I¡¯ll get the officers to find a psychologist to soothe the patient."


    While this was what I said, I couldn¡¯t help but curse at what a lunatic he was as I walked out of the door.

 Chapter 253

    <h4>Chapter 253</h4>


    Over the next two days, we conducted the autopsy and investigated the crime scene. The days and nights passed as usual but there was no breakthrough in the case.


    On Sunday night, Storm Punisher¡¯s standard program was interrupted, perhaps due to ack of hostages. I asked Xiaotao if we could keep the public safe by issuing an announcement throughout the city to remind the public that the criminal, Storm Punisher, was searching for new targets.


    "There¡¯s no use in doing that,¡± Xiaotao shook her head. ¡°It¡¯ll only cause widespread panic. What¡¯s meant to happen will happen and there¡¯s no way of stopping it."


    It was gettingte in the day and I was just about to return to school with Dali and Lao Yao when an officer came running towards us. "Chief, the murderer is about to start live streaming!" he yelled.


    We rushed to the conference room without a moment¡¯s dy. Everyone had gathered there and the video was already projected onto the wall. Much like the previous asions, it was pitch dark at first, with only the sound of loud breathing. Tonight¡¯s live stream was still titled "Hell¡¯s Judgment."


    It was already 1 a.m. so the murderer¡¯s live stream was two hourster than scheduled. Had the victim been caught at thest minute?


    With bated breath, we waited to see the victim¡¯s face. A whileter, the criminal spoke in the same digitally altered voice, "Li Derong, you¡¯ve always been eager to be famous. Tonight, I will give you this opportunity!"


    For an instant, I suspected that my ears were mistaken. Tonight¡¯s victim was his partner, The Strongest Mantis Shrimp!


    The officers in the room sat in shocked silence but thements section below the live stream exploded into excited discussion at once. Although arge part of these viewers also watched The Strongest Mantis Shrimp¡¯s live stream, most of them were thrilled and delighted upon learning the victim¡¯s identity.


    As soon as the lights flickered on, I gasped at the scene in the video. Pork Rong was naked, his skin glossy as if coated with ayer of oil. Body covered in bruises, his lips had been sewn together with messy stitches so the only noises he could make were low whimpers.


    He was sitting on a contraption known as the Wooden Donkey used to punish promiscuous women in ancient times, but with certain modifications. Blood trickled down his arms and legs that were shackled in metal mps resembling bear traps.


    I noticed that there was a stake mounted on the back of a wooden donkey right under Pork Rong¡¯s buttocks. From our perspective, only a small part of the stake was visible while most of it was inserted into his anus. The stake was most likely very sharp as indicated by the blood on it.


    On Pork Rong¡¯s waist, a time bomb with one minute on the countdown had been attached to him.


    I never imagined Storm Punisher would personally dispose of his partner. Perhaps it was an order from the people behind the website or for his own safety. After all, Pork Rong¡¯s rash, unauthorized actions had exposed them.


    Judging from all aspects, the act of personally torturing and murdering his partner was proof that his perverse, twisted mind had far exceeded the point of ¡°stark raving mad.¡±


    "Next, you may begin your thrilling performance in front of tens of thousands of eyes,¡± Storm Punisher continued impassively. ¡°Let me exin it to you. You have a time bomb with a countdown of only one minute! If you want to escape from this contraption, you must insert the stake deep into your body for the metal shackles that bind your hands and feet to unfasten. Make good use of this time to leave your deepest impression on the audience. The trial begins!"


    With a beep, the time bomb began counting down. Pork Rong struggled fiercely, taking almost 20 seconds before he decided to brave the impalement of the stake. Bright red blood flowed to the ground and dyed his legs crimson.


    "Fuck, I can¡¯t watch any more of this!" Lao Yao yelped as he violently pushed the door open and left.


    Dali didn¡¯t have Lao Yao¡¯s courage to walk away from the table in the middle of the live stream but his hands clutched my shirt, teeth violently chattering.


    The stake might have already reached Pork Rong¡¯s intestines, blood sloshing down the contraption like a waterfall. At the same time, the shackles around his hands and feet loosened bit by bit, his neck tense from pain, eyes almost bulging out from their sockets.


    This scene had many policemen shaking their heads from disbelief but the audience watching the live stream had apletely different reaction. The barrage ofments and numerous reward notices dotted out most of the screen, so much so that thements had to be turned off.


    Time went by second by second until only ten seconds remained. Having managed to open the metal mps, he frantically tore at the explosive belt with his bloodied hands, but to no avail.


    With only five seconds left, Pork Rong yanked the thread that bound his lips and shouted at the top of his voice, "Wang Yizhou, fuck you, fuck your whole family!" Then he quickly uttered a string of numbers but the bomb exploded before he could finish speaking.


    Boom and the entire screen condensed with countless blood droplets. The camera shook unsteadily from the shock of the explosion and impact of pounding flesh. All that remained after the st was Pork Rong¡¯s lower body, his entire torso having been blown to bits. A section of his intestines was exposed, revealing the bloody stake that impaled him.


    Xiaotao covered her mouth in shock and uttered, "How could anyone be so cruel?!"


    While the others were still recovering from this horrible scene, I quickly took a pen and paper and scribbled down the numbers Pork Rong had recited before his death. "It looks like a cell phone number but there¡¯s still one number missing," I said.


    Xiaotao grabbed the paper from my hands and examined the numbers I had written. Then, she ordered the technical team to fill in thest number from zero to nine and investigate all of them.


    The officers managed to urately locate the geographic location of the cell phone numbers by satellite and soon discovered that three of the numbers were located in Nanjiang City. One of them was currently on the move.


    "It¡¯s one in the morning right now so this number might be Storm Punisher¡¯s!" I conjectured.


    With a wave of her hand, Xiaotao dered, "Let¡¯s go arrest the suspect!"


    We quickly shuffled into the police vehicles and headed for the target.


    On the way, I asked Xiaotao, "Were there any women among the hostages we rescued?"


    Xiaotao nodded. "There is one who works as a hostess in a nightclub."


    "So that¡¯s why!" I eximed.


    This Wooden Donkey contraption was likely to have been prepared for someone else but Storm Punisher was eager to dispose of Pork Rong, hence, tonight¡¯s performance. However, Pork Rong had unexpectedly disclosed key information pertaining to Storm Punisher right before his death.


    As we drew closer to the target, the officers asked Xiaotao, "The target is moving quickly. Should we chase after him?"


    "What do you think?" Xiaotao turned to me.


    "This is an unforeseen situation so what would Storm Punisher do to avoid our pursuit? My guess is he¡¯ll hire a car, throw his cell phone into the car and flee in another direction."


    "Isn¡¯t that amon technique in the movies?!" cried Xiaotao. She proceeded to divide the officers into two groups¨Cone to pursue the target and the other to search for the location where the target first appeared.


    When we arrived at the original location of the number, we were surprised to find that it was a vi in the suburbs. There was a notice for rent stuck on the door, an obvious cover-up since the lights behind the curtains were indicative of people living there.


    We pushed the door and entered the vi, greeted by the smell of burning wires permeating in the air. An intense heat emanated from one of the rooms. "No! They are destroying the evidence!" I yelled.


    We dashed into the room, only to see the dismaying scene of a burning row ofputers with the fire fueled by gasoline. The officers cut off the power and carried buckets of water from the bathroom to put out the fire.


    When the fire was finally extinguished, I looked around the room and said, "There were more than a dozen people here. Pork Rong wasn¡¯t trying to reveal Wang Yizhou¡¯s location but the website¡¯s studio!"


    I walked into the living room and opened the Autopsy Umbre while Dali shone a light for me, illuminating a line of footprints on the floor.


    "It must have been chaotic at the time,¡± I said. ¡°When they destroyed the evidence with gasoline, they also stepped on it and left footprints. Let¡¯s go and arrest them all!"

 Chapter 254

    <h4>Chapter 254</h4>


    We tracked the footprints all the way to an unfinished construction area where they faded to the point they were almost invisible. I put away the Autopsy Umbre and turned to the officers beside me, "I¡¯ll continue inwards with Xiaotao while the others wait here!"


    Although I wasn¡¯t part of the police, the officers obeyed mymands as did Xiaotao. I handed the Autopsy Umbre to Dali and cautiously proceeded with Xiaotao.


    This iplete residential area was a project that began many years ago. At the time, the n was to build a stretch of vis in the area, but due to the transportation inconvenience, the rich rejected the idea of purchasing a house so remote from everything else, no matter how well built it was. Thus, the project was eventually deemed a failure. As we walked on, several semi-finished vi structures came into view, along with others that only had the foundationid down.


    I looked around with Cave Vision but discovered nothing amiss until we arrived at a three-story building. I tapped Xiaotao, gesturing for her to stop.


    "Are they up there?¡± asked Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll call for reinforcements right away!"


    "Don¡¯t! Just give me your gun!" I stopped her at once.


    I grabbed her gun and pointed it to the sky, ready to fire a shot when Xiaotao interjected, "What are you doing? You¡¯re going to alert them to our presence!"


    "That¡¯s exactly what I want to do!" I grinned.


    Having said that, I aimed at the sky and pulled the trigger but the loud bang I was waiting for never came. Of course! I had forgotten that the gun¡¯s safety was engaged!


    "I can tell that you¡¯ve never held a gun!¡± chuckled Xiaotao. ¡°Be careful of a wrist injury caused by the recoil. I¡¯ll teach you how!"


    She encircled me from the back, cing her arm over mine, wrapping my hands in hers as she disengaged the safety. Her plump breasts were tightly attached to my back and I could hear my heart pounding in my chest, my face flushed with heat. However, my response to intimate contact was much calmer than before. If it weren¡¯t for the circumstances at the time, I might have plucked up the courage to do something more audacious.


    A loud bang sounded as gunfire shattered the night sky, reverberating like thunder. Then, I heard a voice scream from the second floor. "Ouch!"


    I looked Xiaotao in the eye, triumphant smiles reaching our lips at the same time.


    "Get down, or I¡¯ll get the SWAT team to swarm the building and shoot all of you!" shouted Xiaotao.


    "Don¡¯t shoot!¡± a man yelled. ¡°I surrender, I surrender!"


    "How many of you are there?" I asked.


    "Twelve," he replied.


    "Fine, make sure you watch each other!¡± I bellowed. ¡°If even one person dares to run, the rest of you will suffer severe consequences!"


    "We won¡¯t run. I promise we won¡¯t run!¡± said the man. ¡°We were merely paid to maintain the site but it has nothing to do with us."


    In fact, this building had only one exit so escaping was impossible. When the twelve scurried downstairs with both hands timidly held high, Xiaotao radioed the other officer, instructing them toe over. They were all skinny tech guys with pale faces and puffy eyes, indicative of the long hours they spent indoors.


    When questioned about their jobs, they exined that they were responsible for the daily maintenance and management of the website. These were the hackers that Lao Yao had encountered that time. Earlier, they had received a call from their boss saying that the website had been exposed, urging them to evacuate immediately.


    "Who¡¯s in charge?" I asked.


    "He fled in a car," answered one of the men.


    "Why didn¡¯t he take you with him?"


    "He¡¯s the boss. Of course, his life matters more than ours,¡± he gave a self-deprecating smile. ¡°Why would he care about us? We had no choice but to hide here."


    But I grabbed his hands and examined them, sneering, "You can drop the act! You¡¯re the one in charge!"


    The man was visibly healthier than the others, fingers unlike those exposed toputers for extended periods of time, and the T-shirt he wore obviously didn¡¯t fit him.


    Yet he continued to deny it, waving his hands desperately. "I¡¯m not! I¡¯m just a supervisor."


    "Is he in charge?¡± I turned to the others. ¡°If you¡¯re honest, you might get a reduced sentence."


    The others immediately turned traitorous and pointed at him. "Yes, he¡¯s the one who pays us!"


    We didn¡¯t even have to handcuff these weak-kneed hackers who obediently walked in a straight line led by Xiaotao. Along our way to join the other officers, we bumped into our reinforcements. They stared in wide-eyed shock upon realizing how quickly we managed to round up the suspects.


    "Take them all back to the station for interrogation!" ordered Xiaotao.


    All the way up until he was pushed into the police car, the man in charge continued shouting indignantly, "I¡¯m not the one behind the website. There¡¯s a boss behind the scenes! I¡¯m innocent!"


    Having unexpectedly arrested the people behind the website, Xiaotao was over the moon. "There¡¯s no point in shouting!" sheughed.


    After we escorted them back to the station, another group of people were brought in by Wang Yuanchao who soon joined us. Sure enough, the man had thrown his cell phone into a truck as I predicted, but forgot to delete the content in his phone, leaving behind a bunch of contacts.


    The officers interrogated the gang all night. I was both excited with our arrest and anxious to know the results of the interrogation so I stayed out overnight, too energetic to bother returning to the dormitory to rest. Dali, Lao Yao and I called a buddy of ours out for supper.


    The programmers all confessed upon being questioned. Just like Lao Yao, they only knew the technological aspect of the website and little else. Having signed up as soon as they heard of the high pay, some of them did background maintenance and had no idea of what was being streamed on the website.


    However, the man in charge was rather slick and refused toe clean.


    Xiaotao called me into the interrogation room where I sat before him. "You mentioned there¡¯s a boss behind the scenes. Who is he?¡± I asked coldly. ¡°A person or an organization?"


    The man forced an awkward smile. "I don¡¯t know. My job is to find streamers and manage the finances. Like the programmers, I¡¯m just a small fry who gets paid to do my job. I¡¯ve never seen the boss behind the scenes."


    "You¡¯re lying!" I mmed the table.


    "Officers, I¡¯m telling the truth,¡± he spread his hands. ¡°I can¡¯t help it if you won¡¯t believe me!"


    The suspect was a sociopath with the sort of stubborn resistance, a face that disyed sincerity but a mouth full of lies. Although I could see through his deception, reading his heart was an entirely different matter.


    "Let¡¯s get Wang Yuanchao to interrogate him!" cried Xiaotao.


    I had an idea of what she meant. "Will he be able to pry his mouth open?" I asked.


    Xiaotao nodded. "Do you know why Wang Yuanchao has been an ordinary policeman even after so many years? Because he doesn¡¯t hold back when dealing with stubborn suspects who refuse to confess. Violence is his way." She nced at the suspect, her tone nonchnt, "Although it¡¯s illegal for the police to use violence in an interrogation, I think we can do away with our principles when dealing with such scum!"


    "Officer I¡¯m telling you the truth!¡± he shivered. ¡°If I so much as speak one false word, I will be struck by lightning!"


    Although this man had never actually gotten his hands bloody, the website he built bred countless perverted criminals and sadistic murderers. I didn¡¯t object to the use of extreme measures, but in terms of efficiency, I didn¡¯t think a beating was effective.


    I took out a small bottle containing the Dream Entry concoction and ced it under his nose. A hard sniff at the powder and his eyes immediately took on a vague, misty look.


    "Don¡¯t you feel that the chair is getting hotter and hotter, that it¡¯s almost impossible to remain seated?¡± I asked in a hypnotic tone. ¡°Can you smell your flesh burning?"


    With a scream, the man contorted his body, struggling as hard as he could, as if he were really sitting on a soldering iron. "Let me go, let me go!" he wailed at the top of his voice.


    I pounded a fist into the wall and demanded, "Confess! Were you the one who built the website?"


    Suddenly, the distinct odor of urine drifted into my nose as a wet stain slowly spread between his legs. "Yes...¡± he trembled. ¡°I built it."


    "Why did you build the website?" I asked.


    He said in panic, "T-to make money!"

 Chapter 255

    <h4>Chapter 255</h4>


    As it turned out, the man¡¯s name was Xu. Mr. Xu exined that he had always wanted to start a business since he was young but he didn¡¯t have any skills and wanted to make quick money. After a little contemtion, he decided to set up a live stream tform.


    The first thing he did was hire a group of programmers to create a copycat Kuaishou website. However, he had overlooked the fact that he needed streamers to gain poprity. After half a year of operating, he lost almost all his money.


    So Mr. Xu resolved to do something eye-catching to attract attention when he coincidentally came across news on the inte that a streamer had been dismissed for hical content. Without a second thought, he immediately invited the streamer to work on his website, instructing her to stream content that was offensive, even morally uneptable. Unexpectedly, her live streams allowed the website to gain steady traffic.


    With the discovery of such means of making money, he specifically targeted streamers with disgraceful records andck of integrity who specialized in streaming all sorts of revolting, unspeakable content such as eating excrement, self-muttion, beating the homeless and destroying public property. And with that, the website entered a boom.


    Unfortunately, the good times didn¡¯tst and soon the relevant departments caught wind of the website and banned it. As luck would have it, he managed to slip between the cracks.


    Marx once quoted economist Thomas Dunning: With adequate profit, capital is very bold. A certain 50 percent will ensure positive audacity; 100 percent will make it ready to trample on all humanws; 300 percent, and there is not a crime at which it will scruple, nor a risk it will not run, even to the chance of its owner being hanged.


    This rationale was perfectly appropriate for Mr. Xu. Not only did he fail to repent after escaping a disastrous turn, he even intensified his efforts and re-recruited a team of people. Hence, the In-depth Live Stream website was born, streaming all sorts of unsavory, repugnant content in the name of exposing true human nature.


    After learning a bitter lesson, he realized the website couldn¡¯t be openly known to all. Most importantly, mary conditions had to be made, such as a sky-high deposit that would prevent viewers from reporting to the authorities. So he designed a membership system where ess to the website¡¯s content depended on the amount paid¨Cthe more they contributed, the more extreme content they unlocked.


    With this tform, certain perverted people were soon attracted. Even the words ¡°scum¡± and ¡°lowlife¡± were too good for these people. Many streamers had already vited thew and although Mr. Xu was afraid, the allure of wealth gave him the courage to continue.


    But very quickly, the audience began to tire of the content and the website¡¯s operation encountered certain difficulties. At this juncture, a group of mysterious people approached him, iming to be interested in his website and offered to finance it. Mr. Xu retained the right to manage the site but they owned 50% of the ie!


    Upon Mr. Xu¡¯s agreement, the website received a capital injection and soon regained its former glory. Various shocking live streams wereunched one after another; murder and arson were merely child¡¯s y. He admitted that several major cases that caused a stir in the province were actually live streamed on the website.


    As the content on the website grew increasingly sadistic, thepulsory deposit inted ordingly until the amount reached one million US dors just to gain ess to the website. Although they now had fewer members, they were all upper ss citizens who weren¡¯t at all stingy with their rewards so their ie was at an all time high.


    Upon confessing the truth, Mr. Xu seemed aware of his fate, his entire face having been muddied with despair. Setting up an illegal website like this wasn¡¯t a trivial matter, even the tform he built on his own was enough to sentence him for decades.


    "Who¡¯s your behind-the-scenes backer?" I asked.


    "I really don¡¯t know,¡± he blurted. ¡°They¡¯ve never contacted me by phone, only sent a car to pick me up whenever they wanted to speak to me. I would be blindfolded throughout the journey and when we arrived, they wore face masks."


    "How did you split the ie then?"


    "I traded with a shellpany under their name, using a fake transaction to send money to them," he answered.


    "Do you know any other information about them?" I added.


    Before the medicinal properties of the Dream Entry concoction had passed, Mr. Xu¡¯s mental state was still a little unstable. "They promised me even if I were caught one day, they would have a way to rescue me!" he broke into a wide grin.


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a look of astonishment. The only people who could do such a thing was that mysterious, elusive organization.


    Beyond a doubt, the In-depth Live Stream website was actually one of the organization¡¯s outsourcingpanies, much like the rtionship between Honor of The Kings and Tencent. The power of this organization was unimaginable to be able to create such an atrocious website without so much as lifting a finger.


    Once we obtained whatever information we could from Mr. Xu, Xiaotao instructed several officers to escort him to lockup and ordered them to keep a constant eye on him.


    Although theputers in the studio had been burned, Lao Yao reported that the hard disks were still intact and the information stored within was enough to locate and arrest all the streamers who had broken thew. Now that we had demolished Storm Punisher¡¯s base, we could concentrate on dealing with him.


    When we were about to leave the public security bureau, the sky was already bright. Xiaotao sent us to the door hesitantly, but seemed to have something to say.


    "Just spit it out. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re strangers!" I teased.


    Xiaotaoughed. "Although we won the battle tonight, the main culprit is still atrge. We mustn¡¯t take it lightly!"


    "I know,¡± I nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll rest for a bit and then return. Don¡¯t drink too much Red Bull, it¡¯s not good for your kidneys."


    Dali and Lao Yao protested sulkily. "Are you done yet?¡±ined Lao Yao. ¡°We¡¯re about to drop dead from exhaustion! What¡¯s there for a man and woman to talk about?!"


    By the time I got up, it was already four in the afternoon and I had received a text from Xiaotao. "Come over now! We¡¯ve found Pork Rong¡¯s body..."


    I went to wake Dali up and immediately headed to the location Xiaotao had sent. After several sleepless nights in a row, Dali couldn¡¯t resist grumbling. "The murderer needs to rest too! Do we have to be so hasty?! Be careful, you just might copse from overworking!"


    "Why spend so much time sleeping while we¡¯re alive?¡± I retorted. ¡°When we die, we¡¯ll sleep forever. What¡¯s the big deal if we sleep a little less now?"


    "Young man, you may continue with your endeavor,¡± Dali looked up to the sky and heaved a heavy sigh. ¡°This old man needs a short nap!" he said, falling back asleep.


    We came to a field of reeds in the suburbs. It was early spring but the reeds already reached our torsos, a vast expanse that fluttered in the wind. The officers¡¯ caps were vaguely visible above the reeds, like blood droplets that marred the tranquility, rendering an almost artistic feel to the scene.


    Xiaotao walked over and beckoned, "Come with me!"


    "You haven¡¯t stepped all over the reeds, have you?" I asked.


    "Of course not!¡± she replied. ¡°We entered from the other side. I¡¯ve ordered the officers to cordon off the area with the murderer¡¯s footprints."


    As we walked through the reeds, Dali grabbed a reed and sighed with emotion, "This scene reminds me of the maize fields I used to y in as a child."


    "With whom?" I asked.


    "With my neighbor¡¯s dogs¨CBig Fatty and Little Grubby!¡± he replied. ¡°What? Did you think they were girls?"


    Xiaotao cracked a helpless smile. ¡°This might not be appropriate now, but I do have good news to share.¡±


    Dali¡¯s eyes lit up. "Is it a bonus?"


    "You wish!¡± Xiaotao shot him a mischievous look. ¡°But there are other rewards!"


    As it turned out, after the website was removed, the police froze Mr. Xu¡¯s bank ounts and discovered that the money in his ount was an astronomical figure. After the case followed the necessary legal procedures, the money would be ced under the disposal of judicial authorities and a part of it would be used to supplement police equipment.


    Xiaotao nned to avail arge part of the money as pension to the family members of the officers who died in the line of duty and to set up a forensicboratory with the rest of the money so that Bingxin and I would no longer have to borrow otherbs when we performed autopsies.


    "By the way, Song Yang,¡± she continued. ¡°It¡¯s not very convenient for you to travel back and forth every time. I¡¯ll apply for the department to get you a car!"


    "What¡¯s a student like me to do with a police car?¡± I asked, surprised. ¡°Isn¡¯t it too ostentatious?"


    "Not a police car!¡± sheughed. ¡°I meant a private vehicle. You can drive, right?"

 Chapter 256

    <h4>Chapter 256</h4>


    My aunt was the one who taught me how to drive and I hadn¡¯t taken any formal driving lessons. With my level of proficiency, the car would definitely be sent back into the workshop as soon as I tried to reverse. Besides, I hadn¡¯t sat for a driving test yet, so I didn¡¯t actually have a driver¡¯s license.


    ¡°Forget about the car!¡± I said. ¡°Getting a cab isn¡¯t much trouble anyways."


    "Just ept it,¡±ughed Xiaotao. ¡°It¡¯s for the convenience of working the case."


    After slight contemtion, I asked Dali, "Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to get your driver¡¯s licensest summer? Have you taken the test?"


    "I only said that to please my dad,¡± said Dali, a daft look spreading across his face as he scratched his head. ¡°I went to one ss and learned a little theory, but that¡¯s it."


    "How about this? I don¡¯t have time to sit for the driving test so you can use the car,¡± I suggested. ¡°Dali, when this is all over, you should take the test. I¡¯ll have to trouble you to drive me around in the future!¡±


    "Oh my God, I¡¯m getting a car! It¡¯s so sudden! I can¡¯t believe it!¡± gushed Dali, his hand clutching his chest in excitement. ¡°Dude, why are you so good to me? Aren¡¯t you afraid I might fall for you?"


    "Quit fooling around. I¡¯m asking you to be my personal driver," I chuckled.


    ¡°You may address me as Mr. Wang in the future!" Dali patted his chest.


    Xiaotaoughed at our interaction and added, "Aside from freezing the website¡¯s ounts, we¡¯ve also frozen the ounts of all the streamers found through the studio¡¯sputers. With the disappearance of the website, the whole lot of them are bound to have been alerted but I couldn¡¯t care less. I¡¯ve already dered to my superiors that we will arrest all the streamers who have broken thew nationwide."


    ¡°If this matter is released, it will definitely be a huge shock to the industry!" I said.


    "We can¡¯t allow this to get out,¡± nodded Xiaotao. ¡°As long as you and I know, that¡¯s enough."


    "That¡¯s to say, you¡¯ve also frozen Storm Punisher¡¯s ount?" I asked.


    "Wang Yizhou¡¯s name was on the list!" replied Xiaotao.


    The young people of today left their houses without any cash, having limatized to the usage of WeChat pay and credit cards. Freezing his ounts meant that he was temporarily immobile. As the saying goes, there is no better strategy than to exhaust an enemy¡¯s supplies. This drastic measure would definitely deal a heavy blow to our suspect.


    Additionally, Xiaotao had issued a wanted notice to all precincts and called for close monitoring in every railway station, bus station, airport and dock, connecting the entire province in the search to arrest Storm Punisher. As long as he used his ID, his location would be exposed at once.


    With Sk surveince, even the tiniest clue that might usually be undetectable could lead us to the criminal. Right now, Storm Punisher was trapped in Nanjiang City with no way of leaving so all we had to do was catch the fish in the barrel.


    We arrived at an open space surrounded by a team of officers who watched over Pork Rong¡¯s naked corpse. Strictly speaking, only half of it was left but it was unmistakably Pork Rong because of the stake still impaled in his anus. The blood on his legs had long solidified. At the moment, Bingxin was crouched beside the corpse, examining it for evidence.


    Pork Rong had murdered six policemen which was considered a grave criminal offense. However, on the other hand, he was just a young man who simply craved fame and became a bomb fanatic after he was driven by various factors. Seeing his iplete corpse, I couldn¡¯t help but sympathize.


    "Why is the body here?" I asked.


    "Song Yang-gege, aren¡¯t you silly!¡±ughed Bingxin. ¡°Why would you ask such a question?"


    I turned to the others and said, "Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s strange? The body could have been left at the crime scene and would¡¯ve been ignored. Yet Storm Punisher made the effort to abandon the corpse in the wilderness. That proves one thing¨Cwherever he¡¯s hiding isn¡¯t a convenient ce to store the body."


    "Not convenient?¡± Xiaotao perked up at once. ¡°What do you mean by that?"


    There were flies buzzing around the corpse¡¯s intestines that had been exposed, leading me to conclude, "The weather is beginning to get warmer and the corpse will start to smell. This suggests that wherever Storm Punisher is hiding isn¡¯t a standalone bungalow or an airtight basement. There must be other houses around. With his ounts frozen, he¡¯s under financial difficulties so he ns to stay there for some time, which is why he bothered to deal with the aftermath."


    "That makes sense!" nodded Xiaotao.


    I moved closer to observe the body and asked Bingxin what she thought. "The time of death is 48 hours ago," she concluded.


    "Wasn¡¯t he killedst night..." interjected Dali.


    I checked for rigor mortis of the joints, applying pressure on the knees several times. The human knee was thergest piece of cartge throughout the entire body, and was one of the first parts to start rotting after death. My conclusion concurred with Bingxin¡¯s.


    "The video must¡¯ve been pre-recorded,¡± I said. ¡°When we watched the live streamst night, Pork Rong was already dead and had even begun to stink, so Storm Punisher had to dispose of the body."


    As soon as I reached out my hand, Dali knew to hand me the Autopsy Umbre. With its application, I discovered many fingerprints on the body. "The murderer handled the body very hastily which also suggests he¡¯s not very good at this sort of thing,¡± I surmised. ¡°The stake on the contraption was broken off so it must have been inserted very deeply."


    I asked Bingxin to lift the body and Dali was just about to lend her a hand but I closed the umbre and quickly stopped him before he could move.


    "Half of his body is heavier than I expected,¡± remarked Bingxin.


    "The murderer is about your height and rather poor at manualbor,¡± I exined. ¡°Transporting the body must have been difficult for him..."


    "Song Yang-gege,¡± said Bingxin. ¡°I just noticedceration marks on the hipbone."


    I examined the hipbone and scanned my surroundings, immediately noticing an almost imperceptible trail left from dragging the body on the ground. "The murderer tied a rope to the victim¡¯s thigh and dragged the body all the way here!¡± I deduced. ¡°There is something strange about that though. The body was openly discarded here without any form of concealment, but the rope was removed. Could the rope expose his hiding ce?"


    I had intended to walk along the trail to search for wheel marks, but I decided to investigate the body first.


    I grabbed the dead man¡¯s bloody feet and meticulously examined each and every detail, then asked if anyone had a needle or something simr. Bingxin pulled a hairpin from her head which I straightened and inserted between the toenail and the nailbed, scraping out some tiny, crystal-clear particles.


    Bingxin and Xiaotao leaned in to have a look at what it was.


    "It¡¯s sand!" cried Bingxin.


    "Sand from where?" I asked.


    "I¡¯m not sure,¡± Bingxin admitted. ¡°In fact, I¡¯m not quite clear about that either. I¡¯m only aware that the shape of sand particles differ from ce to ce. They are pentagonal, square, and round shapes; the list goes on. This particr grain of sand has a round shape and should be river sand but I can¡¯t confirm the exact location.¡±


    The officers took turns examining it, but only Wang Yuanchao had valuable information to offer. "It¡¯s Chahe River sand," he said tly.


    "That¡¯s amazing!¡± eximed Dali. ¡°You can even tell where it¡¯s from with a mere nce!"


    "The lower reaches of the Chahe River is the only sand collection point in Nanjiang City,¡± exined Wang Yuanchao. ¡°Back when I was working narcotics, I swallowed a mouthful of sand when a criminal pinned me onto the banks of the Chahe River. The doctor eventually extracted nine grains of sand from my trachea so I remember this shape."


    "In other words, it¡¯s sand used in building materials," added Xiaotao.


    "Did you find any wheel marks on the road?" I asked.


    "Quite a few!" acknowledged Xiaotao.


    I walked along the trail and came to a dirt road that was covered in wheel marks. After scrabbling around the ground for a while, I found sand of the same shape.


    "The wheel marks are the same as those left by the car bombing!" yelled Xiaotao.


    "Let¡¯s investigate this lead,¡± I said tedly. ¡°He must be hiding in a messy rental unit under construction. There should be sand and ropes piled up at the scene. I doubt there¡¯s a parking lot so the murderer¡¯s car should be parked nearby. And the surrounding area has a bunch of food stalls."


    "How do you know there are a bunch of food stalls?¡± asked Xiaotao in wide-eyed shock. ¡°Did you disect the victim¡¯s intestines?"


    "Just search along these parameters. I¡¯ll exinter," I answered cryptically.


    Xiaotao led the officers on a search at once but I stayed behind to help Bingxin with the body. After all, I couldn¡¯t leave her to handle it all alone.


    When the others had all left, the three of us returned to the corpse. To Dali¡¯s surprise, I pulled out a stack of yellow joss paper from my pocket.


    "Song Yang, are you actually going to burn joss paper for this heinous criminal?"


    "He¡¯s already dead,¡± I sighed. ¡°This is something I must do no matter the person."

 Chapter 257

    <h4>Chapter 257</h4>


    After cing the corpse in a body bag and sending it back to the morgue, the three of us got into a police car and raced to reach Xiaotao and the others. Halfway through our journey, Xiaotao phoned, "Song Yang, we¡¯ve found it. There¡¯s a huge street of hawker stalls at the door!"


    "Did you catch our guy?" I asked.


    "Considering he may have a bomb or some other lethal weapon, we decided to lie in ambush outside," exined Xiaotao.


    "I¡¯ll be right there," I said.


    Bingxin tugged at my shirt and asked, "Song Yang-gege, how did you know there would be stalls outside?"


    "When Pork Rong was murdered, the sound from the bomb must have made a substantial noise, even if it wasn¡¯t earth-shattering,¡± I started. ¡°We both agreed that the time of death was 48 hours ago, that is, around 6 pm, two days ago. Why did the murderer choose that time instead ofte at night or in the day? I spected that there must be a cause for loud noise around that time near his hideout. Nine times out of ten it¡¯s an open-air restaurant or a bunch of food stalls."


    "Your thought process is so meticulous!¡± Bingxin pped her hands in glee. ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought about it at all. If only I could have a bit of your brain!"


    "Well, you might as well give me some of your brain too!¡± added Dali. ¡°That way, I won¡¯t have to worry about exams in the future."


    "Your brain is big enough! What do you take me for? A monkey?¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°Would you like to open up my scalp and have a bit of hot sauce with that?"


    When we arrived, we made sure to park the car on the far side of the road and immediately went looking for Xiaotao and the others on foot.


    The officers were hiding in the grass, waiting in ambush. Somewhere in the distance was a residential area by the road, somewhat in the middle of nowhere since this was a fork in the expressway. Drivers usually got off here to rest and have a meal and gradually, a bunch of food stalls and houses sprung up. It was indeed a good hideout for a murderer.


    "We might just bump into some other criminals in this sort of remote ce..." I said.


    "Now that you mention it, I think it¡¯s possible!"ughed Xiaotao.


    "Don¡¯t you think the man urinating on the side of the road looks like Ma Jiajue?" eximed Dali.


    ¡°Shut the hell up!¡± we shouted in unison.


    Xiaotao then proceeded to say that on the way here, they found a car stained with blood parked in the grass. Storm Punisher was most likely out of other options to have discarded his car.


    I stared at the buildings and imagined which one I would choose if I were Wang Yizhou, an insecure mechanical genius. After a thorough scan of the area, I pointed to the innermost building with a loft. "That unlit window may be where he¡¯s hiding."


    "The murderer already knows we are looking for him,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°We can¡¯t go with the old water meter trick. When the stalls close for the night and the lights are all off, we¡¯ll sneak past and break into the house!"


    "That¡¯s too much trouble! If we make a mistake, we might alert the suspect!" I argued.


    I looked around, noting everyone¡¯s faces. These officers had worked in this line for a long time and their faces all screamed ¡°morally upright.¡± But Dali on the other hand, had amon, harmless face.


    "Comrade Dali,¡± I said. ¡°You have been entrusted with the glorious and arduous task of spying on the enemy."


    "How am I supposed to do that?¡± Dali¡¯s jaw fell agape. ¡°I look like a student."


    "Go to the motel and tell the boss you want to rent a room,¡± I suggested. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to try and ask for as much information as possible. And make sure to keep your cell phone on call the entire time. If you see the murderer eating downstairs, order a bowl of beef noodles."


    Dali didn¡¯t know what Wang Yizhou looked like but quickly got acquainted with the man¡¯s features from a photo Xiaotao showed him. "If I go alone, it¡¯ll only seem suspicious!¡± remarked Dali. ¡°Why don¡¯t we get Bingxin toe with me and pretend we¡¯re an eloped couple."


    "Miss Sun, please cooperate with our investigation then!"ughed Xiaotao.


    Bingxin t out refused, "No way! Why can¡¯t Song Yang-gege go with me?"


    "When we were in a standoff with Pork Rong the other day, Wang Yizhou saw my face through his cell phone," I exined.


    Hence, Dali was our best bet. I remember he had been standing in the corner the entire time so Wang Yizhou had no way of recognizing him, and Dali¡¯s kind, honest face did little to raise anyone¡¯s hackles or put them on guard.


    With that said, Bingxin reluctantly put on a y with Dali. Through Dali¡¯s cell phone, we heard their conversation with the boss who exined that a young man had indeed rented a room here two months ago. And his description matched Wang Yizhou.


    It turned out that this guy had already settled the rent, making sure he covered all the bases. What a wily fox!


    "He may have another hideout,¡± I prompted.


    As soon as the words left my lips, Dali suddenly said, "A bowl of beef noodles, no scallions or coriander. Bingxin-meimei, what would you like?"


    His words left us like a cat on hot bricks, unsure if that was an affirmation of the secret signal we had agreed upon. While the others held their breath in nervousness, I lowered my voice and asked, "Do you see him?"


    "No, I¡¯m just hungry,¡± muttered Dali. ¡°Would you like me to bring you a couple of steamed buns?"


    Xiaotao pressed her palm on her forehead and raged, "This idiot has no sense of discipline at all! If he were to go undercover, he would¡¯ve died seven or eight times already."


    After that, we were forced to listen to Dali loud slurps and chewing. I urged him to hurry up with his meal and get a move on it.


    A bowl of beef noodlester, the two left the motel and took a leisurely stroll around the area. Dali spoke into the phone, "I think you can alle over. There¡¯s hardly anyone around here."


    Xiaotao¡¯s gaze flickered up to meet mine in a meaningful nce before she ordered several inclothes officers to head down to where Dali was while the others remained on standby in our original location. We arrived at a small two-storey house rented by Wang Yizhou. At the door, I fiddled the lock with a wire but an olddy came out and started poking around.


    "What the fuck are you looking at?¡± I yelled. ¡°This guy owes us a lot of money. Do you know where the hell he is?"


    "I don¡¯t know anything!" the olddy hastily replied, then turned to leave without a moment¡¯s dy.


    When I asked Xiaotao what she thought about my acting skills, sheughed, "Your expression is still a little stiff and slightly exaggerated!"


    Right then, the lock opened with a muted click and we fumbled our way in. I held back Dali¡¯s impulsive hand and cried, "Don¡¯t turn on the light yet!"


    Using our cell phones for lighting, we observed some mechanical parts and wires piled up in the room. There was no doubt that this was Wang Yizhou¡¯s hideout. I found a trapdoor under the bed and asked a few officers to push the bed aside so I could open it. Underneath the trapdoor was a basement where the distinct odor of lime emanated.


    "This is probably where Pork Rong died,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll go down and have a look."


    At the bottom of the steps, the basement looked exactly the same as the room we saw in the video. Lime had been sprinkled all over the floor to prevent it from stinking. I made extra care not to leave any footprints.


    I went back upstairs and said, "Let¡¯s go!"


    Xiaotao grumbled despondently, "Does this guy have the ability to predict the future? Why do we always seem a step toote?"


    "He has fewer resources to deal with us now,¡± I snickered. ¡°I believe we¡¯ll catch him soon."


    Xiaotao left two inclothes officers to monitor the situation here while the rest of us drove back to the station. On the way there, I mentioned I would visit the old man in prison again when I had the time.


    "Why do you want to see him?" asked Xiaotao.


    During this busy period of time, it hadpletely slipped my mind to share what I discovered after myst conversation with the old man. I gave a brief narration of how Qi Sheng had actually answered for Wang Yizhou¡¯s crime.


    "Are you sure?" Xiaotao eximed.


    "Whether I¡¯m sure or not isn¡¯t going to do anything,¡± I sighed. ¡°Only by catching Wang Yizhou can the truth be revealed and the old man be cleared of the conviction."


    At one of the intersections, Xiaotao turned away from the station. "Where are we going?" I asked.


    "You¡¯ve all been working day and night but we¡¯re finally making progress with the case!¡± giggled Xiaotao. ¡°I think this is the perfect time for a meal! My treat!" she winked.

 Chapter 258

    <h4>Chapter 258</h4>


    We found a good restaurant nearby and Dali, having finished an entire bowl of beef noodles, looked on with regret.


    Although he could no longer stomach any more food, he still insisted on braving the challenge. He picked up a sd bowl and said to Bingxin, "Come on then. I¡¯ll show you my unique skill of eating in a buffet. Have you ever seen a sd stacked up thirty centimeters high?"


    "You¡¯re bragging,¡± Bingxin waved him off dismissively. ¡°I don¡¯t believe a small bowl could hold that much food."


    When Dali said he would show it to her, Xiaotao sneered, "Stop showing off, you idiot! You¡¯ll have to pay extra if you don¡¯t finish your food!"


    "Song Yang-gege,¡± Bingxin shook my sleeve. ¡°Would you like to get some food with me?"


    ¡°You should go,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not really hungry."


    But Bingxin¡¯s heart was set on me apanying her. Right then, I was saved from the trouble by a phone call Xiaotao received. After a brief conversation, she smiled wryly at me and said, "Someone wants to see us both. Can you guess who?"


    "Is it my father who¡¯s returned from the meeting?" asked Bingxin, her face gleaming with excitement.


    "No,¡± Xiaotao shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s the burn victim fromst time. There¡¯s been another row and he insists on talking to us or he¡¯ll kill himself."


    "Why is he being so difficult?" I sighed.


    "At the time, we should¡¯ve ended his pain with one shot."


    The No. 3 Hospital wasn¡¯t far from our current location. I told Bingxin and Dali to eat first, while Xiaotao and I visited the hospital. After all, it was a buffet and the food wouldn¡¯t get cold. Xiaotao and I would be back in no time.


    When we arrived at the hospital, we immediately headed to the victim¡¯s ward. Upon entering the room, we were greeted by a wreck of a ce, with all sorts of items littered all over the floor such as broken cup fragments and an overturned infusion rack. I picked a pillow off the ground and asked, "You said you wanted to see us?"


    His entire body was still wrapped in white bandages and his eyes were sharp with hatred. I could tell this boy was on the edge of aplete mental breakdown so I made sure to soften my tone and sound asforting as I could.


    Given Xiaotao¡¯s character, it wasn¡¯t surprising that she had neither time nor patience to deal with the task of consoling the victim. Instead, she walked to the window and casually looked out. Meanwhile, I was stillforting the boy, but as I was speaking, a thought suddenly hit me¨Cthe bandage on his hand was wrapped in the wrong direction! It was obvious he had done it himself.


    Without a moment¡¯s dy, I grabbed his hand, tore open the bandage, and noticed the intact skin below.


    "Who are you?" I asked in astonishment.


    "I¡¯m the one you¡¯re looking for!" he grinned.


    Before I could react, he pulled out a spray from under the quilt and aimed it at my face. The shock of the matter left my reflexes dull and I breathed it in. A wave of dizziness hit me like a bat to the head and I wobbled and fell slump.


    A few seconds before the unconsciousness sank in, I saw Xiaotao rush toward me. But just like me, her steps grew heavy and she fell limp beside me.


    I wasn¡¯t sure how long I remained unconscious, but the next thing I knew, I was choking in a big gulp of cold water, causing a sharp pain to sear my lungs. My hands and feet seemed to be fixed to something. I struggled desperately, swaying my body with all the strength I could muster. The water around me sloshed as I suddenly flipped upwards to the surface of the water and greedily breathed in a chestful of air...


    It was also pitch dark but a quick scan of my surroundings revealed that I seemed to be in the middle of a swimming pool, shackled to a huge surfboard. My shirt had been removed and I was soaked to the skin, freezing from the cold. Upon further observation, I noticed my hands and feet were bound in metal shackles.


    Because of the effect of the ether, my brain was still woozy as if it had been stuffed with cotton. I recalled the previous events and suddenly, the gravity of the situation hit me like a truck. I had been kidnapped by Storm Punisher and put on trial!


    At this moment, I realized that the surfboard was shaking vigorously, causing sshes all around. The first thought that came to mind was the existence of some sort of mechanism, but I quickly dismissed that idea. With the structure of a surfboard, the heavy side would certainly sink to the bottom, but I was still on top, which meant¨C


    Xiaotao was on the other side of the surfboard, submerged in water!


    "Xiaotao, stop moving,¡± I shouted. ¡°I¡¯m on the other side. Try swaying right while I go left. Let¡¯s work together, and move on the count of three. One, two, three!"


    Although Xiaotao couldn¡¯t speak, I could feel her cooperating with my movements. With a huge ssh, the surfboard turned over, submersing me in water again while Xiaotao was above the surface. I heard her inhale violently.


    After about ten seconds of deep breaths, Xiaotao said, "Song Yang, I¡¯ll turn over so you can breathe. One, two, three!"


    Sie I couldn¡¯t speak, all I could do was coordinate with her movements, and the two of us turned upside down again. The current situation was this¨CXiaotao and I were fixed on both sides of a surfboard. Only one person could breathe at a time so there was little possibility of us escaping on our own and our best bet was the police.


    "Xiaotao, we¡¯ll each breathe for 30 seconds." I gasped.


    After slight contemtion, I added, "You may not be able to see our surroundings clearly. I¡¯ll describe our current situation so you have an idea."


    I exined as much as I knew within thirty seconds when we switched positions again. This time, Xiaotao¡¯s voice came from the other side, "The suspect actually took the initiative to pull us into his trap. When he spoke in the hospital, I realized something was wrong because his voice sounded exactly the same as the doctor who called me..."


    When it was my turn to face up, I said, "We¡¯ve probably pushed him into a corner. But the silver lining is, this contraption doesn¡¯t require us to sever our legs or our arms. This looks very much like a gymnasium and it¡¯s probably around 10 in the evening. That¡¯s to say, we¡¯ll have to wait until tomorrow morning before someonees to rescue us."


    "Do you really think you can hold out till tomorrow?" A voice sounded from the other end of the pool. I couldn¡¯t lift my head to look, but I was certain that it was Wang Yizhou.


    This time he wasn¡¯t using a voice changer. "Thanks to you two, I¡¯ve nothing now,¡± he said, voice cold and slimy. ¡°I just want to say that I truly admire you for being able to push me to this point."


    I felt the anger rise in my chest. "Well aren¡¯t you an arrogant bastard! Do you really think you can escape?" I yelled.


    Unfazed by my taunts, he continued with his speech. "I wonder, have you started to feel itchy? I¡¯ve added some corrosives in the water. If you soak in it for too long, you will die."


    Thirty seconds passed so I switched over and allowed Xiaotao to breathe. A deep breathter, Xiaotao couldn¡¯t resist a burst of expletives.


    "Although we haven¡¯t spoken much, I¡¯ve long heard of a young detective and a beautiful officer partnering up in Nanjiang City,¡± he added. ¡°The two of you share a close rtionship and confide in each other. This trial is just a test of that. One of you must drown for the other to stay up until dawn and wait for help."


    ¡°You can dream on!¡± shouted Xiaotao. ¡°We either live together or both die!"


    Wang Yizhou burst out inughter. "Is that so? Before your survival instincts, how much is your rtionship worth? When you start to find that your whole body itches like ants slowly eating away at your skin and your heartbeat starts to slow down, would you still have the strength to continue to provide oxygen to yourpanion? Is your partner as trustworthy as yourself? Perhaps you¡¯ll never get the chance to breathe again! Anyhow, I wish you two a good time!"


    After Wang Yizhou left, Xiaotao remained silent but didn¡¯t forget to let me up to breathe at the 30 second mark.


    Right about then, I could already feel my skin start to tingle, especially around my eyes and nostrils. The water was indeed filled with chemicals.


    "Xiaotao, just ignore him!¡± I urged. ¡°He¡¯s trying to sow discord between us. Don¡¯t waver and keep going. You mustn¡¯t give up!"


    But as soon as those words left my lips, I closed my eyes and heaved a deep sigh. Would one of us have to die for the other to live?


    If so, then I¡¯d rather it was me!

 Chapter 259

    <h4>Chapter 259</h4>


    Xiaotao and I took turns breathing, managing tost this way for about half an hour before my skin started to burn, the feeling resembled being soaked naked in bleach.


    Wang Yizhou must have poured arge amount of swimming pool chlorine that contained strong acidicponents. The skin difort was secondary ¡ª what really bothered me was the burning sensation in my windpipe, probably caused by choking on water at the beginning!


    The other thing I noticed was the nylon ropes about a finger¡¯s thickness tied to the two sharp ends of the surfboard. I initially assumed that we could slowly propel the surfboard towards the edge of the swimming pool if we worked to sway it in a coordinated move. But in fact, the nylon ropes at the ends of the surfboard made this impossible. We could only turn up and down.


    In such a situation, it was truly a challenge to remain calm andposed. Yet any anxiety and fear would magnify the danger of our situation infinitely. I couldn¡¯t help but seriously consider the consequences of my death.


    Would my family feel sad? Would the murderer continue tomit crimes with impunity? Would I go to the underworld after death?


    In order to preserve our strength, we hardly spoke during this period. The pin-drop silence only served to worsen our fears and I was afraid Xiaotao would be affected. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Iforted, hoping to distract her from any loss of confidence. ¡°Wang Yuanchao and Song Xingchen will definitely find us. When this case is finally over, I¡¯ll go to your ce and we¡¯ll live like pigs for a few days, watching all the horror movies from the ssics to thetest releases, domestic and foreign!"


    Despite having said that, I couldn¡¯t fight the growing doubt in my heart. Would they arrive in time?


    Thirty secondster, Xiaotao came up to breathe and said, "Song Yang, there¡¯s something I have to say to you."


    I froze in puzzlement, then listened quietly.


    Xiaotao¡¯s voice echoed in the empty room, "I¡¯ll be honest with you, I don¡¯t feel anything for you. I¡¯ve only been pretending to like you this whole time. In fact, I¡¯m just using your feelings for me to tie you to my side so that I can solve more cases and climb up thedder. I¡¯m sorry to say that you were deceived by my acting skills."


    Hearing these words, I felt a stabbing pain in my heart that almost made me yell, but I refrained.


    It suddenly dawned upon me that Xiaotao was deliberately provoking me so I would choose to live. She wanted to sacrifice herself!


    When I turned to the surface, I cried, "Xiaotao, what are you talking about? Are you hoping I¡¯ll let you drown so I can live? Don¡¯t lose faith! Believe me, we will survive!"


    Thirty secondster, Xiaotao sobbed, her voice spilling out in an incoherent mess. "Song Yang, I don¡¯t like you at all... You don¡¯t have to keep trying so hard for me... I hate you... I hate it so much!"


    Xiaotao had fallen into despair but these insincere words couldn¡¯t deceive me. Her deste cries gripped my heart like a vice.


    After five minutes or more of bleak heaviness between us, Xiaotao refused to cooperate when I tried to switch sides with her. She knew I couldn¡¯t flip the board on my own and seemed to have made up her mind to sacrifice herself.


    I shook the surfboard frantically, rapping the edge with my fingers. "Don¡¯t do this!¡± I begged. ¡°Just calm down and listen to me. I¡¯ve already thought of a way to get out of here. Pleasee up and breathe. I promise I¡¯ll tell you my n in 30 seconds!"


    I was merely buying time. Right now, Xiaotao was extremely fragile. Even if it was a lie, I hoped my words could impart a bit of hope, much like the effect a mirage had on a lost person in the desert, I prayed she would have the courage to make it through.


    To my utter relief, Xiaotao obediently cooperated with my movements and exchanged positions with me. Meanwhile, I was concentrating all thought on how to escape.


    Truthfully, I felt that we were trapped in a hopeless predicament. But as time went by, I was struck with a sh of inspiration. It suddenly urred to me that in the human pig case, the faceless ve once used the method of biting off his thumb to break away from his handcuffs. Naturally, doing the same was impossible in my present position but I could still break my thumb. After all, this method had been sessfully employed by many criminals before me.


    When I resurfaced, I said, "I have a way to free my hand, but I¡¯ll need several attempts so please be patient. I promise we won¡¯t die in this short period of time.¡±


    The technique was to forcefully pull my thumb beyond the working angle of the joint. If all went well, I would be able to release my hand from the shackles. But there was another unresolved variable, that is, I wasn¡¯t sure if there was a lock on these shackles. If so, I could try picking the lock, and right now, this was our only bet.


    I gritted my teeth, jaw clenched as I pressed my thumb on the surfboard in the opposite direction of the joint, plucking up all the strength I had. Breaking my thumb was much harder than I ever imagined. The subconscious reflex of self-preservation virtually inhibited my movements.


    For three minutes I tried but to no avail, until I finally hardened my resolve, snapping my thumb off in one move and tearing the skin between my thumb and index finger. As the blood spewed from my wound, an indescribable pain ravaged my nerves and my tears came streaming down uncontrobly. But in spite of the unbearable pain, I was filled with excitement and a zealous desire to live as I carefully pulled out my hand from the shackles.


    I knocked on the surfboard once more, my voiceing out in ragged breaths, "Xiaotao, I can move my right hand now. Pleasee up and take a breath first."


    "Song Yang, how did you do it?¡± Xiaotao asked as soon as she came up for air. ¡°I heard a click. Did you break your thumb? I¡¯ll do it too!"


    When we exchanged ces again, I said, "It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s just dislocated. I can pop the bone back inter. I¡¯m going to take a hairpin from your head to try to unlock the shackles."


    One free arm meant a quarter of my body could be moved and an improved range of vision.


    While keeping my bnce, I sat up and observed the design of the shackles. Unfortunately, it was a U-shaped metal loop with both ends tightly screwed to the surfboard.


    The surfboard was made of durable material so it was unlikely I would have enough strength to pull out the screws with my bare hands. "Do you have anything on you that I can use to unscrew the shackles?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s your turn toe up and breathe."


    "The murderer took all my belongings and left me with nothing," Xiaotao said in dismay.


    Her reply greatly frustrated me. There was nothing worse in the world than to realize you¡¯d reached another dead end even after fighting with all your heart and strength.


    "Song Yang, is there no other way?" Xiaotao anxiously asked.


    I kept my eyes closed whenever I was submerged in the water for fear that the corrosive liquid would enter my eyes. Perhaps, the effect of the chemicals had started taking a toll on my body. After soaking in the water for such a long time, I felt unwell. I thought I might as well open my eyes and examine the pool. There was nothing above that could help us escape but perhaps there might be something underwater. Who knows? Maybe the previous visitors might have dropped something.


    I no longer hesitated, opening my eyes and trying to ignore the stabbing pain that felt like countless needles pricking my eyeballs. The pain almost made me choke on my own saliva but I fought back the excruciating sting and scanned the waters. Suddenly, my eyes were drawn to something.


    "It¡¯s your turn to breathe!" shouted Xiaotao.


    The water sloshed around as we exchanged positions again. "I¡¯ve found a way!¡± I eximed. ¡°There¡¯s a water outlet below. If I can free both of my hands, I¡¯ll be able to reach it with my height. If we drain the water, we can definitely make it till dawn."


    The lure of survival motivated me to break my other thumb, and this time I seeded very quickly.


    As my upper body broke free from the shackles, the surfboard suddenly lost its bnce and swung back and forth a few times. Then, I crashed into the water.


    "Are you all right?" asked a worried Xiaotao.


    Underwater, I grabbed my thumb and forcibly pushed it back to its original position. I was thankful for the cold water that eased much of the pain.


    Then I proceeded to dive down, reaching my hands out to the bottom of the pool. In my heart, I repeatedly thanked my dear old mum for giving me my height.


    The floor of the swimming pool was covered with blue ceramic tiles but the steel te of the water outlet was a different color. With acrobat-like movements, I hooked my fingers around the edge and pulled hard. The water pressure from the entire swimming pool acted on the steel te, heavy as lead.


    I wasn¡¯t sure how long I remained in that position until my fingernails had started to crack. My lungs felt like they were about to run out of air, my hands cramped from the force. But right then, the steel te moved a few centimeters apart and a strong suction came from the edge, slowly forming a small whirlpool in the ce where water poured in.


    I was overjoyed. I had seeded!

 Chapter 260

    <h4>Chapter 260</h4>


    Ten minutester, two thirds of the water in the swimming pool had been drained and we were both free to breathe at the same time.


    Our bodies were suspended in mid-air; I was below while Xiaotaoy on top.


    My current position was extremely hard to bear, with my entire upper body tilted downward so the blood rushed to my head. I tried lifting myself by grabbing onto the shackles, but without the buoyancy of the water, my body felt as heavy as lead and my muscles ached after maintaining this posture for a while.


    "Song Yang, I really don¡¯t know what to say," muttered Xiaotao, unable to hide the gratitude in her voice.


    "You don¡¯t have to say anything,¡± I gave a weak, wateryugh. ¡°With how close we are, why be so polite with me? Do you need to use the restroom?" I joked.


    Xiaotao remained silent. In truth, I had the urge to pee, though it wasn¡¯t urgent. Besides, if I tried peeing in this position, I would only get it all over me so I¡¯d rather endure it.


    Although our lives were saved, we were still trapped here, body cold, joints aching and skin burning. Thisbination of unpleasant sensations was ufortable beyond description.


    Suddenly, I heard a low hume from Xiaotao as the room soon echoed with a tune that I did not recognize.


    "What are you humming?" I asked.


    "The Three Bears,¡± she replied. ¡°I learned the song when I was still a trainee in the police academy. s, at the time, I yearned for the future but I never imagined that one day I would be in such a sorry plight."


    "Do you think we would have been friends if we had known each other back then?" I asked.


    "I doubt we¡¯d have anything to talk about,¡±ughed Xiaotao. ¡°Back then, I was like a little peacock who walked around with my nose in the air. Have you ever had the impulse to kill yourself?"


    "Hmm, I have to say I think I¡¯m rather narcissistic,¡± I grinned. ¡°When I was a child, I was a cute, pink-cheeked little fe. I don¡¯t want to kill him at all!"


    "You have toe visit my ce when the case is finally over!" suggested XIaotao.


    "That¡¯s a promise!" I nodded.


    The conversationpsed and we fell into silence. But after a while, Xiaotao suddenly dered, "Song Yang, actually, I hope you can be a little bolder!"


    The meaning in her words were clear as day, sending my heartbeat intoplete disarray. When we solved the case, I was going to express my feelings for her and end the ambiguity between us. I didn¡¯t care if the sky fell or if aliens invaded the earth; I had to let her know how I truly felt.


    After experiencing countless dangerous situations together, even life-threatening ones, the precariousness of our lives weighed heavily in my heart. Perhaps the words I so desperately wanted to say might go unspoken one day.


    Xiaotao broke into violent coughs, pulling me out of my thoughts and back to our grim situation. The rusty odor of blood filled my nose. I pounded the surfboard and cried, "What¡¯s wrong with you?"


    "Nothing, it¡¯s just a cough."


    "You¡®re lying! You just vomited blood. Are you poisoned?" I panted, heart in mouth as I waited for her reply.


    But Xiaotao kept mum, her silence further exacerbating my worries. "What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± I shouted. ¡°Answer me!"


    "I¡¯m fine,¡± whispered Xiaotao. ¡°It¡¯s really nothing!"


    I gritted my teeth. The frustration of being so close to her yet powerless to help gnawed away at me. She might have choked on some water earlier and swallowed some of the chemicals. Although the concentration of chemicals in the water wasn¡¯trge and would not be fatal, it might leave seque if left untreated until dawn.


    At this moment, there came the sound of footsteps from outside.


    "There¡¯s someone out there!¡± I eximed. ¡°We have to call for help!"


    At first, we were a little embarrassed to scream like helpless little girls. After all, this was the first time in our lives that we had to shout for help. But on second thought, who cared about that? Compared to our lives, a little humiliation was nothing! Thus, we yelled at the top of our lungs, praying our voices would be loud enough to attract attention. Fortunately, the footsteps seemed to get closer and closer until a dull thud reverberated around the room¨Csomeone had pushed the door and entered.


    As the footsteps slowly approached, a nagging doubt emerged in my mind. Could this be the murderer who returned to make sure we were dead? I certainly didn¡¯t have the energy to y any more of his games.


    But just as the thought crossed my mind, I suddenly caught sight of a familiar face¨Cit was Song Xingchen!


    Upon seeing our situation, his eyes widened with disbelief and fury, hand clutching the hilt of his Tang sword. "I¡¯ll kill that son of a bitch!" he cursed.


    "Quick!" I shouted, overjoyed. ¡°Help us get out of these shackles!¡±


    Song Xingchen scanned the room as if he were looking for something.


    "Hey, stop wasting time!" I said, anxious to be freed from this ufortable position.


    Song Xingchen circled the room and walked over to us, taking off his trench coat. It suddenly dawned upon me that he was looking for something to cover Xiaotao¡¯s body since she might be naked.


    Song Xingchen draped his trench coat over Xiaotao and drew out his sword, slicing the nylon rope in a swift downward motion. As we dangled from the surfboard, Song Xingchen supported my torso with one hand and broke the shackles with the other.


    Only after I was free did I manage to observe the state Xiaotao was in. Her legs were bare under Song Xingchen¡¯s trench coat, pants having been stripped by the suspect. All she had on was a pair of panties and a white shirt that had turned transparent from the wetness. The outline of herce bra was clearly visible under the shirt and her chest was stained with splotches of blood.


    When she noticed my line of sight, Xiaotao flushed crimson.


    "I¡¯ll look away," I quickly assured her.


    "No!" she cried, rushing up to wrap her arms around me in a tight embrace, head leaning on my chest. After slight hesitation, I enveloped her body with mine and gently patted her on the back as Iforted, "We¡¯re alright, we¡¯re alright!"


    When we finally gainedposure, Song Xingchen took out a small porcin bottle from his pocket and handed it over. "Drink this," he instructed.


    The bottle contained the Song family¡¯s special poison antidote. I gulped down half of it and left the rest for Xiaotao. The effects were nothing short of miraculous and I felt better instantly. I noticed that Song Xingchen¡¯s trousers were covered in mud suggesting that it had taken him quite an effort to find us. So I couldn¡¯t bear to badger him about the dy in our rescue.


    "Do you have a cell phone?" I asked.


    Song Xingchen handed me his ckBerry but I froze, unsure of whom I could call. The only number I knew was my own and Xiaotao¡¯s. I hadn¡¯t even bothered to memorize Dali¡¯s.


    Xiaotao grabbed the phone from my hand and quickly dialed a number¨Cit was the Bureau¡¯s.


    It turned out that we had been missing for three hours, sparking panic back at the station. Upon hearing Xiaotao¡¯s voice, the officers broke down in relief and asked for our location so they could send a car to pick us up immediately.


    After hanging up, we heaved a sigh of relief. Xiaotao returned Song Xingchen¡¯s phone but refused to let go of me. Our bodies were cold as ice after being soaked in water for such a long time. But even then, I could feel the subtle heat of her skin and smell the tempting fragrance from her body.


    Holding Xiaotao in my arms seemed to solidify the reality that we had made it out alive. Her touch and warmth was the steady anchor upon which my dangling heart found solid ground.


    We sat at the bottom of the emptied swimming pool, eyes filled with each other¡¯s reflection. Previously, we were stillmenting how slowly time passed, but now we only hoped time could stop at this exact moment forever. Song Xingchen stood motionless as he watched over us.


    When the sounds of sirens came from a distance, Xiaotao slowly left my embrace. Our narrow escape from the gates of death had given birth to deeper emotions that were reflected in her gentle eyes.


    "Let¡¯s go back," she said.


    As soon as I stood up, Song Xingchen dropped to his knees, lowered his head and apologized, "This was negligence on my part. ording to the Song familyws, you have the right to punish me."


    "Punish you?" Iughed. "Go get us two cups of bubble tea then!"


    Song Xingchen got up and quietly left. When we exited the building, we saw several ambnces and police cars parked at the gymnasium. Bingxin ran over, tears streaming down her face as she wailed, "Song Yang-gege, Xiaotao-jiejie, you both had me scared to death! How could you suddenly disappear while we were eating?! I thought something happened to you two!"


    Dali also came running towards us. "Dude, what the hell happened to you? Why do you look so terrible?"


    The others gathered around us, firing question after question but I was too exhausted to answer them right now. "Let us rest for a bit before we continue," I sighed.


    "No, now¡¯s not time to rest!¡± Xiaotao retorted. ¡°The suspect must be in the vicinity. We have to catch him!"


    Right then, Wang Yuanchao interjected, "Chief, the suspect has been arrested!"

 Chapter 261

    <h4>Chapter 261</h4>


    When they were searching for Xiaotao and me earlier, the officers noticed a suspicious person lurking around the area, that is, the wanted criminal Wang Yizhou! Oddly enough, Wang Yizhou didn¡¯t bother to put up any resistance and was now being held in the Bureau, though he was unwilling to say a word.


    In order to rece the burn victim in the hospital, Wang Yizhou had murdered the boy. The body was hidden in the morgue and discovered by a nurse two hours ago.


    I exchanged a look of surprise with Xiaotao. Wang Yizhou¡¯s arrest was no ident. He had been pushed to his wits¡¯ end by us.


    "Let¡¯s have a chat with him!" I said.


    Back at the station, we came face to face with Wang Yizhou again in the interrogation room. Eyes wide, he stared at us in disbelief. "How did you escape?" he demanded.


    I plopped into the seat in front of him. "Thanks to you, I almost lost my life!" I hissed.


    The muscles on his face contorted. "That¡¯s impossible! The mechanism I designed is perfect. No one can escape. At least, there¡¯s no way you can both live! Someone must have rescued you!"


    Wang Yizhou had a fair, almost childlike face. With the addition of sses, he looked like an innocent teenager, but in my opinion, it was the face of the devil. In truth, we wanted nothing more than to lock the door and send him on his way to hell but we restrained the impulse.


    "There¡¯s no point in resisting now. You might as well confess!" I glowered.


    Wang Yizhou cast an angry re at me thatsted ten seconds before he sighed, as if frustrated, and began to narrate his story.


    Ever since he was young, he was interested in machinery and had a knack for inventing all sorts of small devices. However, his talent brought nothing but disdain from the people around him who all regarded him as a freak. Wherever he went, he was always out of ce.


    He and Li Derong were tmates who shared the rent. However, due to differences in personalities and living habits, they seldom spoke to each other unless absolutely necessary. He would be cooped up in his room, churning out new gadgets and reading up on mechanical books, day in, day out.


    By chance, he had discovered that Li Derong was a small time streamer on a website called the In-depth Live Stream. Through him, he was able to catch a glimpse of this strange, online world. While he deemed the content on the website as mere trash, he was urged by Li Derong to give it a shot.


    He eventually agreed and began constructing contraptions, experimenting with rabbits and mice. However, the response he received was lukewarm. The person in charge of the website personally contacted him and said that his little gadgets were too mild. What he needed was a shocking twist to his current program. He then asked if he had ever watched the movie "Saw,¡± suggesting he let go of his inhibitions and work with humans instead!


    In the beginning, he refused, but Li Derong¡¯s sess with blowing up toilets and exploding dead pigs started to tempt him. He ended up signing a contract with the website, and found an abandoned air-raid shelter near his t to build a torture room for the ¡°Hell¡¯s Judgment¡± series. However, an ident ured during his first live stream when the victim escaped.


    At the time, Wang Yizhou was terrified. Fortunately, Li Derong was quick to act and ran out with a hook which he used to pierce the victim¡¯s body. After he murdered the first victim, Li Derong even helped him dispose of the body.


    Li Derong¡¯s loyalty had moved him so much that he proposed a cooperation between them. He would torture and murder their victims while Li Derong was in charge of destroying the body.


    The two proceeded to cooperate on their next two victims but with the rise in Li Derong¡¯s poprity, the man¡¯s ego began to inte. Li Derong¡¯s arrogance had grown so much he even dared to mess with the police, finally escting to the point of a confrontation with the police! In the end, Wang Yizhou had no choice but to save him.


    The person in charge exined that Li Derong¡¯s unauthorized actions would cause disaster to the entire website and ordered him to do away with Li Derong. Hence, Wang Yizhou hardened his resolve to kill his tmate...


    In another turn of events, Li Derong revealed their boss¡¯ number before he died. At the time, an anxious Wang Yizhou hastily uploaded the video, his mind preupied with avoiding the police and little else. On one hand, he assumed we couldn¡¯t watch the video, and on the other hand, his pursuit for perfection and work ethics as a streamer made him feel that the trial process would be ruined if he deleted thatst bit.


    He hadpletely forgotten that the reason we were able to turn the tide was because we had ess to the website! Thus, the result of his error resulted in theplete destruction of the site.


    By the time Wang Yizhou responded, it was already toote. His final n was to get rid of us and flee far away.


    When he finished his story, Wang Yizhou spread out his arms and dered, "That¡¯s it!"


    Both Xiaotao and I knew he was lying from the evasive look in his eyes. The persona he presented waspletely different from the cruel and arrogant look he had right before he left us to die. It was obvious he was merely pretending to be an ignorant young man who was unwittingly led astray by the outside world.


    "Were you the culprit behind the case ten years ago?" I asked.


    Wang Yizhou was quick to deny, "No, how could such a poorly-designed mechanisme from me?"


    "Did I mention which case it was?¡± I sneered. ¡°But it looks like you know exactly what I mean."


    A trace of panic shed across his eyes. "Of course I know which case you¡¯re talking about,¡± he argued. ¡°You¡¯re talking about my professor, although that has nothing to do with me!"


    I didn¡¯t expect him to continue lying about it. "Your professor, Qi Sheng, has been paying for your crime for ten years! Don¡¯t you feel guilty at all?" I used.


    "It had nothing to do with me,¡± he insisted, his expression cold and impassive. ¡°Why should I admit to something I didn¡¯t do?"


    Every little microexpression of his told me that he was lying. But out of foolish pride, he was unwilling to admit that he was the real mastermind behind the case ten years ago and preferred to allow Qi Sheng to continue taking the me for him.


    No matter how we tried, Wang Yizhou repeated the same thing. Xiaotao and I were exhausted after a long day, and two other officers came in to take over the interrogation.


    "This guy is too slick! I don¡¯t think further interrogation is going to do anything,¡± she said. ¡°Anyway, we have plenty of physical evidence."


    "But Qi Sheng¡¯s case must be rified," I argued.


    "I highly doubt that he will admit to it,¡± Xiaotao said, shaking her head. ¡°We can only rely on physical evidence to overturn the case. I think it¡¯s better you visit the old man."


    "I guess that¡¯s our only option!" I sighed.


    The next day, Xiaotao and I headed to Mt. Leopard Prison. This time, I came to fulfill the promise I made in ourst conversation. I brought the old man a pack of Chunghwa cigarettes to celebrate our arrest of Wang Yizhou.


    Staring at the pack of Chunghwa cigarettes in his hand, the old man asked, "Is he hurt?"


    "No, your beloved student surrendered without any resistance," I replied.


    The old man heaved a sigh of relief.


    "There is one thing I hope you can rify,¡± I started. ¡°Ten years ago, you weren¡¯t the murderer. So why did you take the me for him? Now that he has been arrested, you don¡¯t have to keep up the lies..."


    The old man gaped in disbelief at my discovery of the truth. A few moments of silence passed as he stared at me intently.


    "Would you like a cigarette?" I asked.


    He slipped a cigarette between his lips, waiting as I lit it for him. The old man took a deep breath and began narrating the incidents that happened that year.


    Wang Yizhou was the most intelligent and gifted of all his students. His aplishments in mechanics far surpassed those of Qi Sheng in his younger days, even overshadowing the rising engineers in the west. The two often enjoyed discussing mechanical problems together. Upon learning the tragic circumstances of Wang Yizhou¡¯s childhood, Qi Sheng took him as his own and often invited him to his home for dinner.


    In Wang Yizhou¡¯s third year of university, the dean giarized Qi Sheng¡¯s paper. In an angry fit, Qi Sheng barged into the dean¡¯s office and threatened to sue him, but the dean didn¡¯t care at all. He imed that with his position, he could even fire Qi Sheng.


    At the time, Qi Sheng was undoubtedly furious. But before he could act on it, a bit of unexpected news emerged¨Cthe dean was dead and horribly murdered.


    The police found the dean¡¯s bloody body in an abandoned bungalow near the school. He was ced on a homemade torture device, body mangled and mutted beyond recognition. The first thought that came to Qi Sheng¡¯s mind was his beloved student, Wang Yizhou.


    He proceeded to meet up with Wang Yizhou to ask him why he did such a thing.


    Wang Yizhou exined he had wreaked vengeance on his behalf, to which Qi Sheng sighed, "You silly child, this is murder! Once the police find out about it, your whole life will be ruined."


    However, Wang Yizhou looked at him, lips curled in an uncanny smile that would forever be seared into Qi Sheng¡¯s memory.


    He said, "Professor, is the mechanism I designed perfect?"

 Chapter 262

    <h4>Chapter 262</h4>


    At the time, Qi Sheng¡¯s head was too preupied with the dean¡¯s death to reflect on Wang Yizhou¡¯s reaction. Only after he was imprisoned did he understand that Wang Yizhou¡¯s love for machinery was beyond obsessive. In his eyes, machinery was of utmost importance, far exceeding the value of human beings. Hence, human lives were mere trifles¨Cinsignificant little things. His thoughts and impulses were indicative of a severe antisocial personality disorder.


    Wang Yizhou once said, "The human body is a failure in terms of mechanical structure."


    After the dean¡¯s death, the police focused their attention on Qi Sheng. The matter of the dean¡¯s giarism and the enmity between them wasmon knowledge in the school.


    While Qi Sheng was anxiously dealing with the police, Wang Yizhou fell to his old ways again. It seemed that the darkness hidden in his heart had finally been released with the execution of the first crime. He used torture contraptions he invented to kill the orphanage teacher who abused him as a child and his biological father who constantly beat him.


    Despite being fully aware of all three crimes, Qi Sheng desperately led the police to himself. When questioned by the police about his alibi during the time of the crimes, he intentionally gave vague answers to draw their suspicions towards himself.


    Qi Sheng felt that he was already an old man with one foot in the grave but Wang Yizhou still had a bright future ahead of him. It was worthwhile to exchange the limited years he had left for the future of his beloved student!


    But as a teacher, he was at aplete loss, exasperated that his beloved student had started down a dark and dangerous path. Qi Sheng was torn between his frustration with his student¡¯s behavior and the helplessness he felt knowing that Wang Yizhou¡¯s sadistic heart had been born out of society¡¯s cruelty. How could he me Wang Yizhou? Thus, Qi Sheng made his student promise him, "If you really must do such a thing in the future, you can only punish the wicked and you must be fair!"


    On the day he was taken away by the police, he saw Wang Yizhou kowtowing in the direction of the police car, tears streaming down his face as he refused to get up. Wang Yizhou¡¯s reaction further bolstered his confidence that the sacrifice he made was worth it. However, ten yearster, Wang Yizhou had unexpectedly turned into an inhumane monster with no regard for morality.


    ¡°Did you really not think of it?¡± I asked. ¡°When you suffered the consequences for him, you should have known what a big mistake it was!"


    "I knew that,¡± sighed the old man. ¡°But I just couldn¡¯t do it. I couldn¡¯t watch a mechanical genius who might rewrite the history of human science and technology in his life go to jail and lose all chance at the future that might have awaited him. His talents could bring about a leap in technology in our country that¡¯s ten years ahead of the rest. We wouldn¡¯t have to continue facing the ridicule and the technological restrictions imposed by the United States and Japan. He could even realize our country¡¯s dream of bing a great powerhouse! In that case, who cares about a few dead people? The atomic bomb invented by Einstein killed even more but his achievements are unprecedented and unparalleled. Are you telling me that a few million lives are more important than Einstein¡¯s?"


    "Your thinking is wed,¡± I said. ¡°Now I see that you¡¯re not so different from Wang Yizhou after all. Perhaps the only thing that sets you apart is that Wang Yizhou has put his beliefs into practice while you haven¡¯t! When youpare him to Einstein, it¡¯s an insult to Einstein. Your beloved student never invented anything that would benefit mankind. But he did do one thing, and that is murder for money!"


    "However, you should be d that it¡¯s not illegal to have such distorted thoughts,¡± added Xiaotao. ¡°Very soon, we will overturn your conviction and clear your name."


    The old man waved her off hand and sighed, "Forget it. I don¡¯t have many years to live. What can an old man who¡¯s been imprisoned for so long do when I leave? I know best exactly what prison is like. When hees in, I can at least take care of him for a few years.¡±


    Xiaotao and I did a double take, eyes meeting each other in a meaningful gaze... This old man was sick!


    Well, if he didn¡¯t care about clearing his name, then we could put an end to the matter. When we were about to leave, the old man cupped his fist and said, "Excuse me, could you do me a favor?"


    ¡°What?¡± I asked.


    He pushed the pack of Chunghwa cigarettes over. "How could a prisoner like me enjoy such luxurious cigarettes on my own? How many do you think I¡¯ll end up smoking?¡± he asked. ¡°Please take this to the canteen outside and exchange it for some regr ones."


    It was a simple request so I agreed and went outside to exchange several Hongtashans. On my way back, I passed by the prison yard and was startled by the crisp rattle of the barbed fence as someone charged towards me. I turned around only to be greeted by Deng Chao¡¯s wide grin, although his eyes were far less friendly than his smile would suggest.


    "I see you¡¯ve got a bunch of cigarettes!¡± he chortled. ¡°Is that for me?"


    "Do you smoke now?" I asked.


    "What¡¯s the saying again? Every cigarette you smoke takes five minutes off your life. You try staying in here! I bet you¡¯ll wish you were dead!"


    This time, Deng Chao spoke to me more politely. Judging from his pale face, he had just been released from solitary confinement, a ce that could tame even the craziest person.


    "Do you regret it?" I asked.


    "Regret? Of course I do!¡± heughed. ¡°Every single day, I regret that I didn¡¯t kill you!"


    "You make it sound as if you could," I scoffed.


    "I¡¯ll tell you a little secret,¡± Deng Chao said in a low whisper. ¡°It won¡¯t be long before we meet again. When we do, don¡¯t forget to prepare a wee feast for me!"


    Xiaotao tugged at my sleeve. "This guy¡¯s crazy! Let¡¯s go!"


    When I turned around to leave, I happened to bump into a prison guard. I stopped him and pulled out two packs of cigarettes. "Do me a favor,¡± I said. ¡°One of these is for you. Please give the other to the prisoner standing near the fence. He¡¯s a schoolmate of mine."


    After the guard had walked away, Xiaotao asked, "Why are you so kind to give him cigarettes?"


    "We were once schoolmates after all," I sighed. ¡°Anyway, this is thest time I¡¯ll ever see him.¡±


    After handing the cigarettes to Qi Sheng and wishing him all the best, Xiaotao and I left the prison. As soon as we got into the car, Xiaotao leaned in towards me and pressed her body against mine, rubbing my chest with her breasts as she tempted me with those seductive eyes. "Great Detective Song, do you have any bold ideas now that we¡¯re out in the wilderness?" she teased.


    Speaking of bold ideas, I had more than one, but I quickly restrained myself. The thought of losing my virginity at the gates of the prison made me cringe.


    "Why don¡¯t I go to your ce tomorrow so we can try out these ideas I have?"


    Xiaotao inched her face close to mine, her breath spilling out in warm puffs against my cheek. My head was filled with her sweet fragrance as her clear eyes that seemed to melt into golden rays stared back at me. She pushed me against my seat with her hand over my pounding heart. Back against the seat, I felt as if every fiber of my being vibrated with excitement from her touch.


    "You better be there or I¡¯ll kill you!" she said.


    "Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m very afraid of dying! I¡¯ll definitely be there!" I assured.


    When we returned to the station, there was still much to do. Wang Yizhou had already been handed over to the judicial authorities, and the case against him was a rock. The prosecutor exined that he might even be able to fight for a death penalty. Right now, they were having trouble finding Wang Yizhou a defensewyer, but that wasn¡¯t something we had to worry about.


    After the In-depth Live Stream website was removed, the police throughout the nation joined forces to arrest all those streamers who had broken thew. When Mr. Xu, founder of the website, was transferred to the detention center, he shouted arrogantly, "They will definitelye to save me! Just watch!"


    However, he was in for disappointment.


    A weekter, he was tried by the Supreme People¡¯s Court of the People¡¯s Republic of China.


    Wang Yizhou was found guilty of intentional homicide, crimes against public safety and assaulting a police officer. These crimes were extremely serious, so the punishment was just as grave.


    He was sentenced to death, to be executed immediately!


    Xu Youwen was found guilty of racketeering, incitement to terrorist acts and crimes against public safety.


    He too was sentenced to death, to be executed immediately!


    ording to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People¡¯s Republic of China, Li Derong was exempt from prosecution in view of his death.


    The rest of the criminals were guilty of being aplices and sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from 10 to 15 years.


    The powerful backer behind the In-depth Live Stream website was indeed the mysterious criminal organization, but this website was merely a money-making tool for them. They could care less about these lives which suggested Mr. Xu wasn¡¯t as important as Kong Hui.


    Just when I thought I could finally take a break and experience a ¡°major life event,¡± I received a call from Xiaotao that night itself, reporting a bit of bad news. "Song Yang, Deng Chao is dead," she said, her tone solemn.


    At first, I froze from the shock of the news but I soon recovered and realized that there was something wrong with her tone. "How did he die?" I asked.


    "There was a fight and he was stabbed with a knife, but that¡¯s not the point!" I heard Xiaotao take a deep breath on the other end of the line. "The vehicle transporting his body had an ident on the road and his body mysteriously disappeared!" she announced.


    The implication of her words hit me like a bat to the head¨CDeng Chao had escaped from prison!

 Chapter 263

    <h4>Chapter 263</h4>


    After receiving Xiaotao¡¯s call, I spent the entire night in a state of uneasiness and sent her a bunch of texts that went unanswered. Perhaps Xiaotao was truly busy.


    The next morning, I arrived at the station and headed for Xiaotao¡¯s office. Upon entering, I saw her slumped over the table, sleeping in her police uniform. It had most likely been a busy night.


    The thought left me feeling rather distressed. Shaking her gently, I said, "Xiaotao, let me take you home to rest."


    Xiaotao sleepily opened her eyes, slurring as she spoke, "Song Yang, you¡¯re here? There are some documents on my desk. Take a look at them yourself."


    As soon as I sat down next to her, Xiaotao turned to me and rested her head on my thighs, wrapping her arms around my waist as she mumbled, "I stayed up all night investigating the case. Do you mind if I use you as a pillow? Your body feels warm and nice!"


    Of course I didn¡¯t mind. She fell asleep again as soon as she found afortable position on my legs.


    I picked up the documents on the table and looked at them. At about 4 pm yesterday, Deng Chao was involved in a fight with another inmate and was stabbed in the liver with a makeshift metal knife. He suffered hemorrhagic shock on the spot and was confirmed dead by the prison doctor an hourter. Then, at about 7 pm, his body was taken away by the hearse but collided into a truck on the road. The ident killed two funeral home workers and injured one, and Deng Chao¡¯s body had disappeared.


    Through the surveince videos and tire tracks on the scene, the police found that the truck was loaded with heavy objects and the license te deliberately blocked. Apparently, the ident wasn¡¯t an ident at all, but a calcted attempt...


    After that, they went to the prison to inspect the scene and tested the blood left by Deng Chao during the stabbing only to discover that although the DNA was consistent with Deng Chao¡¯s, the red blood cells, telets and white blood cells in his blood were already dead. That is to say, while the blood definitely belonged to Deng Chao, it had been extracted in advance.


    The scene where he was "killed" waspletely fabricated!


    Xiaotao even followed up with a call to the doctor who confirmed Deng Chao¡¯s death at that time. After thorough questioning, the doctor insisted that Deng Chao showed no vital signs and definitely had a wound in his abdomen, which basically ruled out any suspicions that the doctor was involved in the set-up.


    I suspected Deng Chao had ingested poisons that could put him in a state of suspended animation, such as diluted tetrodotoxin.


    Of course, the most suspicious person remained the inmate who stabbed and injured Deng Chao. A prisoner on death row, he waspletely indifferent to the police¡¯s night-long interrogation. nked by arrogance and smugness, he even blurted, "I¡¯m a dead man walking anyway. What¡¯s wrong with earning a bit extra for my wife and kids?" Indeed, his words were evidence that he had been bought off.


    The mastermind behind this prison break had undoubtedly bought off more than just this death row inmate. It was very likely that the prison was filled with their people, especially the prison guards, and the one person or group who could orchestrate such a big operation was none other than the mysterious organization! Nevertheless, I still failed to see what a powerless student who murdered one man could offer them. What could have motivated them to break Deng Chao out of prison?


    After reading through these documents, I heaved a heavy sigh. With his escape, I had one more source of potential danger!


    While Xiaotao slept soundly, my legs were almost numb from staying in one position for too long. But just watching her sleep brought a burst of joy in my heart. I held out my hand, tempted to caress her hair yet reluctant to do so for fear of waking her. I hesitated, suffering through several internal battles of ¡°should I or should I not¡± before gently cing my hand on her hair. My hand was met by a silky sensation, nose filled with a soothing fragrance that only belonged to Xiaotao. Her hair was so smooth and soft I thought perhaps this was the kind of hair modeled in shampoo advertisements.


    The sun rays shone through the window, illuminating the room in a golden glow. I couldn¡¯t resist the naughty impulse that sprung up and slowly lowered my head towards Xiaotao. But right then, several officers walked past, giving me quite a fright so I sat back upright. By the time they left, I had already forgotten my wicked intentions.


    Xiaotao slept until noon, awakened by the rm she set on her cell phone.


    She rubbed her eyes and sat up in surprise. "Song Yang, why am I sleeping on you?¡± she asked. ¡°You should¡¯ve woken me up!"


    "I¡¯ve been here for some time,¡± I said. ¡°You even spoke to me earlier. Don¡¯t you remember?"


    Xiaotao was so sleepy earlier she had no impression of our conversation at all. She smiled apologetically, "My superiors have ordered for Deng Chao¡¯s prison break case to be solved in three days. I¡¯m sorry, it looks like I¡¯ll have to take a rain check."


    "Can I be of any help?" I asked.


    "Of course!" she nodded.


    Over the next three days, we visited every one of Deng Chao¡¯s old hangouts but to no avail. It was as if this guy had vanished into thin air. I had never expected my first failure since I started working with the Bureau to involve an old ssmate.


    Hence, the case remained unsolved. Unbeknownst to me, the next time I saw Deng Chao, what awaited me was a life-and-death struggle. Of course, that¡¯s a story for another time.


    A few dayster, our internship notice was released. Since I was out of school busy with the investigation, I was stunned when I stumbled upon the notice posted downstairs in our dormitory. Huddled in the crowd, I started checking for my name when Dali patted my shoulder from behind.


    "You don¡¯t have to keep looking,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯ve been posted to the East China Zhenxing Electronics Company for our internship."


    I had never heard of thispany so I asked, "Where is it?"


    "It¡¯s a small town just a little aways from Wu Qu City,¡± he replied. ¡°I checked it out online and apparently it¡¯s a scenic location."


    "Do you believe everything Baidu says? They might just be painting a nice picture!" I retorted.


    There were a few fellow students in our group with whom I wasn¡¯t very familiar. In the two-month internship, we were to be personally supervised and taught by a mechanical expert in the factory. In order to pass, all we had to do was obtain a ¡°qualified¡± internship certificate signed by the master. Generally speaking, as long as we did as we were told, we would certainly pass. After all, most of it was just going through the motions.


    I called Xiaotao to inform her of the news, to which she cried, "Two months? That¡¯s way too long! You should apply for an independent internship! I¡¯ll help you find one in a factory."


    "Unfortunately, the deadline for application has passed,¡± I sighed, somewhat embarrassed. ¡°That¡¯s the consequence for not keeping an eye out for developments in school."


    "Well be careful out there,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°Remember to eat and rest well."


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I assured her. ¡°I can take perfectly good care of myself. It¡¯s you I worry about. Make sure you don¡¯t stay up toote or eat too much instant noodles! Remember, they contain a ton of preservatives that remain in your body even after death!"


    After a long chat with Xiaotao, I hung up the call, only to discover that Dali had sneaked up on me when I wasn¡¯t paying attention. "Dude, let me ask you a question. Have you and Xiaotao-jiejie done the deed?" he asked.


    "What the hell is in that head of yours?" I snapped.


    "Judging from the way you two speak to each other, you sound just like a young married couple,¡± he remarked. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a bit of advice. You shouldn¡¯t waste any more time sealing the deal. You might as well share with your buddies what it feels like to lose your virginity!"


    "Fuck off!¡± I yelled. ¡°Go watch some porn if you¡¯re so curious!"


    The next day, we each hauled a suitcase and set off on the bus hired by the school. A little after we started our journey, a fat boy stood up and introduced himself, "Hello! My name is Zhu Xiaohao and I am the representative of ss 3. I¡¯m very honored to be joining all of you in this internship! We are going to be working and staying in the East China Zhenxing Factory for two months. I suggest we choose a team leader to facilitate management."


    As expected of a ss representative, he suggested we vote for a team leader and hold a fair election. In truth, more than half of us were ustomed to living like pigs on campus. Suddenly traveling miles away just to work in a factory wasn¡¯t all that appealing to a bunch ofzy students who would rather drown in the legendary Dream Entrancement Wine from the movie "Ashes of Time" that could erase their memory of theing two months.


    After a few questions, everyone agreed that Zhu Xiaohao should be the team leader.


    "Dude, why don¡¯t you nominate yourself?¡± urged Dali. ¡°With your qualifications, don¡¯t you think you¡¯re a more convincing choice than this little fatso?"


    "What qualifications are you talking about?¡± Iughed. ¡°I¡¯m not really good at managing people. Besides, I¡¯m just an ordinary student. Don¡¯t you dare mention a word about us solving crimes or I¡¯ll kill you!"


    Dali pped in mock appreciation. "Ooh, what a down-to-earth man our Great Detective Song is!"

 Chapter 264

    <h4>Chapter 264</h4>


    Our group was made up of students from a few different sses. Zhu Xiaohao suggested that we introduce ourselves so we could get to know each other. I nced around and noticed that all the students were boys¨Ca bunch of sad bachelors indeed!


    "All the girls in the department were sent to one ce, which we¡¯ve nicknamed Jurassic Park," chuckled Dali.


    "Watch what you say,¡± Iughed. ¡°Don¡¯t call them dinosaurs!"


    "Well, youughed,¡± scoffed Dali. ¡°That just goes to show that you think of them as dinosaurs too!"


    At this point, it was Dali¡¯s turn to introduce himself. He stood up and cheerfully said, "Hello everyone! My name is Wang Dali and my ssmates all call me Dali-ge, or Miracle Worker Dali! I like listening to Jay Chou and I can even sing every one of his songs. If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯d like to sing ¡®Love Confession¡¯ for everyone. I hope you all like it!"


    The boys immediately shouted, "Please let us off! We¡¯re begging you!"


    Dali scratched his head. "Well since you¡¯re all so enthusiastic, I¡¯ll make sure to perform it for you and invite everyone to dinner when we have time. Alright, that¡¯s it!"


    I gave him a thumbs-up. Just as I expected of our ss clown, only he could give such a unique self-introduction.


    When it was my turn, I stood up and said, "My name is Song Yang," and I sat back down.


    Dali looked at me in surprise, "Dude, your introduction was so precise and straight to the point! It¡¯s unlike you!"


    "What am I supposed to do?¡± I red at him. ¡°Show them my talents by performing an autopsy?"


    At noon, we arrived at East China Zhenxing Electronics Factory. Our mentor treated us to a buffet hotpot at a restaurant right outside the factory. After going all morning without food, we ate like there was no tomorrow and emptied the buffet. Young, energetic men like us had no trouble stuffing ourselves to the point of overindulgence and we each left the restaurant with a food bump.


    The factory allocated a floor for us to use as our dormitory. After our meal, Dali and I went to tidy up our room with one of our roommates, a boy with sses. As the ce had been unupied for some time, it was covered with dust that turned our cleaning rags a musty dark grey. We had to change the bucket of water three times before the ce was livable. Only when the three of us finished cleaning did Zhu Xiaohao slowly saunter into the room. I thought he had something to say but it turned out he was our fourth roommate.


    Zhu Xiaohao said apologetically, "I¡¯m sorry! I was talking to our mentor and got dyed. Wow, it looks like you¡¯ve all cleaned up the room! Thanks for the hard work guys!"


    I couldn¡¯t help but think to myself what a two-faced, calctive man he was! Here we were, working our asses off while he wandered elsewhere to loaf on the job, waiting for us to finish before returning to enjoy the fruits of our hard work.


    Of course, I didn¡¯t care about such trifles. However, I soon discovered that Zhu Xiaohao was truly a stingy miser in every way, sponging off of us by using our toothpaste, shampoo, soap and even smoking someone else¡¯s cigarettes. And what¡¯s worse, every night around bedtime, he would practice speaking ¡°English¡± out loud without fail. His fluent Chinglish was like an annoying fly buzzing in our ears that made it impossible for us to fall asleep.


    Looking at his bright, beaming smile, I first assumed Zhu Xiaohao was from a poor family and convinced myself to put up with his horrible habits. However, upon closer inspection, I noticed the clothes he wore and the cell phone he used were all branded items. Finally, our other roommate revealed that Zhu Xiaohao was actually from a decent, upper ss family with both parents working in a bank. Having learnt the truth, we were repelled by his stinginess of finding ways to nab the financial aid grant that should have been awarded to a poor student.


    "If this guy were my roommate, I would round up a few buddies, cover him with his quilt and give him a good beating,¡± ranted Dali.


    As the saying goes, time flies when you¡¯re busy but seems tost forever when you¡¯re not. Our internship involved putting together products on the assembly line, but we couldn¡¯t handle any items that required strict precision such as cell phones. Altogether, we assembled hairdryers, electric shavers, digital watches and the like, each of us having toplete 50 pieces every day to obtain a pass. The other homework we were tasked with was to write about our internship experience. Truthfully, it wasn¡¯t a lot of work and we seemed to have ample time to ourselves.


    Soon, as we got to know each other better, a few of the boys started heading outside for barbecued skewers in the evening or stayed up all night ying video games. Under Dali¡¯s bad influence, I too ended up joining in on the fun.


    In the blink of an eye, a month seemed to have passed by uneventfully. On this day, Zhu Xiaohao informed us that a group activity had been nned for tomorrow¨Ca hike up the mountain.


    As we all disliked Zhu Xiaohao, Dali sat up in bed, pulled out his earphones and demanded, "Whose decision was it? Did we discuss it together? Would I have to pay anything?"


    "It was decided by the assistant manager of the factory,¡± came Zhu Xiaohao¡¯s awkward reply. ¡°He¡¯s going to take us fishing in the reservoir and treat us for lunch at the restaurant on the water. Are you guys in or not?"


    Dali turned to look at me, waiting for my opinion. I nodded and said, "It¡¯s very kind of him to offer to treat us for lunch. We should at least go!"


    Early the next day, we awoke, thinking that the group activities would start early, only to find that everyone was still fast asleep. In fact, our outing wouldn¡¯t start until 10 in the morning so Dali suggested we go out for breakfast.


    At the dumpling stall, we ordered egg drop soup and some soup dumplings. In the middle of our breakfast, we suddenly felt someone sneakily pat us on the shoulder. I almost choked on a mouthful of soup when a clear voice sounded from behind us. "Haha! I got you!"


    I turned around and saw Bingxin who was dressed in a white T-shirt, jeans and sneakers. She carried a small backpack, hair styled in pigtail braids.


    "Bingxin-meimei, what brings you here?¡± Dali started his usual act of fawning over her. ¡°Come, have a seat!"


    Bingxin picked up a soup dumpling and tasted it. "Not bad,¡± she remarked. ¡°And here I thought you were both forced to suffer hardship in a small hick town."


    "What brings you here?" I asked.


    "Have you forgotten it¡¯s a public holiday?¡± sheughed. ¡°It¡¯s Labor Day, silly! I took a few days off but everywhere else is crowded with tourists so I decided toe visit you."


    "What are you doing here?¡± I reproached. ¡°Don¡¯t you know this ce is filled with men? I bet even the insects here are all male! Coming here is like entering a wolf¡¯s den for a girl like you!"


    "Aren¡¯t you around to protect me?" Bingxin said dismissively as she swallowed another soup dumpling.


    She wiped her hands and took out a box of Dove choctes and a container of beef jerky from her bag. These were snacks she and Xiaotao had prepared to cheer me up. It seemed that the two had agreed life here for me must be so miserable that I had to go without meat.


    Then, she handed Dali and I two thick envelopes¨Cour bonus for solving the mechanical torture case.


    Bingxin expressed her interest in visiting the factory and she wouldn¡¯t take no for an answer so I brought her for a tour of the factory.


    "The environment here is better than I expected!" she eximed.


    "It¡¯s all automated and our internship isn¡¯t that much of a challenge,¡± I exined. ¡°I think I might just continue working here in the future. After all, doing manual work in the day makes for a good night¡¯s sleep!"


    Bingxin spat her tongue at me. "As if I¡¯d believe that! I¡¯m 100% sure that¡¯s not what you think!"


    "Look at my face. Don¡¯t I resemble an assembly line worker?" I joked.


    Bingxin pointed at Wang Dali. "I think he looks more like one!¡± she blurted. ¡°With this face of yours, I bet quite a few people would believe me if I told them you were a highly intelligent criminal!"


    Dali clutched his chest in an exaggerated enactment of a brokenhearted man. "Why¡¯d you have to go andpare us? In fact, I look pretty good if I weren¡¯t standing next to him!"


    "My bad! I¡¯ll treat you to grilled fish for lunch!" she patted Dalifortingly.


    Dali was so delighted he grinned from ear to ear like a big Cheshire Cat. But I knew Bingxin¡¯s invitation was simply naive and devoid of implicit suggestions so I interjected, "Don¡¯t we have a group activity at noon?"


    Bingxin¡¯s eyes lit up as she asked me what group activities we had nned.


    "We¡¯re going to pick up soap! So you better not go!" I warned.


    "You¡¯re lying!¡± she pursed her lips. ¡°Anyway, I insist on going and there¡¯s nothing you can do to stop me!"


    There really was no stopping a persistent Bingxin so I gave up trying. When it was time to gather with the others, the three of us walking together drew quips from a few of our friends. "Song Yang, you even brought your wife!"


    My cheeks colored from embarrassment. "Stop bbering nonsense,¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯s my little sister."


    Fortunately, Bingxin was very cooperative. "Hello everyone!¡± greeted Bingxin with a cute curtsy. ¡°I¡¯m Song Yang¡¯s little sister. My name is Sun Bingxin. It¡¯s nice to meet you all!"


    "Aren¡¯t you biological siblings?¡± someone asked. Why don¡¯t you share the same surname?"


    "Oh, we picked him off the streets," responded Bingxin.


    I was suddenly ovee with the urge to curse.

 Chapter 265

    <h4>Chapter 265</h4>


    Along the way, the boys cast envious nces at me and Bingxin which made me rather ufortable. Without a doubt, these boys didn¡¯t have the opportunity to speak to girls in school, much less during the internship.


    Zhu Xiaohao even had the nerve to ask, "Song Yang, your sister is really pretty. Does she like the ss representative type?¡±


    "Do you really think that they¡¯re brother and sister?¡± he mocked. ¡°Can¡¯t you tell they¡¯re actually a couple?¡±


    Shocked, Zhu Xiaohao looked to me for confirmation. "Is it true?¡±


    I mumbled a vague affirmative.


    Only when we arrived at the edge of the reservoir did I realize our so-called fishing activity was a bunch of coworkerspeting who could fish the most while the rest of us sat around spectating. With nothing to do but to watch them fish, many soon gathered around Bingxin and me, harassing us with endless annoying questions.


    With her upbringing and education, Bingxin remained polite and civil regardless of the situation. However, I could tell the boys¡¯ constant badgering was starting to get to her so I found an opportunity to speak to her privately. "Shall we skip lunch at the floating restaurant? That¡¯s what they call it but it¡¯s really just eating on an old, battered ship that¡¯s been revamped. Let¡¯s head somewhere else.¡±


    "Just us?¡± Bingxin asked, her gaze expectant.


    "Of course not!¡± I shook my head. ¡°We¡¯ll take Dali too!¡±


    Bingxin¡¯s face fell upon hearing my reply. "Is Dali your pet?¡± she asked. ¡°Why do you have to take him everywhere?!"


    And so it was settled. I found Zhu Xiaohao and informed him that we wouldn¡¯t join them for lunch. While he said okay, his eyes were fixed on Bingxin as ifpletely captivated by her.


    As the three of us left the group, Bingxin suggested we head up the mountain to sightsee. With ample time at hand and little else to do, I thought it was a good idea.


    As we slowly hiked up the mountain trail, we were mesmerized by a field of beautiful, bright-colored wildflowers blooming. Bingxin ran over, excitedly gathering a bunch in her hands.


    Beside me, Dali sighed, "I seem to have returned to my teenage years. Back then, I did the exact same thing¨Cdrool over a pretty girl!"


    "What rich life experiences you have!" I quipped.


    "Song Yang-gege,¡± shouted Bingxin from the field of wildflowers. ¡°Let¡¯s weave a flower wreath!"


    At this moment, a familiar voice sounded from behind me. I turned around, only to be faced with Zhu Xiaohao. The annoying fatso ran over to me, crushing a wide trail of flowers and weeds with his heavy feet. Wheezing, he bent down and held his knees, taking forever to catch his breath. "I forgot to inform you about something important,¡± he panted. ¡°Make sure to head back early tonight. We¡¯ll be holding a meeting to discuss what we¡¯ve learned in our internship so far."


    "Don¡¯t you have my number?¡± I snapped. ¡°You could¡¯ve called, texted, or even waited till I got back!"


    Even a fool could tell he had an ulterior motive. Zhu Xiaohao¡¯s cheeks turned crimson, though no one could say for sure if it had been caused by the running or the shame of being exposed.


    "As the team leader, I¡¯d only feel at ease if I inform each of you in person beforehand!" he argued with his stupid excuse.


    "All right, I know now. So you can leave!" I sneered.


    Zhu Xiaohao stood there, refusing to move until Bingxin approached.


    "What a coincidence! We meet again!¡± Zhu Xiaohao shamelessly gushed. ¡°Where are you guys going for lunch? Can I join you?"


    What a brazen bastard! I couldn¡¯t resist cursing inside.


    Bingxin seemed to have a rather poor impression of him as well. She expressed her reluctance by ignoring him and grabbed my arm instead. "Song Yang-gege,¡± she pouted. ¡°Let¡¯s go!"


    The three of us continued walking together, but unfortunately, we couldn¡¯t shake off the irritating tail that was Zhu Xiaohao. In fact, we were beginning to lose our temper. To be fair, it was rather admirable for a man to bravely create opportunities to impress a girl he liked. But hounding someone who clearly showed no interest, even aversion, wasn¡¯t gentlemanly behavior.


    Bingxin nced behind and grumbled, "Why is this fatty still following us? Song Yang-gege, shall we deliberately hasten our pace up the mountain so he can¡¯t keep up?"


    Thoroughly repulsed by Zhu Xiaohao¡¯s irksome habits of using our toothpaste and shampoo and quarreling over how he kept us up at night with his horrible Chinglish, I was past the point of ying nice. After all, I wasn¡¯t a saint who could remain nice despite apleteck of reciprocation so I agreed to her suggestion.


    However, I never imagined that this decision would lead us down a dangerous path that almost imed our lives!


    Hence, we headed up the mountain, trying to distance ourselves from Zhu Xiaohao who was a little behind because of his heavy weight andck of exercise. Still, he gritted his teeth and persisted.


    Suddenly, the sky turned gloomy as a fearsome crash of thunder came from above, the almighty crack rumbling down into our ears.


    "It¡¯s going to rain!" I shouted.


    Encountering a thunderstorm in the mountains was a troublesome matter. If we were unlucky, we might end up like drowned rats. My principles prevented me from targeting Zhu Xiaohao so I urged him, "Let¡¯s hurry down the mountain and look for shelter from the rain."


    The rain fell faster than I expected. By the time we reached the halfway point, bean-sized raindrops pounded on my body, hurting my face. The four of us ran as fast as we could until we chanced upon a building and rushed in without further thought.


    When I stepped inside, I found that we were in a dpidated temple. I scanned my surroundings and asked curiously, "Did any of you notice this temple on our way up?"


    "No!¡± Dali shook his head. ¡°Have we lost our way?!"


    I grabbed my cell phone wanting to check Google Maps, only to discover there waspletely no signal, possibly due to the torrential rain outside. It seemed there was nothing we could do until the rain stopped.


    Meanwhile, Zhu Xiaohao was kneeling on the praying mat, kowtowing to the Buddha statue covered in cobwebs. "Buddha have mercy,¡± he muttered piously. ¡°We¡¯re here in your holy temple to hide from the rain. Please don¡¯t take offense. I promise I¡¯ll burn incense another day."


    "I didn¡¯t know this guy was a Buddhist!" scoffed Dali.


    Zhu Xiaohao stood up and retorted, "What¡¯s wrong with Buddhism? All Chinese citizens have the freedom of belief. What¡¯s wrong? Does believing in Christianity make you noble while we who believe in Buddhism are contemptible?"


    "Aren¡¯t you overreacting?¡± Dali scowled. ¡°Did I say anything to denigrate your faith?"


    But it seemed like Zhu Xiaohao wouldn¡¯t let this go, taking the opportunity to vent his anger. "Why did you deliberately walk up the mountain? Was it to get rid of me?" he demanded.


    "Then why are you following us?" I yelled, having lost my temper.


    "Who said I was following you?!¡± came Zhu Xiaohao¡¯s ridiculous reply. ¡°The road doesn¡¯t belong to you. Where I go is my freedom!"


    I thought his behavior was that of a mad dog, taking out his anger on us despite the fact that it was his own choice to follow us which eventually led to an unforeseen ident of getting lost in the rain.


    Zhu Xiaohao bowed to the arhat and worshipped the Guan Yin statue. Theyout of the temple was quiterge with statues of the Buddhas of Three Times, Manjushri and Samantabhadra, Guan Yin and the Eighteen Arhats, but they were all broken and covered with dust. Up on the ceiling, there were several crooked beams that looked unstable and might fall at any moment. Certain parts of the roof had holes in which water leaked, creating a light, patchy drizzle in the temple where puddles had umted on the ground.


    The country adhered to a religious policy of autonomy and self-administration. I was of the opinion that the temple had declined due to ack of offerings.


    Dali looked around and whispered, "Dude, don¡¯t you feel it¡¯s kind of gloomy and eerie here? Besides, where are the monks?"


    I shook my head, indicating I wasn¡¯t sure. Then, Zhu Xiaohao suddenly cried out, "It¡¯s a spiritual manifestation of Buddha! Buddha has created a miracle!"


    We looked over and found him slumped on the praying mat, shivering and pointing to an arhat statue. There were two glistening streams of tears flowing down the arhat¡¯s eyes.


    Although I wasn¡¯t aplete atheist, I found this hard to believe.


    The tears seemed to slowly trickle down, unlike the consistency of water. I ced my hand on the arhat statue and felt a slight heat under my palm which immediately alerted me to the strangeness of the situation.


    I stepped on the shrine to take a closer examination but was stopped by an angry Zhu Xiaohao. "Song Yang, what the hell are you doing?¡± he chided. ¡°What you¡¯re doing is a show of disrespect to the Buddha!"


    "They¡¯re not tears,¡± I exined. ¡°There must be something hidden within that arhat statue!"


    "Are you trying to say it¡¯s a trick from Buddha?!¡± argued Zhu Xiaohao. ¡°You¡¯re talking bullshit! Be careful of being struck by lightning!"


    After that, he repeatedly kowtowed piously, mumbling the words, ¡°We¡¯ve sinned,¡± over and over again.


    This guy was impervious to reason! I hated religious people who believed and insisted that their faith was the one truth.


    At this point, the hollow chimes of wooden fish filled the empty hall. I turned around but saw no one else besides the four of us, prompting Bingxin and I to exchange a look of consternation.

 Chapter 266

    <h4>Chapter 266</h4>


    ¡°Dude, there¡¯s something off about this ce!¡± Dali whispered through gritted teeth. "Let¡¯s just get the hell out of here!"


    "Where are we supposed to go?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s raining like cats and dogs out there. We might as well wait till the weather eases up."


    I walked over to examine the wooden fish that was covered with ayer of dust and cobwebs, showing no traces of having been drummed. Yet as soon as I ced it back down, the loud creaking of a door broke the silence of the prayer hall. The creak sounded dragged out, as if a door was being pushed in slow motion. I was certain there weren¡¯t any doors in the hall. So how exactly did the sounde about?


    The scariest part of a horror movie isn¡¯t the ghost itself, but the sound effects. If you don¡¯t believe me, try watching "The Ring" with any song from Phoenix Legend. I promise you won¡¯t feel a thing!


    The inexplicable sounds had Bingxin frightened like a little rabbit, hands clutching my shirt as she cried, "Song Yang-gege, let¡¯s stop moving around. As soon as the rain stops, we¡¯ll leave, alright?"


    ¡°Okay!¡± I nodded.


    The storm quickly subsided, but the rain continued in a light drizzle. Outside, the sky was still dark, overcast with heavy,rge clouds. We huddled together, waiting as three or four hours dragged on. Finally, Dali stood up and cried, "I can¡¯t stand it anymore!"


    I thought he meant the gloomy atmosphere, but then came his next sentence, "My dder is about to burst! Dude, follow me to the backyard so I can relieve myself!"


    "Just use an empty incense burner," I suggested.


    Zhu Xiaohao immediately shot me an angry re. "I¡¯ll fight you if you dare!"


    Dali had long grown impatient with his nonsense and couldn¡¯t be bothered to deal with him. "You¡¯re acting as if you built the temple!¡± he mocked. ¡°The Buddha isn¡¯t so narrow-minded to hold it against me for pissing in his territory. I think you¡¯re making a fuss out of nothing!"


    "You dare disrespect the Buddha?!" threatened Zhu Xiaohao, the veins in his neck throbbing from anger.


    "Fine, let¡¯s just go round the back,¡± I said. ¡°Bingxin, do you have to go too?"


    "No, I¡¯m alright." Bingxin¡¯s cheeks colored with embarrassment.


    When we went to the back, I noticed another smaller hall to the side. In the middle of the courtyard was arge incense burner made out of stone, sitting somewhat crookedly on the ground that was filled with overgrown weeds. There were wings on both sides of the courtyard that appeared to house the monks, though they were now unupied.


    Dali and I found a secluded corner where he quickly unzipped his pants and pulled out his little guy. Thud! A sudden noise reverberated through the courtyard, frightening Dali so he jumped in shock and lost control of his aim, almost getting piss all over me.


    After a brief pause, the thud sounded again and again in a weird rhythm. Dali quaked like a leaf as he asked, "What¡¯s that?"


    I heard footsteps that resembled Bingxin¡¯s and immediately urged, "Hurry up! Put away your dick!"


    True enough, a few secondster, Bingxin came running towards us. "Song Yang-gege, did you hear that? There are really strange soundsing from God knows where!"


    "Let¡¯s go and check out the situation!" I said.


    We passed the side rooms and found an abandoned smaller courtyard in the rear. There were odds and ends piled up all over the ce, and unfinished Buddha statues carelesslyid on the ground.


    "Fuck! It¡¯s a ghost!" shouted Dali.


    With that, he scurried behind me and pointed with trembling fingers.


    I looked in the direction of his finger and gasped, shocked to see a monk standing under an old locust tree. Half of his face had beenpletely disfigured, his features mashed together like melted wax. Part of his gums was exposed from his mangled lip. But the other half of his face was perfectly intact. Like abination of angel and devil on the same face, he reminded me of the viin Two-Face from Batman. Just a glimpse of that face was enough to give anyone nightmares.


    The monk was chopping up wood with a sharp axe, a pile of firewood heaped near his feet. So that was the sound we heard earlier!


    I walked over and politely said, "Hello, venerable one, we¡¯vee to take shelter from the rain. I¡¯m sorry to disturb you. We¡¯ll leave some incense money before we go."


    The monk paused his actions and flicked a gloomy gaze over me. Then, as if he hadn¡¯t heard anything, he went on chopping wood wordlessly...


    Dali tugged my sleeve. "Dude, the rain isn¡¯t as heavy. Let¡¯s go now. This guy looks like he¡¯s off his rocker."


    As soon as the words left his lips, a deafening thud sounded, almost scaring the living daylights out of a timid Dali. Two-Face pounded the axe onto the tree stump he used as a chopping block, his voice cold and harsh as he growled, ¡°My face might be disfigured but my ears work perfectly! Watch your mouth kid. If you make me unhappy, I might just use this axe on you! Get the fuck out of here once the rain stops!"


    I almost couldn¡¯t believe my ears. Would a monk use such derogatorynguage? I was suddenly struck by a thought¨Cperhaps this ¡°monk¡± was really a wanted criminal in disguise?


    I tried to recall all the fugitives wanted within the province but I didn¡¯t remember evering across this face.


    "Amitabha!" came a mellifluous greeting. At once, a stubby monk walked over and rebuked Two-Face. "Jingkong, monks shouldn¡¯t use expletives. How can you speak like this to our guests? Go back and copy the Diamond Sutra ten times, and make sure you reflect on it."


    Two-Face walked off with a cold snort and entered one of the rooms.


    The stubby monk looked kind and amiable with the disposition of a wise master, his hands held together in the Anjali Mudra. "I am Jingwu, the abbot here. Fate must have brought you our humble temple. Please stay for a vegetarian meal before you go!"


    Since we skipped lunch, we had been starving for three hours now. Dali said, "That won¡¯t do, we¡¯ll just be troubling you. We¡¯ll donate some money for sesame oil!"


    The abbotughed, "Everything is as fated. Please,e in and have a seat."


    Zhu Xiaohao had quietly appeared in the yard while our attention was focused elsewhere. He exchanged a few words of courtesy with the abbot before we were led into one of the wings named, "Heavenly Scents Kitchen,¡± where the monks ate.


    There was another monk in the room with a scar across his ferocious face. His eyes were fixed on Bingxin, almost boring holes through her. "Be careful!¡± I grabbed the edge of Bingxin¡¯s T-shirt and warned in a low whisper. ¡°This temple seems a bit suspicious!"


    The abbot turned to Scarface, "Jingneng, please prepare some vegetarian food for our four honored guests."


    "Should I prepare the radish we pickled this year or the one fromst year?" asked Scarface.


    "The former will do,¡± replied the abbot. ¡°Make sure to prepare more rice and don¡¯t forget to ask Jingci to slice some pickled cabbage as well."


    "I never knew monks were so particr about food, even categorizing their pickled radishes!¡± chuckled Dali. ¡°If they¡¯re out of this year¡¯s, would they have some from 82¡¯?"


    Unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t in the mood forughter. My grandfather once warned me that if someone spoke in a strange, specious manner much like this, it was most definitely Jianghu code. Take the fortune tellers in the past for example. Before a fortune reading, the assistant would request for the client to fill out a form before bringing them in to see the master. Then, the assistant and the fortune teller would proceed to chat about some meaningless subjects such as what the weather was like outside or whether the client would like some tea. While their conversation sounded perfectly normal, it was in fact code for the client¡¯s family information in full detail. Of course, outsiders remainedpletely in the dark.


    I had a nagging suspicion these ¡°monks¡± were imposters, most likely wanted criminals in disguise!


    Zhu Xiaohao soon found a seat and continued the niceties with the abbot, asking him how many monks there were in the temple.


    Grinning from ear-to-ear, the abbot exined that the temple was once home to many monks in the early years but as fewer and fewer devotees visited each year, the number of donations and incense they received decreased and the temple gradually declined. Many of their monks eventually left to wander and spread the word, leaving only a few of them to continue watching over the temple. As for their daily needs, the monks would travel down the mountain to beg for alms. After all, monks found happiness in poverty and contentment in simple food.


    "The Buddhist perspective of attaining peace and happiness through poverty is indeed worth learning from,¡±mended Zhu Xiaohao. ¡°To be honest, I¡¯ve always wanted to practise Buddhism ever since I was a child. I would visit and pray in every temple Ie across. If it¡¯s okay with you, I¡¯ll help clean up the prayer hallter."


    The abbot folded his hands. "How could we dare to trouble you?"


    ¡°What a pretentious prick!¡± Dali snorted, not forgetting to lower his voice.


    While they were chatting, I weighed the abbot¡¯s words and watched his microexpressions. Right then, I interjected, "Abbot, are you and those other monks disciple brothers?"


    "Of course not, I am their master."


    "Forgive me, I¡¯m not very knowledgeable about Buddhism,¡± I sneered. ¡°If you¡¯re their master, then why are you all named ¡®Jing¡¯?"


    The abbot¡¯s lips seemed to twitch, arge bead of sweat appearing on his shiny, bald head. He chanted a few Buddhist mantras under his breath before exining, "Strictly speaking, I am their senior disciple brother. But since I started on this path earlier than them, I was the one who performed all their initiation ceremonies."


    1. Amon way of addressing monks.


    2. Amon gesture of cing the palms together, usually in greeting or prayer.


    3. Jianghu is themunity of martial artists in wuxia stories and, more recently, ouw societies like the Triads.


    4. Students of the same generation under one master or teacher, like the twelve apostles.


    5. Usually, disciples of the same generation share the same character in their names, for example, ¡°Jingci,¡± ¡°Jingneng,¡± and ¡°Jingkong¡± in the text.

 Chapter 267

    <h4>Chapter 267</h4>


    I stared at his bald head and said, "Oh, the nine burn marks left on your head must have hurt when you first got them."


    The abbot rubbed his head,ughing joyously. "These burn marks symbolize our determination to renounce our ties to the secr world and take refuge in our beliefs. The pain is only temporary."


    "With all due respect,¡± I started. ¡°I¡¯m just ayman but I seem to remember that this has been abolished in our country since the 80¡¯s. Why do you still practise it here?"


    The abbot appeared awkward and faltered forck of a good exnation. Zhu Xiaohao stood up and defended him, "Song Yang, haven¡¯t you said enough? You¡¯re purposely making things difficult for the abbot. Just you wait! You¡¯re going to be punished by the Buddha for being so cynical!"


    "What¡¯s wrong with asking a few questions?¡± I retorted. ¡°Enough about being punished by the Buddha. You¡¯re clearly bullshitting! I¡¯ve read quite a few books on Buddhism and from what I¡¯ve learnt, Buddha means ¡®enlightened person¡¯ in Sanskrit, which differs from gods of other religions. Besides, the Buddha has already achieved supreme enlightenment. Do you think he¡¯s going to descend from the heavens to punish for such a small matter? How busy would the old man be?!"


    Zhu Xiaohao was so furious his face had turned red with anger. He pointed at me and condemned, "Get the fuck out of here! Having someone like you in a temple is likemitting sphemy!"


    "Fine then!¡± I scoffed. ¡°Who wants to stay here and be a freaking vegetarian? I¡¯m leaving and finding a stall that sells dog meat so I can eat all the dog meat I want and drink beer!"


    I gestured for Dali and Bingxin to leave but the abbot suddenly interrupted us with more Buddhist mantras. "Do not let anger get to you. I am aware that this young benefactor is merely curious and has no intention of profaning the Buddha. Fret not, the Buddha is merciful and will not punish you over such a trivial matter."


    Zhu Xiaohao red at me angrily, not expecting the abbot to have spoken for me.


    A smirk rose to my lips as I triumphantly took my seat again. Right then, the abbot got up and said, "Please wait for a moment. I¡¯m going to check on your meal."


    Zhu Xiaohao stood up fiercely and flicked a white-hot side-eye at me. "Let me help you, abbot!"


    As soon as they left the room, Bingxin leaned in and curiously asked, "Song Yang-gege, was that all an act?"


    "How could you tell?" I was puzzled.


    She burst out inughter, breathless as she exined, "Your tone sounds different from the usual. Besides, your acting skills have never been up to par. A nce is all I need to know..."


    I couldn¡¯t fight a twinge of shame. "As long as the old baldy believes it."


    "What do you mean?¡± Dali asked in wide-eyed surprise. ¡°Dude, why were you pretending?¡±


    I told him I would exinter. Right now, I had to take advantage of the opportunity to examine the ce while there were no outsiders around. I stood up and scanned the room. My keen sense of smell immediately picked up the odor of animal fat and alcohol. In one of the corners of the room, I discovered several cigarette butts, and when I uncovered the prayer mat Scarface had sat on, I was shocked to find a worn out magazine filled with pictures of beautiful women.


    Just as I had spected, these monks were all imposters and the abbot was merely a convincing actor.


    "Listen up,¡± I turned to Dali and Bingxin, ¡°These baldies are probably wanted criminals hiding from the police. From this moment on, none of us should leave each other¡¯s sight. We mustn¡¯t startle or alert them. If the situation turns violent, we¡¯ll definitely be on the losing end. Their invitation for lunch suggests their intention to make us stay for the night. At the moment, I can¡¯t be certain what horrible ns might await us once night falls. We¡¯ll have to feign ignorance and find a chance to escape before dark."


    "Wanted criminals!¡± eximed Dali. ¡°Are you sure? This isn¡¯t something to joke about!"


    "I¡¯m ny percent sure!¡± I stated. ¡°Would an ordinary person choose to impersonate a monk from a poor temple in the mountains? We can¡¯t get any signal on our cell phones so it¡¯s impossible to contact the authorities. Don¡¯t you think a ce like this is the best hideout for a bunch of fugitives?"


    My argument with Zhu Xiaohao was meant to convince the abbot of my foolishness. I seeked to present myself as a shallow dunce who thought himself clever. Such a persona had its own uses such as casually dropping questions without being doubted.


    ¡°If they think we haven¡¯t seen through their act, then why won¡¯t they let us go?" asked Bingxin.


    "Are you a fool? Of course it¡¯s for sex!¡± chided Dali. ¡°How long do you think it¡¯s been since they¡¯ve seen a woman?"


    Bingxin covered her mouth so her sobs wouldn¡¯t spill out, silent tears sliding down her cheeks as the fear washed over her. I shot Dali an usatory look. The danger of being raped existed, but in terms of priority, sex could only ranked second. Looking at the situation from the fugitive¡¯s point of view, their primary focus was to not get caught. If four young students broke into their hideout by mistake, killing them would be the safest option.


    "The three of us can look out for each other,¡± said Dali. ¡°But what about Zhu Xiaohao?"


    This was precisely my concern. Not only was Zhu Xiaohao an encumbrance, he was also a religious idiot who would choose not to believe me even if I shed light on our situation. Additionally, the rtionship between us was strained to say the least. With him around, taking action would be inconvenient.


    However, as annoying as he was, Zhu Xiaohao was an innocent citizen with a family who cared about him. My principles and conscience inhibited me from leaving him to his own devices.


    Upon further reflection, I concluded that our current situation was extremely unfavorable. Infighting amongst ourselves would only increase the risks and danger. "We don¡¯t get along with Zhu Xiaohao, but in fact, it¡¯s something we can use to our advantage," I said.


    "You mean use Zhu Xiaohao as bait?¡± asked Dali. ¡°You know how much I hate him so my answer is yes!"


    "Shut up!¡± I rolled my eyes at Dali. ¡°I¡¯ve not yet decided on anything. Let¡¯s take it one step at a time."


    Bingxin anxiously clutched her chest. "Will they poison our food?" she asked.


    "You¡¯re the toxicology expert,¡± I chuckled. ¡°You should know that there isn¡¯t a poison in the world that¡¯spletely colorless and tasteless. Even cyanide, known as the king of poisons, contains a distinct bitter taste of almonds. If they were to poison our food, we would discover it at once, though I highly doubt the possibility of that."


    And the reason for that was clear to me as a man. These bastards had been holed up in here without a woman for a long time. A beautiful girl like Bingxin would definitely have tempted this bunch of abstinent ¡°monks¡± so their first instinct would be to leave her alive. Of course, I didn¡¯t vocalize my thoughts for fear of frightening Bingxin.


    A momentter, a scream sounded from outside, interrupting me from my thoughts. I froze for a second before dashing towards the source of the noise.


    The scream came from one of the meditation rooms. On our way there, we bumped into Two-Face who was still holding his sharp axe. Upon noticing us, he coldly barked, "Get out of here now!"


    "What have you done to Zhu Xiaohao?" demanded Dali.


    "I said, get the hell out of here! Didn¡¯t you hear me?¡± Two-Face exploded with anger. ¡°You better do as I say while I¡¯m still being nice!¡±


    Right then, the abbot exited the meditation room and said, "Amitabha. My apologies! Jingkong, let them in!"


    When we entered the meditation room, we were greeted by a pathetic Zhu Xiaohao rolling on the ground hugging his leg. Beside him, a stool had fallen over.


    As it turned out, the abbot had requested Zhu Xiaohao¡¯s help in fetching one of the sutra books on the top shelf. Zhu Xiaohao was standing on the stool when he suddenly fell to the ground¨Can obvious scheme the abbot had concocted, and one I never expected these baldies toe up with.


    Bingxin went over to check Zhu Xiaohao¡¯s injury. "The bone isn¡¯t broken but it is fractured. We¡¯ll need to look for something to fix it in ce..."


    Zhu Xiaohao wailed like a dying pig. "A fracture? Will I lose my leg?"


    "Ohe on, stop exaggerating! You¡¯re a young man and the fracture isn¡¯t serious,¡± I said. ¡°As long as you take care of it, it¡¯ll heal soon enough."


    Although I made it sound that way, the truth was a fracture would take several months of rest. As the saying goes, a broken bone or a torn muscle takes a hundred days to recover. We found some branches which Bingxin used to create a makeshift frame for an emergency external fixation. While Bingxin treated Zhu Xiaohao, he looked at her with a grateful and affectionate look that almost bordered on nauseating. "Miss Sun, you¡¯re so kind to me!"


    "Fuck off!¡± cursed Dali. ¡°Don¡¯t tter yourself! Bingxin-meimei is a medical student. Trust me, she doesn¡¯t have the tiniest bit of interest in you!"


    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business!" yelled Zhu Xiaohao.


    The two exchanged a few heated words before ignoring each otherpletely. The abbot stood at the door to the meditation room, his lips curled in a sinister smile. "Benefactor Zhu is injured. I think it¡¯s better if you all stay the night and wait till the rain ceases tomorrow to leave."


    Fucking baldy! How dare you set us up!

 Chapter 268

    <h4>Chapter 268</h4>


    From a nce, it was obvious Zhu Xiaohao¡¯s ident was a deliberate attempt to trap us here.


    The abbot told us our food would be ready shortly and kindly added that Zhu Xiaohao¡¯s portion would be sent to the room, drawing yet another burst of piety and gratitude from Zhu Xiaohao. What a clueless idiot¨Cthanking the culprits and pointing fingers at his would-be rescuers!


    Upon exiting the meditation room, I noticed that there were two other monks in the courtyard. The thin one sat on a bench at the entrance of the side hall, using a butterfly knife to trim his fingernails, while the other monk crouched under the old locust tree at the entrance of the courtyard, staring aimlessly with his one ss eye. Their expressions had an air of hostility, especially ss Eye who stared greedily at Bingxin as if to strip her naked with his eyes. The monks¡¯ intentions couldn¡¯t be any clearer¨Ctheir jobs were to ensure we wouldn¡¯t leave.


    "These baldies won¡¯t let us go!¡± Dali whispered in a low voice. ¡°What should we do? Fight them?"


    "There¡¯s no way I can defeat them in a fight,¡± I admitted. ¡°I can only outwit them."


    "Is there any possibility they¡¯re actually real monks who just don¡¯t observe the rules and regtions? And this is just a case of us overthinking the situation?" asked Dali.


    But that was wishful thinking on Dali¡¯s part.


    "I¡¯ve already said that I¡¯m only 90% sure that they are wanted criminals. I¡¯ve not ruled out what you said entirely,¡± I exined. ¡°But in our current situation, we must be alert and prepare for the worst. What I want to know most is what¡¯s hidden in that arhat statue."


    "Song Yang-gege, do you suspect there¡¯s a corpse hidden inside?" asked Bingxin.


    "There is that possibility since rotting corpses generate a lot of heat and the arhat¡¯s tears resemble corpse oil!"


    Dali gaped, "C-corpse oil?!"


    I nodded. "Corpse oil is the product of decaying human fat. If Zhu Xiaohao hadn¡¯t stopped me at the time, I could¡¯ve smelled it to be certain."


    "The dposition of a corpse not only produces corpse oil, but also methane, ammonia, and phosphorus,¡± added Bingxin. ¡°Song Yang-gege, do you recall any of those smells at the time?"


    With my keen sense of smell, I was sure I hadn¡¯t caught a whiff of rotting flesh. I turned to the statue in the courtyard that was waiting for a coat of paint and said, "If they¡¯ve managed to seal it up properly, it is possible for the smell to be contained."


    Upon further contemtion, Bingxin said, "The decay of a corpse also produces trace amounts of cyanide. Song Yang-gege, were there any dead bugs beside the statue?"


    I shook my head to say I hadn¡¯t seen any.


    I had an inkling these baldies wouldn¡¯t allow us back into the main hall. Dali sighed, "If only we could conduct a long-range autopsy."


    "Long-range autopsy?" Iughed. "We can¡¯t do that, but here¡¯s what we can do. Instead of direct evidence, we can look for circumstantial evidence such as the murder weapon! Where would they hide something like that?"


    "The kitchen!" eximed Bingxin.


    We continued our discussion in hushed whispers as we walked towards the kitchen. Scarface had just prepared our vegetarian meal when Bingxin and Dali both enthusiastically offered, "Master, let us serve!"


    The two walked off with Scarface while I took advantage of the monk¡¯s absence to examine the kitchen. I swiped the surface of the chopping board with my fingers and felt some grease, though I couldn¡¯t ascertain if it was human or animal fat. But I highly doubted they were sick enough to eat human flesh.


    Then, I picked up the kitchen knives one by one and held them to my nose. One of the knife handles smelled a bit off. Using Cave Vision, I meticulously ran my eyes all over the knife and found some solidified blood and bits of what I suspected to be human tissues at the joint between the knife handle and the de. Additionally, I found a strand of long hair between the chopping board and the wall which was a bizarre location for such a discovery, especially in the kitchen of a Buddhist temple.


    I grabbed a wooden rod and dug around the interior of the traditional stove, and soon stirred up a small piece of stic which looked like a corner of an ID card as indicated by the anti-counterfeit sticker on it.


    Suddenly, a familiar Buddhist chant sounded from behind me as the abbot appeared at the door like a ghost in a horror movie. "What are you doing here, benefactor?"


    I squeezed out the most harmless, foolish smile I could muster and said, "This is my first time seeing a traditional cooking stove. I¡¯m rather curious about it. Is it okay if I try it out for our dinner tonight?¡±


    My words seemed to put his worries to rest. "Very well. It¡¯s no problem at all if you wish to help. Your meal is ready. Please head to Heavenly Scents Kitchen where we eat."


    "Oh, wonderful!" I nodded.


    As soon as he turned away, I grabbed the smallest knife off the shelf and hid it in my sleeve.


    Our lunch was congee and pickles. Scarface sat opposite of us the entire time, as if he were monitoring us. I quietly typed on my cell phone, using my bowl to conceal my actions as I pushed the phone over to Bingxin and Dali who nodded tacitly at once.


    After we had our fill, I called Scarface and waved my phone at him. "Hey, Master, don¡¯t you guys have Wi-fi?"


    "No!" Scarface¡¯s rebuff was cold.


    I sighed, "How unlucky! I¡¯ve not yet signed in on Onmyoji today! Do any of you have Inte? Lend me your phone so that I can sign in!"


    "I can¡¯t get any signal," Dalimented with a nce at his phone.


    Meanwhile, Bingxin looked at hers and said, "I only have one bar..."


    I reached over as if to snatch the phone from Bingxin when she suddenly cried, "Hey, I don¡¯t have much data so don¡¯t download anything!"


    "It¡¯s just one game!¡± I yelled. ¡°Shoot, I identally dialed someone¡¯s number. Who¡¯s the old man?"


    Bingxin grabbed the phone out of my hand and shouted angrily, "It¡¯s my dad!"


    Then, she ced her ear to the phone, her voice cloying, "Dad, we¡¯re visiting a temple in the mountains... I¡¯m fine! Anyway, we¡¯ll be back tomorrow. Bye bye!"


    Naturally, all of this was a performance and Scarface¡¯s expression immediately revealed that something was off.


    When Scarface came to collect our bowls and chopsticks, I patted my stomach and said, "Ah, what an unsatisfying meal! I need meat to fill my stomach!"


    Scarface¡¯s ugly lips curled in a sarcastic smile before he left.


    With him out of the room, I immediately dropped my disguise and told them what I had discovered. I was now almost 100% sure that someone was murdered here about a week ago, which suggested these ¡°monks¡± wouldn¡¯t be so kind to let us leave tonight.


    "Then... what do we do?" whispered Dali through gritted teeth, his hands shaking.


    "We have to make the first move to gain an upper hand!" I dered, jaws clenching with determination.


    My decision seemed to have stunned them both. "Are you going to kill them?" Bingxin asked in wide-eyed shock.


    I nodded. "More than three years but less ten!" I said, enunciating each word.


    Dali didn¡¯t know what it meant so I exined to him that ording to ourws, criminals also had human rights. If convicted of killing a criminal, the prison sentence would be anywhere between three and ten years.


    But this was the worst case scenario. Of course, if they tried to attack us, then our actions would be considered justifiable defense which made us innocent.


    With my knowledge of the human body and the advantage of Cave Vision, as long as I had a knife in hand, I was confident that I could go against any one of them in the dark. After all, I had once fought a vicious man-eating monster with a knife.


    Right then, the abbot entered the room grinning from ear-to-ear. "Benefactors, it¡¯s gettingte. I¡¯ve already tidied up two meditation rooms for you to rest. You might as well wait till tomorrow to be on your way!"


    "Thank you, abbot,¡± said Dali. ¡°But we¡¯re taking a cab down the mountain and heading back. We won¡¯t disturb your peace and quiet."


    "It¡¯s no trouble at all,¡± the abbot waved his hands. ¡°It¡¯s hard to get a cab out here, especially at night. Our duty as monks is to serve the people, and helping you is our privilege so there¡¯s no need to refuse."


    "Thank you very much then," I replied.


    "Very well,¡± the abbot folded his hands. ¡°I¡¯ll take you to your rooms."


    The abbot allocated two meditation rooms, one for Dali and me, and the other for Bingxin. The rooms were simple, each with a bed and a bookshelf with some Buddhist ssics.


    "I have a question,¡± I said, scanning the room. ¡°Can I share a room with my girlfriend instead?"


    Upon hearing this, Bingxin blushed crimson despite being well aware it was all an act.


    The abbot immediately refused, "Amitabha. There can be no sexual activity in the sacred temple of Buddha! Please be patient, benefactor!"


    "I¡¯m not a monk. Why should I be restricted?¡± I demanded. ¡°To tell you the truth, I¡¯ve been on internship here for more than a month and my girlfriend is only visiting for one night. Are you trying to deprive me of my sex life?!"


    I burned with shame after I said that. Dali coughed and looked outside while Bingxin lowered her head, trying to hide her blush.


    The abbot¡¯s face twisted into a grimace. "Amitabha, what a sin!" he muttered.


    "You know what?! We¡¯re getting the hell out of here!¡± I yelled. ¡°What¡¯s the point of staying any longer in this stupid, broken down ce?!"


    The abbot¡¯s eyes turned red with ferocity as his expression turned sinister. "You can¡¯t leave!" he roared.


    1. Another honorific title for a monk.


    2. The monks¡¯ form of addressingymen.

 Chapter 269

    <h4>Chapter 269</h4>


    The abbot issued a cough, his expression turning kind and amiable once more. "Benefactor, the Buddhist temple has its own rules. You are not allowed to do as you please. Control yourself."


    I knew this wasn¡¯t the time to shed all pretences. If they were to join hands, we certainly wouldn¡¯t be able to leave. "Fine then!¡± I grumbled. ¡°I¡¯ll have to endure it for tonight. Why do you have so many stupid rules?!"


    "Stay in your rooms and don¡¯t wander about at night,¡± the abbot sneered. ¡°There are wolves on the mountain."


    Bingxin walked to the room next to ours. However, she couldn¡¯t resist turning back to look at me as if frightened so I gave her a look of assurance.


    It was getting dark and Dali was about to turn on the lights when I stopped him. I scanned the room, looking for tools I could use. My eyesid upon a bamboo chair that seemed perfect for my n. Breaking off one of the chair legs, I proceeded to pull out some cotton from the quilt and wrapped both ends with a cloth.


    Dali curiously examined my DIY equipment which resembled arge cotton swab and asked, "What is this for? A weapon?"


    "Why would I wrap both ends with cotton if I wanted to kill someone?¡± Iughed. ¡°If that were the case, I would sharpen them!"


    I ced one end against the wall and stuck my ear to the other end. This little tool was actually a homemade listening device, but I wasn¡¯t the one who invented it. The first stethoscope prototype in the 17th century looked like this as well.


    Behind one of the walls was Bingxin¡¯s room and I heard no movement from her end. Another wall seemed to be connected to the woodshed that was in front of the abbot¡¯s meditation room where Zhu Xiaohao was resting. Through my listening device, Zhu Xiaohao and the abbot¡¯s fervent discussion about Buddhism was perfectly clear to my ears. The abbot continued with his take on Buddhism, making up a bunch of nonsense he paraded as words of wisdom. "Buddha once said, ¡®Heart in heaven, heart in hell.¡¯ Actually, heaven and hell exist in everyone¡¯s hearts.¡± Zhu Xiaohaopped up his bullshit with great enthusiasm and continued echoing his words.


    If I were the monks, the first one I¡¯did my hands on would definitely be the prejudiced, ignorant Zhu Xiaohao who had the word ¡±idiot¡± written all over his face.


    Unfortunately, I was a police consultant and I couldn¡¯t allow my biased opinions of him affect my decisions. I couldn¡¯t just watch the man suffer because I hated him. I had to enlighten him when the opportunity arose.


    Dali crowded around me anxiously. "Song Yang, what did you hear? I want to listen too!"


    I ced my finger on my lips, gesturing for him to keep quiet. After a while, when the abbot left Zhu Xiaohao¡¯s room, I said, "Dali, I¡¯m going out to do something but I¡¯ll be back soon."


    The eerie hoots of an owl sounded from the woods, breaking the silence of the night. Dali shivered, "You must hurry back! This ce gives me the creeps! I¡¯m afraid to be here alone!"


    "I¡¯ll get Bingxin to apany you!"


    I looked out the window and noticed the deserted yard¨Cthe coast was clear! I gently pushed the door open and sneaked towards Bingxin¡¯s room.


    The meditation rooms in the temple didn¡¯t have locks on the doors so a slight push was all I needed to open Bingxin¡¯s door. The room was pitch ck with not a soul in sight. Anxiety gripped my heart as I did a double-take, almost afraid to confirm Bingxin¡¯s disappearance. But all of a sudden, I heard a whoosh and felt movement on the side.


    I quickly reached out to block the attack but a heavy blownded on my arm, the pain so excruciating I thought I had perhaps broken a bone. Then, to my utter relief, I saw that it was Bingxin standing behind the door, body trembling but still as tenacious as ever, a chair leg in her hand.


    The darkness rendered her vision blurry so she couldn¡¯t recognize it was me. Just when she lifted her arms, ready for the second attack, I quickly called out, "Bingxin, it¡¯s me!"


    Bingxin¡¯s fear turned to shock and then relief, her outstretched hands frantically groping all over my body. "Song Yang-gege, I was so afraid they would barge into the room!¡± she cried. ¡°I¡¯ve been hiding behind the door the entire time. Did I hurt you?"


    "It¡¯s alright," I assured her.


    "I¡¯m so frightened!¡± she sobbed, throwing her arms around me. ¡°I want to go home now!"


    I patted her on the back andforted her, "It¡¯s okay. No one will hurt you with me around."


    I told her to wait while I stuffed a pillow into her quilt in an attempt to mislead the monks. Then, I looked out the window once more and walked Bingxin to my room as soon as I confirmed no one was lurking in the yard.


    After we regrouped, I instructed Dali to watch over Bingxin while I went to get Zhu Xiaohao toe over. After all, leaving him alone was too dangerous.


    "Who cares about that guy?!¡± Dali retorted. ¡°He¡¯s the kind of character who¡¯d die first in a horror movie. Even a screenwriter can¡¯t save him!"


    "Shut up!¡± I rebuked. ¡°The four of us came in together so I¡¯m making sure we leave together. I can¡¯t just watch him die!"


    Just as I was about to exit the room, a couple of dull thuds sounded from outside our room. I motioned for Bingxin and Dali to remain silent as I ced my ear to the ground to listen. The noise seemed to have drifted from outside the courtyard, as if someone was digging the ground. Were they preparing a grave for us? The sounds of conversation were vaguelyprehensible but they were too far off to be coherent.


    "I¡¯m going out!" I whispered.


    The two of them worried about my safety but I assured them nothing would happen to me.


    I opened the door and entered the dark courtyard once more. The cloudy skies cast a dreary veil over the entire courtyard. I concealed myself under the cover of the bits and pieces of junk near the wall and felt around the bottom of the wall where I attached my listening device. The voices of two men immediately floated into my ear.


    These two voices were unfamiliar to me. I soon recalled ss Eye and Skinny whom we met earlier but didn¡¯t have the chance to speak to.


    One of the voices said, "Four, that little bitch looks delicious. Why don¡¯t we send those three dogs on their journey to meet the Buddha tonight? After that, we can all have a good time."


    "The boss has already ordered us not to make a move for the time being,¡± replied the other monk. ¡°We¡¯re only supposed to watch them. Though that little white dog is rather slick. Scar mentioned that the little bitch let a pigeon go in the afternoon. If they go missing, the police mighte looking. Then we¡¯d be in deep shit."


    Their words were mixed with code, some of which I barely understood. Based on my conjectures, the little white dog should refer to me while the little bitch was Bingxin, and sending us on our journey to meet the Buddha meant killing us. Letting a pigeon go probably referred to the call Bingxin made in the afternoon.


    The two continued their conversation. "What the hell are you afraid of? It¡¯s not like this is our first time doing such a thing! I can guarantee the little bitch was putting on a show. How could there be any signal in this fucking shithole?!"


    "No way! Have you forgotten why we¡¯re here?¡± argued the other voice. ¡°We need to find the old man¡¯s treasure before we run far away from this ce!"


    "Sigh, what the hell was the old man thinking? Hiding the treasure in this god-forsaken temple! And all he left us was some stupid password none of us can understand. We¡¯ve been in this fucking ce for three years, dug three feet all over the ce, but there¡¯s still no sign of it!"


    Then came the sound of more digging whichsted for five minutes before the two spoke again.


    "It¡¯s not here! Let¡¯s try digging elsewhere!"


    "Are we supposed to dig the entire mountain?! Why didn¡¯t the old man give us an exact location? Ugh, that motherfucker just had to torture us. I¡¯m this close to unearthing his body so I can ask him myself!"


    "Five! Watch what you say asshole! Don¡¯t you dare disrespect the old man! If the chief hears you, you¡¯ll be punished!"


    "Oh, whatever! I¡¯m just saying, you don¡¯t have to take it so seriously."


    As it turned out, they weren¡¯t digging graves but looking for treasure left by someone. The situation was moreplicated than I expected.


    From what I heard so far, my guess was that we bumped into a group of wanted criminals and the one they called ¡°the old man¡± was their old boss who left behind treasure in this decrepit temple after his death. Thus, thesewless criminals were desperately digging to find the treasure.


    During their stay here, several unlucky folks must have strayed into their hideout and were tragically murdered by them. The body in the arhat statue and the long hair behind the chopping board were remnants of their most recent victims.


    As they continued digging, the man nicknamed ¡°Five¡± suddenly stopped. "I¡¯m not digging anymore! Why should I torture myself?!¡± he burst out. ¡°Right now, I¡¯m horny as fuck and I¡¯m going to visit the little bitch to relieve the heat!"


    "What¡¯s the hurry?" Four cried. ¡°She¡¯s already in our hands. It¡¯s not like they can escape. We¡¯ll get to fuck her sooner orter!"


    "No! I can¡¯t wait anymore!¡± yelled Five. ¡°It¡¯s been more than half a year since I touched a woman! What the fuck is wrong with the chief?! Why is he acting like a frightened mouse? Back then, killing and setting fires were nothing! What happened to the bravery and ruthlessness huh? Anyway, I don¡¯t give a shit! I¡¯m sending those dogs to hell right now."


    A flurry of footsteps sounded and Four seemed to stop Five. "Wait a minute! Are you sure you can deal with them all by yourself?¡± asked Four. ¡°Leave the little bitch forst. We have to get rid of theme dog, then kill the little white one and the little spotted one before they realize anything!"


    "As I thought, no one knows better when ites to this!¡± Fiveughed sinisterly. ¡°Let¡¯s kill these sons of bitches!"


    My heart skipped a beat. These fugitives were making their move!

 Chapter 270

    <h4>Chapter 270</h4>


    The footsteps sounded closer and closer, as if they were headed to the kitchen opposite to arm themselves with knives. I slipped into the abbot¡¯s meditation room under the cover of the junk piled up in the courtyard. As soon as I entered the room, Zhu Xiaohao sat up and demanded, "Who is it?"


    "It¡¯s me!¡± I whispered. ¡°Don¡¯t talk, just listen."


    With little time left, I kept my exnation brief, rifying that people wereing to kill him so we had to move quickly.


    However, upon hearing these words, Zhu Xiaohao merely arched an eyebrow, dismissive and unconcerned. "I¡¯ve just realized how negative and dark your thoughts are!¡± he condemned. ¡°These monks are here to pray and reflect. Whatever possessed you to arrive at such a conclusion?! Have you ever seen such kind-hearted thieves and murderers?"


    Anger and frustration red up inside of me, spurring the growing impulse to yell, ¡°Fuck off! Go to hell! I¡¯ll collect your body tomorrow!


    But before I could lose my head in a fit of anger, the creaking sound of a door came from across the yard, a sobering reminder of what awaited us. It seemed the two had already selected their murder weapons. I looked out the window, ss Eye and Skinny¡¯s every move visible to me. The dy caused by Zhu Xiaohao¡¯s skepticism had left us in a dilemma since leaving the meditation room was no longer a viable option.


    I drew the knife from my sleeve and stood against the door, motioning for Zhu Xiaohao not to speak. The best n I coulde up with in such a short time was to lie in wait until they entered the room, kill off one and leave the other to chance!


    This was my first time killing someone. My heart pounded exceedingly fast as if it would explode. The deafening sound of my heartbeat filled my ears and I wondered if the others could hear it as well. With the mounting pressure, I deliberately slowed down my breaths, hoping to stabilize my mind.


    Outside, their footsteps stopped at the door and ss Eyes¡¯ whispers floated into my ears. "Four, you go in and take care of him. I¡¯ll be on the lookout outside."


    "Wait a minute, did someone just run over the roof?" Skinny looked up and thought out loud.


    ss Eye burst intoughter, "What nonsense are you talking about? Look at how high the roof is! Besides, it¡¯s been raining all day so the tiles are slippery. Who the hell could do something like that?"


    "I¡¯m probably just overthinking it," nodded Skinny.


    At this point, the reality of our situation finally dawned upon Zhu Xiaohao. Wide-eyed, he stared outside, sobs threatening to spill from his lips. Right then, he stumbled out of bed and limped towards me but I quickly pushed him away for fear his movements might make a sound.


    Stubborn as always, Zhu Xiaohao blocked the door with his shoulder and begged me for help.


    Only a moron coulde up with that useless idea! The door to the meditation room could hardly be called sturdy. All the perpetrators had to do was pierce a hole with their knives from the other side. I gave Zhu Xiaohao another hard push and ordered him to stay in bed but he remained motionless, stubborn as a mule.


    Suddenly, a heavy kick crashed into the door. Zhu Xiaohao¡¯s rotund body trembled like a leaf, silent tears sliding down his cheeks like hot wax on a candle.


    "There¡¯s something against the door!¡± cried Skinny. ¡°Damn it! They¡¯ve seen through our disguise!"


    The door shook vehemently once more and I gulped, bracing myself for impact. As soon as Skinny broke into the room, I would plunge my knife into his throat. But I never expected Zhu Xiaohao to reach for my clothes, gesturing for me to help with obstructing the door.


    Before either of us could react, the door fell open with a loud bang, knocking Zhu Xiaohao and me to the ground together. Skinny stood at the door, squinting in the dark for some time. "What are the two of you doing in the same room? I see! Looks like you¡¯ve got some pretty special hobbies eh!" he mocked.


    I couldn¡¯t help but curse at my misfortune for taking on such a loser for a teammate.


    I stood up and yelled, "Do you know who you¡¯re talking to?!"


    "I don¡¯t!¡±ughed Skinny. ¡°But I do know you¡¯re about to die!"


    I stood my ground, knife in hand as I swept my gaze across the vital points on his body, my throat as dry as a desert. Zhu Xiaohao grabbed my trouser leg from below. I soon heard a soft trickle and the smell of urine permeated the room. It turned out that this guy was so frightened he peed his pants!


    At this moment, I noticed movement behind Skinny. A mysterious man in a white trench coat wrapped his arm around ss Eye¡¯s neck, his other hand covering the perpetrator¡¯s mouth. ss Eye struggled desperately, legs kicking in the air and eyes wide in disbelief, though his actions resembled a mouse fighting a cat.


    Song Xingchen hade to rescue me! I was ecstatic at his timely arrival.


    Without making the slightest noise, Song Xingchen dropped ss Eye to the ground, the ease in which he dealt with the man a clear indication of his skills.


    I remember reading that one of the ancestors of the Song family, Song Buping, the number one constable in ancient Guangdong and Guangxi, had once invented a set of silent assassination techniques¨CFlower Snares The Finch. The move Song Xingchen had just used was that exact technique!


    Meanwhile, Skinny was still ring at me,pletely unaware that his aplice was dead.


    In an attempt to buy myself more time, I said, "Dage, before I die, can I at least know your name?"


    "Good boy, looks like you know your ce eh!¡± sneered Skinny. ¡°Then I¡¯ll show you some mercy and tell you what you want to know! Ever heard of the 116 case that caused a stir in the entire province? I¡¯m the man behind it! All right, you can set your mind at ease and dly go on your way!"


    Right when he raised his knife, Song Xingchen emerged from behind. By the time Skinny realized the hostility aimed at him, it was toote.


    Song Xingchen grabbed Skinny¡¯s wrist and overturned him while he remained crouched, mping the ¡°monk¡¯s¡± bald head with his right thigh, hand covering his mouth. A quick jab to the acupuncture points on Skinny¡¯s wrist and his entire body was paralyzed!


    Much like a fly caught in a Venus flytrap, Skinny could no longer move or speak. His face turned so red it was almost purple, veins throbbing on his forehead and eyes bulging out of their sockets. Eventually, he began to froth at the mouth....


    When Skinny¡¯s body fell limp, Song Xingchen carefully supported his weight, making sure there wasn¡¯t the slightest sound when the bodynded on the ground. What a unique assassination technique! From Song Xingchen¡¯s disy of skill, I was certain this wasn¡¯t his first kill.


    ¡°A timely entrance indeed!¡± I praised.


    "Young master, are you mocking me?¡± came Song Xingchen¡¯s cold voice. ¡°In fact, I¡¯ve been on the roof for a long time."


    "Song Yang, who are you talking to?" Zhu Xiaohao looked around the room in terror.


    Right now, the room was shrouded in darkness as the lights in the courtyard remained turned off. With Zhu Xiaohao¡¯s ordinary visual perception, it was impossible to see anything. Having grown up in a city with severe light pollution, this might be his first experience of pure darkness or forck of a better word, pitch-ck.


    However, darkness didn¡¯t have the same effect on Song Xingchen and my vision. Like me, Song Xingchen¡¯s pupils were divided into threeyers and could expand beyond ordinary human standards in the dark. He too had the legendary Cave Vision!


    I swept my fingers over ss Eye and Skinny¡¯s carotid artery and felt no heartbeat. Just as I expected¨Cthey were already dead.


    "What should I do with the other monks?" asked Song Xingchen.


    I hesitated for a moment as Skinny¡¯s mention of the 116 case crossed my mind. "Can you capture them alive?"

 Chapter 271

    <h4>Chapter 271</h4>


    Two hourster, I returned to my room only to be greeted by an antsy Dali and teary-eyed Bingxin who had been too afraid to sleep. As soon as I entered the room, Dali pounced on me, choking back a sob, "Dude, you¡¯ve been gone for so long! I heard some noises outside but wasn¡¯t sure what was happening so I didn¡¯t dare to sleep either. You scared me half to death!"


    "It¡¯s okay, let¡¯s go to sleep now," I said.


    "Sleep?" the two blurted in unison.


    "We need to recharge for tomorrow,¡± I exined. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there won¡¯t be any problems tonight. If you¡¯re so worried, then the three of us can take turns keeping watch."


    In that manner, the three of us rested till dawn when an ear-piercing shriek woke us up from our slumber. "Chief... I mean, abbot, something has happened!"


    The voice belonged to Scarface. "Let¡¯s go and have a look," I suggested.


    We tidied ourselves and quickly left the room. Havoc rained on the courtyard outside; the door to the abbot¡¯s meditation room had fallen open, the floor bloodied by a body with its face disfigured from being smashed in. It was Zhu Xiaohao as indicated by the clothes on the body and the makeshift frame tied to his leg. A thick branch covered with bits of flesh and solidified blood¨Cthe murder weapony beside the body. Tongue-tied from the shock, Dali clutched my shirt, fingers shaking.


    "Oh my God!¡± He stammered, ¡°Z-zhu Xiaohao has been killed!"


    Bingxin covered her mouth in disbelief, tears swirling in her eyes.


    The abbot was livid, his jaw clenched so hard the veins popped on his face as if it took everything for him to keep his anger in check. Scarface walked over and whispered a few words into the abbot¡¯s ear.


    "Fuck!¡± cursed the abbot. ¡°Those two bastards!"


    Feigning ignorance, I demanded, "Abbot, what the hell is going on?! Why is our friend dead?"


    Flustered, the abbot took forever to organize his speech. "I don¡¯t know what happened either,¡± he replied. ¡°It must have been Jingde and Jingci. Scum! Back when I took them in, I was suspicious of their origins. It¡¯s an oversight on my part. I hold myself responsible for this."


    Dali and Bingxin were still immersed in great shock. In truth, Zhu Xiaohao was still alive and this scene was a special disy Song Xingchen and I had prepared for the other monks.


    The body actually belonged to ss Eye who was about the same height and size as Zhu Xiaohao. The slight difference in height was masked by lifting Zhu Xiaohao¡¯s trousers so it remained difficult to detect when the bodyy on the ground. Bashing in his head was easy, but the hair was difficult to fake. I had Zhu Xiaohao cut off some of his and carefully glued it onto ss Eye¡¯s bald head with some tung oil I found in the yard. The entire process had taken me quite some time.


    As for the real Zhu Xiaohao, he was probably already a distance away. I had instructed Song Xingchen to escort him down the mountain to the police station. When he left, he was wearing an oversized monk robe with parts of his hair shaved off¨Can altogetherical sight. At the time, he waspletely scared silly and obeyed me without a single word of objection.


    And to tie up the final loose end, I told Song Xingchen to find a ravine and dispose of Skinny¡¯s body.


    When these fugitives woke up in the morning and found Zhu Xiaohao dead beside the courtyard covered in pits, what would their conclusion be? It wouldn¡¯t take a genius to figure out that the other two discovered the treasure during their routine digs and absconded, leaving behind a dead Zhu Xiaohao who had identally witnessed the incident.


    To cement their suspicions, I deliberately created a rectangr outline in one of the pits using a t wooden board to give the impression of a chest buried in the ground!


    The reason why I kept the truth from Dali and Bingxin was to invoke genuine shock. I feared the abbot and Scarface could sniff out the deception in our expressions had the three of us appeared tooposed.


    "How could our friend just die like that?!¡± I yelled, putting up an angry front. ¡°What sort of temple is this? We have to leave now! There¡¯s no way I¡¯m sticking around!"


    "You can¡¯t go!" roared the abbot.


    The abbot was seized by a sudden fit of panic though he quickly regainedposure. "Please remain calm and wait until I investigate the truth. I only have one request¡ªdon¡¯t call the police!"


    Despite the polite tone, his demeanor was overbearing.


    "Why shouldn¡¯t we call the police?¡± I argued. ¡°Are we supposed to let our friend die for nothing?"


    "Abbot, since things have alreadye to this,¡± Scarface loudly interjected, ¡°What¡¯s the point of..."


    "Jingneng, that¡¯s enough!" he yelled. Then, turning to me, he exined, "This matter concerns the reputation of our temple so it¡¯s best if we keep it under wraps for the time being. I promise to find out what happened and give your friend justice. Please stay in your rooms till I return."


    "Fine! I¡¯ll trust you this once,¡± I agreed.


    The abbot exchanged a meaningful nce with Scarface who quickly led us into the meditation room. The two continued their private conversation, after which the abbot hurried out the door.


    I was certain he was going after the two aplices who had vanished while Scarface stayed behind to monitor us. He stood under arge tree in the courtyard, chain smoking cigarette after cigarette.


    "Dude, this ce scares the shit out of me!¡± Dali burst out in hysterics. ¡°They¡¯re definitely going to kill us next."


    "Don¡¯t worry,¡± I chuckled. ¡°Just listen to what I have to say!"


    I narrated all that had transpiredst night in detail which drew incredulous and awestruck looks from Bingxin and Dali.


    "Song Yang-gege, you fabricated Zhu Xiaohao¡¯s murder?" asked Bingxin in disbelief.


    "Yes,¡± I nodded. ¡°Did I manage to trick you as well? Don¡¯t forget to testify my innocence when we get back."


    Bingxin bit her lip and asked, "If your mysterious bodyguard was here, why didn¡¯t you arrest them all?"


    "Do you know anything about the 116 case?"


    Bingxin shook her head and I continued, "It involves the biggest cultural relic heist in the province in thest 50 years!"


    Because of its memorable date, the case left a vague impression on me despite having urred outside of Nanjiang City. I recall having noticed the case files in the archives of the provincial arrest warrants.


    The case had urred 10 years ago when several robbers armed with five or six submachine guns drove into a museum and killed more than a dozen security guards, robbing several national treasures worth over 300 million that included the Nanyang King¡¯s bronze vessel, the antlered crane censer and the most well-preserved jade burial garment from the Han Dynasty. At present, the whereabouts of these relics still remained unknown.


    Due to the unique nature of these items, it was impossible for the robbers to have sold them domestically. Therefore, the police assumed they had been lost to overseas buyers.


    Later on, when the police were investigating another case, the chief culprit, Mr. Jia, was coincidentally arrested. I suspected this Mr. Jia was the old man whom the two had mentionedst night. In spite of his arrest, Mr. Jia remained tight-lipped, refusing to reveal any information right up to the moment he was executed. From the conversation I had overheard between the two men, I presumed that the execution happened three years ago. Before his death, Mr. Jia told his associates where the historical relics were buried and gave them a password. Unfortunately, this gang of robbers consisted of half-witted knuckleheads who failed to find the treasure even after three years of digging. They impersonated the monks who once lived here and killed any uninvited visitors who entered the temple by mistake.


    Needless to say, the lives of these wanted criminals were worth less than these cultural relics. Recovering the relics would be a great achievement that justified the risks!


    "Even if we arrest them, they won¡¯t necessarily confess so I was thinking of setting up a little game to loosen their lips," I exined.


    "And how are you going to do that?" asked Dali.


    I looked out of the window and said, "Have you noticed that Two-Face hasn¡¯t appeared at all?"


    ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± Dali echoed in surprise.


    His absence only served to convince me that he wasn¡¯t part of their gang at all. Thus, I had to create an opportunity to speak to Two-Face. If he knew what the password was, then the n was to buy us enough time till the police arrived. In the event Two-Face was a monk held hostage by these criminals, our only way forward was to trick the password out of the others.

 Chapter 272

    <h4>Chapter 272</h4>


    By about 9 am, Dali¡¯s stomach was rumbling with hunger. "All we¡¯ve had since yesterday was a bowl of congee. Aren¡¯t you hungry?¡± he asked. ¡°Dude, where¡¯s the chocte Bingxin-meimei gave you yesterday? Take it out, I¡¯m starving!"


    "I left it in the dormitory,¡± I said. ¡°How could I eat it all at once?"


    I didn¡¯t mean to imply anything, but Bingxin seemed to have caught on to some nonexistent allusion and blushed shyly.


    "How much longer do we have to wait?" Dali cried dejectedly.


    "You¡¯ll have to be patient. I¡¯m guessing the abbot will only return when he¡¯s handled the matter."


    Capturing our suspects alive was trickier than killing them. In fact, all I had to do was whistle for Song Xingchen to jump off the roof and kill Scarface. But thereiny the rub; how would we exin all the dead bodies to the police when they arrived at the scene? If the matter wasn¡¯t well handled, we might all end up in jail.


    Right now, impatience was written all over Scarface¡¯s face. He nced over towards our room several times as if he were hesitant about something. It was only half an hourter when he suddenly stood up and stomped out of the yard.


    "I¡¯m going out for a bit but I¡¯ll be right back!" I said.


    Before leaving, I left the knife with Dali so he could protect themselves.


    I slipped out of the room and kept my movements furtive as I sneaked over to the side hall. The rhythmic sound of hacking came from the inner courtyard, and there stood Two-Face in the middle of felling a small tree. Startled by my presence, he looked up, wary.


    "I need to speak to you!" I said, making sure to keep my voice low.


    Two-Face looked me up and down as if sizing me up, his tone unfriendly and gruff, "What¡¯s there to talk about? Go back to your room now. If my disciple brother discovers you missing, he¡¯ll kill you!"


    I kept a fixed gaze on him, my eyesmunicating that I had seen through it all. "I already know your identities. In the spirit of fair exchange, I¡¯ll tell you mine. I¡¯m a policeman."


    Two-Face arched an eyebrow as he shot an usatory nce in my direction. "You¡¯re lying!"


    Since I handed my consultant identification to Zhu Xiaohao, I had nothing left to prove my identity so I solemnly repeated, "I¡¯m a policeman. My badge number is 024415. You can check and see if I¡¯m telling the truth or not."


    Of course, the badge number was fabricated but my words seemed to convince Two-Face, the doubt and wariness in his eyes fading slightly. "What do you know?" he asked.


    "You¡¯re all fugitives from the 116 case from over ten years ago!¡± I announced. ¡°And you¡¯re hiding here to find the historical relics that disappeared at the time."


    Two-Face looked at me, appalled and stunned speechless. Some timeter, he managed to collect himself and asked, "Who told you all that?"


    "Do you think finding that information would pose a challenge for an officer of thew?" I scoffed.


    "So, are you undercover?¡± Two-Face gulped, his expression marked with nervousness. ¡°Are you going to arrest them all?"


    I noticed the peculiarity of his wording, using ¡°them¡± instead of ¡°us¡± which suggested he might not be part of their gang. I felt as if my dangling heart had found solid ground.


    "Yes,¡± I admitted. ¡°But you must keep it under wraps."


    "Why are you telling me this?¡± asked Two-Face. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid I might divulge your secret?"


    "I can tell you¡¯re different and you might be on my side," I chuckled.


    Completely shaken, Two-Face prevaricated, seeming to vacite between two conflicting thoughts. I intended to strike while the iron was hot and cut to the chase, "Tell me how you ended up here!"


    Two-Face suddenly dropped his axe and insisted, "Officer, I was kidnapped by them! I swear I didn¡¯t take part in any of the murders!"


    Never had I expected that Two-Face¡¯s real identity was a security guard of the museum instead of a monk. The level of security in the museum could bepared to that of a bank so back then, when Boss Jia and his group of ouws nned to steal the historical relics, they bought off the security guards beforehand. Blinded by greed, Two-Face agreed to shut off the museum¡¯s emergency defense system on the day of the robbery.


    ording to the agreement between them, the thieves would leave immediately after stealing the items and the two would have zero contact with each other in the future.


    But in reality, the situation developed in another direction. After the group of thieves charged into the museum, they attacked the security guards who had alerted the police. When a group of policemen arrived, these violent criminals armed with five or six submachine guns killed off more than a dozen policemen and security guards and took Two-Face as their hostage.


    Two-Face desperately begged for them to let him go, but Boss Jia and the otherspletely ignored him. Thus, he ended up on the wrong side during the chaos, and they soon became the most wanted criminals in the entire province. The armed police and the People¡¯s Liberation Army set up checkpoints throughout the province so they had no other choice but to go into hiding. During this period, the gang lost three of their members. They went their separate ways in Wuqu City; Boss Jia left to sell the stolen goods while the others took shelter in the suburbs.


    Two-Face was forced to follow these criminals, working as their full-time servant, cooking and cleaning for them.


    Boss Jia was a highly respected old gangster boss. Once, Two-Face casually joked that perhaps Boss Jia had absconded with the money, provoking their chief into a violent rampage. The chief, now known as the abbot, flew into a rage and shoved his head onto a hot stove, melting off half of his face and an ear. The incident struck a deep fear in his heart that rendered Two-Face silent about the matter.


    Six monthster, they came across a bit of bad news. Apparently, Boss Jia had been captured by the armed police.


    Boss Jia had a rather disobedient and unruly mistress who was also involved with some other unsavory people. During an attempt to smuggle drugs, the mistress was arrested by the police and confessed everything she knew, including Boss Jia¡¯s temporary hideout in order to redeem herself. The Armed Police forces arrived just in time to catch Boss Jia. The entire incident could only be med on Boss Jia¡¯s rotten luck!


    However, Boss Jia was a true man after all. Everyone wanted to locate the whereabouts of the historical relics in the name of contributing to the country. But even as the police, judiciary and prison authorities rained endless persecution and torments upon him, Boss Jia remained tight-lipped and waster sentenced to death.


    ording to insider information, the prison guards had deliberately ced Boss Jia in a cell with certain inmates known for their bad behavior, and turned a blind eye to their daily abuse in an attempt to force him to confess.


    Although Two-Face wasn¡¯t part of their gang, he had to admit that Boss Jia was indeed a true man of courage and principle. He didn¡¯t say a word about how many crimes he suffered. Despite the seven years of abuse in prison, Boss Jia never once uttered a single word having made up his mind to leave the relics to his gang of brothers.


    Seven yearster, when Boss Jia was finally executed, Two-Face and the other fugitives disguised themselves and sneaked into the funeral parlor. Faced with Boss Jia¡¯s old and disabled body, the gang of violent thieves burst into tears as they dug out a wax tablet from his stomach that contained a piece of paper.


    The front of the note read, ¡°Mount Funiu Qingliang Temple,¡± their current hideout. On the back was a string of letters and numbers, a code to the exact location of the buried treasure.


    Thus, they traveled to this decrepit temple and disguised themselves as monks while they searched for the treasure. But the code itself was impossible to decipher even after three years so the next best thing they could do was dig three feet deep all over the temple.


    During this period of time, there were a few unwee visitors to the temple. And who were these bunch of fake monks? It wasn¡¯t an exaggeration to call them felons and those who chanced upon the temple were all brutally murdered by them. The women were allowed to live longer than the men but suffered a fate worse than death. Two-Face had seen one of the female victims who was sexually abused till her vagina started to rot from the untreated wounds. Eventually, Scarface and ss Eye hung her from a tree and dropped the body to the ground. In the end, not one part of her body was intact, bone and flesh smashed into chunks.


    At first, they dug graves to bury their victims, butter, they found an easier way to deal with their corpses. They started hiding them inside the Buddha statues. In order to prevent the exposure of any odors, these statues were covered with several coats of paint. Thus, the corpses of the victims slowly rotted away, hidden from the world.


    In the past three years, they murdered four groups of people and the bodies were either hidden within the statues or around the temple. If Bingxin hadn¡¯t faked a phone call yesterday, perhaps we would¡¯ve been dead by now. Last night, the abbot instructed them not to make a move until two dayster.


    With that said, Two-Face sighed and wiped away the tears on his face. "I¡¯ve been terrified every single day here, afraid that they¡¯ll kill me on a whim,¡± he sobbed. ¡°All this is retribution. The difference between going to heaven and being condemned to hell lies in one thought. Perhaps I¡¯m the best example of that saying. Officer, can I be given a lighter punishment in view of the situation?"


    "I¡¯m afraid not." I shook my head.


    Two-Face was fraught with disappointment but I quickly added, "Because I¡¯m letting you go!"

 Chapter 273

    <h4>Chapter 273</h4>


    Two-Face stared at me in disbelief, words seeming to fail him. After some time, he faltered, "A-are you... some kind of bigshot?"


    ¡°I¡¯m undercover, what do you think?¡± I chuckled. ¡°But I can let you go without getting approval." I looked at my cell phone and said, "It¡¯s ten in the morning and the police will arrive at about two in the afternoon. If you leave before that, I promise not to say a word about you."


    Moved by my words, he asked, "Why do you believe me? I mean, what if I¡¯m lying?"


    I shook my head, "I believe what I see in your eyes..."


    Suddenly, there came a heavy sound of footsteps behind Two-Face who urged me to hide. Scarface was probably making his rounds. There wasn¡¯t a suitable ce to hide so I slipped into the gap between the hall stairway and the wall, crouching as low as physically possible.


    Two-Face picked up his axe and continued chopping when Scarface entered the courtyard with a loud yell, "Youzy motherfucker! I didn¡¯t hear you working earlier. Are you bumming around again?"


    Two-Face faltered, "I-I was taking a short break."


    "Where did the chief store the cigarettes?" demanded Scarface.


    "Ge, you should smoke less. After all, it¡¯s so difficult to buy cigarettes in this miserable ce,¡± replied Two-Face. ¡°If the chief finds out, he¡¯s going to give you another lecture."


    "Oh fuck off, will you?!¡± shouted Scarface. ¡°It¡¯s not your turn to say shit! You already know what happened this morning. Four and Five, those two bastards, dug up something and ran away on their own. The chief took a bunch of the good stuff and chased after them. I¡¯m supposed to keep an eye on the three fools here. If it were up to me, I¡¯d kill them off right now. Sigh, what the fuck is going on? Whatever, just get me a pack of cigarettes or I¡¯ll cut you!"


    "Okay, I¡¯ll pass them to youter," said Two-Face as he bowed respectfully.


    Only after Scarface left did I stick my head out again. "What did the abbot take with him?" I asked.


    "Guns!¡± eximed Two-Face. ¡°They have more than a dozen service rifles. But I don¡¯t know where they are hidden."


    I contemted the circumstances. If they had guns, the situation might escteter on, causing casualties among the police. Perhaps the safest way forward was to first subdue Scarface on our own.


    "Wait for a while. Don¡¯t deliver the cigarettes just yet,¡± I said.


    Upon further reflection, I recalled having seen a special sort of herb outside the temple. I ran outside, carefully uprooted the herb and handed it to Two-Face. "This herb is called Barrenwort. Grind it up and mix the liquid into the cigarette contents."


    Two-Face stared at me in horror. "Is it poisonous? You mustn¡¯t poison him!¡± he blurted. ¡°If he finds out, he¡¯ll kill me!"


    "Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not poison!¡± I chuckled. ¡°This stuff will only arouse him!"


    "But if I open the cigarette pack, he¡¯ll definitely be suspicious,¡± he added. ¡°After a few brushes with death, these guys have learned to suspect anything and anyone."


    "Is there any way to fool him?" I asked.


    He pondered for a moment and said, "There is one way. I can steal a cigarette for myself. I usually smoke but that¡¯s only when they allow me to or I¡¯d be asking for a beating. But this time it¡¯s worth it. So are you 100% sure you can handle him?"


    "Of course,¡± I nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will capture him alive. By the way, there¡¯s one more thing I¡¯d like to ask. Do you know what the code is?"


    "They won¡¯t let me dig for the treasure but they¡¯ve repeated those words so many times I can even recite it,¡± he exined. ¡°Listen up, it¡¯s ¡®3 zi mao, 2 zi si, 1 chou zi, 4 wei hai¡¯."


    Upon hearing the code, I was astonished. What the hell was this?!


    "Do you remember it?" asked Two-Face after he repeated the words once more.


    "I do, but aren¡¯t the words out of order?¡± I asked. ¡°What do the numbers represent?"


    "If I could solve the mystery, I wouldn¡¯t be stuck here...¡±mented Two-Face, his lips curling into a bitter smile. ¡°I¡¯d be long dead!"


    "After giving Scarface the cigarettes, you should run as far as possible!" I remarked, patting him on the shoulder.


    Two-Face sighed, "I¡¯ve been on the run for ten years. My job, my family, they¡¯re all gone. What¡¯s there for me to do when I leave?"


    "Rather than waste away in this temple, isn¡¯t it better to give it a try out there?¡± I said. ¡°You can dress up as a traveling monk. Although life will be a little difficult, you won¡¯t have to be bossed around by these criminals any longer."


    Two-Face suddenly fell to his knees but I quickly caught him. "What are you doing?" I asked.


    "How will I ever repay your great kindness? I don¡¯t even know what your name is."


    "I¡¯m Song Yang, and if you¡¯re ever in Nanjiang City, you can drop by the station and ask for me. I¡¯ll buy you a meal."


    After Two-Face agreed to sneak the herb into the cigarette, I slipped back into our courtyard, only to be greeted by an impatient Scarface standing arms akimbo at the door as he looked outside. I stuck myself to the walls, carefully making my way back to the meditation room. Upon noticing my furtive figure, Dali excitedly pulled me into the room. "Dude, you scared us half to death! I was so worried that guy would just barge in!"


    "Don¡¯t worry,¡± I assured him. ¡°We¡¯ll have to act out a y in a bit.¡±


    I roughly exined that the n was for two of us to pretend having sex in bed, making noises that would lure Scarface into the room. Bingxin¡¯s cheeks colored with embarrassment at my words and shyly protested, "Song Yang-gege, this is all happening too sudden! Besides... Besides... " she looked at Dali, her words trailing off.


    "We don¡¯t have to do anything,¡± I exined. ¡°It¡¯s just making a little noise so Scarface hears us. Don¡¯t worry, Dali and I will be the ones acting."


    ¡°Fucking hell! Is this your new method of taking advantage of me?!¡± Dali¡¯s eyes widened in shock. ¡°You must be interested in me!"


    "Can¡¯t you be serious about this?!¡± I chided. ¡°We¡¯re trying to capture a vicious criminal alive so we must all cooperate well. If we fail, we will die. Do you understand?"


    The two nodded earnestly.


    After a while, Two-Face came to deliver a pack of cigarettes to Scarface as nned, opening the pack first which elicited a harsh p across the face from the hot-tempered man. "Motherfucker! You¡¯re getting bolder and bolder, aren¡¯t you?!¡± cursed Scarface. ¡°Who said you could smoke my cigarettes?!¡±


    "Ge, I¡¯m craving a cigarette. I just need one,¡± begged Two-Face with his face lowered.


    Face contorting with a venomous outburst, Scarface stomped on the cigarette butts on the ground and spat with fury, "You wish! Get the fuck out of here before I beat the shit out of you!"


    Dali and Bingxin watched on in stunned silence. Scarface¡¯s tant disregard was proof enough of Two-Face¡¯s ve-like status among the group.


    However, the anger hadpletely washed away any trace of suspicion, especially after such amotion. Scarface slid a cigarette between his lips and began chain smoking three cigarettes in one go. I winked at Dali and Bingxin, motioning for them to get ready.


    Wrapped in the warm quilt, Dali and I were almost stuck together, skin on skin. Daliined bitterly, "This time it¡¯s worse than thest! Why do we have to do it under the nket?!"


    "Stopining!¡± I retorted. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m taking my pants off!"


    "Judging from the progression of events, the next time I¡¯ll probably end up losing my virginity..." sighed Dali.


    I started thrusting my hips while Bingxin crouched beside the bed and let her voice go. Face crimson with shame, she got down to business, mixing moans with inarticte words, "Song Yang-gege, not so hard! Ahh... It feels so good!" Even I felt my face heating up from such explicit words.


    I suddenly felt something hard against my crotch. "Dali, you shameless bastard!¡± I growled in a low voice. ¡°Why the hell are you hard?!"


    Dali insisted on his innocence, "No, it¡¯s the knife you gave me."


    In this situation, investigating if it was really a knife or something else wasn¡¯t the best idea.


    Bingxin continued moaning but there wasn¡¯t any sign of movement from outside.


    "Song Yang-gege,¡± she whispered. ¡°Your n isn¡¯t working!"


    "Just keep going," I said.


    I was certain Scarface couldn¡¯t resist his arousal under the temptation of Bingxin¡¯s moans and the sounds of fierce thrusting now that the Barrenwort he ingested was starting to act on his body. After all, this herb was a time-tested aphrodisiac that worked even on sheep.


    Suddenly, there was a heavy kick on the door that immediately fell with a loud bang. Dali retracted into the sheets to prevent from being seen. Scarface stared at the bed, face flushed, nostrils erged, panting like a dog in heat. "You little motherfucker!¡± he cussed. ¡°You¡¯re having a good time with the little bitch, eh! Those slutty moans are making me horny as fuck!"


    "Get the hell out of here!" I yelled.


    Scarface strode over, shouting, ¡°You little son of a bitch! How dare you yell at me?! You¡¯re in my territory now! If anyone¡¯s fucking, I should be the first one!"


    Lifting the nkets, Scarface was shocked to see two sweaty male bodies clinging together. He stood rooted to the ground but soon reached behind him. Right then, I shouted, "Do it!"


    Under Scarface¡¯s feet was a noose trap made out of sheets, the other end firmly gripped in Bingxin¡¯s hand. With a forceful yank, his feet were entangled, throwing him off bnce as his body leaned backwards.


    Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, I covered him with the sheets and tightly wrapped them around him!

 Chapter 274

    <h4>Chapter 274</h4>


    Scarface struggled so hard under the sheets that I almost lost my hold on him. Fortunately, Dali threw the rope around him in time, quickly tying him up tightly like arge barquillo.


    Wiping the beads of sweat off his forehead, Dali remarked, "He¡¯s just like a wild buffalo! He¡¯s so strong he almost broke free!¡±


    Scarface red at us ferociously, his eyes ready to pop out of their sockets, but Dali remained unbothered and sternly harrumphed, "What are you looking at?! Keep looking and I¡¯ll p you!"


    I noticed Scarface moving his hands under the quilt and a bad feeling immediately sprouted inside of me. I aimed a heavy kick at his ribs, drawing a muffled groan from Scarface. While hey unmoving from the pain, I reached into the quilt and felt something hard. "What¡¯s this?" I demanded.


    "It¡¯s my cock!¡± Scarface grinned sinisterly. ¡°It¡¯s very hard, isn¡¯t it? Would you like to suck on it?"


    Upon removing it, I realized it was a homemade pistol and the terrifying near-miss hit me like a bat to the head. Scarface had been groping around, getting ready to shoot Dali! Stunned, Dali stood there as if paralyzed from the neck down.


    "There¡¯s a bit of a gap under the nket,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s tighten the rope so he can¡¯t move at all."


    Scarface¡¯s mouth was dishonest and he said frivolously, "If the little bitch joined me there¡¯d be no room left, eh!" Scarface goaded, trying to provoke a reaction from us.


    Bingxin furrowed her brows and was about to hit him when I stopped her. "Don¡¯t fall into his trap. They¡¯re all fierce criminals who aren¡¯t afraid of death. He¡¯s used to being this arrogant. Just ignore him, he¡¯s deliberately provoking us."


    St! I felt something sticky on my chest. The sight of a gob of thick, yellow-green phlegm disgusted me so much that I was tempted to give him a good beating.


    Scarface smiled triumphantly, "This position is quitefortable but my face feels a little itchy. Come here and scratch it for me."


    I found a rag to wipe my chest clean and quickly regained myposure. "Here¡¯s the deal¡ªwe¡¯re actually police officers. When our backup gets here, I¡¯ll hand you over to them all in one piece. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯ty a finger on you until then."


    ¡°You fucking cop!¡± he yelled, fires of fury and hatred smoldered in his widened eyes. "I won¡¯t surrender even if you kill me!"


    He twisted his lips again as if hawking up more phlegm to spit at me. But the realization dawned upon me¨Che was going to bite his tongue off! I quickly pried his jaws apart and instructed Dali to bring some rags to stuff his mouth. With his mouth blocked, Scarface finally quieted down.


    Havingmitted so many murders, Scarface was well aware of the fate that awaited him so he would rather die than surrender. I was relieved we hadn¡¯t confronted him head-on, otherwise there might have been casualties.


    Dali curiously studied the pistol. "What kind of stupid gun is this?¡± he scoffed. ¡°Why is the workmanship so bad?"


    "This is a single shot, homemade gun which has a design simr to a musket,¡± I exined. ¡°Look, there isn¡¯t a magazine and there¡¯s only one bullet in it. The impact force can pierce a person¡¯s skull and it¡¯s easy to fire. I¡¯ll hold on to it first."


    "Oh no!¡± cried Bingxin. ¡°His aplice is here!"


    A frowning Song Xingchen walked into the room. "Young master, isn¡¯t this putting your lives at risk? Why won¡¯t you let me finish him off?"


    "I have my reasons!" I said, standing up to face him. "First off, I know that you¡¯re a violent maniac and your methods are cruel but effective. Secondly, I don¡¯t want to rely too much on you. It¡¯s best if I do whatever I can. As for thest reason... " I smiled, "I¡¯d like to personally experience the thrill of watching these vicious criminals fall into the trap that I¡¯ve designed."


    After solving so many cases, I had arrived at the conclusion that a turbulent hearty beneath my calm appearance. Like a moth to a me, I was perversely fascinated and drawn to danger and adventure!


    Song Xingchen stared at me for a few seconds before he nodded. "This is exactly why the Song family sent me to protect you. As the saying goes, fools rush in where angels fear to tread."


    Bingxin cast a starry-eyed look of infatuation in our direction. "What a beautiful picture you make standing next to each other!"


    Song Xingchen arched an eyebrow at her words. Bingxin nervously stretched out a hand, "I haven¡¯t introduced myself yet. My name is Sun Bingxin. I¡¯m..."


    But before she could finish her sentence, Song Xingchen left the room as abruptly as he had entered.


    "Dude, I just realized what amazing genes the Song family has! The men are all so good-looking!¡± Dali eximed. ¡°Do you have a sister?"


    "There she is," I pointed to Bingxin.


    The room felt a little small with four people crammed into it so I suggested we go out for a breather. Upon entering the yard, Bingxin stretched and sighed, "The feeling of freedom is iparable! We¡¯ve finally taken over the temple."


    "There¡¯s still one person left to deal with!¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s discuss how we¡¯re going to catch the abbot."


    Right then, something seemed to stir Song Xingchen, raising his hackles. Quick as a sh, he elerated, running up the wall to jump onto the roof. "You don¡¯t have much time,¡± he warned, gaze fixed outside the courtyard. ¡°The old monk is heading back. You have about five minutes before he gets here."


    "There¡¯s four of us. What¡¯s there to be afraid of?" Dali dismissed.


    "The abbot has a gun!" I blurted.


    "I can cut off his right hand with my sword before he pulls out his gun,¡± said Song Xingchen, jumping back down from the roof. ¡°All you have to do is give me themand!"


    However, I didn¡¯t intend to heed his suggestion because we had no first-aid equipment here. The abbot would surely bleed to death if his arm was severed. I had to hand over two intact fugitives to the police, not dead bodies.


    "How about we dig a trap at the entrance?" Bingxin proposed.


    "It¡¯s toote...¡± I shook my head. ¡°But we can use a tripwire. Dali, go get a bundle of straw!" I picked up a tile from the ground and said, "When I break the tile, it¡¯s a signal for you to light up the straw in the inner courtyard to create smoke."


    Dali proceeded to get ready while Song Xingchen hid on the roof as I requested. Then, using a rope I found in the courtyard, Bingxin and I fashioned a tripwire, each of us holding one end of the rope as wey in ambush on both sides of the entrance.


    A whileter, Song Xingchen gestured at me, signalling the abbot¡¯s impending arrival. As soon as I dropped the tile, smoke rose from the inner courtyard. The sound of hurried footsteps drifted from outside the courtyard. Bingxin and I exchanged a meaningful look.


    When the abbot rushed in, we pulled the rope taut, tripping him so he fell to the ground in a fluster, pistol falling out of his hand. I quickly sat on him and tied his hands behind his back.


    Bingxin excitedly high-fived me at our sess.


    Even after all this, the abbot still stuck to his script. "Benefactor,¡± he cried. ¡°There¡¯s no hatred or enmity between us so why have you tied me up?"


    "Keep on pretending if you like!¡± I mocked. ¡°Tell me, why would a monk like you have a gun?"


    "I picked it up somewhere," the abbot chuckled. "You must let me go! Let¡¯s not resort to violence."


    I couldn¡¯t be bothered to y along with his performance. After tying the man up, I gagged him with a rag and threw him in the yard.


    I grabbed the gun from the ground and examined it with Bingxin who recognized it at a nce. "It¡¯s a police-issued firearm."


    "The serial number has worn off,¡± I remarked. ¡°It was most likely stolen from an officer and sold on the ck market."


    The temple was now under our control. I couldn¡¯t believe it only took one day. We went back to the inner courtyard to help Dali put out the fire and then ventured to the main hall together. I wanted to investigate the bodies inside the Buddha statues.


    The arhat statue was tall andrge¡ªit was so heavy I couldn¡¯t lift it on my own. I turned to Song Xingchen for help but he turned a deaf ear and continued to leannguidly against the pir. I repeated his name a few times before he finally answered, "This isn¡¯t part of my responsibility."


    "Fine, forget it then!¡± I retorted. ¡°Dali, give me a hand with the statue!"


    With Dali on the left and me on the right, we carefully carried the statue. A highly dposed corpse already at the bloating stage fell out from below. Judging from the clothes and hair, the victim was female. The body was covered in plump, wriggling maggots, all signs of dposition suggesting that the corpse was about a week old.


    At the sight of the corpse, Dali dashed out of the temple and vomited by the side. Even I couldn¡¯t help but grimace at the multiple wounds on the body that indicated the extent of the abuse suffered by the victim before her death.


    I decided to leave the other bodies in the statues and wait until the police arrived.

 Chapter 275

    <h4>Chapter 275</h4>


    I looked at the time¡ªit was already noon. "Let¡¯s make sure our words add up so we don¡¯t run into any trouble with the policeter," I said.


    "Why do we have to do that?¡± argued Dali. ¡°It¡¯s not like we did anything illegal.¡±


    I coughed and exined that several aspects were difficult to exin, such as the disappearance of Two-Face and the death of the two fugitives. Although Song Xingchen acted in self-defense, he was unlikely to cooperate with the police due to his temper. It was better to remove his presencepletely. That way, we could fabricate the existence of a hunter who happened to pass by.


    Having concocted a reasonable story, all we had to do was make sure our statements matched when the time came. There was one other thing: the treasure!


    I recited the code which drew bewildered looks all around. I highly doubted we could decipher the code within the next few hours. After all, it was a riddle that had baffled these criminals for three years.


    "Song Yang-gege, will you inform the police about the treasure?" asked Bingxin.


    I nodded, "These people are wanted criminals from the 116 case. When the police confirm their identities, they will definitely link them to the treasure. Instead of hiding that information, I¡¯d rather do them a favor and help them along. If they do find it, then that¡¯s for the best. But if they can¡¯t, then I¡¯ll dly help myself to the case and gain some credit for the Nanjiang City Bureau!¡±


    Shortly after we started our discussion, I found that Song Xingchen had slipped away. When I asked Dali and Bingxin if they had seen him, they both shook their heads. The sound of sirens drifted from a distance, indicating the police would soon arrive. It seemed that Song Xingchen really hated dealing with the authorities.


    A few minutester, a team of officers charged into the temple but were soon shocked by the scene that awaited them. The two dangerous fugitives had already been subdued by us.


    After giving our statements, I turned to an officer and said, "There are two tasks I¡¯m handing over to you. One is the firearms that these criminals have hidden privately, and the other is the historical relics they stole ten years ago which are probably buried in the temple. They were given a code that goes like this..."


    Stunned, the officer said, "Mr. Song, I¡¯ve seen your ID but there¡¯s something I would like to ask. Was this operation nned by the Nanjiang City Bureau?"


    "It was all an ident!" Iughed.


    The police proceeded to open every statue for inspection and found a total of 17 remains. Six more corpses were dug up from the grounds outside the temple after the two criminals confessed to their crimes.


    This major case caused a sensation throughout the province. Later on, reporters even called me to set up appointments for interviews with me but I rejected them all. However, an article was still published in the newspaper under the headline: "Danger Abound In An Abandoned Temple In The Mountains¨CQuick-witted Students Design A Trap To Capture The Wanted Criminals Alive." In the article, I was given the pseudonym Song Xiaoyu.


    We went back to the factory in a police car. I urged Bingxin to return to the city but she insisted on staying for a few more days. It took me quite an effort coaxing her and repeating promises that I would return to spend some time with her before I managed to send the little princess on her way.


    When Dali and I reached the factory, the first thing we did was find a beef noodle shop and fill our tummies, after which we returned to the dormitory. Upon discovering the empty corridors, Dali eximed, "Oh, no, we¡¯ve been missing for two days! Is everyone still stuck outside looking for us?"


    "That¡¯s impossible,¡± I replied. ¡°Did you forget about Zhu Xiaohao?"


    Suddenly, a group of boys jumped out of nowhere and drummed the buckets in their hands, shouting excitedly, "The detective is back!"


    I widened my eyes in shock at the situation. What was going on?


    The boys broke out in a noisy discussion, "Song Yang, you¡¯ve hidden such a huge secret from us!"


    "Have the criminals been caught? Are you injured?"


    "Tell us everything about the investigation!"


    I clutched my stomach and waved them off, "Oh no, my stomach hurts! Let me go to the restroom first!"


    Dali and I rushed back to our dormitory and quickly shut the door behind us.


    As it turned out, Zhu Xiaohao had gone around broadcasting our adventure in the temple, adding many embellishments in the process. He imed I had a mysterious martial arts expert protecting me and boasted about how he brought my consultant identification to the police, narrating the police¡¯s initial skepticism and how they immediately called for special reinforcements as soon as he showed them my documents.


    After returning from the temple, Zhu Xiaohao¡¯s attitude towards me did a 180. He no longer ¡°borrowed¡± my things and hovered around me instead, looking for every opportunity to ingratiate himself.


    "Great Detective Song, try the grapefruit I bought!"


    "Great Detective Song, tell me about your investigations!"


    "Great Detective Song, I¡¯d like to discuss a matter with you. Do you know anyone from the Ministry of Land and Resources?"


    His constant droning irritated me to no end.


    Fortunately, there was only a fortnight left on our internship, after which we would go back to our own lives and never see this fellow again.


    Although we had solved the case, there weren¡¯t any developments regarding the relics. Seeing that our internship period wasing to an end, I felt a little anxious and couldn¡¯t stop myself from analyzing the code all day, specting on countless futile clues.


    First of all, the numbers weren¡¯t in sequence, though they probably alluded to something.


    They were followed by the twelve Earthly Branches from Ancient China, suggesting that the words in the cipher were abination of the twelve sections.


    I couldn¡¯t think of anything rted to these words. There must be a corresponding key, perhaps a book, an article or a set of numbers; the list went on. But there was no such thing in the temple. So what exactly was it?


    I spoke to Xiaotao, Bingxin and Lao Yao separately and asked each of them to look up information on the temple, using any methods within their capabilities. Unfortunately, the temple was so remote there wasn¡¯t any information of importance.


    The day before our internship ended, we had all nned a party but I was still staring nkly at the code in my room. Dali came in and interrupted my thoughts, "Dude, stop thinking about the code! You¡¯ve done nothing but stare at that piece of paper for the past two days. It¡¯s like you aged ten years!"


    "What did you just say?" I asked.


    I quickly grabbed the mirror to look at myself, relieved to see the same youthful face staring back at me.


    "Damn! What¡¯s with that reaction?¡± chuckled Dali. ¡°I almost thought my words reminded you of something!"


    "Dear God, please give me a hint!" I smiled bitterly.


    "If you can¡¯t get any ideas from cooping yourself up indoors, you might as well go for a walk!" suggested Dali.


    Dali dragged me to an inte cafe and excitedly gushed about a recent popr online game called ¡°An Oriental Odyssey.¡± He begged me to y with him so I listlessly built a character, choosing a monk for my career.


    The monk was born in the White Horse Temple in Chang¡¯an, and as I was performing a beginner¡¯s task, my eye suddenly caught something. Dali leaned in and asked, "What¡¯s the matter?"


    "There¡¯s a monument in the temple!" I blurted.


    Curious, Dali continued to ask, "What¡¯s wrong with the monument? Doesn¡¯t every temple have one?"


    I stood up abruptly, overturning my chair. ording to Dali¡¯ster description, I was just like a Fan Jin who had passed the provincial imperial examination when I shouted, ¡°There¡¯s a monument in the temple!¡± and ran out. Everyone in the inte cafe was staring at me.


    Dali ran after me and cried, ¡°You didn¡¯t even log out! Aren¡¯t you afraid someone might steal your ount?"


    But at that moment, my mind was preupied by other thoughts. I felt as if I was being dragged up the mountain by an invisible force.


    "Hey, where are you going?" asked Dali.


    "Back to that temple to have a look!" I eximed.


    Dali hailed a motorcycle taxi to take us there. At the foot of the mountain, the driver said that this was as far as he could take us. As soon as I got off the motorcycle, I ran up the mountain but I could still hear the driver behind wondering out loud, "What¡¯s wrong with that boy?"


    "Oh, he was just discharged from the hospital," sighed Dali.


    My legs carried me swiftly all the way to the temple, heart filled with the delight and thrill one would feel after receiving an admission notice or watching the finale of Detective Conan, perhaps even more exhrated. The temple had been cordoned off by the police but I ignored the barrier and barged right in.


    By the time I had scanned inside and outside the temple, Dali had finally caught up. "Dude, are you possessed?¡± he gasped. ¡°What have you found?"


    I took a deep breath and said, "I know how to crack the code!"

 Chapter 276

    <h4>Chapter 276</h4>


    "Well, hurry up then! Tell me what¡¯s the answer to the mystery!" urged Dali.


    "There¡¯s a monument in the temple!" I repeated.


    "Fucking hell, you¡¯re not going to repeat this sentence for the rest of your life, are you?" he quipped.


    I patiently exined to him that the code actually wasn¡¯tplicated at all. The reason why the criminals hadn¡¯t managed to decipher it even after three years was due to the missing key which would provide the corresponding decryption to the code. And this key was the monument in the temple!


    After circling the entire temple, I discovered that there were signs of a monument that once stood in one corner of the courtyard but it was now gone.


    Boss Jia must have hidden the relics there ten years ago and wrote a code ording to the inscription on the monument in the courtyard. But during the seven years he was imprisoned, the stone tablet was removed so the code became nonsensical gibberish that riddled his subordinates for three years.


    "Your analysis is reasonable, but how are we going to find this monument?" asked Dali.


    "This temple must have been recorded in the local county records. We¡¯ll borrow it from the county government tomorrow," I said.


    "But we¡¯re supposed to head back to school tomorrow,¡± remarked Dali. ¡°Are you still nning to stay on? What about amodations?"


    "Aren¡¯t you my assistant?¡± I chuckled. ¡°Why don¡¯t you think of something?!"


    Dali met with the factory manager to exin that we were held back by an important matter and wanted to stay on for a few more days. Our mentor agreed at once.


    Early the next day, we packed a day¡¯s worth of food and headed to the county administration office, ready to go through ten years worth of county records.


    After perusing all morning, I finally came across an old picture of the temple and shook a sleepy Dali to wake him up. "Go get me a magnifying ss!"


    As soon as Dali came back, I meticulously examined the photo, my enhanced vision enabling me to read the words on the inscription, albeit with some difficulty.


    "Thus I have heard. At one time the Buddha dwelt at Sravasti, in the Jeta Grove, in the Benefactor¡¯s Garden of Orphans and the Solitary..."


    I looked up and dered, "It¡¯s the Diamond Sutra!"


    "Dude, you¡¯re amazing!¡± cried Dali. ¡°You came to that conclusion after reading just a few words!"


    I shrugged, "Isn¡¯t the Diamond Sutramon knowledge? Go and get me one right now!"


    Dali soon returned with the Diamond Sutra which I immediately flipped through. Completely engrossed in my work, I identally underlined a sentence in the book. Because the inscription on the monument had twelve words in every line, I sectioned the entire passage with every twelfth word.


    "You¡¯ll have to pay for the book if you damage it!" reminded Dali.


    "It doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯ll pay!" I replied without lifting my head.


    "But this book looks like an antique," he retorted.


    After I did that, I went back to the code. The number in front referred to the chapter number and the words in each row and column corresponded to the sequence of the Earthly Branches. Finally, I came up with four words: "Under the Bodhi Tree!"


    I closed the book and dered, "Let¡¯s go dig for treasure!"


    I rushed out of the library, followed by an impatient Dali. ¡°Dude, don¡¯t you want your stuff?!" he yelled.


    However, his words fell on deaf ears as I ran up the mountain like a madman, searching every nook and cranny on the grounds around the temple. The bodhi tree was actually a deciduous tree. When Xuan Zang traveled to learn the scriptures, he brought back some seeds from India so many temples had bodhi trees.


    I was rather disappointeding up with nothing after I searched all over.


    "What does a bodhi tree look like? Does it bear fruit?" asked Dali.


    "It¡¯s a bit like a banyan tree but with triangr leaves..." I exined.


    As soon as the words left my lips, my gaze traveled in one direction and fell upon a huge bodhi tree at the top of the hill. I dashed over, swift as the wind, unable to hold back my excitement. In this entire forest, this was the only bodhi tree I had seen!


    I dug with my hands, having forgotten to bring any tools. Dali threw a few broken tiles at me. "Don¡¯t use your hands!¡± he yelled. ¡°You¡¯ll break your fingernails and hurt yourself!"


    "Dig!" I urged.


    After digging around the tree for some time, Dali suddenly shouted, "Dude, I found a chest!"


    When I looked over, there was a box made out of camphor wood in the soil. It took both of us to lift it up. When we opened it, what we saw were the historical relics covered in dust, but whenever I looked back upon that memory, all I remember was dazzling treasure.


    Inside the chest were the relics lost in the 116 case. The thrill of finding them rendered me speechless. Dali picked up the jade burial suit and cried, "Oh my God! This is a jade burial suit that¡¯s said to keep a corpse in perfect condition for a thousand years. It¡¯s iid with gold! We¡¯re rich dude!"


    "These relics belong to the country,¡± I said, deting his delirious dreams. ¡°Be careful not to break them. If you do, you¡¯ll end up in jail."


    Dali ced it back into the box disappointedly. "After all this trouble, the government gets to swoop in and take all the treasure?"


    "Of course,¡± Iughed. ¡°These relics belong to our country, but the credit is ours!"


    I immediately phoned Xiaotao and asked her to send officers to retrieve the relics. Upon hearing this, sheughed, "That¡¯s amazing! How did you manage to solve such a huge case during your internship? How am I supposed to thank you for your contribution?"


    "I don¡¯t have any requirements but I don¡¯t mind if you express your gratitude via vulgar methods!" I joked.


    "You¡¯ve learned to be naughty, haven¡¯t you!¡± teased Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll contact the SWAT team and send three armored vehicles to transport the relics. By the way, I¡¯m sorry to say that what¡¯s waiting for you isn¡¯t a celebration dinner!"


    I recognized the implication in her words. "What is it? Another case?" I asked.


    "It¡¯s not a big deal, but it¡¯s best you join the investigation because it affects the fragile hearts of thousands of young girls."


    "Is it a murder involving a South Korean oppa?" I snorted.


    "Close guess. It¡¯s actually a Chinese oppa¨CYi Xi,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°You must have heard of him!"


    In this day and age, perhaps only savages living in the mountains didn¡¯t know of that name. Yi Xi was a hottie with a pretty face that had exploded onto the entertainment scene in the past few years. He had tens of millions of fans and the streets were filled with billboards featuring the man.


    Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined that this superstar would be involved in a murder case, and I was the one to exonerate him!

 Chapter 277

    <h4>Chapter 277</h4>


    Dali and I returned to Nanjiang City in a special armored vehicle. On the way there, I scrolled through the inte, trying to obtain information about recent events. After all, we spent this entire month and a half in a little hick town away from all the hubbub.


    The most sensational news during this period was the public love affair between the idol Yi Xi and an actress. Tens of millions of female fans were hit hard and thements on the inte were filled with grief. Yi Xi lost millions of fans in just one day!


    Many girls even threatened to jump off buildings and slit their wrists, while others bombarded the actress¡¯ Weibo with insults, sparking vicious arguments with her fans.


    Several professionals in showbiz criticized Yi Xi for trampling all over his fans¡¯ hearts by making his rtionship public. After all, an idol was a profession that made money by selling fantasies. However, there were also opposingments arguing for the rights of these idols who were only human and had their own lives. Should they remain single throughout their lives just because they were regarded as dream lovers by millions of people?


    I never kept up with celebrity gossip and neither was I acquainted with the names of all the new celebrities, so I didn¡¯t really have an opinion regarding the matter.


    When the armored vehicle pulled into the public security bureau, I noticed the building was surrounded by a sea of people, mostly girls who were holding up signs that read: "Yi Xi is innocent! Release Yi Xi! If Yi Xi is imprisoned, I¡¯ll make him food! If Yi Xi is sentenced, I¡¯ll kill myself in the name of love!" and other infatuated derations that left my mouth agape.


    At this moment, I received a call from Xiaotao. "Song Yang, I see the vehicle,¡± she said. ¡°Don¡¯te in through the main entrance. Go round the building and enter through the back.¡±


    I looked out of the window and saw her tiny figure waving at us from a third-floor window. "What¡¯s going on?" I asked.


    "After we detained Yi Xi this morning, his fans blockaded the building and began causing trouble for us in the bureau!¡± she sighed. ¡°If you bump into a reporter on your way in, don¡¯t say anything. Those guys are really crazy. They read into every single word you say!"


    It took us a lot of trouble to get into the station where we personally experienced the might of the masses. A cacophony of rowdy fans shouting their slogans assaulted our ears, their discordant voices perhaps loud enough to shake off the roof tiles.


    "These fans are terrifying..." gulped Dali.


    "Sorry to have troubled you two,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°I know you¡¯ve justpleted your internship but as you can see, this is the situation we¡¯re dealing with now. Any missteps and we¡¯ll be condemned by society."


    "Let¡¯s talk about the case first!" I sighed.


    The incident urredst night. Yi Xi had originallye to Nanjiang City as part of his concert tour, whichsted from 8 to 10 pmst night. When Yi Xi left the venue, he was surrounded by arge group of persistent reporters who hounded him about his love affair, their relentless questioning agitating Yi Xi. Soon, the scene spun out of control and his bodyguards quickly got to work, desperately trying to maintain order. Meanwhile, Yi Xi quietly left through the safety exit, though his whereabouts were unknown.


    Anxious about his disappearance, the agency and the organizer mobilized all forces to find Yi Xi. At about 11 pm, two reporters heading back to their office coincidentally found Yi Xi driving on the same road with an unfamiliar man sitting in the front passenger seat.


    The reporters pursued Yi Xi, forcing thetter to speed up, and as a result, the car went off the rails and dived into an artificialke beside the park.


    At that point, the reporters shouted for help, attracting a few passers-by who jumped down to save the star. Yi Xi was safe but the man in the front passenger seat drowned to death. When the police arrived, they managed to salvage the car but unexpectedly discovered two bodies instead. Besides the stranger in the front passenger seat, there was another charred, unrecognizable male body in the trunk.


    In the face of police inquiry, Yi Xi showed great defiance and reluctance to cooperate. Due to obstruction from the onlookers on scene, he wasn¡¯t immediately detained by the police at the time.


    Xiaotao visited Yi Xi¡¯s hotel room with a search warrant this morning. Although the scene had been cleaned, traces of blood and a fire was discovered after a detailed investigation of the room. Preliminary results revealed that the time of death of the body was around noon yesterday. During this period of time, Yi Xi had no witness to prove his whereabouts.


    Additionally, a housekeeping staff stated that he saw a man wearing a face mask and sunsses enter Yi Xi¡¯s room but no sign of him leaving. He was initially suspected to be the deceased so Xiaotao detained Yi Xi back at the station.


    After narrating the sequence of events, Xiaotao asked, "Do you want to see the body or the suspect first?"


    "The living are usually dishonest,¡± Iughed. ¡°I¡¯d rather look at the dead that cannot lie!"


    At the morgue, I was greeted by two bodies lying side by side on the autopsy table¨Ca burnt corpse and a drowned body. I decided to examine the drowned man first. The deceased was about 40 years of age with pale skin, upturned eyes, showing mild livor mortis and tiny blood-streaked bubbles in his nose and mouth. When I pressed my hand on his abdomen, I immediately noticed arge amount of water in his stomach which fully conformed to the characteristics of drowning.


    I spected that the deceased was engaged in office work because his hands were free of calluses¡ªhis skin and hair were well maintained and he was smartly dressed.


    I then stripped the dead man of his clothes and dug into his pocket, pulling out a wallet and a keychain. There wasn¡¯t much money in the wallet but a lot of leaflets from a massage parlor.


    "Damn, this uncle is a man of passions!" interjected Dali.


    "Do you want them?¡± I chuckled. ¡°Here you go!"


    Dali looked at Xiaotao and retorted, "I¡¯m not that shameless! In case you didn¡¯t know, I actually care about my image!"


    "I¡¯m almost certain the deceased was single," I said, grabbing the dead man¡¯s hand and checking for signs of a wedding ring. Then I turned to Xiaotao and asked, "He doesn¡¯t have his cell phone on him. Have you sent someone to salvage it?"


    "There¡¯s no way to dredge the entireke,¡± she replied. ¡°In fact, the water in the artificialke has been stagnant for decades and never been cleaned. There¡¯s a really thickyer of mud below so the only way would be to drain theke entirely."


    I listened to the dead man¡¯s chest with the Echolocation Rod. Except for a little hardening of the liver, there was nothing worth paying attention to. At first, I thought this would be enough examination of the body but I had a nagging suspicion I would miss something so I moved the Echolocation Rod to his abdomen and listened for a while.


    The tapping of my fingers revealed something in his stomach. "Dali, get a bucket!" I instructed at once.


    Dali quickly moved a metal bucket while I turned the body over, leaving the head hanging outside the b. I rolled a towel and ced it under the body to elevate his chest and pressed on his stomach, alternating between light and heavy pressure.


    Due to therge amount of water umted in a drowned person¡¯s stomach, it was possible to push out the contents of the stomach without the aid of special tools.


    After massaging the dead man¡¯s abdomen for a while, I felt the stomach contents flowing backwards along the esophagus. I hastily opened the dead man¡¯s mouth and patted him on the back of the head, prompting the ejection of a stomachful of water.


    "Dude, you¡¯re just as skilled as a masseuse in the bathhouse," said Dali.


    "Enough of your nonsense!¡± I chided. ¡°Grab a shlight to check if there¡¯s anything in the stomach contents!"


    Xiaotao turned on her shlight and shined it on the liquid that had flowed out from the dead man¡¯s stomach. We found some sediment in the water and undigested food consumed by the deceased. We quietly watched for a few minutes until the dead man could no longer ¡°vomit¡± anything.


    "That¡¯s weird,¡± I puzzled, rubbing my chin. ¡°I clearly heard something in his stomach."


    "Is it stuck in his throat?" asked Xiaotao.


    At her reminder, I squatted down and opened the dead man¡¯s mouth, checking inside. Dali turned away in disgust at the sight.


    There was indeed a lump in his throat. I used the tweezers and carefully lifted it out. It turned out to be a piece of crumpled paper with the date vaguely visible¨Cit was a printed document!

 Chapter 278

    <h4>Chapter 278</h4>


    The document showed no trace of gastric acid corrosion, suggesting that it must have been swallowed by the dead man before the ident. However, the paper was thoroughly soaked so pulling it apart by force was out of the question if we wanted to look at the contents on the document.


    "So, the dead man suddenly swallows a piece of paper at such a critical juncture,¡± surmised Xiaotao. ¡°Could this document be very important?"


    "Can we recover it?" I asked.


    "We¡¯ll have to send it to the Physical Evidence Identification Center,¡± Xiaotao frowned. ¡°Though with how soaked it is, it¡¯ll probably take them a few days."


    I found an evidence bag and instructed Dali to send it over to the Physical Evidence Identification Center which was the white building next to the city bureau.


    Then, I proceeded to examine the burnt body. The man was close to thirty years old. Although the body had been burnt to this point, the fact that the deceased paid great attention to his appearance before his death was apparent from his neatly trimmed fingernails and sinewy figure that showed muscle symmetry. His toned torso was apanied by the Adonis belt which could only be achieved by long-term, consistent exercise.


    I opened the dead man¡¯s mouth and looked inside. There were no traces of ashes in his mouth and nose, indicating that the corpse had been burned after death. His entire body had been charred ck and his clothes had melted into his flesh. I leaned in and caught a whiff of gasoline, and then used the Echolocation Rod.


    "What have you found?" interrupted Xiaotao.


    "The murderer seems to harbor a deep hatred for the deceased. He was stabbed sixteen times in the chest and his internal organs were all smashed."


    "That bad?" Xiaotao asked in disbelief.


    I used the tweezers to pick at the wound and pointed with the Echolocation Rod. "The murderer¡¯s technique isn¡¯t professional as indicated by the angle of the stab wounds. The murderer held the knife upright while a professional would use the opposite direction, pushing the thumb against the end of the hilt which uses the least effort."


    Incineration was the best way to destroy evidence so we couldn¡¯t find the murderer¡¯s fingerprints and hair. I searched carefully for clues and found that the dead man¡¯s lips appeared slightly abnormal. After examining them repeatedly for some time, I finally concluded, "There are bite marks on his lips!"


    Xiaotao leaned in and asked, "Where?"


    I pointed with the tweezers, indicating the location on the upper and lower lips which both showed bite marks. It seemed that the murderer had forcefully bitten... no, kissed the dead man!


    By the looks of the wound, it was a kiss that contained contradictory emotions, both love and hate. I could almost imagine the scene at the time.


    "That¡¯s great!¡± cried Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll ask Xiao Zhou to create a dental model andpare it to the dental records of the suspect. But isn¡¯t the deceased a man? Why would two men kiss each other?"


    "You¡¯re not a fan of Yi Xi, are you?" Iughed.


    Xiaotao shook her head, ¡°No, why?"


    "I was afraid you might hit me if I tell you the rumors I heard,¡± I said, lowering my voice mysteriously. I heard that Yi Xi might be gay."


    Xiaotao stared in wide-eyed shock. "Really?!"


    "You don¡¯t normally pay attention to entertainment news, do you?¡± I chuckled. ¡°This sort of gossip has been published several times but his agency has refuted the rumors each time so Yi Xi¡¯s sexual orientation has remained a mystery."


    "The man does have an effeminate temperament,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°That was the first impression he gave me."


    The murder seemed connected to love and hatred. I was suddenly struck by a thought and immediately checked the dead man¡¯s lower body. Although I might have predicted it, I was shocked to see that the dead man was missing a penis.


    I asked Xiaotao for some rubbing alcohol and wet the area, carefully lifting the clothes attached to it. The sight that greeted my eyes had me drawing a sharp intake of breath.


    The victim¡¯s penis had been removed from the base where a bite mark was clearly visible. I checked the wound and confirmed that it was bitten off after death.


    Xiaotao couldn¡¯t help but purse her lips. "It looks like the murderer hated the deceased. Killing the man wasn¡¯t enough! The murderer even bit off his penis!"


    "I once read about a murder case involving the gaymunity in which a man cut off his lover¡¯s genitals and stuffed them into his anus as a form of retaliation,¡± I recalled. ¡°To do such a thing must mean that the dead man and the murderer had intimate contact."


    Xiaotao mused, "If this matter is disclosed, it will certainly shock the entertainment circle."


    I stared at the victim¡¯s crotch in a daze, "We shouldn¡¯te to a conclusion before getting all our facts right. So far, the evidence we gathered doesn¡¯t point to Yi Xi alone. In fact, I wonder if it could have been done by a woman?"


    "Could a woman do something so crazy?" asked Xiaotao.


    "You are very rational,¡± I remarked. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t mean that all women are the same."


    "Do you really think I¡¯m rational?¡±ughed Xiaotao. ¡°To be honest, I think I¡¯m very impulsive. Does that mean I should be more willful in front of you?"


    I merely smiled and went on with the autopsy. After a series of routine examinations, I suddenly let out a shout.


    "Did you find something?" Xiaotao asked curiously.


    I pped my hands with delight. "Oh my God! How could I have missed such a huge contradiction?!"


    "What is it?" urged Xiaotao.


    The deceased¡¯s clothes were in good condition, especially the pants and the neatly buttoned waistband. The murder involved strong personal emotions so it didn¡¯t make any sense for the murderer to have vented his hatred by killing the victim and then neatly dressing them. The two acts were contradictory!


    In my experience, any contradictory aspects that couldn¡¯t be exined often manifested as a major breakthrough point of a case.


    Since the autopsy was temporarily concluded, Xiaotao called Xiao Zhou in to build the dental model. As soon as we left the morgue, a bunch of people approached in our direction, led by a middle-aged man in a suit and tie. His hair was neatlybed, and he was wearing a pair of sses, giving him a rather refined temperament.


    My first impression of the man led me to assume he was from Yi Xi¡¯s agency but Xiaotao whispered in my ear, "This is Director-General Cheng."


    Sun Tiger was currently on a business trip elsewhere, so at present, Director-General Cheng was fully responsible for the bureau¡¯s affairs. His presence here showed that the higher-ups attached great importance to this case. Director-General Cheng walked towards me and shook my hand. "So you¡¯re the Great Detective Song,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve heard a lot about you."


    "I¡¯m sure they¡¯re all exaggerations,¡± I replied. ¡°May I ask why you¡¯re here?"


    "Due to the public¡¯s concern with the case and their strong opinions on it, my superiors have asked me to personally supervise the investigation. What¡¯s the progress so far?" asked Director-General Cheng.


    Xiaotao briefly reported our findings and exined that we were just about to interrogate the suspect, to which Director-General Cheng nodded. "Don¡¯t let his identity pressure you! Whether he¡¯s a star or an idol, he¡¯s merely an ordinary criminal suspect in this building. I¡¯ll deal with the reporters. All you have to do is concentrate on solving the case."


    Outside the interrogation room, we met a bewildered Dali who was surprised to see so many people.


    Through the one-sided ss of the interrogation room, I saw two people sitting inside. One was Yi Xi, looking arrogant and unconcerned in his cap and sunsses. I had to admit the man looked better in person¨Cdashing and handsome with radiant, clear skin, he looked gorgeous from every angle. The other man was hiswyer, dressed in a suit with his hairbed back.


    Upon seeing our suspect, Dali was so excited he even asked if I would get him an autograph. I rolled my eyes, exasperated by the idiot. "You¡¯re not even his fan!"


    "Why does that matter?¡± cried Dali. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you be excited if you saw Andy Lau? Isn¡¯t it normal to ask for a signature?"


    Xiaotao cleared her throat and announced, "Let me make this clear before we go in. You¡¯re not allowed to ask for his autograph or gush about how much you admire him. Most importantly, you¡¯re forbidden from asking him about any gossip!"


    "Don¡¯t worry!¡± I assured her. ¡°He¡¯s no more special to me than Mr. Tang or Professor Li."

 Chapter 279

    <h4>Chapter 279</h4>


    Xiaotao and I walked into the interrogation room. I had to admit, seeing such a big star up close did excite me a little. However, with so many people watching outside, I managed to keep my expression solemn.


    Yi Xi spoke with a slight ent, "Ms. Huang, the coffee here tastes horrible. Don¡¯t you police have better coffee? Even a suspect has his rights."


    Xiaotao pulled out the chair and calmly sat down. "Mr. Yi, the coffee you drink is what we drink. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can check the pantry."


    "When can I leave?¡± Yi Xi pushed the cup aside and leaned into his chair. ¡°You¡¯ve wasted my whole day and cost me a loss of at least three million. Who¡¯s going topensate me for that?"


    Seeing the bastard put on airs the moment we entered the room fueled my impulse to pound the table and vociferate for him to behave. But I could tell thewyer sitting next to him was another tough nut to crack so I refrained.


    "Let¡¯s talk about the case first!" said Xiaotao, crossing her arms.


    Yi Xi winked at hiswyer who soon cleared his throat and retorted, "You¡¯ve asked your questions. What else is there left to say? Mr. Yi is a very busy man. Please make this quick so we don¡¯t waste each other¡¯s time."


    "Since Mr. Yi is so busy, why don¡¯t we call a car for you?¡± sneered Xiaotao. ¡°How can such a trivial matter like a murderpare with your schedule, am I right?"


    Thewyer took a moment to respond. "No, we have a car." Then he red sullenly at Xiaotao, "Ms. Huang, please watch the way you speak. Is this the attitude an officer of thew should have?!"


    "Then why don¡¯t you tell me what attitude should an officer have?" retaliated Xiaotao.


    This sort of wrangling wouldn¡¯t get us anywhere and I was at the end of my patience. "Let¡¯s cut to the chase,¡± I scoffed, violently pounding the table. ¡°Suspect Yi, did you know the dead victim we found in the car?"


    Hearing my address, Yi Xi was displeased, hiswyer replying on his behalf. "We have already discussed the matter. My client ims that he doesn¡¯t know the deceased at all."


    "The judicial process is based on evidence,¡± Xiaotao chuckled coldly. ¡°Based on our investigation, only two people have the keys to your Rolls Royce. One of them is your agent and the other is you. At the time of the incident, your agent was in the middle of a talk with a director about a script and you weren¡¯t there, so you were the only one with ess to the trunk. Additionally, we found your fingerprints all over the trunk and the hotel housekeeping stated that you were alone in your room at about noon yesterday when you were visited by a stranger who never left. How do you exin this?"


    Yi Xi immediately furrowed his brows, but hiswyer answered impassively, "That is only one side of the story, which is what the hotel staff ims. A lower-ss person would make up anything to involve themselves with a big star like Yi Xi."


    Yi Xi¡¯s sunsses made it inconvenient for me to judge his expression while hiswyer kept a constant poker face, rendering Cave Vision useless.


    "Do you mean to say that because of her humble status, what she reported to the police isn¡¯t credible?¡± I used. ¡°And you¡¯re rich so every word you say must be true, am I right? But as far as I know, the entertainment circle is teeming with lies and deceit!"


    "Sir, please keep to your questions,¡± thewyer¡¯s eyebrows screwed up slightly. ¡°Don¡¯t make any personal attacks on my client."


    In fact, my goal was to provoke them but they werepletely indifferent to my efforts.


    "You have no evidence to support the housekeeping staff¡¯s testimony,¡± added thewyer. ¡°You have to at least show us the hotel¡¯s monitoring videos."


    The investigation report did mention that the hotel¡¯s surveince hadn¡¯t captured anything, a fact which thewyer fully grasped. Xiaotao bit her lower lip, frustrated at the helplessness of the situation. However, I was suddenly struck with a thought¨Chow did thewyer know about this?


    "How do you know there was no monitoring?" I asked.


    "We have no obligation to answer this,¡± thewyer calmly replied.


    But Yi Xi clutched his pants nervously, his reaction implying there was more to this than meets the eye.


    By this point, this particr line of questioning had reached a dead end. I began from a different angle and asked, "Who was the man who drowned in the carst night?"


    Yi Xi straightened up and whispered to hiswyer. Xiaotao was about to m the table to obstruct their private conversation but I shook my head at her. Their little tricks didn¡¯t bother me at all because I was recording everything with my cell phone under the table. Discerning their exact words would be easy through technical means.


    "The drowned man was just an ordinary friend of Mr. Yi¡¯s,¡± exined thewyer. ¡°The two went out for a rxing drivest night but ended up being chased by a group of reporters. His death is entirely their responsibility."


    "With a dead body in your car, isn¡¯t it more appropriate to deduce that you went out to get rid of the corpse rather than just a casual drive?" I quipped.


    "Please don¡¯t word your questions in such a way that misleads my client!" retorted thewyer.


    "So you mean to say that two people went out for a drive with a dead body in the car but your client ispletely unaware of where it came from?"


    "Yes, it must be the work of someone who intends to frame my client," came thewyer¡¯s brazen reply.


    "What is the name of a drowned man?¡± interrupted Xiaotao, rapping her knuckles harshly against the table. ¡°He should at least have a name, right?"


    "This has nothing to do with this case," replied thewyer.


    "Do you think it makes any sense to hide his identity?¡± mocked Xiaotao. ¡°The police will find out eventually."


    The two men spoke to each other in hushed whispers for some time before thewyer said, "The man¡¯s name is Wu Xiucai. He¡¯s an agent, but he doesn¡¯t have a cooperative rtionship with Mr. Yi."


    "How did you know him?" asked Xiaotao.


    "I¡¯ve already said that he¡¯s just an ordinary friend,¡± thewyer remarked. ¡°In this line of work, it¡¯s normal for my client toe into contact with people from all walks of life."


    "We found a..." Xiaotao began, but I immediately interjected, "We didn¡¯t find his cell phone on him. Who was he in contact with before his death?"


    I casually asked the question, to which thewyer borated on. Xiaotao threw me a puzzled look. I was well aware she wanted to ask about the document but I thought it better to keep this trump card to ourselves for the moment.


    My intuition told me that there were certain secrets behind the man¡¯s strict defenses! We had to uncover them before we could pry Yi Xi¡¯s mouth open.


    After several more questions, thewyer relied on his gift of the gab to wash Yi Xi clean of the usations against him. This was my first experience with awyer so unscrupulous he could talk his way out of anything, including his client¡¯s crimes. The interrogation was a waste of time so I looked at Xiaotao meaningfully.


    "Let him go?" she whispered in my ear.


    I nodded, "If you don¡¯t, the fans might burn down the station!"


    "Thank you both for your cooperation,¡± sighed Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll take you to apply for bail pending trial. Please do not leave Nanjiang City during the investigation."


    "We will try our best to cooperate," said thewyer.


    "Not try, you have to!" Xiaotao smiled sarcastically.


    Once we were out of the interrogation room, Yi Xi swaggered past the officers haughtily as an eager Dali looked on. I cast a warning look at Dali for fear he would embarrass the police by asking for an autograph.


    As soon as Yi Xi walked out of the bureau¡¯s doors, the fans outside gave a loud cheer. They were well behaved and acted prudently, having ceased the rambunctious protests and the self-willed crowding. His fans stepped aside as if their actions had long been organized, opening a path for their idol as they shouted in unison, "Yi Xi, don¡¯t worry! We¡¯re with you!"


    Yi Xi blew a kiss at his fans, a move that had one of the girls passing out happily on the spot. By the time the reporters came around, a car had already taken him away. Dali watched the scene, his eyes filled with admiration and longing, "What a show-off! Dude, why don¡¯t you take the idol route as well?"


    I disdainfully said, "I¡¯m proud to go by my strengths!"

 Chapter 280

    <h4>Chapter 280</h4>


    After Yi Xi left, the reporters who had lost their target surrounded us instead. Xiaotao waved desperately at the crowd, "Please leave! Don¡¯t crowd around here!"


    However, the reporters ignored her, rushing towards the station regardless of the obstructions like hungry wolves after a sheep. Right then, Director-General Cheng came forth and stood before them with a smile, "Friends of the media, I am Director-General Cheng, the supervisor of this case. We will hold a press conference at eight in the evening. I will answer your questions then."


    His words were polite and measured, prompting the reporters to withdraw politely.


    Xiaotao ordered some takeout so we could eat while we discussed the case. After all, it was a race against time. She sent officers to chase down some clues while she looked for surveince videos near the hotel. Our next step was to investigate the identity and background of the drowned man and find methods to obtain Yi Xi¡¯s dental records.


    The officers soon went out on their duties. Xiaotao turned to me and said, "Song Yang, you¡¯ve just returned from your internship. Go back and rest for the night! I will inform you of our findings tomorrow morning."


    "Don¡¯t worry about me,¡± I assured. ¡°I¡¯d like to watch the surveince video."


    "I expect you¡¯ll be disappointed,¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°There¡¯s nothing special."


    "It¡¯s no harm to take a look!" Iughed.


    The three of us visited the technical support department and watched the hotel¡¯s surveince video but found no signs of the purported visitor at noon.


    ¡°Could the housekeeping staff really be lying?" I wondered out loud.


    "Although I don¡¯t have your ¡®Sharingan¡¯ eyes, judging from my years of experience, she¡¯s telling the truth."


    "Who said anything about Sharingan eyes?" I looked at her, bewildered.


    Xiaotao pointed at the culprit Dali who immediately buried his head in shame and continued eating his lunch. What a bunch of nonsense! He was teasing Xiaotao for herck of anime knowledge.


    I fast-forwarded and rewinded the video several times. "There¡¯s no need to watch the rest,¡± said Xiaotao.


    I found the surveince video rather interesting despite there being only one picture and no sound. I was absorbed in watching the video but Dali was almost nodding off. All of sudden, his eyes brightened as he pointed to a woman in the video. "What a nice figure!" he eximed.


    It was a girl in red with a voluptuous body, two long, slender and pale legs, and ming red lips¨Cshe was sexy and bewitching.


    "What the hell are you focusing on?!¡± Xiaotao burst out angrily. ¡°Can¡¯t you learn from Song Yang? Look how calm he is!"


    Unfortunately, I too failed Xiaotao¡¯s expectations, repeating this part of the video over and over again.


    "What clues have you found?" asked Xiaotao excitedly.


    "Xiaotao-jiejie, how can you so biased?!¡± Dali loudly protested. ¡°Why is it that I¡¯m used of having my attention elsewhere when I look at a beautiful girl, but when ites to Song Yang, he¡¯s looking for clues?!"


    "That woman is a prostitute!" I shouted.


    ¡°How can you tell?" the two looked at me in puzzlement.


    "Where¡¯s the leaflet with the solicitation advert we found on the dead man?¡± I asked. ¡°Go get it now!"


    Xiaotao admitted she had thrown it away but Dali slowly removed it from his pocket and shamefully added, "I was only taking it back to show friends! That¡¯s all!"


    I grabbed the advertisements and examined them one by one, noticing that one of the photos contained the same person in the video. Because of the tear mole on her face, she was easy to identify.


    Xiaotao took a deep breath and leaned forward, "Isn¡¯t this too much of a coincidence?! Does this mean that the drowned man has a special rtionship with Yi Xi and he might have once stayed in this hotel?"


    "That¡¯s hard to prove from the advertisements alone,¡± I said. ¡°What I¡¯m concerned with is another matter. Do you think it¡¯s possible for us to call this woman and ask her when she went to this hotel to conduct her business?"


    "Can we go now?" Dali turned his eager gaze onto me.


    Xiaotao rolled her eyes at him. "Isn¡¯t there a phone number on it? Just call her and ask."


    Xiaotao made a phone call but refrained from mentioning anything about the police. She imed she was looking for somepany for her boss, beating about the bush to find out more information about the prostitute on the 13th, the day before yesterday.


    Upon hanging up the call, Huang Xiaotaoughed, "Song Yang, I really admire you! How did you notice that?"


    "Either the housekeeping staff or the surveince video is wrong,¡± I surmised. ¡°So I thought to verify the date of the video first."


    "What are you talking about?" asked Dali, his face covered in confusion.


    I exined that the video we were watching was of the day beforest, not yesterday. Dali pointed to the screen, "Isn¡¯t there a date on the video? Was it faked?"


    "As far as I know, there are methods to rece a certain stretch of the video with other ones!¡± I rified. ¡°The date is automatically generated by theputer. I¡¯m guessing Lao Yao knows how to do that."


    I immediately phoned Lao Yao. It had been more than a month since Ist contacted him, and this time, I got through almost instantly. The man was so enthusiastic it took me a while to calm him down and ask if he could restore the real video.


    Lao Yao exined the technical principles behind video alteration. It was possible to recover the original if it was deleted but not if it was overwritten. He said he would search for a backup on the hard disk.


    This matter wasn¡¯t of urgency, mainly for future preparation so the video could be used as evidence in court. Right now, the crux of the matter was our discovery that someone had forged the evidence, which was of importance to solving the crime. There was no point in alerting the suspect.


    "Yi Xi is such a big star that he¡¯s the focus everywhere he goes,¡± remarked Dali. ¡°How the hell did he find the time to do something like this?"


    "Of course he didn¡¯t do it himself!¡± I deduced. ¡°Behind every star is a huge interest group. I think they are the ones who tampered with the video! Just think about it¡ªhispany would certainly hate to see Yi Xi, their cash cow, go to jail. So it¡¯s in their best interest to help him."


    "Are you trying to say that Yi Xi did kill the victim?" asked Dali.


    I didn¡¯t have a definite answer to that question.


    After our discussion, Dali and I went back to school first. Back at the dormitory, I watched everything avable on Yi Xi¨Cdocumentaries, interviews, gossip news and so on,te into the night. Early the next morning, I was awoken by a call from Xiaotao. "Song Yang, look at Weibo now,¡± came her nervous voice.


    I opened the app on my phone and found that Yi Xi had updated a microblogst night, the contents revealing the interrogation he had undergone in Nanjiang City because of the case. He alleged that during the investigation, a female officer surnamed Huang and a male officer surnamed Song had insulted, intimidated, and physically attacked him. Attached to the microblog was a photo of an arm injury he imed was inflicted by the officer surnamed Song when he pushed him against the wall.


    This microblog was forwarded andmented on more than 100 million times, and Yi Xi¡¯s Baidu Tieba had aroused great indignation. Fans were already nning to personally retaliate against Xiaotao and me.


    Upon seeing the online uproar, my head nked for a minute before I replied to Xiaotao, "That¡¯s total fabrication!"


    "Unfortunately, public opinion isn¡¯t based on evidence,¡± sighed Xiaotao. ¡°Yi Xi has a professional public rtions team and thousands in his water army. Drowning us with insults from the public is a piece of cake for them."


    She was absolutely right. In the Information Age, it was all too easy to discredit someone¡¯s reputation by unleashing a smear campaign. After all, the water army hired by Yi Xi could control and mislead public opinion. Take the famous incident of Li Gang for example: the driver who caused the ident had shouted, "Call the police then. I won¡¯t run off. My father is Li Gang!" But a reporter took it out of context and created false usations on the Inte, spurring angry attacks from the public that was directed at the children of government officials. In fact, no one had actually bothered to investigate the truth.


    I was so enraged by Yi Xi¡¯s underhanded tactics that I almost dropped my cell phone.


    "Song Yang, their actions are basically an admission of guilt," concluded Xiaotao.


    "Yes,¡± I nodded. ¡°And they¡¯ve exposed the fact that they tampered with the case behind the scenes."


    Xiaotao reflected for a moment and said, "The power of the Inte is terrible. I¡¯m worried that you¡¯ll face retaliation in school. Why don¡¯t you move to my ce?"

 Chapter 281

    <h4>Chapter 281</h4>


    I told Xiaotao I would go down to the station at once. When Dali asked me where I was going, I pointed towards the Weibo app.


    Upon scrolling through, Dali cried indignantly, "How can Yi Xi distort the facts like that? Any good impression I had of the man is gone! I have to post something to save your reputation!"


    "No, no, you mustn¡¯t get involved,¡± I said, waving my hands at him. ¡°The mobs on the inte are terrible. Don¡¯t involve yourself."


    Dali pped his chest and retorted, "But I can¡¯t just stand idly by as my buddy suffers. I don¡¯t care what they say about me anyway!"


    "I appreciate your kindness,¡± Iughed. ¡°But we can¡¯t all fall into his trap. We need someone on the outside looking in, am I right?"


    When I left my dormitory, I couldn¡¯t fight the anxiety that I would be surrounded by a group of fans holding up their banners. In the cab, even the driver was scrolling through Weibo. "Gee, the police nowadays are so corrupt!¡± hemented. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the suspect was a star, perhaps this kind of abuse would never be exposed... By the way, why are you two going to the public security bureau so early in the morning?"


    Beads of cold sweat covered my forehead as I endeavored to find an excuse. Fortunately, Dali responded quickly, "We¡¯re fans of Yi Xi and we¡¯re going there to support him!"


    The driver gave a thumbs-up. "That¡¯s the right attitude! We shouldn¡¯t be afraid just because the police have power. I hope this young celebrity will be cleared of the usations soon!"


    From the driver¡¯s reaction, I realized that Yi Xi¡¯s microblog had sessfully transformed him from suspect to victim and diverted public attention. Later on, I found that all the famous ounts on Weibo spoke out for Yi Xi, and his fans rose by millions.


    When we arrived at the station, therge crowd had already dispersed. Xiaotao greeted me and said, "Director-General Cheng just called and instructed us not to take any action. He wants to talk to us."


    "Talk?" I suddenly had a bad feeling.


    "Dude, there¡¯s someone pretending to be you online!" Dali eximed, his eyes fixed to his cell phone screen.


    I went on Weibo and discovered that someone had registered an ount with the nickname, "Nanjiang City Bureau Police Officer Song." The first post was an arrogant, offensive one¨C"Don¡¯t think that being a star makes you special. No one can save you if you¡¯vemitted a crime. Keep running that mouth of yours and I¡¯ll torture you to death!"


    There were many simrments below and the number of reposts was astounding. A group of keyboard warriors was always sharpening their swords at the mention of any sensitive or offensive subjects. These radical people should really be pulled out and executed.


    "Stop looking at it,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ll only feel worse.¡±


    "I ordered some soup dumplings and spicy soup,¡± chuckled Xiaotao. ¡°Let¡¯s have breakfast first!"


    We discussed countermeasures while eating breakfast, the officersined about the injustice and grumbled about Yi Xi¡¯s underhanded means. How could a star be so cold-blooded?


    Their opinion was to quickly dispel the rumors but Xiaotao exined that people were more likely to believe in gossip than trust the credibility of the government. Moreover, the other party was a star who had his own fan base.


    I scarfed down breakfast sullenly, too distracted to hear Xiaotao calling for me so she had to repeat herself several times. My reaction gave her the impression that I was depressed.


    I quickly exined, "I was just thinking about something. We can ask Lao Yao if there¡¯s something he can do about the situation."


    I called Lao Yao who excitedly picked up at once. "Xiao Song-song, how could you hit someone?¡± he used. ¡°Even if he looks prettier than you and makes you jealous, you can¡¯t resort to violence! Several people havee up to ask me if that Officer Song is you but I didn¡¯t reveal anything. Aren¡¯t I loyal?"


    "Do you really believe that?¡± I scoffed. ¡°It¡¯s all fabricated. I haven¡¯tid a finger on him. By the way, do you have any tricks to deal with him?"


    "This sort of thing will only worsen unless they deny the rumor," said Lao Yao.


    "Is that even possible?¡± Iughed bitterly. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t he be contradicting himself?"


    Lao Yao broke out in wickedughter, "But what if we have something on him? I will churn out everything about him right now. We may have to hire a water army. About the cost..."


    Xiaotao interrupted, "I¡¯ll pay for it!"


    "Xiaotao-jiejie, how generous you are!¡± heughed. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get busy then. Wait for my good news!"


    Right then, an officer entered the room and said, "Officer Huang, Consultant Song, Director-General Cheng is waiting for you in his office."


    I exchanged a meaningful nce with Xiaotao. Dali advised, "Song Yang, you mustn¡¯t argue with him!"


    Upon entering Director-General Cheng¡¯s office, the man poured us two cups of hot tea and politely brought up the furore on the Inte. The phones in the bureau had been ringing off the hook the entire morning.


    Considering the influence of public opinion, he suggested that we temporarily withdraw from the case.


    Although I had expected Director-General Cheng to say so, I couldn¡¯t help turning cold when the words left his lips. Xiaotao stood up abruptly and protested, "A clear conscience fears nothing! We haven¡¯t done anything wrong so why should we voluntarily quit? Wouldn¡¯t this only convince them of our wrongdoing?"


    Director-General Cheng motioned for her to sit down while he stood up and walked to the door, clicking the lock shut. "Xiaotao, calm down,¡± heforted. ¡°In fact, I have other news to share with you."


    We both stared wide-eyed at Director-General Cheng as he narrated the incidentsst night. The press conference ended upsting until 10 pm when Yi Xi¡¯s agent contacted him and invited him to dinner. During the meal, they mentioned my name three times, unambiguously implying that Director-General Cheng should force me to withdraw from the investigation.


    After that, the situation took an even more ridiculous turn.


    The others suddenly left the private room and in came a scantily dressed beauty who turned out to be one of China¡¯s B-listers. While pouring drinks for the director-general, she rubbed her voluptuous chest against his arm and winked at him. Yi Xi¡¯s agent smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Mr. Cheng, you¡¯ve worked so hard. Why don¡¯t you two go upstairs so this youngdy can give you a nice massage to loosen those tense muscles? I¡¯ll dly open a room so she can show you her special skills."


    At this point, Director-General Chengughed. "I¡¯ve been around in the bureau for so many years, so of course I knew what it meant. Naturally, I refused. Getting a domestic celebrity to sleep with me is something even money can¡¯t buy, and it leaves no money trail. How meticulous of them."


    "They were trying to buy you off?" asked Xiaotao.


    "Yes,¡± nodded Director-General Cheng. ¡°We¡¯re facing a strong enemy this time! While you investigate them, they are also investigating you, and they move very quickly. It¡¯s clear they don¡¯t want you two involved in the investigation. After I refused their bribe, they came up with this morning¡¯s little trick."


    "So you have to remove us from the investigation? Isn¡¯t that exactly what they want?¡± argued Xiaotao. ¡°If that were the case, you might as well have slept with that female celebrity. At least we wouldn¡¯t have been condemned by everyone."


    "On the surface, it only looks like I¡¯ve removed the both of you..." Director-General Cheng trailed off.


    We immediately recognized the implication of his words. "So we secretly continue investigating the case?" Xiaotao asked excitedly.


    Director-General Cheng nodded, "All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make them believe we are near.¡±


    "Director Cheng, there you go again with your wise anecdotes,¡± Xiaotao furrowed her brow. ¡°Can you use modernnguage that we understand?"


    "The other party has already revealed their secrets,¡± surmised Director-General Cheng. ¡°I think we¡¯ll need both of you on this case. I will transfer a group of criminal investigation experts from the other sub-bureaus to assist you. You can use my name to mobilize all resources, but of course, I will inform the public that you have been suspended."


    Xiaotao stood up and saluted him, "Thank you for your support!"


    I wasn¡¯t a police officer so I didn¡¯t need to salute, but I sincerely bowed to the man. "I have to admit that I used to think of you like any ordinary director-general. But now I find that you¡¯re very intelligent and worthy of the badge on your cap!"


    Director-General Cheng looked pleased. "It is my honor to be recognized by the Great Detective Song.¡±


    He gave us his contact number and told us to report to the sub-bureau. Before we left, Director-General Cheng coughed lightly and reminded, "You¡¯ve just been suspended. Look a little depressed!"

 Chapter 282

    <h4>Chapter 282</h4>


    After learning that Xiaotao had been "suspended," members of the task force were outraged. Some even wanted to march directly to Director-General Cheng¡¯s office to voice their objections. It took us quite some time to calm everyone down.


    Because this was a secret operation, I couldn¡¯t reveal anything to Dali this time. I told him to go back first since I doubted we would conduct any more autopsies. In the end, I temporarily moved to Xiaotao¡¯s ce in an attempt to stay out of the heat.


    "Ah, what irony! I can¡¯t stand how ugly society really is!¡±mented Dali. ¡°And how dark the human heart is! As soon as something happens, everyone is busy shirking responsibility. Just rx at Xiaotao-jiejie¡¯s ce and remember to take contraceptive measures."


    "Fuck off!" I chided.


    Meanwhile, the task force would be temporarily taken over by another officer appointed by Director-General Cheng. Xiaotao and I left the station "despondently" and went to the Taoyuan District Branch. On the way there, I remarked, "Director-General Cheng has a real sense of justice, a bit like Hou Liangping in the movie, ¡®In The Name Of The People.¡¯ I think he makes a good leader."


    "He was the top student in the political science andw department and worked as a prosecutor before he was transferred to the public security bureau,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°He¡¯s the object of many female officers¡¯ secret crush."


    "Including you?" I asked.


    "Why? Are you jealous?!" teased Xiaotao.


    My cheeks turned crimson but I persistently stuck to my denial. Xiaotao added, "Although I don¡¯t have a crush on him, I might be interested if he started pursuing me."


    I knew her words were intentional but I couldn¡¯t fight the seed of jealousy that had sprung up within my heart. So I courageously grabbed her hand, feeling her gentle warmth in my palm.


    "Stop it,¡± Xiaotaoughed. ¡°I¡¯m driving. Don¡¯t distract me or we might have an ident!"


    When we arrived at the precinct, we found a crowd of fans already waiting for us outside, shouting, "Where are the officers who hit Yi Xi? We demand they show themselves!"


    We were shocked at how well informed his fans were to have discovered the ce before we even arrived. Then, an officer exited the building and yelled, "You¡¯re barking up the wrong tree. There isn¡¯t an officer named Song here. If you cause any more trouble, we will detain all of you."


    "Are you Officer Huang and Consultant Song?" the man turned to us.


    Xiaotao mumbled a word of acknowledgement, to which the officer nodded. "Director-General Cheng has already instructed me and I¡¯ve selected a group of officers to follow yourmand."


    He led us into the station. Since this was our first time here, many officers came out to join in the bustle. "Is this the legendary Detective Song?" they whispered. "Captain Huang is so beautiful!"


    "Are they a couple?"


    My cheeks colored with embarrassment but Xiaotao turned around and shouted, "I think you should all switch professions and be paparazzi instead!"


    The officers quickly dispersed and returned to their posts. The man leading the way gave Xiaotao a thumbs-up and praised, "Captain Huang is indeed a hero among women. Your reputation truly precedes you."


    The officer brought us to the conference room and introduced the members of the task force one by one. I couldn¡¯t remember their names all at once but they were very excited to hear that they were working with the city bureau on the case, especially with the two of us.


    Due to our sensitive status, we weren¡¯t able to show up in person but what we could do was tomand them from here. Xiaotao immediately assigned them a task. When they left, I said, "We can¡¯t just sit here. Should we also do something?"


    "What can we do?" chuckled Xiaotao. "What sort of activity are you thinking?"


    "Excuse me missy, do you have to be so bold?!¡± I quipped. ¡°I mean what clues we can investigate."


    "That¡¯s what I meant as well,¡± Xiaotao calmly denied. ¡°What were you thinking? Sigh, boys are always full of dirty thoughts!"


    It was certainly a case of the guilty speaking first!


    As we were now "suspended,¡± we couldn¡¯t contact the city bureau and could only start our investigation from scratch. The waiting process was boring, so we went on Weibo to personally witness how the power of the Inte turned us into viins.


    Xiaotao¡¯s identity as a certain corporation president¡¯s daughter had already been uncovered. Theizens suspected that she climbed up thedder virtue of rtionships with the top rungs and of course, her beauty. Some people even swore that all the senior officers above the city bureau level had slept with Xiaotao. Additionally, they imed she was Sun Tiger¡¯s second wife.


    As for me, I wasn¡¯t sure which bastard randomly disclosed my supposed deep background and used me of being acquitted of a murder, alluding to the incident involving Professor Li. On top of that, my personal life was reportedly chaotic. Apparently, I was a pretty face kept by a rich woman and lorded over everyone at school with Baldy at my beck and call to teach those I didn¡¯t like a lesson.


    However, the odd thing was howposed we were reading the condemnation against us. Despite ourselves, we wanted tough and couldn¡¯t resistpeting to see whose reputation was worse!


    On Lao Yao¡¯s end, the counterattack had already started, and all sorts of expos¨¦ revealing Yi Xi¡¯s sordid history had sprung up all over the inte. There were articles exposing his numerous sexual partners, abortions, drug abuse and police detention. Lao Yao had even managed to dig up rumors about Yi Xi from his high school days and disclosed his poor grades, the smoking, fighting and even bullying of his fellow ssmates, which was quite a contrast from the perfect image his public rtions team had created.


    Unfortunately, Lao Yao¡¯s expos¨¦ did little to turn the situation around. His microblog was flooded by brain-dead fans who drowned him with insults and personal attacks. Although it attracted some positive attention, it was merely a drop in the bucketpared to the rest of the public¡¯s opinion and was of no help with where things were heading.


    "It looks like we¡¯ll have to wear sunsses when we go out and have bodyguards by our side at all times," Imented.


    "After this incident, I¡¯ve just realized that some of the rumors on the Inte might bepletely fake!¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°And all to serve the interests of a small number of people!"


    "You¡¯re right,¡± Imented. ¡°I¡¯ll have to think twice the next time I read about something online.¡±


    In the afternoon, the officers returned, having found several clues. Wu Xiucai, the man who drowned, belonged to the samepany as Yi Xi. He was in charge of a singer named Mike Zhou, but none of us had ever heard of him and there was no trace of his existence online.


    However, the strange thing was Mike Zhou had his own bank ount, social security card, private car, and real estate. His assets added up to a considerable fortune which one could only afford on a top celebrity¡¯s ie. Was the man famous abroad?


    Wu Xiucai had also purchased a cemetery lot on the night of the crime. The information he filled in imed he was moving his father¡¯s grave, but Wu Xiucai obviously wasn¡¯t originally from around here. I didn¡¯t think it was necessary to specifically investigate whether his father was from Nanjiang.


    Another witness the officers found near the hotel, the owner of a cafe, said he saw someone looking through a telescope from the window of the opposite hotel on the night before the crime. Because it was too dark at the time and the person was dressed in ck, he hadn¡¯t noticed what the person looked like.


    However, the cafe owner was almost certain that it was a woman because of her slender, fair hands.


    They had also checked up on another important lead: Yi Xi¡¯s dental records! This time, the people behind Yi Xi were a step ahead again, having bribed the dentist and transferred the records before the police arrived. Because this was the dentist¡¯s first time, the transfer wasn¡¯t done professionally and the police discovered a w. However, Yi Xi¡¯s dental records had indeed been destroyed.


    Upon hearing this, I mused, "For them to actually destroy his dental records means there¡¯s definitely a problem! I¡¯m almost 100% sure Yi Xi left the teeth marks."


    "Can¡¯t we ask him for a dental impression?" suggested one of the officers.


    "That might be a bit difficult,¡± answered Xiaotao. ¡°Their vignce tells me there¡¯s no way Yi Xi would voluntarily do that."


    We all heaved heavy sighs, frustrated that the trail had grown cold.


    Seeing that it was gettingte, Xiaotao told the others to go home and leave the investigation till tomorrow. Out of habit, I got ready to go back to school when Xiaotao prompted, "Where are you going? If you go back now, you¡¯ll be beaten by Yi Xi¡¯s fans!"


    I stared nkly before the realization dawned upon me. "Oh no, I left my bag of toiletries and underwear in the city bureau."


    Xiaotao nced at the time and said, ¡°Working hours have ended. Let¡¯s go back and get your stuff. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be seen."


    We drove back to the city bureau and grabbed my backpack. Right before we left the station, we were stopped by Xiao Zhou. "I¡¯ve already worked on the recording Song-ge gave me yesterday."


    "Don¡¯t you know that I¡¯ve been suspended?" asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°I do,¡± nodded Xiao Zhou. ¡°Everyone was talking about it angrily today. Would you like to listen to the recording now? I think it¡¯s an important clue."


    I didn¡¯t mind listening to it so we followed Xiao Zhou to the technical department. Xiao Zhou had already enhanced Yi Xi¡¯s whisper to hiswyer yesterday, and his words were: "Don¡¯t let the police know that I am Mike Zhou!"

 Chapter 283

    <h4>Chapter 283</h4>


    After listening to the recording three times, I was finally sure I hadn¡¯t misunderstood a single word he said. "Mike Zhou is Yi Xi¡¯s pseudonym!¡± I eximed. ¡°No wonder! The guy¡¯s so rich but there¡¯s almost no sign of his existence."


    "Song-ge, you¡¯re wrong,¡± said Xiao Zhou. ¡°Yi Xi is his stage name and Mike Zhou is probably his real name."


    "Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s strange?¡± asked Xiaotao. ¡°How can an artist have two agents?"


    "There might be more than two,¡± remarked Xiao Zhou. ¡°Just like how there¡¯s an entire brokerage team behind Yi Xi. It¡¯s exactly this bunch of people who have involved you two.¡±


    At the time, I never imagined that this name would be the biggest mystery of the case!


    "Thanks,¡± nodded Xiaotao. ¡°You¡¯ve saved us a lot of time."


    "If only we can get Yi Xi¡¯s dental model,¡± I pondered. ¡°All our doubts will be resolved. But how are we going to get that?"


    Xiao Zhou told us to wait as he looked up gossip news on his cell phone and found an article on a charity dinner. It turned out that Yi Xi was going to attend the dinner tomorrow night ording to his schedule.


    Yi Xi would have to eat at the dinner party so I was almost certain we could obtain his dental model. This was an extreme measure forced by our ruthless opponents and we didn¡¯t have to hold back.


    "Xiao Zhou, how do you know his schedule? Are you a fan?" I asked.


    Xiao Zhou falteringly admitted that it was actually his girlfriend.


    "I didn¡¯t know you had a girlfriend!" teased Xiaotao.


    "I hope my question isn¡¯t offensive,¡± I said. ¡°And I mean absolutely no discrimination. Is Yi Xi gay?¡±


    ¡°There are rumors that he is, but hispany has continuously denied it. His fans are divided into two camps and both sides are ipatible,¡± exined Xiao Zhou. ¡°One side is sure Yi Xi is gay and promises to support him regardless of his sexual orientation while the other camp insists that Yi Xi isn¡¯t gay. In fact, I think sexual orientation is a personal matter. What¡¯s there to argue about?"


    "Sounds reallyplicated,¡± I sighed. ¡°Then what happened when he announced his love affair?"


    "In my humble opinion, he¡¯s trying to cling onto that female celebrity because she supposedly has a deep background and her family monopolizes half of the film and television industry,¡± he deduced. ¡°As a fan, I might be beaten for saying this. But as you all know, Yi Xi¡¯s acting skills are nowhere near good and he relies heavily on his appearance. But even appearance fades when one ages so he must n for his future. I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s why he wants to find a backer."


    I looked at Xiao Zhou, surprised. "With such thorough analysis, are you a real fan or a fake one?" Iughed.


    "A passer-by who¡¯s joined in on the fun,¡± he chuckled.


    We bid Xiao Zhou goodbye and left the station, after which Xiaotao immediately called the precinct and sent several officers to follow Yi Xi. If he went to the charity party, we would take action.


    When we got to Xiaotao¡¯s ce, she rushed into the living room and removed her bra, throwing it onto the couch unflinchingly. Then she turned to me andughed, "Ipletely forgot you were here! Sorry, I¡¯m just used to it."


    Looking at those perky breasts faintly discernible under her shirt, my cheeks turned crimson and I quickly looked away.


    Xiaotao stretched her arms and muttered, "Sigh, after running around all day, my shoulders are sore."


    "Sit down,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a massage.¡±


    So I sat on the couch, Xiaotao leaning against my body as I kneaded her shoulders. My technique must have been good because Xiaotao soon let out afortable moan. The lights in the room were turned off and the friction against my body produced a shameful response in my lower regions. I subconsciously moved my legs away, lest I give away anything.


    Xiaotao closed her eyes and said, "It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve gotten off work right on the dot. Why don¡¯t we do a little something?"


    "What do you mean?" I asked, voiceced with nervousness.


    She turned around, looked squarely at me with those seductive eyes and hooked my chin with her index finger. "You know what I mean..."


    The air in the room was thick with desire, tititing my senses. I faltered, "R-right now?"


    "Of course! Isn¡¯t it the perfect time to make sweet and sour spareribs?¡± she smiled. ¡°Hurry up then. I¡¯ve all the ingredients. If we keep them any longer, they¡¯ll go bad."


    Then, she jumped off the couch sprightly, though I felt as if I had just been on a roller coaster ride filled with ups and downs. Xiaotao went straight into her bedroom.


    "Is that your kitchen?" I joked.


    She poked out her head and gave a half-surpressedugh. ¡°You idiot, I¡¯ve got to change first!"


    Cooking together was fun albeit rather challenging for twoplete beginners. The process of making sweet and sour spareribs seemed to take forever but we managed eventually. We were satisfied so long it was decent enough to fill our tummies.


    After dinner, we sat on the couch watching TV, though my attention was focused elsewhere. Xiaotao had changed into a thin silk spaghetti strap nightgown,rge areas of her smooth, creamy skin a feast for the eyes and her faint womanly fragrance a constant temptation.


    "It would be nice to get off work on time every day, have a meal and watch some TV,¡± she said, sounding a little tired. ¡°I¡¯d like that sort of life."


    "It¡¯s not like you actually like getting off work on time,¡± I said. ¡°Who else can you me but yourself?"


    "Song Yang, you¡¯re the only one who knows me after all!¡± she articted. ¡°By the way, what are your ns after graduation?"


    "I¡¯ll look around and check which massage parlorcks a masseuse," I quipped.


    "Seriously, if you don¡¯t want to look for a job, I¡¯ll take care of you!¡± she said, yfully pounding my chest with her fist. ¡°I don¡¯t have any special requirements. I just need you to clean, cook and warm my bed."


    "Dali mentioned that he wants to start a business with me,¡± I replied. ¡°I¡¯d like to give it a go and see if we can make something out of it."


    "I didn¡¯t know you were so ambitious,¡± sheughed.


    Throughout our conversation, Xiaotao inched closer and closer towards me until I could feel her breath against my skin. A pair of limpid eyes stared at me, her ardent gaze heating up my body and sending my heart pounding like the thundering hooves of a thousand wild stallions. But this time, I plucked up the courage and caressed her shoulders, feeling the silky touch under my palms as I slowly leaned in...


    However, a sudden phone call tore through the amorous atmosphere. Xiaotao grabbed her phone from the coffee table and leaned against my chest to answer the call. From my position, I could clearly see her deep cleavage and the top of her plump breasts. We kept this posture until the end of the call.


    "What¡¯s the matter?" I asked.


    "Xiao Zhou was mistaken about the date,¡± Xiaotao urgently replied. ¡°The charity dinner is tonight! We¡¯ve got to move now!"


    I couldn¡¯t hide a look of disappointment. "Aren¡¯t we unlucky,"ined Xiaotao.


    The mes of desire raging in my chest weren¡¯t so easily doused. Just as Xiaotao was about to stand up, I pulled her into my embrace and lightly skimmed my lips over hers. Having never kissed before, it wasn¡¯t much of a kiss, but rather a touch on the lips.


    When we separated, our faces were flushed, burning hot, but Xiaotao¡¯s eyes seemed to contain infinite tenderness in their depths. She leaned in and suddenly urged, "We can¡¯t! We¡¯re alreadyte! Let¡¯s get going!"


    She ran back to her room to change, and when she came out, she had already switched back to her usual valiant self. Her change was so quick the kiss seemed like a dream. When we went downstairs, my footsteps were light as if I were floating.


    After getting into the car, Xiaotao immediately made a phone call. During the conversation, she suddenly reached out, her fingers flitting across my waist.


    "What are you doing?" I puzzled.


    "An XL suit should be okay,¡± she spoke into the phone. ¡°We¡¯lle and get it right away."


    Then, she hung up and exined, "We definitely can¡¯t attend the dinner with our current attire. I¡¯ve asked an evening wear boutique to prepare two ready-made outfits for us. My father is a regr client so the boss is very amodating."


    "What a great idea!"

 Chapter 284

    <h4>Chapter 284</h4>


    We went to the shop to pick up our clothes and changed into them there. I wore a tuxedo and leather shoes and to be honest, being in formal attire for the first time was rather ufortable. Xiaotao put on a backless, mermaid gown that clung to her every curve. She twirled around before me and asked what I thought.


    "You¡¯re beautiful,¡± I said. ¡°But I have a technical question. How do you wear a bra under a backless dress?"


    "Aren¡¯t you quite eager to learn!¡± she teased. ¡°Do you know what a nipple sticker is?"


    "That means..." My cheeks turned crimson. It turned out Xiaotao wasn¡¯t wearing anything under her evening gown. Was that the case when celebrities identally bared their breasts?


    Our outfits weren¡¯t but rented, because this boutique specialized in couture and only epted custom made-to-measure wear. We were actually borrowing garments tailored for other customers who had yet to receive their orders.


    We soon arrived at the dinner party and were stopped at the entrance where waiters checked each guest¡¯s invitation card. I asked Xiaotao what the n was, to which she whispered, "Hold your head high and take my arm."


    When it was our turn, the waiter politely stopped us but earned a cold and haughty re from Xiaotao who scoffed, "Excuse me, I left the invitation at my hotel. If you want to see it, I can have it sent over. But if my appointment with Mr. Yi is dyed, you¡¯ll have to bear the responsibility!"


    However, the waiter insisted on seeing our invitation, iming it was for safety reasons. Xiaotao sneered, "My father Huang Yunhong has cooperated with yourpany several times. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask Manager Wang toe out and greet us."


    Upon hearing this name, the waiter immediately bowed respectfully and allowed us to enter. I seldom ever witnessed this side of Xiaotao and found her aloof appearance rather fascinating. I couldn¡¯t help but utter a word of praise.


    "In fact, I like using my father¡¯s name to deal with others," she smiled bitterly.


    The dinner was held in a modern decorated, East-Meets-West vi. The attendees were all well-known celebrities. On the stage where a pop singer was currently performing, there was a donation box in front of him. We checked the program list but Yi Xi¡¯s name wasn¡¯t on it. It seemed that a big star like him was a guest.


    After a turn about the room, we discovered Yi Xi. Because it was a formal asion, the way he was dressed was a sharp contrast to how he looked at the station. He was wearing a well-ironed suit with a ss of wine in his hand while he chatted andughed with several famous directors.


    Xingyu Agency ranked in China¡¯s top 20, but Yi Xi was their number one money-making golden goose. So whenever there was such an asion, thepany would parade him to befriend the dignitaries.


    In fact, the life of a big celebrity wasn¡¯t easy, butpared to the B-listers or C-listers, Yi Xi could be considered lucky.


    It wasmon knowledge that certain agencies andpanies in the film and television industry specifically cultivated female stars meant for public rtions. In South Korea, a popr female singer ended upmitting suicide after she was forced to sleep with five rich, old bastards on the day of her mother¡¯s death.


    Perhaps the root of all this was due to the profiteering nature of the entertainment industry. It was a cesspit that attracted power, money and sexual transactions. The entertainment news known to ordinary folk such as who was getting back together with whom and who¡¯d been betrayed by their agent was merely the tip of the iceberg.


    While Yi Xi seemed to be putting off dinner, I was happily devouring several tes of foie gras and caviar. Xiaotao wrapped her arm around me and teased, "Hey, did youe all this way just to eat?"


    "It¡¯s not like I usually get to enjoy such delicacies,¡± I said. ¡°Would you like some?"


    Xiaotao waved her hands and smiled. "No, thank you. My dress is so tight even a bite of food would show."


    We followed Yi Xi around for half an hour but he still hadn¡¯t eaten anything which frustrated me a little. Apparently, celebrities were only allowed to graze on boiled chicken and vegetables every day. My legs were almost numb from standing for so long and my eyes started to wander. There were so many beautiful women at this dinner party.


    Suddenly, Xiaotao shook my arm excitedly and eximed, "He¡¯s eating!"


    We watched as one of the big shots brought Yi Xi a te of cantaloupe. Yi Xi picked up a piece and took a bite, his movements graceful. We prayed silently in our hearts that he wouldn¡¯t finish. To our delight, Yi Xi lived up to our expectations and threw the rest of the cantaloupe into the trash can.


    Xiaotao and I exchanged an eager nce. As soon as Yi Xi walked away, we slowly slipped towards the trash can. In an event like this, it was rather difficult to pick out of the trash can unnoticed. Fortunately, a famous magician came out on stage and started his act, attracting everyone else¡¯s attention. I took advantage of this opportunity to grab the cantaloupe and turned to Xiaotao, "The mission isplete! Let¡¯s withdraw!"


    We quickly strode past the crowd but I felt as if we were being followed. I turned around, only to discover several bodyguards quietly moving in our direction as they spoke into their radios. They approached from all different directions, cing us in great danger of being outnked.


    ¡°Oh no, these people are Yi Xi¡¯s bodyguards,¡± cried Xiaotao in a panic. ¡°We¡¯ve been exposed!"


    "Calm down. Just pretend nothing¡¯s happened,¡± I said.


    I deftly slipped my hands beneath, making an imperceptible move.


    By the time we walked to the door, Yi Xi¡¯s bodyguards had already surrounded us. A voice sounded from behind, "Distinguished guests, please leave behind what you have in your pockets. Don¡¯t make me have to use my men."


    When we turned around, we were greeted by an unfamiliar face¨Ca middle-aged man of about forty years old, probably Yi Xi¡¯s agent.


    Xiaotao arched an eyebrow and coolly warned, "Do you know what serious crime assaulting a police officer is?"


    The man sneered, "Assaulting a police officer? Is there one here? I only see two uninvited guests."


    "So you¡¯re the one who smeared our reputation online," I said.


    The agent spread out his arms and shrugged, "I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about."


    Although he acted as if nothing had happened, I could tell from his microexpressions that he was the mastermind behind the scenes.


    Right then, Yi Xi sauntered up to us. His agent whispered a few words in his ears, prompting Yi Xi to twist his eyebrows in a frown. "You¡¯repletely shameless!¡± he condemned. ¡°You¡¯ve obviously been suspended yet here you are, looking for trouble. You better watch yourselves or you might lose your uniforms."


    Xiaotao gritted her teeth in anger, "A mere actor like you dares to threaten me?!"


    Fuming, Yi Xi pointed at Xiaotao and cursed, "You fucking bitch! Repeat those words again and see what I do!"


    The agent quickly calmed Yi Xi. "If you don¡¯t hand over what you have, you¡¯re not taking a step out of this ce!"


    Yi Xi¡¯s agent reached over eagerly as soon as I removed the cantaloupe from my pocket. However, I threw the cantaloupe on the ground and crushed it with my foot, all the while staring coldly into his eyes.


    "Good boy!" mocked Yi Xi¡¯s agent. Then, he took out a business card while he ran his eyes all over Xiaotao¡¯s chest. "Honey, if you ever decide to stop working with the police, give me a call,¡± he winked.


    Xiaotao grabbed the card, ready to tear it up, but I motioned for her not to. And with that, their entire team walked away, leaving only both of us at the door.


    On our way from the dinner party, Xiaotao turned to me with dismay, "What a pity our n has fallen through! After tonight¡¯s incident, they will definitely be on guard which will make it even more difficult for us to collect evidence."


    "I have my ways," I smiled cryptically.


    "Was the cantaloupe you crushed a fake?" asked Xiaotao, her voice filled with hope.


    "No, it¡¯s the real one,¡± I said. ¡°But when they were chasing after us, I secretly snapped a few pictures of it."


    I took out my cell phone and showed Xiaotao the photos of the cantaloupe which I had taken from several different angles. Afraid of any unpredictable circumstances, I immediately sent them to Xiao Zhou and asked him if he could obtain Yi Xi¡¯s dental model from the photos. About ten minutester, Xiao Zhou replied, "It might be a bit difficult but I can try!"

 Chapter 285

    <h4>Chapter 285</h4>


    The next morning, we arrived at the precinct early in the morning and held a brief discussion. At present, there was still no substantial progress in the case and all we could do was wait for Xiao Zhou¡¯s results. We sat anxiously until eight when Xiao Zhou¡¯s call finally came in.


    "Is it a match?" I asked, unable to hide the excitement in my voice.


    "Song-ge, you¡¯re mistaken,¡± said Xiao Zhou. ¡°The teeth marks of the murderer and Yi Xi do not match."


    I felt as if I had been hit head-on by a truck and the whole world seemed to be spinning, my ears ringing so I almost missed the rest of Xiao Zhou¡¯s words. "Are you sure?" I gulped.


    "I¡¯m certain,¡± he replied. ¡°You can tell the difference with the naked eye. Why don¡¯t I send you theparison data?"


    "It¡¯s alright. Thanks anyway!"


    Judging by my expression, Xiaotao already knew the results. "Song Yang, don¡¯t give up,¡± sheforted. ¡°Even if this clue doesn¡¯t help us, there are other roads we could take."


    I silently reflected on the information at hand. If the teeth marks didn¡¯t match, then the murderer was obviously not Yi Xi unless he killed the victim but someone else bit off the victim¡¯s penis. But this was a ridiculous conjecture!


    There must be some mistake! I must have missed something!


    I tried to rearrange the jigsaw puzzle that had formed in my mind with Xiaotao patiently sitting beside me.


    "Is there any possibility that our sample was wrong?" she asked.


    "Do you mean to say that I might have mistakenly grabbed a cantaloupe bitten by someone else?" I smiled bitterly.


    "That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m trying to say.¡±


    I clearly remembered that the trash can was almost empty at the time but the fact wasn¡¯t known to Xiaotao so she still held a glimmer of hope.


    She went onto Weibo and said, "Didn¡¯t Lao Yao say that Yi Xi was detained for taking drugs when he was younger? There must have been fingerprints and DNA left behind. We can contact the public security bureau to find out more."


    She went on her way, leaving me all alone in the empty room, staring nkly at the ceiling. An indescribable feeling of loss and confusion overwhelmed my being.


    A whileter, Xiaotao returned from her task, and I said, "Even if we have his fingerprints and DNA, there¡¯s nothing left on the body."


    "Then we¡¯ll keep looking until we find the murder weapon so we can convict him," Xiaotao persisted, undaunted by the obstacles in our way.


    "But he¡¯s so careful,¡± I sighed, shaking my head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid the murder weapon has been disposed of..."


    "Song Yang, don¡¯t be so depressed!¡± she consoled, sinking into the seat beside mine. ¡°I¡¯m starting to get a little worried about you! Let¡¯s go through every detail again. The body was found in Yi Xi¡¯s car. He had no alibi when the murder urred, and his agent tampered with the evidence and manipted the situation to try to cover up the truth."


    I followed her train of thought and asked, "So what are we missing now?"


    "Direct evidence to convict the suspect and the identity of the victim,¡± surmised Xiaotao. ¡°But that¡¯s not important. As long as we¡¯re able to prove Yi Xi¡¯s crime, the victim¡¯s identity will naturally surface."


    "The victim¡¯s identity...¡± I murmured. ¡°The victim¡¯s identity..."


    A vague idea took root in my head but I still couldn¡¯t see the entire picture. "Give me all the clues we have!¡± I burst out. ¡°I want to re-examine them!"


    Xiaotao patted me on the shoulder, lips curling into a smile. "That¡¯s the right attitude!¡± sheughed. ¡°Let¡¯s get started."


    Xiaotao brought over all the information regarding the case so we could go through them one by one. Gung ho, I examined the clues all the way until lunchtime though I wasn¡¯t hungry for food but knowledge. Unfortunately, our endeavor didn¡¯t yield any new insights into the case.


    At 2 pm, an officer sent in a document faxed by the Beicang City Public Security Bureau containing the information filled in by Yi Xi when he was detained for drug abuse. The name in the document was Mike Zhou and the time was dated July 2011.


    I stared at the piece of paper in a daze but Xiaotao soon interrupted my thoughts. "I can¡¯t believe this guy really took drugs!" she eximed.


    "How many days would a person be detained for taking drugs?" I asked, wide-eyed and perplexed as I looked at the document.


    After a moment¡¯s contemtion, Xiaotao said, "Taking drugs isn¡¯t against thew but it takes at least one month to get rid of a drug addiction."


    I quickly checked on the inte and found that in July 2011, when Yi Xi was just starting out, he was still an unknown newbie to the industry. However, his fans had collected his schedules dating back to his debut, and ording to that, Yi Xi wasn¡¯t absent from work that month. How could he be at two ces at one time?


    I went over the posts on Lao Yao¡¯s Weibo ount. When Yi Xi was in high school, he did very poorly in his studies, got into gang fights and smoked, yet hispany imed he used to be an intelligent, talented and outstanding youth.


    Additionally, Lao Yao had revealed that Yi Xi once got a girl pregnant but his sexual orientation had always remained a mystery, and most people were inclined to think he was gay.


    Why would such a huge contradiction appear in one man?


    It seemed I was left with one answer and it wasn¡¯t difficult to verify it. I immediately called Xiao Zhou and asked, "Do you still have the dental model?"


    "Yes,¡± he replied. ¡°Have you found another sample topare it with?"


    "Let¡¯s switch things around. Compare the dental model with the burned corpse!"


    "Song-ge, are you sure you want to do this?¡± he asked, confused. ¡°Can you tell me what¡¯s the point inparing the suspect¡¯s dental model with the victim¡¯s teeth?"


    "Just do it!" I urged.


    Xiaotao stared at me intently, waiting for me to end the call before she asked, ¡°Song Yang, have you got it all mixed up? They¡¯re clearly two different people."


    "We have all the cards in our hands,¡± I said. ¡°But we just don¡¯t realize that it can be arranged another way!"


    "Well, the more I listen, the more confused I am,¡± Xiaotao scratched her head. ¡°Just tell me you mean.¡±


    Just as I was going to speak, a loud mor sounded from outside. An officer walked in and informed us that arge crowd of Yi Xi¡¯s fans had once again gathered, demanding to see Xiaotao and me. It seemed that they had authenticated our identities or perhaps Yi Xi¡¯s agent had surreptitiously led them to us.


    The fans caused such amotion Xiaotao was tempted to contact the SWAT team but I quickly stopped her. "Don¡¯t worry. Just wait for Xiao Zhou¡¯s call!"


    The officer looked at Xiaotao for confirmation, to which she waved him off, having decided to trust in my judgement. "Go out and buy us some time by pacifying the fans."


    "You must find a way to leave the building!" said the officer.


    "No, it¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll just wait here,¡± I smiled meaningfully. ¡°As long as my deductions are correct, I have a way of getting them to voluntarily leave."


    "Great Detective Song, I¡¯ve never questioned your actions but these online mobs arepletely irrational,¡± the officer spoke up uneasily. ¡°In case the situation spins out of control, our precinct may not be able to hold them back with our manpower alone, so it¡¯s better to avoid them altogether."


    I nced at the clock on the wall and reassured him, "Don¡¯t worry. All our problems will be solved before dark!"


    The officer cast a troubled gaze on me and then Xiaotao, and finally left apprehensively. "Song Yang, you must have the answers now that you¡¯re so confident,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°Well don¡¯t keep it to yourself!"


    "Spoilers are no fun,¡± I chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you everything when Xiao Zhou gets back to me."


    Xiaotao pouted, "Hmph, how dare you leave me hanging! See how I deal with you tonight!"


    Five minutester, Xiao Zhou returned the call, his voice somewhat incoherent with excitement. "Song-ge, what the hell is going on here?¡± he blurted. ¡°It¡¯s more than a 90% match!"


    "Thank you very much for the results! I¡¯ll treat you to dinner next time," I grinned.


    "No way! I don¡¯t care about dinner. You have to tell me what this is all about!¡± insisted Xiao Zhou. ¡°How did the suspect be the victim? Consider my mind blown!"


    "Why don¡¯t you join us at the precinct? I¡¯m going to invite the big star and have a good talk with himter." After a brief pause, I confidently added, "And he¡¯ll definitely show up!"


    Everything made sense now! I breathed a sigh of relief and immediately called Yi Xi¡¯s agent, ¡°I think we should talk!"

 Chapter 286

    <h4>Chapter 286</h4>


    The agent asked haughtily, "Who are you?"


    "We metst night."


    He dragged a long "Oh" and scoffed, "So it¡¯s Officer Song. Sorry, we¡¯re recording a program now. If you want to see me, schedule an appointment!"


    "I have three requirements,¡± I calmly continued. ¡°First, you and Yi Xi must meet me at the Taoyuan District Police Station within half an hour. Second, make a public apology on Weibo to rify the truth of the so-called police beating. Make sure you soundpletely sincere and I don¡¯t want to see any tricks such as pushing the me on a temporary worker or ying word games. Lastly..." I turned to Xiaotao, "Last night, you weren¡¯t very nice to Officer Huang. I want you to apologize to her and buy her a cake."


    At the end of my speech, Yi Xi¡¯s agent froze for a few seconds before he suddenlyughed. "Officer Song, are you out of your mind? Here¡¯s my response¨Cwhy the hell should I listen to you?!"


    "I¡¯ll let you in on a little secret,¡± I sneered. ¡°And I promise you¡¯ll do as I ask."


    ¡°I¡¯m all ears!"


    I covered my mouth and enunciated each word into the phone. Xiaotao leaned in to eavesdrop but failed to catch anything, staring unwillingly at me. Just as I expected, the man¡¯s tone immediately turned around. "H-how do you... No... What exactly do you want?" he stammered.


    "If you don¡¯t meet my requirements, I¡¯ll tell the entire world what I know,¡± I threatened. ¡°And if you think hard evidence and facts produced by the police can¡¯tpete with your water army, then go ahead and bet on Yi Xi and yourpany¡¯s future! Anyway, our reputations have been smeared by you so it¡¯s not like we have anything left to lose."


    The agent gulped. "About your second condition..."


    "There¡¯s no room for discussion. Your rumors have caused us great trouble,¡± I said. ¡°There¡¯s arge number of fans outside the station right now."


    "It¡¯s not my call though," came his pleading voice.


    "Then you can go to the person who has the final say and tell me your decision,¡± I replied. ¡°In short, you have half an hour."


    "Half an hour is too..."


    Before he could finish, I hung up the call. Xiaotao stared wide-eyed at me and eximed, "Song Yang, you were so domineering! What spell have you cast on the man? His attitude did aplete 180!"


    I smiled, intending to keep my little discovery under wraps but failed to hold back under Xiaotao¡¯s relentless pressuring. "I told him... that the dead man is Yi Xi!"


    "Yi Xi?" Xiaotao seemed doubtful. "But... Wait... Could it be..." Her eyes lit up, "I see! That¡¯s what it is! We were going about it in the wrong direction."


    Twenty-five minutester, Yi Xi posted an update on his Weibo ount, publicly apologizing to Officers Huang and Song of the Nanjiang Bureau, stating that the previous allegations werepletely angry rants that had no factual basis. He admitted that his actions were unconscionable and apologized to the police.


    The microblog triggered an instant chain reaction and an officer soon ran in, shouting at the top of his lungs, "The fans have retreated!"


    "I know," Iughed.


    Xiaotao nced at her watch. "Prepare the conference room,¡± she said. ¡°We¡¯re expecting a couple of distinguished guests!"


    Five minutester, Yi Xi and his agent arrived holding a piece of cream cake in his hand as he bowed deeply to Xiaotao. "Officer Huang, I havemitted a great sin. I hereby solemnly apologize to you. I¡¯ve learned my lesson."


    Xiaotao looked at me, the corners of her lips rising in a smile.


    "Please sit down!" I said.


    There were only four of us in the conference room. Although many officers wanted to listen to our conversation, I knew the matter was confidential. In order to pay attention to their privacy, I didn¡¯t allow a single person apart from the four of us into the room.


    "First of all,¡± I started. ¡°Let me make one thing clear. I¡¯m not Officer Song, I¡¯m just a consultant. I¡¯m really just an undergraduate at the moment."


    Despite the sunsses Yi Xi was wearing, I could still read the surprise on his face. His agent praised, "That¡¯s amazing. Young and talented!"


    "All right,¡± I waved him off. ¡°Let¡¯s get straight to the point!"


    In fact, the biggest mystery of the entire case was Yi Xi and Mike Zhou¡¯s rtionship¨Cthey were identical twins. The person sitting before me was Mike Zhou and the one lying on the morgue b was the real Yi Xi!


    However, judging from Mike Zhou¡¯s behavior, he had received professional training privately and even deliberately imitated Yi Xi. Additionally, the two belonged to the samepany which suggested that a part of Yi Xi¡¯s tour and film work had beenpleted by Mike Zhou. The two brothers existed as one.


    On the day of the crime, an obsessed fan dissatisfied with Yi Xi¡¯s public love affair went to look for him, stabbing him sixteen times in the chest and even left teeth marks after biting off his penis. After sessfully murdering the victim, the fan left.


    It was the agentpany that covered up the truth. They destroyed the video and burned the body, and they also prevented us from obtaining the dental records. Their purpose wasn¡¯t to protect the murderer but to protect the identity of the deceased.


    From their standpoint, the outside world couldn¡¯t be allowed to discover Yi Xi¡¯s death, no matter the price.


    This incident hit Mike Zhou the hardest which could exin his reckless actions on the second day of the crime. Upset by his loss, he had an argument with the reporters. Then, he went missing and nned on burying Yi Xi secretly with his agent, Wu Xiucai. However, he never expected to bump into reporters on the road that eventually led to the ident where they plunged into the river.


    If my guess was correct, what Wu Xiucai swallowed before he died was a contract that officially made Mike Zhou, the substitute, into Yi Xi!


    When I finally finished articting my conclusion, the room fell into dead silence. Mike Zhou¡¯s lips trembled, two streams of tears trickling down from under his dark sses like hot wax on a candle. His agent was the first to break the silence, "The descendant of the great Magistrate Song Ci, the number coroner back in the ancient times, is really worthy of your reputation! We did everything we could to prevent the case from falling into your hands, just because we were afraid of exposing the truth to the public. But it looks like it was all for nothing."


    "You could havee clean from the start..."


    The agent interrupted, "No, this is the top secret in thepany. We weren¡¯t allowed to speak a word of it!"


    "Even if Yi Xi bears usations of a murder?"


    "Yes,¡± he nodded. ¡°Even those usations can be refuted, but if Yi Xi no longer exists, our entirepany will be ruined!


    "So after all that¡¯s said and done, it¡¯s all for profit!" Xiaotaoughed sarcastically.


    The agent stood up and suddenly fell to his knees, banging his head harshly against the ground. I immediately urged him to get up but he sobbed, "Please, I¡¯m begging you. This matter mustn¡¯t be known to anyone else. I know that your word matters."


    I exchanged a meaningful nce with Xiaotao who conceded, "Since Yi Xi didn¡¯t kill anyone, we can¡¯t wrong a good man. We¡¯lle up with an appropriate exnation to exonerate him."


    "Thank you so much! Your kindness won¡¯t be forgotten!" the agent kowtowed gratefully.


    Up until the two left, Mike Zhou hadn¡¯t uttered a single word from the beginning. He was probably still grieving, having lost his own brother but powerless to do or say anything, forced to pretend as if nothing had happened. I thought further questioning would only be cruel.


    After they left, I sighed, "It¡¯s like they say, too much cunning in plotting and scheming is the cause of our own undoing."


    "Why are you talking like Director-General Cheng?"ughed Xiaotao.


    I chuckled and wondered out loud, "What exactly should we tell them?"


    Xiaotao opened the cake box and took a bite out of the cream cake. "It¡¯s up to you! By the way, this victory cake tastes really sweet."


    There was a bit of cream on Xiaotao¡¯s upper lip which I wiped away with my finger and tasted, "It¡¯s sweet indeed!"


    Xiaotao spooned some cake and hovered it near my lips. "Have a bite, my big hero!"

 Chapter 287

    <h4>Chapter 287</h4>


    This case wasn¡¯tpletely over since the perpetrator was still atrge. Xiaotao and I returned to the city bureau to continue the investigation. After several days of searching, aint came from a residential property reporting a rotten odor emanating from an apartment.


    We rushed to the scene immediately, and upon opening the door, we were greeted by a room full of posters, CDs, photo albums, soft toys, and other memorabilia. The owner was a crazy fan of Yi Xi.


    The smell of decay permeated the air. In the bedroom, a female corpsey on the ground with grey skin, covered in fat maggots and bleeding from the mouth. Several officers rushed into the bathroom and vomited uncontrobly at the sight.


    I lit the Snake Bone Incense I concocted some time ago and ced it in a small portable incense burner, fumigating the corpse for a short while. This incense had the effect of expelling insects. When it burned, it would coil up like a snake. Soon, maggots fell off the body one after another and the smell in the room dispersed slightly.


    I began to examine the corpse. The deceased was below twenty-five years of age of medium build with long hair, and the time of death was about a week ago.


    The corpse had already started to bloat. Upon opening her mouth, Iid my eyes on a horrific image! Her throat was filled with razor des, her fingers covered in slight scratches. I didn¡¯t think the Echolocation Rod was necessary. Before the girl died, she suffered heavy internal bleeding, microorganisms eventually feeding on the blood that had umted in her stomach. The gas expanded in her stomach, causing her abdomen to bulge like a balloon that would explode with the slightest poke.


    I judged that the cause of death was esophageal rupture caused by the ingestion of the razor des, resulting in hemorrhagic shock. There were no foreign fingerprints on the victim¡¯s body. Combined with the other signs, I concluded that it was suicide.


    "Song Yang, look at the cab!" Xiaotao said, patting my shoulder.


    I looked up and saw a ss bottle with a severed penis soaked in some sort of chemical. I examined it before handing it over to Xiao Zhou for DNA testing. But in fact, we were already aware that this fanatical girl was Yi Xi¡¯s murderer. Perhaps the guilt had gotten to her so she chose to end her life.


    At this point, the case was officially solved!


    The truth remained a secret between Xiaotao and I but we did make up a reasonable exnation which was enough to convince the others. Yi Xi was also cleared of the murder charge.


    As soon as we closed the case, Xiaotao tidied up her desk and said, "Let¡¯s go for a walk!"


    "Alright!" I nodded.


    We walked in the streets, lost in our mixed emotions in the silence. Right then, a Lincoln limousine stopped beside us and a bodyguard dressed in ck got out of the car, politely saying, "Mr. Yi invites you onboard."


    My eyes met Xiaotao¡¯s in a look of bewilderment. There was only one Mike Zhou in the back with his driver and a bodyguard in front. He had removed his sunsses and was dressed like the sunny boy next door.


    "Haven¡¯t you left yet?" I asked.


    Mike Zhou opened a bottle of Dom Perignon and poured me a ss. "I have an afternoon flight to Inner Mongolia. The filming may take several months."


    "Looks like everything¡¯s back on track," I snickered.


    He nodded, "Before leaving, I thought it was necessary to meet you two and tell you about myself."


    He swallowed the champagne in one gulp and began to narrate his story. His real name was Yi Xuebing while Yi Xi was named Yi Xuewen. Born a few minutes before Yi Xi, he was the older twin. Although they looked as if they had been carved from the same mold, their personalities were as different as day and night.


    When they were children, their parents divorced and the brothers were separated, each following a parent. Mike Zhou had been particrly reckless from an early age, his school years filled with fighting and drugs. However, Yi Xi was a good boy who worked hard and made progress. His diligence got him into acting school. And little by little, he went from an obscure nobody to a superstar that attracted everyone¡¯s attention.


    Later on, Mike Zhou learned of the younger brother¡¯s existence. In order to squeeze some money out of his twin, he ckmailed Yi Xi, threatening to ruin his reputation by behaving badly outside.


    The juxtaposition of their lives made him resentful. Clearly they were twins, yet their fates wereplete opposites. So he nned to unleash his discontentment by retaliating against Yi Xi using such means. However, Yi Xi was so busy he couldn¡¯t care less about matters outside of work.


    This in turn dealt a heavy blow on Mike Zhou¡¯s self-esteem so heforted himself, using Yi Xi¡¯s money to eat, drink and be merry.


    Eventually, Mike Zhou was detained for taking drugs, and the me fell onto the innocent Yi Xi. Thepany felt that Yi Xi¡¯s reputation would only be tarnished if this went on. The higher ups came up with a n to cultivate Mike Zhou into an artist, and use the twins to work under Yi Xi¡¯s name. This meant that ¡°Yi Xi¡± now had 48 hours a day which would double their ie and at the same time, restrain the unstable Mike Zhou.


    When he heard that he was going to be a star, Mike Zhou was overjoyed at first. Then came the gruelling training¨Cacting sses, dancing, singing and how to respond to the media. On average, he only had six hours of sleep and stuck to a strict diet of nutritious but disgusting meals just to maintain an attractive figure. In truth, life was hell.


    Only then did he realize what kind of life Yi Xi had! His own experiences allowed him to empathize and understand his younger brother whom he thought was amazing!


    However, it was toote to walk out of the situation. So the two started ying the same person, his life conforming entirely to Yi Xi¡¯s likes, dislikes and habits down to the tiniest details. He ate only food that Yi Xi liked, copied Yi Xi¡¯s gait and even had to undergo surgery so his lips and teeth looked exactly like Yi Xi¡¯s. But even so, there were still asional ws in his act.


    In fact, most of the negative rumors involving Yi Xi were caused by this troublesome brother of his, and each time, thepany had to clean up after him.


    Unsurprisingly, Mike Zhou was the one photographed by the paparazzi when he hooked up with the female star. In the end, thepany had toe clean about their love affair to prevent his reputation from falling apart.


    At that time, he never imagined that his reckless impulse would actually result in a fatal disaster for Yi Xi. On the day Yi Xi died, he felt as if the whole world had copsed. No one knew the anguish he felt, crying in the dressing room while he fixed his makeup...


    The cold-bloodedpany decided to hide Yi Xi¡¯s death for its own benefit, even ordering the disposal of the corpse.


    But Mike Zhou couldn¡¯t live with that so he secretly got his agent Wu Xiucai to buy a cemetery plot. At the end of the concert the next day, he and his agent loaded his brother¡¯s body into the car for burial, but of course his name wouldn¡¯t actually be inscribed on the tombstone. However, an unforeseen ident happened, prompting the resulting turn of events. Maybe all this was all fated!


    When he was done speaking, Mike Zhou was already in tears. I handed him a paper towel. Wiping away his tears, he took out two bank cards from his pocket and said, "Here¡¯s a little something for you two!"


    "Hush money?" I asked.


    "You can think of it as that,¡± he sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry! The money I earned is clean."


    Xiaotao refused, "I¡¯m an officer of thew. I can¡¯t ept your money."


    Mike Zhou passed me both cards at once. "Mr. Song, you¡¯re not a policeman. Please ept it!"


    "If epting the money puts you at ease, then alright,¡± Iughed. ¡°Please donate it to the Hope Project in my name!"


    "Fine,¡± he nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll make good use of the money in your name!"


    "I still have onest question,¡± I added. ¡°Do you still n to live like this? You didn¡¯t sign a contract so you don¡¯t have to live like a puppet."


    "My brother earned all of this through blood, sweat and tears,¡± he smiled sadly. ¡°If I give up like this, he would have died for nothing."


    "Why bother? In the end, thepany benefits the most. The name Yi Xi is just a cash cow for them,¡± I said. ¡°Are you going to pretend you¡¯re Yi Xi for the rest of your life and lose all sense of existence forever?"


    "Mr. Song, perhaps in your opinion, this path is very difficult. I used to think so too,¡± he admitted. ¡°But have you ever felt what it¡¯s like being held up high in the clouds? Everywhere I go, they scream and cheer for me. I¡¯m used to living under the spotlight. It¡¯s like air to my lungs, I can¡¯t live without it. Now, all I am is a fake persona¨CYi Xi!"


    Heart heavy, I watched his lips curl into a contented yet morbid smile. Fame and profit were the most irresistible things in the world. One taste of these drug-like temptations and they could no longer extricate themselves even if it meant being on the guillotine where the de could fall at any moment.


    I had much to say but only one sentence left my lips, "Good luck, Mr. Yi!"

 Chapter 288

    <h4>Chapter 288</h4>


    After Yi Xi¡¯s case was concluded, I found myself a new fan of Yi Xi. Whenever I saw him on TV or in a magazine, I couldn¡¯t help but pay attention to the news. Yet, I never told a soul of my involvement in the case.


    Yi Xiter invested the money in a movie in my name. When the movie was released a few yearster, my friends came running to ask, ¡°Song Yang, why did they thank you in the credits?¡±


    Iughed, ¡°It¡¯s just someone with the same name.¡±


    This movie was written and directed by Yi Xi, a suspense thriller telling the story of twins exchanging identities. The film revealed the man¡¯s true feelings, the harsh challenge of living as someone else the whole time, making sure never to reveal any discrepancies under the public¡¯s scrutiny.


    If I were him, no amount of money could tempt me to live like that.


    The movie was well-received, earning me arge box office bonus in my ount. Yi Xi also built a hundred Song Yang Hope primary schools in Jiangxi Province in my name, shocking the education industry.


    But that¡¯s a story for another time.


    After returning from my internship, my schedule was basically free. Now that we no longer had to attend sses, Dali began to prepare for his business, running around every day and staying up all night.


    "Your business isn¡¯t even up and running but you¡¯ve already learned the boss¡¯s ways, staying out all night doing God knows what, eh?" I joked.


    "Dude, I¡¯ll keep my ns to myself for the time being,¡± said Dali. ¡°But I can tell you that I¡¯ll have good news to share in two months."


    Witnessing his earnestness and the effort he had invested in his business, I was sincerely happy for him.


    Our ssmates either went out looking for jobs outside or prepared to resit the examination if they failed, while few others sat for the civil servant admissions exam. By contrast, I was an idle man, reading books, watching movies and enjoying the leisure of thest few months of university.


    I received a call from Xiaotao, asking me toe to the station. I noticed her wording was rather vague and evasive, taking care not to mention a word regarding a case. Judging from her tone, I knew there was trouble!


    In the absence of Dali, I took a cab down to the public security bureau with my tools in hand. As soon as I entered, I was greeted by Xiaotao, Wang Yuanchao, Director-General Cheng and an old, white-haired officer. They looked as if they had been waiting for me, their expressions stone-faced and solemn.


    When I asked what happened, Director-General Cheng said, "Didn¡¯t you bring your little assistant?"


    "Dali is busy with something," I replied.


    ¡°That works out perfectly then!¡± Director-General Cheng nodded. ¡°Song Yang, I demand that this case be kept absolutely confidential. Not a single person can hear about this, including your closest friends and even your parents!"


    The cases I handled were at the top level of the Public Security Bureau. Naturally, I wouldn¡¯t spill a word about them.


    "Who died?" I asked.


    "It¡¯s an officer,¡± said Director-General Cheng. ¡°But that¡¯s not the point¡ªit¡¯s how he died!"


    His sentence aroused my curiosity but I calmly suggested, "Let¡¯s look at the body first."


    As we walked towards the morgue, Xiaotao introduced to me the old, white-haired officer next to her¨COfficer Ouyang who had just retired this year. The man¡¯s excellent memory had earned him the nickname "two-legged library" and was one of the oldest police officers in the force.


    Officer Ouyang turned to me, "Kiddo, although we haven¡¯t met before, I¡¯ve definitely heard a lot about you. The stories of your crime-solving have spread throughout the police force..."


    "I¡¯m sure they¡¯re all exaggerations,¡± I smiled modestly. ¡°I¡¯m still in the process of learning."


    We entered the morgue where a headless corpse in a police uniformy on the morgue b, the head ced above the neck and covered with a piece of white cloth.


    Xiaotao gave me a brief ount of the incident, exining that the deceased, surnamed Niu, was one of the team leaders of the Gulou Precinct. The body was found in a factorypound near his residence this morning. At that time, he was sitting in the driver¡¯s seat of his own car which had crashed into a utility pole and was severely damaged. His head had fallen onto the back seat but there wasn¡¯t much blood at the scene, possibly due to the fact that the body was sitting in an upright position so the blood congealed within the thoracic cavity.


    I examined the incision and found that it was extremely neat and precise, as if his head had been severed by a tremendously sharp weapon. Since I had never met Officer Niu, I couldn¡¯t fight the excitement that boiled inside of me when Xiaotao described the details of the case.


    I lifted the white cloth and looked at the head. There were indentations near the dead man¡¯s hairline, possibly made from long-term wear of a police cap. Due to excessive blood loss, his skin had turned pale but showed no signs of rigor mortis. Generally speaking, the time of death for a decapitated corpse should be judged by the degree of decay of the body.


    As I listened with the Echolocation Rod, I reached a conclusion, "The death time is about ten hours and the stomach is empty, indicating that the deceased had missed at least three meals before his death."


    "Additionally, the deceased consumed arge amount of alcohol," I said, sniffing at the wound.


    "Officer Niu and I have been partners for more than twenty years,¡± added Officer Ouyang. ¡°He never drinks, even on important asions."


    I nodded and turned my attention to the deceased¡¯s clothes, ready to remove them for further examination. I noticed a few badges on his uniform which Officer Ouyang exined were Second ss Medals awarded to Officer Niu for injuries sustained in the 1997 crackdown on crime, the Order of August 1st Medal awarded for his undercover work in the trafficking syndicates in 2006, the Iron Blood Eagle Medal awarded for the joint abolition of a transnational criminal organization with Interpol, the First ss Meritorious Service Medal awarded for his contribution in solving the 2015 massacre case, and an Excellent Police Badge.


    My heart almost burst with emotion looking at the well-polished medals. Behind each of these medals was a heroic legend! Since my cooperation with Xiaotao, she had received only two medals, a Second ss Meritorious Service Medal and an Excellent Police Badge.


    The dead man¡¯s clothes were neat, almost spotless except for a horizontal line of dust across his abdomen. In his pockets were his car keys, a piece of chewing gum and a certificate. Upon carefully unbuttoning his shirt and cutting his undershirt, I found no injuries or pathological changes on the body. But there were two rather atypical wounds: a bruise on his right elbow and minor scratches on his right index finger.


    I stared at the bruise thoughtfully and proceeded to pick up the police uniform, observing the corresponding parts with Cave Vision where I discovered almost imperceptible indentations and signs of damage.


    A few minutester, I straightened my back and removed my gloves. Already used to my habits, Xiaotao was well aware that taking off my gloves was equivalent to the end of the autopsy.


    "Song Yang, is that it?¡± she asked in surprise. ¡°Don¡¯t you need to use your Autopsy Umbre and seaweed ashes?"


    Although we kept our conversation light and casual during other autopsies, Director-General Cheng¡¯s presence prevented me from being my usual easygoing self. I immediately exined, "There¡¯s no need for that but I¡¯ll have to take a look at the photos of the scene."


    After a quick phone call, an officer soon delivered the photos which I perused one by one. The photos had been taken from all different angles, providing a clear and concise depiction of the actual scene. Even the ss fragments that had fallen to the ground were clearly captured in these photos.


    Upon thorough inspection of these photos, it took me a while before I ventured, "This is a suicide case."


    "Suicide?" Xiaotao and Director-General Cheng eximed at the same time.


    Officer Ouyang fixed an incredulous gaze on me, "Kiddo, it¡¯s no time to joke around! Director-General Cheng is with us!"


    "I¡¯m not joking. It¡¯s a suicide," I reiterated.


    Director-General Cheng furrowed his eyebrows. Despite his calm and refined demeanor, his microexpressions suggested he was angry and disappointed. Officer Niu might have been an elder whom he greatly respected.


    "Song Yang, can you exin how you came to that conclusion?" he asked.


    "Please remain calm,¡± I urged. ¡°I know you might think I¡¯m joking. In fact, no one would think of suicide when looking at the body. In the first ce, I had my doubts as well but after the possibility of homicide has been ruled out, only one answer remains. Officer Ouyang, there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to ask you. Did you find a fishing line at the scene?"

 Chapter 289

    <h4>Chapter 289</h4>


    After a moment¡¯s contemtion, Officer Ouyang replied, "No, we might have missed it."


    Director-General Cheng was the first to realize the implication of my words. "Song Yang, do you mean to say that Officer Niu¡¯s head was severed by a fishing line?"


    I nodded. Most people simply couldn¡¯t imagine how strong a fishing line was. In the past, I had purchased more than a dozen fishing lines precisely for tension tests and found that the strongest ones could lift an adult man without breaking.


    Apart from fishing lines, I had also experimented with a variety of items in order to umte practical knowledge for solving crimes. My odd collection included more than a dozen buttons, cloth, daggers, syringes and so on. I appropriated part of my bonuses for this purpose.


    "This is very simr to the Headless Rider case from a few years ago,¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°But it was ruled a homicide and the victim was on a motorcycle whereas Officer Niu was in a car. How exactly did it happen?"


    I pointed to the photos that clearly captured ss fragments on the ground about five meters behind the car which had aroused my suspicions. ording to the angle and inertia of the impact, broken ss would only fly forwards, not backwards. How did the broken ss get there?


    Additionally, Officer Niu had a bruise on his right elbow suggesting that he bumped into something before his death. I was inclined to believe it was the rear windshield. In line with the shape of the car¡¯s body, I surmised he was standing beside the rear of the car when he struck the windscreen with his elbow, which also exined how he got dust on his clothes.


    But why break the rear windshield?


    The answer was to tie up the fishing line. In the photos, I noticed a utility pole behind the car. My guess was that Officer Niu tied a fishing line to the utility pole, got into the car and tied the other end of the line to his neck. Then, stepping on the elerator and brake at the same time, he waited for the right momentum to release the brake. The huge force from the car elerating instantly sliced off his head!


    I myself verified if this was engineered by a third party.


    For example, he might have already been dead at the time so the murderer faked a suicide in this manner. However, the evidence on the body substantiated that the man was alive at the time of decapitation.


    The fact that Officer Niue was properly dressed in a pristine uniform decorated with all his medals and his police cap intimated his state of mind at the time. Combined with that fact, an otherwise teetotaler had consumed a lot of alcohol pointed to one thing¨Che was determined tomit suicide!


    Upon hearing my conclusion, Director-General Cheng and Officer Ouyang heaved a heavy sigh.


    "Xiao Niu, why are you so hard on yourself..." cried Officer Ouyang with tears in his eyes.


    "Thank you, Song Yang,¡± Director-General Cheng seemed to sigh with relief. ¡°Looks like there¡¯s no need to file a case."


    "You¡¯re wee,¡± I said. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind if I ask. Was Officer Niu troubled over something recently?"


    "In fact, he sent me a text right before hemitted suicide,¡± mused Officer Ouyang. ¡°All he said was: he¡¯s back, it¡¯s your turn to repay the debt!"


    "He¡¯s back?" I furrowed my brows. "Can you think of anyone you might have indirectly or directly harmed?"


    "That¡¯s a difficult question to answer,¡± admitted Officer Ouyang. ¡°As police officers, we¡¯ve both caught quite a few criminals, and in the process, indirectly destroyed families or reduced them to destitution and ruin.¡±


    I personally agreed with this statement. Seeing Deng Chao in prison had reminded me that I indirectly destroyed many lives.


    "I hope my question doesn¡¯t offend you,¡± I added. ¡°Have either of youmitted anything unconscionable?"


    ¡°I swear I¡¯ve never done anything to dishonor the uniform I wear,¡± Officer Ouyang calmly replied. ¡°I can also vouch for Officer Niu¡¯s integrity. After all, I know the man inside out."


    Director-General Cheng chimed in, "Officer Niu was also my ssmate and friend. He¡¯s an upright and selfless man."


    Judging from their microexpressions, they were telling the truth.


    In the end, Officer Ouyang and Director-General Cheng decided to personally delve into the questionable aspects of the case. Although it had been quite some time since theyst involved themselves in a case, the tragic death of their good friend demanded their participation.


    When we left the morgue, Xiaotao turned to me and asked, "By the way, does a beheading hurt a lot?"


    "Not at all,¡± I replied. ¡°In fact, decapitation is the least painful of all ways to die."


    ¡°You speak as if you¡¯ve tried it!"ughed Xiaotao.


    I exined that in the 18th century, a French doctor conducted a shocking experiment where he stood beside the guillotine, observing the process every day. As soon as a prisoner was beheaded, he would rush over and pick the head up by the hair, pping it a few times to see if the prisoner was still conscious after decapitation. His experiment revealed that the prisoners showed no anger or frustration despite turning red and swollen from being pped, indicating that the prisoners lost consciousness soon after being beheaded.


    "Sun Tiger will be back soon," remarked Xiaotao.


    "His trip has taken long enough,¡± I chuckled. ¡°Shall we throw him a weing reception?"


    "Perfect! You can meet up with Bingxin as well. After all, it¡¯s been more than half a month since youst saw her!"


    Right then, we were interrupted by a noisy din. As it turned out, a group of men was arrested in the wee hours of the morning in a huge massage parlor crackdown. Xiaotao¡¯s department wasn¡¯t in charge of pornography and prostitution crimes, but they were ced in the same building and bumped into each other.


    With a quiver of delightful Schadenfreude, I enjoyed seeing these men get caught and shamefully put on their clothes under the watchful eye of police officers. Of course, these men showed a mix of different reactions upon being arrested¨Csome arrogant, some regretful, while others were unfazed. I joked with Xiaotao, wondering out loud when I would get the chance to have a go at these guys.


    One of the men squatting on the ground, characterized by his pockmarked face suddenly looked up and smiled, "Officer, you¡¯ve got the wrong guy. I went in to look for someone."


    "Look for someone to undress you, eh?" retorted an officer.


    "It¡¯s not like they¡¯ll let you into the massage parlor if you¡¯re dressed,¡± argued Pockmark. ¡°How would I know it was that sort of massage parlor? I swear I¡¯m here on business."


    "Enough of your excuses!¡± shouted the officer. ¡°Just pay the fer and get your boss or family member to pick you up!"


    "Have we met this pockmarked guy somewhere?" I asked.


    Xiaotao seemed to recognize him as well, but the exact details of where we hade across the man eluded her. "He looks so vulgar. Is he someone we previously arrested?" she scratched her head.


    As soon as he caught sight of us, Pockmark waved enthusiastically. "Hey, bro! What a coincidence!¡± he eximed. ¡°We meet again!"


    At the sound of his thick Wuhan ent, I frowned, "Who are you? I¡¯m not your bro."


    "Ah, how easily the noble forget!¡± sighed Pockmark. ¡°I¡¯m the antique dealer you metst time. I¡¯m telling you, this is aplete misunderstanding! Can you clear things up with this officer here?"


    "Song Yang,¡± interrupted Xiaotao. ¡°There¡¯s a newly opened hot pot restaurant nearby. I heard the food¡¯s really good!"


    "Let¡¯s go then! I¡¯m starving."


    As we headed out the station, Pockmark shouted from behind, "Bro,e on! Don¡¯t be like this! Don¡¯t you think meeting here is fate?!"


    At this point, I couldn¡¯t be bothered to entertain him. But just as we were about to walk out the door, he yelled, "Miss Officer, misfortune and death awaits you!"


    His words hit me like a bat to the head. Had he imed I was the recipient of a great cmity, I wouldn¡¯t bat an eye but Xiaotao¡¯s job constantly ced her in harm¡¯s way. Her safety was a matter of great concern and perturbation.


    Despite the fact that I was well aware most people were cheated by these fortune tellers due to their own insecurities and fears, I couldn¡¯t resist turning back. "What do you mean by that?¡± I coldly demanded. ¡°Test my patience and I¡¯ll kill you."


    "If you let me go, I¡¯ll tell you," Pockmark sneered.


    It was difficult to read his microexpressions for his pockmarks andugh lines made it impossible to discern if he was telling the truth or lying. That alone suggested he was an experienced man who had long been mixed up with society.


    ¡°Song Yang, why listen to his nonsense?¡± Xiaotao walked over and tugged my sleeve. ¡°Can you believe a word this chatan says?"


    I dered decisively, "Let¡¯s get him out on bail first."

 Chapter 290

    <h4>Chapter 290</h4>


    Afterpleting the formalities, we left the station with Pockmark who was filled with gratitude. The man was named Li, although he imed people in the Jianghu knew him as Pockmark Li.


    In truth, those who mentioned the Jianghu in every exchange annoyed me for I suspected such people were all talk and no action.


    "Where¡¯s your friend? Are you out alone on business?" I asked.


    "He¡¯s here as well,¡± answered Pockmark Li. ¡°What an uproar! The police charged in as soon as I removed my clothes. Even Dou E can¡¯tpare to the injustice I¡¯ve suffered. My cell phone is still at the massage parlor so I can¡¯t contact my partner. Can I borrow yours?"


    "Bullshit!¡± I chided. ¡°Isn¡¯t it all because you don¡¯t pay attention to your actions?!"


    I passed him my cell phone. After a brief call, the man skillfully removed all traces by deleting the call record.


    "Tell me then, what misfortune and death do you foresee?"


    Pockmark Li eyed Xiaotao up and down several times, his lips murmuring incoherently. I had to admit his act looked almost professional. A whileter, he said, "Excuse me, miss, are you currently single?"


    Xiaotao grabbed my arm, answering with an arch of her eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"


    "There are certain questions that must be asked to read your fortune,¡± Pockmark Li coughed dryly. ¡°Don¡¯t overthink it."


    Xiaotao curled her lips impatiently as Pockmark Li continued with a series of seemingly random questions. "What are your bust, waist and hip measurements?" he asked.


    Seething with anger, Xiaotao¡¯s eyes smoldered under a stony expression as she clenched her fist, ready to give the man a well deserved beating.


    "Any more excuses and I¡¯ll invite you back to the station," I warned through gritted teeth.


    "Okay, I¡¯ll get straight to it,¡± Pockmark Li urgently cut to the chase. ¡°Your destined cmity corresponds to the Taiyin Star and will happen within the month. You can¡¯t hide from it because of your fate. From what I see, the cmity could be rted to matters of the boudoir. There might be a way for you to avoid it, though I can¡¯t say for sure. You should visit a temple to obtain a white amulet. Make sure to keep it on you at all times. It may protect you."


    Stunned by his remarks, I stood there brain stuttering for a moment but before I could respond, Pockmark Li clenched both his hands into fists andmented, "I¡¯ve revealed too much. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll be punished with another pockmark on my face! We¡¯ll meet again."


    And with that, he quickly hailed a cab from the side of the road and ran off, all within seconds. "Another cheat!¡± Xiaotao burst into rage. ¡°How dare he y a trick on us! What does a stupid cmity have to do with the boudoir?! He¡¯s talking about..."


    Xiaotao trailed off, her face the color of an overripe tomato. In hindsight, the implication of his words dawned upon me and I gritted my teeth, inwardly cursing all eighteen generations of his ancestors, thinking to myself that the next time we met, I would give him a good beating.


    The teasing we received from this chatan evoked both anger andughter so I didn¡¯t think much of it at the time. Xiaotao and I left for our destination where we had a simple lunch. After ourst intimate contact, we seemed more attuned with each other. Even when the conversationpsed, her eyes shone with a warm tenderness as she fixed her gaze on me.


    After lunch, Xiaotao went back to the station while I returned to my dormitory for several games of League of Legends with my roommates. At the time, I doubted the veracity of Pockmark Li¡¯s prophecy, never imagining that the bloody cmity he foresaw was real, and the death of Officer Niu was only the beginning!


    The next evening, I received a call from Xiaotao who asked, "Are you busy tonight?"


    "I¡¯m busy thinking about you!" I teased.


    I could hear the muffled sound of chewinging from the other end of the line. Xiaotao chuckled, "You¡¯re bing more of a sweet talker, aren¡¯t you? Guess what I¡¯m doing now?"


    "Are you eating?" I ventured.


    "I just came out of the shower and I¡¯m lying in bed eating strawberries," she replied.


    ¡°What a coincidence," I said. ¡°I happen to have a sudden craving for strawberries.¡±


    I was suddenly interrupted by a knock on my bed as Dali grumbled, "Fight against the show of affection! It starts with me!" My other two roommates started to join in the ¡°resistance.¡±


    "Do you need me for something?" I asked, cheeks coloring with embarrassment.


    Xiaotao exined that she had a little matter to discuss with me. Officer Ouyang¡¯s sixtietth birthday was tomorrow and she wanted to prepare a gift but she didn¡¯t know what to get a man.


    I thought she was barking up the wrong tree. A man of Officer Ouyang¡¯s age wouldn¡¯t have the same interests as a young man like me, would he? In fact, Officer Ouyang was usually discreet about such matters, ying down the fact that he was about to turn sixty so the bureau decided to throw him a grand birthday party as a surprise. Officer Ouyang had a grandson around my age¨Cthe apple of his eye¨Cfor whom Xiaotao nned to buy a gift.


    After a brief discussion, I suggested, "Why don¡¯t I buy a gift as well? We can go together!"


    "Perfect! I¡¯ll see you tomorrow night at the dinner then!"


    I had several motives for attending the dinner party. First of all, it was a great opportunity for me to express respect and admiration for amendable retired police officer. Secondly, I had to find alternative ways of spending time with Xiaotao outside of work, and a movie after Officer Ouyang¡¯s birthday party was a marvellous idea. Besides, I was curious about the progress of the case. After all, I could never resist the lure of a bizarre case!


    I browsed online and found a suitable gift that was avable for delivery early the next morning. When asked if he would like to join us for a dinner party, Dali¡¯s first reaction was to consider it. But at the mention of Bingxin¡¯s presence, he immediately yelled, "Yes! Of course I¡¯ll go! Do I have to buy a gift?"


    At 5 pm sharp, Dali and I arrived at Swallow Pce where a polite waiter greeted us and brought us to arge private room. Many of the officers we knew were attendees of the party, hinting at Officer Ouyang¡¯s poprity in the bureau. Dali and I casually found empty seats and sat down to join in the conversation when a calm voice drifted from nearby, "The greatest honor of being an officer is to have everyone celebrate your birthday after retirement."


    The voice belonged to Director-General Cheng. I stood up to greet the man but he grinned and waved me away, "You don¡¯t have to be so polite. In such a private function like this, it¡¯s alright to forego the formalities."


    When questioned about the progress of the case, Director-General Cheng¡¯s face sank quicker than a lead balloon. "We suspect that Officer Niu might have been terminally ill!"


    "What makes you say that?" I asked, baffled at the turn of events.


    Director-General Cheng summarized the findings of their investigation. Apparently, before hemitted suicide, Officer Niu had divulged to his colleagues that he often heard a strange persistent voice in his head. Several officers had even caught him weeping alone during his break time, though he was quick to dismiss their worries when asked about it.


    After consulting a neurologist, Director-General Cheng was informed that a tumor pressing on the auditory nerve might produce auditory hallucinations. ording to this inference, Officer Niu was most likely terminally ill.


    "Do you have his medical records?" I asked.


    "No,¡± he shook his head. ¡°But a physical examination done six months ago showed that everything was normal. Of course, routine examination isn¡¯t detailed enough to diagnose a brain tumor."


    "Was it really a brain tumor?" I wondered out loud.


    Judging from the circumstances, this seemed to be the only logical exnation.


    Right then, Xiaotao and Bingxin finally graced us with their presence. We sat together and chatted as we snacked on melon seeds, patiently awaiting the star of the show. At half past six, an oblivious Officer Ouyang was invited into the room, kept in the dark and tricked intoing here. As soon as the doors opened, the excited crowd jumped out and shouted, "Happy Birthday!" Officer Ouyang stood rooted the spot for some time before he made sense of it all. "I can¡¯t believe you guys!¡± heughed. ¡°Just this once but don¡¯t you dare do this again!"


    Bingxin ced a birthday hat on his head and pulled him by the sleeve. "Uncle Ouyang, don¡¯t be shy!¡± she giggled. ¡°Quick, have a seat! Our tummies are all growling with hunger!"


    Thus, the birthday party began in a festive atmosphere. We sat together at the same table, Bingxin on my left and Xiaotao on my right. When the dishes were served, Bingxin immediately ced a piece of roast duck into my bowl and smiled, "Try this."


    Sitting next to her, Dali interrupted her actions by stretching out his own bowl. "Why thank you!"


    But another piece of roast duck soon entered my bowl. Then, a slice of beef was piled onto the roast duck, courtesy of Xiaotao who wasn¡¯t to be outdone. "Taste this!"


    Bingxin scooped up some fish and pouted, "Firste, first serve. Try mine first."


    ¡°I order you to eat mine first,¡± Xiaotao insisted as she served me a piece of sea cucumber.


    I knew sparks would fly whenever these two girls got together, even over trivial matters. The food on my bowl soon piled up into a little hill.


    "Should I eat out of a bucket instead?" I smiled helplessly.


    "Some people have all the food and fortune while the poor die cold and hungry,"mented Dali, envious of the attention I was receiving.


    Director-General Cheng¡¯s appreciative gaze flickered towards Dali. "What eloquence, kiddo!¡± he said, lifting up his ss. ¡°Ignore these lovebirds. Let¡¯s have a drink instead."


    At this moment, an officer came running, his urgent voice reverberating around the room, "Has anyone seen Officer Ouyang?"

 Chapter 291

    <h4>Chapter 291</h4>


    Director-General Cheng stood up and asked, "Isn¡¯t he at your table?"


    "He sat for a bit but didn¡¯t eat a bite,¡± replied the officer. ¡°I thought he hade around to propose a toast but it¡¯s been more than half an hour since Ist saw him and I can¡¯t get through to his phone."


    His words were like a bucket of cold water but I couldn¡¯t resist clinging onto that bit of hope in my heart. With so many policemen here, nothing could happen, right?


    Director-General Cheng stopped the festivities and instructed the officers to go around looking for Officer Ouyang. I spoke to the man sitting next to Officer Ouyang and asked if he showed any unusual behavior before leaving the table.


    "Not really,¡± recalled the officer. ¡°He did hold his head all of a sudden. When I asked if he had a headache, he smiled and said it was nothing. I didn¡¯t think much of it at the time!"


    "A headache?" An inevitable sense of foreboding grew steadily.


    We ran around looking for Officer Ouyang like headless chickens. Dali and Bingxin weren¡¯t privy to Officer Niu¡¯s death so they couldn¡¯t fathom my apparent urgency. I uttered not a single word but underneath my taciturn manner I was desperately praying for the man¡¯s safety in my heart.


    The hotel management was soon alerted by the movements of arge group of policemen. He smiled and cautiously asked, "Officers, is there something wrong with the food? Please inform me if there¡¯s something you¡¯re not pleased with."


    Director-General Cheng exined he was looking for someone and had just finished describing Officer Ouyang¡¯s facial features to the manager when one of the chefs came running in a panic. Eyes squinting with apprehension, he paused as if unsure to speak. From his reaction, I knew something had happened. "What¡¯s wrong?" I asked.


    "T-there¡¯s an old man in the kitchen...¡± he stammered. ¡°It¡¯s got nothing to do with us..."


    "What¡¯s wrong with him?" I raised my voice.


    Perhaps the gravity of my tone frightened the chef. "He¡¯s dead!" he eximed in horror.


    By the time we got to the kitchen, a crowd of onlookers had already gathered around, covering their mouths in fright. Officer Ouyang¡¯s body was contorted in a strange posture, his head submerged in a pot of boiling oil. The fire was at maximum; the crackling sounds and the smell of his flesh cooking permeated the air.


    I padded my fingers with a handkerchief and quickly turned off the fire, and with the help of others, carefully lifted Officer Ouyang away from the stove and onto the ground.


    His close proximity to the fire burned a huge hole in his clothes while his entire head was a deep-fried, disfigured mess.


    Director-General Cheng¡¯s lips quivered in anger, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. He turned to the group of chefs and growled, "Who was in the kitchen when it happened?!"


    This was the first time I had ever seen such an incensed Director-General Cheng. Perhaps the cruel situation was too much for him to bear.


    The chefs answered falteringly, narrating that they left the kitchen after a long shift that left them tired and hungry. Because the hotel enforced strict rules and regtions, the kitchen was locked whenever it was unupied so it was almost impossible for anyone to enter.


    Xiaotao examined the lock and reported, "It was pried open!"


    Ever since we entered the kitchen, Bingxin was ovee with grief, covering her mouth to drown out the sobs. I told Dali to take her out for some air but Bingxin stubbornly wiped away her tears and insisted, "I¡¯m fine!"


    The time of death was less than half an hour ago so there was no need for organ echolocation. I examined Officer Ouyang¡¯s body and found no signs of coercion. His hands were stained with oil and his fingerprints were clearly stamped on the top of the stove. Officer Ouyang¡¯s posture was a clear indication of his course of actions at the time¨Che shoved his own head into the boiling-hot oil.


    In other words, he pried open the kitchen lock himself, turned the gas valve andmitted suicide!


    I ran my hands all over Officer Ouyang¡¯s clothes and felt a cell phone in his pocket. There was an unsent message that read: "Cui Hao, it¡¯s your turn to pay the debt!"


    Director-General Cheng did a double-take at those words. "Officer Cui is also a colleague of ours," he said.


    I proceeded to grab a handful of starch flour and blew it onto the cell phone. But oddly enough, I found no fingerprints on the phone. Daily necessities such as a phone would most definitely be covered in fingerprints. "Is this Officer Ouyang¡¯s cell phone?" I asked Director-General Cheng.


    "Yes!" he nodded.


    "Call him."


    Director-General Cheng dialled but the call didn¡¯t connect despite the full signal shown on the screen. Instead, I tried calling Director-General Cheng with the phone. Puzzlement swept across his face as he stared at the caller ID. "It¡¯s not a number I¡¯m familiar with," he replied.


    "Someone switched his cell phone and ced this one into his pocket,¡± I deduced. ¡°The text message is a warning for the next crime! This isn¡¯t suicide. It¡¯s a serial killing, and Officer Cui is the next victim!"


    "That¡¯s impossible, Officer Cui died five years ago..." murmured Director-General Cheng. He suddenly looked up in a wide-eyed fluster. "Damn it! The murderer¡¯s target is his family!"


    Ascertaining the murderer¡¯s next move, we immediately set off for Officer Cui¡¯s house.


    Before we started our journey, Director-General Cheng announced to all the officers in an almost hoarse voice, "Attention. Attention everyone, this is not an exercise. I repeat, this is not an exercise. From this moment, the Nanjiang police will go into DEFCON 1! I¡¯ll need at least one SWAT team to bring their full gear for reinforcements. Those in the criminal investigation department, follow me."


    Bingxin wanted to tag along but I quickly stopped her. "Bingxin, I need your help. Go back to the station at once and give both Officer Ouyang and Officer Niu a brain CT scan to see if there¡¯s anything out of the ordinary."


    "Song Yang-gege, you must be careful!" cautioned Bingxin.


    I instructed Dali to apany her. Xiaotao hadn¡¯t driven to the hotel so we went in Director-General Cheng¡¯s car. An officer had just opened the car door when he was suddenly pulled aside by Song Xingchen, who had appeared out of nowhere. Before the officer could react, Song Xingchen had already lowered himself onto the back seat.


    "Who the hell are you?" yelled the officer.


    I apologetically exined that it was my other assistant but Song Xingchen seemed too impatient to deal with the man. He turned to me, a hint of disapproval in his cold voice, "This case is too dangerous!"


    "Did you show up just to stop me again?" I frowned.


    "I¡¯m well acquainted with your temper,¡± Song Xingchen smirked. ¡°So I¡¯m here in case of an ident."


    If it weren¡¯t for the solemn atmosphere, I would¡¯ve retorted with, ¡°You might as well quit being a bodyguard and be a babysitter instead!¡±


    On our way to Officer Cui¡¯s house, I asked Xiaotao, "Did you guys locate Officer Niu¡¯s cell phone?"


    "No, we didn¡¯t realize the text would be a foreshadowing,¡± exined Xiaotao. ¡°How do you think the murderer did it?"


    For the first time ever, I was overwhelmed by a deep feeling of helplessness. "The two cases weren¡¯t suicide but I haven¡¯t yet discovered the murderer¡¯s methods. Unless of course, the murderer is able to manipte people into doing something against their will!"


    When we neared Officer Cui¡¯s home, Director-General Cheng ordered the other officers to lie in wait. With the SWAT team closely monitoring the situation, we were the first to test the waters. As we advanced upstairs, Director-General Cheng briefly described Officer Cui¡¯s family of four¨Chis parents, wife and a young son.


    Outside the door, I stood there trying to catch a whiff of blood but found nothing to my immense relief. Despite knocking on the door several times, we received no reply. I grabbed my lock-picking tools and sessfully opened the lock. The police immediately pushed the door wide open and entered in a practiced formation.


    The house was empty but I noticed a flyer on the table announcing the opening of a new restaurant. Dialling the number on the advertisement, I waited like a cat on hot bricks for the restaurant to pick up. But to my utter dismay, all I heard was a dial tone. "We have to go and see if they¡¯re there," I blurted.


    Director-General Cheng swept his eyes over the flyer. "It¡¯s just around the corner,¡± he said. ¡°Let¡¯s go!"


    Hence, a team of policemen rushed to the restaurant, only to be greeted by a panic-stricken group of customers who dashed out, screaming, ¡°They¡¯re dead! They¡¯re all dead!"


    A boy ran towards us and grabbed an officer by the hand. "Officer, please do something. The people in the restaurant are all dead! If it weren¡¯t for my fast legs... "


    "Who did this?" I asked.


    "No one,¡± the boy shuddered. ¡°They seem to have gone mad! They all just started tomit suicide at the same time..."


    Xiaotao sent someone to appease the boy and take his statement when he managed topose himself. The metallic odor of blood emanated from the restaurant, spreading into the vicinity. What should have been a grand opening had descended into a scene out of a Hollywood gorefest. There was blood everywhere, dead bodies lying from end to end in strange positions. The entire restaurant took on a crimson hue under the illumination of bloodied light bulbs.


    We were all horrified by this scene. Song Xingchen blocked me from entering with his scabbard. Right then, Xiaotao suddenly pulled out her gun and aimed in one direction, shouting, "Show yourself!"

 Chapter 292

    <h4>Chapter 292</h4>


    The officers immediately reacted by aiming their guns in the same direction. Across the restaurant, in the shadows behind a streetmp, a middle-aged man in a leather jacket slowly emerged, holding his hands in the air.


    The sight of his face struck me like a bolt from the blue. "It¡¯s you!" I shouted, eyes widening in shock.


    Still with the same distinct temperament, this man was the antique dealer whom I met in Qinglian County. "I should¡¯ve known he was up to no good!" Xiaotao spat through gritted teeth.


    The middle-aged manughed, "Can¡¯t we have a nice chat? Put down your guns, won¡¯t you?"


    Naturally, his presence at such a bloody massacre wasn¡¯t a good sign. "Why are you here?" I coldly demanded.


    "I was really just passing by," came his nonchnt reply.


    "You¡¯re lying!" I sneered.


    The man did a double-take. "You actually have Cave Vision?"


    Bang! A resounding gunshot brought us to attention. I first assumed it was Xiaotao but upon turning back, I found Director-General Cheng with his gun pointed at the night sky, smoke around the muzzle. The series of events tonight had already driven the otherwise gentle man past the point of patience.


    "You better tell us the truth,¡± he growled. ¡°We don¡¯t have much patience dealing with criminals."


    But the middle-aged man was unfazed by his threat. "All right, this guy has better eyes than a lie detector,¡± he conceded. ¡°Well, I might as welle clean. I swear every single word I¡¯m about to tell you is the truth. Listen up! The reason why I¡¯m here is the same as you. I¡¯m looking for something. Here¡¯s a word of advice¨Cwhat you¡¯re dealing with is beyond the scope of scientific exnation. Don¡¯t bother investigating any longer, or more people will die!"


    "Are you threatening the police?" challenged Director-General Cheng, his voiceced with anger.


    The middle-aged man shrugged slightly and fixed a steady gaze on me. "You can ask him if I¡¯m telling the truth."


    At this point, it was impossible to judge if he was an excellent liar or actually telling the truth. Despite my reservations, I nodded, "He¡¯s telling the truth."


    Perhaps he was privy to inside information not known to the police. "What are you looking for in Nanjiang City?" I asked.


    "I¡¯m a dealer in yin objects and I¡¯m searching for something," he admitted.


    Yin objects? Wasn¡¯t this mentioned in some novel Dali was reading? It seemed the Wealth Beckoning Cat spirit I came into contact with before could also be regarded as a Yin object.


    "So a Yin object is an artifact that can kill by supernatural means?" I asked.


    "Yin objects are usually old items with spirits attached to them. Generally speaking, they are antiques. In my professional field, a Yin object that can cause mass murders is a terrible killing device, which is why I had to intervene in this matter!"


    "What great professional ethics,¡± mocked Xiaotao. ¡°Your lies are starting to get ridiculous!"


    However, from my constant observation using Cave Vision, I was certain he was telling the truth. Although I wasn¡¯t an atheist, the existence of such objects were beyond belief. "Do you mean to say that someone is using a Yin object to kill?"


    "You can think of it that way,¡± he acquiesced. ¡°Please have faith in me. I have my own means of solving the matter."


    "We don¡¯t believe you at all!¡± snorted Director-General Cheng. ¡°You¡¯reing back to the station with us to exin the matter clearly."


    The middle-aged man held out a hand, his actions putting us all on alert at once. "Sorry, no can do," he snickered.


    "That¡¯s not up to you!" dered Director-General Cheng.


    Two SWAT officers decked in their full gear walked up to handcuff the man. "I¡¯ve always been aw-abiding citizen,¡± he said, stepping backwards. ¡°So I don¡¯t want to have to hurt an officer. But if you¡¯re thinking of restricting my personal freedom, don¡¯t me me for being rude!"


    "As if you have the ability," scoffed Xiaotao.


    ¡°Well, goodbye then!¡± The middle-aged man cupped his fist.


    His lips quivered as if he were reading some sort of incantation, and with that, he disappeared from our sight. His move caught us off-guard but seeing was believing. Did the man have superpowers?


    Right then, Song Xingchen dashed off in the direction of the man¡¯s disappearance and sliced his sword in a downward motion. Sparks flew as metal shed against metal. The middle-aged man appeared in ce again, a dagger in each hand crossed together to block Song Xingchen¡¯s Tang Sword.


    It was a vanishing technique.


    Back in the Republic of China, there were supposedly such diversion techniques throughout the Jianghu. In today¡¯s age, these tricks werepletely inconceivable and could not be exined by thews of physics. For example, the goldfish trick during the Spring Festival G in 2011 must have also employed such deceptive techniques.


    The man fought against Song Xingchen, his body agile despite his age. By the looks of it, his skills had been acquired through many battles. Thus far, I hadn¡¯t seen anyone who could match Song Xingchen yet, and the man didn¡¯t seem like he was taking the fight seriously. Instead, his moves suggested he was eager to get away, not hurt his opponent.


    All of a sudden, Song Xingchen leapt backwards in a graceful arch, sword cutting through the air where another burst of sparks appeared.


    "Your skills are half decent," remarked the man.


    Song Xingchen swung his sword sideways, his voice filled with disapproval, "You lowlife! Using flying needles tounch a sneak attack!"


    Flying needles? I hadn¡¯t seen a thing!


    "If I really wanted to hurt you, do you think you¡¯d still be standing?"


    A few fallen leaves floated down to his head and flew towards us as if strung together by something. Dumbfounded, we watched as the leaves were nailed to the wall and slowly drifted down to the ground. My eyes keenly caught a cold gleam in the air.


    The middle-aged man waved his hands dismissively, "This time it¡¯s really goodbye!"


    He was about to run when Director-General Cheng motioned for the SWAT team to move into action. The SWAT officers charged towards him and abruptly stopped a few meters away when they suddenly screamed and struggled. "Snakes, so many snakes!" some shouted, while others cried, "Help! I¡¯m on fire!"


    The surrounding officers were distracted by their outburst, and in the blink of an eye, the middle-aged man had disappeared. Right before he left, I caught a glimpse of what might have been a white fox sitting on his shoulder.


    The effects of the diversion technique used to torture these SWAT officers soon dispersed, leaving these men unharmed. I chewed my lower lip in consternation at the man¡¯s unfathomable skills and origin. However, my intuition told me that he wasn¡¯t the murderer. With his mysterious methods, I suspected he wouldn¡¯t have left the crime scene in such chaos.


    Unreconciled with the man¡¯s disappearance, Director-General Cheng wanted to go after him but both Song Xingchen and I reached out to stop him at the same time. "Let him go,¡± I said. ¡°He¡¯s not the murderer."


    "Even if that¡¯s the case, he must know something!" argued Director-General Cheng.


    With his set of unique techniques, the man was most likely too arrogant to stoop down to working with the police. Chasing after him would only be a waste of our time and effort. "Let¡¯s investigate the crime scene first," I suggested.


    We walked into the restaurant and were immediately surrounded by the dead bodies of customers who hadmitted suicide. Their methods, though equally gruesome, were varied with some customers inserting chopsticks into their eyes and knives down their throats while a waiter hung himself from his own belt at the kitchen door, his entire tongue sticking out from his open mouth. The chefsy on the ground, throats slit open with a sharp weapon, and in the restroom, a man flopped over the toilet, his stomach having ruptured into a nauseating mess from chugging down too much detergent. The nightmarish scene was almost too much to bear, causing many young officers to throw up their dinners.


    When Director-General Cheng found the family of four sitting around a table, he dropped to his knees, deste sobs spilling from his lips as a wave of sorrow washed through his being. Some timeter, he swore, "I will bring the murderer to justice!"


    I noticed that most of the victims hadmitted suicide by injuring their heads, their postures suggesting they wanted to "dig" something out of their brains. I couldn¡¯t help but recall Officer Niu¡¯s strange symptoms before his death¨Cthe mysterious voice in his head and the persistent headaches.


    The murderer intended to kill the family of four but ended up involving an entire restaurant of people. If Yin objects were to be believed, then the one in question must function within a range and cannot be directed at a certain target.


    Additionally, no odors or other traces were left at the scene, so this Yin object was most likely a musical instrument!

 Chapter 293

    <h4>Chapter 293</h4>


    The police swept the scene and counted a total of twenty-seven deaths. The murderer could only be described as insane to kill so many people at once!


    When Director-General Cheng had regainedposure, I asked, "The murderermitted the crime with a clear purpose so there must be some connection between Officer Niu, Officer Ouyang and Officer Cui. Do you know anything?"


    Weariness was written all over Director-General Cheng¡¯s gaunt face, as if he had aged ten years overnight. "I didn¡¯t want to venture down this line of thought because I didn¡¯t believe he was such a person,¡± he started. ¡°But now, all signs point to him."


    After a heavy sigh, Director-General Cheng said, "We once sent an officer to prison!"


    As soon as the words left his lips, the room fell into shocked silence. Director-General Cheng exined that there was once an outspoken and hot-tempered police officer named Long Bangguo.


    In the crackdown on crime of ¡®97, Long Bangguo and several other officers were ordered to quash a gang that dealt with the illegal trading of women. However, these criminals were so arrogant they decided to take personal revenge on the officers involved in the case and kidnapped a girl Long Bangguo was pursuing! Later on, they found her body under a bridge, ck and blue all over, her vagina mutted from sexual torture, breasts cruelly bitten off and face covered in deep shes. Lab tests revealed at least seven or eight different samples of sperm in her body. And to add insult to injury, the murderers actually ced a police cap on the body in provocation of the police.


    Long Bangguo¡¯s emotions exploded like a volcanic eruption that made him lose all rationality. He wandered in the streets, looking for anyone who remotely resembled a gangster. After beating them into a pulp, he forced them to reveal the whereabouts of that gang leader. At the time, the head of the task force¨COfficer Ouyang¨Cordered him to rest at home and pull himself together. As a result of his actions, he was temporarily taken off the case.


    If he had listened to Officer Ouyang back then, nothing would¡¯ve happened and the situation wouldn¡¯t have developed in this direction.


    Long Bangguo desperately begged Officer Ouyang for a second chance and even put his reputation on the line, swearing he would never be impulsive again. Several colleagues helped intercede for him, eventually overturning Officer Ouyang¡¯s prior decision to take him off the case.


    But on the day the closed, Long Bangguo actually shot the suspect during the chaos. So the handcuffs that were meant for the criminals were fastened around his wrists instead. The case was quickly transferred to the judicial proceedings with Director-General Cheng as the prosecutor at the time.


    Long Bangguo insisted he had acted in self defense when the suspect whipped out his gun, which would deem his actions justifiable. But his colleagues¡¯ testimonies proved he was lying. In the end, he was sentenced for intentional homicide, deprived of all political rights, and sentenced to twenty years in prison.


    Director-General Cheng still clearly recalled Long Bangguo¡¯s enraged roars as he was escorted away from court. "Not a single one of you stood on my side! Just you wait. Sooner orter I¡¯ll make you pay for your betrayal!" Upon hearing his words, his colleagues all stood up, anguish written all over their faces.


    From Long Bangguo¡¯s point of view, it was his colleagues, not the court¡¯s judgment, that disappointed him the most. They were his brothers, not by anything so idental as blood but forged by the long struggle of fighting side by side, day in, day out. Yet at this crucial juncture, it was their statements that sent him to prison.


    What he failed to understand was thew had nopassion, and the police stood by their own unshakeable principles. It didn¡¯t matter who the criminal was¡ªno one was above thew!


    "This was the case that changed me,¡± Director-General Cheng¡¯s eyes dimmed. ¡°I felt that the world needed more honest police officers so I resigned from my position as a prosecutor and became an ordinary policeman."


    "What sort of distorted logic is this?!¡± blurted Xiaotao. ¡°Why should anyone be punished for telling the truth? This man is simply deranged!"


    "Who were the other officers involved in the case?" I asked.


    "If I remember correctly, there are three other officers¨COfficer Xun from the city bureau, Officer Zhang from the SWAT team and Officer Luo in the Jiangxing Precinct,¡± he recounted.


    The case caught us by surprise and everything happened so quickly that the bureau hadn¡¯t yet set up a task force. At the moment, Director-General Cheng was recognized as the team leader. He worked with all possible haste, assigning tasks to the officers. Wang Yuanchao was dispatched to search for Long Bangguo with a SWAT team. If necessary, the officers were allowed to request for the armed police force to blockade traffic. In the event of a critical situation, they were ordered to kill the murderer on the spot. The rest of the officers, led by Xiaotao, were to protect the three officers in question.


    "I won¡¯t allow another murder of an officer!" Xiaotao saluted.


    "I believe in your abilities!" nodded Director-General Cheng. Then, he said to me, "Song Yang, you¡¯re a coroner so there¡¯s no need for you to participate in this operation!"


    "I have a proposal,¡± I added. ¡°I¡¯d like to ask the Yin object dealer for help!"


    "No way!¡± Director-General Cheng vetoed my proposal. ¡°Right now, every minute counts. We don¡¯t have the time and manpower to do this. Besides, I¡¯m a staunch atheist. I don¡¯t believe in the existence of Yin objects in this world. All talk about ghosts and gods is purely a preposterous belief in something as flimsy as fate. That man is clearly a chatan."


    Director-General Cheng sounded like his usual mild self, but his unquestionable attitude rendered any further attempts of discussing the matter futile. When the police finished cleaning up the scene, I turned to Xiaotao and said, "It¡¯s gettingte, I should go now."


    "Hey, you¡¯re acting a little weird,¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°Is there something you¡¯re hiding from me?"


    "No, I¡¯m just tired,¡± I refuted. ¡°Look after yourself!"


    With that, I walked away. At a nearbymp post, Song Xingchen stood with a cup of bubble tea he had purchased from the stall at the street intersection. He leaned against themp post,nguidly sipping while he waited for me. Several passers-by stared at him in surprise and gushed, "He looks just like Zhang Yixing!"


    "No, he¡¯s more handsome than Zhang Yixing!" came another reply.


    "Why is he dressed like this? Could he be filming a TV series?" asked another.


    Song Xingchen remainedpletely indifferent to the attention he was receiving. I walked up to him and said, "Let¡¯s discuss something."


    "You¡¯re going to ask me to protect thatdy officer, aren¡¯t you?"


    I froze for a moment before looking him up and down. How did he guess what I was thinking?


    "Don¡¯t forget that I too have Cave Vision,¡± he reminded. ¡°Observing and reading the situation is a basic skill required of every member of the Song family."


    I had to admit the man not only had eyes as sharp as a hawk but also the brains to make discerning judgements. Director-General Cheng¡¯s order for Xiaotao to protect the three officers was a cause for great worry. With his mysterious methods, the murderer could kill in an instant and he didn¡¯t care if the innocent were implicated. But how could I, a consultant with no real power, request for Xiaotao to withdraw from the operation in front of so many officers, especially Director-General Cheng? Additionally, I knew she wouldn¡¯t back down with that tenacious character of hers.


    But I couldn¡¯t face a reality where Xiaotao was killed in the line of duty. Even if I had to pull a fast one on her, I had to get her removed from the case. "Go to her ce after this and lie in ambush somewhere nearby. Don¡¯t go overboard! I just want her injured enough to be hospitalized. Don¡¯t go in this outfit and don¡¯t you dare use your sword. You might as well cover your face too."


    "Why don¡¯t I chop off her leg?" Song Xingchen smiled maliciously.


    "You wouldn¡¯t!" I shouted.


    "My task is to protect you by all means. If necessary, I can use extreme measures, such as breaking your leg to prevent you from involving yourself in a dangerous case,¡± he exined. ¡°So let¡¯s put aside your girlfriend¡¯s business first. I must know your next move and decide whether I should break your leg as well!"


    His voice was solemn with a hard edge, a clear demonstration of how serious he was. I calmly answered, "I¡¯m going to look for the Yin object dealer to ask for his opinion."


    Song Xingchen nodded. "Have you heard everything? You cane out now," he said.


    He looked past me, as if speaking to someone else. I turned around and saw Xiaotao jump out from behind themp post. "Song Yang!¡± she yelled. ¡°How dare you think of breaking my leg? Who gave you the right to make decisions for me?!"

 Chapter 294

    <h4>Chapter 294</h4>


    I don¡¯t know just how much Xiaotao had eavesdropped so I frantically exined, "I know my motives are selfish but I can¡¯t watch you put your life in danger!"


    "I hate it when people make decisions on my behalf without my ord, even if it¡¯s for my own good!¡± Xiaotao retaliated, ring angrily at me. ¡°From now on, I won¡¯t speak to you outside of work, and you¡¯re no longer allowed into my home!"


    She folded her arms and turned away, as if too infuriated to tolerate looking at me. I scrambled to salvage the situation, lengthy apologies spilling from my lips in an attempt to coax her into calming down.


    In truth, Xiaotao wasn¡¯t as angry as she pretended to be, but at the time I waspletely deceived by her impressive acting skills. In my state of confusion and worry, I thought I hadmitted a terrible blunder and was anxious to make amends.


    With much grovelling on my part, Xiaotao eventually snorted, "Okay, okay. I¡¯ll let this matter go for the time being. I¡¯ll punish youter. So how are you going to look for the Yin object dealer?"


    "You believe in the existence of Yin objects?" I asked in surprise.


    "In the past, my thoughts on the matter would¡¯ve mirrored Director-General Cheng¡¯s, but after all the strange things we¡¯ve experienced together, I¡¯m not surprised to learn of Yin objects."


    I was awash with relief at her words. "Then let¡¯s look for him."


    The three of us walked to a nearby telmunications store where I paid for my phone bill and asked for the call list. Thest number on the list was the one we were looking for¨Cthe number Pockmark Li dialled the other day.


    When I called, Pockmark Li and the Yin object dealer were together. I introduced myself and my profession which drew surprise from the man. "Traditional Coroner?¡± he eximed. ¡°This profession is very strange."


    "Can we meet up to talk?" I asked.


    "Yes,e to the nearby teahouse,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll treat you to some Longjing tea."


    At the teahouse, Song Xingchen waited for us downstairs, while Xiaotao and I were taken to a private room by a waiter. Just before we entered the room, Xiaotao whispered, "Thest time I met a Jianghu master, it was some fortune teller my father took me to. The old Daoist spoke a lot of nonsense, iming that I was born under the Greedy Wolf Star and would live in turmoil my whole life. I was advised to marry a man born in the year of the tiger during the Yin hour to suppress the effects. He said that the tiger and wolfplement each other and would surely aplish great things together. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s ridiculous to ask for someone¡¯s birth date before you go out on a date?"


    My jaw dropped in shock. In fact, I was almost named Song Erhu because I was born in the year of the tiger during the Yin hour.


    Xiaotao stared wide-eyed at me upon noticing my odd reaction. "You¡¯re not, are you?"


    My face turned crimson as I rushed to hide all traces of my faux pas. "No! My birthdate is very ordinary."


    "I knew it! How could there be such a coincidence?¡± scoffed Xiaotao. ¡°He¡¯s just another Jianghu chatan!"


    The middle-aged man and Pockmark Li were leisurely drinking tea in the room. When we made our presence known, he held out his hand to Pockmark Li and sniggered, "What did I tell you, eh?"


    Pockmark Li pulled out a hundred yuan and reluctantly handed it to him. The two must have bet on us showing up or not, which suggested he wanted to cooperate with us as well.


    The middle-aged man invited us to take a seat before describing a little about themselves. Pockmark Li and the middle-aged man, named Zhang Jiulin, came from Wuhan. They ran an antique shop and usually travelled around the country collecting Yin objects, having experienced enough to write a whole book about their adventures.


    Zhang Jiulin poured us some tea and said, "Speaking of writing a book, I just remembered that I actually wrote a book about myself. Of course, all of the names were pseudonyms. Would you like to have a look? Just search for ¡®The Underworld Merchant¡¯ on the website, Mars Novels.¡±


    "I¡¯m not interested in online novels,¡± I retorted. ¡°I¡¯m here to listen to a detailed exnation of what a Yin object is!"


    He exined that a Yin object was any item that contained the resentment or obsession of the dead. As an example, he described how he had received the pipe Ji Xian personally used for a lifetime. It then fell into the hands of a man who ended up smoking himself to death.


    "You might as well tell us you received Lu Bu¡¯s famed halberd and Yang Guifei¡¯s mirror," I quipped.


    "I actually dide across both of those things,"ughed Zhang Jiulin.


    I couldn¡¯t help but doubt the man¡¯s reliability with all that big talk. "You should already know why we¡¯re here," I said, cutting to the chase.


    "I understand,¡± he nodded. ¡°You need my help. What a coincidence! I was going to look for you too. Don¡¯t you think we¡¯re connected by fate?¡± he continued to ramble. ¡°Pockmark Li and I don¡¯t know anyone in these parts. It¡¯ll be convenient having a police consultant for assistance in a case involving so many murders."


    "You don¡¯t have to butter up to me,¡± I mocked. ¡°It¡¯s just a temporary cooperation between two people who can help each other. As soon as we solve the case, we¡¯ll each go our own way."


    "Why do you have to sound so rude?!¡± interjected Pockmark Li. ¡°Is this how you usually speak? How does your girlfriend stand that bad temper of yours?"


    Red in the face, Xiaotao clenched her fist and mmed the table, causing the teacups to overturn. She stood up and pointed at Pockmark Li, spitting with fury, "Watch how you speak! Don¡¯t forget that you still have a criminal record with us."


    Caught off guard, Zhang Jiulin swept a look of inquiry at Pockmark Li and asked in a low voice, "Were you at the massage parlor again? You were arrested?"


    Pockmark Li hastily refuted, "Of course not! Why would I step into that sort of ce? I helped an olddy cross the road but was treated as a troublemaker. I swear I¡¯m more innocent than Dou E!"


    I didn¡¯t bother to uncover his lies. Zhang Jiulin flicked his gaze up to meet mine and solemnly said, "Xiao Song Yang, we can¡¯t cooperate if this is the sort of attitude you have. You have to understand one thing¨Cyou need our help but we¡¯re not your subordinates."


    He squinted at me through hardened eyes, trying to pressure me with that stony expression of his but I met his gaze without weakness or submission. "Tell me what you know!" I demanded.


    "Look, here we go again,¡± sneered Zhang Jiulin. ¡°Is this how you speak to people?"


    Perhaps his identity as a Jianghu man led me to subconsciously speak in the same tone I used with Baldy and his gang. However, my intuition told me he wasn¡¯t at all like those gangsters so I softened my tone, "Let¡¯s exchange information. I¡¯ll tell you what we know first."


    "That¡¯s the way!" nodded Zhang Jiulin.


    I told him all the information we had gathered so far and reminded, "These are all police secrets. Don¡¯t speak a word of it."


    "Not bad, kid! You actually deduced that the murder weapon is a musical instrument,¡± hemended. ¡°Well, here¡¯s a fair exchange. I¡¯ll tell you what I know."


    He exined that he was actually entrusted by a client to collect a Yin object, though the client¡¯s identity had to remain hidden. He assured us his client had nothing to do with the case. They traced the object all the way to Nanjiang City where he had an unexpected encounter with the police and was wrongfully used of being a suspect.


    The Yin object, known as the Heartbroken Xun, was made from the skull of an ancient bandit. ying a special tune with it would plunge the listener into a state of depression and eventually induce them tomit suicide. Having discovered the identity of the man in possession of the Yin object, Zhang Jiulin and Pockmark Li were saved from a lot of investigation work.


    Judging from the current progress of the case, the interval from the time the victim first heard the music to the suicide had drastically decreased. It had taken Officer Niu a few days while Officer Ouyangsted less than a few hours. The people in the restaurant suffered an almost immediate effect. With this development, it was clear that the Yin object was beginning to slip out of the user¡¯s control. If we didn¡¯t contain it in time, who knew what disaster awaited us?

 Chapter 295

    <h4>Chapter 295</h4>


    "Hearing the music will cause the listener tomit suicide,¡± I mused. ¡°Does it y dissonant chords?"


    Xiaotao asked me what a dissonant chord was, and I exined that consonance was a pleasing sound associated with sweetness and eptability such as music that evoked feelings of happiness. Contrary to that, dissonance caused uneasiness and tension could alter one¡¯s emotions since sound waves affected the structure of liquid in different ways. After all, 90% of the human body was liquid and hormones that controlled human emotion were secreted from various tissues into fluid, such as blood.


    The famous Hungarian suicide song "Gloomy Sunday" contained a lot of dissonances. After listening to it, people reported feeling depressed, lost, extremely pessimistic and even suicidal. The effect of the music was perhaps more terrifying than hypnosis. Oftentimes, such negative thoughts were difficult to ovee by willpower alone. In fact, those with stronger willpower and sessful at suppressing negative emotions might experience heavier influence from the music. When the song was first yed, more than 100 peoplemitted suicide upon listening to it.


    This song was listed as one of the world¡¯s three forbidden pieces and was destroyed in 1945. Although many versions could be found online, they were all fake.


    Zhang Jiulin leisurely sipped his tea and continued, "That is your personal understanding. As I¡¯ve said, this is the work of an evil spirit with a strong desire to kill. It¡¯s not understandable by scientific logic."


    "I don¡¯t believe ghosts can kill!" I reiterated.


    Zhang Jiulin and Pockmark Li exchanged a knowing look. ¡°Xiao Song, you know nothing!¡±ughed Pockmark Li. ¡°Have you ever seen a mother and son demon? Or a procession of evil spirits? Have you ever seen Satan of the West? Grandpa Mao once said that without proper investigation, one forfeits the right to speak. As a professional in this field, I can tell you this¨Cthere are more ghosts in the world capable of murder than what you can imagine."


    "I¡¯ve never seen ghosts or evil spirits,¡± I retorted. ¡°What you call ghosts are just residual spiritual energy. If ghosts could kill, then why would we need the police?"


    "That¡¯s because spiritual practitioners like us are secretly guarding the world,¡± Zhang Jiulin continued. ¡°It¡¯s not just criminals who are dangerous and vicious. I¡¯ve had more life-and-death experiences than you can count."


    I thought to myself that the conversation was getting more and more ridiculous; all this nonsense about meeting Satan in the West. If that were the case, then Jack the Ripper was brought to justice by me!


    This wrangling continued until dawn, when I impatiently interrupted, "So what are your ns?"


    "The Heartbroken Xun has now eroded the owner¡¯s soul, dominating the man with hatred. It has now locked onto the three policemen. I¡¯ll need a drop of blood and a strand of hair from them, and a body double to lure the Heartbroken Xun into my hands. Then, I¡¯ll seal it off."


    Hearing this, Xiaotao furrowed her brows, looking extremely annoyed. I too decided his Jianghu tricks were unreliable but still I patiently asked, "What then? We arrest the criminal and let you take away the Yin object?"


    "ording to the rules of our trade, that¡¯s how it works," nodded Zhang Jiulin.


    "I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t let you have it. You say you¡¯re a dealer of Yin objects which you not only ept but also sell. I can¡¯t allow such a dangerous item to fall into someone else¡¯s hands and be used for more murders!"


    "We have our professional ethics,¡± assured Zhang Jiulin. ¡°We will process the object, seal off the evil spirit, greatly reducing a huge portion of its power so it can¡¯t not harm others. Ordinary people don¡¯t know how to handle Yin objects. The consequences will only be worse."


    "That¡¯s only your side of the story!¡± I disagreed. ¡°Businessmen will make up anything for money!"


    "Can¡¯t your eyes detect lies?" Zhang Jiulin argued, tit-for-tat.


    "Not if you believe in your own lies!¡± I spat. ¡°Whatever it is, you¡¯re not allowed to keep the object!"


    We stared at each other, fires of fury seeming to burn through our smoldering eyes, both parties unyielding. The staring contest frightened Xiaotao and Pockmark Li beside us. A whileter, Zhang Jiulin calmly leaned into his chair and said, "In this case, you should pay us. After all, I¡¯m a businessman so I don¡¯t do volunteer work."


    At the sign of apromise, I slumped with relief.


    "Fine, state your price!" said Xiaotao.


    Zhang Jiulin raised a finger, drawing an apprehensive inquiry from Xiaotao, "A hundred thousand? A million? Ten million?¡± She yelled, ¡°Are you crazy? This is clearly ckmail!"


    "Prettydy, is it too expensive for you?¡± sneered Pockmark Li. ¡°Most of the Yin objects we deal with cost more than that!"


    ¡°Carry on then, gentlemen,¡± I stood up, voiceced with a steely edge. ¡°Thank you for your information. We¡¯ll use our own methods to arrest the murderer so there¡¯s no need to trouble you two. We¡¯re leaving."


    "Goodbye!" seethed Zhang Jiulin.


    As Xiaotao and I opened the door to leave the teahouse, we were enraged to find ourselves back in the private room. The two red at us, hostility spilling from their eyes. "Why are you back?" mocked Pockmark Li.


    Zhang Jiulin slowly sipped his tea, "Do you still think we¡¯re chatans now?"


    "It¡¯s just another one of your diversion tricks,¡± I sneered.


    I pulled Xiaotao out of the room once more but we ended up back at square one, three times in a row. The men were obviously having their fun ying us like a fiddle. Having long reached the end of my patience, I silently recited the Song family¡¯s mantra as I opened the door again. This time, the muffled screams of a girl drifted into our ears as we walked out of the room, sessfully making it to the corridor outside.


    "How did he do it?" Xiaotao asked in disbelief.


    "They¡¯re both a bit unorthodox,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s not surprising that he¡¯s up to his tricks."


    "I suspect these two are loonies,¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°10 million yuan in one go! That¡¯s not a small amount even for me!"


    "He might have done it on purpose,¡± I sighed. ¡°Speaking of which, he¡¯s still going after the Yin object."


    "Let¡¯s not cooperate with these people,¡± snorted Xiaotao. ¡°The police have their own dignity and integrity."


    Downstairs, an idle Song Xingchen was waiting to ask what the results of our little chat was. "The murder weapon is a strange xun. The information is important to us. We¡¯ll make sure to block our ears when we¡¯re investigating."


    "As long as you¡¯re not in danger, I have no problem," nodded Song Xingchen.


    And with that, Song Xingchen dashed off into the night. "Don¡¯t forget to plug your ears with headphones!" I yelled in his direction.


    Xiaotao made a few calls to the bureau, informing Director-General Cheng that the murder involved some sort of sound but didn¡¯t borate on how we stumbled upon that information. She suggested that the bureau provide each officer with a set of headphones which had to be worn as soon as something was amiss. Additionally, Officers Xun and Luo were currently closely guarded by the bureau. Captain Zhang of the SWAT team was currently out on a mission outside and couldn¡¯t be reached so his superiors were informed about the matter. Fortunately, there was quick progress and the higher ups soon sent their approval.


    As we walked through the streets, I asked Xiaotao if she was hungry. "I didn¡¯t eat much for dinner,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°Now that you mention it, I¡¯m really hungry."


    I pointed to a wonton stall by the road and suggested, "Let¡¯s have a bowl of warm wonton soup!"


    Xiaotao delightedly agreed. Although she was every bit a wealthy youngdy, she wasn¡¯t picky about eating at street stalls and even liked the food. At the wonton stall, I ordered us two bowls of wonton soup.


    "Did you notice anything different about me today?" smiled Xiaotao.


    I looked left and right, up and down, and asked tentatively, "Are you wearing makeup?"


    Xiaotao yfully threw a pack of paper napkins at me, pouting almost petntly, "You idiot, can¡¯t you tell I¡¯ve gotten a haircut?"


    "A haircut?¡± I asked somewhat dubiously. ¡°Why don¡¯t I see anything different?"


    "Bangs!¡± she announced. ¡°It¡¯s so obvious! Do your eyes only work when you¡¯re performing an autopsy?"


    Her words rendered me speechless. Why did girls¡¯ haircuts look exactly the same as before?


    Right then, a sudden hubbub at the wonton stall snapped me out of my thoughts. A group of gangsters with tattoos swaggered up to the stall. Xiaotao lowered her voice and warned, "They look like trouble!"

 Chapter 296

    <h4>Chapter 296</h4>


    The gangsters surrounded the owner of the wonton stall, led by a burly man with arge gold ne and toothpick between his lips. His sleeveless shirt revealed a pair of muscr arms and a tiger tattoo on his body. He pped the owner on the shoulder and smiled menacingly, "Business is booming, eh!"


    The owner turned pale as ash as he forced a grin, "Oh, it¡¯s Li-ge. How have you been?"


    ¡°Not too bad!¡± said the gangster, chewing his toothpick.


    The boss quickly grabbed a handful of change from his drawer and shoved it into the man¡¯s hand. "It¡¯s for this month."


    Xiaotao arched an eyebrow, ¡°Looks like they¡¯re gangsters who collect protection fees. What gives him the right?! I¡¯ll remember each and every one of their faces and report them to the public security departmentter."


    Li-ge ordered his subordinate to count the money. When the amount was reported, he spat out his toothpick and snapped, "It¡¯s too little! Are you trying to fuck with us?! This isn¡¯t enough for us to have a meal!"


    "Li-ge, won¡¯t you bend the rules this once?¡± begged the owner. ¡°I haven¡¯t made much this month. It¡¯s been really hard on me!"


    "Hard on you?¡± snorted Li-ge. ¡°What about us?! If we weren¡¯t looking after this street, would you be able to do business in peace?"


    "A-another day...¡± stammered the owner. ¡°I¡¯ll make up for it another day!"


    Li-ge sneered, "I don¡¯t have the time! How about this then? My buddies and I will have a meal at your stall."


    "Of course. Have as much as you want!" nodded the owner.


    "But just so you know, my buddies are a rowdy bunch!¡± threatened Li-ge. ¡°They might damage a few tables and overturn your chairs. Make sure you think about it properly!"


    Upon hearing this, the owner started begging for mercy. I turned away in disgust, "What a bunch of irritating flies! I¡¯ll get rid of them!"


    I grabbed my consultant ID from my pocket and was just about to leave my seat when suddenly I felt a pat on my shoulder that forced me back down. A muscr middle-aged man resembling a body-building coach appeared behind me. He warned, "Stay calm and mind your own business."


    Xiaotao and I looked up in surprise. "Who are you?" she asked.


    "I¡¯m the captain of the 17th SWAT police team,¡± said the man. ¡°We¡¯re currently on a mission. The man named Li-ge is a close friend of a mafia boss whose whereabouts are still unknown. It¡¯s very likely that he has contacted this fellow. So don¡¯t make any trouble for us!"


    I scanned the area and found several suspicious-looking men wandering about¨Cinclothes officers.


    "Sir, do you know us?" I asked.


    "Yes,¡± he replied. ¡°Song Yang and Huang Xiaotao, the stars of the police force!"


    My cheeks colored with embarrassment at his words. Meanwhile, Li-ge walked over towards the tables after sessfully extorting the full protection fee. The SWAT officer kept his head lowered as he cautioned us, "Just eat your wonton and leave as soon as you¡¯re done. You two are really good at picking ces, aren¡¯t you?"


    While we didn¡¯t want any trouble, trouble came looking for us.


    As Li-ge walked past us, his eyes gleamed with excitement, lips pursing to blow a wolf whistle. "Littledy, you¡¯re a hot one!"


    Xiaotao clenched her fists so hard her knuckles turned white but the SWAT officer shook his head almost imperceptibly, reminding us not to be impulsive.


    "Oi, are you mute?¡± shouted one of Li-ge¡¯s cronies. ¡°Li-ge is talking to you."


    The SWAT officer looked up with a wide grin and politely said, "We¡¯re just passing by. We¡¯ll leave as soon as we¡¯re done eating! We won¡¯t cause you any trouble."


    "It¡¯s no trouble at all!¡±ughed Li-ge. ¡°Two men and a womante at night¨Cthat¡¯s a bit interesting, don¡¯t you think? Look at those slutty clothes. You¡¯re a hooker, eh? How much do you charge for one night?"


    As he spoke, Li-ge reached out his grubby paws to touch Xiaotao¡¯s delicate face. My eyes were bloodshot with anger while Xiaotao tightly gripped the chopsticks in her hand, holding back the rage. Just when the man¡¯s hand was about to make contact with her skin, she dodged and coldly remarked, "He¡¯s my boyfriend and that¡¯s my father. Dad, why aren¡¯t you saying anything?!"


    "She¡¯s right,¡± echoed the SWAT officer. ¡°She¡¯s my daughter. Please leave us be.¡±


    "Do I look like I¡¯m blind?¡± scoffed Li-ge. ¡°You don¡¯t look like father and daughter! What, with that face and body?! Yo, little girl, how much do you charge for a night? I¡¯ll pay double to sleep with me."


    "Get the hell out of here!¡± Xiaotao rebuked through gritted teeth. ¡°Stop throwing your weight around!"


    "Watch how you speak to Li-ge!¡± shouted one of the gangsters. ¡°Don¡¯t you know who Li-ge is? Why don¡¯t you ask around? This entire area is under Li-ge¡¯s protection. It¡¯s your honor to serve Li-ge!"


    "Are you all dogs? Do you think pissing on the street makes it your territory?!¡± retaliated Xiaotao. ¡°Can¡¯t I eat a bowl of wonton in peace? How the hell does that bother you?!"


    Li-ge red at Xiaotao and rolled up his sleeves, anger boiling up inside. He pulled at Xiaotao¡¯s cor, ready to get violent. "You little bitch! Don¡¯t think you¡¯re all that!"


    Their arrogance and tyrannical ways pushed me past the point of endurance, fury brewing within me like tea in a pot. "Fuck off asshole!" I shouted. Grabbing the chili sauce on the table, I poured the entire bottle on the gangster¡¯s face. The man¡¯s pig-like screams filled the night. Emboldened by my actions, Xiaotao roared, aiming the bowl of wonton soup at Li-ge¡¯s head.


    As the saying goes, a show of strength gains you the upper hand! These gangsters never imagined such a disy of aggression and their boss¡¯ injury threw them into a panic.


    Li-ge¡¯s face was covered with wonton soup while his right-hand man was decorated with scallions and coriander. He stumbled a few steps backwards, his cronies quickly supporting him to stand straight again while they fussed over his face. Li-ge pointed at us, face contorting with a venomous outburst, "Kill them all!"


    Two gangsters rushed towards us, overturning the table with a heavy kick. The stall owner came running with tears in his eyes as he cried out, "I¡¯m begging you, please don¡¯t destroy my stall!"


    Before the table was overturned, we were already standing up, ready to meet their blows. With a nimble twist at the waist, Xiaotao skillfully raised her leg in a forceful kick that sent one of the gangsters flying a few meters back. Xiaotao swiftly transitioned into her next move, mming her fist into another gangster¡¯s face, so hard that I could hear the sound of his bones cracking.


    The gangsters in the back were taken aback, mind sluggish from the shock. However, I was still worried her two fists wouldn¡¯t be a match for four men. Well aware of my fighting prowess, orck thereof, I picked up the wooden stool and bashed their heads in. The gangsters who fearlessly charged towards me fell to the ground like a sackful of potatoes.


    "How dare you beard the lion in his den! Kill them!" growled Li-ge.


    At once, these gangsters drew out their switchdes and butterfly knives. At the sight of those sharp weapons, I had my reservations. Any discerning eye could tell I was no match for their knives. ¡°Do something!" I yelled at the SWAT officer.


    "Ugh, thanks for ruining everything!" chided the man before he turned around and shouted, "Boys, let¡¯s get down to business!"


    A bunch of ripped men dashed out from the surrounding area, gathering around us. The situation immediately took a 180 turn.


    Pale with fear, the gangsters stammered, "L-li-ge, they have backup..."


    "Motherfuckers!¡± cursed Li-ge. ¡°I haven¡¯t been afraid of anyone since I started roaming the streets at the age of fifteen!"


    Once the identity of the SWAT team was revealed, the mission would be considered a failure. Using my wits, I quickly yelled, "Fellow disciple brothers, don¡¯t use the sect¡¯s kung fu techniques!"


    The SWAT officers were all adept at fighting. Even if they avoided using the techniques of the armed police, they were still a force to be reckoned with, unterally crushing their opponents. Xiaotao and I stood on the side, spectating themotion. Very quickly, the gang of ouws was beaten to the ground, and they cried with snot all over their faces. I had to admit being an onlooker was indeed exciting.


    The gangsters were taught a lesson, a bunch of burly adult men beaten into submission by the SWAT officers. They fell to the ground like dominoes and moaned in agony. Meanwhile, Li-ge had received so many blows to the head his face was red and swollen like a pig¡¯s head. Voice trembling, he muttered, "Forgive me for my ignorance. May I ask for your identities?"


    "What do you think?¡± I scoffed. ¡°I¡¯ll ask you a question. Is there a Master Li nearby who practices Wing Chun?"


    "I-I don¡¯t know," he faltered.


    "Shixiong, the enemy we are looking for isn¡¯t here,¡± I said, turning to the SWAT team captain. ¡°We might as well go now!" Before leaving the scene, I deliberately added, "Next time, watch who you¡¯re talking to! Don¡¯t even think of going up against the martial arts sects, got it?"


    Li-ge nodded desperately.

 Chapter 297

    <h4>Chapter 297</h4>


    After reimbursing the owner for the damage, we left the stall on foot. The SWAT team captain wiped the beads of cold sweat off his forehead, saying, "Oh my God, that was close! Fortunately, you reminded us to keep our identities hidden. But the whole incident is really strange since the gang got beaten up over nothing. I think the incident will put them on alert."


    Xiaotao¡¯s fists were still clenched tightly as if she hadn¡¯t fought her fill. "What do you mean they got beaten up over nothing?!¡± she seethed. ¡°They asked for it. Scum like this should be properly taught a lesson and removed from the streets!"


    "Captain, I¡¯m really sorry about tonight,¡± I said. ¡°But we only started fighting after we were pushed into a corner. Anyway, thank you for your help!"


    The man simply waved his hand and smiled bitterly, "It¡¯s alright. With where things were heading, how could we just stand by and watch you get hurt?"


    "By the way, do you know Captain Zhang?" I asked.


    The man pointed to his nose and said, "You¡¯re talking to him!"


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a look of disbelief, shocked at our chance encounter. To be on the safe side, I verified his identity; the man was indeed the Captain Zhang we were looking for.


    "What can I do for the two of you?" Captain Zhang looked askance at us.


    I briefly informed him of the situation, exining there was a man out to kill him. Hence, we had to keep him under close watch.


    "That¡¯s not possible,¡± Captain Zhang shook his head. ¡°As you can see, I¡¯m on a mission right now so I can¡¯t leave. Who is it who wants to kill me?"


    "Do you still remember the name Long Bangguo?"


    "When was he released?" Captain Zhang furrowed his brows.


    "Possibly a week or so before,¡± answered Xiaotao. ¡°He¡¯s now taking revenge on the officers who sent him to prison back then. Officer Niu and Officer Ouyang were murdered by him, and now Officer Cui¡¯s family waspletely massacred..."


    Despite the shock from the bombshell we dropped on him, Captain Zhang was after all a tough guy who had weathered countless storms, neither depressed nor grief-stricken. "Deathes to all, especially for those who work in high-risk upations like us. Perhaps one day, on my way home, I¡¯ll be stabbed by a criminal but that¡¯s the life I chose. Let hime to me! You¡¯ve seen my team and what they¡¯re capable of. I don¡¯t believe he dares to go up against me!"


    "Long Bangguo doesn¡¯t need to lift a finger to kill you!"


    "Consultant Song, are you joking? The man has been in prison for twenty years,¡±ughed Captain Zhang. Even if he has the ability, he doesn¡¯t have the courage to... "


    His remarks came to an abrupt stop when I handed over my cell phone and showed him the photos of Officers Niu and Ouyang¡¯s dead bodies. Captain Zhang stared wide-eyed at the screen, "What the hell happened? Long Bangguo did this?!"


    "To be exact, they did it themselves!"


    I exined all the evidence pointed to a musical instrument that could kill the listener. Even the most strong-willed man would be driven tomit suicide, and the effect of the music potent enough to implicate those around him.


    However, Captain Zhang merely took my words with a grain of salt. "Don¡¯t you remember Professor Li who had the ability to hypnotize? In the beginning, many officers didn¡¯t believe she could do anything using hypnosis, but the consequences told us otherwise. More deaths are just around the corner so we can¡¯t risk any more lives just to prove a point!"


    Captain Zhang burst outughing, "Do you doubt that I can¡¯t resist this so-called murderous music? I received professional special forces torture training. Even if someone tried to hypnotize me, they wouldn¡¯t seed. Li Wenjia¡¯s hostage-taking situation was handled by my team. I¡¯m not trying to show off, but the officers involved in that case were too weak in terms of willpower. If I had been given the case from the start, the suspect wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to hypnotize me because I would¡¯ve killed her with one bullet. So, please go back, both of you. Your worries are superfluous."


    His words struck a raw nerve in Xiaotao, especially since Li Wenjia¡¯s case was still a sore spot. Hearing Captain Zhang¡¯s downy of the dangers, displeasure was written all over her face. "Do you mean to say that your brain is so well trained you won¡¯t be affected?" she quipped.


    "Yes...¡± replied Captain Zhang. ¡°Hold on, are you being sarcastic?"


    "So you¡¯re trying to say that my teacher, Ma Guozhong, and those officers all died in vain because they weren¡¯t as tough as you?¡± sneered Xiaotao. ¡°Song Yang, let¡¯s leave the man to his own devices. Why should we bother about him if he doesn¡¯t care? We¡¯ll just wait to collect his body in a few days."


    Captain Zhang awkwardly scratched his head, well aware he had offended Xiaotao. Watching the tall, burly man trying to wade through the ufortable situation was rather hrious. "Xiaotao, don¡¯t be upset,¡± Iforted. ¡°After all, it¡¯s a matter of life and death!"


    Xiaotao folded her arms and stopped talking. I turned to Captain Zhang, "The murderous music cannot be resisted by willpower alone so don¡¯t be overconfident. Even if you can resist, can you ensure that no one else will be around you at the time? What about these buddies of yours? Do you want them to die because of you?"


    "I¡¯m his target!" insisted Captain Zhang.


    "How naive!¡± I scoffed. ¡°Do you know how many innocent people he killed in retaliation against Officer Cui¡¯s family? An entire restaurant of people were murdered¨Call 27 of them! He¡¯s gone mad and he doesn¡¯t care how many innocent people are involved. If you¡¯re in the car when hees for you, he¡¯ll dly murder everyone on board. If you¡¯re with your team, he¡¯s not going to care if they¡¯ve got nothing to do with your feud. If you¡¯re with your family... "


    At this point, I deliberately trailed off. Captain Zhang clenched his fist, smoldering under that stony expression. Finally, he wavered, "I have to report this matter to my superiors. After all, if I interrupt the mission, I will be punished."


    "Your superior has approved of your leave,¡± I affirmed. ¡°He said your life is more important than the mission. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can call and ask him." Of course, that extra bit in the middle was my own embellishment.


    "All right, follow me back to the SWAT department,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll change and grab some daily necessities."


    A whileter, Captain Zhang drove us to the SWAT unit. This was my first time visiting the ce. In order to enter thepound, we were subjected to three checkpoints. Along the way, I noticed several scouts standing guard on high ground, holding QBU-88 sniper rifles.


    As we drove into thepound, we passed several riot control vehicles, ZFB-05 armored personnel carriers and military armored cars parked by the road. To my amazement, these vehicles were armed with machine guns on their roofs. In the distance, there are severalrge heaps covered with cloth, possibly military helicopters.


    Captain Zhang exined that the guns and ammunition here were enough to arm the entirepany. The existence of the SWAT team was not only a deterrent to criminals, but also a strong support for the city! If foreign enemies were to invade the city one day, they were no longer SWAT officers but soldiers who would charge to the frontlines to protect themon people.


    When we arrived at his dormitory, the other officers had already turned in for the night.


    "Captain Zhang, why do you still live in the dormitory?" I asked.


    "I¡¯m all alone so I might as well live here," heughed.


    Only after speaking to him did I know that his wife left him a few years ago, taking the children with her. I grew more cognizant of the fact that being an officer of thew was challenging, and many policemen ended up with broken families.


    My gaze flitted over to Xiaotao as a thought crossed my mind. If I were to face such emotional conflicts in the future, would I choose to leave her?


    And my answer to that question was¨Cnever!


    Solving crimes was our form of a date, and our sort of rtionship would never wane with time.

 Chapter 298

    <h4>Chapter 298</h4>


    Xiaotao and I waited outside for Captain Zhang to pack up. "Don¡¯t think that we get along just because SWAT officers and criminal investigation policemen are both members of the public security system,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°There are actually a lot of contradictions between the two departments, and we both look down on each other. We at the criminal investigation department think that they¡¯re all armed men who only know how to use brute force while they think we¡¯re all talk!"


    "This sort of conflict exists everywhere,¡± I remarked. ¡°At university, my department and the mechanical engineering department can¡¯t stand each other as well."


    ¡°Now that the three targets have been found, I¡¯ll get the SWAT team to send snipers to strategic locations around the city bureau to protect them. As soon as we hear any suspicious sounds, the snipers will take out the yer.¡±


    "What if a street performeres?¡± Iughed. ¡°Now that would be a real disaster..."


    At this moment, I suddenly heard a melodious tune, sorrowful and aggrieved, filled with anguish. Although I didn¡¯t know much about musical instruments, I could tell which traditional Chinese musical instrument it was¨Cthe xun!


    Xiaotao and I felt our blood run cold. "Plug your ears!" I cried.


    However, blocking our ears was of little use; the music was almost intrusive. At this point, Xiaotao took out her gun, pulled me close and fired three shots into the sky right beside our ears. The thunderous gunfire shocked my ears into ringing, and for an instant, I couldn¡¯t hear any sounds.


    We immediately turned around, bumping into Captain Zhang along the way back to the dormitory. Without warning, Xiaotao whipped a leg at his head, intending to knock the man out but Captain Zhang¡¯s defensive abilities proved too strong. He stood there, solid as a rock as he stared at Xiaotao with a look of bewilderment.


    The ringing in my ears gradually subsided around the time the music ended. "Was Long Bangguo ying that stupid tune that sounded like a crying ghost?¡± asked Captain Zhang. ¡°And here I thought it would be some terrifying demonic tune," he mocked.


    "Did you hear all of it?" Xiaotao asked in consternation.


    "I did! Aren¡¯t you guys making a big fuss out of nothing?¡± scoffed Captain Zhang. ¡°Look at me! Can¡¯t you see I¡¯m fine and dandy?!"


    Xiaotao grabbed her handcuffs and said, "I¡¯m sorry, we¡¯ll have to handcuff you to prevent you frommitting any self-harm."


    "Nice job! Handcuffing me instead of going after the suspect!¡± snickered Captain Zhang. ¡°s! The efficiency of you criminal police!"


    Despite the reluctance, he obediently reached out both hands and allowed Xiaotao to handcuff him. "If we¡¯re seen by my colleagues, you¡¯ll have to exin the situation,¡± cried Captain Zhang, somewhat distraught. ¡°Or they might think I¡¯vemitted a crime."


    ¡°Did everyone in the building hear it too?¡± I asked, ncing at the dormitory building in the back. "Should we also restrain them all?"


    "There¡¯s no need for that,¡± Captain Zhang shook his head. ¡°Our building has good sound instion."


    In spite of that, Xiaotao wasn¡¯t willing to take the risk. She called the city bureau and immediately dispatched officers to restrain anyone nearby who might have heard the music in order to prevent unnecessary deaths.


    We took Captain Zhang¡¯s car back to the bureau, with Xiaotao in the driver¡¯s seat while I sat beside her, keeping an eye on the man in the back. On the road, Captain Zhang chattered endlessly, insisting that we were making a mountain out of a molehill and aggrandizing how strong his willpower was.


    But at some point, I noticed an odd change in his eyes as he fell silent at once. "What¡¯s wrong with you?" I shook him hard.


    "I¡¯m a bit sleepy,¡± smiled Captain Zhang. ¡°Can I take a nap?"


    Before I could reply, Captain Zhang had fallen asleep slumped in his seat, breathing out soft, rhythmic snores much to my relief. When we arrived at the entrance of the public security bureau, Director-General Cheng was already waiting for us with a team of officers. "Lao Zhang, why are you handcuffed?" he asked.


    "You¡¯ll have to thank Officer Huang and Consultant Song for that. They¡¯re so afraid I¡¯llmit suicide, hence the handcuffs,¡± chuckled Captain Zhang. ¡°But you know me, why the hell would Imit suicide?"


    But his microexpressions told another story¨Cthe stiff smile that took less than the required twenty-six muscles on his face indicated he was pretending. Keeping my voice low, I turned to Xiaotao and proposed Captain Zhang be given a sedative with officers watching him round the clock.


    Captain Zhang held out his hand and said, "Xiao Cheng, I haven¡¯t seen you for a while! Look at you, Director-General of the city bureau. You¡¯re doing really well!"


    As soon as Director-General Cheng shook hands with him, Captain Zhang mmed his shoulder into the man and quickly pulled out the gun from his holster. Mindful of Xiaotao¡¯s deterrent, he knocked her over and tried to flee. "Don¡¯t be impulsive!" I shouted.


    Captain Zhang raised the gun, tears streaming down his face. "I¡¯m sorry I let you down. I¡¯m in so much pain, I don¡¯t want to live."


    "That¡¯s not what you really think!¡± I yelled. ¡°It¡¯s just the voice controlling you. Don¡¯t be swayed by it, put down the gun!"


    His face wet with tears, Captain Zhang shook his head desperately and slowly slid the muzzle inside his mouth.


    "Zhang, you despicable coward!¡± roared Xiaotao. ¡°Weren¡¯t you just bragging about your strong willpower? How can this little thing affect you?! You¡¯re a disgrace! When you¡¯re gone, I¡¯ll erect a monument in your name and inscribe the words, ¡®The Great Coward Zhang!¡¯"


    However, my soft-soaps and Xiaotao¡¯s goading did little to persuade the man. "I never realized how ugly and deplorable my heart was,¡± he cried. ¡°I hate myself. I don¡¯t deserve to be a policeman. Let me die!"


    "No!" bellowed Xiaotao.


    But it was toote; Captain Zhang already had the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. To our surprise, the expected gunshot didn¡¯t go off. Captain Zhang took the gun out of his mouth and checked the safety in consternation.


    "Lao Zhang, sorry to disappoint you,¡± said Director-General Cheng. ¡°I expected an ident so I removed the bullets in advance."


    Then, turning to the officers, he ordered, "Stop him!"


    ¡°Why won¡¯t you let me die!¡± Captain Zhang roared like a startled bear gone mad. Even his voice sounded off-pitch as if he were possessed.


    As soon as he threw the gun aside, he turned and ran towards the busy main road, fast as lightning, putting distance between us. Xiaotao and I as well as the other officers dashed towards him, trying to overtake the man. "Shoot him in the leg!" blurted Xiaotao.


    Meanwhile, she came to an abrupt stop, standing still with both hands on her gun and opened fire. Bang, bang, bang! Several shots were fired in Captain Zhang¡¯s direction, one of the bullets sessfully hitting him in the thigh. However, Captain Zhang persisted, staggering as he continued to run.


    The other officers fired several shots. Captain Zhang received four shots in the leg, but still he ran like a wild horse, driven by the drug-like impulse tomit suicide. His resolution was truly shocking.


    Before we could catch up to him, the man was already standing in front of a speeding truck, waiting for death. Seeing this, the driver quickly mmed the brakes and steered the vehicle sideways. Inertia sent the entire truck upside down, metal grating against gravel as it smashed Captain Zhang into a human patty.


    Traffic on the road was paralyzed for an instant, sending vehicle after vehicle colliding into each other, the sound of screeching brakes filled the street.


    Everyone just stood there motionless, and for a long time, no one spoke. Alerted by the loud crash, the officers in the station ran out, including Officers Xun and Luo, both of whom were under the bureau¡¯s protection. Meanwhile, Director-General Cheng stared into the distance, chewing his lips bloody.


    Right then, a melodious tune filled the air, drifting into our defenseless ears. "Quick! Shoot your guns beside your ears!¡± instructed Xiaotao. ¡°That way you won¡¯t be able to hear the music!"


    Xiaotao raised her gun to make the shot but I quickly interjected, "Wait a minute! That isn¡¯t the tune we heard earlier!"


    Upon careful listening, the man was actually ying the tune "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." ording to Zhang Jiulin, only a specific tune would be effective at influencing the listener. At the end of the tune, a gloomy voice began to speak, and much like wuxia novels, his voice was able to reach us from miles away though each word remained extremely clear¨C


    "Hello everyone! I am Long Bangguo and I¡¯ve crawled back from hell to get revenge!"

 Chapter 299

    <h4>Chapter 299</h4>


    Director-General Cheng shouted angrily into the night sky, "Long Bangguo, what on earth do you want? If you want revenge, then do it like a man. Don¡¯t hide in the shadows and y these sort of dirty tricks."


    "Are you trying to provoke me?¡± heughed mockingly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get your turn. In fact, I¡¯ve saved you forst!"


    Xiaotao and I did a double take and nced in Director-General Cheng¡¯s direction. It turned out that he too was on Long Bangguo¡¯s revenge list! Perhaps he had sensed it himself which exined the unloaded gun.


    The voice continued, "Officer Xun, Officer Luo and Prosecutor Cheng, I will never forget how you pushed me into a pit of despair and destroyed my life. In the past twenty years, I¡¯ve imagined this moment in my head over and over again. Ah... the taste of revenge is truly intoxicating. The pleasure of watching you suffer is better than anything else in this world. It makes me want to take my time. For now, I¡¯ve other things to deal with before killing the three of you. So don¡¯t worry, the fun¡¯s just beginning!"


    "Search the surrounding area for a man about fifty years old with a xun made out of a human skull!" ordered Xiaotao.


    The officers dispersed and went out looking for any suspicious characters. Xiaotao and I walked to another street which was sparsely poptedte at night. We bumped into a young man, shorter than me, with his face hidden under his cap.


    "Hello, have you seen a fifty-year-old man nearby?" I asked.


    "No," said the young man.


    His face was pale, almost bloodless, with huge dark circles under his eyes, lending a morbid disposition to his appearance. At the time, I didn¡¯t think much of the man. I assumed he was another night owl out to y online games at an inte cafe but I never imagined that we would actually meet again!


    When we regrouped, none of the officers reported having found anything. "Call the fire department and the traffic police toe deal with the scene,¡± instructed Director-General Cheng. ¡°The rest of you will help the injured."


    The gravity of the situation had finally dawned upon Officer Xun. "Xiao Cheng, it looks like the music can really kill. Even Lao Zhang with his strong character couldn¡¯t fight it. I think the three of us are disasters waiting to happen so it¡¯s not safe to stay put either. Why don¡¯t we throw caution to the wind and search for Long Bangguo? Perhaps we¡¯d be able to avoid more innocent deaths."


    "Lao Xun is right,¡± echoed Officer Luo. ¡°This old enmity shoulde to an end. The devil we created should be sent away by us!"


    "Excuse me sirs, I¡¯d like to have a word," I interrupted.


    Thus, the four of us gathered in the empty conference room. ¡°The deadly music can be resisted,¡± I began. ¡°Xiaotao and I both heard part of the tune earlier. She fired a gunshot so we couldn¡¯t hear the rest of it which is why we escaped its influence."


    "Consultant Song, are you suggesting that plugging our ears will block out the music?" asked Officer Luo.


    "That¡¯s not going to work,¡± refuted Officer Xun. ¡°It¡¯s impossible to wear headphones twenty-four hours a day. Maybe if we ruptured our eardrums..."


    I shook my head, indicating that even perforated eardrums were useless. The average person might assume the loss of eardrums constitutedplete deafness, but in fact, a little sound could still be heard through the ossicles.


    "Gentlemen, right now, we¡¯re just sitting ducks waiting to be hunted by a madman. We might as well take the initiative to attack!" I suggested.


    "I¡¯m all ears if you have any ideas!" said Director-General Cheng.


    ¡°Then, please kill yourselves!" I stated, enunciating each word.


    My words had them raising their eyebrows in disbelief but soon their doubts were cleared by my detailed description of the n¨Cwe would purposely create a w so Long Bangguo "seeds,¡± though in actual fact, their ears were blocked. Then, the three officers¡¯ fake suicide would hoodwink the man. After all, he had no way of personally confirming their deaths.


    Once they were "dead,¡± we couldunch a counteroffensive but the sess of the ny in its believability. In order to garner the right reaction from our colleagues, it had to be kept secret from everyone else.


    "As expected of a great detective who has solved numerous crimes!¡± praised Officer Xun. ¡°What a clever diversionary tactic! Alright then, we¡¯ll take yourmands from now on."


    Director-General Cheng raised a question, "Long Bangguo said he had other things to deal with. Is there anyone else on his revenge list?"


    "Could it be the gangsters from back then?" I deduced.


    "That¡¯s impossible,¡± refuted Officer Xun. ¡°The crackdown in ¡®97 was very thorough. Almost all the gang members were killed. Only a few of the small fry at the bottom were sentenced to twenty years... Wait, twenty years! They just got out of jail!"


    "You¡¯re right,¡± nodded Director-General Cheng. ¡°Long Bangguo¡¯s target is these men."


    "Not necessarily,¡± I argued, shaking my head. ¡°I¡¯m inclined to think it¡¯s their families."


    "That makes sense as well,¡± responded Director-General Cheng. ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s alreadyte. Let¡¯s all have a good rest and talk about it tomorrow!"


    With that, Officer Xun and Officer Luo left the room but Director-General Cheng seemed to have something else to say to me. I happened to have something on my mind as well. When we finally had some privacy, I asked, "Why did you think you were on his revenge list? Is that why you removed the bullets in your gun?"


    A sad smile rose to his lips. "Your observation is very sharp indeed,¡± remarked the man. ¡°Yes, I was the prosecutor back then. If Long Bangguo is retaliating against me, then the entire judicial department isn¡¯t safe either. In fact, he and I share another connection. We once pursued the same girl!"


    "Is it the one who was killed?" I asked in consternation.


    Director-General Cheng nodded wordlessly, taking a moment before he added, "Her death was also a heavy blow to me! After Long Bangguo was imprisoned, I went to visit him. He called me a coward and said that of all the people, I was the one who should¡¯ve helped him the most. Yet I did the opposite; I fought ruthlessly against every statement made by his defensewyer in court. But at the time, when I looked at the angry Long Bangguo sitting at the defendant¡¯s table across the room, my heart was bleeding. After the case, I resigned from my job, disheartened by what I had done."


    As he narrated the past, a veil of mncholy descended upon Director-General Cheng. "You were a prosecutor,¡± I said. ¡°Defending thew was your duty. You shouldn¡¯t me yourself for that."


    "If everyone behaved reasonably, there would be no crime in this world,¡± his lips curled into a bitter smile. ¡°Song Yang, in all my years as a police officer, I¡¯ve learned to understand one thing¨Cthew depicts an ideal world in perfect order but reality will always fall short. In truth, the world we live in has its own rules that sometimes even conflicts with thew. If you are ever faced with a choice between thew and your principles, the best you can hope for is a clear conscience. Any choice you make will inevitably leave you with regrets. That¡¯s just life."


    Perhaps the loss of his old friends had prompted these heartfelt words from Director-General Cheng. I assured him, "I¡¯ll keep that in mind."


    After exiting the conference room, I met Bingxin and Dali on their way out of theb. Bingxin had conducted a CT scan on the bodies and found that two areas of the brains of both victims were in an extremely excited state. One was the auditory pathway and the other was the pain center that controlled negative emotions such as sadness, depression and mncholy. Her findings confirmed my guess that the murder weapon induced great mental pain that could only be relieved by suicide.


    Both Bingxin and Dali were still in the dark about the events that followed Officer Ouyang¡¯s death, including themotion outside earlier.


    "Bingxin, you don¡¯t have to participate in the case,¡± I said. ¡°Go home. You can take two days off work!"


    Bingxin pursed her lips in displeasure, "Song Yang-gege, you always tell me to hide whenever there¡¯s danger. But do you know how much I worry about you each time?"


    I didn¡¯t know how to appease her so I patted her on the head and said, "Listen to me, won¡¯t you?"


    Bingxin shyly lowered her head and muttered, "Alright. Make sure you and Xiaotao-jiejie watch out for yourselves. When this case is over, will youe visit me at my ce?"


    "Of course!" I promised.

 Chapter 300

    <h4>Chapter 300</h4>


    It was already two in the morning and I had an early day tomorrow. I suggested we spend the night at a nearby hotel to facilitate the investigation.


    Having missed most of the events tonight, Dali and Bingxin were almost too excited to go to sleep. At the hotel, they made me stay up with them for a chat. After all that had happened today, I wasn¡¯t in much of a mood for idle talk and replied perfunctorily when spoken to.


    ¡°Dude, would you like to take a ¡®couple¡¯s¡¯ bath together?¡± Dali teased when the tub in the bathroom was filled with warm water. ¡°Or should I say a gay couple¡¯s bath..."


    "You¡¯re disgusting,¡± I rebuked. ¡°You should quicklye out of the closet so you can get together with Lao Yao!"


    I was lying on the bed when I noticed Dali¡¯s cell phone casually ced on the sheets. I unlocked it and found the novel he was currently reading¨C"The Underworld Merchant" which he mentionedst time. There were two names repeated throughout the text¨CZhang Jiulin and Pockmark Li.


    I was astonished! Was this novel really a narration of Zhang Jiulin¡¯s life experience?


    But on second thought, there were people who wrote novels about their experiences all over the world. Of course, I regarded such narcissists with contempt.


    In truth, I did a lot of reading but the only genre I couldn¡¯t stand was fiction. Finishing a forensic science book as thick as a dictionary would take me a few nights at most, but a novel took me forever. I hadn¡¯t even read any of the ssic Chinese novels!


    The knowledge and information I could gain from a novel were too fragmented. Besides, many of them were either partially made up or fabricated without a sliver of truth. I honestly couldn¡¯t fathom why anyone liked to read them.


    A whileter, Dali came out of the bathroom and noticed my interest in his novel. "Oh my God! Has the sun risen from the west?!¡± he shouted. ¡°You¡¯re actually reading this novel? Would you like to know how to download the Mars Novels app?"


    I threw his cell phone at him and disdained, "I¡¯m just flipped through. I wouldn¡¯t want to spend any time reading this nonsense!"


    "I¡¯m sincerely rmending it to you,¡± said Dali. ¡°This novel is really interesting, especially the most recent chapters!"


    "Really?¡± I scoffed. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me all about it then."


    Dali opened the e-book, "Spoilers ruin the story! Read it yourself!"


    "I don¡¯t have the time,¡± I argued. ¡°So please just tell me!"


    Thus, Dali exined the plot and the characters of the novel which was an opportunity to garner more information about the enemy, though I had no way of ascertaining if the contents were anywhere close to the truth.


    Through my contact with Zhang Jiulin, it was obvious that his Ghost-ying Daggers and invisible needles were real. I suspected the spirit pet that could conjure up illusions might have been the one I caught sitting on his shoulder. Upon learning of the existence of such miraculous objects, I was well and truly flummoxed. Forck of a better description, my perception of the world had been turned upside down.


    Thirsty from all the talk, Dali grabbed two bottles of Coke, one for me and the other for himself. "Dude, what¡¯s up with you today?¡± asked Dali. ¡°Why did you suddenly bring this up?"


    I thought it rather unfair to hide the matter from him so I solemnly said, "Put down your drink first. I have something to tell you."


    "What is it?¡± Dali stared in curiosity. ¡°Are you Li Ka-shing¡¯s illegitimate child?"


    ¡°Fuck off!" I retorted. "So here¡¯s the thing, I actually met two people today¨Cone of them is Pockmark Li and the other calls himself Zhang Jiulin."


    Dali wordlessly blinked his shock-filled eyes at me. "Do you mean cosyers?"


    "They¡¯re Yin object dealers from Wuhan."


    "Oh my God!!!¡± he eximed.


    Dali¡¯s ear-piercing screams were almost loud enough to topple the ceiling. He jumped up and down like a monkey, excitedly pulling my arm. "Is it true? Is it really true?"


    I quickly broke free. "Geez, put on your clothes first!"


    Throughout the rest of the night, I was bombarded by Dali¡¯s endless questions. He begged me for Pockmark Li¡¯s number, and as soon as I relented, he assaulted my ears with his enthusiastic ns to visit his idol tomorrow.


    Just as well, his n would kill two birds with one stone. I wanted Dali as far away from the case as possible for fear his life would be at risk, while he could realize his dream of meeting his idol.


    The next morning, Dali and I left the hotel early, heading our separate ways. I went straight to the city bureau and found the conference room already filled with officers, including Xiaotao. Officer Luo was busy exining something to everyone. "Are you all attending ss?"


    Xiaotaoughed, "You¡¯rete!"


    Officer Luo was getting everyone acquainted with the hand signals used by the SWAT team. Director-General Cheng had already given each officer a pair of headphones which they were to put on as soon as there were any suspicious sounds. When the time came, the n was to turn up the volume to the max and use hand signals tomunicate.


    After the demonstration, we were dismissed. There was still no news from Wang Yuanchao who had gone to Mt. Leopard Prison early this morning to investigate.


    I asked Xiaotao to call the Wuhan Public Security Bureau for information on the two Yin object dealers. Upon hearing my suggestion, Xiaotao chuckled, "Are you still thinking about those two chatans?"


    "Know thy enemy and know thy self; a thousand battles, a thousand victories!¡± I exined. ¡°Even if we don¡¯t cooperate with them, knowing more about them won¡¯t do us any harm."


    Soon, the Wuhan Public Security Bureau faxed over information about the two men. A piece of paper was hardly enough to reflect their legendary deeds, but still I noticed certain details which could be used against them!


    Right then, an officer charged into the room, crying in panic, "Chief Huang, there¡¯s been more suicides!"


    "Who are the victims?" asked Xiaotao.


    "Three families on Kangcheng Roadmitted suicide this morning,¡± replied the officer. ¡°We¡¯ve just received a report."


    As we had predicted, Long Bangguo seeked revenge on the gangsters¡¯ families. We immediately headed to a small residential area on Kangcheng Road. Many nosy onlookers, as well as grieving family members, had gathered downstairs of the apartment building. The officers in charge of this jurisdiction were trying their best to maintain order.


    We pushed through the crowd and took the elevator to the seventh floor, where three wide-open doors greeted us. The men, women and children in these apartments hadmitted suicide in different ways by swallowing nails, stabbing their eyes with knives, hanging themselves and slitting their throats.


    ording to the household registration data provided by the police, the head of one of the families was a former triad leader who had already been executed. His remaining family members seldom came into contact with their neighbors.


    Obviously, Long Bangguo had only intended to murder his family, while the other two were coteral damage. After all, it was almost impossible to orient something like music.


    The crime scene was unusual with the murderer standing in the corridor while he killed the upants of the apartment. However, the officers who first arrived at the scene were unaware of the fact and had left footprints all over the corridor, making it impossible to discern the murderer¡¯s.


    "Shouldn¡¯t there be some sort of monitoring inside the elevator and at the gates of the residence?¡± I asked. ¡°Let¡¯s visit the security room to have a look."


    We headed to the security room at the gates of the residence and asked to see the surveince video fromst night. The security guard on duty hit the power key on theputer but obtained no response. After checking the power supply and wiring, he muttered, "That¡¯s strange. Is theputer broken?"


    I tried to lift the mainframe and found it was as light as a feather¨Cthe screws on theputer were loose. Opening the chassis revealed a picture that dampened our spirits. The motherboard and hard disk had all been removed.


    ¡°How could this be?¡± blurted the security guard as he looked at us in shock. ¡°There was definitely someone on dutyst night!"


    I nced at the clock on the wall and asked, "When did you and the other guy change shifts?"


    "Five o¡¯clock this morning," answered the security guard.


    "Did you see him with your own eyes?" I continued.


    ¡°Of course!¡± the man scratched his cheek. "We even talked about football for a bit."


    "You¡¯re lying,¡± I sneered. ¡°Your socks don¡¯t match which indicates you were in a hurry to get ready this morning. You werete so you couldn¡¯t have seen thest guy!" After a pause, I added, "And your colleague might havemitted suicide!"

 Chapter 301

    <h4>Chapter 301</h4>


    The security guard listened to my deductions and admitted he was indeedte this morning, with panic written all over his face. He didn¡¯t think too much about his colleague, Mr. Wang¡¯s absence since he assumed he had already left.


    I scanned the room with Cave Vision and noticed a few clues. Outside the security room, I found a glove in the grass beside the road, and the matching one slightly further away.


    We followed this lead until we reached a construction site.


    At the sight of arge group of policemen, the man in charge came forth and asked what had happened. "A man wearing a security uniform might have entered the sitest night,¡± I exined. ¡°Was there anyone on duty here?"


    The foreman was just about to call someone when anxious shouts suddenly interrupted him. "There¡¯s a man in the mixer!" eximed one of the workers.


    We walked over, only to be greeted by the sight of a man submerged in the cement slurry, the security uniform still faintly visible under the grey mess. Unaware of the body, the workers had poured stones and cement into the mixer, allowing the machine to run for a while before it was jammed. Only upon inspection did they discover the body.


    It took substantial effort to remove the body from the mixer. Even with careful handling, the body was already torn to pieces beyond recognition, frightening many workers. "Don¡¯t be afraid,¡± I assured them. ¡°I know it¡¯s got nothing to do with you!"


    The current circumstances made it impossible for us to transport the corpses back to the station for examination, though it wasn¡¯t necessary at all with my skills. I connected a water pipe and flushed the cement off the body before beginning the autopsy. Judging from the fatal wound, the security guard hadmitted suicide by slitting his throat with a sharp stone.


    The opacity of the pupils suggested that the time of death was less than six hours ago. I stared at the corpse in a daze as a vague suspicion arose in my mind.


    "Song Yang, is there something wrong with the corpse?" asked Xiaotao.


    "His body itself is suspicious,¡± I surmised. ¡°There was no need for Long Bangguo to kill him."


    "Contrary to that, I believe it¡¯s necessary!¡± argued Xiaotao. ¡°He had to kill the security guard to enter the building."


    I had previously observed the residential area and noticed that the surrounding walls weren¡¯t high. Additionally, the bottom of the wall was decorated with flower beds so all Long Bangguo had to do was exert a little strength to flip himself over to the other side. Long Bangguo¡¯s real motive behind murdering the security guard was to enter the security room and destroy the surveince records.


    After all, he had been a policeman himself so he knew merely deleting the files was useless. Hence, the thorough removal of all the hard disks.


    But why?


    He disclosed his identity to usst night and we already knew it was him before that. Was he thinking of hiding his face? Could some important information be revealed by his appearance?


    "Could it be that he got stic surgery?" spected Xiaotao.


    "When was he released?" I asked.


    "ording to his sentence, aroundst week,¡± she replied.


    "That¡¯s out of the question then. The recovery process after cosmetic surgery takes some time,¡± I remarked. ¡°Besides, he¡¯s a newly released ex-convict. Does he even have the money to get cosmetic surgery? The other thing is, he¡¯s been in prison for thest twenty years, during which Nanjiang City underwent tremendous change. Yet his actions show familiarity with the city. I can¡¯t help but think there¡¯s something strange about that!"


    I don¡¯t know what it was yet, but my intuition told me whatever it was would be an important breakthrough in the case.


    The body was handed over to the police for disposal. Since there wasn¡¯t any need for further examination, it was sent directly to the funeral home for cremation. I proposed we return to the residential area where I continued wandering about, though I found no useful clues.


    Some timeter, a police car came along with Director-General Zheng, Officer Xun and Officer Luo. Upon greeting them, Xiaotao said, "Director-General Cheng, the three of you are murder targets. Why are you still swaggering out to handle the case?"


    "We came out as bait," Director-General Cheng t out replied.


    "Bait?" Xiaotao arched an eyebrow.


    I exined my n to Xiaotao. In fact, I had taken the time to call Director-General Cheng and the others over. Long Bangguo¡¯s overwhelming desire for revenge meant that he would continue to kill all the family members of the triad involved back then. The police were inevitably one step behind the murderer. He was likely to draw the force away from the base and sneak an attack at the city bureau.


    Rather than this, the three officers coulde with us and lure Long Bangguo out of the shadows to carry out his revenge and allow him to "seed."


    ¡°It¡¯s too risky,¡± Xiaotao shook her head.


    "The enemy remains hidden while we¡¯re out in the open,¡± I sighed. ¡°It¡¯s a risk we have to take."


    Director-General Cheng took out the gun from his holster. It looked exactly like the real one, down to thest detail, even the serial number. "This is a prop gun that the technical department designed. When the bullet hits the body, there will be blood. We¡¯ll act out our suicides for Long Bangguo to see."


    "There¡¯s something I¡¯d like to ask,¡± I started. ¡°When was thest time you saw Long Bangguo?"


    The three men exchanged meaningful nces. "Twenty years ago!" announced Director-General Cheng.


    "You mean, you haven¡¯t visited him in 20 years?" I asked in surprise.


    Director-General Cheng rolled up his sleeves and showed me an old scar on his arm. "Thest time I visited him, he tried to kill me with a sharpened toothbrush,¡± he said. ¡°After that, he was denied visitation rights."


    "Do you know how horrible it is when an officer is sent to prison?¡± asked Officer Xun. ¡°The other prisoners will torture him using all methods possible. I heard that it only took him one month inside to copse physically and mentally. It¡¯s only natural he transferred all the hatred onto us..."


    I couldn¡¯t help but wonder. Is this avenger really Long Bangguo?


    Right then, Director-General Cheng¡¯s phone rang. Upon answering the call, he turned to us and said, "I¡¯ve got bad news. There¡¯s been more victims."


    This time the incident happened in a warehouse in the suburbs. Someone heard gunshots at about 5 am and called the police, after which the officers from the nearby precinct rushed over to the scene where they found the bodies of the local triad members in the area. But their deaths were rather bizarre¨Cthe guns that killed them were all their own! Drugs and cash were found at the scene which suggested that the gang was dealing drugstest night when they suddenly swallowed their gun muzzles andmitted suicide as if possessed.


    When we arrived at the scene, the ce had already been cordoned off. More than a dozen people were dead, but this time the crime scene was even bloodier than thest. The ground was littered with the bodies of gang members with their guns still in their mouths. The impact of the bullets blew through the back of their skulls, sttering blood and brain matter all over the floor.


    Director-General Cheng asked the officers from the precinct to return to the station while we dealt with the case.


    I noticed there were several gangsters in their forties and fifties, possibly underlings from the gang back in those days who were now all big shots. Fortunately, innocent people weren¡¯t involved this time.


    I noticed some broken ss fragments that had fallen from the skylight at the bottom of the wall. More than one of the skylights were broken.


    "Can the sound of gunshots break ss?" I asked.


    She looked around and contemted for a moment, "The warehouse is rather empty. Soundwaves bounce back and forth, so it¡¯s possible."


    In an obscure corner, I picked up a bloody handkerchief and sniffed, "The blood was left by the murderer."


    "What makes you say so?" asked Xiaotao.


    "The blood is thick and viscous. This contains gastric acid and saliva,¡± I remarked. ¡°The murderer coughed out blood!"


    But the question was¨Cwhy? Was he ill? Following this line of thought, an idea suddenly struck me. Perhaps the murderer wasn¡¯t affected by the music because he was deaf!


    I was just about to speak up when a intive and mncholic tune reverberated through the warehouse, assaulting our ears like sharp thorns. It turned out the murderer had deliberately led us here to kill us all!

 Chapter 302

    <h4>Chapter 302</h4>


    Xiaotao shouted at the top of her lungs, "Put on your headphones now!"


    We ced the headphones over our ears, having already prepared them. Turning up the volume to the max, the deafening tune of "Little Apple" yed in our ears, but it wasn¡¯t enough to block out all soundspletely. To our despair, the music from the xun prated the headphones and entered our eardrums, the irresistible tune seeming to resound throughout the warehouse due to the reflecting sound waves.


    The effect of the Heartbroken Xun seemed stronger thanst night. Not only could the sounds be heard but also seen, but the air around us fluctuated like ripples. Under this influence, the room around us appeared distorted.


    I felt as if all the blood in my body was boiling, my heart racing like a freight train. The blood vessels in my temples throbbed as intense grief gripped my heart, making it feel like it would soon tear apart.


    When I turned to look at Xiaotao, I found her kneeling on the ground, tears streaming down her face, her entire being wracked with pain. The others showed the same anguished expressions, and several officers even took out their guns.


    At this moment, we were all engaged in a gruesome battle against these invading emotions, too busy to save others. Bang! The first thunderous shot filled the air. A young officer held the muzzle of his gun in his mouth andmitted suicide. The warm, metallic scent of blood drifted into my nose, sweet and attractive like a bewitching invitation. My heart was aroused by an irresistible impulse to die, and in the face of this overbearing impulse, all reason became utterly vulnerable.


    I watched helplessly as Xiaotao raised the gun to her lips in a trance. At this point, my feelings for her overwhelmed my instinct to kill myself. I threw the gun aside and held her hands down, desperately shaking my head at her.


    My remaining rational thought told me that staying in the warehouse any longer would only result in all our deaths. I flung off my headphones and shouted, "Get out of here! Go now!"


    Right then, a loud voice drowned out mine. "Evil demon! How dare you stir up havoc! Everyone, take off your headphones and chant after me!"


    Zhang Jiulin entered the warehouse like some sort of powerful immortal. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was an illusion, but his entire body seemed to be enveloped in an invisible aura that could resist the demonic music. In the warehouse where the deadly tune had invaded every nook and cranny, only he appeared unaffected!


    Many officers reflexively aimed their guns at him, to his utter disregard. ¡°Repeat after me if you don¡¯t want to die!" he shouted.


    "Why should we trust you?" yelled Director-General Cheng.


    "I¡¯m risking my life to save you,¡± he yelled back. ¡°You can believe me or not!"


    Then, he sat cross-legged and began to recite, "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of ten thousand things. Ever desireless, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations. These two spring from the same source but differ in name; this appears as darkness. Darkness within darkness. The gate to all mystery.¡±


    His voice was deep and mysterious, reaching the depths of my heart like a warm current that eased the grief and despair. I quickly repeated after him.


    The officers began to chant along. The mantra fell from our lips, converging and buzzing throughout the warehouse, struggling to resist the ubiquitous demonic music. I felt as if my insides were trembling as a warm breath circted in my body¨Ca feeling of iparable lightheartedness.


    We tried our best to focus on reciting the mantra. Many officers sat cross-legged like Zhang Jiulin. When thest note of the deadly tune rang, everyone slumped in relief.


    Only then did I find my face wet with tears, hands trembling like a leaf. Zhang Jiulin walked up to me and asked softly, "Are you alright?"


    "How does it work?" I asked.


    Heughed, "You¡¯re obsessed with knowing the scientific principle behind everything. But I¡¯ve already told you that the Heartbroken Xun is a Yin object. The Tao Te Ching can stabilize your mind, but it¡¯s only temporary."


    "Temporary?" I frowned.


    "Didn¡¯t you notice that the power of the Heartbroken Xun is getting stronger?¡± he asked. ¡°The more people it kills, the more powerful it bes. If I didn¡¯t step in, you¡¯d all be dead."


    He nced at the headphones on the ground and chuckled, "I can¡¯t believe you came up with such a n to block your ears and steal your xun..."


    "Why have youe to save us?" interrupted Director General Cheng.


    "Judging from the current situation, we¡¯re on the same side,¡± answered Zhang Jiulin. ¡°If we fight alone, we¡¯ll all die!"


    Director-General Cheng cast a skeptical look in his direction. As I lifted Xiaotao from the ground, I felt her wrap her arms tightly around me. "Song Yang, that was terrifying!" she cried.


    "It¡¯s okay. You¡¯re okay,¡± Iforted. ¡°If you die, I¡¯ll go with you."


    A thought suddenly crossed my mind. "Please teach us the Tao Te Ching right now,¡± I said, turning to Zhang Jiulin. ¡°The murderer must still be in the vicinity. Let¡¯s go after him!"


    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to resist a second wave,¡± Zhang Jiulin sighed as he shook his head. "Calm yourself before we proceed."


    "If we let him escape, more people will be killed!" I argued.


    Zhang Jiulin issued a sarcastic sneer, "Don¡¯t worry, he doesn¡¯t have much time."


    "What do you mean by that?" I asked.


    "There¡¯s no such thing as free lunch in this world,¡± he replied. ¡°Such a powerful killing method will result in a huge bacsh on him as well."


    From his statement, I concluded that the murderer had indeed coughed out blood into his handkerchief. ncing at Director-General Cheng and Officers Xun and Luo, I wondered out loud, "Is that why he¡¯s speeding up the process? He wants to kill us all in one go?"


    "Xiao Song Yang, can we step out for a chat?" Zhang Jiulin said as he patted his clothes.


    I nodded and followed him outside. "I¡¯ll cut to the chase!¡± he dered. ¡°This time, I¡¯ll cooperate with you but I¡¯ll have to take the object with me when the job is done."


    "It¡¯s not up to me to decide,¡± I admitted. ¡°I¡¯m only a consultant without any authority."


    "It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± he waved his finger. ¡°Don¡¯t tell them that I took it! That¡¯s all you have to do."


    I furrowed my brows and contemted my decision. With no other alternatives, the man¡¯s help was indispensable, and between the devil and the deep blue sea, I would rather lie to him. Anyway, he couldn¡¯t tell if I was telling the truth or not.


    "Alright,¡± I said.


    Zhang Jiulin held out a hand, "d to work with you!"


    "d to work with you!" I echoed, shaking his hand.


    Having narrowly escaped the jaws of death, it took quite some time before everyone regainedposure, after which the officers began to clean up the scene. Xiaotao and I searched the surrounding area for traces of the murderer with Zhang Jiulin tagging along. I inspected the grass outside the warehouse using Cave Vision, pointing to a location when I found something. "That area has been stepped on!"


    A look of amazement flickered in my direction as Zhang Jiulin seemed to size me up with piqued interest.


    The location I pointed to was more than fifty meters away from the warehouse. I was stumped to discover how far the music from the xun could spread. If the murderer intended it, he could kill an entire football field full of people.


    I followed the footsteps for about twenty meters before discovering arger area of indentation where a small pool of blood stained the ground red, seeping into the soil. I tried to deduce the murderer¡¯s movements. From the indentations in the ground, the murderer knelt down and vomited a huge mouthful of blood, suggesting that his physical condition wasn¡¯t optimistic.


    I took some blood samples and sent them back for testing. As we walked on, I realized that the murderer¡¯s stride had grown longer. But when I reached the road, I found no sign of a parked vehicle, which led me to the shocking conclusion that the murderer ran away on his two feet.


    After witnessing my investigation process, Zhang Jiulinughed, "It¡¯s all quite interesting!"


    "By the way, how did you find me?¡± I asked. ¡°Did Wang Dali tell you?"


    Zhang Jiulin frowned, "Who¡¯s Wang Dali?"


    As it turned out, early this morning, Dali phoned Pockmark Li and greeted him with a bunch of adtory remarks, gushing endlessly about how much he admired the man. Awoken from a deep sleep, a groggy Pockmark Li assumed it was a spam phone call and immediately hung up. Zhang Jiulin was able to locate me because he had ced a talisman on me.


    Bereft of speech, I attempted to recallst night¡¯s meeting. I was certain he didn¡¯ty a finger on me. When did he leave the talisman on me? Zhang Jiulin told me to take off my coat and have a look.


    Upon removing my coat, I found a talisman painted with vermilion which only served to convince me of the man¡¯s profound methods.


    A series of thunderous gunshots sounded from the warehouse, followed by a burst of screams. My heart sank¨Cmore people hadmitted suicide!

 Chapter 303

    <h4>Chapter 303</h4>


    We ran back to the warehouse to find that Officers Xun and Luo hadmitted suicide, their bodies sprawled on the ground. Deputy Director Zheng struggled desperately as he shouted, "Don¡¯t stop me! Let me kill myself!"


    As it turned out, they feigned their deaths in ordance with our n, smoothly executing it, even making sure not to all die at the same time lest it raise any suspicions. The oblivious officers were scared out of their wits so I said I would take a look.


    I pretended to conduct an external autopsy and caught Officer Xun¡¯s yful wink while I was examining the bodies. ¡°Did I give a convincing performance?" he asked.


    "Shut up, you¡¯re a dead man!" I warned.


    After the ¡°autopsy,¡± I stood up and shook my head, pretending to be devastated. "Watch Director-General Cheng,¡± I instructed. ¡°Don¡¯t let him do anything impulsive."


    I personally guarded the body till the police vehicle arrived for fear that others would notice a w. When cing their bodies into the body bags, I deliberately left a hole for airflow.


    "I don¡¯t understand,¡± said Zhang Jiulin. ¡°Why were they the only ones who were affected?"


    "I suggested they y dead,¡± I exined, keeping my voice low. ¡°If they don¡¯t die, the murderer won¡¯t stop. Make sure you keep this to yourself!"


    Zhang Jiulin looked at me in surprise, "You have quite a few tricks, don¡¯t you?"


    We took the police car back to the station. On our way there, I phoned Dali and asked him to buy and bring over a few hoodies in size L.


    "Dude, Pockmark Li hung up on me,¡± heined. ¡°Is he really Pockmark Li?"


    "Who cares about Pockmark Li?¡± I scoffed. ¡°I have Zhang Jiulin with me. Wait at the entrance of the city bureau to meet your idol!"


    Zhang Jiulin cast a suspicious look at me. "Jiu-ge, I have a small request,¡± I said. ¡°A friend of mine admires you very much. Please take a picture with himter, won¡¯t you?"


    "Sure,¡± he nodded. ¡°But I also have a small request as well. My little spirit pet says that your blood smells delicious. Last night, it made a huge fuss and insisted on drinking some. Could you give me a little of your blood?"


    ¡°Spirit pet? Where is it?¡± I looked around despite knowing perfectly well where it was.


    I ced my hands on his chest as he asked, and a slight bulge appeared under his clothes. Suddenly, I felt sharp teeth bite my finger, the stinging sensation so painful I issued a muffled groan.


    In the front seat, Xiaotao turned around and caught a glimpse of my ambiguous actions. "Sigh, just a while ago you two were arguing. But now you¡¯re all lovey-dovey!" she teased.


    I sat there limply, forced to ¡°donate¡± 15 of my blood. When I withdrew my hand, I noticed a pair of crescent-shaped small eyes peeking from under his arms. "Thank you for the blood,¡± came a little girl¡¯s voice. ¡°It¡¯s so delicious I wish I could drink it every day!"


    Zhang Jiulin patted his clothes and yfully chided, "You insatiable little fox!"


    Although I knew the gist of its abilities, seeing the spirit pet with my own eyes was another matter. I wished I could raise a spirit pet as well, but the idea of having to feed it my blood nipped the thought in the bud.


    When we arrived at the city bureau, Dali was standing at the door, eagerly waiting for Zhang Jiulin¡¯s arrival. At the sight of the man alighting the vehicle, his eyes gleamed with excitement as he rushed over, eximing, "Holy smokes! Are you really Zhang Jiulin?"


    In the face of such an enthusiastic fan, Zhang Jiulin¡¯s difort was apparent but he still politely answered all of Dali¡¯s questions.


    "Do they know each other?" wondered Xiaotao.


    "It¡¯s a long story,¡± I chuckled. ¡°Just think of them as a fan and his idol."


    After Zhang Jiulin finally got rid of Dali¡¯s relentless hounding, he followed us to the morgue. "Xiao Song Yang, aren¡¯t you afraid of corpses?" he asked.


    "What¡¯s there to be afraid about? The dead are more honest and reliable than the living!" I dered.


    "With your extraordinary courage and abundant Yang energy, you¡¯re a good prospect for a Yin object merchant,¡± remarked Zhang Jiulin. ¡°Would you consider switching professions? You can make a lot more money than you do as a coroner."


    "Thank you,¡± I said. ¡°But if my dead grandfather knew, he¡¯d be cursing at me in his grave."


    I turned to Xiaotao who flickered auding look in my direction. Noticing our little exchange, Zhang Jiulinughed cheekily, "As I see it, your heart¡¯s set on something else entirely!"


    The other bodies had been sent directly to the funeral home so only Officers Xun and Luo¡¯s ¡°bodies¡± remained in the morgue. After they changed out of their clothes, I suggested they leave quietly through the back entrance and reminded them not to act alone for the time being. But in such a situation, where was the safest ce? What if the murderer managed to see through our n and intercepted them on their journey?


    Understanding my concerns, Zhang Jiulin offered, "I¡¯ll ask Pockmark Li to look after them and teach them the Tao Te Ching."


    ¡°That¡¯s perfect, thank you!"


    Zhang Jiulin phoned Pockmark Li and told the two officers to head to one of the hotels to look for a handsome middle-aged man who resembled Wu Xiubo and had Chen Daoming¡¯s temperament.


    ¡°Just look for a vulgar looking man with pockmarks all over his face,¡± I added.


    The other matter I needed Zhang Jiulin¡¯s help with was to teach the rest of the officers the Tao Te Ching.


    We found an empty conference room and gathered all the members of the task force there. Those whose lives had been saved by Zhang Jiulin had confidence in his methods but the others remained skeptical, certain it was all hogwash, remnants of feudal superstition. Back when I used the Triple Divination Technique, I received the same reactions from the police. And now, they spat snarky remark after another, asking where we found this Jianghu ¡°master¡± and poked mullock at our absurd beliefs.


    "It¡¯s your life,¡± said Zhang Jiulin. ¡°Do whatever the hell you want!"


    Some of the younger, more arrogant officers were ready to leave the room but I stood up and interjected, "Please calm down and listen to me. The fact that the Tao Te Ching is able resist the effects of the music is based on science."


    The attention of the room was now focused on me. First off, I exined that the incantations had a positive effect on the psyche, but most importantly, the principle of resonance was the basis of its resistance against the suicidal effect. For example, when the word "Tao" was pronounced, the back of the tongue moved in an upward motion and the lungs vibrated at a certain frequency. The pronunciation of the word "name¡± produced resonance in the oral cavity and throat, while the word "mother" produced resonance deep within the abdominal cavity. The entire mantra brought about the cirction of resonance throughout the internal organs and the airflow impacted the abdomen, thus protecting the internal organs and preventing the demonic tune from extending its influence.


    Why were singers and vocalists healthier, and why did monks and Taoists priests seldom fall ill?


    It was precisely because singing and chanting could exercise the internal organs and regte breathing. And how was this rted to Taoism? To put it bluntly, chanting with deep voices emitted from the chest cavity was in fact simr to modern day vocal practice.


    "If that¡¯s the case, can¡¯t we just sing?" quipped an officer.


    "No,¡± I shook my head. ¡°The mantra was carefully created by our ancestors. Every word is exquisite and serves its purpose in circting resonance throughout each organ which can¡¯t be done by any ordinary songs. Besides, it¡¯s easy to be distracted if everyone sings a different tune when the demonic music starts ying. On the other hand, chanting together can allow for concentration and eliminate distractions. After all, the human spirit has unlimited strength."


    After listening to my exnation, the officers were more or less convinced, their cynicism swept away.


    "You¡¯re great at making nonsense sound perfectly logical!"ughed Xiaotao.


    "You¡¯re mistaken. I¡¯ve actually read this in a book,¡± I said. ¡°And after what we¡¯ve just been through..."


    Zhang Jiulin quietly gave me a thumbs up. After he had imparted the Tao Te Ching to the officers, he turned to me, "Xiao Song Yang, you¡¯re much better than I am at dealing with these policemen. I¡¯ve read the Tao Te Ching all my life but I¡¯ve never considered its principles. Well, you¡¯ve given me a new understanding of it today. You¡¯ve really impressed me!"


    "I¡¯m ttered!" I chuckled.

 Chapter 304

    <h4>Chapter 304</h4>


    After learning the Tao Te Ching, we visited Director-General Cheng in solitary confinement. Though handcuffed, he still yed his part to a T. "Why didn¡¯t youmit suicide with them?" I leaned in and kept my voice low.


    "I was stopped by my subordinates at the time,¡± Director-General Cheng smiled bitterly. ¡°It was impossible for me to continue, so I yed along."


    "It¡¯s alright,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s a bit suspicious if the three of you die at once."


    "What¡¯s the n now?¡± asked Director-General Cheng. ¡°Should I find an opportunity to mit suicide¡¯ again?"


    "I¡¯m not sure through what channels the murderer determined our movements, but I¡¯m sure he has his methods,¡± I mused. ¡°You might as well stay alive for now! The murderer has been on the move sincest night. He¡¯s not in good health so I¡¯m guessing he¡¯ll need to rest. It¡¯s likely he¡¯ll assassinate youte tonight. We¡¯ll use you as bait to lure him into our." After a pause, I added, "Anyway, we already have the means to resist the cursed music!"


    "Do you really believe that Jianghu master?¡± he frowned. ¡°Why do I get the feeling he¡¯s involved with the murderer?"


    I now believed that Zhang Jiulin was innocent so I vouched for the man. "I believe he¡¯s on our side. But there is one thing I¡¯m curious about.¡± I ventured, ¡°Do you think the bureau can allocate ten million as his reward?"


    Director-General Cheng¡¯s mouth fell agape, "Ten million?! What a hungry wolf!"


    Convinced of Zhang Jiulin¡¯s upright character and ingenious methods, I believed he was worth the price. In fact, I felt rather guilty about deceiving the man. Though I couldn¡¯t hand over the Yin object, I could still reward him.


    "Forget that I mentioned it,¡± I sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll try asking Xiaotao if she¡¯ll lend me the money!"


    "How can you pay out of your own pocket?¡± retorted Director-General Cheng. ¡°It¡¯s not a small figure. We confiscated a lot of money from the live stream website you took downst time. Allocating 10 million yuan from the funds shouldn¡¯t be a problem. I¡¯ll pass you the money when the case is over."


    I didn¡¯t expect to obtain the money so easily. "Director-General Cheng, aren¡¯t you going to verify what it¡¯s for?¡± I chuckled. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid I¡¯ll embezzle it?"


    "Since you¡¯re already working for the bureau, I don¡¯t see a point in doubting you. And if I did find you suspicious, I wouldn¡¯t have allowed you to work with us,¡± came his serious reply. ¡°Anyway, I have to continue acting. You and Xiaotao are in charge of the task force. We¡¯ll talk about the procedural issuester. After all, it¡¯s a special case."


    "Director-General Cheng, take care of yourself,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll bring you some food in a bit."


    It was lunchtime so we decided to head out for some food. I asked Zhang Jiulin what he wanted to eat, fully expecting him to choose an upscale restaurant with his status. I was prepared to burn a big hole in my pocket, so imagine my surprise when he pointed to a ypot chicken rice restaurant by the road and said, "That¡¯s my favorite food!"


    When the four of us arrived at the restaurant, Dali made sure to seat himself next to Zhang Jiulin. He was so excited I thought he might faint.


    "Let me ask you a personal question!" I said when I finally got the chance to interject in the conversation.


    Zhang Jiulin nodded, "Do speak."


    "You must be really wealthy. But why is that the food you eat, the clothes you wear, your house and transportation somon?" I asked.


    "Wealthy?¡± heughed. ¡°In our profession, most of the money we make is to be donated. Because the money is bound to theherworld, it also bears equivalent karma. In fact, I have to constantly perform good deeds to generate good karma and obtain karmic rewards."


    "I don¡¯t believe in karmic rewards,¡± scoffed Xiaotao. ¡°It¡¯s sheer nonsense."


    Zhang Jiulin smiled politely but didn¡¯t bother to continue exining.


    Throughout lunch, I listened to Dali¡¯s incessant chatter. Just as we were about to finish eating, Xiaotao received a phone call and seemed extremely excited after the brief conversation. Striking the table, she eximed, "We¡¯ve locked onto Long Bangguo¡¯s position!"


    "That¡¯s great,¡± I cried. ¡°We finally have the upper hand!"


    "I¡¯ll go with you,¡± Zhang Jiulin said, putting down his chopsticks. ¡°You deal with the man and I¡¯ll handle the Yin object."


    The one on the line was Wang Yuanchao who had called to report his discovery. Apparently, Long Bangguo had purchased a vi shortly after his release from prison. Wang Yuanchao was now waiting for us near that vi.


    When I settled the bill, Zhang Jiulin quietly begged, "Can you please get rid of this little fan of mine? My head¡¯s about to explode!"


    So when Dali wanted to get into the car, I stopped him. "You don¡¯t have to go with us," I said.


    "Can¡¯t you let me speak to Jiu-ge for a while longer?!" Dali grumbled.


    "We¡¯ll talk about thister,¡± I assured him. ¡°I have an important task for you. Bingxin¡¯s dropping by the bureau in the afternoon to conduct some tests. Seeing as we¡¯re all away, you¡¯ll have to look after her."


    Upon hearing her name, Dali was so happy he couldn¡¯t stop grinning from ear to ear as he readily promised me. Of course, I made this all up to appease him.


    The three of us drove to the residential area which I was a little familiar with. It turned out that this exact vi was the location where the husband of the rich pharmaceutical CEO was killedst year. After several change of hands, it eventually became Long Bangguo¡¯s property. "Uncle Wang, have you found anything?" I asked.


    "This lead wasn¡¯t easy to find,¡± admitted Wang Yuanchao. ¡°Long Bangguo has a group of gangster buddies outside. When he was released from prison, they threw him a wee banquet."


    How ironic indeed¨Can ex-officer had even mixed up with the triads! His motive for murdering the police and those gangsters had to be reexamined.


    "Have you seen the man?" I asked.


    Wang Yuanchao shook his head, "We¡¯ve been chasing the man, but I haven¡¯t seen him."


    My intuition told me there was something else hidden within this matter. But since I was already here, I wanted to see Long Bangguo¡¯s true face.


    I ced Wang Yuanchao and the other officers on guard outside the vi because we didn¡¯t have enough time to teach them the Tao Te Ching. Meanwhile, Zhang Jiulin, Xiaotao and I walked up to the front door and knocked several times. "Property management! Open up!"


    Zhang Jiulin smiled strangely at me.


    There was no response from within but Wang Yuanchao reported having seen someone in the house so I grabbed my lock picking tools and attempted to unlock the door without making any noise.


    Then, gently pushing the door open, I motioned for the others to remain silent. Zhang Jiulin had already whipped out his Ghost-ying Daggers, his hands gently wrapped around the hilts.


    Theyout of the vi was unchanged and the furniture in the room was still wrapped in stic film. Overall, the decor of the ce looked too luxurious for Long Bangguo to afford with his economic situation.


    Zhang Jiulin rubbed his eyebrows. "What¡¯s the matter,¡± I asked. ¡°Headache?"


    "I¡¯m fine."


    We carefully made our way to the bedroom where a messy bed greeted us. The musty smell of sweat lingered in the air, indicative of living inhabitants. Sweeping my gaze across the room, I fixed upon therge closet beside me and exchanged a knowing look with Xiaotao who immediately pointed her gun at the wardrobe door. "Show yourself!" she yelled.


    The door slowly creaked open, revealing a naked man and woman. The man was in his fifties with a big bloated belly that hung over his underwear. He raised his hands, fat jiggling as he trembled. "Officers, it¡¯s not against thew for me to sleep with my girlfriend, is it?"


    "Who does the house belong to?" I asked.


    "Long... Boss Long,¡± replied the fat man. ¡°I¡¯m only helping him look after the ce."


    "Where is he now?"


    "I don¡¯t know,¡± said the fat man. ¡°He¡¯s probably out on business."


    "When will he be back then?"


    ¡°How the hell would I know?¡± he retorted. ¡°The manes and goes as he pleases. I¡¯m only a subordinate. I don¡¯t have the right to question him!" he frowned.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± cursed Xiaotao.


    We were walking back towards the door when I suddenly turned around and stared at the fat man with Cave Vision. "You can stop pretending!¡± I sneered. ¡°You¡¯re Long Bangguo!"

 Chapter 305

    <h4>Chapter 305</h4>


    Xiaotao nced at the fat uncle in disbelief, then turned to me and whispered, "Song Yang, are you mistaken? We¡¯ve all seen photos of Long Bangguo. Even after twenty years in prison, he wouldn¡¯t look like this."


    My statement was half spection and half warning, and judging by the fat man¡¯s nervousness and microexpressions, I was right.


    I pointed to the nightstand and said, "What do you see?"


    Confused, Xiaotao replied, "Two cell phones, some snacks and a bottle of alcohol."


    "His hair is very short and although he¡¯s overweight, he¡¯s not in good health,¡± I started. ¡°He has bruises and scars all over his body and calluses on his hands, left behind by long-termbor. And there¡¯s a purplish scar on his waist; the shape and position matches an injury inflicted by the stun batons prison guards use. Additionally, he looks upon the police with fear, all which suggests he was an inmate not too long ago!"


    "However, the things in this room tell me that he¡¯s pretty high up on the rungs,¡± I continued. ¡°There¡¯s a bottle of XO on the nightstand and two newly-bought cell phones¨Cthetest Apple model and an old-fashioned Nokia. But why are there two? I¡¯m guessing his underlings bought him the Apple but he¡¯s been cut off from the world for twenty years so he¡¯s not used to smartphones. Hence, the Nokia. As you can see, the treatment he¡¯s received isn¡¯t given to just any small fry."


    "There¡¯s also a packet of pop rocks and several fruit jellies,¡± I added. ¡°Adults seldom eat these snacks but a man who¡¯s fresh out of prison would certainly crave them after going without sweets for so long. To sum it all up, he definitely has a high position in the triad, at least the head of a gang. He¡¯s just been released from prison and is the owner of this vi¨CLong Bangguo!"


    Xiaotao stared at me in wide-eyed shock. "But..."


    "Don¡¯t worry about the contradictions first!" Then, I turned to the fat man and asked, "What¡¯s your name?"


    "Long Bangguo!" he dered, head lowered.


    "What¡¯s your real name?" I demanded.


    "Chai Ergou," he admitted.


    "I¡¯ve already said so much, so you might as welle clean,¡± I sneered. ¡°Tell me, how did you switch identities from a life incarceration convict to a twenty-year sentence inmate and sessfully hide it from the world?"


    Chai Ergou suddenly fell to his knees and kowtowed repeatedly. "Officers, please spare my life! Don¡¯t send me back!¡± he begged. ¡°I swear I¡¯ve turned over a new leaf!"


    He began to narrate the incidents that happened twenty years ago. Back then, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and encountered a police officer named Long Bangguo who was also incarcerated. All the criminals in prison, whether they actually knew the man or not, hated the police so much that they targeted Long Bangguo and gave him a hard time. As a member of the triads, Chai Ergou became one of the prison bullies upon entering jail. Obviously, he had a hand in Long Bangguo¡¯s abuse as well.


    Long Bangguo was almost tortured to the point of copse when a mysterious man came to visit Chai Ergou. The man looked ordinary with nothing distinguishable about him, so much so that even Chai Ergou had forgotten his face. And this mysterious man proposed a deal¨Che would secretly exchange Long Bangguo and Chai Ergou¡¯s files. This way, Chai Ergou would be Long Bangguo and be released from prison in twenty years and be known as a courageous hero.


    However, the mysterious man had two conditions¨Cthe first was to ensure Long Bangguo stayed alive and the second was to hand him an object.


    Chai Ergou agreed to this advantageous deal as soon as he heard the terms! It took a lot of effort to smuggle the item into prison, afterwhich Chai Ergou personally handed it to Long Bangguo. It was a skull bored with several small holes that had been sealed with wax. Chai Ergou simply couldn¡¯tprehend its use.


    Since then, Chai Ergou made every effort to look after Long Bangguo, forbidding the others from abusing him. However, the strange thing was, Long Bangguo started losing weight, growing visibly thinner. His cellmates all teased him and asked if he was masturbating too much at night. Witnessing the drastic weight loss, Chai Ergou feared Long Bangguo would die if it continued. He discreetly saved some food from his own meals for Long Bangguo, but even then, the man grew thinner day by day and soon became a bag of bones, often fainting at work.


    In the neenth year of his sentence, Long Bangguo suddenly died. Falling short in that final stretch meant all his efforts had gone down the drain. Chai Ergou cried all night when he heard the news. When Long Bangguo¡¯s body was taken away, he remembered that the guards were unable to find the skull; it seemed to have disappeared.


    Unexpectedly, the mysterious man still kept his promise. In the twentieth year, Chai Ergou was released from prison just as he had hoped. He bought a vi under Long Bangguo¡¯s name, celebrated his liberation, and was caught by us.


    The situation was very much like I had expected. Thus, the contradictions involving the suspect were solved. The murderer wasn¡¯t Long Bangguo.


    Xiaotao took some time to recover from the shock. "Long Bangguo is no longer alive?¡± she said. ¡°Then who¡¯s the murderer ying hide and seek with us?"


    "We¡¯ll have to keep investigating,¡± I said tly. ¡°As for this man, he should be arrested to continue serving his sentence."


    ¡°Officer! Officer, please show leniency!¡± Chai Ergou begged as he suddenly grabbed my leg. ¡°I swear I¡¯ll be a good citizen from now on."


    ¡°You wasted your chance to be a good citizen twenty years ago,¡± I snorted. ¡°Go back and serve the rest of your sentence."


    Seeing that Xiaotao was about to phone for backup, he shuffled towards her, kneeling at her feet as he pleaded, "Don¡¯t... Don¡¯t call it in. I¡¯ll pay you! Ten million a person! How about that? You¡¯ll never earn that much money working as an officer!"


    "Shut up!" she snapped.


    ¡°Whatever amount works!¡± Chai Ergou mumbled almost incoherently. "You can even ckmail me! Just don¡¯t send me back to that ce. Please, have mercy on me! I have a wife and kids and an eighty-year-old mother. They can¡¯t live without me."


    Hey on the ground, bursting into tears but drew no pity from a disgusted Xiaotao. "You can stop acting. You might as well do the time and maybe you¡¯ll get parole."


    The man looked up slightly, his ferocious eyes alerting me to danger. "Watch out!" I cried as I pulled Xiaotao aside.


    Chai Ergou jumped up flexibly from the ground. His target wasn¡¯t us, but the woman hiding in the closet.


    He wound his arm around the woman¡¯s neck, his other hand quickly reaching for the bottle of XO on the nightstand. With a heavy crash, he shattered the bottle and held the sharp edge against the woman¡¯s throat, his reckless actions inciting terrified screams from thedy.


    "This is all your fault!¡± yelled Chai Ergou. ¡°You¡¯re the ones who pushed me into a dead end and forced me to kill this woman! Anyway, I¡¯ve been sentenced to life! It can¡¯t get any worse than this!"


    We stood rooted to the spot. The thought of him taking a hostage never crossed our minds.


    "Fucking cops!¡± he shouted. ¡°Put the phone back into your pocket!"


    "Calm down,¡± Xiaotao responded. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this!" She ced her phone back into her pocket, though the call was already connected.


    Chai Ergou was well aware that killing Xiaotao was futile. With the hostage as a bargaining chip in his hands, he began to state his terms. "Officers, there¡¯s no point in me killing this woman. I only ask that you let me go,¡± he began. ¡°I¡¯m not at all upromising! I¡¯ll even give you the money now. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a win-win situation?"


    "Even if we wanted, backup is already downstairs,¡± I deflected. ¡°How are we to exin this to them?"


    ¡°Dude, are you stupid?¡± Chai Ergou stamped his foot impatiently. "Just tell them you can¡¯t find Long Bangguo! After all, it¡¯s him you¡¯re looking for. Do I look like Long Bangguo to you?"


    "All right,¡± I nodded. ¡°You let the girl go and we¡¯ll agree to your conditions. We¡¯re not so stupid we¡¯d let go of ten million yuan!"


    "Ten million!¡± eximed Xiaotao as she put her gun away. ¡°I won¡¯t have to work anymore!"

 Chapter 306

    <h4>Chapter 306</h4>


    Chai Ergou obviously had his reservations about us. "We¡¯ve already agreed to take your money and let you go,¡± I said. ¡°Why are you still threatening the girl?"


    "No, you have to show for it!" insisted Chai Ergou.


    ¡°Oi, Fatso, you think you can step all over us huh?¡± Xiaotao arched an eyebrow.


    Seeing Xiaotao step towards him, Chai Ergou pointed the broken bottle at her. "Back off! Back off I tell you!¡± he shouted. ¡°I¡¯m paying you so much money. It¡¯s not a small sum at all! Just because it¡¯s dirty money doesn¡¯t mean it falls from the sky! First, I¡¯ll need you to do three things."


    "Speak then!" Xiaotao impatiently snapped.


    "First of all, get the police outside to retreat,¡± he stated. ¡°Secondly, leave all your bullets and handcuffs behind. Andstly, let me call my men. When theye to pick me up, you must let me go!"


    "How can we trust you if you don¡¯t trust us?" I scoffed.


    He tightened his arm around the woman and haughtily snorted, "I have always kept my word. As long as you do these three things, I¡¯ll definitely give you the money! You can bet that on my reputation!"


    The fatso was on the qui vive, but that was to be expected after spending twenty years in prison.


    In an attempt to buy us some time, I pointed to the woman, "What about her? She¡¯s heard everything. Will you go against your word and kill her so none of this gets out?"


    The woman was scared silly, mind and body sluggish with fear. My words seemed to jolt her from her state of stupefaction. "I didn¡¯t hear anything,¡± she insisted, frenziedly waving her hands. ¡°I won¡¯t speak a word about this! Please do as the officer says, I¡¯m begging you!"


    "If we suddenly ask them to retreat, it will arouse suspicion,¡± Xiaotao exined. ¡°It¡¯s better if the three of us leave the ce and tell them we didn¡¯t find Long Bangguo. Isn¡¯t that more believable?"


    "No, no!¡± Chai Ergou vehemently shook his head. ¡°You police are all deceitful rats! Back then, those officers lied to me, saying I would be shown leniency if I confessed. I gave up more than twenty of my brothers but in the end, I still got life imprisonment!"


    While Chai Ergou was distracted, Zhang Jiulin patted me on the shoulder and lowered his voice, "What a whole lot of trouble! Go close the curtains. I have my means of dealing with him!"


    I immediately did as Zhang Jiulin asked, drawing vignce from Chai Ergou. "What are you doing?"


    "I¡¯m making sure no one sees what we¡¯re doing in here," I replied.


    "My good man! It looks like you¡¯re really going to help me,¡± Chai Ergou narrowed his eyes in a pleased smile. ¡°Now all that¡¯s left is you two."


    As soon as the curtains were drawn, Zhang Jiulin muttered a spell under his breath. Suddenly, a strong gale swept through the room as the temperature dropped sharply. ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± Chai Ergou¡¯s eyes widened in shock.


    And with that, the man froze like a y sculpture. Zhang Jiulin walked over and removed the broken bottle from his hand. Then, picking up the clothes strewn on the bed, he threw them to the woman and barked, "Put them on!"


    Xiaotao and I stood transfixed. Was it hypnosis?


    "Aren¡¯t you going to cuff him?" Zhang Jiulin turned to Xiaotao.


    Still astonished, Xiaotao mumbled a nk "oh" and marched over to cuff Chai Ergou, afterwhich she informed Wang Yuanchao of the arrest.


    "What did you do to him?" I asked Zhang Jiulin.


    "A man died in this room," he smiled mysteriously.


    "How do you know?" I retorted.


    He avoided the question, moving over to p Chai Ergou on the back of the head instead. The fat man woke up from his trancelike state and found himself handcuffed. "What did you do to me? You tricked me!" he yelled like a dying pig.


    "Tricked you?¡± sneered Xiaotao. ¡°We¡¯re clearly doing you a favor. If you had your way earlier, you would¡¯ve been charged with another crime and be sentenced to the death penalty!"


    Right then, the other officers charged into the room and escorted Chai Ergou out. As for the youngdy, she was temporarily detained for prostitution in order to prevent her from spreading word about the matter. Only when the case was closed would she be released.


    When he was taken away, Chai Ergou roared as he struggled, hitting his head against the ground. "You cops are all fucking bastards! You¡¯re all liars, cheats and liars!"


    Zhang Jiulin stayed in the room, taking out a yellow talisman as he spoke to the air, "Thank you. When I get back, I¡¯ll perform a ceremony so you can cross over."


    Perhaps it was my illusion, but I could almost make out a transparent, humanoid figure in the air entering the talisman. Zhang Jiulin put away the talisman and left the vi with us. "Xiao Song Yang, your process of deduction was amazing,¡± he praised. ¡°You¡¯ve really opened my eyes."


    "I¡¯m ttered," I modestly replied.


    "But there¡¯s one thing you got wrong,¡± he added. ¡°The pop rocks and fruit jelly aren¡¯t for eating."


    "What else would he do with them?" I asked, puzzled.


    Heughed and patted me on the shoulder, "You¡¯ll know when you¡¯ve grown up."


    Hmph, just because you¡¯re older, you act all wise!


    The case had just reached an important turning point but it was moreplicated and confusing than previously assumed. I asked Zhang Jiulin for his professional advice, to which he replied after a moment¡¯s contemtion. "Someone¡¯s intentionally fostering the creation of this device."


    "What do you mean?" I asked.


    He exined that when Long Bangguo fell from a police officer to a convict and then exchanged identities with a triad leader, his resentment was most likely at its peak! The mysterious man sent the Yin object to him with the purpose of nourishing the Yin energy in the object with Long Bangguo¡¯s resentment. Hence, draining the life from Long Bangguo until he eventually died.


    Long Bangguo died with the Yin object in his possession so it was very likely that his resentful soul was lodged within. umting that much Yin energy was perhaps the leading cause to the series of revenge murders afterwards. In all likelihood, the murderer was just a puppet controlled by the Yin object.


    His statement was almost outrageous for a man of my beliefs. Out of courtesy, I didn¡¯t immediately refute him but asked a logical question in turn. "Since Long Bangguo had the Heartbroken Xun, why didn¡¯t he use it to escape from prison?"


    Zhang Jiulin raised two fingers and said, "There are two possibilities. Chai Ergou mentioned earlier that the holes on the skull were sealed so I think there might be a restriction acting on the Yin object that prevented Long Bangguo from using it. As for the second possibility..."


    Zhang Jiulin hummed a mournful tune which I found rather familiar. Wasn¡¯t this the murderous tune?


    I grew nervous but Zhang Jiulin stopped humming after a brief passage. "I wasn¡¯t idle after you leftst night,¡± he began. ¡°I asked an experienced grave robber named Si Guniang. This piece of music actually has a great origin. Its name is Qin Jue, and it¡¯s a musical score found in an ancient tomb from the Qin Dynasty. At the time, the archaeological team nned to recover it, but they never expected the consequences that came after hearing it; they either jumped off a building or slit their wrists, allmitting bizarre suicides. Later, through textual research, they discovered that when Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, the people missed their homnd very much and often sang songs from their hometown despite the unification ofnguage and measurements. Fearing they would revolt, Qin Shihuang instructed musicians to create the Qin Jue. After listening to it, people were depressed and had no fighting spirit to resist. However, this piece of music gradually transformed in the process of singing, gaining the strange influence to cause depression and even suicide, so no one dared y thereafter..."


    Although Zhang Jiulin had a lot to say, I remained skeptical. "Who did you hear this from? Is that person reliable?" I asked.


    "The Qin Jue alone only causes severe depression. Its effect is equivalent to that of Gloomy Sunday, but it¡¯s not enough to push the listeners to suicide. But once yed with the Heartbroken Xun brimming with resentment, it will transform into a demonic tune capable of killing!"


    "So you mean to say that the Heartbroken Xun cannot kill on its own only by ying the Qin Jue.¡± I summarized. ¡°And Long Bangguo didn¡¯t know how to y the tune at the time?"


    Zhang Jiulin nodded, "That¡¯s exactly what I mean!"

 Chapter 307

    <h4>Chapter 307</h4>


    "I have another question,¡± I said. ¡°How does the person with the Yin object survive the music?"


    "It¡¯s very simple,¡± replied Zhang Jiulin. ¡°The Yin object won¡¯t let him die."


    ¡°It won¡¯t let him die?¡± I echoed in bewilderment.


    "The Yin object is merely a thing to you,¡± he began. ¡°But in fact, every Yin object has its own will and needs. You probably won¡¯t believe what I say and you¡¯re thinking¨Chow can an object have needs? For example, when a lethal weapon evolves into a Yin object, its demand is to kill, and the more people it kills, the deadlier it bes. This is the case with the Heartbroken Xun. It doesn¡¯t care who¡¯s wielding it for revenge. It¡¯s only satisfied when it kills. But as an instrument, it can only y its role when someone uses it."


    The more we spoke, the more absurd I found his words. Had he spoken about this yesterday, I might have waved it off as nonsense.


    We were standing outside the vi, talking, when Xiaotao ran over and shouted, "Song Yang, something¡¯s happened to Officer Xun!"


    A chill swept across Zhang Jiulin¡¯s face as he immediately phoned Pockmark Li. As it turned out, half an hour ago, the three of them were in the hotel when they heard the murderous tune. Officer Xunmitted suicide while Pockmark Li and Officer Luo suffered a devastating blow.


    We rushed to the hotel. Upon arrival, we saw the body of a waiter on a car parked at the entrance, the impact severely deforming the car.


    Without a moment¡¯s dy, we made our way to the sixth floor where the two men were waiting. Zhang Jiulin suddenly stopped me halfway, took out a talisman and threw it in mid-air. The talisman disintegrated to ashes before he nodded, "We can go now!"


    I nced at him, confusion written all over my face. Was that a magic performance?


    When we arrived in Pockmark Li¡¯s room, I found that the TV screen, lights and all the ss in the room had shattered into pieces. Officer Luo rushed out of the room, bleeding all over from the head, painting a terrible picture. He grabbed my hand and cried, "You¡¯re here, Consultant Song. Lao Xun..." He wept uncontrobly, "Lao Xun didn¡¯t make it!"


    Only when I walked into the room did I find Officer Xun kneeling by the wall. He hadmitted suicide by ramming his head into the wall so sma and brain matter were sttered all over. The strength with which he exerted to m his head was so hard he managed to break the frontal bone.


    Zhang Jiulin scanned the room and asked, "Where¡¯s Pockmark Li?"


    "I¡¯m here!" A hand stretched out from the other side of the bed. Pockmark Li had hidden himself. Though bleeding from his seven orifices, his wounds were mild inparison.


    ¡°Zhang-xiaoge,¡± wailed Pockmark Li as he hugged Zhang Jiulin, refusing to let go. ¡°The job¡¯s too risky! I want to go back to Wuhan and no one can stop me!"


    ¡°Calm down!¡± Zhang Jiulin grabbed his shoulder. "Tell me what happened."


    ording to Pockmark Li, the three were ying cards in the room when a shrill tune drifted out of nowhere. Pockmark Li immediately instructed them to recite the Tao Te Ching and spread his Ying Yang Umbre to defend themselves. Unfortunately, the demonic music was too strong. In an instant, all the ss in the room shattered and the three were left bleeding from their orifices. They felt as if the bones in their bodies were about to break and their vision became distorted.


    Officer Xun was the first to lose control andmitted suicide in an instant. Officer Luo was just about to jump out of the window when Pockmark Li held onto him, using his body to hinder his movement. They endured the music, resisting it one second at a time until the music ended. After enduring the deadly tune, the two were soon ovee with dizziness and passed out together.


    I nced around the room and saw a strange umbre.


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a look of fear. "If we don¡¯t deal with this thing, it will no longer just be a tune capable of causing suicide..." Zhang Jiulin paused and turned to us. "It will be strong enough to directly kill!"


    Zhang Jiulin left us with those words and walked out of the room with his Ghost-ying Daggers in hand.


    We escorted Officer Luo to the ambnce while Pockmark Li insisted he was perfectly fine and refused to go to the hospital. Still, I thought it prudent Pockmark Li at least undergo a check-up, to which he agreed.


    We examined the surroundings and found that the attack had also affected a couple next door and a waiter who all jumped to their deaths. It was because onlookers downstairs had called the police that alerted Xiaotao to the situation. Fortunately, we came in time before anything happened to Officer Xun.


    We were lucky it wasn¡¯t a holiday so the hotel wasn¡¯t fully upied and the number of casualties remained low.


    "How did the murderer know that Officer Xun was hiding here?" Xiaotao frowned as she bit her fist.


    The same question gued my mind but before I could contemte the answer, Zhang Jiulin walked up to us and said, "May I have a word?"


    We followed him to a deserted area where he exined, "It¡¯ll be dark in two hours. I n to start tracking the Yin energy from here to locate the Heartbroken Xun."


    "Will that work?" I asked.


    "I can¡¯t be a hundred percent sure, but it does work to some extent,¡± he answered. ¡°What are you going to do when you find the Heartbroken Xun?"


    "The man is extremely dangerous,¡± Xiaotao uttered through gritted teeth. ¡°We intend to kill him on the spot!"


    "That¡¯s likely to intensify the resentment of the Heartbroken Xun,¡± mused Zhang Jiulin. ¡°But there¡¯s no other way out. After that, you must evacuate the ce immediately and leave the rest to me."


    ¡°What will you do?¡± Xiaotao and I asked in unison.


    "Naturally, I¡¯ll have to resolve the Yin energy!"


    "Why must we wait until evening?" I asked.


    "It¡¯s much easier to track Yin energy at night,¡± he exined.


    "There¡¯s no need for that,¡± I dered. ¡°I have a faster method of locating the man! Xiaotao, please get me a detailed map of Nanjiang City, a marker pen and some sandalwood incense."


    Xiaotao understood at once that I was about to employ my divination technique. "Let me show you the miraculous methods of the Song family!" I proudly turned to Zhang Jiulin.


    At present, the clues were enough to perform the Triple Divination Technique. Xiaotao quickly obtained what I needed and found an empty room where I could get to work. I spread the map on the ground, marked the eight corners, and crouched on it as I began to mark the location of each attack.


    Taking a deep breath, I instructed Xiaotao to light up the sandalwood. In order to urately pinpoint the murderer¡¯s location, I took out a small bottle containing a low concentration of the Dream Entry concoction and ced it under my nose, inhaling deeply. Suddenly, the world around me turned blurry like a dream.


    This time, the technique I used was slightly different. It was abination of the Divination and Reenactment Techniques. I ced myself into the murderer¡¯s shoes and contemted his hiding ce!


    The key elements of the crime poured from my lips along with low murmurs of the divination and reenactment mantras. The map at my feet seemed to transform into the actual Nanjiang City. I looked down as if I were standing up in the sky, thousands of miles from the ground, and my sight quickly fell upon the location where the first attack took ce.


    I seemed to have be the murderer himself, holding the Heartbroken Xun in my hand as I ambushed Officer Niu on his way home from work. The night was still and no one was around.


    Then, I jumped to another location. This time, I hid in the toilet cubicle and peeped through the gap in the door, waiting for Officer Ouyang to enter the restroom. This sort of crime reenactment allowed me to restore many details of the crime that would¡¯ve been otherwise unknown to the police.


    After that, I murdered Officer Cui¡¯s family. Standing under the street light, I yed the Heartbroken Xun so the music floated into the crowded restaurant before Iughed and quickly retreated.


    During the reenactment, my hand automatically marked the map. The effect of the Dream Entry powder continued to envelop my body, rendering me intoxicated and dazed. Xiaotao shook me up, "Song Yang, Song Yang! It¡¯s time to stop!"


    I opened my eyes and returned to reality, body covered in sweat. Zhang Jiulin looked at me incredulously.


    I looked down at my hand, only to find the nib of the marker stuck so hard in one ce it was broken. "That¡¯s it!¡± I shouted excitedly. ¡°The murderer must be hiding here!"


    Xiaotao read out the name, "Nanjiang Longshan Cemetery?"

 Chapter 308

    <h4>Chapter 308</h4>


    Upon locating the murderer, we were ready to leave immediately. Xiaotao picked out a few officers who knew the Tao Te Ching. "Are youing with us?" I turned to Zhang Jiulin.


    "To be honest, I¡¯m used to acting at night,¡± he sighed. ¡°Nevermind, let¡¯s go!"


    We drove to the Longshan Cemetery, which I had been to before. Xiaotao¡¯s instructor, Ma Guozhong, was buried here. Afraid that she wouldn¡¯t be able to resist the deadly tune, I said to Xiaotao, "Just stay outside. I¡¯ll go in with Jiu-ge."


    "I know what you¡¯re worried about,¡± she replied. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m no longer sad about that."


    Still, I firmly refused to let her into the cemetery. Finally, Xiaotao was forced to overrule me with her title of captain. "Fine, you cane with us,¡± Ipromised. ¡°But on one condition. Give me your gun!"


    Xiaotao readily agreed, removing the holster and fitting it on me. She specifically reminded me not to shoot unless absolutely necessary.


    The cemetery was divided by several rows of trees. The greenery stood proud and upright amongst the tombstones, blocking our field of vision. Gun in hand, the officers searched the ce. I noticed Zhang Jiulin had ced some spells on the tombstones, though I had long grown used to his mysterious methods.


    Suddenly, a shadow shot through the woods. When I caught sight of a middle-aged man wearing a mask, I immediately shouted, "That guy looks suspicious. Stop him!"


    ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t move!¡± warned the officers as they nked the man.


    The middle-aged man jumped around like a headless chicken in the middle of the tombstones. Although Director-General Cheng made it clear that the murderer could be killed on sight, we intended to catch him alive if possible.


    Soon, they blocked all paths and slowly narrowed the encirclement. The middle-aged man raised his hands and surrendered.


    "Look, that was no trouble at all!" I said, grinning at Zhang Jiulin.


    "There¡¯s no trace of Yin energy on him,¡± Zhang Jiulin solemnly shook his head. ¡°He¡¯s not the murderer."


    Right then, I heard someone call my name, "Consultant Song, look at him! What¡¯s wrong with him?"


    When I turned around, the man was convulsing all over, white foam spilling from under his mask before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he copsed to the ground. I rushed over to examine him and caught a whiff of rat poison on his mask. I checked his breathing with my hand and found it was extremely weak.


    Pulling apart his coat, I found the words ¡°Longshan Cemetery Administrator¡± written on his shirt. It turned out that the man was a victim of the deadly music! He was just about tomit suicide when we noticed his movements. Afraid that the police would call for emergency paramedics, he tried to stealthily flee the scene.


    "Send him to the hospital at once,¡± I ordered. ¡°We can still save him!"


    "Everyone, hide behind me!¡± shouted Zhang Jiulin.


    We looked askance at Zhang Jiulin when a sharp whistle came from the woods, the sound shaking up the leaves that soon disintegrated in mid-air. Cracks appeared on the marble tombstones. I felt as if the blood in my body was boiling and my brain scrambled to keep itself from tearing apart as each note yed.


    In the chaos, several officers fired gunshots into the sky in an attempt to counteract the deafening sound. Then, we all started reciting the Tao Te Ching.


    The loud recitation of the "Tao Te Ching" could only resist the spiritual influence of the murderous demonic music, but did nothing to prevent the physical damage. Several officers dropped to their knees, eyes turning bloodshot as blood and tears slowly dripped down their faces. It was a sorry sight.


    I could feel the blood surging in my chest and a tearing pain ripped through. A metallic taste spread from my throat as a stream of heat flowed from my esophagus. Kneeling on the ground, I heaved and coughed out a mouthful of blood.


    Xiaotaoy a few meters away from me. Hands covering her ears, she looked as if she was close to breaking down but there was nothing I could do. The helplessness, despair and self-me were infinitely magnified under the influence of the music! I was suddenly overwhelmed with the strong desire to end my life and my hand subconsciously reached for the gun.


    But reason still overrode the impulse. I continued to recite the Tao Te Ching through gritted teeth.


    We were all crumpling under the tremendous pressure of the deadly tune, and only Zhang Jiulin remained unharmed. He stood there with his eyes slightly closed, like a God guarding us mortals as he uttered, "Pervading heaven and earth is a righteous spirit. Mixed and manifold, it assumed various forms. Below, it makes the rivers and mountains. Above, it makes the sun and stars."


    His voice wasn¡¯t loud, but each word seemed to prate my ears. Then, Zhang Jiulin flew into a rage and yelled, "The vast righteousness falls!"


    As soon as the words left his lips, the world around him grew calm, the effects spreading to a radius of more than ten meters. We could still hear the mournful tune of the xun but its horrible sound and shockwaves dissipated. It was as if a transparent barrier had enveloped us; the wind howling outside, turmoil ravaged the sky and earth but it was peaceful inside our little protective bubble.


    We heaved a sigh of relief and climbed to our feet. "Keep reciting the Tao Te Ching,¡± instructed Zhang Jiulin. ¡°Don¡¯t stop even for a moment!"


    Heeding his instructions, we continued to chant in unison. This time, the musicsted for a while, taking almost five minutes before it came to an end. Zhang Jiulin slumped with relief and said, "This is the full version of the Qin Jue. If I hadn¡¯t prepared in advance, we would¡¯ve all perished."


    The administratory dead on the ground, killed by the shockwaves. We had no time to dy. "Quickly search the area!" I ordered.


    "He¡¯s in that direction!" pointed Zhang Jiulin.


    The officers charged in that direction. From a distance, I could smell a bloody scent. A small figure wearing a hoodie emerged from the dense woods. Desperately running for his life, he suddenly pulled out a skull-shaped musical instrument from his pocket.


    ¡°Shoot him!" I yelled.


    The officers aimed at him but the young man had already ced the Heartbroken Xun against his lips and blew with all his strength. An amplified sonic boom hit us like an invisible wall.


    Only then did I realize that the Heartbroken Xun was perfectlyprehensible from a scientific point of view¨Cit emitted ultrasonic waves! Ultrasonic waves were inaudible sounds beyond the human hearing threshold. It resonated with liquids and more than 90% of the human body was made up of water. During the Cold War, the United States developed a sonic boom weapon called the "Mike" that could instantly kill the enemies inside a tank.


    The fallen leaves and dust on the ground flew up like waves in the air. The officers in the frontmost were blown away, falling to the ground like dominos. Their guns werepletely useless at this point. I soon felt the impact of the sonic boom, my body flying backwards and knocking someone behind me. I heard a loud shriek; it was Xiaotao.


    The sonic boom continued to spread. Trees split into pieces and birds fell from the sky. In a panic, I turned around and wrapped Xiaotao with my body. When the sonic boom passed us, I felt as if someone drove a road roller over my body. A horrible force threatened to tear my insides apart as blood spilled from my lips.


    The officers had all crumbled to the ground, moaning in agony, powerless against the sonic attack. Zhang Jiulin quickly rushed past us. In a trance, I seemed to see the righteousness of heaven and earth solidified in his being, that fearless and heroic bearing of his transforming him into a God before my eyes!


    Zhang Jiulin soon caught up with the mysterious young man and a fight ensued in the woods. However, my consciousness started to flicker out like a lightbulb. Holding Xiaotao, I fell into aa.


    When I regained consciousness, it was already dark. Xiaotaoy in my arms, still unconscious. I gently patted her face and whispered her name. Eyelids trembling, she slowly opened her eyes and asked nkly, "What happened?"


    "We were attacked,¡± I exined. ¡°The power of this object is beyond human resistance..."


    At this point, my voice trailed off as my gaze fell in one direction. I saw Zhang Jiulin nearby, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed. The Ghost-ying Daggers were embedded in the ground beside the blood-soaked man...

 Chapter 309

    <h4>Chapter 309</h4>


    I ran over to check Zhang Jiulin¡¯s injuries. "I¡¯m alright,¡± he said, eyes opening in a narrow slit. ¡°The blood isn¡¯t mine."


    "Did you get him?" I asked.


    Zhang Jiulin shook his head, "Unfortunately, he escaped. There¡¯s something I want to ask you. Was your ancestor Song Ci a presiding judge in the criminal court during the Southern Song Dynasty?"


    I was taken aback by his words. How did he know? Apparently, two spirits had emerged from the Heartbroken Xun during Zhang Jiulin¡¯s fight with the murderer. One of them was Long Bangguo and the other was a ferocious, bloodthirsty ancient man. The vengeful spirit repeatedly roared the name Song Ci while moving to attack me. In order to protect me, Zhang Jiulin threw caution to the wind and allowed the murderer to escape.


    I wasn¡¯t sure what to make of his words. Reason told me it was ludicrous yet Zhang Jiulin¡¯s tone and manner of speaking were so convincing my thoughts gravitated in his favor.


    Zhang Jiulin described the murderer¡¯s appearance and asked me if I recalled ever seeing him. But how could I possibly know? The Chronicles of Grand Magistrates only recorded the experiences of my ancestors in the adjudication process of each case, but there were few mentions of the murderers and no illustrations.


    We suffered a heavy blow but were lucky there were no casualties. Retreating was our best option since many officers were still unconscious. After Zhang Jiulin assured me he had his methods, I helped Xiaotao up from the ground. Fortunately, we hadn¡¯t suffered any severe injuries. ording to Zhang Jiulin, I had stronger Yang energy than the average person, which I could take advantage of by investigating the cemetery.


    We headed to a cemetery administrator¡¯s cabin and found the room in a mess with empty packets of instant noodles, bread and biscuits strewn all over the ground. I carefully sniffed and caught a whiff of a rotting corpse. I followed the smell till I arrived at a shallowly buried body in the ground behind the cabin. A quick swipe of the soil above revealed the words "Longshan Cemetery Administrator" on the corpse.


    It seemed that this cabin was a temporary shelter for the murderer. He killed the original administrator and took over the magpie¡¯s nest himself. When we first arrived, his presence was discovered by the other cemetery administrator, hence the man¡¯s death.


    Judging from therge amount of analgesics and cough medicine in the drawer, the murderer was obviously suffering from the biteback of using the xun. Blood-stained toilet paper filled the wastebasket, evident of hematemesis.


    ¡°Why hurt others and in the process hurt himself?¡± Xiaotao shook her head and sighed.


    "Those blinded by hatred ignore everything else," Imented.


    I flipped through an old notebook that turned out to be a collection of newspaper clippings. There were articles of Long Bangguo being sent to prison twenty years ago, as well as news of other police officers who weremended for solving the crime and rendering meritorious service. All of these officers had huge red crosses drawn across their faces.


    The man¡¯s hatred had been brewing over the past twenty years, and his revenge a n twenty years in the making! Connecting the dots, it dawned upon me he must have had a close rtionship with Long Bangguo. I immediately phoned Wang Yuanchao and asked, "Does Long Bangguo have any living family members?"


    "I was just about to call you,¡± remarked Wang Yuanchao. ¡°Long Bangguo¡¯s household registration only includes him and his dead parents. I only learned after visiting his former neighbor this afternoon that he actually has a younger brother! However, the two hadn¡¯t contacted each other in twenty years and his younger brother has denied any blood rtionship with Long Bangguo on all legal documents."


    Xiaotao leaned in to listen. "Has he been preparing for this since twenty years ago?" I wondered out loud.


    "That¡¯s impossible,¡± inserted Xiaotao. ¡°How old was he back then? I think there¡¯s a more realistic reason. Long Bangguo was a convict, and rtives of criminals are often discriminated against. That¡¯s probably why he denies having an older brother."


    I perused the newspaper clippings on the table and deduced, "Although he denies it, he still remembers the vendetta from all those years ago."


    When questioned what his younger brother¡¯s name was, Wang Yuanchao replied, "His birth name was Long Xingguo but he changed his name to Long Buhuiter on. I¡¯ll send you his photo."


    "Long Buhui?" I repeated the name. The meaning of it alone spoke volumes about his determination to seek revenge for his brother.


    Henceforth, I descend into Hell, noints, no regrets.


    I closed my eyes and the vague outline of the murderer in my mind gradually grew clearer. He was good at hiding his thoughts so an introverted appearance, slim, thin lips, steady eyes, and constantly gued by dark eye circles.


    At this moment, a WeChat notification rang, prompting me to open my eyes. The photo from Wang Yuanchao was simr to what I imagined but I seemed to have seen the man somewhere. After a considerable period of staring at the photo, I suddenly cried, "I ran into this young man near the city bureaust night. At the time, I thought the murderer was Long Bangguo so I let him go!"


    ¡°Don¡¯t me yourself,¡±forted Xiaotao. ¡°We all thought the killer was Long Bangguo."


    The phone rang again; it was Director-General Cheng. "Song Yang, five minutes ago, Officer Luomitted suicide in the hospital using an empty syringe,¡± he reported.


    His words were a bolt from the blue. Why did Officer Luo still end up dead?


    "What about Pockmark Li?"


    ¡°Pockmark Li is safe and sound. Officer Luo wasn¡¯t influenced by the music,¡± Director-General Cheng seemed to choke with emotion. ¡°He was afraid of implicating more innocents so he decided to end his life. Before he died, he sent me a long text, saying that he wanted to do onest thing for the people of Nanjiang City so he wouldn¡¯t desecrate the badge he wears. Lao Luo was really one of our finest."


    "ording to our investigation, the murderer is Long Bangguo¡¯s younger brother¨CLong Buhui. Now his remaining target is you. He doesn¡¯t have much time left after suffering the bacsh from the Yin object. So he¡¯ll certainlye to you."


    "You¡¯re wrong!¡± came a voice from behind me. ¡°His next target is you!"


    When I turned around, I noticed it was Zhang Jiulin who had spoken. "Your Yang energy has stimted the evil spirit residing in the Heartbroken Xun. He¡¯s mistaken you for Song Ci which makes me almost certain his next target is you!"


    Director-General Cheng demanded an exnation of the matter. I simply put the phone on speaker and narrated the ins and outs of the situation. Although astonished, Director-General Cheng was easily convinced after all he hade face to face with. "We can¡¯t risk it on chance,¡± he said after a moment¡¯s contemtion. ¡°Right now, the safest option is to let me stay with Song Yang. That way, the worst oue will be our deaths alone and no innocent casualties."


    "Alright then,¡± Zhang Jiulin nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll prepare to deal with the Heartbroken Xun, but I¡¯ll need Song Yang¡¯s cooperation."


    "This is a good ce to wait for the murderer," I added.


    "Are you stupid?¡±ughed Zhang Jiulin. ¡°This is a cemetery. It¡¯s very Yin at night. We¡¯ll have to switch to a more advantageous location."


    "I don¡¯t quite understand what you mean by Yin and Yang energy,¡± I frowned. ¡°I have a question. Why is the murderer able to attack us with uracy each time? Can this also be exined by that theory?"


    "Everything in this world is filled with energy,¡± Zhang Jiulin began. ¡°What these lingering spirits see is different from what ordinary people see. If you don¡¯t believe me, I¡¯ll open your eyes now."


    He grabbed a small vial which contained dark red liquid, and touched both Xiaotao and my eyelids. When I opened my eyes again, I saw "people" all over in the cemetery, many of whom had broken limbs, missing jaws and rotten intestines. Xiaotao eximed in horror and hugged my arm. "Song Yang, are those... ghosts?" she faltered.


    My reaction was milder inparison. My new view of the world prompted a sharp intake of breath. Zhang Jiulin looked dubiously at the vial in his hand and muttered to himself, "That¡¯s strange... Is crow blood not effective on you?"


    "I can see,¡± I answered. ¡°There¡¯s a whole cemetery of ghosts. What¡¯s the big deal?"


    Choking back his surprise, Zhang Jiulin smiled, "Your extraordinary courage certainly qualifies you as a descendant of Magistrate Song!"


    1. Meaning no regrets.

 Chapter 310

    <h4>Chapter 310</h4>


    I wiped the crow¡¯s blood off my face and my strange vision immediately disappeared. "You just said you want me to cooperate,¡± I turned to Zhang Jiulin. ¡°How?"


    "Let me keep that a secret for the time being,¡± he chuckled. ¡°But I can guarantee you won¡¯t encounter any danger. Where do you think we should go to draw the Heartbroken Xun to us?"


    "ording to your theory of Yin and Yang energy, isn¡¯t it best we head to the ce in Nanjiang City with the densest Yang energy?"


    "That would be a big mistake,¡±ughed Zhang Jiulin. ¡°The murderer wouldn¡¯t dare show up. The ce I¡¯m looking for cannot have too much Yin or Yang energy. At the same time, it must be away from civilians and be convenient for ambushes."


    "The Armed Police Training Base!¡± blurted Xiaotao. ¡°There¡¯s no one there at night and snipers can easily hide for an ambush."


    "Yes, sounds perfect!" I agreed.


    After a brief conversation with Director-General Cheng, we instructed the officers guarding him to release him and asked him to meet us at the Armed Police Training Base. Zhang Jiulin also needed a few officers with heavy Yang energy. Naturally, Wang Yuanchao fell in that category.


    Zhang Jiulin woke up the unconscious officers. Those badly injured were sent to the hospital while the others tagged along with us.


    Upon entering the vehicle, Xiaotao asked, "Jiu-ge, can youmunicate with spirits?"


    "Under normal circumstances, yes," he replied.


    "If you teach Song Yang this skill, won¡¯t solving crimes be as easy as ABC?" she said, looking at me.


    ¡°No!¡± I motioned with my hand repeatedly, "Bodies do not lie, but spirits, whether alive or dead will always speak in their favor which will only mislead our investigation. I¡¯d rather use the methods that my ancestors have handed down. There¡¯s no need to gild the lily."


    Zhang Jiulin turned to me with a look of respect and asked about my ancestors.


    After passing the bureau, Xiaotao bought some food and drinks at a convenience store. This case had us running round the clock, and with my usual level of physical activity, I was already exhausted. My physical strength couldn¡¯t keep up with the agenda but Zhang Jiulin seemed perfectly at ease. He attributed it to habit and routine.


    I had originally nned on snatching up the Yin object at thest minute but Zhang Jiulin¡¯s sincere assistance made my intentions seem almost despicable. "There¡¯s something I must tell you. The Heartbroken Xun is too dangerous so I have to destroy it on the spot. Forpensation, I¡¯ll give you ten million yuan. The bureau has already approved it."


    "Money doesn¡¯t mean much to me,¡± said Zhang Jiulin, arching his brow. ¡°I have to get the Yin object otherwise I won¡¯t be able to exin it to my client."


    "If you sell it, won¡¯t it bring about another tragedy?¡± I reasoned. ¡°This time, both of us are here to stop it. But who will be there next time?"


    "Yourpassion isudable,¡± he smiled. ¡°And I mean absolutely no sarcasm when I say this, but I think you¡¯re a little prejudiced regarding my profession."


    He exined in detail that Yin merchants never sell dangerous Yin objects but only after removing the evil spirit attached to them. Though the objects retained some special functions, they couldn¡¯t cause any harm again.


    He also cited a few transactions with several well-known, sessful entrepreneurs and celebrities in China. Although they might experience negative effects, it was inconsequentialpared to the sess the Yin object brought them.


    Yin objects were equivalent to converters of fortune, turning vitality into fortune without affecting karma. It was merely a different path, and some were willing to live a few years less for sess and riches.


    His words drew skepticism from me. "The Heartbroken Xun, a murder weapon, can actually do good?"


    "If properly applied, it can even save lives,¡± he replied enigmatically. ¡°It will never kill another after passing through these hands. I¡¯ll stake my reputation on this."


    I was a little convinced by him, but I was a little uneasy. Finally, I solemnly said, "If I hear any strange suicide cases sometime in the future and prove they¡¯re rted to Heartbroken Xun, I¡¯ve something in my hands that can send both you and Pockmark Li to jail!"


    "You¡¯re really not as simple as you look!¡± he frowned. ¡°But from our short time together, I¡¯m convinced by your character. I promise!"


    The card I had up my sleeves was Pockmark Li¡¯s ex-wife, Ru Xue¡¯s mysterious disappearance, which I had discovered through the Wuhan police. The strange thing was, his ex-wife¡¯s parents didn¡¯t report her disappearance but left with Pockmark Li¡¯s daughter. My intuition told me there was more to the matter than meets the eye.


    As men of the Jianghu, it wasn¡¯t surprising if their hands were stained with blood. In fact, I was positive Zhang Jiulin had killed before. The auras of those with lives on their hands were distinct from the rest.


    We soon arrived at the Armed Police Training Base that was located on a hill in the suburbs. It was argepound with several buildings. Every year, the new recruits would be sent here to receive nightmarish training, even undergoing special tests. Apparently, trainees would be attacked in the middle of the night, kidnapped and tortured for information to test their loyalty.


    This might be a rumor, but the armed police did undergo gruelling training which produced a passing rate of only 60%. At this thought, I was filled with admiration for Wang Yuanchao, who was once the chief instructor of the armed police.


    When we arrived, Wang Yuanchao and Director-General Cheng were already waiting for us.


    Wang Yuanchao knew the ce like the back of his hand, even more so than his own home. He flipped the circuit breaker and arranged a few rooms for us to rest and recuperate. As soon as Iy down on the bed, sleepiness overwhelmed me. I pped my cheeks in an attempt to drive the drowsiness away.


    The officers smoked tobat the lethargy, filling the room with the stench of cigarettes.


    "Ugh, these heavy smokers!¡± grumbled Xiaotao. ¡°Let¡¯s go out and get some air!"


    Amid the sparse stars that dotted the night sky was the warm milky glow of the moon. A gentle breeze caressed my skin. Xiaotao¡¯s shirt was covered withrge blood stains that I had left during the attack earlier. ¡°I¡¯ve soiled your shirt,¡± I said apologetically. ¡°I¡¯ll buy you a new one."


    "This shirt cost me a lot. You can¡¯t just rece it with a new one,¡± she teased. ¡°You have to apany me to the movies, go shopping and have dinner..."


    "And a night in a hotel?" I picked up where she left off.


    "You wish!" she yfully hit me. "You¡¯re bing more and more wicked!"


    "No, no!¡± I quickly denied. ¡°My heart is still very pure."


    I sat on the training equipment with Xiaotao joining me. We quietly appreciated the moon, filling the silence with useless chatter.


    "The moon is so round tonight!"


    "Yes, why is it so round?"


    I could feel her red-hot cheeks against my skin. Nervousness welled inside of me. Since thatst kiss, neither of us mentioned it again and we hadn¡¯t had the chance to be alone together.


    Despite how boldly she portrayed herself to be, Xiaotao was after all a girl with no romantic experience. She was very reserved about her first kiss, and so was I.


    As we sat next to each other in silence, wanton thoughts started to fill my head. I slowly ced my arm around Xiaotao¡¯s shoulders, trying to embrace her.


    "Song Yang, do you feel tired sometimes?" she asked, suddenly turning around.


    "Not at all,¡± I replied. ¡°All my exhaustion is swept away when I see you."


    "Aren¡¯t you a honey-mouthed sweet talker?" she smiled shyly.


    My heart was beating like a drum, but I feigned calmness on the surface. "Would you like a taste then?"


    Xiaotao leaned in, her warm breath brushing against my chin. Just as our lips were about to meet, intive music filled the empty training grounds...

 Chapter 311

    <h4>Chapter 311</h4>


    We jumped up nervously, but the musical notes rang once and stoppedpletely, sounding as if they came from the front door.


    When we ran to investigate the situation, we were greeted by Zhang Jiulin and Pockmark Li who carried a big stic bag and a handmade xun. The music had obviously originated from the man. As it turned out, Pockmark Li had left thepound to purchase some materials, and afraid he would lose his way, Jiu-ge went out to meet him.


    "I¡¯m sorry if I scared you,¡±ughed Pockmark Li. ¡°I was just testing if this thing works."


    "Pockmark Li, are you looking to die?!¡± Xiaotao rebuked, eyebrows arched. ¡°There are a bunch of snipers lying in wait in the watchtowers. You were this close to losing your life to a single shot, got that?"


    Pockmark Li turned ashen with fear despite Xiaotao¡¯s obvious bluff. In truth, the SWAT team wasn¡¯t in ce yet.


    Zhang Jiulin had purchased an oddbination of materials meant for setting up an array in thepound. This time, he swore he wouldn¡¯t let the murderer slip through his fingers. He requested the snipers hold off until the critical moment.


    They immediately got down to business, setting up an array that I couldn¡¯tprehend with the number of xuns all around the periphery.


    "Put this on!" ordered Zhang Jiulin as he threw me a bag.


    I removed the contents from the bag¨Ca purple Southern Song Dynasty official¡¯s uniform. "Are you kidding?¡± I retorted. ¡°I¡¯m not an traditional costume lover."


    "Do I look like I¡¯m joking?¡± said Zhang Jiulin. ¡°I¡¯m asking you to dress up as Magistrate Song Ci to lure the evil spirit from the Heartbroken Xun. This is tantamount to dealing with the fundamental problem so the power of the Yin object will be greatly reduced."


    My cheeks colored with shame. Many of the officers here were people I personally knew and worked with. Such an embarrassing chapter would certainly be taken as aughing matter by these men.


    "Do I really have to?" I prevaricated.


    "This is the most effective option,¡± he exined. ¡°If you¡¯re not willing to cooperate, then there¡¯s no hope of subduing the Heartbroken Xun."


    "Will Song Yang¡¯s life be in danger?" asked Xiaotao.


    "If it were someone else, I wouldn¡¯t be able to guarantee his safety. But Song Yang will definitely be alright,¡± Zhang Jiulin replied with great certainty. ¡°He has an extraordinary Yang constitution and has inherited Song Ci¡¯s bloodline, thus, bearing an imposing spirit of righteousness! Ordinary evil spirits wouldn¡¯t dare touch him. More importantly, he¡¯s still a virgin."


    Turning red like an overripe tomato, I felt the urge to swear. Xiaotao covered her mouth and chuckled, "Song Yang, please cooperate. I would like to see how you look in an ancient costume."


    "Stopughing!" I said.


    I found an empty ce where I could change into the costume. Ancient clothing was ratherplicated and took a lot of effort to wear. From head to foot, I had a futou, an official¡¯s robes and ck boots made from cloth. During the Song Dynasty, the officials¡¯ robes were rtively simple without any mandarin squares which wererge badges of the qilin, python, or the crane embroidered on the torso part of the garment. Instead, an official¡¯s rank was distinguished by color. Song Ci attained Standard ss Rank Two when he became Deputy Minister of Justice in his lifetime. The details were urate, but there was ack of certain small ornaments such as the fish tally.


    When I came out decked from head to toe, Xiaotao eximed, "God, you¡¯re handsome!"


    "Don¡¯t tease me!" I blushed.


    ¡°This little thing is really fun,¡± Xiaotao giggled, ying with the wing-like ps on the futou.


    "What impudence, insolent troublemaker!" I roared.


    "Not bad! Your performance is pretty lifelike,¡± she chuckled. ¡°If we get the chance, we have to do an ancient costume cosy."


    "My wife works at a film and televisionpany,¡± Zhang Jiulin chimed in. ¡°If you¡¯re interested in trying on an Emperor¡¯s robes, I can pull some strings."


    Xiaotao asked what the little wings on my futou were and whether they were a symbol of rank. Seeing that Zhang Jiulin was still preparing for our showdown with the murderer, I taught Xiaotao a little more about our history. Back when Zhao Kuangyin first became Emperor, his civil and military officials were buddies he had fought side-by-side in the war. They were rooted in their casual manners, even whispering amongst themselves and speaking impolitely in court. Angered by the fact, Zhao Kuangyin wanted to retaliate so he added a pair of little wings to the officials¡¯ futou. Thus, anyone who turned his head would clearly be noticed so no one dared to whisper in the court thereafter.


    "You know so much," praised Xiaotao.


    Soon, the SWAT team arrived and Xiaotao deployed them to their positions. They mobilized snipers to themanding heights around thepound, ready to ambush the murderer. Zhang Jiulin snapped his fingers and instructed me to stand on the training grounds, facing the open front door. I was supposed to wait for our ¡°guests¡± while the others were ordered not to show themselves.


    "There¡¯s so many of us. Will he reallye?" I asked doubtfully.


    "I ced a talisman that will conceal the Yang energy so he won¡¯t feel the breath of the living,¡± said Zhang Jiulin.


    "What should I sayter?" I asked.


    "Improvise!"


    Wang Yuanchao turned off the lights as everyone took their ces. I stood alone in the middle of the training grounds for half an hour, my legs almost numb. Right then, a sudden gust of cold wind swept the grounds, immediately alerting me to danger. The snipers on the watchtowers opened their bolts and waited for orders.


    I stared nervously at the door, too anxious to utter a word. As the minutes went by, a strong gale sent sand and stones flying, momentarily blurring my vision. I subconsciously shielded my eyes with my hands, and when I finally removed them, I saw an ancient man in prison uniform standing before me. His emaciated body was stained with blood, his expression grim and vicious.


    "Song Ci, it¡¯s you!¡± he shouted venomously. ¡°I, Qiu Er, have been looking for you all this time. I¡¯ll make you pay with your life today!"


    "Qiu Er?" The name struck a chord¨Cit was mentioned in The Chronicles of Grand Magistrates! This man was the most ruthless opponent Song Ci had ever encountered in his life, also Song Ci¡¯s most formidable enemy.


    Was the xun created from his skull?


    "What impudence, Qiu Er!¡± I yelled. ¡°Back then, I sentenced you to justice, yet here you are, wrecking havoc and taking lives!"


    ¡°I¡¯m now a ghost king!¡± Qiu Er threw his head back in sinisterughter. ¡°What can you do to me? It¡¯s time to end our thousand-year vendetta! One of us must die today!"


    With that, his skin suddenly festered before my eyes, more blood soaking his clothes as he pounced in my direction. I took a step back in horror but Zhang Jiulin shouted, "Don¡¯t move!"


    A green glow radiated from Zhang Jiulin¡¯s Ghost-ying Daggers, forcing Qiu Er backwards. Zhang Jiulin leaped into the air with a dagger in each hand,mencing the fierce confrontation with Qiu Er whose nails had grown long and sharp.


    The two shed, unleashing a series of onught. I watched this scene with amazement at man vs ghost. Was there anything stranger in this world?


    I scanned the area, gaze falling upon the stunned snipers on the watchtower who were so unnerved they couldn¡¯t fire.


    The duel stretched for a considerable amount of time when Qiu Er suddenly shrank, transforming into a young man holding the Heartbroken Xun. He ced the xun against his lips and blew and the surrounding xun began ying at the same time.


    A burst of sonic booms originated from the Heartbroken Xun, shaking the earth, almost throwing us off our feet. Fortunately, the array Zhang Jiulin had prepared managed to reign in its strength.


    Zhang Jiulin stood in the middle of the array, swaying from the vibrations in the ground as he spat out blood. Worried for his safety, I shouted, "Shoot!"


    ¡°No!¡± Zhang Jiulin bellowed, his mouth full of blood.


    ¡°Shoot!¡± I insisted.


    "I SAID NO!!" came Zhang Jiulin¡¯s anxious roar.


    The snipers had all been dizzied by the quake. Right then, a clear and crisp gunshot shattered the night sky. I turned around to see Wang Yuanchao standing there, his sniper rifle smoking at the muzzle.


    The young man staggered and slowly fell to the ground along with the Heartbroken Xun. Calm prevailed once more...

 Chapter 312

    <h4>Chapter 312</h4>


    Zhang Jiulin and I rushed towards the young man at the same time. He bit his finger and smeared a drop of blood on the Heartbroken Xun while I checked the man¡¯s pulse. Wang Yuanchao shot through his right shoulder so the young man was only unconscious.


    The young man was the murderer we were looking for¨CLong Buhui. "Call an ambnce,¡± I instructed Xiaotao.


    "Who said you could give thatmand earlier?!" shouted Zhang Jiulin as he grabbed my shirt.


    "I was afraid you¡¯d get hurt," I answered.


    ¡°Well thank you then,¡± Zhang Jiulin helplessly sighed and loosened his hold on my shirt.


    The Heartbroken Xun had been sessfully subdued. I exined everything to Director-General Cheng, taking quite some time to reason with him before he agreed to hand over the Heartbroken Xun to Zhang Jiulin.


    Exhausted, I couldn¡¯t wait to change out of these robes. Xiaotao hugged my arm, unlocked her cell phone and said, "Smile!"


    After our selfie, Xiaotao insisted she would treasure the photo, though we soon discovered my face looked blurry in it. Strangely, there was a middle-aged man¡¯s face hidden at the top of the photo, his features greatly resembling mine.


    It was a long time afterwards before I knew that the man in the picture matched the face of my forefather, Deputy Minister of Justice Song Ci.


    Long Buhui was sent to the hospital for emergency surgery. Early the next morning, Zhang Jiulin left for home. Xiaotao and I gave him a lift to the train station. When we parted, he invited me to visit Wuhan if the opportunity arose.


    Now that the case was closed, the thing I wanted to do most was to have a romantic date with Xiaotao. Unfortunately, our circumstances didn¡¯t allow that. Xiaotao still had much to deal with, including the memorial service for the officers lost in the line of duty and reports to write.


    There was no mention of Zhang Jiulin in the case files due to the abnormality of the whole incident. I endeavored to rationalize these events and make them sound as scientific as possible.


    Three dayster, Xiaotao informed me that Long Buhui had regained consciousness, though his body was greatly weakened. The interrogation had to be conducted in the hospital.


    When we arrived in his ward, Long Buhui was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Xiaotao exchanged a knowing look with the officers on duty, indicating for them to leave. We shut the door and moved the chairs beside Long Buhui¡¯s bed.


    "Let¡¯s talk,¡± I began. ¡°How did you obtain the Heartbroken Xun and why did you target those officers?"


    Long Buhui maintained his silence for a few seconds before he asked, "Will I end up like my brother?"


    "No,¡± I refuted. ¡°You killed so many innocents. You¡¯ll be sentenced the death penalty!"


    "Who can prove that I killed those people?¡± he sneered. ¡°I merely yed a musical instrument and then theymitted suicide. How can you prove that their deaths were rted to me?"


    He was a smart man indeed. In truth, before we headed to the hospital, the judicial department and the public security bureau had studied the case all night. On what charges would Long Buhui be prosecuted? In the end, they reached the consensus to prosecute Long Buhui for intentional homicide. The Heartbroken Xun was a tool, no different from a knife and a gun. As the perpetrator, Long Buhui must assume legal responsibility.


    "Thew is more versatile than you imagine,¡± I said. ¡°You can¡¯t get away with it. Since you don¡¯t think ying a musical instrument ismitting murder, I can y it for you!"


    Long Buhui¡¯s disquietude proved he was afraid of death. He struggled so hard he almost knocked over the infusion stand. We had a hard time stabilizing him before he said, "You¡¯re an officer. How can you do such a thing?"


    "Sorry to disappoint you,¡± I chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m not actually one! I¡¯m just a criminal consultant."


    "So you¡¯re here to question me?" The veil of relief that swept across his face betrayed his emotions.


    "I just want to know why a promising young man such as yourself degenerated into a murderer."


    ¡°Promising young man?¡± he mocked. ¡°My life was ruined the day you framed my brother."


    He finally lowered his guard and began to tell his story. When he was eight years old, the brother he lived with was arrested. After that, the infamy of being rted to a criminal overshadowed his life, plunging him into endless suffering from ostracism, discrimination and bullying. Everyone around him, ssmate or teacher, both intentionally and unwittingly drew a clear line with him.


    He could put up with the discrimination but the obstacles that faced his everyday life proved too much to bear. Gaining admission into high school and finding a job became a million times harder than before.


    Despite his admission to a prestigious high school based on his excellent results alone, they eventually turned him down after investigating his life and discovering that he had a convict for a brother. In the end, he was forced to attend the worst school. Companies refused to hire him upon graduation, leaving him with no other options besides menial jobs no one wanted.


    From an early age, he was inferior to everyone else, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn¡¯t break this curse. But he loved and adored his brother very much so he didn¡¯t hate him at all.


    He assumed his plight was caused by the police, certain that they framed his Long Bangguo and indirectly ruined his own life because they were jealous of his brother¡¯s abilities.


    Ever since then, he was bent on revenge and paid close attention to these officers who were once his brother¡¯s colleagues. Watching them rise through the ranks after beingmended for their and meritorious service ignited the mes of hatred and resentment in his heart. But how could he confront an entire public security bureau when he himself was weak and powerless?


    Later on, a mysterious man found him and handed him something, exining that his brother died in prison because the police were afraid he would shed light on the truth upon release from incarceration. Convinced they had orchestrated the murder, Long Buhui was filled with rage.


    The mysterious man imed the xun could help him wreak vengeance which he so desperately desired. As long as the melody was yed, those officers would receive due retribution.


    The powerless were always vulnerable to such miraculous possibilities. Predictably so, he quickly epted the man¡¯s ridiculous ims and unleashed his revenge as soon as his brother¡¯s sentence reached full term.


    The more lives he took, the fiercer the mes of revenge burned. His vengeful obsession eventually ate away at him, weakening his body close to the point of copse. Fueled by willpower and subsisting on drugs, he continued to use the Heartbroken Xun. He felt as if he could hear the voice of his older brother¡¯s spirit that resided in the xun, filling his heart with an indescribable sense of contentment and joy.


    Unfortunately, he was only short of one life before he fell into our hands.


    When he finished narrating, Xiaotao sighed, "There¡¯s no conspiracy theory. Your brother killed on impulse. No one framed him or wanted to silence him."


    "You¡¯re lying,¡± snapped Long Buhui. ¡°It¡¯s clear the police killed him! My brother is such a great man. What¡¯s wrong with killing criminals?"


    Xiaotao wanted to continue reasoning with him but I stopped her and shook my head, "Forget it!"


    After leaving the ward, Xiaotaomented, "His motive for revenge waspletely instigated by others."


    "But he¡¯s willing to believe that,¡± I said. ¡°Rome wasn¡¯t built in one day. Long Buhui has been the subject of discrimination since he was a child. His mind and heart has long been distorted. In fact, he¡¯s the product of enmities stacked on each other."


    Back then, the triad boss retaliated against the police and killed the girl Long Bangguo loved. Blinded by hatred, he shot and killed the man but his imprisonment condemned Long Buhui to a life of misery. With the deaths of these officers today, their families would bear the pain of losing them and in turn, breeding new hatred again...


    This was all a butterfly effect. The wings of the butterfly fluttered in areas we hadn¡¯t noticed. By the time it turned into a hurricane, it was already toote. Perhaps at some point, I myself might have nted the seeds of hatred!


    Only by taking a God¡¯s-Eye view of the situation could we judge clearly. Destiny yed tricks on all of us. Choosing to fight crime undoubtedly meant standing at the forefront of hatred. We never knew when the tide would turn and snuff out our feeble lives.


    However, the one principle that motivated us on this dangerous path was¨Cno regrets in the battle for justice!


    A monthter, the case was tried by the Supreme People¡¯s Court of the People¡¯s Republic of China.


    The used, Long Buhui, was sentenced to death in ordance with thew for the crimes of intentional injury, assaulting a police officer and disrupting public order. The facts were clear and the evidence was conclusive.


    The court dismissed all appeals and called for immediate execution.

 Chapter 313

    <h4>Chapter 313</h4>


    After the case of the Heartbroken Xun, I made a trip to Bingxin¡¯s ce to fulfill my promise.


    Sun Tiger looked exhausted after just returning from his trip to study countermeasures against that mysterious organization. I was too preupied ying games with Bingxin to talk to him.


    After lunch, Sun Tiger called me to the balcony and said earnestly, "Son!


    I thought he was about to say something important but his next words left me astonished. "I noticed that you¡¯ve been getting along quite well with my baby girl recently,¡± he began. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest with you, I¡¯m relieved to hand her over to you! As an elder, I have to stress that I¡¯m not a conservative parent and I understand that my daughter is all grown up now so certain things mighte naturally in the course of dating. But as a man, you must have a sense of responsibility. Once a girl goes through an abortion, her body will be affected for the rest of her life."


    After contemting the right words for a long time, I made my position clear, "Uncle Sun, Bingxin and I are very good friends, nothing more. Besides, I..."


    On second thought, my rtionship with Xiaotao was a matter of privacy that needed no disclosure.


    ¡°Oh, my mistake!¡± Sun Tiger looked surprised. "You two have been friends since you were little. If you do get together in the future, I¡¯ll have noints. As a father, I worry that my daughter will be cheated and taken away by some good-for-nothing! I¡¯ve seen news on TV about girls who elope with some deadbeat, and I thought that if this happened in my home, I would have to blow my head off!"


    Embarrassment written all over my face, I squeezed out a few perfunctory replies and asked about work. But when it came to business, Sun Tiger chuckled and avoided my questions. I figured it involved state secrets so I didn¡¯t insist on hearing an answer.


    During this period of time, Dali had undergone the most changes. He sessfully got his driver¡¯s license and drove the Mercedes-Benz allotted to me by the police, though it seemed the usage rights solely belonged to Dali.


    On our first test drive, Dali came dressed in a casual suit. "Before I knew it, I¡¯ve be the person I used to despise,¡± I joked. ¡°If you tried passing off as a rich kid, people might actually believe it!¡±


    "How can I be insulted with the title, ¡®Rich Kid¡¯?¡± cried Dali. ¡°I¡¯m going to be a self-made millionaire!"


    "Have you got any ideas about starting your own business?" I asked.


    "We¡¯ll talk about thister!¡± Dali motioned with his hands. ¡°I¡¯ve just learned to drive and I haven¡¯t quite gotten the hang of it yet. Don¡¯t talk to me, you¡¯ll only distract me!"


    We drove around the university and had lunch at a restaurant Dali picked out. He insisted on treating me to lunch and ordered a whole table full of food. Such a clear show of currying favor meant the idiot was up to no good. "What is it you want?" I asked bluntly.


    Dali put his palms together and said, "I really can¡¯t hide anything from you. Actually... um ... How should I put this..."


    "Stop mumbling and speak up!" I interjected.


    "I need some start-up funds,¡± admitted Dali, face flushed like a ripe apple. ¡°Can you lend me some money?"


    After all those twists and turns, it turned out this was what he wanted. "How much?" I asked.


    "The more the better,¡± he answered.


    I had more than a million yuan in my ount. It was pennies in the eyes of a rich kid but it was all my savings. "Is one million enough?" I cut to the chase, paying little mind to his request.


    "That¡¯s enough! More than enough!¡± he cried excitedly.


    I immediately transferred the money to Dali, after which he promised he would return what he borrowed. Starting a business was difficult and I didn¡¯t want to put too much pressure on him so I said, "You don¡¯t have to pay back the money. Just think of me as a shareholder. It doesn¡¯t matter if you fail or seed, I¡¯ll hold a million yuan worth of shares, alright?"


    "Of course!¡± Dali nodded fervently. ¡°I won¡¯t let you down."


    "But here¡¯s a word of warning,¡± I said. ¡°Spend it wisely. A million yuan isn¡¯t a small sum and I won¡¯t be able toe up with that sort of money again..."


    Wang Dali pped his chest and assured, "Don¡¯t you worry! I guarantee every penny will be spent on essentials!"


    Right after assuring me, he turned to the waiter and ordered two of the most expensive dishes!


    Dali continued to create his business enthusiastically but kept the details to himself. I acted as if nothing happened. In the worst-case scenario, the business was aplete failure and I would have to look for a job.


    In May, the students on campus had all switched to cool summer wear. There was only a month left before graduation.


    Every few days, we all went out for a meal together, happily drinking cheap beer with stir-fried potato shreds and twice-cooked pot. We dreamed of a beautiful future, hearts filled with ambition and hope, certain we could ovee anything. After getting drunk, we would hold our heads in agony and wail in memory of the youth that was about to fade.


    The boys in the ss gathered for drinks so often, the oldest in our dormitory drank so much he had to be hospitalized for gastrointestinal bleeding.


    However, he soon recovered and was discharged from the hospital within a few days. Then, in the name of celebrating his recovery, we went to the cheap Sichuan cuisine restaurant outside of campus for another round of vomit-inducing drinking. After more than two hours of eating, drinking and being merry, two of our roommates werepletely drunk, while Dali was slightly tipsy. We went back to our dormitory on foot.


    As night fell, some of the girls in junior year strolled around campus in their pretty dresses as theyughed and chatted. ¡°How nice it is to be young,¡± Dali sighed with emotion. ¡°Looking at these beautiful young girls reminds me of my younger days. At the time, I too walked along the street like this, eagerly looking at other girls."


    "Ugh, stop being so dramatic,¡± I chided. ¡°Go back and drink some vinegar. You need to sober up!"


    "Isn¡¯t the whole point of drinking to get drunk?¡± he argued. ¡°Sigh, do you think I made a big mistake? Maybe I should¡¯ve chased after our juniors. Instead of fighting so desperately in our ¡®resource-deficient¡¯ department, I might as well have tried my luck in someone else¡¯s gold mine. After all, senior students might have a special appeal to juniors. Ah, I do regret it!"


    "It¡¯s not toote now,¡± Iughed. ¡°Go up there and try your luck!"


    Dali debated with himself for a second, then waved his hand repeatedly, "Not today! Perhaps another day!"


    "I¡¯ll bet ten yuan that you¡¯re too afraid to strike up a conversation with a girl," I quipped.


    Provoked by my words, he retorted, "Who says I¡¯m afraid?!"


    "Then go ahead."


    "Fine! I¡¯ll do it!"


    Dali moved the drunkard on his shoulder to the side of the road, summoned up his courage and walked towards the girls. Halfway there, he turned around and said, "Forget it. I only have Bingxin in my heart."


    "You coward!" I scoffed.


    "Fate is a mysterious thing,¡± Dali remarked as he started weaving a web of nonsense. ¡°It¡¯s important to be content with what you have instead of insisting on that which does not belong to you. Who knows? A girl mighte up and talk to us instead."


    "You might as well stop looking for a girlfriend!"


    With the two drunk men on each of our shoulders, we slowly made our way back to the dormitory, only to find a petite girl wearing a yellow dress standing downstairs. She poked her head through the entrance as if waiting for someone. "Looks like you were right!¡± I joked. ¡°There¡¯s a girl looking for you."


    "I¡¯m not the man of the hour on our campus,¡± he sighed. ¡°She¡¯s definitely looking for you!"


    Just then, the girl turned around and timidly asked, "Excuse me, which of you is Song Yang?"


    I stared in surprise while Dali¡¯s mouth had fallen agape. The girl was actually waiting for me!

 Chapter 314

    <h4>Chapter 314</h4>


    Dali looked at me with the sad eyes of a bachelor and turned to the girl, "He is!"


    The girl bowed and introduced herself, "I¡¯m Luo Youyou, a junior student majoring inputer science. I¡¯ve heard a lot about you, it¡¯s nice to meet you."


    Luo Youyou was a petite young girl with dainty and delicate features, though she was now tinted with an air of sadness. My guess was she hade for help. "What can I do for you?" I asked.


    Luo Youyou tucked her hair behind her ear and timidly replied, "Song Yang, one of my ssmates has been possessed. Can you please help him?"


    "I¡¯m sorry,¡± I smiled wryly. ¡°I¡¯m not in this line of work. You¡¯d have better luck asking a Taoist priest."


    "Don¡¯t get me wrong,¡± she faltered. ¡°I know that you¡¯ve solved many cases. You¡¯re a great detective. The thing is, my ssmates and I yed a gamest night, and then one of us was possessed. He insisted he was a woman who had been murdered."


    Exorcism wasn¡¯t my specialty so her ttery was useless. "I can¡¯t deal with this. Please find an expert!"


    I left her with those words and helped the two drunk men to our dormitory. "Dude, why are you so cruel?¡± asked Dali. ¡°How can you reject a cute junior¡¯s request?"


    "Why don¡¯t you help her then!" I rolled my eyes at him.


    We were slowly walking up the stairs when Luo Youyou suddenly rushed in with tears in her eyes. "Song Yang, please, no one can help him except you!"


    I didn¡¯t intend to pay her any attention but big-mouthed Dali had to run his mouth off. "He¡¯s agreed to help you. We¡¯ll be down shortly."


    ¡°Thank you so much!¡± Luo Youyou smiled through the tears.


    ring at Dali, I couldn¡¯t help but swear under my breath. Dali scratched his head and said, "Just think of it as doing me a favor. Just promise her first, and I¡¯ll handle the rest."


    "I promised Lao Yao we would y some video games tonight," I sighed.


    "So what if you stood him up once?¡± retorted Dali. ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. Just send him another naked photo!"


    I sighed as I helped our roommates back to their beds. Afraid he would reek of alcohol, Dali started chewing on some gum, tidying up his shirt as we walked downstairs. "Do you think there¡¯s a chance of romance for me?" he asked.


    "I don¡¯t know about that, but you¡¯ve a bit of nose hair sticking out," Iughed.


    "Really? I¡¯ll have to go trim it now!"


    "Geez, I¡¯m just kidding!¡± I said, grabbing his shirt. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you fell for that!"


    Since Dali had decided on helping the girl, I left the talking to him. When we met up with Luo Youyou again, Dali solemnly said, "Luo-xuemei, can you tell us what happened in detail?"


    "Have you guys ever heard of the Four-Corner Game?"


    The so-called Four-Corner Game was a kind of supernatural game to be yed at midnight. Four people would stand in an empty, rectangr room with all the lights turned off. Each person took one corner and stood facing the wall, and the rules forbade them from turning around.


    Once the game began, one of them would walk counterclockwise or clockwise in one direction, pat the second person on the shoulder and stay in that corner. The four of them would then repeat this action.


    As the urban legend goes, a "fifth person" would appear during the game, patting one of them on the shoulder which proved the sessful summoning of an otherworld being!


    Luo Youyou exined that she had yed the game with two boys and another girl in a ssroomst night. Although the atmosphere at the time was horrifying, the fifth ¡°person¡± never emerged. But to their horror, one of the boys suddenly shouted and fell to the ground at the end of the game. After they turned the lights back on, they pinched the boy to wake him up. Upon opening his eyes, his gaze turned feminine and unfamiliar. He even yed with his hair in a girlish manner and wailed sorrowfully, "I died miserably, I died miserably..."


    The bizarre turn of events frightened them out of their wits. However, the boy didn¡¯t seem like he was ying a hoax on them. He had even missed ss today. ording to his roommates, his symptoms hadn¡¯t improved. He spent the whole time either giggling or crying, terrifying his roommates into leaving the dorm room. No one dared inform their professors for fear of punishment. After a long debate with no resolutions, they decided toe to me for help.


    "Why did you think of ying this game?" I couldn¡¯t resist asking.


    ¡°We wanted to summon a spirit,¡± Luo Youyou admitted with her head lowered.


    "Why would you do that?"


    "Have you ever heard of Xia Mo?" she asked.


    I did a double take when I heard the name. Xia Mo was one of the top students before her death. With the uing CET-6 examination, the four backward students came up with the idea of summoning Xiao Mo after overhearing another student mention a rumor. Apparently, a student managed to pass his CET-4 after requesting Xia Mo to take the examination on his behalf through the spirit pen game.


    "You kids have all these crazy ideas,¡± I said. ¡°I won¡¯t even bother debating the authenticity of the rumor. But what if you summoned a malicious spirit instead?"


    ¡°I was wrong,¡± mumbled Luo Youyou as she bowed her head in shame. "We shouldn¡¯t have looked for an easy way out."


    Then again, I helped Xia Mo¡¯s spirit cross over during my first case together with Xiaotaost year. God only knew how that student passed his exam¡ªperhaps it was a sort of self-hypnosis. I doubt he managed to summon any spirits.


    We arrived at the boys¡¯ dormitory building and headed to their room. Right outside the door, a girl¡¯s voice drifted into our ears. "What a joke! If Luo Youyou manages to get Song Yang to help us, I¡¯ll write my name upside down!"


    There was a boy and a girl talking inside the room. Hearing the sound of our footsteps, she turned around and stared in wide-eyed shock. "S-Song Yang!¡± she stuttered. ¡°Oh my God, it¡¯s really you!"


    ¡°Dude, you¡¯re famous!¡± Dali whispered as he nudged me.


    "Who¡¯s spreading rumors about me?" I grimaced.


    Luo Youyou began by introducing the two. The girl was Li Meijing and the boy was Zhang Cheng, while the one who needed our help was called Ding Xu. He was now asleep in bed after a long day of kicking up a fuss.


    Li Meijing couldn¡¯t hide the excitement on her face as she got some chairs and poured us a ss of water. At her behest, Zhang Cheng even offered us cigarettes which I declined.


    "Song Yang, everyone in school says you have an influential background,¡± gushed Li Meijing. ¡°Is it true that generations of your ancestors were all traditional coroners? Have you found a job? Will you join the police after graduation? Can I ask you a personal question? Do you have a girlfriend?¡± Li Meijing proceeded to bombard me with questions.


    Zhang Cheng¡¯s unsightly expression suggested the two were a couple.


    Seeing I was about to lose my patience, Luo Youyou tugged on Li Meijing¡¯s sleeve to remind her of her manners but thetter spoke too quickly for anyone to interject. When I finally had a chance to slide a word in, I asserted, "Let¡¯s get down to business first. Can we leave the personal questions for another time?"


    ¡°Alright, alright. I won¡¯t bother you with my questions....¡± Li Meijing spat her tongue. "But can I ask onest thing?"


    "Meijing, don¡¯t be rude," snapped Zhang Cheng.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a few questions,¡± Li Meijing snorted nonchntly. "Song Yang hasn¡¯t evenined about it. You¡¯re the one who¡¯s getting your panties in a twist! Am I right, Song Yang?"


    I heaved a weary sigh. This was one annoying youngdy!

 Chapter 315

    <h4>Chapter 315</h4>


    A resentful voice interrupted our conversation, "Go away! Get lost! Don¡¯t eat my flesh! Get out of here, you disgusting maggots!"


    Although there were six of us in the room, hearing such a voice still gave us goosebumps. Having heard countless lies, the sadness and despair in that voice sounded genuine to me; the boy didn¡¯t seem to be putting on an act.


    "Ding Xu, why the hell have you gone mad again?¡± Zhang Cheng vehemently banged the headboard. ¡°Get up quickly and look who¡¯s here."


    The boy sat up on his bed, revealing a burly, though slightly chubby physique. From his physical appearance alone, no one would dispute his gender, yet his eyes looked exactly like a woman¡¯s. The expression he wore revealed a trace of difort and he suddenly covered his face with his hands, screaming loudly, "Get out! Get out! Get out!!! The energy on your body burns!"


    "Song Yang, please don¡¯t take offense,¡± whispered Luo Youyou. ¡°He¡¯s been like this towards everyone. In the afternoon, he even yelled at the dormitory manager..."


    "Can you all leave the room?¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯d like to ask him a few questions alone."


    The juniors exchanged apprehensive looks.


    "Does that include me?" asked Dali.


    "Yes!" I replied.


    The four of them vacated the room, closing the door behind them. Ding Xu held the quilt trembling as he huddled in one corner of the bed, making no disguise of his fear.


    From a rational point of view, I didn¡¯t believe in possessions. In fact, possession by ghosts and gods was often a strong psychological hint that yed a certain role in the subconscious. Back in his younger days when Grandpa wandered around, he came across a vige girl who was supposedly possessed by a fox spirit in the northeast region. All the witch doctors and shamans invited by the girl¡¯s family were powerless against the purported fox spirit. Because Grandpa was cooperating with the public security bureau at the time, the vigers perceived an air of nobility about him and begged him to save the girl.


    The first thing Grandpa did was to scan the room before pushing the kerosenemp on the stove into the woodpile. The vige girl immediately jumped up from her bed to extinguish the fire because she had hidden money under the woodpile. Striking while the iron was hot, Grandpa spoke briefly with her, curing her madness at once.


    What was the reason behind this?


    If her consciousness had truly been invaded by a fox spirit, she would have had no way of knowing where the vige girl hid her money, which only served to prove that she wasn¡¯t truly possessed. Her bad rtionship with her inws had caused resentment to umte in her heart for a long time, and the fox spirit was merely a medium for venting her dissatisfaction.


    I decided to follow in Grandpa¡¯s example, using the boy¡¯s own self-contradicting remarks to predicate the truth of his possession. Since he imed to be a dead woman, I would go along with it till his words revealed a w and the realization of the truth sunk in.


    I stared into Ding Xu¡¯s eyes and asked, "What¡¯s your name?"


    "Get out of here! I don¡¯t want to talk to you!" he screamed.


    "If you don¡¯t cooperate, I will stay over tonight," I asserted.


    Ding Xu bit his lower lip and tried tucking his sideburns behind his ears despite the length being too short to actually do that. A momentter, he ruefully said, "My name is Qiu Wanxia, I¡¯m twenty-four this year, and I¡¯m... a waitress."


    "How did you die?" I asked.


    "I was killed," he said with his head lowered.


    "Which year and by whom?"


    Covering his ears, Ding Xu screamed, "Don¡¯t make me think about that! Please!"


    "Don¡¯t you want revenge?¡± I argued. ¡°Speak up and I can help you."


    "I..." Ding Xu¡¯s lips trembled as he hesitated for some time before his eyes were filled with resolution. "I don¡¯t want revenge. I just want to be reincarnated as soon as possible! Even though he killed me, I still love him."


    "I can send you to reincarnation but you have to help me,¡± I said. ¡°Who is the person who killed you?"


    "The domineering gege!" she blurted.


    When he spoke the name, his cheeks flushed like a red apple, as if he were a shy girl. Seeing his reaction gave me goosebumps, though I feignedposure. "What¡¯s his real name?"


    "I don¡¯t know. CEO Xu forced me to be his lover but the domineering gege is handsome and dominating and rich, so I fell in love with him. He said he loved me too and he wanted to marry me. He promised he would take care of me for a lifetime. But then he found out I was a spy and killed me. I died a horrible death that night!"


    Ding Xu buried his face in his hands again, sobbing uncontrobly.


    I tried not tough. Her story was so dramatic she might as well have written a Mary Sue novel. "What year was this?" I asked.


    "The year the renminbi joined the SDR,¡± he replied without hesitation. ¡°The domineering gege was very happy that day and opened a bottle of Lafite to celebrate. We got so drunk we made love in the office." His cheeks suffused with color, his hands slowly stretched downwards, as if reminiscing their intimate encounter.


    I remember it happened in 2015. Joining SDR meant that the RMB could be circted in the world, which was of great significance to businessmen. But for ordinary people, it probably wasn¡¯t as significant as the news of the sessful bid for the Winter Olympics that year.


    "That was 2015,¡± I interrupted. ¡°What clothes were you wearing on the day you died?"


    "A Chanel pink sweater, white Levi¡¯s jeans, a pair of white Gi sneakers, the Givenchy bag he gave me, and a hair bow on my head."


    He said it all in one breath, his facial expression so natural and at ease he didn¡¯t seem to be lying at all. But still, I caught a contradiction, "This outfit is a spring outfit, right?"


    "Yes!" he eximed.


    "The renminbi joined the SDR in December,¡± I sneered. ¡°You two had sex that day, but you died in spring. Was he raping your corpse then?"


    I assumed the incongruity was enough to shake his conviction but he calmly replied, "Yes, you¡¯re right. I didn¡¯t need to wear a coat indoors because his office had heating."


    I had to admit that his answer and expression was wless. "Whichpany?" I continued.


    "Hmph, I won¡¯t tell you!" he smiled haughtily.


    I couldn¡¯t help but curse on the inside. How vignt!


    "Can you describe how you died?" I said.


    Ding Xu fell into a panic, covering his chest with the quilt, body quaking like a leaf. "He found out my true identity that day. He called me a liar and kicked me to the ground, kicking and kicking for a long time. Then, he poured red wine down my nose. I still remember the smell of blood mixed with wine filling my nose. All I saw was red. He cut my stomach open with a pair of scissors and stuffed a litter of hamsters into my uterus. But he was afraid I would die so he gave me an injection. At that point, I didn¡¯t feel any more pain, but I could feel the litter of hamsters burrowing through my uterus. In a daze, I was taken to a remote location. Iy in the car like a puppet, watching him dig a hole in the ground. Then, he pulled me by the hair and called me a slut as he dragged me out of the car and threw me into the pit. Finally, I was buried alive... "


    Her description was so vivid I felt a chill crawl up my spine. "Why did the murderer stuff hamsters into you? Is there some sort of meaning behind that?"


    "Because he knew that he was infertile and the child I was carrying wasn¡¯t his,¡± he replied. ¡°That was his way of torturing me."


    "Whose child was it then?"


    "CEO Xu¡¯s, but I don¡¯t love him!¡± Ding Xu ced his hand over his stomach. ¡°He was just using me as a sex tool and a ything!"


    "Who is CEO Xu?"


    "I only know his surname. He was the one who arranged me to spy on the domineering gege."


    Thus far, the boy¡¯s exnation waspletely airtight, leaving me rather helpless. There was only one way left to break the fantasy. "Take me to your body!" I demanded.

 Chapter 316

    <h4>Chapter 316</h4>


    When I opened the door, the four eavesdroppers almost fell onto the ground. Li Meijing started yapping away, "Song Yang, you¡¯re amazing! Earlier, he refused to say anything to us and pretended to be crazy. But you managed to get so much out of him. You¡¯re definitely a hero of both the mortal world and the underworld."


    I brushed her off and turned to Dali, "Go get my tools. We¡¯re leaving now!"


    "Dude, are you nning on going?¡± he frowned. ¡°Do you really believe in a madman¡¯s words?"


    Secretly winking at me, he pointed his finger at Luo Youyou while the others weren¡¯t paying attention. His focus was entirely on Luo Youyou so he wasn¡¯t really sincere in helping the boy. The whole exorcism was merely a ploy to approach this pretty junior. However, my principles prevented me from giving up halfway. After all that¡¯s been said, going to look for the supposed corpse wouldn¡¯t take much effort.


    My intuition told me there was more to this than meets the eye. What if we really found a body?


    "Enough of your nonsense!¡± I chided. ¡°Go!"


    Li Meijing stared at me like a love-struck fool. "Wow, Song Yang, you¡¯re so manly!" I felt a burst of goosebumps.


    The three of them insisted on joining us when Ding Xu got up from bed, revealing a flowery skirt and two furry thighs. The dreadful mismatch was enough to give me sore eyes!


    "Change out of the skirt!¡± demanded Zhang Cheng. ¡°If you go out like this, you¡¯re going to be aughing stock.¡±


    "No, I¡¯ve always liked wearing skirts!" Ding Xu stubbornly twisted his hips.


    "Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re in someone else¡¯s body now,¡± I warned. ¡°If you¡¯re arrested as a lunatic, both you and the owner of the body will suffer."


    My argument talked some sense into Ding Xu who relented and went to the bathroom to change into pants.


    Seeing that he was upied, I took the opportunity to scroll through Ding Xu¡¯s cell phone. The boy read online novels but preferred genres like "The Underworld Merchant," not some Mary Sue meeting the overbearing CEO type.


    After Ding Xu was done changing, Dali asked to meet us outside the school gates. On our way out, Li Meijingmenced with noisy chatter, making my head pound.


    There were too many of us to take one car so Dali suggested Luo Youyou and Ding Xu ride in our Mercedes, while Li Meijing and Zhang Cheng took a taxi behind us. At first, Li Meijing insisted on going in one vehicle but I circumvented by saying, "I have a few more questions to ask Luo Youyou alone."


    That was obviously just an excuse to give Dali the opportunity to chat with Luo Youyou!


    Luo Youyou and Dali sat in front, while Ding Xu and I sat in the back. Throughout our ride, Dali blew his own trumpet trying to impress Luo Youyou. Ding Xu stared nkly out the window, pointing out the right direction from time to time.


    The car eventually entered a more deste area until we reached the outskirts of the city, where darkness pervaded every corner.


    "Are you sure you were buried here?" asked Dali.


    Ding Xu ignored him, tilting his chin upwards in a show of aloofness.


    Dali looked meaningfully at me, to which I replied, "Just follow his directions. I promise to fill the gas tank when we get back.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not worried about using up gas...¡± Dali said, looking out of the window hesitantly.


    After driving for more than half an hour, the taxi behind came to an abrupt stop and so did we. Li Meijing jumped out of the car and said, "Song Yang, the driver refuses to continue. He says we¡¯re about to leave the city."


    ¡°We¡¯re almost in Yishan County,¡± Dali nced at the GPS. ¡°Looks like we won¡¯t be going back to our dorms tonight."


    Ding Xu suddenly sat up straight and peered out of the window, "This looks like the right ce."


    "Come down and have a proper look!" I waved at him.


    We ended up exploring on foot, slowly walking down the deserted street, led by Ding Xu who looked as if he were sleepwalking. After quite some distance, Li Meijing suddenly lost her temper. "Oi, Fatty Ding, are you trying to make a fool out of us? The exam will be held in two days. We¡¯re spending all our valuable revision time just to apany you! "


    "I was dragged all the way here,¡± Ding Xu chewed on his finger. ¡°I can¡¯t remember clearly."


    "Were there anyndmarks around?" I patiently asked.


    When he shook his head, Li Meijing¡¯s shrill voice rang out again, "Why don¡¯t we drag you along and help you recall? In my hometown, all you have to do to cure a self-professed madman is strip him of his clothes and whip him with willow branches dipped in salt water!"


    "Meijing, don¡¯t say that!" Luo Youyou tugged on her sleeve.


    ¡°Why should I shut up?¡± Li Meijing waved her hands. "He¡¯s wasting our time with all that crazy talk! So I think I have the right to speak as I please!"


    "Shut up!" I shouted.


    Rendered speechless, Li Meijing stared wide-eyed at me. The irritating buzzing in my ear was gone and the world was at peace again.


    "Can we start from the road again?" asked Ding Xu.


    "No problem,¡± I nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll keep searching until we find your body, even if it takes all night!"


    Ding Xu walked to the side of the road and scanned the area as if looking for something. Then, he picked a direction and walked for a short distance before crouching with his head sandwiched between his hands. "I can¡¯t remember! I can¡¯t remember!"


    "There isn¡¯t a dead body, is there?!" scoffed Dali.


    "I know I died here!¡± retorted Ding Xu. ¡°I¡¯m 100% sure there was a signpost that read 50 kilometers from Yishan County. It¡¯s the one in front."


    There was obstinacy in his eyes, but it wasn¡¯t enough to convince me.


    I sat down beside him and asked, "Do you remember what you saw, heard or smelled at the time? Any little detail matters."


    "There were dogs barking in the distance, many dogs.¡± Ding Xu bit his lip, ¡°And the stench of excrement, like cow dung. There were several birch trees beside the ce I was buried."


    There were indeed birch trees nearby and dogs barking in the distance. Li Meijing couldn¡¯t help but interject, "He¡¯s making it up as he goes. Why didn¡¯t he say this before?"


    "Let¡¯s look along the edge of the woods," I said, sweeping a solemn gaze across Ding Xu.


    Li Meijing and Zhang Cheng were beginning to show impatience, casting reproachful nces in Ding Xu¡¯s direction. We spread out and searched for some time, walking from the middle to the end of the woods, yet we came up empty. When I turned around, I found Ding Xu crouching again.


    "Have you found something?" I asked.


    I was startled to see tears streaming down his face. When the sobbing eventually ceased, his tone had returned to normal. "I¡¯m sorry, Song Yang. I lied to you. I¡¯m not possessed at all!"


    On the contrary, his confession disappointed me. I called the others back, and as soon as Li Meijing joined us, she gave Ding Xu a good scolding.


    "It¡¯s alright,¡± Daliforted. ¡°You¡¯re probably suffering from psychological problems due to too much pressure from the exam."


    "Let¡¯s go back then!" I said.


    As we walked out of the woods, Luo Youyou tugged at my shirt and whispered, "Song Yang, don¡¯t you think Ding Xu¡¯s actions are a bit strange?"


    "What do you mean?" I asked.


    "Look at the way he¡¯s walking!" she pointed at him.


    I looked in front, only to notice that Ding Xu¡¯s gait was rather coquettish. He unconsciously lifted his heel which was a habit that only women used to wearing high heels would have. Obviously, a stout young man like Ding Xu couldn¡¯t have picked it up.


    The realization dawned upon me¨Cperhaps he found something but deliberately feigned ignorance.


    "Qiu Wanxia!" I shouted.


    Ding Xu stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at me out of reflex, though he quickly looked away. Indeed, things weren¡¯t as simple as they appeared, and Ding Xu still retained Qiu Wanxia¡¯s consciousness. But no matter how careful a person, reacting to their name was a spontaneous action hard to get rid of.


    I immediately called for a U-turn back to the ce where Ding Xu was crouching earlier.


    "I already admitted I was lying,¡± said Ding Xu, his expression turning ugly. ¡°Why don¡¯t you believe me? Haven¡¯t I already apologized?"


    "It¡¯s past 9 o¡¯clock, let¡¯s hurry back,¡± Li Meijing chimed in. ¡°Otherwise, we won¡¯t make it back in time before they shut the dormitory."


    "I need to be sure there¡¯s nothing,¡± I persisted. ¡°Give me five minutes!"


    With that, I darted to that particr spot and found traces of scrabbling on the ground. Wiping away the loose soil on the surface, I discovered a tattered skirt!

 Chapter 317

    <h4>Chapter 317</h4>


    I was certain it was a skirt buried in the ground, not rags because of the obvious stitching on it.


    The others were rooted to the spot, and even Li Meijing was left tongue-tied. "Song Yang...¡± she faltered. ¡°Is that really a corpse?"


    I asked Wang Dali to bring me my bag from which I grabbed a brush. "How slow would a brush take?¡± Dali frowned. ¡°I have a spade in the car. Isn¡¯t that better?"


    "Do you think we¡¯re digging for treasure?!" I chided.


    Ding Xu burst into tears and begged hysterically, "Don¡¯t dig! Stop investigating! Let¡¯s go back now!"


    I left Dali and Zhang Cheng the task of holding down Ding Xu while I slowly brushed the soil off the top. A rotting pink dress gradually emerged, as well as a white arm-like skeleton. As the body was unearthed, the others turned ashen with fear. Everyone had previously assumed the corpse was one of DIng Xu¡¯s fabricated stories.


    I turned to look at Ding Xu who was kneeling on the ground. "Why did you lie?" I asked.


    "I-it¡¯s got nothing to do with you!¡± he trembled. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to interfere."


    I quickly phoned Xiaotao to inform her of a new case, and asked that she bring the other criminal investigators.


    ¡°Are the policeing?¡± Li Meijing shivered with fear. ¡°I need to continue revising! I don¡¯t want to be involved in a murder!¡±


    "Song Yang, um... We shan¡¯t disturb you then," Zhang Cheng faltered.


    The two left me bereft of speech. Their actions had sparked off the entire incident and it was their insistence that led them here, yet now they mored to leave. "There are no cabs out here,¡± I said.¡± When the police arrive, you can follow them back!"


    "When the policee, won¡¯t they ask for our statement?" Li Meijing asked uneasily.


    "The police aren¡¯t that inefficient in their work,¡± I sneered. ¡°You¡¯re not the ones involved in the murder so they¡¯ll ask you a few questions at most. Now, will you please stop talking? I¡¯m going to start the autopsy!"


    ¡°Song Yang, you¡¯re doing an autopsy here?!¡± eximed Li Meijing. ¡°What did you major in?"


    I flickered a stony re that got her zipping her lips.


    I slowly brushed the soil aside until the corpse was half exposed. It was dressed from head to toe in Ding Xu¡¯s exact description, covered in famous brands of good quality, so the garments hadn¡¯tpletely rotted away. Only the Givenchy handbag described by Ding Xu was missing.


    The soft tissue and flesh had fully dposed, leaving an intact skeleton in good condition, though I noticed a slight fracture in the throat. Judging from the pelvis, it was indeed a woman. When I uncovered the cloth on her abdomen, I found the remains of several rodents in the uterus.


    The details were so urate I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if Ding Xu had really been possessed by Qiu Wanxia¡¯s ghost.


    I asked Dali to bring me my Echolocation Rod, to which he retorted, "The corpse ispletely dposed. What¡¯s there to listen to?"


    "Have you ever heard of bone age?" I quipped.


    Bone age was the interpretation of skeletal maturity, used to determine the victim¡¯s age at the time of death. Forensic pathologists used instruments, while I used my ears. I ced the Echolocation Rod on the musculoskeletal bones of the deceased and gently tapped the tibia with my fingers, finally reaching the conclusion that the victim¡¯s age was about twenty-five years old.


    I straightened my back and uncovered the upper part of the victim¡¯s dress. "What¡¯s her cup size?" interrupted Dali.


    I red at him. In fact, I was observing the soil. If the victim had been buried alive and suffocated to death, soil particles would have been sucked into her lungs. As the body decayed, these soil particles would remain in the chest cavity. Therefore, special care had to be taken in the inspection process to prevent the soil particles from escaping.


    But strangely, I found the chest cavity very clean, without a speck of other substances.


    Wasn¡¯t the cause of death asphyxia? I mused, turning to Dali for my Autopsy Umbre. "The sun¡¯s not out," he reminded.


    Only after looking around did I remember my surroundings. "Forget it,¡± I sighed. ¡°Hand me the bag!"


    I rummaged through the bag and found what I was looking for¨Ca vial of liquid. The only injury the victim suffered was on the neck, so I ced a few drops there. Dali curiously asked what the liquid was and I exined it was ant honey.


    "Can ants make honey?" Dali asked in surprise.


    Apart from bees, many insects made honey, though the taste wasn¡¯t as delicious. The nutritious liquid that ants secreted in the colony was meant for the antrvae. This liquid had a special characteristic¨Cit was unabsorbable in soil. When enough of the honey was present, it would stick to the soil like a membrane, picking up tiny traces in the ground that were otherwise imperceptible.


    Bingxin and me collected the contents in this little vial after much effort on our hike up the hill during the Lunar New Year.


    The body was still half-buried in the ground. As I spoke to Dali, the ant honey formed geometric-like patterns around the neck. Dali eximed in surprise, "Is this mysterious symbol rted to a cult?"


    Once again, Dali¡¯s stupidity astounded me. "You idiot!¡± I rebuked. ¡°It¡¯s a shoe print!"


    I turned to Ding Xu, who had plunged into great grief, still kneeling on the ground with his hands covering his face. "How did you die? Why is there a footprint on your neck?¡± I interrogated. ¡°Someone trampled on your neck so you suffocated to death, am I right?"


    The absurdity of the situation suddenly hit me; here I was questioning the deceased about how she died while I was performing the autopsy.


    The others looked at Ding Xu with consternation. "I don¡¯t remember! At the time I was already unconscious," he blurted.


    I had to reexamine Ding Xu¡¯s ount of the murder since his words couldn¡¯t be taken for the truth. A person¡¯s memory was biased and some details would have been deleted or rationalized, especially after two years.


    I swept away the soil around the skull and picked up a few strands of long hair. Bringing them close to my eyes, I carefully studied each strand and discovered another point of contradiction! There was no evidence of the victim¡¯s hair being pulled. Human hair could be stretched to one and a half times its original length, but if you pulled hard enough, the hair cuticles would be damaged. Yet the hair I found was smooth to the touch.


    The burial spot was about fifty meters away from the highway, which was a considerable distance to drag someone by the hair. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the victim lost half her hair during the process. So the murderer must have carried her over.


    There weren¡¯t many details on the corpse observable to the naked eye which called for the Thrice Steaming Bone Test.


    Right then, Dali shouted, "Xiaotao-jiejie and her team are here!"


    I heard the sound of an engine but it was a lone vehicle. When I looked over, I noticed a man alight from a car parked on the side of the road. He stood motionless in the dark, then a sudden flicker of light shed, as if he had lit a cigarette.


    "Why would anyone be out here at this time of night?¡± Dali asked with a slight tremor in his voice. ¡°Could it be another murderer trying to dump a corpse?"


    As soon as his words fell, the atmosphere seemed to thicken with tension. I ced my finger against my lips, gesturing for the others to be quiet. We were currently inplete darkness so the man across the street wouldn¡¯t notice us from such a distance.


    When he finished smoking his cigarette, the man headed in our direction. About thirty meters away, he stopped abruptly and turned around, sprinting back to his car.


    His actions alerted me to the abnormality of the situation. I yelled for him to stop at the top of my lungs and ran after him. But before I could get very far, Ding Xu rushed over and tackled me to the ground. By this point, the car had already driven off.


    I was so angry I kicked Ding Xu aside. "You know him, don¡¯t you?"


    "I sent him a dreamst night,¡± Ding Xu¡¯s face grimaced into a sinister smile. ¡°Looks like he really came to see me. He hasn¡¯t forgotten me after all. He still loves me! You¡¯re not allowed to arrest him!"


    I was tempted to p Ding Xu. Even if he was now possessed, the spirit was obviously a contemptible wretch without a shred of dignity!


    At the thought that the murderer had just escaped, I was so upset I immediately phoned Xiaotao and told her to pay close attention to a ck Porsche driving in the opposite direction. I exined that the driver was most likely the murderer.


    "Aren¡¯t you a force to be reckoned with!¡± chuckled Xiaotao. ¡°You¡¯ve just discovered the body and you¡¯ve already located the murderer!"


    It was impossible to rify the situation through the phone. Wouldn¡¯t Xiaotao be even more surprised to hear that the victim herself stopped me from pursuing the murderer?

 Chapter 318

    <h4>Chapter 318</h4>


    I had just hung up the call when Ding Xu ran off into the distance, following the man¡¯s trail. "What the hell is he up to now?" Dali wondered out loud.


    "He wants to destroy the footprints!" I blurted.


    As I had foreseen, Ding Xu ran over and rubbed his feet into the ground as he yelled, "I don¡¯t need you to interfere in my affairs!"


    I was so angry I might have had steaming out of my ears. I asked Dali for a cigarette, gesturing with my hand.


    Even Dali had begun smoking as ofte. He froze for a moment before handing me a Hongtashan.


    The footprints were hopeless but we had another important clue. I sprinted to the road and threw the cigarette in my hand to the ground, intentionally provoking Ding Xun, "Haha, I have his cigarette butt!"


    Ding Xu pounced on the cigarette butt like a dog and stuffed it into his mouth,pletely unaware that I had the actual cigarette butt left by the man safely hidden in my pocket.


    "Is the cigarette butt delicious?" I mocked.


    Ding Xu red at me while he chomped down on the cigarette. "Miss Qiu, you¡¯re a fickle one!¡± I sneered. ¡°Just a few hours ago, you were crying miserably about your death, yet here you are doing everything you can to protect the murderer."


    Ding Xu gulped down the cigarette butt and spat, ¡°Just because I died tragically doesn¡¯t mean I want revenge. Although he killed me, I know he loves me. Anyway, I¡¯m already dead and I don¡¯t want to hurt him."


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have any self-respect?!¡± Li Meijing walked over, only to admonish in disgust. "What a cheap fool!"


    "I¡¯ll tear your mouth off!" roared Ding Xu.


    He charged towards Li Meijing and knocked her to the ground. Li Meijing¡¯s frightful screams pierced through the night as she struggled desperately against Ding Xu. Zhang Cheng stepped in to pull him away but Ding Xu seemed to have infinite strength. Finally, Dali and I had to help subdue him.


    Pinned to the ground, Ding Xun began mming his face into the gravel, causing fresh blood to spurt from his nose. He smiled grimly, "If you insist on investigating, I¡¯ll kill this boy! Whose responsibility is that?!"


    "Haven¡¯t you had enough!" I bellowed and ced my hand on his forehead, chanting the Song family mantra.


    The exorcism mantra showed its effects as Ding Xu¡¯s eyes rolled into the back of his head, his body convulsing uncontrobly. At the end of the mantra, he gnashed his teeth and goaded, "Little boy, your mantra doesn¡¯t work!"


    I cruelly bit my middle finger and swiped the blood on his forehead. Ding Xu bounced up as if he were scalded by a soldering iron and fell back heavily to the ground, rolling around with his hand covering his forehead. "It burns!¡± he screamed. ¡°It¡¯s so hot!"


    The others couldn¡¯t tear their eyes away from the scene. "Dude, when did you learn witchcraft?"


    "I¡¯ve never studied it,¡± I admitted. ¡°I was just fumbling around. Jiu-ge did mention that I have stronger Yang energy than most people."


    Ding Xu thrashed about like a dying worm and finallyy t on the ground. I ced my finger under his nose; he was still breathing and merely fell unconscious.


    I froze in disbelief. How could such a strange thing happen?


    "Should we call Jiu-ge?" Dali suggested.


    I shook my head. My self-esteem hindered me from asking Jiu-ge for assistance. I didn¡¯t want to fall into the habit of working with a Yin object trader at first sight of a bizarre incident. Additionally, the man had already left Nanjiang City and I was certain I could handle it. The other thing that prevented me was the nagging doubts I had about Ding Xu¡¯s supposed possession. Personally, I preferred to believe he was pretending.


    Right then, Luo Youyou came up to me and apologized, "Song Yang, I¡¯m really sorry to have involved you in this matter. I didn¡¯t think it was so serious..."


    I was about to speak when Dali interrupted, "Don¡¯t me yourself. Solving crimes is amon urrence for us. Song Yang would feel miserable without a case. You¡¯re really helping him."


    "Really?" Luo Youyou looked at me eagerly.


    The case had indeed aroused my curiosity, so I nodded, "He¡¯s right!"


    There came the familiar sound of sirens behind me. Afraid the police cars would damage the murderer¡¯s wheel marks, I ran to the side of the road to stop them. Xiaotao jumped out of her car and asked, "How did you find this God-forsaken ce?"


    "Would you believe me if I said the victim told me everything and brought me here herself?¡± I asked. ¡°Did you manage to stop that car on the road?"


    Xiaotao shook her head. If the man was really the murderer, he must have a guilty conscience. Seeing the oing police cars would certainly frighten him enough to take a side road and escape. I asked Xiaotao to photograph the tire marks on the ground as I briefly narrated the whole incident.


    Upon hearing the series of events, Xiaotao looked astonished. "Even I can¡¯t believe it!" I said.


    The police soon got to work. I was afraid that Ding Xu would harm himself upon regaining consciousness so I asked Xiaotao to take him back to the station and ce him under supervision. The officers took brief statements from the three juniors and sent them back to school in a police car. Before they left, Luo Youyou turned to me and said, "Song Yang, we¡¯ve really troubled you this evening. I have a small request. Could you add me on Wechat so I can contact you if I have any other questions?"


    "I¡¯ll be graduating soon and we¡¯re not even in the same major,¡± I blurted. ¡°What can I do for you?"


    ¡°Um.. I...¡± Luo Youyou blushed.


    "By the way, who among you his closest to Ding Xu?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to know more about him."


    "Zhang Cheng and him are roommates," replied Luo Youyou.


    "Thanks!" I nodded.


    With that, Luo Youyou left with a polite bow.


    "This junior seems to be interested in you!" Xiaotao elbowed me.


    "Give me the gun,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll die right in front of your eyes to prove my innocence!"


    ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re well-liked,¡± Xiaotao patted me on the shoulder.


    Then, I stopped Zhang Cheng who was about to get into the car. "Wait just a bit!¡± I shouted. ¡°I have a question to ask you. Is Ding Xu acquainted with Qiu Wanxia?"


    ¡°Qiu Wanxia? You¡¯re talking about the ghost attached to him?¡± Zhang Cheng shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Fatty Ding has a small social circle. He hasn¡¯t even spoken to the girls in our ss, let alone the girls outside of school!"


    "Alright then.¡±


    ¡°Will Fatty Ding be detained? Will he be expelled?¡± Zhang Cheng asked uneasily.


    ¡°No, of course not,¡± I replied. ¡°He didn¡¯t kill anyone. We¡¯re just temporarily protecting him from his own self."


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear,¡± Zhang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Thank you so much, Song Yang!"


    When the three juniors got into the police car and left, I turned to Dali, "Did you get Luo Youyou¡¯s Wechat?"


    "I did,¡± grinned Dali. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you. Come on, give me a high five!"


    Dali¡¯s cell phone soon sounded with a text notification. He unlocked his cell phone and beamed with joy. "She sent me a message!" But after reading the text, his smile froze. He showed me the message, and as it turned out, Luo Youyou had only messaged him to ask for my WeChat.


    ¡°I need to be alone!¡± Dali walked away despondently.


    "Don¡¯t give up,¡± I encouraged. ¡°it¡¯s not like you don¡¯t have a chance."


    The technical team soon reported a discovery so I rushed over with Xiaotao. They found a gold ring on the victim¡¯s hand. Judging from the style, it was a men¡¯s ring. Xiaotao turned on her shlight to examine it. "There¡¯s a serial number of the jewelry store on the ring. This is an important finding!"


    "Oh, that¡¯s right! I have a cigarette butt here!" I said.


    I handed the cigarette butt with the suspect¡¯s fingerprints and saliva over to the technical team. On a whole, we seemed to be off to a good start with the number of clues we had thus far.


    However, I never expected the truth to be totally different from what it seemed like at the beginning!

 Chapter 319

    <h4>Chapter 319</h4>


    This was an old case, so the police weren¡¯t in a hurry to solve it. But in view of Ding Xu¡¯s mental state, I thought it prudent to conduct an early interrogation, as soon as tonight itself.


    After the scene was cleaned, Dali told me to hop into the car. "Let me help you save some gas,¡± I shamelessly uttered. ¡°I¡¯ll take Xiaotao¡¯s car back."


    ¡°Throwing your buddy away like that when a womanes along huh!¡± hembasted. ¡°What¡¯s the point of the police giving you a car?!"


    We arrived at the station at around 11 pm. During the journey, Ding Xu woke up and kicked up a huge fuss. The officers had to escort him off the vehicle in handcuffs.


    "Take the handcuffs off!¡± ordered Xiaotao. ¡°He¡¯s not a suspect."


    "No, he may hurt himself,¡± I quickly stopped her. ¡°Just leave it on for now."


    "Check if there¡¯s a clothing store nearby that¡¯s still open,¡± I said, turning to Dali. ¡°Get a dress and two mirrors."


    "A dress?!¡± Dali eximed. ¡°How much will that cost?!"


    "There¡¯s no need to spend money on this,¡± interrupted Xiaotao. ¡°I have summer dresses that I want to donate. They¡¯re in the trunk. I¡¯ll get them for you."


    Dali left to buy the mirrors while I headed straight to the interrogation room with Xiaotao.


    At the moment, Ding Xu was making a fool out of himself, iming that we vited his human rights and insisted on calling his ownwyer. Xiaotao watched him through the one-sided ss. "If I hadn¡¯t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn¡¯t believe such a thing actually exists!"


    "We can¡¯t be certain that he¡¯s possessed by the victim,¡± I replied. ¡°I¡¯ll verify thister. Let¡¯s stabilize him first."


    When we entered the interrogation room, Ding Xu red at me with his chin haughtily raised. "I haven¡¯t broken thew. Why should I be arrested?¡± he yelled. ¡°I¡¯m warning you, let me go now or I¡¯ll make you pay!"


    I sneered at his words. Who did he think he was to make us pay?!


    "Qiu Wanxia, I brought you some clothes,¡± I said. ¡°I think you¡¯ll like it."


    When I ced the bag of clothes on the table, Ding Xu¡¯s gaze seemed to rx as he picked up the clothes to look at them. Sure enough, girls couldn¡¯t resist beautiful clothes, even after death. "Hmph, what sort of cheap clothing is this!¡± he mocked. ¡°It¡¯s so tacky! Doesn¡¯t match my noble temperament at all!"


    Xiaotao was smoldering under her stony expression but I motioned for her to calm down.


    Ding Xu told us to leave the room so he could change into the dress. Xiaotao and I pretended to leave but we watched the whole process through the one-way mirror. "The way he¡¯s putting on these clothes is just like a woman. Even the subconscious action of tucking his hair behind his ears isn¡¯t a habit boys develop."


    Ding Xu put on the stockings and the dress, staring at his own reflection like a little girl. "She must have been a beautiful woman before her death!" I remarked.


    Right then, Dali came running into the room, only to be greeted by the sight of Ding Xu twirling around like a girl. "Fucking hell, my eyes!¡± he screamed.¡±I might¡¯ve been blinded by that!"


    Xiaotao asked what the mirrors were for, and I exined the folk ritual of detecting spirits called the ¡®mirror within the mirror.¡¯ The reflection of one mirror in the other supposedly revealed the true face beneath their disguise.


    After all these incredible things happened, I might as well try a folk ritual to see if we could determine the authenticity of Ding Xu¡¯s possession.


    Xiaotao and I waited while an officer brought in the two mirrors. "Youngdy, would you like to look in the mirror?" asked Xiaotao.


    "Yes!" Ding Xu pped his hands excitedly.


    Xiaotao held up one mirror while I raised the other behind Ding Xu, paying special attention to the angle so Ding Xu wouldn¡¯t notice my actions. However, I was disappointed to find that the man reflected in the mirror appearedpletely normal.


    I was suddenly interrupted from my thoughts by a loud noise¨CXiaotao had identally dropped her mirror. "What are you doing?!¡± shouted Ding Xu. ¡°I¡¯ve not gotten a good look at myself!"


    Handing Ding Xu the other mirror, I discreetly whispered to Xiaotao, "What did you see?"


    "I think I saw a woman¡¯s face,¡± Xiaotao cried in horror. ¡°She looked horrible. There were maggots all over her rotting face!"


    "Are you sure?" I asked.


    ¡°It was a passing image,¡± Xiaotao rubbed her eyes and shook her head. "Maybe it¡¯s just my illusion. It¡¯s been a while since I had a good night¡¯s sleep so maybe my mind was influenced by your words."


    When Ding Xu had enough of looking into the mirror, he returned to his seat, waiting while Xiaotao filled out a form and registered his personal information. "Qiu Wanxia,¡± I began. ¡°We¡¯ve already filed a case and we can¡¯t stop our investigations just because you say so. Even if you don¡¯t cooperate with us, we will arrest the murderer, so you might as welle clean!"


    ¡°I highly doubt you¡¯ll be able to do anything,¡± Ding Xu dismissed, looking at his hands.


    As I had expected, he wasn¡¯t willing to answer a single question rted to the case, even questions he had answered before, either outright lying or avoiding the subject.


    "Qiu Wanxia, what is it you want?" asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°Nothing at all,¡± Ding Xu said, folding his arms and staring us down like an eagle. ¡°It¡¯s a rare opportunity for me to enter the world of the living once more. I just want to have fun shopping, eat yummy food, take a warm bath and sleep in a soft bed."


    "Are you nning on upying this body forever?!¡± she demanded.


    "What does that have to do with me?¡± Ding Xu sneered. ¡°It¡¯s only after death that I¡¯ve realized how important it is to be selfish. It¡¯s none of my business if he lives or dies."


    Xiaotao stood up abruptly, sending the chair crashing to the ground. I thought she might get violent but to my surprise, she actually took out her wallet and removed all the cash inside¨Cabout 5,000 yuan. "Let¡¯s make a deal, shall we?¡± Xiaotao announced, ¡°I¡¯ll give you money to enjoy yourself for a few days but you can¡¯t hurt the boy¡¯s body."


    "5,000?¡± he scoffed. ¡°That¡¯s not even enough for a meal."


    "I¡¯ll give you more if it¡¯s not enough!" Xiaotao exploded.


    Ding Xu dly epted the money. "Nevermind, it¡¯s not easy for you policemen,¡± he sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll just have to watch my spending! Well, I¡¯m off then!"


    He blew me a kiss and walked to the door. "Don¡¯t try to run away,¡± warned Xiaotao. ¡°You can call or text if you need anything."


    "I got it,¡±ughed Ding Xu. ¡°Jiejie, I can tell you have a good heart so here¡¯s a little advice for you¨Cquit your job and find a rich man to take care of you!"


    After he left, Xiaotao snorted contemptuously, "I despise women who think they¡¯re so great just because they¡¯ve got a rich sugar daddy!"


    I knew Xiaotao had a n up her sleeve. Ding Xu wasn¡¯t a suspect so detaining him any longer was useless, even counterproductive. "Are you going to assign officers to spy on him?" I asked.


    "You guessed it!¡± she chuckled. ¡°Anyway, he¡¯s not willing to cooperate so we might as well give him the freedom he desires. If we¡¯re lucky, he might reveal some clues and perhaps sneak off to meet his former lover."


    "Brilliant idea!" Iplimented.


    After leaving the interrogation room, Xiaotao immediately assigned several officers to keep a constant eye on Ding Xu. They had to report back on his exact movements and the people he met up with.


    For the time being, monitoring Ding Xu was a long-term operation. Meanwhile, I nned to have the skeleton examined again tomorrow. It was already well into the night so Dali and I returned to our dorms.

 Chapter 320

    <h4>Chapter 320</h4>


    The next morning, I woke Dali up. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and mumbled, "It¡¯s still so early. Are you going to the station to conduct the autopsy?"


    "That can wait,¡± I replied. ¡°Let¡¯s visit Ding Xu¡¯s dormitory first."


    Dali was suddenly energized. "Are you going to see Luo Youyou again? I¡¯ll get dressed right away!"


    We went to the cafeteria for breakfast and bought some soy milk and fried dough sticks, then headed to theputer science dormitory. After staying up all night contemting the case, I remained resolute about my theory that Ding Xu was merely pretending to be possessed, though I didn¡¯t exclude the possibility of his connection to Qiu Wanxia. Determining what that connection was would be key to solving the case.


    If Jiu-ge had encountered such an incident, he might have performed an exorcism without a second thought but I wanted to explore the reasons behind it!


    This wasn¡¯t a question of who was right or wrong. There wasn¡¯t a universal truth in the world. An acknowledged set of beliefs and methods only worked within its own domain or field. Even Newton who discovered gravity believed in God in hister years.


    Although I had witnessed many supernatural phenomena, I was still, in essence, a rational and objective man. Even if Ding Xu was really possessed by Qiu Wanxia¡¯s spirit, I had to determine why her spirit fixated on Ding Xu and not the others.


    When Dali and I arrived at Ding Xu¡¯s dormitory, we overheard Zhang Cheng narratingst night¡¯s ¡°adventure¡± to his roommates. Upon entering the room, Zhang Cheng quickly introduced me to everyone. The other two juniors looked at me with equal parts fear and respect in their eyes. Before I knew it, I was already in my final year. I couldn¡¯t help but sigh. The march of time was relentless and unforgiving.


    "I¡¯m here to find out more about Ding Xu¡¯s social circle," I exined.


    His roommates burst into noisy chatter as they detailed how frustrated Ding Xu usually was and how he never had a girlfriend though he was interested in a bunch of girls. In a nutshell, he was a textbook example of a loser.


    "Have any of you heard Ding Xu mention the name Qiu Wanxia?" I asked.


    The juniors shook their heads, but one of them suddenly interjected, "I¡¯ve thought of something but I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s considered a clue."


    My eyes lit up. "Let¡¯s hear it!"


    He exined that Ding Xu was strange for a period of time two years ago, often chatting on QQte into the night, sometimes smiling at his cell phone. They all lived together long enough to know that Ding Xu¡¯s behavior probably meant he had a new crush.


    But this wasn¡¯t anything new. Ding Xu had secretly admired so many girls since high school. One night, Ding Xu received a phone call and left without saying anything. When he came back the next day, he sat in bed, sulking all morning. No one knew what had happened.


    After a moment¡¯s contemtion, I asked, "Was it around winter?"


    "Yes, you¡¯re right!¡± he eximed. ¡°I remember it was almost winter vacation in our first year."


    Indeed, there was more to it than what met the eye. "I have a request,¡± I began. ¡°I¡¯d like to take Ding Xu¡¯sputer to the bureau for our investigation."


    The three of them agreed at once. "It¡¯s no problem at all! Do whatever you need!"


    Thus, I left their room with theputer in my arms. Dali urged, "Aren¡¯t you going to the girls¡¯ dormitory to investigate?"


    "You can go if you want to!" I chided.


    Disappointment written all over his face, Dali left with me, though we soon bumped into Luo Youyou and her two roommates who were carrying water bottles. She smiled sweetly at me, "Song Yang!"


    "Hey, don¡¯t you have ss in the morning?"


    "Not today,¡± sheughed. ¡°We¡¯re just getting ready to head over to study hall."


    I elbowed Dali and urged, "Seize the opportunity, you fool!"


    "What should I say?" he anxiously asked.


    "Just go with it,¡± I said. ¡°If you can¡¯t think of something, ask her the same questions I did."


    "You¡¯re the best, dude!" Dali patted me on the shoulder.


    "I¡¯ll see you at the school gate at ten,¡± I waved him off.


    I created an opportunity for him but the rest depended on him. I sincerely hoped he would seed this time.


    I headed to Lao Yao¡¯s dormitory with theputer in hand. Lao Yao was still asleep so I had to call him several times before he finally woke up. Lao Yao rubbed his eyes dreamily and said, ¡°Xiao Song Song, I was just dreaming of you. Has my dreame true?"


    His husky bass voice like dark velvet made goosebumps prickle all over my arms and neck. ¡°I¡¯m here for business,¡± I said with a straight face.


    Lao Yao arched an eyebrow, "Above or below the waist?"


    I really regretted leaving Dali with the girls. With a lonesome man and a gay in the same room, he was bound to take liberties with me.


    "I need your help with some chat records!¡± I cut to the chase. ¡°How does pizza sound?"


    Lao Yao turned over seductively in bed, looking up at me with ae-hither gaze. "I want it now."


    "Okay, I¡¯ll order now!" Beads of cold sweat dripped down my forehead.


    Only after my call to Pizza Hut did Lao Yaozily get out of bed. He connected Ding Xu¡¯sputer to the power supply and his monitor, and began operating at once. When Lao Yao noticed Ding Xu¡¯s QQ profile picture which was his own photo, he squealed like a dying pig. "Who¡¯s the little fatty? God he¡¯s ugly! I¡¯m allergic to ugly people, you know! I¡¯m not doing this!"


    "If I had the same concerns as you, then I¡¯d have to avoid any ugly bodies," I rolled my eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m not doing it unless you call me baby!¡± Lao Yao snorted.


    I was close to being driven mad, and the culprit dly threw his mouse aside. "If you don¡¯t, you might as well get someone else to help you."


    I dithered for a considerable amount of time before squeezing out the word "ba¨C" when the delivery boy arrived. Unfortunately, I finally witnessed for myself just how low Lao Yao could go. He stood at the door, flirting with the handsome delivery boy, his grubby paws wandering all over. He insisted on exchanging numbers and threatened to leave the boy with a bad review.


    Luckily for me, Lao Yao had forgotten our earlier conversation by the time the delivery boy left. He sat at hisputer, scarfing down the pizza.


    The earliest chat records on Ding Xu¡¯s QQ extended to about a year ago. "This won¡¯t work,¡± sighed Lao Yao. ¡°He updated his system so all the chat records are gone."


    "Is there another way? Like recovering the data on his hard disk?"


    "The chat records are stored in the server,¡± he replied. ¡°I¡¯ll break into Tencent¡¯s server!"


    "Can you do that?" I asked.


    Lao Yao grabbed another slice of pizza, inserted a U disk that contained his hacker software into theputer, and tapped away at his keyboard. "I¡¯ll need to hack into their system to get to the servers,¡± he exined. ¡°I left a back door when I modified the data for my League of Legends ount. The programmers haven¡¯t discovered it yet. Would you like me to stock up some in-game currency for you?"


    "No, thank you!" I waved my hands repeatedly.


    Lao Yao pulled up a long list and asked me whose chat records I wanted to check. There was a sea of data to run through since I didn¡¯t know what Qiu Qanxia¡¯s QQ ount was and Ding Xu¡¯s two-year chat records were simply extensive. I described a few of Qiu Wanxia¡¯s more distinct characteristics and behavior.


    "I¡¯ll go through everything but it will take some time,¡± said Lao Yao. ¡°I¡¯ll contact you when I¡¯m done!"


    Just as I was about to leave, Lao Yao reminded, "Song Song, have you forgotten something?"


    Breaking out in a cold sweat again, I quickly brushed him off, "I have something urgent so I have to leave now. See youter!"


    With that, I escaped from the lion¡¯s den.

 Chapter 321

    <h4>Chapter 321</h4>


    Right after leaving Lao Yao¡¯s dormitory, I received a call from Xiaotao, "Song Yang, I have good news and bad news."


    "What¡¯s the good news?" I asked.


    "The good news is that we¡¯ve managed to investigate Qiu Wanxia."


    "What about the bad news?" I chuckled.


    "The bad news is that Qiu Wanxia died of cancer ten years ago!"


    What on earth was going on? Wasn¡¯t Qiu Wanxia¡¯s body lying in the morgue waiting for me to perform the autopsy? How could a person die twice?! The bones we foundst night suggested the victim was killed no more than three years ago.


    "I¡¯ll be right there!" I said.


    When I got to the school gates, I called Dali who happily recounted his conversation with Luo Youyou, but I was too preupied with the case to pay him any attention.


    As soon as we arrived at the station, I almost sprinted into Xiaotao¡¯s office. She was assigning tasks to several officers when I barged into the room so she quickly sent them off and handed me a file.


    It was Qiu Wanxia¡¯s household registration document. The picture showed a girl with clear eyes and a graceful temperament. She was a Northerner who came to Nanjiang City ten years ago for work and eventually died of a terminal illness.


    "Perhaps they happen to have the same name?" I wondered out loud.


    "I thought so too at first, but her surname is rather rare,¡± exined Xiaotao. ¡°She¡¯s the only one in the country with this name, and her blood type matches the victim¡¯s. More importantly, they look exactly the same!"


    "How so?" I remained doubtful.


    "The Physical Evidence Identification Center has restored the victim¡¯s face. Let¡¯s go and have a look."


    As we headed out the building, we bumped into Dali who had just parked the car. "How¡¯s the new car?" asked Xiaotao.


    "It certainly gives me recognition among my ssmates,¡± Dali grinned. ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie, when will the bureau give Song Yang a helicopter? I¡¯d like to share the glory as well!"


    "Why don¡¯t you make some money and buy him one?" sheughed.


    The three of us headed to the Physical Evidence Identification Center, where the equipment vastly differed from the technical team¡¯s. We were greeted by a researcher named Li at aboratory with manyputers. He immediately showed us the image of the victim¡¯s reconstructed face.


    The ck and white 3D image in theputer showed no hair but the girl in the picture was blessed with beautiful facial features, bright eyes and straight teeth. "Wow, what a beauty!" eximed Dali.


    The image of Qiu Wanxia in theputer matched the picture on the household registration document. Of course, visual inspection alone didn¡¯t count for everything. Theb had a facial recognition software that was able to match faces based on their bone structure by stacking the photos of the victim¡¯s skull and Qiu Wanxia¡¯s face.


    Dr. Lipared the two photos and summarized, "From theputer¡¯s calctions, the skull is a 98% match to the face in the photo, which basically confirms that it¡¯s the same person."


    "98%? So there¡¯s still 2% that doesn¡¯t conform," I stated.


    ¡°Because the body was exposed to open air for two years and bitten by insects and mice, a certain extent of damage falls within the range of error and can be ignored."


    The word "damage" inspired an idea. I turned and left theb without waiting for the other two. Xiaotao ran out after me, shouting, "Song Yang, where are you going?"


    "I need to look at the dead body again!" I replied.


    I rushed back to the station and headed straight to the morgue. The skeleton had been ced on the morgue b and was covered with a white cloth. Because the skull was used forparison, it had been carefully cleaned with alcohol.


    Xiaotao soon came in after me. "I¡¯m sorry,¡± she apologized. ¡°We needed to identify the victim so they cleaned the skull..."


    "It¡¯s okay, I had to clean it anyway."


    I ran my eyes all over the skull, carefully examining as I asked Dali to prepare a metal bowl, some cling wrap, a bottle of vinegar and a pot of sulents, as well as some realgar, borneol, teasel root and rehmannia from the Traditional Chinese pharmacy.


    "Are you nning on conducting the Thrice Steaming Bone Test?" asked Xiaotao.


    "No, this isn¡¯t the Thrice Steaming Bone Test,¡± I stated. ¡°It¡¯s a unique technique created by Song Ci¨Cthe Bone Injury Unveiling Test which resurfaces old wounds on the bones."


    "But there aren¡¯t any wounds on the skull!" argued Xiaotao.


    A whileter, Dali returned with the items. I ced the metal bowl above the alcohol burner, heating it up while I poured vinegar, threw all the powdered herbs and medicine and crushed the sulents into the bowl. When the mixture started steaming, I ced the skull inside and covered it with cling wrap.


    "In a different setting, people would actually believe you¡¯re a shaman," Dali remarked.


    I chuckled, keeping my gaze fixed onto the metal bowl. Five minutester, Xiaotao cried, "There¡¯s a color change in the skull."


    As the skull began to turn yellow, Dali interjected, "Is it almost ready?"


    "Discoloration is normal,¡± I exined. ¡°This method actually damages the corpse so it¡¯s not something I would usually do. But this time it had to be done to verify my conjecture."


    "You don¡¯t believe the conclusion given by the Physical Evidence Identification Center, do you?"ughed Xiaotao.


    "You know me so well!"


    ¡°What is your conjecture?" she continued.


    I narrowed my eyes enigmatically, "Wait and see, won¡¯t you?"


    After another ten minutes, steam filled the metal bowl and more changes appeared on the skull. When I uncovered the cling wrap, an acidic smell filled my nose. Choked by the smell, Dali coughed uncontrobly and hurried to turn on the venttor.


    I put on rubber gloves before carefully removing the skull. There was an obvious shaded area on the skull¨Cthe cheekbones and the arch of the eyebrows. This was exactly what I was hoping to find.


    "What does this mean?" Xiaotao puzzled.


    I pointed to the shaded area and said, "The victim had her bones cut here and here. She had cosmetic surgery done, and it was a major procedure! She¡¯s not the real Qiu Wanxia, but an imposter!"


    Xiaotao¡¯s eyes widened in shock. "That¡¯s to say we¡¯re now back to square one and we don¡¯t even know the victim¡¯s identity."


    "That¡¯s not entirely true,¡± I mused. ¡°Assuming Ding Xu is telling the truth and the victim was sent by another to seduce the murderer, then the murderer and Qiu Wanxia must have been close. This means we can start by investigating the real Qiu Wanxia!"


    "Qiu Wanxia died ten years ago,¡± Xiaotao pointed out. ¡°It¡¯ll be difficult to find out but I¡¯ll do my best!"


    I ced the bones into a waterproof bag. "Let¡¯s work separately. Dali and I will find a ce to conduct the Thrice Steaming Bone Test while you check for clues."


    I was about to leave when Xiaotao stopped me, "Where are you going?"


    "To find a ce where there¡¯s no one so I can work in peace!"


    "Didn¡¯t I mentionst time that the bureau would set up aboratory just for you? Although it¡¯s still under construction, you can use it,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll take you there now!¡±


    Xiaotao led us to a warehouse behind the city bureau building. There was a rectangr trench on the floor with three autopsy tables beside it as well as tool stands and shelves made of wood on which materials I often used were ced.


    "You¡¯ve certainly gone the extra mile!" I said, touched by the effort.


    "Ie to supervise the construction every now and then. The room is still empty because I wasn¡¯t sure what sort of furnishings a Traditional Coroner would like,¡± added Xiaotao. ¡°Would you like to hang a portrait of Song Ci or put up an incense burner?"


    In ancient times, the coroner¡¯s workshop was called the "Necropsy Workshop.¡± Since autopsies were taboo for ordinary folk, the Necropsy Workshop was usually located facing south, in the opposite direction of residential buildings. Additionally, these huts couldn¡¯t be built facing the street to prevent the Yin energy of the dead bodies from ruining the local feng shui.


    I was delighted to have my own Necropsy Workshop in the bureau, so why would I care about feng shui? So I said, "How can I ever thank you?"


    "You don¡¯t have to be so polite with me!" sheughed.

 Chapter 322

    <h4>Chapter 322</h4>


    The Thrice Steaming Bone Test took a considerable amount of time so I told Xiaotao to finish her work first. After she left, Dali looked around the room and said, "This ce is really nice¨Cquiet and spacious. Dude, have you ever thought of doing something more interesting with Xiaotao-jiejie here?"


    Making love in the Necropsy Workshop? This was only the biggest taboo for a Traditional Coroner!


    Right then, Xiaotao entered the room, having forgotten her notebook. Dali jumped up in fear. "What did you just say?¡± Xiaotao quipped. ¡°Why don¡¯t youe out and have a chat with me?"


    "I-I didn¡¯t mean that...¡± Dali mumbled incoherently ¡°Dude, say something!"


    "How am I supposed to help you if you¡¯re caught in the act?" I arched an eyebrow.


    "Watch what you say!" Xiaotao snorted.


    And with that, Xiaotao turned around and left. I set out to prepare the Thrice Steaming Bone Test, observing the same process as before so I didn¡¯t need to go into detail. The cement trench on the floor made it convenient for the test.


    Purple marks appeared on the bones on the second test. I grabbed a nk notebook and a pen from the shelf and handed them to Dali. "We¡¯re considered professionals now, and as my assistant, you should be jotting down my observations."


    "Sure thing, boss!¡± answered Dali. ¡°Don¡¯t speak too fast!"


    I put the skeletal remains on the autopsy table and began vocalizing my observations and conclusions. The victim¡¯s hyoid bone was fractured, showing traces of being heavily trampled on.


    There were several traces of blunt force trauma on her torso and ribs, but none of them were serious enough to cause a fracture, suggesting the victim might have been beaten before death.


    The slight misalignment of the joint connecting the shoulder and the spine was caused by a strong pull, and chafing on the calcaneus all pointed to the victim being dragged by the arm with her body facing upwards over a long distance.


    Additionally, there are signs of insect bites.


    Aside from examining the victim¡¯s skeleton, I also looked at the skeletal remains of the three hamsters in her abdomen. The skulls of the hamsters appeared to have been mped by some sort of tool and judging from the shape of the indentation, I suspected it was simr to tweezers.


    Ding Xu mentioned that the murderer cut open her uterus and stuffed hamsters inside, but there were no knife marks on her pelvis!


    The victim¡¯s pelvis wasn¡¯t fully opened and showed no signs of pregnancy. Even if Ding Xu¡¯s statement were true, then the pregnancy was three months along at most. A woman¡¯s uterus was about the size of an uninted balloon before or in the beginning stages of pregnancy.


    How could a man without professional knowledge and equipment urately dissect the uterus and stuff hamsters within?


    So I came to the conclusion that the murderer hadn¡¯t in fact cut open her stomach, but stuffed the hamsters into her vagina with tweezers. After receiving injuries to the head from the tweezer and being forced into a narrow canal, the hamsters eventually died of suffocation due to theck of air within the vagina.


    Ding Xu¡¯s depiction of the hamsters burrowing through her uterus was merely a product of her imagination.


    As Dali listened to my detailed description, he frowned, "Is there any difference? Anyway, the hamsters were stuffed into her uterus. This isn¡¯t something just any old pervert coulde up with!"


    "There¡¯s a big difference!¡± I retorted. ¡°If the victim hadn¡¯t had her abdomen dissected, she wouldn¡¯t have shed blood or been infected. Stuffing a few hamsters into her vagina is disgusting but not fatal."


    "So what does that mean?" asked Dali.


    "Although the victim was beaten and tortured, these wounds were not enough to kill her,¡± I summarized. ¡°What really killed her was the heavy stomp on her neck. The murderer literally crushed her throat to death. This is perhaps the biggest contradiction in the case. The murderer could have buried her alive. Why did he fly off the handle and trample her to death?"


    "Perhaps the victim said some unpleasant things,¡± voiced Dali. ¡°Just think about it. At that point, anyone would say some really nasty things."


    I wasn¡¯t convinced by his argument but the contradiction would certainly be solved as we continued on with our investigation. Through the autopsy, I realized one thing¨Cwe couldn¡¯t believe everything Ding Xu said because his narrative was subjective.


    I took out some yellow joss paper and burned it before the victim¡¯s body, reading a passage from the "Pure Land Rebirth Mantra." Dali interjected, "You should be burning the joss paper in front of Ding Xu."


    "That¡¯s nonsense!" I rolled my eyes.


    We left the Necropsy Workshop and headed over to Xiaotao¡¯s office. Upon hearing my findings, Xiaotao said, "Alright then. I¡¯m going to investigate the origins of the gold ring. Are youing along?"


    "Yes!" I nodded.


    On the way there, I asked Xiaotao how Ding Xu was doing, to which she replied that he spent the day shopping. A stocky man like Ding Xu, wearing makeup and a dress, strolling about the shopping mall and having tea in the cafes must have beenical. Several passer-bys even filmed Ding Xu and shared the videos on the inte while the more concerned citizens called the mental hospital.


    "I¡¯d like to see that!¡±ughed Dali. ¡°When this whole thing is over, Fatty Ding will be so embarrassed he probably wouldn¡¯t leave the house!"


    "You never know. He might be famous after this!" I said.


    "Song Yang, with your fair skin and slender figure, you would look good dressing up as a girl!" Xiaotao giggled.


    "You¡¯re right!¡± Dali eximed. ¡°I¡¯d like to see that too. Crossdressing is very popr now."


    I waved my hand repeatedly, "No thank you! That¡¯ll be too detrimental to my dashing image! If you like women¡¯s wear, you can try it yourself!"


    A thought suddenly crossed my mind. "By the way, remind the inclothes officer keeping tabs on Ding Xu to snap a picture of his handwriting when he signs for a transaction."


    "No problem,¡± she replied. ¡°Why do you want that?"


    "I¡¯m nning on exorcizing his demons! After all, he can¡¯t stay like this forever!"


    The ring was sold by the Zhou Taifu Jewelry Store. There were a total of three outlets in Nanjiang City. We didn¡¯t find any clues in the first two outlets so we proceeded to thest one which looked grander than the previous two.


    We informed the manager of our purpose and asked for a list of customers who purchased this model. The manager checked the store¡¯s system and made us a list.


    There were a total of six transactions involving this ring, the earliest being in March 2016. "Were there no sales in 2015 for this model?" I asked.


    "I¡¯m sorry, our store was bought over two years ago due to poor management,¡± the manager said apologetically. ¡°And all the previous data was deleted."


    Xiaotao wrinkled her eyebrows, "How could such a coincidence exist?"


    "Who¡¯s the current owner?" I asked.


    "Mr. Xu!" replied the manager.


    "CEO Xu? Mr. Xu?" I repeated. Could this person be the man Ding Xu was referring to? But that would mean Mr. Xu went all out to destroy the evidence, even purchasing the jewelry store! His over-the-top actions only made him seem more conspicuous.


    Right then, a ck Rolls Royce pulled up outside the store and down came a middle-aged man with a big belly. The manager quickly went out to greet him while the employees in the store bowed and said, "Wee, sir!"


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a meaningful look. Speak of the devil and he doth appear!

 Chapter 323

    <h4>Chapter 323</h4>


    "Are you going to ask him about the ring?" I said, turning to Xiaotao.


    Xiaotao unzipped her leather jacket and removed the bobby pins in her hair, draping those beautiful locks over her shoulders. Reining in her usual edginess, she winked, "We don¡¯t want to startle the man. Watch how it¡¯s done!"


    She instructed Dali to wait in the car first since his presence would onlyplicate the situation. Then, she extended her arm towards me, not saying a word of her n, though I already understood what she meant.


    I hooked my arm around hers and together, we walked up to Mr. Xu. ¡°Hello Uncle Xu!" she greeted, her voice cloying.


    "You are..." Mr. Xu narrowed his eyes.


    "Uncle Xu have you forgotten me?¡± pouted Xiaotao. ¡°During my father, Huang Yunhong¡¯s, 60th birthday, you visited our home."


    Her words seemed to jog his memory. "Ah, you¡¯re Mr. Huang¡¯s daughter!¡± he eximed. ¡°Are you here with your boyfriend?"


    "Yes,¡± she replied. ¡°We¡¯re out shopping but I didn¡¯t expect to bump into you."


    ¡°Haha, what a coincidence!¡± Mr. Xu waved his hand in the air. ¡°Miss Huang has grown so beautiful I couldn¡¯t even recognize you. You can choose whatever you like from the store. I¡¯ll let the manager know, it¡¯s on me."


    "Uncle Xu, when did you switch industries and open a jewelry store?¡± Xiaotao feigned curiosity. ¡°Aren¡¯t you still in your original business?"


    ¡°Oh, I tried this on a whim. It¡¯s all just for fun. It¡¯s nothingpared to your father,¡± heughed. ¡°I¡¯m still producingmunication equipment. This jewelry store is just part of a diversified investment."


    Xiaotao pretended to be surprised, "Communication equipment. How¡¯s that industry doing?"


    "It¡¯spetitive,¡± he sighed. ¡°In the past two years, we¡¯ve hadpetition from Xiaomi, Samsung, and I won¡¯t even bother talking about Apple. The domestic smartphone industry is bing more and more saturated."


    "But you¡¯re the only producer in Nanjiang City," she said. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that give you a bigger slice of the pie?¡±


    "Marketpetition is fierce in Nanjiang City."


    "Oh, do you havepetitors here?" asked Xiaotao.


    "Actually, I have some personal matters to attend to,¡± he digressed. ¡°I¡¯ll visit your father another day and we can have tea together then. How does that sound?"


    Xiaotao smiled and nodded, "Okay, goodbye Uncle Xu!"


    When the man finally left, I asked curiously, "Do you know him?"


    "I have never met him," she snorted.


    "Damn! But you spoke as if you¡¯ve known him forever!¡±


    "The most sessful entrepreneurs in Nanjiang City have at least heard the name, even if they aren¡¯t actually acquainted with my dad,¡± she exined. ¡°But then again, this guy is really tight-lipped."


    "Since they¡¯re all part of the same circle, we should be able to find out!" I added.


    "I¡¯m going to catch up with my dad tonight,¡± sighed Xiaotao. ¡°Would you like to join me?"


    "But I¡¯ve never even spoken to your father. Wouldn¡¯t sitting at the same table be really awkward?!"


    "To be honest, my dad asked about you a while ago!" Xiaotao smiled enigmatically.


    "What did he ask?" I blushed.


    "Well, my dad asked me who I was dating, so I mentioned you. Ever since Young Master Wang ¡®raped¡¯ the woman and lost his reputation, he¡¯s not mentioned anything about marrying him nor has he been looking for a boy to introduce to me. He asked me to take you home for dinner if we have the chance."


    How was this dinner? It was clearly a test from Mr Huang. I couldn¡¯t help scratching my head, "We¡¯ve not yet reached the point of meeting the parents!"


    "Then you¡¯ll have to speed up!" Xiaotao looked up at me.


    We exchanged a smile, sharing a sweet moment when Dali came running, "Aren¡¯t we supposed to be looking into the case? Why are you two being all mushy again? I could feel the waves of your sickening romance all the way from the street."


    "We were just discussing the case,¡± I argued. ¡°What do you mean by romance?!"


    "Yes, a discussion filled with love and affection!"


    Xiaotao made a gesture to turn off the switch. When I asked her what she meant, she said, "I¡¯m turning off this eyesore of a light bulb!"


    Dali covered his chest, looking depressed. "I get it, you¡¯re beginning to think I¡¯m being redundant. Don¡¯t stop me. I don¡¯t want to live. Let me disappear from this world..."


    "Alright then, seeing how sad you are, I¡¯ll treat you to hotpot,"ughed Xiaotao.


    After lunch, Dali and I returned to school. Early the next morning, we dropped by the station for the case discussion. Xiaotao managed to obtain information about Xu Zhipeng through her father.


    Xu Zhipeng was turning fifty-seven this year and had been working for anotherpany up until he was fifty-five. It was only two years ago that he officially started his own listedpany. Although its Aigo smartphone wasn¡¯t well known, it made its name imitating Apple¡¯s iPhone. And the quality for the low price brought him enough sess to put him on Nanjiang¡¯s rich list.


    The man was a notorious crafty old scoundrel, having acquired arge number of small and medium-sized enterprises before and after his rise. He was a master of underhanded means, specially trainingmercial spies to enter rivalpanies, then stealing client lists and trade secrets, and waiting till his rivals were hit hard to buy out their shares.


    At present, Xu Zhipeng¡¯s businesses includedmunication, electronics, personal grooming products and other fields.


    When I heard this, I cried, "Commercial spy! This all soundspletely consistent with the man Ding Xu spoke of. Who was hispetitor two years ago?"


    "This isn¡¯t very clear to me. After all, he¡¯s not the murderer, so we cannot openly investigate him."


    Wang Yuanchao took out a file and threw it onto the table. "This is the operation consent form I obtained from the hospital where Qiu Wanxia died. The name of the person¡¯s signature is Lang Jun. ording to the doctor, this person was Qiu Wanxia¡¯s boyfriend at the time, and he seemed to have left a deep impression on the doctor."


    "What do you mean?" I asked.


    At the time, Qiu Wanxia was initially diagnosed with a tumor but after the operation, it was found to be cancerous. The cancer eventually spread to the liver. By then, Lang Jun had already defaulted on a number of medical bills so the hospital didn¡¯t agree to continue with another operation. Lang Jun knelt down and kowtowed to the director of the hospital, begging him to save Qiu Wanxia. However, he was told, "Our hospital is not a charity organization. We have to make profits to survive. If you can show that you can pay, I will operate on her. Otherwise, it is out of the question!"


    But Lang Jun didn¡¯t even have 10,000 yuan. In the end, he had to take Qiu Wanxia away and the girl passed away soon after.


    Xiaotao quickly checked online. ¡°This is a really important lead! Lang Jun was also a telmunication equipment manufacturer. Two years ago, he suddenly disappeared from Nanjiang City, and his telmunicationpany..."


    Xiaotao looked around the room, paused and exined, "It¡¯s Xu Zhipeng¡¯s currentpany!"


    I didn¡¯t expect to have a breakthrough so early in the case. Judging from what we currently knew, Xu Zhipeng sent a girl to Lang Jun as amercial spy in order to topple hispany two years ago. And after the matter was revealed, Lang Jun killed her in anger.


    But there was still a cause for doubt. "Why was the dead girl holding the gold ring in her hand?" I pointed out.


    "We¡¯ve already identified the suspect and we have evidence in our hands," acknowledged Xiaotao. ¡°I think it¡¯s time we bring him in.¡±


    "No, we don¡¯t actually have evidence!" I interjected.

 Chapter 324

    <h4>Chapter 324</h4>


    Everyone looked at me in surprise as I slowly exined, "The evidence we have right now is the ring, cigarette butt and the tire marks. Because the jewelry store¡¯s system has been updated, we can¡¯t prove that the ring belonged to Xu Zhipeng. Even if Lang Jun¡¯s DNA is on the cigarette butt, it can only prove that he was there that night but that alone doesn¡¯t prove any rtion to this case, and the same is true for the tire marks. Besides, all our current discussions are based on Ding Xu¡¯s statement and have no legal basis."


    My remarks poured a bucket of cold water on these gung ho officers. This case was a challenge despite the information we had. We locked in on the suspects but were still a long way from solving the case.


    Xiaotao took a deep breath, "In this case, let¡¯s stay put and locate Lang Jun first. We¡¯ll slowly look for evidence rted to the murder."


    After the meeting, Xiaotao asked if I had anything, to which I replied, "There¡¯s not much for me to do. I¡¯ll go back to school and y some League of Legends and maybe take a napter."


    "Sigh, your life sounds so carefree,¡± said Xiaotao, her voice filled with envy. ¡°I wish I could switch ces with you."


    "I¡¯m just kidding,¡± Iughed. ¡°Would I really leave you with all the work? I previously asked Lao Yao to go through Ding Xu¡¯s chat records so he might have found something by now... "


    At the thought of being molested by Lao Yao in every possible way, I almost dreaded going alone but it was too much to ask for Xiaotao¡¯spany over such a small matter.


    "Do you have any insight on this case?" asked Xiaotao.


    "I still need something to tie it all together,¡± I exined. ¡°I think we can start with Ding Xu."


    "Didn¡¯t you just say his words have no legal basis?" she queried.


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly why I¡¯m trying to find some sort of corrtion that will render his words admissible. Here¡¯s what I think¨Cmaybe he was not possessed by a ghost at all, but was an eyewitness of the events from that year?"


    After our brief conversation, we parted ways and I headed back to school. Dali had been missing all morning. I called him, hoping he could apany me on my visit to Lao Yao¡¯s dormitory. Being in a room alone with him was more tormenting than having my skin peeled.


    Dali returned cheerfully, "Guess who I had breakfast with today!"


    "Luo Youyou?"


    ¡°Bingo!¡± Dali burst outughing. ¡°I talked to her all morning... although our subject revolved around you. But at least we had amon topic."


    "Damn it!¡± I frowned. ¡°You didn¡¯t run your mouth off about me solving crimes, did you?"


    Dali¡¯s answer made me dizzy with exasperation. "Well, I only spoke the truth!"


    "I¡¯ve told you a million times. Don¡¯t talk about the cases!¡± I rebuked. ¡°Can¡¯t you talk about poetry or something else?"


    Dali¡¯s habit of gossiping annoyed me to no end. There were already many "legends" regarding my crime-solving circting in school, such as me seducing a female killer and taking her virginity, or blocking a hostage from submachine gunshots, or taking drugs in order to break into a criminal syndicate.


    No matter how strictly confidential the case was, word would eventually get out and people would always form spections or create rumors. However, as a party to these rumors, I was obviously perturbed.


    When we arrived at Lao Yao¡¯s dormitory, we saw him squatting on his chair like a monkey, engrossed in a game of PUBG. "Have you found anything?" I asked.


    "I did but I¡¯m not quite sure if it¡¯s what you¡¯re looking for," he drawled.


    "Let me have a look!"


    "Wait a minute,¡± Lao Yao waved his hand. ¡°Watch me ughter these sons of bitches!"


    After saying that he pressed the F1 key and the whole screen exploded at once, killing his opponent in seconds. It turned out that this was a plugin to win the game that Lao Yao had written himself and was currently testing out. "So these plugins were created by cheats like you!" I condemned.


    "We must use what we have learned to benefit society,¡± chuckled Lao Yao. ¡°It¡¯s essentially the same as what you¡¯re doing. All right, you can see for yourself now!"


    Lao Yao kept the chat records in a document. It was between Ding Xu and a girl named "Hannya.¡± The date of their chat was about two years ago; thest conversation was the day before the case urred and the time coincided.


    I quickly read through their conversation. In the beginning, the two talked about celebrities and delicious food. Later on, Hannya began to reveal her personal life. She said that she was taken care of by a rich "Domineering-gege,¡± whom she really liked. However, her identity meant that she would eventually betray him. Torn between her choices, the contradictions in her heart were revealed between the lines.


    Hannya, who imed to be Qiu Wanxia, exined that she would soonplete her task and leave her Domineering-gege. She was rather reluctant and wanted toe clean but Ding Xu advised her not to do anything foolish.


    Ding Xu eventually expressed his hope to be her support and begged her not to participate in such dangerous situations again but Qiu Wanxia resolutely refused him.


    In theirst conversation, Qiu Wanxia wrote, "Goodbye!" Ding Xu sent many such messages¨C"Where are you? I¡¯m going to look for you!"¨Cbut they all went unanswered.


    I tried to picture the events that transpired afterwards. Qiu Wanxia probably confessed everything to Lang Jun who tortured her in anger and killed her. From Ding Xu¡¯s standpoint, this would¡¯ve been the conclusion he arrived at.


    "Can you pinpoint a person¡¯s location from QQ?" I asked Lao Yao.


    After a moment¡¯s contemtion, Lao Yao nodded, "Yes, for the new version after 2014."


    When I thanked him for the hard work, Lao Yao stopped me and hinted, "Just a thank you? Isn¡¯t there any material reward?" He arched his eyebrows with an obscene look in his eyes.


    "Sell me that plugin," I said.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you yed PUBG as well!¡± Lao Yao was pleasantly surprised. "I¡¯ll give you a special price: 200 yuan!"


    I paid him and received the plugin on the spot. Grabbing a U disk, I downloaded the plugin and sneered, "ording to China¡¯s intews, it¡¯s illegal to develop and sell plugins. I¡¯ve caught you red-handed. So tell me, do you still want a reward?"


    Lao Yao stared wide-eyed at me, having never expected this move. "You¡¯re evil!" he cried.


    After all the flirting he¡¯d done, I finally managed to get back at him. I left his dormitory feeling pleased with myself.


    The chats between Ding Xu and Hannya proved that Ding Xu had been a bystander the entire time so what he stated was based on facts.


    Xiaotao made good progress as well. When I arrived at the station in the afternoon, she had already found more important clues. It turned out that Lang Jun and Xu Zhipeng were business partners two years ago. Lang Jun held 40% of thepany¡¯s shares while Xu Zhipeng owned 20%. Later on, Lang Jun suddenly gave up his shares to Xu Zhipeng. Interestingly enough, the contract was signed on the same day as the murder.


    So far, we had a clear outline of the case. Xu Zhipeng sent amercial spy to spy on Lang Jun two years ago and the girl fell in love with Lang Jun, confessing everything. After that, Lang Jun killed her in a fit of pique.


    Xu Zhipeng then used the incident to ckmail and force Lang Jun to transfer his shares to him so Xu Zhipeng became the owner of thepany.


    However, there was still one thing that remained unexined¨Cthe ring in the victim¡¯s hand. My intuition told me that the presence of the ring was an element that might overturn everything.


    "By the way, Xu Zhipeng is going to a charity dinner tonight,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°Shall we pay him another visit?"


    As soon as I heard that it was a formal asion, I felt a headacheing on. "Don¡¯t we need an invitation or something?"


    Xiaotao took out a letter of assistance signed by the director himself. "Do you think this ¡®invitation¡¯ holds enough weight?" she smiled.

 Chapter 325

    <h4>Chapter 325</h4>


    I sat in Xiaotao¡¯s office, so absorbed in my thoughts about the case I missed dinner.


    At 8:00 pm, Dali and Xiaotao entered the room. "Song Yang, what are you doing contemting here all by yourself?¡± asked Xiaotao. ¡°You didn¡¯t even turn on the lights!¡±


    She switched on themp, the light illuminating a sharply-dressed Dali. Staring at the suit and tie, I asked curiously, "Dali, are you going to an interview?"


    ¡°You¡¯re so forgetful!¡± Xiaotao burst outughing, "Didn¡¯t we talk about meeting Xu Zhipeng at night? Dali said he wanted to join in on the fun."


    I pped my forehead. Our ns hadpletely slipped my mind. I stood up and turned to leave.


    Dali asked if we were going to change into formal wear. "We have the letter of assistance, so what¡¯s the point of wearing formal clothing?"


    "Should I change out of the suit then?¡± he faltered. ¡°I borrowed it from our roommate just for this asion."


    ¡°There¡¯s no need,¡± Xiaotao patted him on the shoulder. "With this outfit, you might be able to hook up with a rich woman."


    The three of us drove to the dinner which was sponsored by the International Animal Protection Agency. Hence, the theme tonight was all about protecting the environment and wildlife. Anyway, the wealthy would find any reason to hold a party.


    The dinner party was naturally a picture of elegance and calm. Taking these wealthy folk as an example, Dali circled around the room with a ss of champagne in hand but his temperament couldn¡¯t hide his humble origins. A rich woman stopped him, "Waiter, bring me a hand towel!"


    Xiaotao and I almost burst outughing. "Do I look like a waiter?" Dali asked with the expression of a sad puppy.


    "Just enjoy the buffet!"forted Xiaotao.


    "How can I let that stop me?¡± Dali said through gritted teeth. ¡°I have to try to make some connections. An opportunity like thises once in a blue moon."


    "Good luck then!" encouraged Xiaotao.


    A whileter, Dali returned to us in shame, though he feigned disdain. "These rich folk are so boring!"


    "You don¡¯t have to be friends with these people,¡± Xiaotao consoled. ¡°Just start your business and when you have enough money one day, they¡¯ll be lining up to praise you."


    ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right!" Dali nodded.


    "By the way, you keep mentioning starting a business but you haven¡¯t told us what it¡¯s about. Do you need my help?" offered Xiaotao.


    "I¡¯ll keep that a secret for the time being,¡± chuckled Dali. ¡°But I promise, you¡¯ll soon find out."


    Right then, Xiaotao¡¯s attention was focused in one direction. "Attention all units, our target has appeared!"


    I followed her gaze and found Xu Zhipeng talking with several people, his big belly trembling every time heughed. We made our way through the crowd and walked up to him. Xu Zhipeng smiled, "Hi there Ms. Huang. It¡¯s a pleasure to see you again!"


    "Mr. Xu, I might have forgotten to tell you what my job is," Xiaotao began.


    "Might I ask what that is?" said Mr. Xu.


    Xiaotao shed her police badge, prompting a change in Xu Zhipeng¡¯s expression. He frowned, "I wasn¡¯t aware that Ms. Huang was a police officer. I apologize if I showed any disrespect. May I know why you¡¯re looking for me?"


    "Mr. Xu, may we have a word?" I interrupted.


    We hid in the corner, away from the crowd. Xiaotao pulled out the letter of assistance and stated her purpose right away.


    "I understand now. So you found a dead body in the outskirts of the city and you suspect that it¡¯s rted to me,¡± he surmised. ¡°But I can guarantee that it¡¯s got nothing to do with me. I¡¯ve always been an honest,w-abiding citizen. I can swear I¡¯ve never done anything to hurt another soul."


    ncing at his fat fingers, I held out the gold ring. "Do you recognize this?"


    "No!" he refuted.


    I grabbed my cell phone and showed him a photo of the victim¡¯s remains along with the three hamsters. "What about this?" I continued.


    He denied vehemently but his microexpressions betrayed him. It was obvious he recognized both of them.


    I had only shown him the ring and photos to test his reaction. Before leaving for the dinner party, I carefully considered what role the ring yed in the case. So far, all our spections were based on Ding Xu¡¯s version of events.


    When I tried to deconstruct the details and reassemble them, I found a new angle to analyze the case. And Xu Zhipeng¡¯s reaction to the evidence was the final piece of the puzzle that Icked.


    I looked him in the eye and said, "Mr. Xu, I¡¯d like to tell you a story, one of conspiracy and calction!"


    Once, there was a pair of business partners named A and B who co-owned a telmunication equipmentpany. Two years ago, after thepany developed a smartphone which was well received, their business improved by leaps and bounds and thepany went public. The two began topete with each other, both wanting to own the other¡¯s shares.


    A learned through an investigation that B had a first love, so he found a girl who resembled B¡¯s lover and had her undergo cosmetic surgery. He sent her to B in an attempt to steal information.


    Unexpectedly, themercial spy fell in love with the young, rich Mr. B and even betrayed A. But the wily Mr. A didn¡¯t stop there. He kidnapped the girl, tortured her through various methods and forced B to sign the share transfer contract.


    After the shares were sessfully obtained, the girl became a ticking time bomb! So A silenced her by murder but he never expected a twist of fate. The girl had somehow snatched his gold ring before she died, and it was this ring that led us to find the real culprit.


    With that, I sneered, "Mr. Xu, isn¡¯t this story wonderful?"


    Dali and Xiaotao looked at me in consternation, never imagining that the murderer switched from Lang Jun to Xu Zhipeng.


    Upon listening to my story, Xu Zhipeng started sweating profusely. His hands trembled so much he couldn¡¯t even hold his ss. His guilty reaction confirmed my suspicions. I felt as if my dangling heart had found solid ground.


    "No-nonsense!¡± he retorted. ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about!"


    "What are you nervous about?¡± I quipped. ¡°Did I say anything about you being the antagonist?"


    My words were a huge p in the face. His mouth fell agape and he panted, gued by shortness of breath, forehead glistening with sweat.


    "Mr. Xu, don¡¯t try to hide it from us,¡± Xiaotao struck while the iron was hot. ¡°You better behave!"


    Xu Zhipeng threw the ss in his hand, face contorting with his venomous outburst. "I didn¡¯t kill anyone!¡± he shouted. ¡°Her death has nothing to do with me."


    "What about using her to threaten Lang Jun?" I questioned.


    "At most, my actions can only be considered as intentional injury,¡± scoffed Xu Zhipeng. ¡°Lang Jun signed the contract on his own volition..." He suddenly mmed up.


    "So you admit to it?" I sneered.


    Xu Zhipeng¡¯s lips trembled uncontrobly. "Don¡¯t try this on me!¡± he roared. ¡°Show me the evidence! Otherwise, I¡¯ll sue you for nder!"


    Xu Zhipeng left us with those words.


    "Aren¡¯t you going to arrest him?" asked Dali.


    "We only have a letter of assistance, not an arrest warrant so we can¡¯t do that,¡± exined Xiaotao. ¡°By the way, Song Yang, what made you suspect Xu Zhipeng?"


    "It¡¯s very simple,¡± I smiled. ¡°Because Xu Zhipeng is the biggest beneficiary of the whole incident. And there¡¯s also the gold ring."


    Xiaotao made a phone call and assigned an officer to closely monitor Xu Zhipeng. We were about to leave the dinner when Dali ran off to stuff his pockets with imported choctes. "Ugh, just look at yourself!" I chided.


    Right then, an ear-piercing scream sounded from within the crowd. "Murder!"

 Chapter 326

    <h4>Chapter 326</h4>


    We turned around, only to see Xu Zhipeng lying in a pool of blood, his body covered with ss shards, and a man standing next to him with a broken champagne bottle in his hand.


    From a nce, I knew that this man was Lang Jun whom we were looking for. He looked much older than the photos taken two years ago. Although he was only forty years old, there were streaks of white along his temples.


    "Police!¡± shouted Xiaotao, shing her police badge. ¡°Lay down your weapon!"


    Madness smoldered in Lang Jun¡¯s narrowed eyes as he dragged Xu Zhipeng up from the ground and held the broken bottle against his throat. "Don¡¯t interfere! I¡¯m going to kill this hypocrite!"


    Xu Zhipeng immediately woke up from his unconsciousness with a fearful scream. "Lang-ge, let¡¯s talk about this. Don¡¯t do anything rash! The police are here."


    "You despicable bastard!¡± Lang Jun cursed through gritted teeth. ¡°You fucked me over back then and killed my lover! I¡¯ll make you pay for that today!"


    "Listen to me, I never ordered them to kill her! My subordinates are to me!¡± Xu Zhipeng blurted incoherently. ¡°Weren¡¯t you there that night?"


    "Shut up!¡± roared Lang Jun. ¡°When I arrived, she was already dead!"


    With those words, Lang Jun punctured Xu Zhipeng¡¯s fat chin with the ss shards on the broken bottle, causing fresh blood to continuously ooze out of the wound. "Lang Jun, we¡¯ve already investigated everything. He will be punished byw. Why lose your precious time and best years over this scumbag?"


    "Precious time? Best years?¡± he sneered. ¡°I¡¯ve been a walking corpse ever since that night. All I do is fantasize ughtering my enemy!"


    At the sight of his enemy, fires of fury and hatred burned in his red-rimmed eyes. Lang Jun¡¯s reason was almost overtaken by the rage. If Ding Xu were present at this time, perhaps he could persuade Lang Jun.


    "Can you bring Ding Xu here?" I whispered to Xiaotao.


    Xiaotao inhaled deeply, "It¡¯s toote, I¡¯ll go!"


    "You?" I cried.


    But I never got a reply. Eyes rolling to the back of her head, Xiaotao crashed to the ground, startling Dali. It was only then that I understood her n. If Qiu Wanxia could attach her spirit to Ding Xu, then why couldn¡¯t Xiaotao be simrly possessed? Xiaotao wanted to y Qiu Wanxia.


    Holding Xiaotao in my arms, I repeatedly shouted her name. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open and she looked around nkly. With eyes staring fixedly at Lang Jun, she cried, "Domineering-gege, is that you?"


    Lang Jun gawked in wide-eyed disbelief, unable to get a word out of his lips.


    "There¡¯s only one person in this world who would call me that,¡± he faltered. ¡°You¡¯re..."


    "It was I who gave you the dream that night!" came Xiaotao¡¯s mournful voice.


    "It¡¯s really you, Xiao Xia!¡± eximed Lang Jun. ¡°Why have you possessed this woman?¡±


    "Because I want to see you!"


    She slowly approached Lang Jun, whose surprise juxtaposed Xu Zhipeng¡¯s panic. Xiaotao¡¯s acting appeared more believable than Ding Xu¡¯s, sopelling even I was almost convinced.


    Lang Jun took a step backwards, grabbing Xu Zhipeng by the hair as he shouted for the guests to hear, "Xu Zhipeng, the heavens are watching! Confess your sins before Xiao Xia and these people!"


    "I¨CI didn¡¯t kill anyone!" stammered Xu Zhipeng.


    Lang Jun forcefully tugged at Xu Zhipeng¡¯s hair drawing a loud cry of pain from thetter. "I¡¯ll do it! I will! Two years ago, I used the life of a girl to force Lang-ge to sign an equity transfer agreement and then left her in the wild. I never thought she would die!"


    Upon hearing this, I froze, my intuition telling me something was wrong. Lang Jun¡¯s sudden appearance and Xu Zhipeng¡¯s voluntary confession was so coincidental and too good to be true.


    Lang Jun tossed Xu Zhipeng back down, headed straight for Xiaotao and pulled her into his arms. I was worried he might lean in for a passionate kiss but Xiaotao was quick to react. She started convulsing all over and feigned confusion.


    When she ¡°regained consciousness,¡± she asked nkly, "What happened?" I caught her yful wink.


    Xiaotao called in the police to deal with the aftermath. Lang Jun had resorted to violence so Xu Zhipeng confessed to the kidnapping and murder. Naturally, we had to take him in for questioning.


    Before the police arrived, I interrogated Lang Jun myself. "What have you been doing for the past two years?"


    "Just muddling along," he answered.


    "Be specific!" I demanded.


    He exined that he had been raising capital in the past two years to make aeback but Xu Zhipeng had cut off all avenues, making it impossible for him to start over. Over the past two years, the thought of revenge had been brewing like a storm out at sea. A few days ago, he dreamed of the girl he loved, face rotting away with wriggling maggots as she spoke of her painful death. Thus, he decided to visit the ce she was buried, only to run away in panic when he discovered someone else¡¯s presence.


    These incidents fueled his confrontation with Xu Zhipeng. He swore he would get even today, no matter the circumstances. It was our presence at the dinner party that prevented a tragedy from ying out.


    I expressed my desire to hear his side of the story so he began narrating the events that transpired two years ago. At the time, he was on the rise in his career and constantly busy with work. Out of the blue, a girl closely resembling his first love appeared in his life and called herself Xiao Xia.


    With Xiao Xia by his side, he relived his old memories and led a loving, happy life together. He eventually fell for her but soon realized through Xiao Xia¡¯s expressions and behavior that she was hiding something from him.


    He hired someone to secretly investigate Xiao Xia and learned that she was actually amercial spy Xu Zhipeng nted by his side. Lang Jun felt as if he had been taken for a ride. The first thing he did was question Xiao Xia about all this. When she broke down and admitted to the betrayal, he dumped her and even generously gave her two million yuan.


    Aware of Xu Zhipeng¡¯s wild ambitions, he got his act together and prepared to impeach Xu Zhipeng¡¯s authority at the next shareholders¡¯ meeting. However, Xu Zhipeng outsmarted him with a dirty move.


    One night, Xu Zhipeng called him through video. The scene of several burly men molesting Xiao Xia unfolded before his eyes. Ovee with rage, Lang Jun cursed and yelled, asking him what he wanted.


    Although Xiao Xia was only a recement for Qiu Wanxia, he still had feelings for her. Xu Zhipeng wanted to take advantage of those feelings to force Lang Jun into transferring his shares to him.


    Those shares represented ten years of Lang Jun¡¯s hard work. Naturally, he didn¡¯t agree at first! But Xu Zhipeng¡¯s men went as far as to stuff live hamsters into Xiao Xia¡¯s vagina before his eyes. Xiao Xia¡¯s agonizing screams and sobs made Lang Jun waver and eventually sign the agreement.


    Upon receiving the contract, Xu Zhipeng coldly left him with the words, "I¡¯ve tossed her in some God-forsaken ce. You should hurry if you want to save her! Wait any longer and she might be dead!"


    Lang Jun drove all the way there, like a man about to lose his sanity. But when he got there, Xiao Xia had already stopped breathing. Shey in a pit, body half-buried underneath the soil. Lang Jun fell apart at the seams and sat there, weeping for a long time. When the tears finally dried, he buried Xiao Xia himself.


    "Why didn¡¯t you call the police?" I asked.


    ¡°That would be too easy on him!¡± he spat. ¡°I know Xu Zhipeng would definitely find the bestwyer to exonerate himself. But it¡¯s never toote for revenge! I¡¯ll make him lose everything, even his reputation!"


    "Did you know that Xiao Xia had Xu Zhipeng¡¯s ring in her hand before she died? She did this hoping that someone would bring her justice! But you gave up before you even started!" I used.


    "What?!" Lang Jun vehemently shook my shoulders.


    "Anyway, the case is closed. There¡¯s no point in rehashing the matter,¡± I sighed. ¡°I wish you good luck!"


    But as soon as I uttered the words, Lang Jun¡¯s lips curled up almost imperceptibly. I had a hunch that things were moreplicated underneath the surface!

 Chapter 327

    <h4>Chapter 327</h4>


    The case had entered the final stage, and the police managed to dig up more about Lang Jun. This man was a typical Scorpio. Ten years ago he lost his first love because he couldn¡¯t afford the medical expenses. Motivated by his loss, he made every effort to achieve sess just so he could retaliate against all those who offended him.


    He even hired some gangsters to cripple the hospital director who refused to help him all those years ago!


    And as for friends who turned their backs on him when he needed money, he framed them for crimes they didn¡¯tmit, plunging them into destitution, even forcing one of them to the point of suicide.


    But these were all old cases. Although he was suspected of breaking thew, he didn¡¯t actually do anything illegal so the police could only keep him in detention for a day.


    Judging from his extreme character, his choice of seeking revenge instead of calling the police seemed perfectly reasonable.


    Xu Zhipeng confessed to his crimes but there were two aspects different from what we imagined¨CXiao Xia¡¯s death and the ring. He insisted he never ordered her murder; he only threw her into the wild. It was difficult to investigate the truth behind this matter because the gangster thugs he hired had already been executed for other crimes.


    As for the rings, he imed they didn¡¯t belong to him. Buying the jewelry store had nothing to do with it. It was transferred to him by another CEO at a low price.


    His denial meant he wasn¡¯t willing to admit to the murder!


    Although the police were tough on him, we didn¡¯t actually have key evidence. Even if the case progressed to court, it would be difficult to convict him.


    Xiaotao suggested we conduct an in-depth and thorough investigation of Xu Zhipeng until evidence of murder was found. "Don¡¯t worry about that for now,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s take a break and rx for the next two days. Maybe watch a movie, have a hair spa, or have a meal with a handsome consultant."


    "Song Yang, ever since you came back from the party the other day, you¡¯ve been acting all strange,¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°What are you up to?"


    "Would you like to know?¡± Iughed. ¡°Let¡¯s go out and visit someone!"


    I was going to take Ding Xu back to the ce where the body was found. Ding Xu was still dressed in women¡¯s wear. These two days of ¡°being alive¡± had improved his spirits. He was chattering about cosmetics and delicious food the entire time.


    When we arrived at the outskirts, Ding Xu¡¯s expression turned ugly as he mored to leave. "Take me back! I want to go back!"


    "You better cooperate with us,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll only stay for five minutes and I¡¯ll buy you a pretty dress when we get back, alright?"


    Ding Xu shook his head, "Hmph, would a loser like you have any money?"


    I felt the urge to swear but I refrained.


    Upon getting out of the car, Ding Xu picked some flowers on the side of the road and wore them in his hair. ¡°Do I look beautiful?¡± He turned around and asked Xiaotao.


    "Mm-hmm," nodded Xiaotao. Then, turning to me, she whispered, "Why did you bring him here?"


    "For an exorcism!" I smiled cryptically.


    "Xiao Xia,¡± I said, stopping Ding Xu. ¡°We¡¯ve discovered your identity. You were originally a waitress but because you looked like Lang Jun¡¯s first love, you were chosen by Xu Zhipeng as amercial spy. The life of lying made you depressed so you found a friend online to share your troubles with. This body belongs to that friend¨CDing Xu!"


    Ding Xu blinked his exaggerated false eyshes, "What about it?"


    "The whole case began with your narrative which ispletely subjective,¡± I began. ¡°The three of you have your own versions of the story and each person¡¯s narrative has a strong subjective tendency. The version you provided set us down this path, but looking back now, there are many loopholes in your statements!"


    "Nonsense!¡± shouted Ding Xu. ¡°I speak the truth!"


    "Is that so?¡± I sneered. ¡°You said Lang Jun cut open your stomach and stuffed hamsters inside. You imed he was the one who beat you, and you told me you lied about being pregnant with his child which spurred his anger because he was infertile."


    Ding Xu bit his lip and kept mum. "All of these are merely embellishments you made!¡± I continued. ¡°They were based on cases you read or heard. In fact, you¡¯re not really possessed by a spirit. You¡¯re Ding Xu!"


    "How can you turn the truth upside down?!¡± Ding Xu stamped his feet. ¡°If I¡¯m not Xiao Xia, how could I have..."


    I held up two pieces of paper, one with a signature left by Ding Xu on his shopping trip and the other was written by Xiaotao on my instructions. "These two handwritings are yours and Xiao Xia¡¯s! It¡¯s difficult to change your handwriting!"


    Ding Xu shook all over as he stared wide-eyed at me. "You witnessed Xiao Xia¡¯s death that night, but you felt guilty because you were too scared to rescue her,¡± I concluded, enunciating each word. ¡°Then you ran over to dig out the body and saw the clothes she was wearing and the hamsters in her stomach. However, you didn¡¯t have the courage to call the police. You were afraid of the consequences. You hate your own weakness so much you gradually formed another personality. You became Xiao Xia just to relieve your guilt!"


    Lips trembling, Ding Xu dropped to his knees and covered his face while he wailed and wept. His voice became lower, like a man¡¯s. "I really am weak and contemptible! I hate myself. Forgive me, Xiao Xia."


    Xiaotao was so shocked her mouth fell agape. "His demons are gone!" I dered.


    I walked up to Ding Xu and said, "Why do you think Lang Jun abused Xiao Xia? Was it because you saw him kill her?"


    Ding Xu nodded with tears running down his face.


    "Now that we¡¯vee to this,¡± I sighed. ¡°You might as well tell us everything you witnessed that night!"


    Ding Xu hesitantly exined that he met Xiao Xia on the Inte two years ago and soon grew closer through their chats. Ding Xu gradually became fond of Xiao Xia, but his deep inferiorityplex prevented him from meeting her in person because he knew Xiao Xia would despise his physical appearance.


    Later on, Xiao Xia revealed that she was sent by a big CEO to approach someone and be amercial spy. Ding Xu was extremely worried about her and advised her on more than one asion to leave.


    But Xiao Xia couldn¡¯t go back because she had grown used to the beautiful clothes, delicious food, and the handsome, domineering CEO. This was the life every girl with a Mary Sueplex yearned for!


    Xiao Xia eventually fell in love with the object of her betrayal and foolishly came clean to the man. Lang Jun angrily threw her a parting gift and told her to leave.


    Downhearted, Xiao Xia confided a lot in Ding Xu, causing him to mistake her candor as affection for him. So he summoned up the courage to express his feelings to her, but was rejected.


    On the night that Ding Xu nned to delete her from his friends list, Xiao Xia suddenly issued a ¡°Goodbye." Ding Xu frantically asked where she was but to no avail. In the end, he found Xiao Xia¡¯s location through QQ location services. But when he arrived, he saw a man stomping on Xiao Xia¡¯s throat. He hid in the grass, too horror-struck to make a sound and watched as Xiao Xia breathed herst.


    The man ced something into Xiao Xia¡¯s hand before burying her body. After the man left, Ding Xu wept for a long time before dialling 110. But he hung up immediately after hearing the operator¡¯s voice because he didn¡¯t have the courage!


    He didn¡¯t dare to offend the wealthy, powerful man.


    After a year of living in deep remorse, Ding Xu ran back to the scene to dig up Xiao Xia¡¯s body. When he saw the badly dposed corpse beneath the soil, he was so frightened he covered the body once more and continued to retreat into his cowardly shell to escape reality.


    Through all this self-me, he began to have strange dreams where the rotting Xiao Xia came to him. The dreams grew more and more frequent until he imagined seeing Xiao Xia¡¯s shadows and hearing her voice when he was awake.


    After that, he became Xiao Xia!

 Chapter 328

    <h4>Chapter 328</h4>


    Although I had suspicions that Lang Jun was the murderer, I wanted to be sure so I handed over his photo. "Is this the man you saw?"


    Ding Xu nodded as he wept.


    Xiaotao stared at me nkly and faltered, "Song Yang, w-what¡¯s going on here? Their roles are all mixed up!"


    "Isn¡¯t it better we hear what he has to say instead of my exnation?" Iughed coldly.


    "Are we leaving now?" asked Xiaotao.


    "Patience,¡± I said. ¡°If he can wait two years, then so can we. When he thinks he¡¯s gotten off scot-free, that¡¯s when we rip off his mask!"


    Iforted Ding Xu, but to be honest, I partly sympathized and yet despised him for his weak character. But his psyche had just stabilized and I was afraid to excite him.


    Ding Xu was of great significance to us. Whether we could convict Lang Jun depended solely on his eyewitness testimony.


    After we sent Ding Xu back to school, Xiaotao was eager to confront Lang Jun. How could an upright officer like her let a criminal get away with it for even one day? "We¡¯ll visit him tomorrow,¡± I promised. ¡°It¡¯s been some time since you dropped by. I must treat you to a meal!"


    ¡°I won¡¯t be able to get any sleep tonight with this on my mind," frowned Xiaotao.


    I leaned over and said, "Will an apology work?"


    "Your apology is too insincere!" she smiled.


    I gave her a light peck on the lips. "How about this?"


    "Well it looks like you¡¯ve learned to sneak up on me!¡± pouted Xiaotao. ¡°Are you still the shy and innocent young boy I knew?" Then she lowered the seat and climbed onto myp, pressing her soft breasts onto my chest. Her gentle fragrance made me heady and my heart was a train pounding down the tracks.


    Right then, two boys passed by our car, one of them sticking his head to the window to nce inside. Fortunately, the windows were tinted. "Do you think they¡¯re having sex inside?" asked one of the boys.


    The other boy cried, ¡°What the fuck are you doing?! Are you looking to get beaten? Let¡¯s go!"


    This little incident made us freeze in our seat. After the boys had walked away, Xiaotao grinned and asked, "Shall we continue?"


    "Why not!"


    Xiaotao leaned in, the close proximity of our bodies filling my heart with sweetness.


    The next morning, Xiaotao and I paid a visit to Lang Jun¡¯spany. In fact, I wanted to wait a while longer, perhaps due to the poor taste of finding pleasure in rubbing salt in his wounds. After the party that day, all the major media outlets in Nanjiang City reported the incident that happened that night. Lang Jun quickly reimed the position of CEO. I wanted him to think he seeded before dragging him down from his high horse. This was undoubtedly the best blow to this hard-hearted man.


    But Xiaotao didn¡¯t want to wait for even a day.


    The secretary showed us into Lang Jun¡¯s office. The man dressed in a branded suit, with the ruddyplexion of a sessful man. Upon seeing us, he ced his sped hands on the table and said, "What can I do for you two? Do you need me to testify in court?"


    In terms of bodynguage, holding one¡¯s hands together was a defensive posture.


    "Yes!¡± I blurted. ¡°We need you to appear in court and stand in the dock!"


    Lang Jun arched an eyebrow, a trace of vignce shing past his eyes. He held his hands to his chest as he grinned, "Are you joking?"


    "Would you like me to tell you the real story?" I sneered.


    Lang Jun merely shrugged. Despite the rich bodynguage, his eyes were extremely tense. "I¡¯m all ears!"


    I began to describe the first half of the story which was exactly as he had previously stated. But when Xu Zhipeng informed him that he left the girl in the wilderness, Lang Jun arrived at the scene, disappointed that Xiao Xia was still alive and not at all in any danger.


    Looking down at the girl who was badly tortured and defiled by several men, Lang Jun was suddenly inspired with an idea to turn the game around. Xiao Xia¡¯s survival wasn¡¯t of great significance but her death would bring him more benefits. Thus, he mercilessly murdered Xiao Xia and ced a gold ring on her hand.


    After that, he began to secretly carry out his ns, using all means to transfer the jewelry store under Xu Zhipeng¡¯s assets so the police would naturally link the ring to Xu Zhipeng upon its discovery and assume he wanted to destroy the evidence.


    Lang Jun waited for two years until he realized that the police had begun investigating the case. With the thought of pursuing victory, he openly performed a show for us at the dinner party to let everyone know what Xu Zhipeng did back then. Even Xu Zhipeng himself assumed that his subordinates had mishandled the kidnapping and killed Xiao Xia!


    His two years of waiting wasn¡¯t meaningless at all. The smallpany had grown under Xu Zhipeng¡¯s leadership. And here¡¯s the kicker¨Cthe contract that Xu Zhipeng forced Lang Jun to sign would no longer have any legal effect once the truth was revealed. Lang Jun would recover his shares and obtain a bigger establishment than before.


    Xu Zhipeng was a despicable man, but he was far less intelligentpared to Lang Jun. Lang Jun on the other hand was a heartless hypocrite who could easily kill a woman he liked for the sake of power and riches. He skillfully manipted the situation to emerge as the final victor.


    When I finished speaking, Lang Jun slowly pped his hands. "It¡¯s all really amazing, but these are all spections. Do you have any evidence?" he challenged.


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a smile, expecting him to say this. "We have an eyewitness of the crime youmitted."


    "That¡¯s impossible,¡± spat Lang Jun. ¡°That night..."


    "You probably don¡¯t know this, but Xiao Xia had an online friend,¡± I snickered. ¡°He ran all the way out there to save Xiao Xia that night and chanced upon your act."


    "No! That¡¯s impossible,¡± shouted Lang Jun. ¡°You¡¯re lying!"


    Xiaotao pulled out an arrest warrant, "Cut the crap ande with us!"


    After Lang Jun was detained, he handed everything over to hiswyer. Ding Xu agreed to testify in court. Although the judicial proceedingssted for a long time, Lang Jun was eventually convicted of murder.


    After Lang Jun¡¯s arrest, I tried to fathom his mental process. With the death of his first love, he became apletely cold-blooded and ruthless man who could do anything just to get ahead. Xiao Xia was nothing in his eyes, just a pawn.


    As for Xiao Xia, this was all a tragedy for a young girl who believed her life was a modern-day fairytale. Despite the many twists and turns, she imagined a happy ending with her domineering CEO like all those Mary Sue novels.


    However, both sides were only using her. In thest few minutes of her life when her sweetheart arrived, she thought she was finally out of the woods. However, all she saw was the sinister, calcting face of the man she loved and his foot that trampled her throat.


    At the end of the case, Xiaotao and I went for a walk. In truth, we were both deeply affected by the case. "There¡¯s one thing I still don¡¯t quite understand," said Xiaotao.


    "What is it?" I asked.


    "The possession was easy to exin but what about Lang Jun¡¯s dream? Does her spirit really exist?"


    "I wish I could say it¡¯s just a coincidence, but I sincerely hope that her spirit is still here,¡± I sighed. ¡°That way she¡¯ll know justice has been served and perhaps enter reincarnation in peace."


    "Women regard love as their entire world but men always put their career first,¡±mented Xiaotao. ¡°Perhaps this is the root of tragedy! I wonder, how much weight do I carry in your heart?"


    As soon as she uttered those words, Xiaotao seemed to regret it and immediately shook her head. "Forget I said that. I don¡¯t want to know the answer. Men are all heartless creatures!"


    I held her face in my hands and gently caressed her nose. "You¡¯re wrong about that. You¡¯re everything to me!"

 Chapter 329

    <h4>Chapter 329</h4>


    After Lang Jun¡¯s case, Dali and Luo Youyou grew closer to each other, often eating together and taking walks around campus. As a buddy, I felt d for Dali.


    With only one week left before graduation, the four of us roommates rented several bachelor gowns and posed all over campus. The students in our ss had a farewell dinner together. After three drinks, the boys hugged each other and sobbed uncontrobly. No matter how many obstacles and shorings we faced, these four years of university were our most precious memories of youth and a time we would never forget!


    The day after the farewell dinner, Dali mysteriously said he would take me somece to cheer me up, which probably meant good news.


    He drove me to a drugstore that mainly sold women¡¯s toiletries. Seeing the impressive disy of sanitary napkins on the shelf, I asked, "Are you choosing something for Youyou? Don¡¯t ask me anything, I don¡¯t know much about this stuff."


    "Have you ever seen anyone give sanitary napkins as gifts?¡± he said, bursting out inughter. ¡°Let¡¯s go in and talk."


    He dragged me into the store, and several employees who were tallying up the stock shouted, "Hi boss!"


    I was so surprised I couldn¡¯t keep my mouth closed. "D-did you open this store?"


    "What¡¯s that expression of yours?¡±ined Dali. ¡°I¡¯m not breaking thew and it¡¯s good business. What do you think? You didn¡¯t expect this, did you?"


    I felt embarrassed by my gaffe. This was indeed different from what I imagined. Picking up a pack of Little Bear D sanitary napkins, I suddenly recalled where I had seen them. "Isn¡¯t this produced by Ye Shiwen¡¯s father¡¯spany?" I asked, scratching my head.


    "Yes, it¡¯s all thanks to his help that we¡¯ve managed to open the store!¡± heughed. ¡°Let¡¯s go for lunch and talk as we walk!"


    Dali described the process of how the store came to be. After Ye Shiwen dropped out of schoolst year, he went to work at his father¡¯spany. He practically started from the bottom and ran around looking for distributors. During the Lunar New Year, he chatted with Dali over the Inte, mentioning his n to set up a distribution center in Nanjiang City. As it happened, Dali also wanted to start a business. Hence, the two hit it off.


    Dali used the money I gave him to rent and furnish the store, as well as hire employees. After much effort, the store finally had its grand opening yesterday. All the products in the store were purchased from Ye Shiwen at factory prices. Ye Shiwen would receive 10% of the profits; I would receive 40%, and the remaining 50% would be used to run the business. Even if we didn¡¯t sell all our stock, Dali assured me we wouldn¡¯t make any losses. With the rich kid Ye Shiwen on our side, we were guaranteed to have a stable ie.


    Although sanitary napkins were nothing out of the ordinary, it was something every girl used. Thus, the product could be considered a necessity.


    Additionally, the production costs were very low. As long as it was beautifully packaged, the price could be doubled. In Dali¡¯s words, it was simply gold!


    Upon listening to his eloquent words, my mouth fell agape. "You sneaky little bastard! Quietly doing this all by yourself! I¡¯m really impressed."


    "It¡¯s all thanks to your startup fund,¡± he chuckled. ¡°By the way, should we sign an equity agreement?"


    "What equity agreement! I understand that costs can outweigh revenues in the first three months of any business,¡± I repeatedly motioned with my hands. ¡°It¡¯s not easy at the start, so don¡¯t worry about my share. Let¡¯s get the store up and running first."


    Dali pointed to a restaurant and said, "Here we are!"


    "Can¡¯t you just find a McDonald¡¯s? There¡¯s no need for such extravagance."


    "I won¡¯t have to pay for this meal,¡± heughed. ¡°Let¡¯s go."


    We walked to the private rooms where Ye Shiwen came out to greet us, all dressed up in a casual suit. Aftering out to work for the past six months, he was less defiant, more mature and steady, and more pleasing to the eye than when we first met.


    We exchanged pleasantries after such a long separation. Ye Shiwen got the waiter to serve our food. After downing a ss of Baijiu, his eyes were slightly misty. "Song-ge, I heard that you¡¯ve solved a lot of cases in the past six months. Compared to you, my experience seems insignificant,¡± remarked Ye Shiwen. ¡°I heard that you¡¯re graduating soon. What a pity! I wish I could stand beside you two and take a graduation photo!"


    "Since you¡¯ve taken this path, there¡¯s no need to regret anything,¡± Iforted. ¡°While you envy others, many envy you!"


    "Ah, I do regret a little still,¡± he sighed. ¡°When I returned to Nanjiang City yesterday, I went to visit Ah Juan¡¯s tomb and I stood there for a long time, remembering the past. I stared at her picture and cried my heart out," he said, eyes red with grief.


    "Ye-ge, it¡¯s our opening day so let¡¯s not talk about this,¡± persuaded Dali. ¡°Let¡¯s drink and celebrate instead!¡±


    Ye Shiwen raised his ss, rubbing his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re right, let¡¯s forget about all that. Here¡¯s to our happy cooperation!"


    The two continued on to serious business matters in which I had no experience.


    The store Dali opened wasn¡¯t just a physical store, but also a supply and marketing center covering Nanjiang City. However, the supply and marketing channels hadn¡¯t been set up yet. In other words, Dali and I had to visit major supermarkets and shopping malls to promote our sanitary napkins and establish everything from scratch. Only by doing so could we earn enough revenue since it was impossible to maintain our operations solely on store sales.


    "Dude, we can¡¯t stay in the dorms after graduation. I¡¯ll rent a ce outside and we can still live together and go out to sell sanitary napkins when we¡¯re free!¡± suggested Dali. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re bosses now so we don¡¯t have to punch in. We can arrange our time as we like and you can go to Xiaotao-jiejie when she needs you."


    At the thought of my future, I was a little troubled. "Will this really work? I¡¯m not very good at sales."


    "I believe that with your intelligence, you¡¯ll have no problem doing anything!" Ye Shiwen reassured.


    "I¡¯ve never worked a day in my life,¡± I lowered my head in shame. ¡°I don¡¯t even have work experience in handing out leaflets, much less sales and marketing."


    "You haven¡¯t worked in sales but you earn more than any of us solving crimes, plus you¡¯re good with people on both sides of thew!¡± interjected Dali. ¡°You¡¯re great at what you do!¡±


    "Sales is easy,¡± Ye Shiwen chimed in. ¡°I¡¯ll show you how I usually go about it after our meal."


    After lunch, we found a nearby supermarket. Ye Shiwen took a pack of sanitary napkins to the supervisor and rmended our product. The man agreed to put them on the shelves for a trial period and said he would consider cooperating with us if sales were good.


    Ye Shiwen pped his chest and grinned, "No problem at all. I¡¯ll send you 100 boxes first."


    After leaving the supermarket, Dali was eager to visit several other supermarkets to try his luck. But I received a phone call from Xiaotao, requesting my presence. "Sorry,¡± I said. ¡°I have to head to the station now."


    "Go ahead,¡± Dali replied. ¡°I¡¯ll teach you after I¡¯ve familiarized myself."


    When I left, I asked for a pack of sanitary napkins for Xiaotao. After all, there was nothing to be ashamed about. This would be part of my career in the future.


    At the station, Xiaotao immediately noticed the paper bag I was carrying at first nce. "Did you bring me a gift?" she asked curiously.


    I grabbed the sanitary napkins and handed them to her. "It¡¯s just a little token!"


    Upon seeing my unique gift, Xiaotao froze for a moment, lost for words. My exnation amused her so much she burst outughing, "You boys are really bold to even think of starting up this sort of business! I¡¯ll take this and let you know what I think of the product."


    When I asked what the case was, Xiaotao¡¯s smile immediately faded. She took me to the Necropsy Workshop, my very own autopsy room.


    Since thest case, I had transferred all mymonly used equipment to the workshop so I wouldn¡¯t have to carry a huge bag with me each time. Xiaotao and I were the only one with the keys, so I was assured of the security.


    Upon entering the room, I was greeted by the sight of a male corpse with a slit in his throat lying on the autopsy table. A cigarette was conspicuously ced in the middle of the dead man¡¯s lips. I put on rubber gloves and removed it for examination. It turned out to be a Hongtashan.


    The unique signature immediately reminded me of one man¨CDeng Chao!

 Chapter 330

    <h4>Chapter 330</h4>


    I calmly turned to Xiaotao, "Do you remember the day Deng Chao escaped from prison? When we visited at the time, I stuffed him with a pack of Hongtashan."


    "As soon as I saw the body, I thought of him,¡± she nodded. ¡°This is definitely the murderer¡¯s signature. There¡¯s no mistake about that!"


    A few months after Deng Chao¡¯s disappearance, he finally made aeback. And it happened right when we were about to graduate. I had a vague sense of foreboding.


    I waved those thoughts away and began the autopsy. The victim was a middle-aged man of about forty-five years old, with a dirty, full beard that made him seem grubby and untidy. He reeked of alcohol, and had the overall disposition of a low-ie bachelor.


    The victim¡¯s clothes were covered in dust and grass, his trousers showing drag marks that suggested the body was moved after death. His cor, cuffs and oral cavity had a strong, almost overpowering smell of alcohol, and his face was a little flushed. I surmised that he might have been drunk right before he was murdered.


    There was mud on the victim¡¯s right index finger and thumb. When I carefully examined with Cave Vision, I found no traces of blood or skin, which indicated it was left before death.


    Then, I emptied out the dead man¡¯s pockets and found an old, used smartphone, a bunch of keys, half a pack of Septwolves cigarettes, a dirty handkerchief and a folded piece of paper which turned out to be a court summons.


    I handed it to Xiaotao who said, "I¡¯ll call to confirm."


    After Xiaotao left, I removed the victim¡¯s clothes and fiddled with his joints with my hands, trying to feel for muscle stiffness. Judging by his pupils, I estimated the time of death to be about ten hours.


    When I ced his clothes aside, I noticed stains on the back, though they were so light I might have missed them. At the moment, I couldn¡¯t imagine how they were left so I went on to my next task.


    Upon listening to the victim¡¯s torso with the Echolocation Rod, I discovered multiple blood clots in his bronchi but his viscera remained intact.


    His throat was neatly slit with one move! Most of the blood flowed back into his trachea and arge amount of blood congealed around the wound, with a set of palm prints faintly visible on it. The victim¡¯s palms were also stained with some blood.


    Death wasn¡¯t immediate when a person¡¯s throat was slit. In fact, suffocation caused by cutting off the throat was the real cause of death. The victim subconsciously covered his throat in an attempt to stop the bleeding.


    Looking at the professional de technique, I couldn¡¯t help but whisper, "Deng Chao, what have you experienced over the past few months?"


    Then I opened the Autopsy Umbre and slowly adjusted it to face the bright sunlight outside the window. I immediately found several Yang Energy Prints on the body. Right then, Xiaotao interrupted, "We¡¯ve confirmed the victim¡¯s identity. He¡¯s a warehouse manager who is also a key witness in a murder case to be heard tomorrow."


    I shook my head and sighed, "It looks like there won¡¯t be a trial tomorrow and yet another murderer will remain atrge..."


    "What have you found?" asked Xiaotao.


    I put away my Autopsy Umbre. ¡°The victim must have noticed something on the ground, perhaps money, on his way home alone after drinkingst night, so he lowered his head and stooped to pick it up. Then the murderer used this opportunity to grab his shoulder from behind and deftly slit his throat in one motion. The entire process seems very impersonal, as if it was a hired gun."


    "So, you¡¯re trying to say that Deng Chao is now a professional killer?" asked Xiaotao.


    "Do you remember when he escaped from prison? It was just after we took out the illegal live stream website which was closely linked to that mysterious organization. Taking out the website was tantamount to cutting off an important financial path of the organization, so I¡¯m guessing they now regard me as an eyesore!¡± I surmised. ¡°So they broke Deng Chao out of prison because of the enmity between us. They¡¯re nning to let him deal with me, but before that, he has other tasks toplete."


    ¡°Deng Chao is challenging us!¡± I dered, pointing to the Hongtashan cigarette.


    "It does sound like something the organization is capable of,¡± frowned Xiaotao. ¡°My intuition tells me a storm ising."


    "Let¡¯s go to the scene where the body was found and have a look!"


    The body was dumped near a row of single-story houses by the river. I recalled the water-like stains on the victim¡¯s back. "It isn¡¯t foggy this time of the year, is it?"


    Xiaotao looked at the sky. "Not necessarily,¡± she replied. ¡°If it rains, the area around the river will be foggy."


    The technical team had already left after collecting all the evidence in the morning so the area was cordoned off and an officer was left behind to guard the ce. I opened the Autopsy Umbre, slowly adjusting the angle. Apart from the messy footprints on the ground, there was a trail of clearly visible drag marks.


    Deng Chao¡¯s physical stamina was average which meant he had difficulty dragging the dead body. I followed the trail to a corner and stared at the wall, prompting a questioning look from Xiaotao. Grabbing a bag of seaweed ash, I blew at the wall where a palm print soon appeared.


    "Was this left by the murderer?¡± eximed Xiaotao. ¡°Fortunately, you discovered it! The technical team didn¡¯t even notice anything."


    "As you can see, the fingerprints are very fuzzy, as if they were artificially damaged,¡± I pointed out.


    Even so, it was still a key piece of evidence. Xiaotao was just about to call an officer but I shook my head, "There¡¯s no need to hurry."


    I took out a piece of deckled edge paper and covered the palm print, imprinting aplete palm onto the paper before carefully cing it in an evidence bag.


    We continued to walk along the trail until it disappeared by the road marked by tire tracks. After staring at them for a long time, I deduced, "It was a light truck with worn-out tires, maybe an old one. Judging from the depth of the tracks, it should¡¯ve been empty."


    I was suddenly struck with an idea. "It¡¯s a refrigerated truck!" I shouted.


    "Song Yang, how did you get from tire tracks to a refrigerated truck?" asked Xiaotao.


    "There are speckled, droplet stains on the victim¡¯s back. I have been contemting how they were left behind but now I understand that it was caused by ice shards,¡± I exined. ¡°The victim was lying on top of some ice shards that melted into those water stains."


    "That makes perfect sense!" Xiaotao snapped her fingers.


    "The vehicle was obviously enclosed,¡± I continued. ¡°And the dead body shows no signs of being folded which tells me there was enough space in the vehicle for a man of 1.8 meters to lie t. The truck was most likely stolen so check if there are any recent reports of a missing truck."


    "Got it. I¡¯ll send someone to look it up immediately!"


    After the call, Xiaotao said, "There¡¯s nothing else to do for the time being. Why don¡¯t I visit your store?"


    "It¡¯s just a humble little store. There¡¯s nothing much to look at," I scratched my head.


    "It¡¯s your first time starting a business. I must lend you my support!" sheughed.


    "All right then!" I nodded.


    When we arrived at the store, Dali was trying to sell the sanitary napkins to a middle-aged woman. After seeing the customer off, he grinned at Xiaotao, "Xiaotao-jiejie, why are you here? Isn¡¯t our store amazing?"


    "Yes, not bad at all!¡± Xiaotao said, looking around the store. ¡°I have to say I¡¯m impressed that the two of you actually turned your ideas into reality!"


    "It¡¯s all Dali¡¯s hard work,¡± I admitted. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything."


    Xiaotao picked up a pack of sanitary napkins and looked at it. "You said that it¡¯s breathable and prevents odors. But it¡¯s not like you¡¯ve actually tried it. What a load of nonsense!"


    "I¡¯ve tried every type!¡± Wang Dali patted his chest proudly. ¡°I guarantee you¡¯ll find itfortable and breathable. You can be assured of the quality!"


    Xiaotao stood there with her mouth agape. "That¡¯s amazing! You¡¯re so dedicated!"

 Chapter 331

    <h4>Chapter 331</h4>


    As soon as we mentioned sanitary napkins, Dali harped on and on, trying to convince me that our ultra-thin night pad was the mostfortable among all the brands. He imed it felt like he was wearing nothing. He even asked me to give it a try when I had time. In order to do sales, he insisted confidence in my own products were paramount.


    Naturally, I refused. But on second thought, with Dali¡¯s professionalism, how could our business fail?


    Xiaotao headed back to the station alone while I stayed in the store and followed Dali around, familiarizing myself with the business. "Has Ye Shiwen left?" I asked.


    "No, he wants to invite us to dinner tonight. We¡¯re going somewhere only adults can y. Would you like to join us?" Dali lecherously arched his eyebrow.


    "I won¡¯t go to that sort of ce!¡± I retorted. ¡°You better not get caught up with this habit!"


    "Is there anything wrong with bowling?" Dali turned to me innocently.


    I muttered an expletive under my breath. This idiot deliberately led me on!


    I originally wanted to tell him about Deng Chao¡¯s return but I swallowed down the words, thinking that Deng Chao was only trying to stir up the pot with a few serial murders. However, the events thatter transpired proved me wrong.


    I went back to school to pick up something and in the evening, Xiaotao called to inform me that they found the vehicle.


    I rushed to the scene¨Can old residential area. Local residents had reported a truck parked there since the afternoon, causing serious inconvenience to the residents. Unfortunately, they didn¡¯t see the owner of the truck.


    In the open space, there was a light truck that had been converted into a refrigerated truck. After checking it through the DMV, the police found that the truck was lost for two days during a fishing trip.


    The officers waited for my arrival before opening the truck. Seeing the crowd of onlookers that had gathered around us, I said, "Cover the door with some cloth so these civilians can¡¯t see a thing.¡±


    "Do you suspect there¡¯s something inside?" asked Xiaotao.


    "Just to be safe,¡± I exined. ¡°I don¡¯t want to cause any panic."


    "You¡¯re more and more careful now," chuckled Xiaotao.


    An officer climbed up the roof of the truck and covered the door with a tarpaulin. We slid under the tarpaulin and unlocked the refrigerator door, only to be greeted by another corpse. The officers gasped in rm.


    "How did you guess?" wondered Xiaotao.


    "This location is very simr to the one where the first body was dumped!¡± I surmised. ¡°It¡¯s old and disorganized, and there are no surveince cameras nearby. I don¡¯t think the murderer would make such a fuss about disposing of a stolen vehicle. But also, my impression of Deng Chao led me to this conclusion... "


    Xiaotao raised an eyebrow, "What is your impression of him? Do you think he¡¯s an intelligent criminal?"


    "No,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°In my opinion, he¡¯s always had strong self-esteem. He even resembles me in certain aspects. I aim to shock with my words, while he does with actions, which is why I¡¯m certain he left us a surprise."


    I instructed the others not to enter the truck except for Xiaotao and myself. Xiaotao looked knowingly at me as soon as I closed the door behind us. I took out three items from my pocket: two pills sealed in wax and a small portable incense burner.


    Like the previous body, the victim had a Hongtashan cigarette between his lips and a slit in his throat, but his body was frozen with bits of ice.


    I ced the first pill into the incense burner, lit it, and fumigated it around the body, red-violet smoke floating from within. Xiaotao subconsciously covered her mouth and nose but soon dropped her hand to her side. Sniffing the air, she cried, "It doesn¡¯t smell bad at all! There¡¯s even a faint floral fragrance."


    "This is a kind of incense made from the root of the photinia nt!"


    "What does it do?"


    ¡°Nothing much on its own!¡± I replied.


    After our surroundings were filled with smoke, I ced the second pill into the portable incense burner and told Xiaotao to watch carefully. Soon, ck smoke permeated the air filled with fragrance, like ink in water. At first it was erratic, but a human figure gradually appeared in mid-air.


    Xiaotao eximed but I hissed, motioning for her not to talk. This sort of smoke was so sensitive that even a murmur could disrupt the process.


    Right then, the human form was divided into two parts, one kneeling on the ground with his head in his arms, partially ovepping with the victim while the other standing in front of the former who very much looked like Deng Chao. The two men maintained this position for five minutes as if they were talking. Then, the man standing waved his hand and the kneeling man copsed.


    That was the end of this miraculous picture, and the ck smoke slowly drifted back into the incense burner.


    Only then did Xiaotao dare to speak, "It¡¯s amazing. It¡¯s like watching a movie. What sorcery is this?"


    I exined that the ck smoke was actually a kind of bacteria that was harmless to the human body. It had an extremely keen ability to capture the breath of the living. My ancestors discovered its magical characteristics and named it ¡°Soul Returning Incense.¡± The Soul Returning Incense was usually in a dormant state, and only the photinia could temporarily awaken it. Grandpa once used it when he was tracking down the Jiangbei Daggers.


    The Soul Returning Incense could reproduce the scene of the crime for a short period of time, but there was a strict restriction¨Cit could only be used in a closed environment. I expected it mighte in handy tonight, so I went back to school in the afternoon to fetch it.


    Xiaotao gave a thumbs up, "Amazing! It¡¯s nothing short of a miracle!"


    "Let¡¯s continue analyzing the scene!" I urged.


    From the Soul Returning Incense, we clearly witnessed the victim having a conversation with the murderer for about five minutes before his death. From this, we could infer what the murderer was interrogating him. After sessfully obtaining information, he killed the victim with a slit across the throat.


    The victim was a man of about thirty years of age, gentle in appearance, and from his clothes, a white-cor worker.


    I picked up his right hand and noticed there were some old scars caused by corrosive chemicals on his fingernails and ligature marks on his palm, which seemed to be left by snatching an object out of his hand, perhaps a briefcase.


    I dug into the dead man¡¯s pocket, then found an identification card on his chest that read: Director XXX of Xinghai Biochemistry Research Institute.


    "It¡¯s highly unlikely for a senior researcher and Deng Chao to have any enmity,¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°Looks like this is another kill order from the organization."


    A sliver of doubt reared its head. Was this really the case? Could Deng Chao be cooking up a big conspiracy?


    There was nothing else worth investigating so Xiaotao and I got off the truck. Only when Xiaotao called the research institute did I realize the high level of confidentiality involved. The institute refused to reveal the project the victim was working on.


    "It seems we¡¯ll have to make a trip down to the institute in person!"


    So far, my thoughts revolved around Deng Chao¡¯s motives. Xiaotao asked me if I would like to go with her but I replied, "No, I¡¯d like to be alone and organize my thoughts."


    After I went back, I found an empty ssroom to perform the Triple Divination Technique but failed to obtain anything.


    The next day, Xiaotao called to inform me that the second victim studied organic chemistry. Shortly after he was murdered, someone essed the research institute¡¯s system. The information that Deng Chao tortured from the victim must have been the ess code. Among the essed contents were neurotoxins newly developed by their research institute.


    When I heard the word ¡°neurotoxin,¡± I was ill at ease. "Could Deng Chao be nning to carry out arge-scale terrorist attack?¡± I wondered out loud. ¡°Wait a minute. The day after tomorrow is our graduation ceremony. Returning at this point in time cannot be a coincidence."


    Xiaotao inhaled deeply, "Do you think he¡¯ll take his revenge on you at the graduation ceremony?"


    "From his point of view, I¡¯m the one who destroyed his life and made it impossible for him to graduate,¡± I said. ¡°He wants me to suffer the same fate!"

 Chapter 332

    <h4>Chapter 332</h4>


    Over the next two days, I walked around with a heavy heart. Stuck in a situation where our enemies remained in the dark, we were powerless to protect ourselves. Xiaotao nned to assign several inclothes officers to the graduation ceremony, but I refused. If Deng Chao really nned to spread the virus, not even an army could resist.


    Of course, I made my own preparation by asking Xiaotao to ready some gas masks and wireless headphones. For the meantime, officers would patrol around the campus to ensure no suspicious persons were mixed in the crowd.


    In the blink of an eye, the day of our graduation ceremony arrived. All the graduates gathered at the school auditorium. The entire ceremony was as follows: first off, the student representative would give a speech, followed by the dean, and finally the graduates would receive their certificates from the dean.


    At 8:00 AM, the auditorium was already filled with the fresh graduates. Excitement was in the air as they chattered tedly. I scanned the enclosed space, gued by a nagging suspicion.


    Right then, our ss burst into loud discussion. I looked up and saw a familiar figure in front of me; it was Xiaotao.


    She was dressed like a young, energetic student¨Cin sportswear, hair tied up in a ponytail and wearing a pair of rimless sses. But none of this could hide her proud, morous aura.


    The boys whispered, "Wow, she¡¯s hot!"


    "Why haven¡¯t we seen her before? Which ss is she from?"


    "Could she be someone¡¯s girlfriend?"


    Xiaotao slowly walked up to me and said to the boy sitting beside me, "Excuse me, I have something important to say to Song Yang!"


    The boy shyly offered up his seat, to which Xiaotao thanked him. Then, gracefully dropping into her seat, Xiaotao rubbed her shoulders against mine and asked, ¡°Are you surprised?¡±


    This intimate action of hers drew whoops and loud gossiping from the other boys. Anyway, I was about to graduate, so what was there to be embarrassed about? "How can a inclothes officer be as outstanding as you?" I chuckled.


    Dali looked even more surprised than I was. "Dude, I really envy you! If only my girlfriend could be here."


    It was Xiaotao¡¯s turn to show astonishment. "Your girlfriend?" she asked.


    "It¡¯s all nonsense,¡± I mocked. ¡°The rtionship hasn¡¯t even been confirmed."


    "Although that may be true, I¡¯m 100% sure this is it!¡± Dali patted his chest proudly. ¡°After this, I¡¯m going on a date with her! I don¡¯t have to sit here and y the third wheel any longer!"


    "Congrattions then!¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for your wedding invite!"


    Xiaotao got down to business, "With me escorting you today, you¡¯ll definitely graduate safely. I¡¯ve asked several officers to check the premises and the surrounding area. Everything looks normal."


    ¡°We set up a temporarymand center there,¡± she pointed to a small corridor outside the window. ¡°In case of any emergencies, we can respond immediately. On top of that, the No. 1 and No. 2 SWAT teams are on standby and can provide support within ten minutes."


    "Do you have that much authority now?" I asked.


    "I reported this to Sun Tiger,¡± she smiled. ¡°When he heard that someone was trying to sabotage your graduation ceremony, he immediately asked me to lead a team to protect you."


    "Has there been any progress in the case?"


    Xiaotao shook her head, ¡°We found another dead body in the morning with the same MO. The victim¡¯s identity hasn¡¯t been confirmed yet. We didn¡¯t inform you because of your graduation ceremony."


    We were suddenly interrupted by several loud calls. A few of the boys I usually hung out with teased, "Song Yang, aren¡¯t you going to introduce your girlfriend to us?"


    "Geez, where are your manners?¡± Iughed. ¡°We¡¯re about to enter society, you know!"


    The boys booed in return.


    "I miss my graduation,¡± sighed Xiaotao. ¡°By the way, Miss Sun wanted toe as well but Sun Tiger refused to give her the green light. Her graduation ceremony is next week."


    "I know. I was nning on seeing her then." Worried Xiaotao would be displeased, I added, "But if you¡¯re not happy about that, then nevermind!"


    "I¡¯m not some controlling psycho,¡± she joked. ¡°I won¡¯t restrict you from making friends. You can go if you want to."


    At this moment, the student representative walked to the podium and the auditorium immediately quieted down. After his speech, an old man walked onto the stage and bowed to the audience. "Is that the dean?" asked Xiaotao.


    "Not the dean, but an honorary alumnus!¡± whispered Dali. ¡°He¡¯s the famous entrepreneur Bai Lei, the founder of Egou!"


    Xiaotao pointed to the old man on the podium and said, "In the near future, you¡¯ll be the honorary alumnus standing there."


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to tell the graduates how much I liked skipping sses!" I chuckled.


    Bai Lei¡¯s speech was brief and impactful, winning a thunderous apuse from the students. His speech was followed by the dean¡¯s. During the entire process, I seemed to be holding my breath for fear of any idents, like a microphone explosion or the sudden emergence of toxic gas.


    However, nothing happened at all. The graduation ceremony entered the final program. The graduates went up on stage one by one to receive their certificates signed by the dean. I couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh of relief.


    It was soon our turn. We walked to the aisle and formed a line. When I got up, Xiaotao stretched out a grubby hand and spanked my butt. "Good luck!" she grinned.


    "Would I need luck for this?" I retorted.


    "Have you two done it yet?" Dali whispered from behind.


    "Get lost!¡± I rebuked. ¡°You¡¯re so dirty-minded!"


    The graduates walked up on stage in perfect order. Some of the more polite students bowed to the dean and the counselor, some cried on the podium, while others grinned from ear to ear, shouting at the audience, "I graduated!" In short, it was a mix of reactions.


    The first thing most graduates did as soon as they stepped down from the stage was excitedly call home and inform their families of their achievements.


    The line grew shorter and shorter. One of the girls stepped onto stage when she felt a drop of liquid ssh onto her. Both her and the dean looked up. "Ahhh, they¡¯re dead!" came her ear-splitting screams.


    The audience burst into panic and the dean fell to the ground in horror. Several professors rushed up to assist him.


    Xiaotao pushed her way through the crowd and walked over, holding up her police badge. "Let me pass, I¡¯m a policeman!" she yelled.


    As the crowd made way for her, I too walked up on stage and looked up, only to see three pairs of feet dangling from above. On closer inspection, it turned out that there were three bodies hanging from the top. The girl¡¯s certificate had been thrown to the ground, stained with a drop of crimson blood.


    Above the podium was a curtain that could be lifted and lowered, and the bodies were tied to the curtain rope. With the dim lighting and dark red color of the curtain, it was very easy to miss the bodies if we weren¡¯t looking carefully.


    Xiaotao ordered the auditorium administrator to lower the bodies. As the curtain fell, I caught a better glimpse of the three dead bodies. A visual inspection showed that they had been dead for more than twenty-four hours. Though hung by the neck, their tongues didn¡¯t extend out of their mouths which suggested they were murdered before they were hung.


    When we noticed their faces, both Xiaotao and I had a feeling of deja vu. "Have we met them somewhere?" asked Xiaotao.


    "They were Deng Chao¡¯s former roommates!" I eximed.


    "That fucking son of a bitch!¡± cursed Xiaotao. ¡°He didn¡¯t even let his roommates off!"


    I was well aware of the reason behind his actions. During the investigation, his roommates had provided a lot of information. Perhaps in Deng Chao¡¯s opinion, the cause of his imprisonment was closely rted to his roommates.


    Xiaotao was about to call for backup when a loud voice reverberated in the auditorium.


    "Song Yang, long time no see! Do you miss me? Although I¡¯d like to congratte you on graduating, I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not going to happen!"


    Upon hearing the voice, I felt a sudden rush of blood to my head. It was him¨CDeng Chao was back!

 Chapter 333

    <h4>Chapter 333</h4>


    I lifted the curtain and walked to the front of the podium, shouting at the speakers, "Show yourself, you coward! Why hide like a despicable rat?!"


    Right then, a bright light lit up, projecting an image onto the curtain. The crowd watched on in horror. Xiaotao and I took a few steps back to see the projection clearly. It was a group of children tied in a bus with a bomb. The bomb had an antenna on it which meant it was remote controlled!


    Deng Chao¡¯s voice sounded from the speakers, "As you can see, these children are my hostages. I¡¯d like to y an interesting game with you. All the teachers and students present must participate. If anyone breaks the rules, I will detonate this bomb and send these lovely children to heaven!"


    The auditorium broke into a loud mor. Most of the people present hadn¡¯t even heard of Deng Chao but now they were cursing at him for being cruel and ruthless.


    Deng Chao¡¯s voice drowned out everyone else¡¯s, "The first rule is that no one of you are allowed to leave school without permission during the game. Song Yang, I¡¯ll give you ten minutes now to let your police friends evacuate the people outside the auditorium. I don¡¯t want to see any officers or other people on campus in ten minutes. The countdown starts now!"


    Xiaotao stared in wide-eyed shock as the image on the curtain turned into a countdown. "I¡¯m going to evacuate the other teachers and students!"


    "Go with them,¡± I said.


    "But..." Xiaotao hesitated.


    "You have already identified yourself so you can¡¯t stay,¡± I replied. ¡°We must do as he says."


    Xiaotao bit her lower lip and nodded, pointing to her ear and suggesting that I should contact her by radio.


    After she left, I told the auditorium manager to take me to the control room which was located on the second floor at the back of the auditorium. I suspected Deng Chao was broadcasting from there. When we arrived, we saw the open control room door and a staff member lying on the console with a dagger in his back.


    The manager gave a frightened shriek and faltered, "What the hell is going on? Why is this happening?"


    "Can you operate this?" I asked.


    The manager nodded so I instructed him to turn on the microphone for me. "Fellow students, please remain calm. I am Song Yang, an applied electronics student from the graduating ss of 13¡¯ and I¡¯m also a police consultant. I¡¯ve assisted the bureau in cracking several criminal cases! The person who spoke earlier is a criminal whomitted homicide on campusst year. He escaped from prison a few months ago and is looking to retaliate against me and the university."


    Upon hearing my words, a cacophony of voices sounded from below. I knew I would receive the bulk of the me but I had no choice. Keeping everyone in the dark would only make the situation harder to control.


    "The police are taking necessary actions now,¡± I continued. ¡°Please listen to my instructions. Let¡¯s try our best to deal with the criminal. I swear I won¡¯t let him hurt you!"


    However, the noise only grew louder and the auditorium manager looked at me nkly, "Is he targeting you? Can¡¯t you negotiate with him?"


    I smiled wryly. If Deng Chao told me to kneel and lick his shoes, I would do so as long as he could spare the others.


    When I got back to the first floor, the students immediately poured in like a tide. Many of them demanded angrily, "Why did you involve us in your personal feud?"


    "What do you think this school is? A ce to hold a personal confrontation?"


    "Why should we listen to you? Don¡¯t we have the right to choose?"


    Looking at their angry faces, I was suddenly ovee with a deep sense of fragility and despair. What Deng Chao wanted was exactly this! At the time he was taken away by the police, the entire school watched on with contempt and mockery in their eyes. And now, I was given a taste of being targeted.


    Seeing that I had nothing to say, a few boys charged towards me, ready to use their fists. Dali and a few of my close friends immediately stood in front of me, blocking them.


    "Can¡¯t you be reasonable?¡± shouted Dali. ¡°Deng Chao¡¯s the one who did all this. Why me Song Yang?"


    "But he isn¡¯t here!¡± retorted a red-faced burly boy. ¡°Who¡¯s the cause of all this? He¡¯s the culprit!"


    The crowd echoed in session, pushing forward but Dali and the others retaliated just as hard. Very quickly, the two sides got into a brawl.


    I clenched my fist, helpless in stopping the situation from escting. Then, a voice sounded from behind, "Stop it! Anyone who strikes again can say goodbye to your certificate!"


    With that, the boys stopped fighting. At the sight of Dali¡¯s scratched and bruised face, I was filled withplex emotions.


    The person who spoke out to maintain order was the dean, holding a megaphone in his hand. "Song Yang,¡± he beckoned. ¡°Can we have a word?"


    I headed to the back of the stage where the university leaders were sitting. "We roughly understand the situation. It¡¯s nothing more than a criminal who wants to retaliate against you. It¡¯s really unfair to me you. But as you can see, our Headmaster Cao is already in his seventies. We don¡¯t know what will happen next. How can he stand the mental and physical stress? Can we discuss with the police to let some of the school leaders leave first?"


    "Didn¡¯t you hear him?¡± I frowned. ¡°If someone leaves, he¡¯ll kill the hostages."


    ¡°I¡¯m only asking you to let a few people go!" he smiled.


    "I can¡¯t make the decision. I¡¯m really sorry," I apologized.


    One of the professors interrupted, "Let me put this bluntly. The hostages held by the criminal are just a bunch of children. We all understand that human life cannot be measured by numbers, but do you think he¡¯ll really let anyone go? It¡¯s impossible to save the children and more innocent lives will be taken. Isn¡¯t this exactly what the criminal wants?"


    The dean chimed in, "That¡¯s right. In my opinion, we can¡¯t be weak when dealing with criminals. We have to be tough and we can¡¯t meet his demands. This will only indulge him! If he dares kill the hostages, there will naturally be legal sanctions."


    At this point, I was already choking with rage. I couldn¡¯t listen to their hypocritical words any longer. "Alright, that¡¯s enough!¡± I shouted. ¡°You¡¯ve said a lot but what you really mean is your life is worth more than the lives of others. What if your own children were kidnapped? I beg you, please cooperate with the police for the time being. I will do my best to protect everyone!"


    "Protect us?¡± scoffed a professor. ¡°You make it sound as if that¡¯s possible. Do you take this to be your home so you can do whatever you want here?!" He turned to the dean, ¡°Let¡¯s just leave now!¡±


    The school leaders got up and left. When the students saw this, they too followed them out. I was disheartened by the selfish nature of human beings. A few irrelevant children meant nothing to them.


    Just as the crowd was moring to leave, a new image was projected onto the curtain¨Cit was entrepreneur Bai Lei.


    Deng Chao¡¯s voice came from the speakers, "Ladies and gentlemen, I forgot to mention that I have another hostage!"

 Chapter 334

    <h4>Chapter 334</h4>


    At the sight of the video, everyone in the auditorium received a rude awakening. The school leaders and professors who originally mored to leave turned around and told the students, "Please calm down. Stay in the auditorium. Let¡¯s not provoke the criminal and cause unnecessary casualties."


    Obviously, in the eyes of these school leaders, well-known entrepreneur Bai Lei¡¯s life was worth more than those children. The professors and students went at it hammer and tongs. I had seen too much of the ugliness and selfishness of human nature that I had grown numb.


    One of the professors suddenly stood up and shouted, "Deng Chao, I was your counselor. Stop this! You¡¯re only adding to your crimes! Listen to me, repent and be saved! Think about your parents and family. How are they to face the world after all you¡¯ve done?"


    Deng Chao seemed to have heard him and spoke sweetly into the speakers, "Hello, Professor Zhou!"


    Then came a thunderous explosion and a blood mist rose from the professor¡¯s body. Amidst the screaming and retreating crowd, the professor fell to the ground, his eyes still wide open. There was now a hole in his chest and blood spattered everywhere.


    Deng Chao was almost out of breath fromughing too hard. "Goodbye, Professor Zhou!"


    "Ahh, take off your corsages!" yelled another professor.


    The professors attending today¡¯s graduation ceremony all wore corsages with their names and seating positions written on them. Deng Chao had apparently ced a pocket-sized bomb on the corsages. The professors quickly threw their corsages to the ground, prompting the frightened students to back away.


    I picked up a corsage and found nothing unusual. It seemed that only Deng Chao¡¯s counselor¡¯s was given ¡°special¡± treatment.


    "Ten minutes have passed,¡± Deng Chao continued. ¡°And now you¡¯re the only ones left on campus. Our game is about to officially begin. First, let me exin the other rules. The second rule is that Song Yang is today¡¯s leading actor. None of you are allowed to hurt him or I¡¯ll kill the hostages... and maybe some of you!"


    Everyone fixed their gaze on me. Deng Chao¡¯s voice continued to reverberate through the auditorium, "As for the third rule, although you can move freely around campus, the following areas are absolutely forbidden¨Ctheb building, the student activity center and the library!"


    The broadcast studio linked to the school¡¯s PA system was located in the student activity center which was most likely Deng Chao¡¯s hiding ce. As for theb building and the library, they were merely a diversion.


    Right then, Xiaotao¡¯s voice came from my headphones, "Song Yang, news has juste from headquarters. The third victim who we found this morning is a kindergarten bus driver. The kindergarten has confirmed that dozens of their students are missing, apparently abducted by Deng Chao who stole the victim¡¯s identity. Information about the first victim has also been updated. Do you still recall his upation? Our investigation found that his warehouse stored detonators and explosives, all of which were lost."


    It suddenly dawned upon me, "It turns out that he was preparing for today."


    "How¡¯s the situation over there?" asked Xiaotao.


    "Well, things almost went out of control earlier. But it¡¯s slightly better now. The game will start soon."


    "I¡¯m in the small building opposite your campus,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°You can see my window from the auditorium. The SWAT teams have been dispatched to seal off the whole school."


    I looked out and saw Xiaotao standing at the window, waving at me.


    Our conversation was suddenly interrupted by Deng Chao, "Song Yang, do you remember what I said that day? I told you we¡¯d have a good fight. I¡¯ve waited so long for today!"


    The auditorium quieted down. I didn¡¯t want to waste energy shouting at him so I carefully listened.


    "I have prepared some tests for you. As long as you smoothly pass these tests, I¡¯ll make sure everyone¡¯s safe, even the hostages. Right now, it¡¯s time for the first test. Please use an idiom to describe what you¡¯ve done to me. I ced a little hint in this auditorium. You need to find the other missing words that I¡¯ve hidden throughout the campus andplete the idiom. The time limit is five minutes!"


    I quickly turned on the timer on my cell phone and shouted at the others, "Let¡¯s all look for it!"


    The crowd immediately dispersed and half a minuteter, a boy held up a sign with the word "fall" and shouted, "I found it!"


    Fall? I immediately realized, The idiom was¨CThrowing stones at a man who¡¯s fallen down the well.


    There was no point arguing about Deng Chao¡¯s distorted, one-sided logic. At present, my focus was to quickly pass the test. Deng Chao mentioned that the remaining words were scattered around campus. Did he mean that the other words were hidden separately in some corner of the campus?


    It was unlikely! If he had randomly hidden the words, then we would easily locate them as long as everyone participated in a nket search. However, there would be no meaning to the test.


    Since he instructed us to find the missing words around campus, those words must already be there.


    I called Dali and several ssmates over, "Go to the bulletin boards, ssrooms and signboards throughout campus and look for the words ¡®well¡¯, ¡®down¡¯ and ¡®stone¡¯ wherever there might be such words!"


    "How are we to find them in such a short amount of time?¡± argued Dali. ¡°It¡¯s not like there¡¯s a well on campus."


    After a moment¡¯s contemtion, I said, "There¡¯s the word ¡®well¡¯ on the sign in the lecture hall. Anyway, he didn¡¯t forbid us from picking out the words. As for the word ¡®down¡¯... I remember seeing a sign by theke that says, ¡¯No swimming or jumping down theke.¡¯ But the word ¡®stone¡¯...."


    One of the boys interjected, "There¡¯s a Korean stall on the fourth floor that sells Stone Pot Bibimbap!"


    I quickly assigned them their tasks. I went to im the word ¡°well¡± while Dali would find ¡°down¡± and the other boy the word ¡°stone."


    Xiaotao¡¯s voice sounded from my headphones once more. "There was a little situation just now. Song Xingchen broke in and hurt several SWAT officers. Fortunately, I stepped in or they might¡¯ve taken him for a suspect."


    "Can I speak to him?" I asked.


    "Wait a minute!"


    A few secondster, I heard Song Xingchen¡¯s urgent voice, "Young Master, let me go in. I must protect you!"


    "You don¡¯t have to worry about my safety for the time being,¡± I assured. ¡°The murderer obviously ns to take his time ying with me. He won¡¯t kill me. He even prohibited the others from hurting me."


    "That¡¯s not reassuring at all!¡± protested Song Xingchen.


    "Great hero, please don¡¯t make things worse this time,¡± pleaded Xiaotao.


    Upon further reflection, I asked Song Xingchen to hand Xiaotao the radio. "Let Song Xingchen sneak in and try to keep this under wraps from the others,¡± I instructed. ¡°Deng Chao is probably hiding in the broadcast studio in the student activity center. Song Xingchen should be able to quietly sneak in."


    "That¡¯s too risky,¡± argued Xiaotao. ¡°We¡¯re still unsure of how Deng Chao is able to keep tabs on the situation. If he finds out..."


    "Deng Chao doesn¡¯t have super powers,¡± I sneered. ¡°We¡¯re probably being monitored by cameras inside and outside the campus. With Song Xingchen¡¯s skills, avoiding the cameras is nothing. We can¡¯t be led by the nose. We must take action!"


    After some hesitation, Xiaotao replied, "Alright then, we¡¯ll do as you say."


    After our brief conversation, I ran to theke, staring deeply at the tranquil waters. The thought that this was where it all began suddenly crossed my mind. Last fall, a newborn calf bravely pointed out Dr. Qin¡¯s mistaken conclusion, then caught Deng Chao who pretended to be a murderous evil spirit and finally sent him to prison.


    I cast off these thoughts, removed the sign by theke and hurried back to the auditorium.

 Chapter 335

    <h4>Chapter 335</h4>


    I ran back to the auditorium with only two minutes left on the countdown. Dali brought back the word ¡®well.¡¯ There were four nks in the projection on the curtain. I borrowed a knife to cut out the word "Down" and pasted the three words with glue.


    We were still waiting for thest word with half a minute left when the boy ran back out of breath and gasped, "Song Yang, I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know who hid the word ¡®stone¡¯ on the Stone Pot Bibimbap sign. I searched the whole cafeteria but I couldn¡¯t find it..."


    "Bastard! He deliberately set a trap!" I cursed.


    Upon further reflection, I suddenly thought of something. "What about the ce we grab our cutlery?"


    But it was toote. Thest ten seconds flickered on the countdown and the projection disappeared. Deng Chao spoke through the speakers, "I¡¯m sorry, you failed! Go to the ce where you stumbled and look for the second test!"


    The boys looked at each other. "To the cafeteria!" I shouted.


    When we arrived at the cafeteria, we were greeted by two dead students on the ground who had fallen from a height. The crowd was thrown into yet another panic. "I failed the first test so Deng Chao killed two students,¡± I said, speaking into my headphones.


    "I heard all about it. The bastard cheated!" Xiaotao eximed.


    Many of them med me for the deaths of these two students but I entered the cafeteria without saying a word and headed upstairs.


    The top floor of the cafeteria was contracted to a food stall. On the signboard of the Korean stall, ¡°stone¡± was the only one missing from the words ¡°Stone Pot Bibimbap.¡± I gritted my teeth, holding back the rage in stony silence.


    Deng Chao had obviously expected me to think of the cafeteria and designed it so I would fail, even preparing the victims in advance.


    I noticed something behind the signboard and used one of the chair legs to push it out from the gap. It was a piece of cardboard written with a marker. "Here¡¯s your second test. I know you¡¯re very good at solving crimes. This is a real case I heard about in prison. I don¡¯t think it should pose a challenge for our Great Detective Song, right? On a hot summer¡¯s day, two girls were sitting in the store having a drink. But unbeknownst to them, the drinks had been poisoned. One girl finished her drink quickly while the other took her sweet time. In the end, the second girl was poisoned but the first girl survived. What¡¯s the reason for this? Please write down the answer in five minutes and hold up the cardboard to the south window!"


    Upon reading it, Dali said, "The first girl must have taken the antidote beforehand."


    The others began to chatter noisily, making it impossible for me to think. I left on my own and found some ce quiet without anyone around. Suddenly, there was amotion behind me. Dali darted towards me in a panic, "T-they¡¯ve been poisoned!"


    Three boys had fallen to the ground with open beverage bottles in their hands. No one was in the stalls so the boys randomly grabbed a bottle each, never expecting their drinks to beced with poison.


    The three boys were foaming at the mouth, their limbs convulsing as they wed their throats. ¡°They¡¯re my students!¡± shouted one of the professors. "Do something about it! Can you ask Deng Chao if he¡¯ll allow a doctor in?"


    "There¡¯s no way that¡¯s going to happen because these poison victims are his second batch of hostages."


    ¡°That¡¯s just your opinion!¡± the professor pointed angrily at me. ¡°There are lives at stake here. Get the police to do something. You can¡¯t just let them die!"


    The others echoed in session, their dissatisfaction with me erupting once more. I gritted my teeth, grabbed a pen from the store and quickly wrote the answer on the cardboard: The poison was in the ice.


    Deng Chao had deliberately mentioned it was a hot summer¡¯s day, so the two girls must have ordered iced drinks. The girl who slowly sipped her drink only died because the ice melted and the poison was mixed into her drink.


    This was the only reasonable answer I could think of!


    I found the south windows and held up the cardboard. There was a bright glint in the building directly opposite of the cafeteria, as if someone was looking through a telescope.


    Half a minuteter, there came a buzzing sound in the air¨Ca toy remote control ne flying with several tiny green vials hanging from it. It was the antidote!


    I watched anxiously as the remote control ne slowly approached but before I could breathe a sigh of relief, it shot up into the sky. "Go to the roof!" I shouted.


    We ran all the way to the top of the building, only to find the ne hovering at the edge. I instructed Dali to grab ahold of my body while I tried to reach for it. "It¡¯s too dangerous," discouraged Dali.


    "There¡¯s no time left," I urged. "The five-minute limit given by Deng Chao is how much time the hostages have before being poisoned to death!"


    Dali and several muscr boys held me from behind as my body suspended in mid-air. In truth, I was a little afraid of heights so looking down made me dizzy with fear and I was drenched in cold sweat.


    Just as my fingers were about to touch the ne, it suddenly lost power and plunged straight down to the ground, the vials breaking into a thousand fragments. My heart sank violently like a plummet of lead.


    "What a pity! Although you passed the test, you didn¡¯t manage to get the reward!¡± Deng Chao¡¯s voice boomed from the speakers. ¡°The next location is of great significance to you and me. It¡¯s where we first met!"


    I mmed my fist into the concrete floor, teeth gritted so hard I thought I might break my mrs. "That fucking bastard!!"


    My knuckles were bleeding profusely. Frightened by my appearance, Daliforted, "Dude, don¡¯t me yourself! You mustn¡¯t give up!"


    When we went back downstairs, the three boys had breathed theirst. "You killed them! It¡¯s all your fault they died!¡± used their professor. ¡°You killed them, three people, three families! How will you answer for this? Are human lives a joke in your eyes?!"


    I ignored him and walked away, resisting the impulse tosh at him. The professor caught up with me from behind, pulling me by my shirt. "Say something! Didn¡¯t you promise to protect us? But look at what happened! The only one you protected is yourself!"


    "Professor, please calm down!" persuaded Dali and the others.


    By this point, fury was smoldering in my chest and my gloomy eyes were staring hard. The professor was startled by my expression.


    Deng Chao¡¯s n was very meticulous, having pre-calcted every single one of our actions. If I continued to do as he asked, I would only walk right into his trap. If I wanted to turn things around, I had to preempt his actions.


    "Is the lecture room where your first confrontation took ce?" asked Dali.


    "He should be referring to theke!"


    Earlier when I grabbed the sign, I noticed something in the grass by theke, though I was too preupied to examine further. This time round, I walked over to pull something out from the grass. "Ahhh, a dead body!" shouted the girls.


    It was actually a life-sized mannequin with a hollowed torso and a letter within.


    I opened the letter which read, "This is your third test. Haven¡¯t you always boasted of your proficiency in the human body structure? What you see before you is an empty torso. You need to find suitable organs from the surrounding area to fill up the torso and ce it under the nearby camera within five minutes."


    ¡°Dali, turn on your cell phone and keep talking. Look around with the others. I need to handle something!"


    "Where are you going?" asked Dali.


    "Stop talking, just hurry!"

 Chapter 336

    <h4>Chapter 336</h4>


    I dashed to the auditorium, well aware that with Deng Chao¡¯s scheming, he wouldn¡¯t have prepared all the internal organs. One was bound to be missing.


    On my way there, Xiaotao said, "Song Yang, we have an extra helper here. Guess who¡¯s tracking Deng Chao¡¯s position."


    "Who is it?" I wondered out loud.


    Lao Yao¡¯s voice interrupted our conversation, "Hello, Xiao Song-Song!"


    "Oh my gosh, didn¡¯t you attend the graduation ceremony?" I asked.


    "I didn¡¯t manage to graduate this year so I stayed in the dorm to y games and I was evacuated with the others. Looks like not graduating was the right thing!"


    No wonder I didn¡¯t see him around.


    Lao Yao exined that the school¡¯s PA system was operated by aputer. He hacked into the school system and found a signal in the remote control PA system. The source of that signal was within campus. In other words, Deng Chao could be broadcasting remotely from any corner of the school.


    "Would you like me to cut off the signal?" he asked.


    "Not for now,¡± I replied. ¡°We don¡¯t know what else he¡¯s got nned. Let¡¯s go along with his little game first!"


    "Xiaotao-jiejie has allowed me to temporarily take over the Sk surveince system. It¡¯s so freaking advanced! I feel like I¡¯m standing on top of the campus looking down right now."


    "Is there anything unusual?" I continued.


    "There is a ck spot that¡¯s moving pretty quickly. Wait... isn¡¯t that you? Where are you going?"


    "Don¡¯t track me. Find out where Deng Chao is!" I instructed.


    Right then, Dali shouted "hello" a few times on the phone.


    "What organs have you found?" I asked.


    Dali¡¯s voice sounded muffled as if he were covering his mouth. "Oh my God, it¡¯s so disgusting!¡± he yelled. ¡°We found some bags nearby, all filled with bloody intestines or some other organs. It¡¯s really gross!"


    I was already at the auditorium, so I said, "Well go on then! What organs have you found?!"


    "Well, let me see... Stomach... Intestines... Heart... Um, this looks like the kidney... Oh, this I know. It¡¯s the lungs..."


    Dali named quite a few human organs, but there was no sign of the liver. It was just as I expected¨CDeng Chao nned to cheat again.


    "Put the mannequin and the internal organs under the camera and I¡¯ll be right back!"


    With that, I hung up the call. At my feet was the body of the professor. Without any sharp weapons, I only had my hands. Fortunately, his chest had been ripped apart by the explosion so all I had to do was tear at the flesh to reveal the bloody internal organs. I tore the blood vessels and bile duct around the liver, then carefully removed the fatty liver and wrapped it with the clothes on the ground.


    By the time I reached theke, there was only one minute left. Dali stood there shouting, "Song Yang, hurry up!"


    I sprinted to the mannequin, and almost without thinking, I stuffed the internal organs one by one into the right positions, finishing the task with five seconds left on the clock.


    Time was up!


    A burst of apuse sounded from the speakers. "Wonderful!¡± eximed Deng Chao. ¡°I have to admire your courage and determination. You¡¯ve saved the lives of many policemen."


    His words hit me like a bat to the head. He was targeting the police!


    Deng Chao continued, "For the next test, please head to the ce that neither you nor I can forget. I¡¯ll be waiting for you!"


    I nced at the old lecture building behind me. This was definitely the ce he was referring to. Xiaotao¡¯s voice interrupted my thoughts, "Song Yang, that was a close call! We found a remote control bomb in our temporarymand center. Our forces are working at full speed to dismantle the bomb."


    "Evacuate now!" I urged.


    Deng Chao must have guessed that the building opposite our campus would be temporarilymandeered by the police. I stood there, rooted to the spot, mind sluggish from the shock that Xiaotao and Lao Yao had almost lost their lives. Heart tied up in knots, I vowed to topple his schemes starting from this moment.


    However, the fact that Deng Chao hadn¡¯t taken other hostages meant he had other arrangements throughout the campus. His hostages weren¡¯t just Bai Lei and the children, but all of us.


    We soon arrived at the old lecture building. When we got to the third floor, I noticed a table in the corridor. There was a huge box with a hole big enough to fit a pair of hands.


    In front of the box was a letter that read: "Song Yang, congrattions on finding the fourth test. There¡¯s a deck of ying cards in the box in front of you. There are ten face up cards. You must divide the deck into two stacks without looking at them. Make sure the number of cards that are face up in both stacks are equal. Peeking inside the box will be considered as cheating. You have five minutes."


    Upon reading this, I heaved with relief. This was actually a math problem, and since I was a science student, thinking logically and mathematically wasn¡¯t an issue for me.


    Dali frowned and pondered for some time, "If you¡¯re not looking at it, how are you supposed to divide it equally?"


    "He didn¡¯t specify that the number of cards in both stacks have to be equal. Suppose I take some of them now ¡ª there are N face down cards and the other stack is 10 minus N. How can I make these two numbers equal? It¡¯s very simple. Take ten cards and turn them over, so the number of face up cards on both sides are equal."


    "10 minus 10 plus N...¡± mumbled Dali. ¡°Oh, my God, how did youe up with that?!"


    I was about to ce my hand into the box when Dali interjected, "Wait a minute, Deng Chao wouldn¡¯t have put a poisonous snake inside, would he?"


    Dali¡¯s words reminded me of the young man¡¯s cunning nature. Adopting prudence was a good approach.


    Sticking my ear to the box, I gently tapped it and waited to hear any odd sounds. But all I heard was empty silence. It seemed there weren¡¯t any living creatures waiting to ambush me. Only then did I confidently ce my hand inside. However, upon answering the test, it suddenly struck me that Deng Chao never stated how I was supposed to hand in my answer this time.


    Without a doubt, such a simple problem had no way of stumping me. Deng Chao must have expected this as well.


    I kept my eyes on the countdown, but even at zero, there were no instructions or reply from the man. Yanking the box open, I found only ying cards and words written on the inside of the box¨C


    "Detective Song Yang, when you see this, you should have noticed that the fourth test isn¡¯t over yet. After all, this is the ce we share significant memories. How could I let you go with a little children¡¯s problem? This little test was just a warm-up. Go to the fourth floor. The real test is waiting for you there. Here¡¯s a friendly reminder¨Cyou don¡¯t have much time!¡±


    Deng Chao yed me like a fiddle! Fighting back the urge to swear, I sprinted to the fourth floor.


    Along the corridor of the fourth floor, I noticed that the windows were painted with numbers from "0" to "9". A student was sitting in an empty ssroom with his head tilted to one side, facing the window. The curtains were drawn so the room was enveloped in darkness.


    At the student¡¯s feet was a pool of old, coagted blood, suggesting that he was killed a while ago. I walked to the front door, only to see a digital watch attached to it. The countdown showed four minutes and thirty seconds, and beside it was a piece of paper...

 Chapter 337

    <h4>Chapter 337</h4>


    The paper read: This is your fourth test. You once demonstrated your excellent reasoning ability in this lecture building. Unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t present at the time. Now, I¡¯d like to make up for this regret. As you can see, the student in the ssroom died from multiple stab wounds. Without entering the ssroom or sending anything in, you must deduce how many stab wounds he received behind these doors and windows. When you¡¯re done, break the ss with the right answer. You have five minutes!"


    I stared at the piece of paper, eyes narrowing with outrage. What he was asking for was almost impossible!


    With little time on the clock, I couldn¡¯t help but take a picture of the paper and send it to Xiaotao.


    I cudgeled my brains, trying to recall all the autopsy methods I had evere across. Dali and several other students walked up from the third floor, and upon seeing Deng Chao¡¯s challenge, Dali sputtered, "What the fuck! How is this reasonable? It¡¯s more like he¡¯s asking you to make a blind guess!"


    "This is a closed space,¡± I said, taking a deep breath. ¡°I can use the Soul Returning Incense to restore the crime but I don¡¯t have time to fetch it. Also, it may be considered as cheating."


    Dali asked dully, "Soul Returning Incense?"


    I had no time to exin. Right then, Xiaotao¡¯s voice sounded from the radio, "Song Yang, I¡¯ve seen the picture. Are the windows on the opposite side open? Lao Yao can use Sk to conduct long-range reconnaissance for you!"


    I swept my gaze over the ssroom and said, "Deng Chao has also considered this possibility. All the curtains are drawn and they are made from opaque cloth. It¡¯s impossible to see any reflection on the ss."


    Upon mentioning "reflection,¡± an idea suddenly sprang in my head. I looked at the blood on the ground. Although there was a blurry reflection on the surface, I could see nothing from this angle.


    "That cunning bastard!" cursed Xiaotao.


    Dali mobilized the other boys, getting them to invite the science professors upstairs. However, at the sight of the corpse, these supposed think tanks screamed like little girls, doing little else besides disturbing my thoughts.


    Some of the moreposed professors had a serious discussion, suggestingsers or sonar, but the same problem remained¨Cwe had no equipment at the moment.


    "That¡¯s right!" I eximed. ¡°We can use sound!¡±


    I asked Dali and another boy to go to the front and back doors of the ssroom and knock on them every second, alternating after each other.


    Dali didn¡¯t understand what I was about to do, but with only two minutes left, I had no time to exin. I ced my ear to the ss and listened carefully.


    This was actually a variation of the Organ Echolocation which created a three-dimensional image of the internal organs in the mind through the echolocation of the abdominal cavity by repeatedly tapping the ribs.


    At present, the sealed ssroom could be considered as a huge chest cavity and the corpse as an organ inside. My hearing should be able to reconstruct the entire picture in my mind.


    However, the ssroom was sorge that it was difficult to urately capture the subtle changes in the sound waves. Additionally, the people around me were whispering which greatly affected the uracy of my reading. "Excuse me, professors and students, please don¡¯t talk or even breathe!"


    A physics professor argued, "Song Yang, this is absurd! You¡¯re not a bat. How can you use echolocation?"


    "Please, just be quiet for a while!" I said, folding my arms.


    The crowd stopped talking at once and I stuck my ear to the ss again. At first, my mind was nk like a sheet of paper, but gradually the image of a sitting person appeared; the shape of his face, his body, and even the wounds on his body were as clear as day in my mind.


    As the seconds ticked by, I focused all my concentration on the body, my back soaked with cold sweat.


    I gradually calmed down, my heart light as a feather and everything faded away, as if I were now walking back and forth in the room observing every single detail.


    The knocking suddenly stopped and Dali warned, "Dude, there¡¯s only 20 seconds left!"


    I nodded, walking confidently towards the windows marked with numbers. But when I saw the numbers, I stopped dead in my tracks. The victim received 11 stab wounds but thergest number on the ss was only 9. The cheating bastard!


    "You have ten seconds! Hurry up!" urged Dali.


    I gritted my teeth, wrapped my sleeve around my fist and smashed the ss with the numbers "2" and "9".


    Time¡¯s up!


    Deng Chao¡¯s vaunting voice came from the speakers outside, "Haha, Song Yang, you¡¯re wrong this time. The victim was stabbed 11 times. Unfortunately, you failed the test!"


    I couldn¡¯t restrain the anger brewing inside any longer. "You fucking son of a bitch!¡± I shouted. ¡°You think you¡¯re so smart, don¡¯t you? Well show yourself and stop hiding like a coward!"


    Deng Chao ignored me and continued, "Your mistake has caused the death of two innocent students. s, there are now more ghosts wandering around this lecture building."


    A loud explosion resounded through the building, the soundwaves splitting our eardrums. Then a wave of smoke flushed down the corridor. I turned on the radio and heard Xiaotao say, "There was an explosion. Are you all right?"


    "I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s killed more people,¡± I sighed. ¡°I¡¯m going to confirm that now!"


    Xiaotao breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness you¡¯re alright!"


    The smoke in the corridor was thick, mixed with the odor of burning flesh. At the end of the corridor, I found the floor outside the girl¡¯s restroom covered with broken bricks, and the bodies of a boy and girl¨Cboth students¨Cburied underneath. Their faces were charred beyond recognition.


    There were ligature marks on the body, suggesting that these two victims had been detained in the restroom from the start. Deng Chao never intended for me to pass the test. He wanted me to watch the people around me die one by one.


    I bit my lips, fires of fury and hatred burning in my chest. Xiaotao said, "Song Xingchen wants to speak to you!"


    The voice of Song Xingchen filled my ears, "Young Master, I¡¯ve located where the hostages are hidden..."


    I took a few deep breaths topose myself. "Don¡¯t take any action for now,¡± I ordered. ¡°He may have nted a bomb or have cameras installed. I¡¯ll discuss this with Xiaotao first."


    "Be careful!" stressed Song Xingchen.


    "Has themand center been moved?" I asked Xiaotao.


    "Yes!"


    "Get Lao Yao to work with Song Xingchen and rescue the hostages first,¡± I instructed. ¡°You cane up with the specific measures. Just make sure you don¡¯t alert him of your actions."


    "No problem, we¡¯ll take care of this," she assured.


    A group of professors suddenly came running up in a hubbub and cried, "Help! The dean¡¯s whereabouts are unknown. It¡¯s very likely that he¡¯s been kidnapped by Deng Chao!"


    I quickly asked for the details, to which they exined that the headmaster left to relieve himself while the other professors were called up by Dali to act as think tanks. They went back downstairs, only to find the dean missing and unreachable by call, presumably kidnapped and taken hostage by Deng Chao.

 Chapter 338

    <h4>Chapter 338</h4>


    We ran out, looking for the dean when someone shouted that they found him. A professor followed the dean out of the opposite lecture building. As it turned out, he was using the restroom on the other side.


    Looking at the white-haired dean, a sliver of doubt crossed my mind! I deliberately nced at his hand, only to find his skin as old as bark before dismissing my suspicions.


    Deng Chao¡¯s voice rang once more, "Nextes the fifth test. I¡¯ve hidden a clue on the body. You have 15 minutes to find the right ce and answer the question. Good luck!"


    I returned to the lecture building, rushed into the ssroom and found a keychain hanging on the victim¡¯s belt. It looked very familiar so I looked down at my own pants and realized it was mine.


    Grabbing the keychain, I dashed out and bumped into Dali halfway. "Where are we supposed to go next?" he asked.


    I shook the keychain in my hand, "The test this time is in our dormitory. He¡¯s intentionally demonstrating his abilities. Deng Chao approached me at some point and stole my keys and he must have tampered with our dormitory while we were busy answering the previous questions."


    "What?!¡± eximed Dali. ¡°He was that close to you at some point?! First of all, let me dere that I¡¯m the real Dali. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask any question."


    I knew very well that Dali was standing before me and not some imposter. But more importantly, I knew exactly how Deng Chao had approached me.


    Back in the control room of the auditorium, I didn¡¯t examine the body due to time constraints. The other "corpse" was Deng Chao under disguise. He quietly stole my key while I was speaking to the audience.


    I had to admit, the man had courage. But at the same time, it was his twisted self-esteem that drove him to prove how much stronger and smarter he waspared to me.


    We hurried back to the dormitory. Since everyone was attending the graduation ceremony today, the corridors were empty. I opened the door to our dorm and saw four dummies sitting side by side in the room. Their heads were painted red, yellow, blue and green respectively, faces twisted into strange smiles.


    "Holy shit! That¡¯s creepy!¡± shouted Dali. ¡°This guy actually sneaked into our dorm to mess with us!"


    I noticed a walkman on the table, most likely the hint to the next test. When I pressed the y button, Deng Chao¡¯s unhurried voice filled the room, "Song Yang, you once visited my dormitory. So I had to return the favor. I visited your dormitory as well and left you a little question! These four students are called Redhead, Bluehead, Greenhead and Yellowhead. Each student smokes only one brand of cigarette and drinks one brand of beverage. One night at 8 o¡¯clock, they were engaged in their own activities. One of them left the room and unfortunately met a serial killer. Please deduce who was killed ording to the clue. I will only say this once. Please listen carefully and throw the head of the victim you identify out of the window."


    After a pause, Deng Chao began, "The student who was reading smokes Hongtashan cigarettes. Bluehead was ying video games at 8 o¡¯clock. The student who drinks Coke was sitting with the student who drinks mineral water. The student who left the room smokes Huanghelou cigarettes. The student watching a movie was farthest from the student reading. There was no one on the right of the student who drinks milk. The student who smokes DHS cigarettes and the student who smokes Huanghelou were sitting together. Greenhead only drinks mineral water. The student ying video games was beside the one reading. There is someone in between the student who drinks mineral water and the one who drinks vitamin water. Yellowhead only smokes DBS cigarettes. The student ying video games smokes Yuxi cigarettes. The student watching a movie drinks milk. So tell me, who is the victim?"


    The walkman suddenly burst into mes and waspletely scrapped. "Fucking hell! That was confusing!¡± cursed Dali. ¡°My brain feels like mush!"


    "It¡¯s just a simple matter of sorting out the information,¡± I sneered. ¡°It doesn¡¯t even require reasoning."


    "Simple?¡± Dali spat his tongue. ¡°I really wonder how your brain works."


    At the end of the recording, I already had it figured out. I grabbed Greenhead and was about to throw it out the window when Dali interjected, "Dude, are you sure about this? You better be right."


    "There¡¯s no way I¡¯m wrong!" I asserted.


    When I reached for the head, a thin wire broke off inside, and the head began to smoke. I rushed to the balcony, making sure there was no one below before throwing it at thewn. Then, I crouched down and sandwiched my head between both hands.


    A thunderous boom shook the building. Dust, old paint and loose cement rained down on us, falling into the gap between my cor and neck. Daliy on the ground, protecting his head. The students in the corridor were horrified as well.


    I looked out of the window and saw a huge crater in thewn. Deng Chao had installed a bomb in the answer. If I had made a mistake, the bomb would have remained in the dormitory and be detonated by other means.


    However, the question itself was so simple I couldn¡¯t have answered wrong. Knowing Deng Chao¡¯s distinct methods, that was merely a warm-up. After all, he had allocated 15 minutes this time and I still had more than 10 minutes on the clock.


    "The test isn¡¯t over!¡± I stated, turning to Dali. ¡°Look for clues in the dormitory!"


    Dali called in our roommates for help. We each rummaged through our belongings to check if there was anything missing or additional. Xiaotao interrupted, "Song Yang, I just heard another explosion. Is anyone hurt?"


    "No," I affirmed.


    "The hostage rescue is underway,¡± she continued. ¡°ording to Lao Yao, Bai Lei is locked in that room. He¡¯s now trying to block the video signal. Song Xingchen is already waiting outside."


    I was suddenly struck by a thought. "Deng Chao is skilled in switching identities. Please determine if the man inside is really Bai Lei or an imposter."


    "Should we inform Song Xingchen if he¡¯s an imposter?" she asked.


    "No,e back to me first,¡± I replied. ¡°The rescue will continue as nned!"


    At the end of our conversation, one of my roommates suddenly shouted, "Song Yang, you have a library card on your bed."


    Upon further inspection, I said, "Go to the library!"


    "Didn¡¯t he forbid us from entering the library?" Dali retorted.


    "He¡¯s a slick bastard. He must have something nned at the library,¡± I sniggered. ¡°He only prohibited us from entering lest we mess up his ns. Let¡¯s go now!"


    When we arrived at the library, there was a ¡°Closed¡± sign at the entrance which I ignored. I instructed the others tob the ce. A minuteter, Dali shouted, "Song Yang,e to the third floor. There are many students trapped here!"


    I tore hell for leather upstairs and found the door to the ssics section locked; even the gap between the door and frame was sealed with strong glue. There were students sitting on the ground with their hands and feet tied. As soon as they caught sight of us, they wailed and screamed.


    The sealed space fired up the gears in my head, triggering an idea of what Deng Chao might do. I immediately told Dali to fetch my bag from the auditorium.

 Chapter 339

    <h4>Chapter 339</h4>


    There was a cart at the door, piled with many books, and a cell phone on top.


    I turned on the cell phone and yed the recording. "Song Yang, looks like you¡¯ve smartened up!¡± came Deng Chao¡¯s smug voice. ¡°Yes, that test was just a warm-up. This is the real one. As you can see, there is a group of innocent students trapped inside. You have a pile of books in front of you with a question in each book. Once all the questions are answered, you can save everyone. Please send your answers via WeChat. If you get one wrong, then you fail. You must answer all the questions on your own, without help from others. Any request for help or secretly rescuing the hostages will be regarded as cheating. You will be severely punished!"


    I handed the phone to one of my ssmates and ced him in charge of typing and sending the messages, while another ssmate would keep track of the time.


    Then, I quickly picked up the first book and flipped through the contents, finding a card within that read, "No. 9: You are resting at home when you receive a call from a stranger who wants to visit next Friday. You don¡¯t want to see him, so you tell the stranger: ¡®I¡¯m very busy next Friday. I have a meeting in the morning and a student¡¯s wedding to attend at 1:00 pm. Then I have to rush to a funeral for my friend¡¯s child at four. It also happens to be my grandfather¡¯s seventieth birthday so I really don¡¯t have time to receive your visit.¡¯ Which of these following excuses won¡¯t hold up under scrutiny?¡±


    I chewed my finger and contemted for a few seconds before yelling, "Write the answer for question No. 9. The funeral excuse doesn¡¯t hold up under scrutiny. No one starts preparing for a funeral two weeks in advance."


    I threw the book and card aside, quickly picking up the second one. This time, the question was, "No. 2: You recovered from an operation and were discharged from the hospital. Your family held a grand party to celebrate your recovery. During the party, you noticed the cake tasted a little strange but the others insisted that it was fine. That night, you suddenly died alone in your home. What is the reason for this?"


    My first reaction was poisoning but the question wouldn¡¯t be tooplicated so I reread it again and quickly gave the answer. "For No. 2, the answer is¨Cthe person in question suffered nerve damage during the operation and didn¡¯t notice the gas leak at home."


    "Song Yang, you have five minutes and thirty seconds left!¡± shouted one of the students. ¡°So hurry up!"


    "I know!" I nodded.


    I picked up the third book, "No. 7: Early in the morning, in the middle of the open space in the park, you find a man on his back with a Japanese sword missing its hilt buried in the man¡¯s chest. There are no footprints or any suspicious traces within a radius of 30 meters from the body. Is it a suicide or a homicide? And if it¡¯s thetter, then how did the murderermit the crime?"


    Without even thinking, I yelled, "The answer to No. 7 is homicide. The murderer shot the Japanese knife into the victim¡¯s chest with a bow."


    I threw the book aside and picked up the fourth one. "No. 1: A patient was stabbed to death with a fruit knife in the hospital. The murder weapon was found in the garden. There were no fingerprints on the handle but many ants crawling all over it. After your investigation, the three most suspicious patients were the abdominal tuberculosis patient in Ward 5, the diabetic in Ward 7 and the patient in Ward 9 suffering from nephritis. Who is the murderer?"


    Without a moment¡¯s dy, I shouted, "The answer to No. 1 is the diabetic!"


    The diabetic had glucose in his sweat, hence the ants.


    The fifth question was, "No. 3: when you were interrogating a criminal suspect, you found that he was both deaf and dumb and could onlymunicate through writing. After the trial, you said something to him, and when he walked out of the room, you suddenly realized that he was the murderer. What were the words you said to him?"


    "The answer for No. 3¨Cyou can go!" I blurted.


    The boy who was typing the answer suddenly cried out loud, assuming I was asking him to leave. "I¡¯m talking about the answer!" I exined.


    Another ssmate reminded, "Song Yang, you have three minutes. Come on!"


    "No. 6: You and Wang Dali visited Officer Huang in her home. When you arrived, Wang Dali jumped over three steps to ring the doorbell but received no reply. Then he looked through the window and shouted that Officer Huang was murdered. You walked up to the door, only to find that the paint on the steps was still wet. You immediately identified Wang Dali as the murderer. Why?"


    The question was very simple so I said, "The answer to No. 6 is Wang Dali knew that the paint was wet, which meant he had visited the scene earlier."


    "No. 8: You found a dead man¡¯s body in the barren hills. The man died less than half an hour ago. Afterwards, you caught three suspects who were extras filming a martial arts scene nearby. They yed a prostitute, a chivalrous hero and a beggar respectively. They all had bruises on their bodies which they imed were left during filming, and all three changed out of their clothes during the half hour. You¡¯ve identified one of them as the most probable suspect. Who is it and why?"


    After contemting for half a second, I remarked, "The answer to No. 8 is the beggar. He¡¯s the most likely suspect because beggars are supposed to be dirty. He didn¡¯t have to change out of his clothes and had plenty of time tomit the crime."


    There was more than a minute left, sparking a burst of anxiety. My hands trembled uncontrobly as beads of cold sweat dripped down my face.


    I took a few deep breaths, opened the next book, and read the question. "No. 5: Shortly after a woman gave birth, the nurse visited the nursery that night itself and found the baby cold and without breath. The hospital decided to hide the matter and rece the child with a newly-born orphan. The mother hadn¡¯t seen her own child after giving birth, so in theory the n was foolproof. But when she saw the recement, the mother suddenly cried, ¡®This isn¡¯t my child.¡¯ Why?"


    "Because the mother killed her baby," I said, rubbing my temples.


    There were still two books left. Picking up one of them, I read, "No. 0: A corpse was found in an apartment with theputer and lights in the room still on. On the desk, a shlight was still turned on. The apartment manager said that the power went out for about 30 minutesst night so the victim should have been murdered within that time period. After investigating the scene, you reached the opposite conclusion¨Cthe victim was killed after the power came back. The murderer intentionally turned on the shlight to mislead the police into believing the crime wasmitted during the power failure. What¡¯s the proof of your conclusion?"


    "Song Yang, you have less than a minute. Hurry up!" urged the student next to me.


    I nodded and quickly replied, "The answer to No. 0 is theputer cannot start by itself."


    "No. 4: At about 10 o¡¯clock one night, a cyclist on a national highway was killed and the perpetrator escaped. A passers-by saw the car but not the license te and immediately called the police. When the police arrived, they drove for 15 kilometers along the direction the perpetrator escaped and found nothing. There was neither a fork nor a ce to hide within the 15-kilometer stretch. Where did the car go?"


    "The perpetrator fled in the opposite direction and drove past the police."


    After answering thest question, there were only ten seconds left on the countdown. I waited nervously as the seconds passed and nothing happened.


    Just as I breathed a sigh of relief, Deng Chao¡¯s voice sounded from the speakers outside, "What a pity. You¡¯ve failed the test..."

 Chapter 340

    <h4>Chapter 340</h4>


    I stared wide-eyed through the ss. Was he about to cheat again?


    Deng Chao continued, "I didn¡¯t receive the answer to one of the questions. You failed!"


    The student who typed and sent the message cried, "Ah, I made a mistake in one of the numbers! Song Yang, I¡¯m sorry!"


    I gritted my teeth, feeling the rage boil up inside. Deng Chao was merely finding fault! At this moment, a puff of yellow smoke spread throughout the sealed room, triggering a bout of coughing fits around the room. "That¡¯s poisonous gas,¡± I shouted. ¡°Everybody out!"


    I pulled a metal bar off the railings and smashed hard into the toughened ss. Only after several hard blows did it start to crack. By this time, the students inside had copsed to the ground, choking from the poison.


    With a crash, the ss finally broke and the noxious gas spread out. Fortunately, Dali arrived at this moment carrying the gas mask I had prepared in advance. "Song Yang, take this!" he shouted.


    I grabbed my bag and quickly put on the mask, fixing the straps securely.


    Visibility inside the room was extremely low. Using Cave Vision, I searched for the hostages and put gas masks on each of them, then walked over to open the window. As the toxic gas dissipated through the open window, I grabbed a pair of scissors from the desk and untied the hostages. Their backs were painted with numbers that appeared to be some sort of hint for the next test.


    "Can you walk?" I asked.


    Their hands and feet were numb both from being tied up for such a long time and from the fear of almost losing their lives. I had to carry them out one by one. Four of the hostages had inhaled so much toxic gas they werepletely weak from the neck down.


    After helping all the hostages out, Dali asked, "What do the numbers on their backs mean? Is it a password?"


    I nced at them, noticing that some of the hostages had the same numbers while others had different numbers. Altogether they were 4, 7, 0, and 2.


    I asked what year they were in and immediately understood that the first year student had 2 on his back, 4 on the second year student, 0 on the third year student and 7 on the final year student, so thebination was 2407.


    "That¡¯s a ssroom number!¡± I shouted. ¡°Dali, you stay and take care of them. I¡¯m heading there now!"


    "Dude, be careful!" cautioned Dali.


    I left a bottle of Mind Clearing Pills for Dali to distribute to the students. Although it wasn¡¯t an exact antidote to the poison, it also contained a detoxifying effect, and it would keep them alive at least until the medical staff arrived.


    The professors and students outside the building werepletely in the dark about the hostage situation inside. But upon seeing me run out in a hurry, they followed without a word.


    Although they hadints about my culpability, the events that happened today were enough to turn them into frightened quails, too afraid to leave my side.


    Xiaotao soon reported, "I have two updates for you. Song Xingchen has rescued Bai Lei! Also, I contacted Bai Lei¡¯s secretary. At first she was reluctant to reveal his schedule for the day, but upon discovering my identity, she informed me Bai Lei was in Australia signing a contract."


    "So there¡¯s a problem with our ¡®Bai Lei¡¯," I sneered.


    "Should we arrest him?" asked Xiaotao.


    "No,¡± I stopped her. ¡°Tell Song Xingchen to bring him to Lecture Building No. 2. I¡¯m on my way there now!"


    "Song Xingchen isn¡¯t in danger, is he?"


    "I¡¯m still uncertain if Bai Lei is Deng Chao himself or an aplice,¡± I exined. ¡°But since he¡¯s chosen to disguise himself, he¡¯s unlikely to expose his real identity. As long as Song Xingchen remains in the dark, he¡¯ll be fine. Isn¡¯t this a reasonable cause to send him over?"


    "Alright then, I¡¯ll let him know!" Xiaotao affirmed.


    "By the way, have several ambnces on standby outside campus. Several students were poisoned. After arresting Deng Chao, I¡¯ll head to the library to pick them up. Dali is currently taking care of them there."


    Very quickly, I arrived at ssroom 407 of Lecture Building No. 2. The doors of the ssroom were left slightly ajar. As soon as I pushed the door open, the speakers in the ssroom sounded, "Song Yang, this is your sixth test. I¡¯ve written the question on the ckboard. You have ten minutes to answer it."


    I stared at the numbers on the ckboard. Was this a math problem?


    Deng Chao¡¯s exnation was so brief I was convinced he had another trick up his sleeve.


    The numbers on the ckboard were: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 14, 15, 30, and a small line of instructions written on the bottom: Remove one number toplete the sequence.


    I stared with my brows furrowed. Arithmetic sequences were my weak spot, one I failed at in high school. After a considerable amount of time staring nkly at the board, a student came up and said, "Can¡¯t you tell? Just remove 8."


    As he reached for the eraser, I felt my sixth sense tingle. "Don¡¯t touch that!" I roared.


    But it was toote. As soon as his hand came in contact with the ckboard eraser, a needle emerged from within, pricking his hand. The boy screamed and held his hand to his lips, instinctively sucking at the wound.


    And thereiny the rub¨Cthere was a small mechanism fixed to the ckboard eraser. Any slight movement would activate the needle. Well acquainted with Deng Chao¡¯s treachery, I knew this wasn¡¯t some innocent trick. My spections were soon confirmed by the ck blood on the needle that was coated with poison.


    I pped the hand away from his lips. "You¡¯re poisoned, don¡¯t use your mouth!"


    "You must save me!" he implored.


    I instructed him to remove his clothes and rolled up his sleeves. Tearing his clothes into strips, I tied them around his arm, constricting his blood vessels. Then, I grabbed a silver needle from my pocket and told him to kick off his shoes, using the needle to pierce his two acupuncture points¨Cthe Sea of Blood and the Bubbling Spring, which could slow down his blood cirction.


    Five minutester, Deng Chao¡¯s voice rang once more, "Song Yang, you¡¯ve been poisoned. But don¡¯t be afraid, I won¡¯t let you die so easily. There are two little balls in the desk drawer. The blue ball represents entrepreneur Bai Lei and the red ball represents those children. Please choose one to throw out the window, and the corresponding hostage will die while you get the antidote. If you don¡¯t make a decision in five minutes, all the hostages will die and you so will you. Do you choose the influential entrepreneur or those poor, innocent children?"


    This passage had obviously been recorded in advance. Deng Chao never imagined I would dodge the bullet or disrupt his little trump card, rendering the testpletely useless.


    I picked up the blue ball and was about to throw it out when one of the school leaders ran in shouting, "Song Yang, you can¡¯t do this! If Bai Lei dies, the entire East China economy will be affected... "


    Before he could finish his appeal, I threw the ball outside.


    Ashen faced, the dean sternly condemned, "How can you be so rash? Do you know what consequences your decision will bring? Can human life be measured by simple addition and subtraction?"


    I was at the end of my rope, too incensed to reply nicely. "Of course, human life isn¡¯t measured by addition and subtraction, but by money, isn¡¯t it? Bai Lei is an honorary alumnus who¡¯s donated millions to the school so he¡¯s more important than those kids and this poisoned student. Am I right?"

 Chapter 341

    <h4>Chapter 341</h4>


    The dean trembled with anger as he pointed an usatory finger at me, stuttering the word "you" over and over again. One of the school leaders next to him chimed in, "Song Yang, how dare you talk to the dean like this! Don¡¯t forget, you haven¡¯t graduated yet!"


    I was past the point of caring. After today¡¯s events, I had already prepared myself for this eventuality.


    The dean anxiously turned to the people around him, "Go get the ball back. Bai Lei must not die!"


    Right then, Xiaotao sent a message. Upon listening to it, I said, "Wait a minute. There¡¯s a little situation over here. Please repeat what you just said!" Then I turned up the volume to the maximum. "Bai Lei has been rescued. He¡¯s downstairs now," she reiterated.


    The crowd¡¯s fury turned into joy. I sighed, watching them run down the stairs, excited to see him. These professors weren¡¯t worldly or enlightened, but mice cowering in their shoes, afraid the responsibility might fall upon them. They dared not hope for great aplishments or saving the innocent¡ªthey only hoped to be free from mistakes. It was the rule the general popce lived by.


    I unscrewed a leg off the chair and hid it behind me. Turning to the poisoned student, I assured, "There may not be an antidote. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll think of some way to save you."


    "What? If there is no antidote, I¡¯ll surely die!¡± he looked up at me in horror.


    "Medical technology is very advanced now,¡± I chuckled. ¡°Worsees to worst, you can do a blood dialysis. Just don¡¯t get excited or move too much."


    He nodded and asked anxiously, "How much will it cost?"


    "The police will definitely help with your medical expenses!" I promised.


    "Call the ambnce in,¡± I asked Xiaotao as I walked out the building. ¡°There¡¯s a student in Lecture Building No. 2 who¡¯s been poisoned. Send a car as well."


    "Can we go in now?"


    "Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s almost over!" I dered.


    Near the stairs stood Bai Lei surrounded by the masses, followed by Song Xingchen in the back. I observed him with Cave Vision and confirmed that he was indeed an imposter. There was a clear line behind his ear as if he were wearing a high imitation human skin mask.


    When our eyes met, his seemed to gleam. He strode over and said, "Thank you for saving my life. I must properly express my gratitude when this is all over."


    The school leaders noisily argued for their contributions, iming to have supported me in dealing with the criminal, boasting of the university¡¯s unyielding mettle in the face of crime.


    If everything went ording to Deng Chao¡¯s n, then I would now be badly poisoned. Appearing as Bai Lei meant he had more tricks up his sleeve, but unfortunately, his ns ended here.


    I held out a hand and said, "Mr. Bai, nice to meet you."


    Bai Lei reached over to grab my hand but I was ready. Pulling out the chair leg from behind, I bashed his face hard. Bai Lei staggered, nearly falling down the stairs. The people around us were too stunned to respond.


    "W-w-what are you doing?!" cried the dean.


    Before Bai Lei could steady himself, I went on the offensive once more, thrashing him with the chair leg. I pointed at him and sneered, "Look at his face clearly!"


    "Bai Lei¡¯s" face was nted, the eye holes having slipped down to his cheeks as if he had no eyes. His voice suddenly changed and Deng Chao blurted, "How did you find out?"


    "Did you think your n was perfect?¡± I scoffed. ¡°For the past year, you¡¯ve been in prison while I have been dealing with criminals who are more dangerous and cunning than you. The gap between you and me cannot be filled by your stupid tests!"


    Anger churning inside of me, I swung the chair leg at him once more, the force strong enough to knock Deng Chao¡¯s human skin mask off his face. Blood spurted from his nose.


    "What the hell are you trying to prove by killing so many innocents?¡± I mocked. ¡°Even if you prove that you¡¯re smarter than me, in everyone else¡¯s eyes, you¡¯re a pathetic and cold-blooded criminal, a loser and a psycho!"


    Deng Chao¡¯s mouth was filled with blood and his eyes burned with fury. "Song Yang, you turned me into this!¡± he used. ¡°All their deaths are on you!"


    "Me?¡± I quipped. ¡°You chose to do all this. You deserve everything that¡¯s happened to you."


    With a loud roar, Deng Chao suddenly pulled out a dagger and charged towards me. I caught sight of a cold gleam but it was toote to retreat. Fortunately, Song Xingchen secured Deng Chao¡¯s arms from the side, knocking thetter down as his shoulder crashed heavily to the ground, dagger falling aside.


    Song Xingchen mercilessly stepped on his chest. "I¡¯ll kill you! I¡¯ll kill you!" Deng Chao resentfully bellowed.


    What a mad dog!


    I informed Xiaotao of Deng Chao¡¯s arrest and asked her to send in the officers and paramedics. Deng Chao broke into sardonicughter, "Song Yang, do you really think I didn¡¯t prepare a n B?"


    I red coldly at him. "What¡¯s the time now?¡± he asked.


    "12:55!" I said, ncing at my watch.


    "I¡¯ve hidden the children in a ce no one can find,¡± he grinned. ¡°The bombs must be reset every hour or they will explode. That¡¯s the insurance I created for myself. In five minutes, even God won¡¯t be able to save them!"


    "You¡¯re lying!" I retorted.


    "Look at my face,¡± he smiled venomously. ¡°Does it look like I¡¯m lying?"


    He was telling the truth. I clenched my fist, fighting the impulse to throw him down the stairs. "What do you want?" I asked.


    "I could tell you to let me go, but I¡¯ve changed my mind.¡± He continued, ¡°Why don¡¯t you chop off a hand and I¡¯ll call a friend to reset the bomb. At the end of the next hour, you can chop off your other hand and so on, until both your hands and feet are gone. That way, you have at least four hours to find the children!"


    "If you won¡¯t tell us, I know torture methods horrible enough to pry those lips open!¡±


    "I don¡¯t care!" heughed.


    Upon further contemtion, I was certain Deng Chao would do as he threatened. So I instructed Xiaotao to ensure the paramedics brought enough hemostatic bandages to rescue me. Xiaotao was confused but I turned off the radio before she could question me.


    I rolled up my sleeves and ordered Song Xingchen, "Do it!"


    "No way," Song Xingchen shook his head coldly.


    "There¡¯s no time left. Hurry up!¡± I urged. ¡°You¡¯re good with the sword. Anyway, I can always sew it back onter!"


    Song Xingchen remained motionless but I couldn¡¯t wait any longer so I grabbed the dagger from the ground, ready to sever my own hand. Suddenly, the dagger in my hand was swept away. Holding the unsheathed Tang Sword, Song Xingchen huffed, ¡°This sort of sacrifice is meaningless to the Song family!"


    "Imand you to sever my hand!¡± I yelled. ¡°Or you get the hell out of here!"


    The onlookers were stunned speechless while Deng Chao was thrilled, his insaneughter echoing in my ears. Song Xingchen seemed to have made up his mind. "Fine, close your eyes!"


    Song Xingchen slowly drew out his sword. At the thought that my hand would soon be separated from my arm, I was too afraid to look down.


    Swish. The violent surge of blood that resembled a fountain soon followed. Song Xingchen¡¯s technique was so masterful I felt no pain except for the cold in my limbs.


    Secondster, a sharp scream reverberated in the corridor. "Ahhh, my hand!"

 Chapter 342

    <h4>Chapter 342</h4>


    The cry wasn¡¯t mine but Deng Chao¡¯s. When I opened my eyes, I saw my left hand still intact but Deng Chao¡¯s right hand was severed. The incision was extremely neat and the floor was covered in fresh blood.


    "What have you done?" I red at Song Xingchen.


    He didn¡¯t answer, but he quickly pulled out a small porcin jar from his pocket, gnawed off the sealed red cloth with his teeth, and poured the powder inside onto Deng Chao¡¯s wound.


    Was this the legendary Bone Erosion Drug?!


    Apparently, back in ancient times, the Song family had two branches¨Cthe literary Songs and the martial Songs. Soon after each child was born, he would undergo a test to judge whether he belonged to the literary or martial branch.


    When the literary children grew up, they either became magistrates or ministers of the Judicial Court, while the martial branch became constables or personal guards of the Song family. The skills the two branches learned differed from childhood. For example, I could perform the Triple Divination and the Reenactment Techniques, but Song Xingchen didn¡¯t learn these at all. On the other hand, he could concoct drugs and medicine that I had never even heard of.


    The Bone Erosion Drug was used by constables when dealing with violent criminals. The drug entered the body through the bloodstream, causing both chills and fever, stimting the pain nerve fibres throughout the entire body. It purportedly simted the pain of breaking bones, tearing muscles and rotting organs all at once¨Ca hundred times more painful than death by a thousand cuts.


    A few seconds after Deng Chao¡¯s wound was stained with the drug powder, he suddenly rolled on the ground screaming with pain. He tore at his hair desperately, almost pulling his scalp altogether, gouging out pieces of bloody flesh and scratching deep wounds on his face.


    "Kill me! Kill me!" he frantically screamed.


    It was so gruesome even I couldn¡¯t bear to watch him. Song Xingchen took out a small bottle and demanded, "Tell me how to reset the bomb and I¡¯ll give you the antidote!"


    Deng Chao pulled out his cell phone and threw it on the ground. "Dial thest number, say the code word ¡¯prayer.¡¯ Now give me the antidote!"


    "Where are the children?" I asked.


    Deng Chao rolled over, howling, "Give me the antidote first! I can¡¯t stand it! I can¡¯t stand it anymore!"


    "Where are the children?" I repeated.


    "Basement 44, Daxing Road!" he growled.


    I winked at Song Xingchen, "Give it to him!"


    "There¡¯s no antidote for the Bone Erosion Drug,¡± Song Xingchen sneered, cing the bottle back in his pocket. ¡°Apart from pain, it has no negative effects on the body."


    Deng Chao¡¯s eyes rolled back into his head as he fell unconscious. "Look, he¡¯s fainted from the pain,¡± added Song Xingchen. ¡°The effects of the drug will dissipate in one hour."


    I was so impressed with Song Xingchen¡¯s methods that I did as he said, picking up Deng Chao¡¯s cell phone from the ground. After a while, several paramedics came with hemostatic bandages and asked where the patient was. I pointed to the man on the floor, "Give him some strong painkillers!"


    "I¡¯ll treat you to dinner today,¡± I smiled, patting Song Xingchen on the shoulder.


    "You¡¯re wee. Just a cup of bubble tea, please. The most expensive one."


    When the team arrived, Lao Yao screamed at the sight of the blood on the floor. "Xiao Song-Song, are you alright?"


    "You scared me half to death!¡± Xiaotao rebuked. ¡°I thought something happened to you!"


    "By the way, we¡¯ve obtained the whereabouts of the children,¡± I said. ¡°Send a team to rescue them now!¡±


    "How did you pry that from his lips?" Xiaotao asked in surprise.


    I nced at Song Xingchen, "Song Xingchen may have used a method that¡¯s not entirely legal. Are you going to arrest him?¡±


    "No,¡±ughed Xiaotao. ¡°But I¡¯ll take you both to the best restaurantter and torture you with sumptious meal of meat and fish!"


    The matter was finally concluded. I was so exhausted I felt weak all over, yearning for a hot bath and a soft bed. Xiaotao kindly handed me a bottle of water which I thristily gulped down on the spot.


    We left the lecture building together. "This incident is too serious and involves too many parties to be hidden from the public,¡± Xiaotao exined. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t matter. Don¡¯t think about anything else today. Just rx."


    I looked at the familiar campus and said, "I can¡¯t believe something like this happened on myst day. Perhaps I really am a disaster ma."


    Right then, I heard someone call for me. I turned around and saw the school leaders crowding next to the lecture building. ¡°Song Yang, I¡¯d like to have a word with you," beckoned the dean.


    When I saw what he was holding, I immediately deduced the situation. I walked over and asked, "What can I do for you?"


    The dean handed me my certificate which read: "Afterpleting a four-year course at our university, Song Yang has fully satisfied all the requirements for graduation." And below was the dean¡¯s signature.


    After receiving this hard-earned certificate, I was very excited and eager to share the news with Grandpa who was in the afterlife. Here I was, about to enter society!


    Although the ceremony was ruined, I bowed to the dean, "Thank you very much!¡±


    "Song Yang, thank you for your courageous protection of our campus,¡± he said, patting my hand. ¡°Your alma mater owes you a big favor. In fact, I personally feel that an outstanding graduate like you..."


    His gaze turned malevolent and his voice cold. "...Should die."


    I felt a chill in my chest as a sharp object pierced my flesh. As I was holding my certificate in both hands, I didn¡¯t notice the dean¡¯s movements.


    I instinctively stepped backwards and looked down, only to see a dagger embedded in the left side of my chest. The sound of blood vessels bursting and blood gushing into my thoracic cavity thundered in my ears. The people around me were thrown into a panic. Xiaotao and the others shouted at me, but their voices seemed to grow more and more distant.


    The dean threw his head back in viciousughter and slowly stripped off his face, revealing a familiar one¨Che turned out to be the stic surgeon, Kong Hui!


    "If the organization wants you dead, then you must die!¡± he snarled. ¡°Deng Chao has failed, so I willplete the mission!"


    My legs were weak as rotten wood as I copsed to the ground, my consciousness sinking into darkness.


    I wasn¡¯t sure how long I slept but I felt as if I was wandering around in the darkness. The thought that I was dead had even crossed my mind. But suddenly, a light appeared in the darkness, stinging my eyes. A strange face appeared in a blur, looking at me wide-eyed.


    The man suddenly turned and ran away, shouting, "Doctor, doctor! The patient is awake!"


    Before I couldprehend what was happening, a crowd of people rushed in and gathered around me. A man stood up and waved his finger in front of me. "Can you see my finger?"


    I couldn¡¯t move any part of my body besides my eyes so I blinked a few times.


    "His vital signs are normal,¡± stated the man. ¡°Continue with the treatment and closely monitor his heartbeat. Xiao Zhang, you should inform his family."


    With that, the crowd walked out of the room, leaving me all alone in the empty ward, though not for long. A familiar voice sounded from outside the ward. Xiaotao, Dali, Lao Yao and Bingxin were all anxiously waiting outside, hounding the doctor about my condition. The doctor reported that everything was normal but I still needed rest.


    Xiaotao started to cry, her uncontroble sobs causing me great worry. Only then did I understand the current situation¨CI hade back from the gates of death.


    But there was one thing that confounded me. What was the human face I saw on the ceiling?!

 Chapter 343

    <h4>Chapter 343</h4>


    After my narrow escape from death, I could see afterimages of anything I saw. Earlier, the doctor¡¯s face remained on the ceiling for a few seconds but it wasn¡¯t like any ordinary afterimage. I could clearly see his stubble and nose hair. Only after repeatedly squeezing my eyes hard did the afterimage disappear.


    At first, this strange phenomenon made me very ufortable. The objects I casually nced at would remain in front of me for a period of time which greatly befuddled me.


    The intensive care unit was extremely quiet, with only the drib drab of the IV. Iy motionless with an oxygen mask over my face as I drifted in and out of sleep,ying like this for an entire day...


    When I woke up the next day, I was greeted by Sun Bingxin¡¯s misty eyes. "Song Yang-gege is awake!" she eximed.


    Dali leaned in and said, "Song Yang, how do you feel? You¡¯re really lucky, you know? The doctor said the dagger was only two millimeters short of stabbing the heart! We were all scared to death dude. Song Xingchen almost killed the imposter on the spot. Fortunately, he was stopped and now both he and Deng Chao are locked up. By the way, many people have sent you flowers but the doctor said they¡¯re not allowed in an intensive care unit. They¡¯re all arranged neatly outside. You can even open your own flower shop!"


    "Dali, stop yammering and let Song Yang-gege rest," grumbled Bingxin.


    I forced a smile as the two sat beside me ying Honor of Kings, and I listened to the two chatting to chase the boredom away.


    It turned out that they came to look after me during the day while Xiaotao came at night. She had watched over me all throughoutst night and was so sleepy in the morning that Bingxin made her go back and rest.


    Being unable to speak bored me out of my mind. I tried motioning with my eyes for Dali to turn on the TV. At least I could listen to the news or some music. But the idiot stared at my blinking eyes for a long time and decided I wanted to use the bathroom. I gave up trying to hint to him.


    At noon, the two discussed going out for lunch. Bingxin said she would stay while Dali went first but the sneaky bastard insisted on going together. I thought to myself, Doesn¡¯t he already have a girlfriend? Why is he still pursuing Bingxin? Is he nning on two-timing them?


    When the two left atst, a nurse entered the ward to change the IV but my keen eyes noticed she was holding an empty syringe. She stood there, silently injecting a huge air bubble into my infusion tube!


    I whined, yanking the needle off but the nurse was too strong for me in my weakened state. She was going to plunge the needle back in! I panicked, but all I could do was re at her.


    Then a miracle happened!


    The nurse let out an ear-splitting scream as if she had seen a ghost. Body quaking like a leaf, she stumbled backwards away from me.


    I couldn¡¯tprehend what about my eyes frightened her, but my life was on the line. At this moment, I stared at her with rapt attention. The nurse unexpectedly turned tail, scrambling out of the door. Then came the sounds of a fierce fight and the nurse¡¯s miserable screams.


    Outside the ward, Song Xingchen clutched the nurse and demanded, "Who sent you?"


    There was a flurry of movement, then the muffled thud of a body falling to the ground. Someone screamed, "Ahh, murderer!"


    My head throbbed with pain as the room around me spun. Song Xingchen rushed in and cried, "Are you alright, young master?"


    Upon noticing my eyes, he appeared amazed. "That fake nursemitted suicide by swallowing poison. I¡¯ll deal with it first ande back to you!"


    Not long after he left, I passed out, unaware of the situation outside.


    After lying in bed for three days, I was able to sit up and consume liquid food. Naturally, Xiaotao and Bingxin took turns spoon feeding me. Ever since the assassination attempt on me, the others never let me out of their sight for even a moment.


    Xiaotao informed me that Kong Hui and Deng Chao were being interrogated, though they refused to confess to their crimes. Judging from the clues we obtained, Deng Chao¡¯s revenge was inspired by certain people who wanted to get rid of me. Kong Hui acted as a backup n in case of any hups.


    The dean who was detained by Kong Hui and the children Deng Chao kidnapped had all been rescued. Clearly, Kong Hui had prepared in advance that day. His makeup was perfect down to the tiniest details such as his hands, which had me fooled.


    "My body seems to have undergone some changes," I blurted.


    "What¡¯s the matter? What¡¯s wrong with you?" asked Xiaotao.


    "No, I¡¯m fine,¡± Iughed. ¡°Let¡¯s conduct a little experiment!"


    I asked Xiaotao to randomly search for an article online and ce her phone in front of me for one second. Then I closed my eyes and read out the entire page word for word. "Oh my God, do you have a photographic memory?¡±


    "It¡¯s my eyes!¡± I chuckled. ¡°I now see afterimages even after looking away from an object. It¡¯s as if the images I see remain on the retina for a few seconds."


    Xiaotao looked me in the eye, "That¡¯s incredible. Did your eyes transform after a narrow escape from death?"


    "There¡¯s something else I¡¯d like to test!" I continued.


    I wanted to determine if my eyes were capable of self defense. The ability to scare off even a murderer suggested these ¡°powers¡± were unusual.


    Just as I was about to begin, Song Xingchen barged into the ward and interrupted, "I¡¯m afraid using the Eye of Yama on Ms. Huang will ruin your rtionship."


    "What did you just say?" I looked up.


    "Can you please leave the room, Ms. Huang? I¡¯d like to have a private conversation with the young master," Song Xingchen solemnly added.


    "Let her stay!" I argued.


    "Will you two get married?" Song Xingchen asked.


    "What?!" Xiaotao and I interjected in unison. Her cheeks colored with embarrassment.


    "The secrets of the Song family must not be known to outsiders,¡± exined Song Xingchen. ¡°This is our ancestor¡¯s rule! Unless you propose to Ms. Huang right now and she agrees to marry you, she must leave the room or I¡¯ll be forced to kill her."


    I nced at the flushed young woman and faltered, "Xiaotao, I..."


    How could I possibly propose without any preparations? Besides, our rtionship had only just begun. When the words reached my lips, I coughed and said, "I¡¯ll tell you everything when the time is right!"


    "It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± she smiled. ¡°I believe it¡¯s only a matter of time that I find out."


    Then she left the room with a peck on my cheek.


    Song Xingchen locked the door, removed a candle from his pocket and lit it, cing it on the bedside table. "Look at the me and imagine it as your enemy,¡± he guided. ¡°Stare at it with all your strength!"


    "Are you joking?" I asked.


    "Do I look like I¡¯m joking?" he stared at me through those stoney eyes.


    I did as he instructed and when I stared at the me, it flickered and went out.


    I stared wide-eyed, taking some time for reality to set in. "That¡¯s impossible. How can my eyes extinguish the candle? It must be the wind."


    Song Xingchen struck a match and lit the candle once more. "Try it again if you don¡¯t believe me!"


    I tried it and seeded again but after the second time, I felt dizzy and my consciousness began to blur. "You¡¯re still very weak now,¡± Song Xingchen pointed out. ¡°If you use it again, you¡¯ll probably pass out. Remember, you can use it no more than three times a day."


    "Pass me the mirror!" I cried.


    Song Xingchen handed me the mirror and when I looked into it with Cave Vision, I found that my pupil was divided into fouryers¨Cred from inside out, the color deepening with eachyer.


    "You now have the best vision in the Song family¨Cthe Eye of Yama!"


    I murmured, "The Eye of Yama? I¡¯ve never heard of it."


    "That¡¯s because in the history of the Song family, you¡¯re the only one who has awakened it. Actually, that¡¯s not exactly urate. In fact, the Song family¡¯s Cave Vision is a wed version of that."


    1. The King of Hell, God of Death.

 Chapter 344

    <h4>Chapter 344</h4>


    Song Xingchen exined that the creator of Cave Vision was a Song family ancestor who was both a constable and miracle doctor.


    An unexpected opportunity led him to the realization that even after the death of the Siberian tiger, its eyes still burned with intimidation that could frighten a whole pack of wolves. He wondered if he could reproduce this effect in human beings.


    So he stimted his eyes with drugs and acupuncture, but unfortunately failed and ended up blind.


    Uncontent with his failure, the old man tried again with his month-old son, washing his eyes every day with his own concoction. Finally, he created Cave Vision by mistake, allowing the user to see perfectly in the dark or observe the most minute details. The initial form was very dangerous, especially with the risk of blindness. Later on, after several generations, our ancestors continuously improved the form until the creation of the Eye Opening Elixir which provided the Song family with an additional form of protection.


    It wasn¡¯t until the first constable of ancient Guangdong and Guangxi, Song Buping¡¯s generation, that Cave Vision was properly understood. Song Buping was stabbed during a mission, and his life was in danger. After a narrow escape from death, his eyes had undergone a qualitative change. He was able to intimidate with his ¡°Tiger Eyes.¡± Even the tenacious and iron-willed were afraid to look him in the eyes when he was angry.


    Song Buping referred to this ability as the Eyes of Yama because that was what they called the God of Death, the King of Hell who presided over the ten Kings of Hell. Only Lord Yama¡¯s eyes could frighten all creatures!


    At the time, it was clear to the Song family that the Eyes of Yama could be awakened, but the condition was very harsh¨Ca close brush with death. Afterwards, quite a number of Song family members deliberately tried to recreate such conditions but lost their lives in vain, because the boundary between life and death was extremely difficult to grasp, and it was simply beyond human control.


    Since then, in order to prevent the children of the Song family from killing themselves in pursuit of this power, the elders burned all records about the Eyes of Yama, deleting even the name of the ancestor who discovered the ability. The Eyes of Yama were passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth only in the martial Song branches. It gradually became a legend. In fact, Song Xingchen didn¡¯t believe it existed until he saw my eyes.


    In the entire history of the Song family, there were only two people with the Eyes of Yama, all of whom were martial Songs. I was the third and only literary Song.


    The Eyes of Yama that had been lost for a long time appeared on me. In Song Xingchen¡¯s words, it was a miracle!


    I looked at the smoke curling above the candle on the bedside table and said, "How exactly does extinguishing a candle with my eyes work?"


    "I¡¯m not sure,¡± he shrugged. ¡°There aren¡¯t enough cases for us to study."


    After some contemtion, I ventured, "It¡¯s probably nerve impulses! Nerve impulse is the medium that transmits information in the human brain, and the total quantity of electricity is equal to a battery. There was once a psychic in Vietnam who could read vague images from other people¡¯s eyes. Several experts believed that a gene mutation enabled his eyes to act as a receiver of nerve impulses, even those emitted from other people. On the contrary, my eyes can release nerve impulses, especially when I¡¯m angry or agitated. This energy directly acts on the nerve center of the other party, making them extremely fearful."


    Song Xingchen folded his arms and yawned, slurring his speech, "Hmmm, that makes sense!"


    This guy seemed to have no interest at all in the scientific exnation. I was a little annoyed that my words were like ying the harp to the cow. "Don¡¯t use it on me,¡± he said. ¡°I won¡¯t know how to exin it if you go into aa."


    "What else do you have to say?" I asked.


    "You should use the Eyes of Yama as little as possible,¡± he advised. ¡°Song Buping once made a prisoner crazy by staring at him. This ability also has certain negative effects on you. You¡¯ll be prone to cking out."


    "That¡¯s probably due to insufficient blood supply to the brain, thus causing a protectivea,¡± I deduced. ¡°By the way, my eyes also see afterimages. Is this also an effect of the Eyes of Yama?"


    "I¡¯m not sure about this,¡± he admitted. ¡°My master never mentioned it to me. You¡¯ll have to explore it yourself!"


    These eyes might take some time getting used to, but on the whole, I was pleased. It was a pity Grandpa never learned about this ability.


    "From now on, I promise to guard you more closely,¡± Song Xingchen dered. ¡°Your life is more valuable now and the Jiangbei Daggers are targeting you."


    "What do you mean? Is there someone behind the scenes?" I asked.


    Song Xingchen shook his head, "There¡¯s one thing I haven¡¯t told you. The elders of the Song family won¡¯t allow me to. In fact, the Jiangbei Daggers isn¡¯t a person but an organization. The secret code left by your grandfather meant to deal with the murderer refers not to himself but to this organization!"


    The truth suddenly dawned upon me! No wonder Kong Hui was so protective of the words "Jiangbei Daggers." He had always known it was the name of the organization, but I regarded it as a lone person.


    Song Xingchen went on to say, "The history of the Song family¡¯s fight against the Jiangbei Daggers goes so far back you can¡¯t even imagine. Even Song Ci, the shining star of the Song family, ended in mutual destruction with the first generation of the Jiangbei Daggers! When your grandfather was determined to bring down this monster, several elders gave him an ultimatum and ordered him not to investigate any more. So, my advice is to act within your capabilities. Every generation of the Song family wants to bring them down, but inevitably fails. They spread like cancer, devouring new cells, growing more and more powerful. Our Song family has been hit hard and was almost at the point ofplete copse. That is how our most important rule of never bing a government official or police officer came into being. You must never repeat these words to a third person or you¡¯ll never see me again..."


    With that, he suddenly dropped to one knee.


    "What are you doing?" I wondered out loud.


    "Young master. This time, I failed to protect you as I should have,¡± he stated. ¡°You have the right to punish me ording to the familyws."


    "And what is that?" I arched an eyebrow.


    He pulled out his Tang Sword and said, "Sever one of my fingers or ears. Just give me themand and I¡¯ll do it myself."


    I grimaced at the Song family¡¯s strict rules. Song Xingchen was so solemn I knew he wouldn¡¯t stop until I meted out his punishment. "Listen to my order. I shall enforce thews on behalf of the Song family for your failure to protect me!"


    Song Xingchen buried his head even lower.


    "Give me a smile!" Imanded.


    He raised his head in amazement. "What¡¯s the matter?¡± I said. ¡°Ever since we¡¯ve known each other, I¡¯ve never seen you smile once. So give me a smile! You mustplete your task!"


    Song Xingchen slowly adjusted his facial muscles and forced an exaggerated smile. I had to admit he might have been born without this function.


    "Alright, you can go!"


    "Young master, rest well then!"


    Just before he walked out the door, I said, "Leave your cell phone number."


    "I lost my cell phone," he frowned.


    "Well here¡¯s my next order: Get yourself thetest iPhone X so I can contact you once I¡¯m discharged. I¡¯ll hold a celebration dinner and you muste."


    "Got it!" his lips curled up in a slight grin.


    "That smile looks much better than the previous one."


    In terms of seniority, Song Xingchen might be my cousin but that was just how we got along. Though I seldom spoke to him, I already considered him a friend.

 Chapter 345

    <h4>Chapter 345</h4>


    On the day I was discharged, Dali picked me up and drove downtown. "Aren¡¯t we heading back to campus?" I asked.


    "Dude, has staying in the hospital made you silly?¡± heughed. ¡°We¡¯ve graduated, remember? I rented a ce near the store. That¡¯s where we¡¯ll live from now on."


    I looked out of the window at the city passing by, deeply aware that I had formally entered society!


    When we arrived at our store, Dali informed me of the sales channels he had established with several major supermarkets in the past few days. This was all thanks to the quality of our product and how good Dali was with words. Word of mouth alone drove our sales. He even suggested signing me up for a credit card and assured me he would bank in this month¡¯s sry.


    "I¡¯m really embarrassed,¡± I admitted. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve made any contributions and yet I¡¯m sharing the fruits of victory."


    "Oh, stop being so courteous with me, will you? I wouldn¡¯t have gotten this far without your start-up money!¡± he chuckled. ¡°But then again, sanitary napkins are really easy to sell. I don¡¯t have to worry about sales at all. I¡¯ve almost stopped running around trying to sell our product. Nowadays, I deal mostly with the logistics."


    Dali couldn¡¯t speak three sentences without mentioning the business. Every time he opened his mouth, it was sanitary napkin this, sanitary napkin that.


    When we arrived at the ce he rented, I found that all my belongings had been moved from our old dormitory. There was a small balcony overlooking the street below. Although the room was a little messy, littered with a few empty takeout boxes on the table, it was warm andfortable. Luo Youyou was seated at the desk, ying video games. Upon seeing me enter the room, she stood up and bowed politely. "Hello, Song Yang!"


    "Are you here to help out at the store?" I asked.


    "I¡¯m almost done with junior year,¡± she smiled. ¡°So I decided to work for Dali-ge during my summer vacation!"


    "That¡¯s great!"


    What they said was true¨Cpeople who turned their fortunes around were like force majeure; nothing could stop them. Last month, Dali was a poor student who had to scrimp on food. Now, he had his own business and a cute girlfriend. Of course, they hadn¡¯t officially confirmed the rtionship yet.


    Dali took out a bloody graduation certificate from the drawer and handed it to me. "Dude, I picked this up for you."


    I opened it and found the certificate stained with my own blood, blurring the writing. A dark, smudged crimson patch surrounded the name "Song Yang,¡± like an ominous metaphor.


    I sighed. This certificatees at a heavy price indeed!


    Luo Youyou excitedly interrupted, "Song Yang, what happenedst month is now being talked about by the whole school. Everyone¡¯s talking about how handsome you were that day, fighting against a dangerous criminal to protect our campus! It¡¯s a pity I wasn¡¯t there."


    Thinking back to the events during graduation, it all felt like a lifetime ago. "I deeply regret losing so many lives,¡± I sighed. ¡°But now that a disaster ma like me has left the university, there shouldn¡¯t be any more simr incidents."


    "By the way, due to your influence, several investigation clubs have sprung up in school,¡± Luo Youyou added. ¡°That includes the Holmes Society and the Traditional Forensic Research Association. One of my ssmates, the president of the Investigation Club, has mentioned he would like to invite you to give a seminar!"


    "No thank you!¡± I waved my hands repeatedly. ¡°School has left a bit of psychological trauma so I don¡¯t want to set foot on campus for the time being!"


    Of course, this was purely an excuse but Luo Youyou was filled with concern. "Really? Do you want to see a psychologist?" she asked.


    After that, we went out for lunch. Dali treated me like a patient recovering from a serious illness, avoiding any greasy or spicy food. Although the injury I suffered was quite frightening, it hadn¡¯t left any seque, except for a scar the size of my little finger on my left chest.


    After lunch, I decided to head down to the station. Due to my early discharge from the hospital, Xiaotao and the others were unaware I was already out or they might have insisted oning to pick me up. I wanted to drop in and say hello.


    Dali said he would drive me there but I refused. "Go back to the store. I¡¯ll walk over by myself!"


    "No way,¡± he argued. ¡°The car was originally yours. We agreed that I would be your driver."


    "I¡¯ve been lying in bed for more than half a month,¡± I exined. ¡°I¡¯d like to take a walk!"


    It only took twenty minutes of walking, and when I stepped into the station, many young officers seemed surprised to see me. They gathered around me with concern, asking about my health. Even the older officers stood at attention and saluted me.


    I smiled at their warm reception and greeted them one by one, though I couldn¡¯t fight the unease I felt being the focus of attention. Then, a crisp, bell-like voice sounded from the corridor. A beautiful woman in a whiteb coat came running towards me. "Song Yang-gege!"


    I was surprised to find Bingxin apletely changed woman from head to toe. She was wearing a white blouse, a pencil skirt, stockings and red leather heels with her hair tied up, looking more mature than before.


    From the namete on her chest, I figured Bingxin was working as an intern. There were strict dress codes in the police force. ck and white stockings and denim skirts weren¡¯t allowed.


    Sun Bingxin sprinted towards me, her heels making a click-ck sound on the floor. She reached out her hands and threw herself heavily into my arms, bumping against my flesh. "Thank God you¡¯re alright," she sniffled.


    I pretended to feel pain in my chest. "Ah, my heart!¡± I cried. ¡°Bingxin-meimei, are you trying to knock me straight into the morgue?"


    "I¡¯m sorry!¡± she blurted, staring at my chest in horror. ¡°I¡¯m just so excited!"


    "It¡¯s alright. You¡¯re already a full-time coroner, so how can you behave like a child?" I chastised.


    She spat her tongue, "I¡¯m only like this with you. Does your heart still hurt?"


    I told her I was fine but she persisted in sticking her ear to my chest. We stood there, her face against my chest until Xiaotao appeared and caught us in this position. Xiaotao stared wide-eyed, mouth agape.


    Xiaotao walked up and smacked Bingxin on the head with the document in her hand. "We¡¯re at work. Please pay attention to your behavior, alright?"


    "Xiaotao-jiejie, Song Yang-gege is back!" Bingxin shouted, covering her head.


    "I can see that,¡± Xiaotaoughed. "Can¡¯t stay a moment longer in the hospital huh?" she turned to me.


    "Don¡¯t even go there,¡± I grimaced. ¡°All I did was eat and sleep all day long. I was so bored I was about to lose my mind. Look at me, don¡¯t you think I¡¯ve gained weight?"


    Xiaotao caressed my cheek, "No, you haven¡¯t changed at all. You¡¯re just as handsome and adorable as you were before."


    "We¡¯re at work. Please pay attention to your behavior!" Bingxin waved her fist and protested.


    "I¡¯m just showing a normal amount of concern for my colleague," Xiaotao retorted.


    Bingxin reached over and touched the other side of my face in a tit-for-tat manner. "If the boss can do it, then so can I!"


    "No way!" Xiaotao shouted.


    "Why not?" Bingxin pouted.


    Xiaotao pointed to Bingxin¡¯s namete, ¡°Intern Coroner, Sun Bingxin,¡± and said, "Because your father told me to watch over you."


    With their palms still on my face, Xiaotao and Bingxin red at each other, their eyes seeming to collide with red-hot sparks. "Um... Precious exhibit. Please do not touch."


    The twoughed, signalling the end of their little fight. Bingxin said, "Song Yang-gege, I¡¯ll be in the forensicboratory. Come and visit meter."


    "Alright!" I nodded.


    As soon as she left, Xiaotao sighed. "What a willful youngdy! Taking the bureau as her own home!"


    I chuckled and asked her what she was up totely. Xiaotao assured me she was doing well, just busy as usual!


    "By the way, I dropped by to see Deng Chao and Kong Hui,¡± I exined. ¡°Are they still being held here?"


    Xiaotao shook her head, "The two have been transferred to prison due to the serious nature of their crimes andplicated backgrounds. They are being guarded by themissioner sent by the Public Security Bureau. No one is allowed any contact with them before the trial but I can show you their interrogation files."

 Chapter 346

    <h4>Chapter 346</h4>


    After Deng Chao and Kong Hui¡¯s arrest, the police conducted a 48-hour sleep deprivation interrogation.


    Due to Deng Chao¡¯s severed hand and the failure of his revenge, he hadpletely sunk into insanity and repeatedly tried to harm himself and his interrogators. Thus, the police obtained little information from him.


    Most of the confessions were provided by Kong Hui. It turned out that the organization had targeted me after I continually harmed their interests. When they discovered I was Song Zhaolin¡¯s grandson, they never intended to directly deal with me but bought a condemned man, orchestrating Deng Chao¡¯s escape from Mt. Leopard Prison. They gave him three months of special training to transform him into a first-ss killer and waited for him to get rid of me.


    The original n was supposed to be an ordinary assassination but they never imagined how deeply dominated by hatred Deng Chao was or expected him to orchestrate a bloody graduation ceremony.


    Deng Chao was out of control, so the organization sent Kong Hui to deal with the aftermath. Personally, Kong Hui was reluctant but it was an order to make up for a previous mistake so he couldn¡¯t refuse.


    However, Deng Chao wasn¡¯t aware of Kong Hui¡¯s existence. On that day, Kong Hui disguised himself and mixed in with the crowd in the auditorium. While we were upied with Deng Chao¡¯s tests, he kidnapped the dean and secretly switched identities. He originally intended to take advantage of the chaos to kill me, but Deng Chao was unexpectedly arrested.


    Realizing this was hisst opportunity to take action, he stabbed me the moment he handed the certificate for fear his failure would incur the organization¡¯s wrath and cruel punishment.


    Kong Hui imed that the organization had a strict hierarchy and one-waymunication, like underground organizations of the past. He was only a peripheral member and received instructions and remuneration from the connecting party so he didn¡¯t know who sat at the top.


    Unable to withstand the sleep-deprivation, Kong Hui gave a code name¨CDog Trainer, his contact man. The police were currently investigating him.


    After reading the interrogation files, I thought it was a pity that I missed the entire process. In fact, I had my own selfish reasons. Perhaps I could have tested the Eyes of Yama on these two suspects yet I was forbidden from speaking a word of this to Xiaotao.


    "Will Deng Chao receive the death penalty this time?" I asked.


    Xiaotao nodded, "After taking so many lives, he won¡¯t be able to avoid the death penalty. Kong Hui will be charged with attempted murder and kidnapping at most. He¡¯s expected to be sentenced to several decades of imprisonment."


    The criminal who gave his all to the organization turned out to be an abandoned piece. I felt my heart descend into despair. How powerful was this hidden organization?


    "By the way, are there any recent cases that require my help?" I asked, switching the subject.


    "Nanjiang City has been calm ofte. The country is peaceful and the people are at ease,¡±ughed Xiaotao. ¡°There aren¡¯t any major cases at the moment. Yesterday, we arrested a man for murdering his wife. The evidence is conclusive and he¡¯s being interrogated now."


    Right then, a man was escorted out of the interrogation room, shouting desperately as soon as he saw Xiaotao and me standing in the corridor. "I¡¯m innocent! Officer, I swear I¡¯m innocent!"


    "Is he the one who murdered his wife?" I pointed at the man.


    "That¡¯s right. Ignore him,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°Nine out of ten people whoe in im they¡¯re innocent."


    Out of curiosity, I used Cave Vision which I repeatedly practiced in the hospital over the past few days. As long as I wasn¡¯t in a state of agitation, I could still use Cave Vision. And the man¡¯s microexpressions told me he wasn¡¯t lying.


    Noticing my direct gaze on the suspect, Xiaotao urged, "Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve always been fair and above board with all my investigations. Let¡¯s go and get something to eat!"


    "I¡¯ve just had lunch. Let me look at the case files, won¡¯t you?"


    "How can you doubt me?¡± Xiaotao feigned indignance. ¡°You¡¯vepletely hurt my feelings."


    "No, don¡¯t say that,¡± Iforted. ¡°I just don¡¯t have anything to do right now so I¡¯m looking to pass the time. If I¡¯m wrong, I¡¯ll buy you coffee as an apology!"


    "Who wants coffee?¡± she scoffed. ¡°I want you to dress up ording to my instructions and wait on me all night!"


    I thought to myself, What does she mean by that? Wear nothing but an apron? It seemed the stakes were a bit high so I hesitated.


    "What¡¯s wrong?¡± goaded Xiaotao. ¡°Is the Great Detective Song afraid?"


    I looked her in the eye and said, "And what if I do find something?"


    "State your terms then!" Xiaotao cocked her head confidently.


    After a moment¡¯s contemtion, I replied, "You have to dress up ording to my instructions and do whatever I ask you."


    "Deal! I¡¯ll hand you the case files right now. You can call Dali and tell him you won¡¯t be going back tonight!" she smirked.


    Xiaotao and I went to her office where she handed me a thick stack of unsorted files. They were all first-hand evidence, photos of the scene, the evidence list, oral statements and interrogation records, etc. While I sat down perusing them, Xiaotao called for takeout.


    The case was actually quite simple. At about 7:00 pmst night, the couple came back home. Neighbors witnessed them quarrelling from downstairs all the way into their home. Then came a loud crash. ording to the suspect himself, the reason for their argument was a pair of sexy panties his wife found in his car. She demanded to know what was going on.


    At about 8:00 pm, their next-door neighbor heard the sound of the door mming. Then ten minutester, the neighbor went to take the trash out and noticed the heavy smell of blood. He pounded on the door but received no reply. His first assumption was the wife hadmitted suicide so he quickly phoned the husband.


    Twenty minutester, the husband returned, closing the door as soon as he entered. It took him about five minutes before opening the door once more. This time, he was in a panic, yelling for the neighbors to call the police, iming his wife hadmitted suicide.


    Those five minutes were really intriguing!


    In the interrogation, the husband admitted that he used the time to hide away items that were of a sensitive nature, though he imed they had absolutely nothing to do with the murder. He also admitted to the affair. However, he was working in a public institution and the object of the affair was a colleague in his unit. He was afraid he might lose his job if the affair was publicized so he didn¡¯t want the police to find out.


    The officers on the scene found a piece of burnt cloth in the toilet bowl, on which they found sebum and sweat. The murder weapon, a fruit knife, also showed traces of being wiped. But instead of properly erasing the fingerprints, the hasty job only drew more suspicion.


    The victim was slit in the throat by the fruit knife and struggled to crawl on the ground for some distance, aiming for the phone to call the police. She failed to make the call and ended up overturning everything on the coffee table to the ground instead.


    On the blood-soaked carpet, two clear shoe prints were found, consistent with the slippers the husband usually wore at home.


    The slippers appeared to have been washed but theb found traces of the wife¡¯s blood in between the seams.


    When asked why he left at 8:00 pm, the husband imed he had gone out for a drink, but even that was proven to be a lie. He was actually on call with his mistress, promising her that he would ¡°get rid of this ugly woman¡± soon.


    Additionally, there was an important eyewitness testimony. At about 7:50, the neighbor heard her husband screaming, "I¡¯ll kill you!"


    Upon reviewing the case files, I spent a considerable amount of time meditating on the case.

 Chapter 347

    <h4>Chapter 347</h4>


    After a brief pause, I asked, "Is this a natural and reasonable response from a murderer?"


    "What do you mean?" Xiaotao arched an eyebrow.


    "A slit across the throat shows determination. It doesn¡¯t match his behavior afterwards. Why didn¡¯t he clean up the scene immediately, then head out for a walk? Why wait to cover up after his neighbor¡¯s discovery and call?"


    "It¡¯s his first timemitting a murder,¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°He was probably scared at the time and left the scene to calm down before remembering to destroy the evidence!"


    "From the photo, the incision looks professional,¡± I added. ¡°Could this be done by a novice?"


    "People are capable of anything when angered,¡± argued Xiaotao. ¡°He¡¯s a healthy middle-aged man who has enough strength to inflict such a wound..."


    "All questionable points can be answered by vague, seemingly reasonable exnations but this isn¡¯t what the police should do,¡± I chastised. ¡°The police should investigate every doubtful aspect of the case, find the truth and solve the case!"


    "Are you educating me?¡±ughed Xiaotao. ¡°You just don¡¯t want to put on a butler¡¯s uniform and serve me tea, do you? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve made sure to pick a handsome suit. You won¡¯t want to take it off," she winked.


    "Sure, dignity is important, but I love the truth more!"


    "Who was it that said this?¡± pondered Xiaotao. ¡°Did you get it wrong? I seem to recall the original words were: ¡®So and so is important, but I love the truth more.¡¯"


    "Just satisfy my curiosity, won¡¯t you?¡± I blushed. ¡°Let me speak to the suspect. If I¡¯m overthinking this, I promise I¡¯ll do whatever you ask tonight!"


    "All right then,¡± nodded Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll arrange for an interrogation!"


    "You don¡¯t have to be so formal,¡± I waved my hand. ¡°I¡¯ll drop by the detention room and speak to him."


    Xiaotao and I headed to the detention room where suspect Ding sat listlessly. He seemed to be doing rather well at his job, evident from his big belly and pink face. As soon as he saw using, he rushed excitedly into the metal bars and shouted: "Officer, I¡¯m innocent. I really didn¡¯t kill my wife!"


    "Calm down,¡± I said. ¡°I came here to ask you about this."


    Mr. Ding nodded vehemently with tears in his eyes. I thanked Xiaotao for bringing me a chair and sat down. "Tell me exactly what happenedst night. If you tell a lie, I¡¯ll leave at once and you can find awyer to help you!"


    "I wouldn¡¯t dare! I promise every word I speak is true!" he assured me.


    Although he was nervous, he made no secret of it. Mr. Ding exined yesterday was his 10th anniversary with his wife. After work, the couple found a nice restaurant for dinner. Everything was going great but on their way back, his wife found a pair of panties under the car seat which sparked a quarrel between the two.


    Speaking of the panties, Mr. Ding recognized it at a nce at the time. It did belong to his mistress but he had always been cautious about his infidelity, avoiding the car during their liaisons. God knows how the panties got there!


    Having lived together, it was easy for either party to notice a change in the rtionship so of course, his wife knew of his infidelity. The contradiction wasn¡¯t so much as caused by the panties as an outburst of disgruntlement umted over the years.


    At the mention of his infidelity, Mr. Ding appeared aggrieved. Heined about his treatment in his own home, saying his wife never showed him due respect. And on top of that, he had experienced some hups at work. Their house was purchased with the help of his inws, so his wife usually bossed him about, causing him great depression. Later on, a young woman joined his department, one who greatly adored him. Naturally, sparks flew between the two....


    "Enough about that,¡± I frowned. ¡°Who wants to listen to your nonsense? Be serious, won¡¯t you?"


    "Yes sir!" Mr. Ding nodded fervently and continued with his story. Apparently, the couple¡¯s argument extended from downstairs all the way upstairs, rming the neighbors. Angered by his wife¡¯s rehash of all their past troubles, Mr. Ding burst into rage and smashed several items in the house, his wife following suit. Then, Mr. Ding shouted, "I¡¯ll kill you!"


    His wife returned with the same volume, "Go ahead then!"


    After this, Mr. Ding mmed the door and went out to have a drink, only to realize that he didn¡¯t have his wallet on him. So he called his mistress and confided that he had enough and would divorce the ugly hag sooner orter. But before they could continue with the conversation, he received a call from his neighbor, informing him of an emergency at home so he hurried back at once.


    At this point, I interrupted him, shouting sternly, "You didn¡¯t return immediately, did you? The neighbor discovered the smell of blooding from your home at 8:10. It took you 20 minutes to get back. Don¡¯t lie to me!"


    ¡°Officer, I swear I came back immediately! I wasn¡¯t dying at all!¡± Mr. Ding desperately denied.


    "Where were you then?" I questioned.


    "At a small park nearby!"


    "Did you make any detours on the way?" I continued.


    "No, absolutely not! After all, she¡¯s my wife. As soon as I heard of her ident, I rushed right back!" Mr. Ding answered honestly.


    I paused for a moment before allowing him to continue.


    Upon entering his home, Mr. Ding was greeted by the body of his dead wife. Thunderstruck, he stared nkly for some time before noticing several receipts scattered all over the floor. He wasn¡¯t sure if his wife or the murderer had turned them out but they were receipts for transactions he spent on his mistress, and the money was part of a bribe he received from his client. Mr. Ding immediately thought of the consequences if the incident came to light. Dismissal was inevitable so he quickly disposed of the receipts.


    He tore them up and washed them down the sink. Then, he opened the door and begged his neighbors to call the police. To his surprise, the police surveyed the scene and immediately handcuffed him, without so much as a word. He pleaded his innocence but no one believed him.


    At the end of his narration, Mr, Ding raised his right hand. "Officer, everything I¡¯ve said is true! If I so much as speak a word of untruth, I swear I¡¯ll be struck by lightning!"


    In fact, I didn¡¯t need his oath. The entire time he was speaking, I was observing his microexpressions with Cave Vision. And judging from what I saw, he was indeed telling the truth.


    "I¡¯ll reinvestigate the case!" I dered.


    When I got up to leave, Mr. Ding cried, "Thank you! Thank you so much! You must be the modern day Justice Bao!" Then, I heard a loud thump and I turned around to see the man on his knees.


    Out of the detention room, Xiaotao said, "His testimony has no legal effect. Ourws ce more emphasis on material evidence than human testimony. In the face of a mountain of hard evidence, his one-sided statements will not be epted in court."


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I nodded. ¡°The murderer understands this as well."


    Xiaotao gasped, "What do you mean?"


    "I think this is an borate frame-up."


    "He¡¯s merely a Section Chief. What¡¯s the motive behind framing him?¡± Xiaotao retorted. ¡°Your spection is based on your belief in his words. But there¡¯s no evidence to back you up."


    "But he wasn¡¯t lying!" I refuted.


    "Your eyes aren¡¯t omnipotent,¡± reminded Xiaotao. ¡°You¡¯re forgetting the criminals who have lied right in front of you."


    Though Xiaotao had a point, I persisted, "Then we¡¯ll investigate the case based on our own doubts and the truth wille to light the more we debate and discuss."


    "But the investigation of the case has been officiallypleted and the judicial proceedings are about to begin,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°You don¡¯t have much time, three days at most."


    I summoned all my enthusiasm. "As always, let¡¯s start with the body!"

 Chapter 348

    <h4>Chapter 348</h4>


    Xiaotao and I headed to the forensicboratory where a body covered with white clothy on the autopsy table. The extracted organs were ced in the metal dish beside the body. Aside from the foul odoring from the internal organs, I also smelled the scent of tea.


    Bingxin was jotting her findings at the desk next to the body, with a half-eaten doughnut and hot jasmine tea in her thermos lid.


    "Miss Sun, how can you eat while working?" Xiaotao chided. ¡°Are you here to have fun or work?¡±


    I didn¡¯t think that was the point, but rather the fact that Bingxin could actually stomach food in such an environment...


    Bingxin swivelled her chair and shrugged, "I¡¯m so bored. It turns out that all a coroner does is write reports. Had I known this is what it was like, I would¡¯ve chosen to be a Traditional Coroner instead."


    "I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you. There are no female Traditional Coroners!" Iughed.


    Bingxin ran over and grabbed a pair of non-prescription sses from her pocket and put them on. The sses were huge and covered almost half of her face. "Song Yang-gege, everyone says I have a baby face. Does this make me look more mature?" she asked.


    "You look like a whole new person!" I chuckled.


    Bingxinughed heartily but Xiaotao gibed, "Nothing can hide your childish face."


    "You¡¯re the childish one!" Bingxin snorted.


    "How am I childish?" Xiaotao retorted.


    "Well, people who call others childish are the most childish!" Bingxin quipped.


    "Those who don¡¯t know how childish they are, are the most childish!"


    Like cats and dogs, the two were at loggerheads every time they met.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you two ashamed to behave like this in public?¡± I reproached. ¡°By the way, I¡¯m going to take a look at the body."


    "But I¡¯ve already dissected the corpse!" Bingxin blurted.


    "It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± I waved my hand. ¡°I¡¯ll just take a look."


    Bingxin uncovered the white cloth, revealing a woman¡¯s body with her open chest cavity. Perhaps it had been some time since Xiaotaost saw a dissected corpse, but she covered her mouth with some difort.


    "Xiaotao-jiejie, would you like some tea?" Bingxin smirked.


    Xiaotao red at Bingxin, fully aware of her deliberate provocation.


    "What have you found?" I interrupted.


    Bingxin walked around the autopsy table with her hands in her pockets and said, "The time of death was about 7:30 to 8:00st night. And the cause of death was asphyxiation and shock brought about by blood reflux when theryngeal vein ruptured. There were no signs of struggle, no drugs found, and no injuries other than the bruises she sustained during her attempt to reach for the phone."


    Bingxin pointed to a stic bag filled with liquid. "That¡¯s the victim¡¯s stomach contents. She had seafood for dinner. From the degree of digestion of the food, the time of death can actually be shortened by a few minutes."


    "So what you¡¯re saying is the victim must have died before 8 o¡¯clock, am I right?" I surmised.


    Bingxin nodded.


    I put on a pair of rubber gloves and checked the wound. The incision was neat, inflicted from the right to left and from an oblique angle, which suggested that the murderer¡¯s dominant hand was his left. I recalled that the suspect was also left-handed.


    Bingxin handed over a fruit knife in an evidence bag. It was very sharp and stained with some solidified blood. "This is the murder weapon found at the scene. The knife edge is consistent with the wound."


    There was no doubt about the murder weapon so I turned my attention to the wound. "There¡¯s some blood in her vocal cords."


    "What?" Bingxin leaned in to have a look. "Oh my God, you¡¯re right!"


    Human vocal cords were located in the middle of the throat and consisted of vocal cord muscles, ligaments and mucous membranes. These vocal folds opened and closed very quickly. Have you ever heard of anyone choking on water in their vocal cords? Almost no one!


    The blood in the victim¡¯s vocal cords indicated that the murderer shed her throat the moment she opened her mouth to scream. Only trained professionals could achieve this reaction speed.


    The victim¡¯s pupils were extremely dted and her expression was of extreme shock. I picked up her limbs and moved them for a moment, squeezing them. Then I got Sun Bingxin to collect several tools from the Necropsy Workshop.


    I briefly discussed the case with Xiaotao until Bingxin returned with the Echolocation Rod, a bottle of chemical solution and some silver needles. I dipped the silver needles in the liquid and inserted them into the victim¡¯s legs muscles.


    "What¡¯s this for?" asked Xiaotao.


    "It¡¯s to measure the pH level,¡± I exined.


    "The pH level?" Xiaotao was puzzled. While Traditional Coroners did use a pH level test to determine if the victim was poisoned, I wasn¡¯t aiming for this at all.


    After waiting for about five minutes, I pulled out the silver needles.


    "The color of the needle has changed!"


    "Was the victim poisoned?" Both Xiaotao and Bingxin asked at the same time.


    "No, this determines the acidity of the muscles immediately before the victim¡¯s death. That¡¯s why the color of the silver needles coated with alkaline water has changed."


    The acidity of the muscles referred to thectic acid produced in the muscles under the condition of high muscle tension. This was the cause of the soreness felt after strenuous exercise.


    Xiaotao asked me what this meant but I didn¡¯t exin right away. Instead, I grabbed the Echolocation Rod and listened to each of the victim¡¯s joints, my other hand slowly correcting the position of the victim¡¯s limbs and restoring it to the posture right before death.


    Since the victim was lying t, her position wasn¡¯t obvious from this angle. I repeated the movements once more. The victim had her arms stretched forward, legs tensed and torso twisted to the left.


    "This movement suggests the victim was acting in self defense. But that¡¯s not at all surprising. Anyone who¡¯s faced with a knife-wielding man would react the same," Xiaotao dismissed.


    "But it¡¯s not just any man. It¡¯s her husband, with whom she spent day and night!¡± I pointed out. ¡°Mr. Ding mentioned that he wasn¡¯t respected at home. If such a man were to grab a knife to hurt his wife, what should his wife¡¯s reaction be?"


    "She¡¯d show defiance!" Bingxin asserted.


    "Yes, you¡¯re right!" I concurred.


    Xiaotao shook her head, "I think this idea is totally far-fetched. How they usually got along doesn¡¯t matter. Her survival instincts would certainly kick in, prompting resistance when encountering fatal danger."


    "Let¡¯s say for example..." I continued.


    I suddenly walked up to Xiaotao, my face almost touching hers. "What are you doing?" she asked in surprise.


    "Why didn¡¯t you dodge?"


    Xiaotaoughed, "I know you won¡¯t hurt me. Why should I dodge?"


    Bingxin frowned, slightly unhappy at our closeness. Although this experiment was a bit abrupt, I was trying to exin a simple principle¨C


    "In psychology, there¡¯s the theory of proxemics! For the average person, a distance of about one meter for acquaintances falls under the safe zone. The safe zone between friends is about half a meter to one meter. And between intimate people, the distance is half a meter to zero. If a stranger crosses the safe zone, we instinctively feel nervous and uneasy. Therefore, the victim¡¯s reactions suggest she wasn¡¯t facing her own husband, but a stranger!"


    "I think..." Xiaotao began.


    Right then, I noticed Bingxin¡¯s shadow on the floor. She sneakily approached me from behind and held a hard object against my throat. "What if someone close to you wants to hurt you?" she queried.


    I wasn¡¯t startled since I anticipated her actions. "Why is your reaction so slow?" Bingxin pouted, disappointed by my reaction.


    "Because I know you won¡¯t hurt me!" The object she was holding against my throat were her sses.


    "A person¡¯s actions will not contradict their character,¡± I noted. ¡°In the eyes of the victim, it¡¯s impossible for her weak husband to do such a thing. Even if he rushed at her with a fruit knife, she wouldn¡¯t have been so frightened or defended herself!"

 Chapter 349

    <h4>Chapter 349</h4>


    "This alone won¡¯t convince me!" Xiaotao objected.


    "I didn¡¯t expect to convince you either,¡± I said. ¡°I was just looking for clues to overturn my preconceptions."


    "Let me ask you a question that might seem offensive,¡± expressed Xiaotao. ¡°Do youe to a conclusion before entering the room and then try every means to prove it, or do youe to a conclusion after seeing the body?"


    I admitted without the slightest hesitation, "It¡¯s true I came here with preconceived notions! I presumed Mr. Ding was innocent and then endeavored to prove it, but my observations are absolutely objective."


    "But now that you¡¯ve formed that preconception, how can you ensure your objectivity and impartiality?"


    I stood there, bereft of speech. Perhaps my mental acuity had yet to return to normal after my recent discharge from the hospital. To be honest, I felt a little dizzy from contemting the case. It was muchter that I realized that this was the negative effect of the Eyes of Yama.


    "There¡¯s no way of convincing you now,¡± I sighed, shaking my head. ¡°My reasons are very simple. I don¡¯t think Mr. Ding killed anyone, and he doesn¡¯t look like a murderer to me."


    "Alright then. Let¡¯s go to the crime scene so you see the error of your ways!" replied Xiaotao.


    "I¡¯ming along as well," Bingxin chimed in.


    "Finish your report!" ordered Xiaotao.


    Xiaotao and I were merely debating the case. We would never stoop to attacking each other. Once we left the building, she was already on another subject entirely, asking how the business was going. She liked the sanitary napkin I brought herst time and even promoted it among her colleagues, winning us new customers.


    "Next time I visit, I¡¯ll bring you some more and sell them to you at wholesale price."


    "No, you have to make money as well,¡± she declined. ¡°I¡¯ll buy it at market price!"


    We went to the parking lot where Xiaotao parked her car. When we drove out, Bingxin was standing at the entrance with a small bag slung over her shoulder. She had changed into a casual outfit suitable for fieldwork.


    Xiaotao frowned, "Why didn¡¯t I look at the lunar calendar before going out today? Now look at who I¡¯ve bumped into!"


    Then she leaned out of the window and yelled, "Go back and finish up the report, or I¡¯ll tell your father!"


    "No, I¡¯ming with you!¡± Bingxin pouted, ¡°I¡¯m so bored in the station and you won¡¯t let me go anywhere! I won¡¯t let go of this rare opportunity."


    "It¡¯s an order!" Xiaotao dered.


    "You¡¯re not my direct superior, so why should I obey your orders?¡± Bingxin disputed. ¡°My forensics teacher has given me the green light and cautioned me not to go too far!"


    Xiaotao reluctantly unlocked the car door, "I don¡¯t know what to do with you! You¡¯re so stubborn. Get in!"


    ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie, you¡¯re the best!" giggled Bingxin.


    "I really can¡¯t handle this youngdy,¡±ined Xiaotao. ¡°I think what Sun Tiger needs is a nanny for this willful youngdy."


    Iughed at Xiaotao¡¯s helplessness, having experienced the same with Bingxin¡¯s usual spoiled behavior. She could drive me to my wit¡¯s end but also amuse me with her little tantrums.


    The three of us soon arrived at the crime scene. Because it was a residential area and the investigation had been concluded, there was no need for monitoring. Xiaotao was about to open the door with the key when I yelled for her to wait.


    I bent down to examine the keyhole, checking for signs of forced entry but found nothing.


    Upon entering the room, Bingxin eximed in shock. The floor and walls were covered in blood and the room was left in a chaotic mess. The outline of the dead body remained on the floor with crime scene markers everywhere the evidence had fallen. Of course, the objects had already been removed.


    "Look, as you can see, there aren¡¯t any more clues," Xiaotao pointed.


    "Any remaining clues will not be visible to the naked eye,¡± I exined. ¡°Mr. Ding said he washed the receipts down the sink. Let¡¯s find out if he¡¯s lying!"


    We put on shoe covers and went into the kitchen. The water pipes under the sink, like most homes, were U-shaped. Wearing my rubber gloves, I unscrewed the nuts at the bottom of the pipe and out sshed sewage, dirtying my clothes.


    I found bits of eggs, vegetable leaves, rice grains and some greasy remains which looked disgusting. Most importantly, the pieces of paper that we were looking for were there.


    I asked Bingxin for a pair of tweezers and carefully picked up each piece, but these were only part of a bigger sheet and didn¡¯t reveal much information. I ced one of the fragments under the light. "This is thermal paper used for printing bills. It should be a receipt!"


    "But you can¡¯t prove that it was washed down the sink at the time,¡± argued Xiaotao.


    "That¡¯s simple to prove,¡± I grinned. ¡°Bingxin-meimei, can you test for the amount of time a piece of paper has been soaking in water?"


    Bingxin nodded, "Although there isn¡¯t an exact test for this, we can soak the same type of paper in water and note the time and changes to the paper."


    "That¡¯s great!¡± Iughed. ¡°We finally have some evidence!"


    Xiaotao immediately poured a bucket of cold water over me, "But this isn¡¯t direct evidence. Whether or not the receipts were destroyed after the crime doesn¡¯t directly prove Mr. Ding¡¯s innocence!"


    "Then let¡¯s keep looking!" I suggested.


    When we returned to the living room, I scanned my surroundings, eyes widening in surprise. "Wait a minute, there¡¯s a huge w in the living room! Do you see it?" I asked.


    Bingxin looked around. "Do you mean the victim¡¯s position?"


    "Song Yang, stop making us wonder,¡± Xiaotao said bluntly. ¡°I don¡¯t see anything out of the ordinary."


    I pointed to the fruit on the ground, "These were previously on the coffee table, right? Take a closer look at the fruits."


    There were bananas, oranges and lychees. It suddenly struck Bingxin, "None of these needs peeling."


    "Exactly!¡± I concurred. ¡°The fruit knife shouldn¡¯t have been on the coffee table!"


    "That¡¯s too far-fetched,¡± Xiaotao shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s normal for people to leave a fruit knife on the coffee table. My dad even has a Japanese sword hanging in his bedroom!"


    ¡°Does your father often dream of killing people?" I joked.


    Xiaotaoughed, "Don¡¯t change the subject! Let¡¯s get back to the case!"


    I pointed to the bookshelf and the CD rack. "The CDs are all arranged in alphabetical order, and the books are arranged ording to their categories. This shows that the wife cares very much about order and might even have a slight Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. People like this usually put away items immediately after they¡¯ve used them. Let¡¯s go to the kitchen and have a look!"


    There was indeed a knife missing from the knife block. "Someone took the knife from here!" I remarked.


    Xiaotao was still unconvinced. I picked up a knife, holding it close to my nose as I sniffed. "This is a meat knife... This one¡¯s for bones... And this is for cooked foods..." When I picked up the smallest knife, I caught a whiff of apple peel on it. A quick check of the trash can confirmed my conjecture. There were apple cores and peels in the garbage that hadn¡¯t been removed. "This is the real fruit knife," I stated, holding up the small knife.


    Upon hearing this, Xiaotao widened her eyes in disbelief.

 Chapter 350

    <h4>Chapter 350</h4>


    Xiaotao remained silent for a long time, perhaps shaken by my discovery. Bingxin and I remained in the kitchen to continue our investigation. A few minutester, Xiaotao returned smiling, "Song Yang, you¡¯re wrong this time!"


    In her hand was a photo from the living room taken by the wife, showing another fruit knife which was the murder weapon.


    "I found this in their photo album,¡± she rified. ¡°Looks like your spider-sense is off! The murder weapon does belong to them!"


    I stared at the photo and insisted, "But there were apples in the fruit bowl then!"


    Xiaotao shook her head firmly, "It¡¯s a fruit knife, and that¡¯s all that matters. Generally speaking, most people distinguish between different types of knives and their specific uses, even more so for a fruit knife."


    Xiaotao and I were at odds, trying to prove each other wrong, and the winner of this round was obviously Xiaotao.


    Our deadlock was interrupted by Bingxin¡¯s loud exmation which led me to believe she had discovered something. Unfortunately, this was what she said: "I used to have the same set of knives in my home. We exchanged it using points during one of the Wanda Supermarket¡¯s events. You can¡¯t just purchase it!¡±


    "You¡¯ve got nothing left to say huh!¡± gloated Xiaotao. ¡°Then again, whether or not the murder weapon is this fruit knife, the fingerprints found on it belong to Mr. Ding."


    The more I thought about the case, the dizzier I felt. I decided to walk out to the balcony for a breather.


    Out on the balcony, I noticed that the window directly opposite of this unit had the curtains drawn and the balcony was empty, devoid of nts or household items. This residential area was situated in a good location with almost no vacant apartments, which aroused my suspicions.


    Xiaotao joined me out on the balcony and patted me on the shoulder, "Song Yang, this is the sixth floor! Even if it¡¯s a frame-up as you said, how did the murderer escape if the neighbors discovered the anomaly soon after the murder?"


    "Mr. Ding left the house at 8:00 pm and the neighbors discovered the anomaly at 8:10, so the murderer had ten minutes," I frowned.


    Xiaotao pointed downstairs, "Do you see a parking lot over there? There was an old man in the parking lot watching TV at the time, facing in this direction. He confirmed no one left the building between 8:00 and 8:30."


    Xiaotao left me with yet another obstacle. I was racking my brains for a reasonable exnation when I overheard the conversation between a man and a woman next door¨C


    "What bad luck! I was ten minuteste for work today and my boss deducted my pay!"


    "I told you to leave earlier, but you wouldn¡¯t listen."


    ¡°How should I know? I left at 7:30 as usual and there wasn¡¯t any traffic on the road. God knows what happened!"


    Upon hearing their conversation, I was thrilled. Those ten minutes were a crucial point in the case.


    ¡°Was this the case reported by the family next door?" I asked Xiaotao.


    "Yes," she nodded.


    "Let¡¯s talk to them!¡±


    After I left the apartment, I took note of the buildingyout. There were four units in total on each floor, two on the left and two on the right while the elevator was in the middle. The left and right units were far apart which meant only the next-door neighbors could hear movement in this unit.


    Xiaotao was about to knock on the door but I motioned for her to stop as I stared at the keyhole.


    "What are you looking at?¡±ughed Xiaotao. ¡°Do you suspect the neighbors?"


    "There are signs of forced entry, and it¡¯s very recent!" I noted.


    "So what? What does that prove?¡± Xiaotao retorted. ¡°Maybe they¡¯ve been robbed."


    A clear picture had formed in my mind. The dialogue between the couple next door and this keyhole was enough for me to confidently affirm that Mr. Ding was by no means the murderer!


    When we knocked on the door, the woman looked surprised at our visit. "Officers, aren¡¯t you done with your investigation? What can I do for you?" she asked.


    "I have a question for you. Is your clock urate?" I began.


    "Yes, we follow the time shown on the TV!" she maintained.


    ncing at my cell phone, I added, "It¡¯s 1:46 pm now. What time is it on your clock?"


    She left and returned, holding her head in bewilderment. "That¡¯s strange. Why is the clock slow? It¡¯s only 1:36 on my clock!"


    "Thank you!" I smiled.


    Still flummoxed, the woman exchanged some pleasantries and closed the door.


    Judging from Xiaotao¡¯s expression, she seemed to have realized something as well. "How did you confirm the time? Mr. Ding supposedly left his home at 8:00 pm, the neighbors noticed something unusual at 8:10, and at 8:30, Mr. Ding returned."


    "Both Mr. Ding and his neighbor reported that he left the house at 8:00. The neighbor gave the statement for the discovery at 8:10 and everyone unanimously stated Mr. Ding returned at 8:30. At the time, because of the seriousness of the matter, many people were rmed."


    "I get it now!¡± I shouted. ¡°This is what happened. Earlier yesterday, the murderer entered the neighbor¡¯s home and dialed the clock back by ten minutes. Mr. Ding left his home at 8 when the neighbor¡¯s clock showed 7:50. The murderer immediately entered the Dings¡¯ home and killed Mrs. Ding, then mmed the door. It was 8:10 but only 8 on the neighbor¡¯s clock. At 8:10, which was actually 8:20, the neighbor noticed something unusual and called Mr. Ding. It took him ten minutes to get back, but when he got home, it was 8:30, which perfectly answers why Mr. Ding took ten minutes to reach the nearby park but 20 minutes to get back."


    "That¡¯s soplicated!" Bingxin looked at me, tongue-tied.


    I shook my finger. "It¡¯s notplicated at all. To simplify things, the murderer created the illusion of Mr. Ding leaving by mming the door, which the neighbor overheard!"


    "Why didn¡¯t he leave quietly after murdering the victim?¡± puzzled Xiaotao. ¡°I mean, why make such a loud noise?"


    "To frame Mr. Ding of course!"


    "But the old man in the parking lot said that no one left the building between 8:00 to 8:30,¡± Xiaotao raised another point of contradiction.


    "That¡¯s easy to solve!¡± I assured her. ¡°Wait here for a minute!"


    I quickly went downstairs, grabbed my Autopsy Umbre and hurried back up. When the elevator reached their floor, I told Bingxin and Xiaotao to join me. Then, I hit another button and waited till we reached the top floor to exin, "The roofs are connected, so the murderer could¡¯ve left the building via the other buildings!"


    Sunlight spilled in as soon as I opened the door to the roof. I opened the Autopsy Umbre and found a trail of footprints on the stairs.


    The footprints were size 39 and tended to extend forward, each print clear and distinct. After Xiaotao snapped a photo of the footprints, we followed the trail all the way to another building where they continued down the stairs.


    With how cautious the murderer was, he would certainly avoid the elevator. There was no need to check the middle floors either. First off, there wasn¡¯t any sunlight, and secondly, the stairwell and corridors were often frequented so the footprints would¡¯ve long been destroyed.


    I now had a clear outline of the crime. While Mr. Ding was quarreling with his wife, the murderer was hiding in the corridor upstairs. As soon as Mr. Ding left, he immediately entered the home, killed Mrs. Ding and fled via the roof.


    "Song Yang-gege, you¡¯re amazing!¡± Bingxin apuded. ¡°You managed to overturn the case just like that!"


    "Hold on, I¡¯m waiting for a photo from the bureau!" Xiaotao interjected.


    Shortly after, she handed me her cell phone and scrolled back and forth between two photos¨CMr. Ding¡¯s footprint and the one we had just discovered. The two footprints were an exact match. But how could that be just a coincidence? The way a person walked was distinct, with subtle differences from person to person, depending on how they distributed their weight. Some people ced more weight on the heels while others had the habit of lifting their heels.


    Based on these two sets of footprints, even I had to admit they were left by the same person.


    "The murderer is very smart indeed, but his footprints betrayed him.¡± Xiaotao concluded, ¡°The murderer is Mr. Ding himself. After leaving at 8, he quickly turned around and killed his wife."


    "And then pointed the evidence towards himself?" I arched an eyebrow.


    If Mr. Ding was as smart as Xiaotao thought he was, would he have been arrested immediately?


    I answered the question for her, "The footprints belong to another person, and this person has perfectly copied Mr. Ding¡¯s gait!"

 Chapter 351

    <h4>Chapter 351</h4>


    By this point, Xiaotao waspletely convinced by my reasoning. "So you believe that the murderer¡¯s purpose of killing Mrs. Ding is to frame Mr. Ding?"


    "I can¡¯t say for certain,¡± I waved my hand. ¡°The frame-up can be considered killing two birds with one stone. It not only allows the murderer to go scot-free, but it also pins the me on someone else. We cannot yet determine which is the real motive. But we can say that the investigation of the case has just begun!¡±


    "From the murderer¡¯s point of view, what if there¡¯s a hup in one of the links of his n? For example, what if the neighbor noticed the clock was slow?" Bingxin queried.


    "The murderer would probably halt his ns for now and wait for a better opportunity. After all, who¡¯s going to call the police to report a slow clock?!"


    Xiaotao gently tapped her clenched fist against her head as if she were sorting out her thoughts. Half a minuteter, she said, ¡°The case is about to enter a trial. If you want to reopen the case, these alone are not enough because the material evidence we¡¯ve gathered is enough to convict Mr. Ding. The prosecutor will not have the patience to listen to your reasoning. You must produce key evidence."


    "You can speak to Mr. Ding¡¯swyer,¡± suggested Bingxin. ¡°Tell him about this so he can plead not guilty."


    "That doesn¡¯t do anything,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°Our aim isn¡¯t to prove Mr. Ding¡¯s innocence but to find out whomitted the crime! ording to the legal doctrine, ¡®Non bis in idem,¡¯ no legal action can be instituted twice for the same cause of action. Even if Mr. Ding is found innocent, the real murderer is still atrge."


    "Are the words ¡®still atrge¡¯ of the greatest shame to you?"ughed Xiaotao.


    "You know me!" I chuckled.


    "Song Yang-gege, how do you know so much?!¡± praised Bingxin. ¡°I once watched an American TV series where a man was used of killing his own daughter. He used the fact that he killed his wife to prove that he didn¡¯t kill his daughter. However, he was acquitted before the trial for the murder of his wife and he swaggered out of court like a boss."


    "How arrogant!¡± I sniffed. ¡°However, that¡¯s justice for you. And sometimes it can be really rigid."


    "My father wanted me to be awyer,¡± sighed Bingxin. ¡°I told him, ¡®What¡¯s so good about being awyer?!¡¯ How guilty would I feel if I knew I was defending a criminal!"


    "Let¡¯s stop chatting and get back to work!¡± interrupted Xiaotao. ¡°Should we double back to the crime scene?"


    Upon further contemtion, I agreed to take another look at the scene. This time, webed through the apartment, scouring for clues, though we came up empty. The murderer did a thorough job.


    We left the crime scene at 4:00 pm. Bingxin was very excited to hear that Dali had set up his own business and wanted to visit the store.


    "Dali has a girlfriend now. She¡¯s a lovely junior from our school."


    "Really? Take me to meet her!" Bingxin beamed.


    Judging from her reaction, Bingxin merely regarded Dali as an ordinary friend. On the eve of graduation, the idiot was still torn between Bingxin and Luo Youyou, but it seemed his worries were for naught.


    The girls decided to return to the station to punch in, then meet up with Dali together. Right past the doors of the station, an officer came up to us and reported, "Captain Huang, the suspect secretly picked up a call in the afternoon. I asked him who it was and he imed he didn¡¯t know!"


    "Didn¡¯t we confiscate his cell phone?" Xiaotao asked in surprise.


    "He has two cell phones,¡± exined the officer. ¡°So he handed one in and hid the other."


    Concerned about this matter, I grabbed the evidence bag with the cell phone. The call Mr. Ding received this afternoon came from a strange number. Xiaotao assigned an officer to check its origins. It was a name I had never heard of.


    Xiaotao took out her cell phone and started dialling. As soon as the call connected, a man scowled, "I¡¯m downstairs Building 4. Come down now!"


    It took us both a moment to react¨Cthe man was probably a courier. "Hello, I am an officer from the Nanjiang City Bureau. Did you call the number 1014 in the afternoon? Were you delivering something?"


    "A conman? Fuck off!" he growled.


    And with that, the man dropped the call. Eyes burning with anger, Xiaotao ordered the officer next to her, "Have the operator call him again!"


    "Does it show 110 when the operator calls?" asked Bingxin.


    "That¡¯s not how it works,¡± I shook my head. ¡°You can¡¯t dial out from 110."


    After speaking to the call operator, the courier was convinced we were the real deal. He politely exined that he was supposed to deliver a parcel to the neighborhood in the afternoon, addressed to Mrs. Ding. But because he couldn¡¯t get through to her, he called the alternative contact number provided in the details which was Mr. Ding¡¯s. He described the parcel as a rectangr box, though he couldn¡¯t say what the contents were.


    "Come to the station and drop it off here!"


    There was a hint of reluctance in the courier¡¯s voice, "I still have a lot of parcels to deliver. Can this wait?"


    "Come now and I¡¯ll tip you 200 yuan," Xiaotao offered.


    "I¡¯ll be right there," The courier¡¯s attitude immediately underwent a 180 transformation.


    Fifteen minutester, the courier came in his battery car and handed us a package. Upon opening it, we were greeted with the exact fruit knife as the murder weapon, still tightly bound with bubble wrap.


    "Take it for fingerprint analysis!" ordered Xiaotao.


    "There¡¯s no need for that,¡± I asserted. ¡°This is a new knife, and it¡¯s also key evidence!"


    "What do you mean?" Xiaotao had her reservations.


    I turned the box in front of her and smiled, "Don¡¯t you understand? Why did Mrs. Ding purchase an identical knife?"


    Bingxin was first to wise up to the fact. "I see! The original knife was missing!"


    Bingxin¡¯s words had Xiaotao knocked for a loop. Although Bingxin¡¯s little head was usually filled with all her wild imaginations, this time she was right on the money. "You¡¯re right,¡± I nodded. ¡°This knife has solved two points of uncertainty."


    The knife used to cut the apple was temporarily used as a fruit knife because the real one was lost.


    Then there were the fingerprints on the murder weapon which could now be exined. The murderer had stolen the fruit knife beforemitting the crime. Since the knife originally belonged to the Dings, it wasn¡¯t at all surprising to find Mr. Ding¡¯s fingerprints on it. As for the knife in our hands, it was the recement Mrs. Ding ordered after losing the fruit knife.


    In other words, the murder weapon was brought into the crime scene by the murderer¨Cit wasn¡¯t originally there!


    "Who would¡¯ve thought we¡¯d have such an important piece of evidence delivered straight to our door!¡± Xiaotao snapped her fingers. ¡°I¡¯ll immediately apply for a reinvestigation!"


    While Xiaotao went through the formalities, I dropped by the detention room. Mr. Ding was still sitting listlessly in his chair, looking forlorn. Upon noticing me, he perked up. "Officer, have you found any clues?"


    "Do you have any enemies?" I asked cryptically.


    Mr. Ding took a moment to respond, "I¡¯m just an ordinary Section Chief. Why would I have any enemies?"


    "What about your wife?" I added.


    "My wife?¡± Mr. Ding shook his head, ¡°She¡¯s just an ordinary housewife. How could she have any enemies?"


    Clearly, we needed a detailed investigation into the couple¡¯s interpersonal rtionships. "Don¡¯t worry,¡± I assured him. ¡°We¡¯ve made some significant progress. We will definitely catch the real murderer and prove your innocence!"


    Mr. Ding excitedly wiped away his tears, "Thank you, officer! I¡¯m so lucky to have met you! How should I address you?"


    I was most afraid of people looking to repay my kindness so I modestly replied, "I¡¯m just a criminal consultant. I don¡¯t have any authority."


    "Don¡¯t lie to me,¡± cried Mr. Ding. ¡°The captain even brought you a chair and listened to you. You must be some big shot! By the way, can I go home now?"


    That wasn¡¯t something I could decide. Right then, Xiaotao entered the room and snapped, "No, you can¡¯t! You¡¯ll be held here for a few more days!"

 Chapter 352

    <h4>Chapter 352</h4>


    "We haven¡¯tpletely cleared you of suspicion, but you can be assured we will try our best to prove your innocence," Xiaotao gave her word.


    "As long as you don¡¯t charge me for something I didn¡¯t do!¡± Mr. Ding acquiesced. ¡°I can do whatever you need me to! But here¡¯s the thing¨Ca few days in jail won¡¯t look good for me so I hope the police can write a letter proving my innocence to my department when this is all over."


    Xiaotao nodded, to which Mr. Ding reciprocated with words of gratitude.


    In fact, there were many cautious and conscientious people like Mr. Ding who felt as if the sky would fall if they lost their iron rice bowl. Therefore, the first thing he did upon learning of his wife¡¯s death wasn¡¯t to wail over the corpse, but to dispose of the receipts that might have been detrimental to himself.


    After this new development had blown over, it was already past 5:00 pm. Xiaotao and Bingxin nned to visit Dali after work. I joked, "Xiaotao, have you ever imagined getting off work with Bingxin-meimei?"


    "Never!" Xiaotaoughed, "I don¡¯t think I can ever get off on time."


    Bingxin sighed, "Life would be perfect if I can grab dinner and spend time with Song Yang-gege after work every day!"


    "Keep dreaming, Ms Sun!" Xiaotao sniggered.


    At the store, business was booming after work hours. Except for some men apanying their girlfriends, the store was basically full of women.


    "Business is so good!¡± eximed Xiaotao. ¡°I think I might start the same business once I retire from the force."


    I pointed to Luo Youyou at the counter and said, "That¡¯s Dali¡¯s girlfriend!"


    Bingxin covered her mouth, "Wow, what a cutie! She looks like a high school student. Is she a minor?"


    "Of course not!" I said.


    Dali was so busy that even I felt guilty. I proposed we find a restaurant to have dinner, my treat, of course.


    Xiaotao interjected, "Let¡¯s have a look at your ce first!" Bingxin raised her hands in favor.


    I brought them to our apartment, feeling slightly embarrassed upon entering the living room. "The ce is a little messy... Um..."


    To my pleasant surprise, the apartment was clean and tidy, probably thanks to Luo Youyou. The little girl was very diligent indeed.


    "If this is too messy, your future wife must have it hard," teased Xiaotao.


    "It doesn¡¯t matter, I don¡¯t mind!" Bingxin immediately retorted.


    "You shameless girl!" Xiaotao chided.


    Dali had prepared a bunk bed which reminded me very much of our dormitory, though I hadn¡¯t tested the bed yet. Bingxin plopped onto bed with both arms open wide, "It feels like I¡¯m back in school."


    "The bed is so soft andfortable!¡± Bingxin rolled around. ¡°Song Yang-gege, can I sleep in your bed?"


    Unsure of what to say, I waved my hand. "Go ahead!"


    Bingxin took off her coat and shoes while Xiaotao stood there, reprimanding, "Youngdy, don¡¯t you know girls shouldn¡¯t enter boys¡¯ rooms?"


    Bingxin covered herself with the nket and spat her tongue, "Bite me!"


    "Do you think I¡¯m scared?!" Xiaotao huffed.


    Xiaotao removed her coat and shoes as well, sitting astride Bingxin as she tickled her sides. Bingxin giggled uncontrobly and begged for mercy. The girls were so rowdy they almost tore down the bed.


    "Should I order takeout?" I suggested.


    "Up to you!" The two were too immersed in roughhousing to pay me any attention.


    It was my first time ordering takeout from this area, so I took a considerable amount of time selecting a restaurant. By the time I turned around, the girls were asleep, lying side by side in bed, taking deep, even breaths. It seemed the long day had taken its toll on them.


    Looking at this harmonious scene, I couldn¡¯t resist a warm smile.


    A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. I presumed it was the delivery man but it turned out to be Dali. "Dude, why are you back so early?¡± he asked curiously. ¡°Oh my God!"


    Dali cast a look of surprise on the two girls in my bed and then looked me up and down. "Did I miss anything?¡±


    "Get your mind out of the gutter!" I yelled.


    "What a beautiful picture this is!¡± Dali grinned. ¡°Let¡¯s snap a photo of it as a reminder."


    "No way!" I stopped him.


    "I didn¡¯t know you were so possessive!" cried Dali.


    Do unto others as you would have them do unto you¨Cthat was the motto I lived by. The constant threats from Lao Yao with my topless photo left a deep impression on me. I didn¡¯t want anyone to feel the same vition of privacy.


    Soon our food arrived, so I woke the girls and the four of us sat down to eat dinner together. Later in the evening, Dali brought us and Luo Youyou to a nearby karaoke lounge to sing the night away. After their short nap, Xiaotao and Bingxin were energetic and raring to go, both providing much entertainment. Xiaotao perfectly imitated a popr female singer while Bingxin serenaded us with a few of her favorites, such as "Ruling the World" and "Koi Song,¡± which were astonishing to hear.


    Under their instigations, I too sang a song. But with my limited repertoire, I settled for an embarrassing rendition of Jay Chou¡¯s new song "Waiting for You."


    We had a whale of a time and before we left, Dali had somehow pieced together a weird ensemble¨Ca pair of sunsses and a toothpick between his lips. He stuffed a bag into Xiaotao¡¯s hands. "Officer Huang, this is a little token from me!"


    Then, it was Bingxin¡¯s turn to receive her share which was more sanitary napkins.


    Xiaotao nodded, "You¡¯re a good kid. Thanks for the gift. If you have any problems in the future, pleasee to me."


    "See you tomorrow!" I said.


    The girls waved from the car, "See you tomorrow." And with that, Xiaotao left with Bingxin.


    "It¡¯s not so often we get together and have fun,¡± sighed Dali. ¡°Dude, how does it feel without me being your assistant?"


    "It¡¯s not so bad,¡± I joked. ¡°My work efficiency has increased all of a sudden!"


    "Really? So it turns out that I¡¯ve been holding you back all along." Dali looked forlorn.


    I patted him on the shoulder, "I¡¯m just kidding! Without you, I¡¯ll have to learn to take better care of myself!"


    "That you must!¡± Dali concurred. ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll send Youyou back first!"


    I went back to our shared apartment alone, suddenly conscious of the fact that this wasn¡¯t our familiar school dormitory. Without my boisterous roommates, the ce was a little lonely, rather cold and cheerless. I wondered how long the limatization to my new situation would take.


    Early next morning, I arrived at the station just in time for the case discussion. Most officers were still unaware about the changes in the case. After hearing our new clues and deductions, many were quite surprised.


    Xiaotao turned to me and said, "Song Yang was the first to identify the suspicious aspects of the case. When we went to reexamine the crime scene yesterday, the clues we foundpletely convinced me of his spections! We¡¯vee to a preliminary conclusion that there is someone else behind the murder so we must reopen investigations and expand our scope."


    "What are you thinking?" asked an officer.


    "For now, we must investigate Mr. and Mrs. Ding¡¯s interpersonal rtionships to see if they have any enemies. Additionally, we will analyze from all angles. This also means speaking to more witnesses in themunity to check for suspicious persons over the past week."


    "Is there a specific direction we should look into?"


    When Xiaotao threw the question at me, a thought suddenly crossed my mind. "Check the vacant unit opposite the crime scene! Look for witnesses in Building 4 and ask if they saw a man exit the building after 8:10 on the night of the crime."


    Then, I gave a brief description of the man. Although I wasn¡¯t certain of his height and appearance, I was positive his gait and habitual patterns were very simr to Mr. Ding¡¯s!

 Chapter 353

    <h4>Chapter 353</h4>


    Xiaotao assigned the officers their tasks and dismissed them.


    While waiting for the results of their investigation, I returned to the store. Because there weren¡¯t as many customers in the morning, Dali had gone out to market our product. When I got there, Luo Youyou was ying nts vs Zombies on theputer. My presence made her a little nervous since I was also considered her boss.


    I waved my hand and said, "It¡¯s alright. Continue with your game!"


    ¡°Song Yang, don¡¯t you have any cases to solve today?" she asked.


    "Even investigations require division ofbor,¡± I exined. ¡°My part is done. In fact, a consultant¡¯s job is rather rxing."


    "You feel rxed because you like the job,¡± Luo Youyouughed. ¡°I heard from Dali that solving crimes is very difficult."


    I watched as she continued her game. nts vs Zombies wasn¡¯t a game I usually yed, so many of the intermediate levels were new to me. I saw two Peashooters among her nts, one of which was grey and wasn¡¯t shooting peas.


    I asked curiously, "Is this a new nt?"


    "No, this is called Imitater and its special ability is copying other nts... Oh, no, I was so engrossed in our conversation I didn¡¯t even notice that my sunflower was eaten!"


    Her words seemed to inspire an idea in my head. As I contemted, I finished up some chores and organized the shelves. More often than not, I found doing menial tasks was helpful for brainwork.


    I stayed in the store all morning and even helped sell some of our products, thoughcking in eloquence. The girlsughed at my rmendations which I fumbled through with much stuttering.


    When Dali came back at noon and caught me promoting a product, he seemed surprised. "Dude, howe you¡¯re here?"


    "I wanted to familiarize myself with the business,¡± I said. ¡°I can¡¯t just leave everything to you, can I? I¡¯ll drop by when I¡¯m not investigating cases. I¡¯ll do whatever I can."


    "Sounds great!¡± he grinned. ¡°I¡¯ll teach you what you need to know."


    After spending a day at the store, I received a call from Xiaotao at about 4:00 pm. "Song Yang, we¡¯ve found some clues. The apartment opposite of the Ding home was rented out but thendlord has never met the tenant! Thendlord says a man called after seeing the advertisement and paid for 3 months¡¯ rent through WeChat. He asked thendlord to ce the key in the milk box."


    "That sounds suspicious!"


    "Would you like to take a look at the ce?" she asked.


    "Yes, I¡¯m in the store now," I answered.


    A whileter, Xiaotao arrived in her car outside the store. We drove to Mr. Ding¡¯s residential area where officers were still questioning several residents. ording to reports from neighbors, the apartment seemedpletely uninhabited. The tenant opened neither the windows nor the door. They didn¡¯t even hear the sound of his toilet flushing.


    On one asion, the next-door neighbor was on the balcony in the middle of the night when he saw mes flickering on and off behind the window of that apartment. Frightened out of his wits, he immediately assumed it was a burr. He went to the property manager only to discover that the unit was actually rented out.


    The neighbor wondered if the man was a bit of a loony for standing motionless at the window in the middle of the night without any light on while smoking a cigarette.


    Xiaotao and I headed to the apartment and found the door locked. I looked into the milk box near the door and found a key which perfectly fit the lock. As soon as I opened the door, we were choked by the overwhelming odor of cigarettes and dust. God knows how long it had been since the ce was ventted.


    There was a TV in the living room and countless cigarette butts and leftover food wrappers littered around the couch which was covered in newspapers and magazines.


    I picked up a cigarette butt and carefully examined it. "The man is left-handed... Wait a minute, I remember seeing this exact brand of cigarettes in Mr. Ding¡¯s home. So this man smokes the same cigarettes as Mr. Ding!¡± I surmised. ¡°Xiaotao, could you go to the Dings¡¯ home? I need to confirm something."


    Xiaotao agreed and left at once. A few minutester, her call came through. I turned on speaker and ced my phone on the TV.


    Picking up the wrappers on the ground, I sniffed them one by one. "Do the Dings have the same food in their home?"


    A momentter, Xiaotao¡¯s excited voice sounded from the other end, "I found the exact same instant noodles, beer, and even peanuts. But I¡¯m not sure about the other!"


    I grabbed a magazine and read the issue number. "Do you see a World Ser issue 128, Financial Times issue 6 and copies ofst week¡¯s Nanjiang Daily?"


    After a brief pause, Xiaotao blurted, "I see all of them!"


    I moved on to the TV and found that it had a recording function. Like before, I read out each channel which Xiaotao confirmed Mr. Ding also watched.


    Additionally, I found hemorrhoid ointment and two artificial walnuts which Mr. Ding also possessed.


    This man rented an apartment opposite Mr. Ding, smoked the same cigarettes, ate the same food, watched the same channels and read the same books. I couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of the Imitater from nts vs Zombies. He was imitating Mr. Ding! The suspect was an expert imitator who specialized in frame-ups.


    "You cane back now!" I said.


    When Xiaotao returned, I opened the Autopsy Umbre, allowing sunlight from the window to shine through the umbre and onto the floor covered in footprints the same size as Mr. Ding¡¯s. The footprints showed the suspect¡¯s gait gradually conforming to Mr. Ding¡¯s, which suggested he was constantly adjusting his state to match Mr. Ding.


    Xiaotao sighed, "If this man switched to acting, he would¡¯ve won an Oscar!"


    "Unfortunately, he chose to be a hitman."


    "Hitman?" Xiaotao stared wide-eyed at me.


    "This is a very special kind of hitman. His method is to observe the target, figure out the target, then imitate him and finally transform himself into the target,¡± I concluded. ¡°Then, using tools from the target¡¯s home, hemits the crimes so that all evidence points to the target."


    "That¡¯s horrible!¡± cried Xiaotao. ¡°Why haven¡¯t wee across simr cases?"


    "Perhaps this has been going on for some time,¡± I mused. ¡°His work is so meticulous that he¡¯s managed to pull a fast one on the police and turned innocent people into convicted criminals! We must find him and prevent this tragedy from ever happening again."


    Xiaotao nodded, "Should we bag these cigarette butts and wrappers?"


    "Yes, there may be DNA left on them!"


    Now that we positioned the murderer as a professional hitman, the direction of our investigation turned to possible acquaintances who would hire a hitman to frame Mr. Ding. However, this was where we hit a snag.


    During this period of time, besides helping out in the store, I asked Xiaotao to bring me files of the recent criminal cases in Nanjiang City. It took me quite some time and effort to go through these case files, and I paid special attention to simple, open-and-shut cases.


    But what we never expected was a simr murder urred during our investigation. And this time, it was another seemingly ordinary case of uxoricide!

 Chapter 354

    <h4>Chapter 354</h4>


    A weekter, Xiaotao called to inform me of the location of a second murder.


    Awoken by the ring of my cell phone, Dali said in a daze, "Dude, I¡¯ll drive you there!"


    "Alright, I¡¯ll let you know when I¡¯m ready!"


    I didn¡¯t wake him but quietly slipped out the door and called for a cab.


    The crime scene was an underground parking lot which was already cordoned off. Several police cars and ambnces had arrived at the scene. Passers-by on the night shift stood outside watching the bustle. Passing the barricade tape, I noticed the technical team taking photos and bagging up the evidence. Then, I saw the murder scene.


    I was greeted by a gruesome picture¨Cthe victim¡¯s upper body was an indistinguishable bloody mess. Like a pancake, her bodyy smack on a concrete column, surrounded by blood spatter. Only one of her legs was attached to the body, still dressed in a skirt, with one foot wearing a sandal.


    On the other side of the victim were several parallel tire tracks on the ground.


    The murder urred at about 10:00 pmst night. At the time, the couple had a fierce argument in the parking lot. There was no one around but surveince videos recorded the entire incident.


    The wife turned and walked away when the husband elerated and hit her with the car, mming her against the wall. But he didn¡¯t stop there; he repeatedly reversed and pounded his wife into a meat patty before finally stopping!


    Then, the husband drove away in the damaged car, bumper still badly deformed, heading to an automatic car wash five kilometers away. The car wash manager noticed the blood and quickly called the police.


    At about midnight, the suspect was stopped by police on a highway out of the city and arrested on the spot.


    I nced at the body, noticing indentations that were indeed left by the impact of the front bumper. I turned to Xiaotao, "Why do you think it¡¯s our hitman?"


    "It¡¯s just my gut feeling!¡± she replied. ¡°The evidence is conclusive and irrefutable and it¡¯s very simr to the previous case. I called you in to have a look. It¡¯s better to be thorough than wrong an innocent man."


    "I agree!" I nodded.


    Putting on rubber gloves, I began the autopsy. The victim was female, in her thirties, simr in age to the previous victim. The time of death was indisputable¨Cfour hours ago when her internal organs ruptured.


    The victim had a tinum wedding ring on her right hand and seemed to be holding something. I opened up her palm to see a cell phone. Xiaotao confirmed that thest call was from her husband.


    Although the body was in a ghastly state, there weren¡¯t many clues to because the murder wasn¡¯tmitted by the killer¡¯s own hands.


    I walked over to the other side to examine the tracks on the ground. There were even scorch marks where friction was strongest between the tires and the ground. "How do you elerate fast enough to kill someone in such a short distance?"


    "You don¡¯t drive, so you may not know. But there is one technique¨Cstep on the brakes and elerator at the same time and the moment the brakes are released, the car elerates very quickly,¡± exined Xiaotao. ¡°But this damages the engine of course."


    "What do you think of this guy¡¯s driving skills?" I asked.


    Xiaotao studied the brake marks on the ground. "He was able to repeatedly reverse and crash into the victim in a swift motion, avoiding even the car that was parked so close to him. He¡¯s definitely got skills!"


    "Does the suspect fit the profile?"


    "The suspect is a driving instructor, and his driving skills are definitely first-ss,¡± sheughed. ¡°It¡¯s consistent with the case."


    "Alright then, let¡¯s have a look at the surveince video!" I urged.


    We headed to the security room and asked for the surveince video shot at the time. The video was divided into two sections which were taken by two cameras. One was the scene of the suspect and his wife quarreling in the parking lot which clearly showed their identities while the other was of the husband crashing the car into his wife at a high speed. Unfortunately, the angle made it impossible to capture the driver¡¯s face.


    I reyed the videos several times, picked up a pencil and pointed at the first video. "Why is that corner missing?" I asked.


    "It¡¯s probably dirty,¡± the security guard replied. ¡°The cameras are rather sensitive so we have professionalse to clean it regrly. This doesn¡¯t fall under our responsibility."


    Xiaotao made a phone call to one of the officers and asked him to check the camera. My intuition told me there was more to this than what meets the eye since the back of the car was so conveniently blocked out in the video. A few minutester, the officer reported, "Captain Huang, there¡¯s a piece of gum paper stuck to the lens."


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a meaningful look. If someone wanted to deliberately block the camera, wouldn¡¯t it make more sense for him to cover all the other cameras? So obviously, that wasn¡¯t his purpose. He wanted the cameras to catch certain images, but not everything.


    "Show me the other videos," I instructed.


    The security guard froze, "But that¡¯s it!"


    "I want to look at the rest!"


    The security guard muttered a word of affirmation and pulled up the rest of the videos. I noticed that at least three of them were dirty or appeared to have something covering the lenses.


    I noticed a floor n of the parking lot on the wall and marked it with a pencil. "This is the ce where the first video was taken, and this is the second. There¡¯s a distance of about five meters between the two cameras!"


    After a brief survey of the floor n, Xiaotao nodded.


    I snapped a photo and left the security room with Xiaotao. "The parking lot isn¡¯t an easy ce to control because cars can enter anytime and park anywhere,¡± I analyzed. ¡°Therefore, the murderer must have made quite a few arrangements and prepared for more than one backup n!"


    "I just noticed the time difference between the two surveince videos, which is about two minutes."


    Xiaotao arched her eyebrows, "Two minutes? That¡¯s not much time at all!"


    I pointed to the empty space in front of me, "It¡¯s about five meters from this area to that. Even an old man with weak legs can cover this distance in two minutes. But the victim took longer than that. Was there something in the blind spot that dyed her?"


    I quickly walked back to the crime scene to retrieve the victim¡¯s cell phone which had been ced in an evidence bag. The screen was cracked but it was still working. When I turned it on, I noticed that thest call came in two minutes before the murder.


    I called out to Xiaotao, hands gesticting for her toe over to the ce where the couple had quarreled. "Around 10:30, the husband and wife had an argument here!"


    Then I walked towards the blind spot. "Their argumentsted for about five minutes before the wife walked over here and received a phone call from her husband. She stood right here in the blind spot. At this moment, the car came hurtling towards the wife."


    Xiaotao stood where I was standing, turned around and observed, "If the person who killed her wasn¡¯t her husband, but the Imitator, the victim would have seen him from this angle since the light in the parking lot was as bright as it is now!"


    While I pondered over the matter, Xiaotao raised another question: "But how did the Imitator switch ces with her husband in the car?"


    "The cameras didn¡¯t capture the back half of the car so the Imitator could have entered through the back door and knocked him unconscious with whatever means. The wife was definitely able to see her husband in the driver¡¯s seat."


    "If that¡¯s the case, shouldn¡¯t she be able to tell whether or not he was conscious from five meters away?" Xiaotao pointed out.


    ¡°Perhaps she has myopia..." I spected, though I hadn¡¯t yet confirmed my theory because the victim¡¯s entire head was smashed in.


    "What did the suspect say in the interrogation?"


    "What a coincidence!¡± she smiled wryly. ¡°He imed he was drugged but a urine test showed no drug residue in his body!"

 Chapter 355: The Great Detective, Li Changyu

    Chapter 355: The Great Detective, Li Changyu


    "No drug residue in his body?" I mused. If that was the case, how did the murderer switch identities in the car?


    Of course, all our current deductions were based on the preconception that the murderer was the Imitator. But there was another possibility¨Cit might just be a simple case of uxoricide.


    If so, the evidence collected so far was conclusive enough to convict the suspect at once. But it was exactly this reason that propelled my doubts.


    I waved my hand, "Let¡¯s talk to the witness. Is the car wash manager still at work?"


    "The man was on the night shift and should still be there," nodded Xiaotao.


    "By the way, do me a favor, won¡¯t you?"


    I asked Xiaotao to send an officer into the detention room to take a video of the suspect in custody. Xiaotao was curious about my intentions, to which I mysteriously replied, "It¡¯lle in handy!"


    We drove to the car wash, where dirty vehicles entered the automatic equipment and came out looking brand-new. I suddenly recalled that Chinese detective Li Changyu had once solved a seemingly simple yetplicated case. A man had quarreled with someone in a restaurant, dragged him outside and beat him half dead. Then, he ran over him with his car and scrubbed the car afterwards.


    There were a lot of eyewitnesses to the crime but no material evidence. Only when the suspect''s car was taken apart did Li Changyu discover a small patch of blood on the chassis which was enough to convict the man.


    In fact, many of Li Changyu¡¯s cases were very simple, without the twists and turns shown in movies and TV series. However, his perseverance and persistence were worth learning from for every detective.


    Right then, a young man covered with e walked up and asked us if we wanted to wash our car. Xiaotao shed his badge, surprising the young man.


    "Officer! Weren¡¯t your colleagues just here? What else do you want to know?" the young man cried.


    I got down from the car and asked, "What drew your attention to the man earlier?"


    "Everything! How could I not have noticed that his bumper was all deformed and covered in blood?!¡± eximed the car wash manager. ¡°At a nce, it was obvious he had been up to no good!"


    "Did the man get out of his car?"


    "Yes, he bought a pack of cigarettes from across the street after cleaning his car," nodded the manager.


    I got him to describe the suspect¡¯s height and characteristics, then showed him the suspect''s photo. "Is this him?" I questioned.


    The manager scratched his head, stared for a long time and finally shook his head, "Doesn¡¯t look like him!"


    Then I pulled up the video of the suspect walking back and forth in the detention room, to which the young man said with great certainty, "Yes! That''s him. That¡¯s exactly how he walks!"


    Clearly, the manager hadn¡¯t realized that the man in the photo and video were the same person. Xiaotao arched an eyebrow in surprise while I thanked him and headed to our car. "Does he have face blindness?" she asked.


    "Although most people might joke about this, the incidence of this disease is very low,¡± I remarked. ¡°I think his cognitive ability ispletely normal."


    "Then why didn''t he recognize the suspect from the photo but from the video instead?" argued Xiaotao.


    "In fact, a person''s perception of another is eight percent by face, while the rest is all bodynguage, speech and behavior!¡± I exined. ¡°The Imitator knows this very well, which is why there¡¯s no need for him to change his face. All he needs to do is perfectly clone another person''s bodynguage and manner of speaking, which is enough to confuse most strangers."


    "So you¡¯re sure the Imitator did this?"


    "I¡¯d like to say I¡¯m eighty percent sure!" I replied.


    "Would you like to speak to the suspect?"


    "There¡¯s no need to rush. Let''s solve this little mystery first and find out how the Imitator switched identities in the middle!"


    I told Xiaotao to drive to my ce and it was 3:00 am by the time we arrived. We gently opened the door to see a sleeping Dali let out a loud grunt.


    "Why did you bring me here?¡± Xiaotao lowered her voice. ¡°To watch Dali sleep?"


    "No, I want to show you hypnosis!"


    "You know how to do that?!¡± blurted Xiaotao.


    I crouched in front of Dali, yed a soft, calming tune on my cell phone, and began, "Dali, listen carefully to me, you feel rxed now..."


    There weren¡¯t any standard rules for hypnotic induction, as long as the hypnotist managed to guide the subject into a physically and mentally rxed state. After Professor Li''s case, I read up on hypnosis and found that the principle was veryplicated but the technique was simple. A hypnotist didn''t require particrly profound theoretical knowledge. Evenymen could do it with the right environment, technique, and a subject highly susceptible to hypnotic suggestion.


    Uneducated farmers had a little trick where theyid a chicken sprawled on the ground and covered its eyes with their hands. Shortly after, the chicken would remain motionless and stop responding. This method was actually a simple form of hypnosis.


    Put in in words, hypnosis was actually being fascinated by something or someone. Real-life examples of shallow hypnosis¨Cpeople being entranced or transfixed, included students listening carefully in ss or fans spellbound by an idol¡¯s performance.


    I patiently guided Dali through hypnosis induction. At first, he showed no difference but soon stopped snoring entirely. In this state between sleep and wakefulness, he could hear every word I uttered.


    In order to test if the hypnosis was a sess, I raised one of his hands and said, "You feel your hands turning stiff, like wood, and you can''t put them down."


    "My hands¡­¡± Dali mumbled. ¡°So stiff!"


    I let go of his hand and a miracle happened. Dali''s hand remained stiff and motionless in the air.


    "How did you do that?" Xiaotao asked in surprise.


    I motioned for her to keep quiet and grabbed a bottle of mineral water from the table. "Open your mouth, I have a bottle of strong liquor here. You must finish it!"


    Dali obediently opened his mouth and I began to feed him the mineral water as I said, "You feel the pungent smell of alcohol permeating your mouth. A burning sensation rushes down your throat. Your stomach seems to be heating up and your head¡¯s a little dizzy."


    One-third of the bottle in, Dali suddenly choked and coughed, his eyelids moving rapidly. Stunned by Dali¡¯s reaction, Xiaotao covered her mouth. Dali had now entered deep hypnosis and would remain in that state even if I pped him.


    "I can''t drink anymore, I''m getting drunk!" Dali mumbled.


    "You must finish it!" I insisted.


    Dali resisted, "I feel dizzy and nauseous!"


    "Drink it down! Open your mouth," I cried.


    Although Dali refused to drink, his body reacted the opposite. In Lao Yao''s words, I had now hacked into his brain and could manipte him at will. Of course, this was only within the scope of his own principles. If I told him to run naked in the streets, he would struggle, put up strong resistance and eventually awaken.


    Xiaotao watched in wide-eyed wonder as the bottle of water slowly disappeared down his throat. When the bottle was finally emptied, I asked, "How do you feel?"


    "Dizzy, I¡¯m floating... Stomach burns, nauseous!" muttered Dali.


    "Now when I count to three, you will forget what just happened and wake up."


    I waved at Xiaotao, gesturing for her to withdraw from the room while I counted, "One, two, three!" As soon as I closed the door, there came the sound of Dali overturning the chair, followed by a spate of vomiting.


    Xiaotao lowered her voice, "You¡¯re terrible!"

 Chapter 356

    <h4>Chapter 356</h4>


    Upon hearing this, Xiaotao and I rushed into the room where Daliy under the sheets, torso hung over the side and hands propped against the floor as he vomited uncontrobly. I pretended to be surprised and asked, "Dali, did you eat something bad?"


    Still flushed, Dali mumbled, "I drank too much. Pour me a ss of hot water!"


    I brought him a ss of water and a wet towel. Dali¡¯s skin was boiling hot, cheeks red like a ripe tomato¨Cthe man waspletely drunk.


    ¡°Geez, alcohol can really kill you!¡± Dali took a sip of the warm water and wiped his face with the towel.


    "You don¡¯t have to work so hard, holding these dinners with the clients. It¡¯s not good for you!" I urged.


    Dali sighed, "I can¡¯t help it. They kept filling my ss..." At this point, Dali suddenly froze, brows furrowed as he desperately tried to recall. "Dude, who was I drinking withst night?" he asked.


    "How should I know!" I retorted.


    "Damn, I¡¯m losing my memory! Is this a sign of premature aging?¡± hemented. ¡°I can¡¯t remember a single thing!"


    "Don¡¯t think about it now, just lie down. I¡¯ll get you some vinegar to relieve the hangover,¡± I said.


    I brought him a small cup of vinegar which he immediately downed. "Do you feel better?" I asked.


    "Much better!" he nodded.


    Because Dali¡¯s subconscious remembered my voice, my words still contained the power of suggestion.


    I told Dali to lie down. "Dude, thanks for being here,¡± he added, voice tinged with gratitude. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know what to do if it weren¡¯t for you."


    "Alright, that¡¯s enough talk,¡± I waved my hand. ¡°Have a good rest. I¡¯ll leave you to it."


    As soon as I left the room, I was greeted by aughing Xiaotao. "Hahahaha, you¡¯re so wicked!" she pped me on the back.


    "I was just demonstrating hypnosis!" I grinned.


    The test tonight was meaningful for two reasons¨Cfirst of all, people were vulnerable to hypnotic suggestions in their sleep. And most importantly, water could be turned into alcohol with hypnotic suggestion, so it could just as well serve as drugs.


    "Do you mean to say that the Imitator rendered the suspect unconscious by hypnotizing him into believing he had inhaled a sedative?" surmised Xiaotao.


    "This is the only possibility I cane up with!" I admitted.


    "How did the Imitator hypnotize the suspect in such a short amount of time?¡± Xiaotao pointed out. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have Li Wenjia¡¯s eyes."


    After a moment¡¯s contemtion, I suggested, "Let¡¯s go meet our suspect!"


    We drove down to the station that was still brightly lit with officers on the hop due to the investigation of tonight¡¯s case. When Xiaotao and I entered the detention room, the suspect, Mr. Li, wailed at the sight of us, "You have to help me. I really didn¡¯t kill my wife! I¡¯ve told you a thousand times, I was unconscious!"


    "Don¡¯t worry,¡± Iforted. ¡°We¡¯re here to investigate the case. Come with us to the interrogation room!"


    "Again? But the chair is so ufortable,¡± grumbled Mr. Li. ¡°The officer who just questioned me even blinded me with themp. Can¡¯t we talk here?"


    "Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t blind you with themp,¡±ughed Xiaotao. ¡°Are you hungry? I¡¯ll order you some food and we can talk while you¡¯re eating."


    Xiaotao¡¯s words seemed to have the effect of rxing Mr. Li¡¯s vignce. The officer next to us opened the cell door, and as soon as Mr. Li walked out, I noticed two bruises on his neck. The size and pattern suggested his throat was squeezed by someone¡¯s thumb and forefinger.


    "What happened to your throat?" I began.


    "What?" Mr. Li wasn¡¯t aware he had a bruise.


    I measured the positioning of the bruise with my hands and waved him off. Xiaotao asked the officer to escort him to the interrogation room while she ordered takeout.


    Meanwhile, we waited till the food arrived and Mr. Li dug in. Mr. Li started by introducing himself, "My name is Li Dazhi. I¡¯m 34 years old and my upation is..."


    "Alright, that¡¯s enough,¡± Xiaotao waved a hand. ¡°We already know all of that. Just rx."


    "We believe you¡¯re innocent!" I added.


    "Thank you, thank you so much!" Mr. Li stretched out a hand to shake mine but I ignored him. After all, the interrogator and suspect had to keep a certain distance during the interrogation.


    "Tell me everything that happened tonight!" I ordered.


    Mr. Li exined that he worked in a driving school and only returned home once a week. The couple headed to the supermarket tonight to buy groceries and were discussing some family affairs when he received several phone calls. His wife had always been a little neurotic about being interrupted during a conversation.


    Although Mr. Li was annoyed with the calls, his students were calling so he was forced to answer their questions patiently. Upon hanging up, he noticed his wife was upset. She argued it was a matter of principle, that Mr. Li never paid any attention to her. Thus, the two spiraled into a heated argument.


    I recognized this as a deliberate set up by the Imitator who knew Mrs. Li had a strong aversion to the matter. And Mr. Li was a driving instructor so this made for the perfect fuse!


    The quarrel in the parking lot ended with Mrs. Li stomping off in anger. On the other hand, Mr. Li stayed in the car, unloading the groceries. Just then, someone covered his nose and mouth with a rag prompting a fierce struggle from Mr. Li, though he gradually lost consciousness.


    "Do you remember what it smelled like?" I interrupted.


    "It was a little sweet and rather pungent!"


    He perfectly described the smell of ether, but his manner of speaking raised serious doubts. The textbook description of the smell sounded as if he had read that somewhere in a book.


    This suggested his memory was forcibly imnted after hypnosis. He believed it was the smell he perceived at the time, but in fact, he smelled nothing.


    I nodded and motioned for him to continue. Mr. Li described that he was unconscious for several hours before a sudden stabbing pain in his leg woke him up. The next thing he knew, he found himself on the highway with both hands gripping the steering wheel. Frightened out of his wits, Mr. Li drove on, his mind desperately scrambling to make sense of it all.


    He tried to clear his mind. How did he drive all the way here? As a driving instructor, he understood that drivers did fall asleep at the wheel.


    Bits and pieces of his fragmented memories came back to him but he was still unaware of his wife¡¯s death. He tried calling her and couldn¡¯t get through so he decided to keep on driving since it was a one-way road without any exits.


    Right then, a fleet of police cars appeared behind him. At first, Mr. Li didn¡¯t know he was their target until they nked him from the left and the right, shouting through a megaphone for him to pull over, to which Mr. Li dly obeyed.


    To his utter shock, a group of SWAT officers seized and handcuffed him without so much as a word. Then he was taken to the bureau for interrogation. Only halfway through the interrogation did Mr. Li realize what had happened and immediately burst into tears.


    At the end of his story, Mr. Li wiped away the tears and swore, "I don¡¯t know who killed my wife but he¡¯ll pay for what he¡¯s done!"


    I waited till he calmed down before asking, "Does anything stand out to you?"


    Without a second thought, Mr. Li huffed, "Of course, I was terrified! If you suddenly wake up and find yourself driving at 60 miles an hour on the highway, wouldn¡¯t you be afraid? "


    "Anything else?"


    He wrung his eyebrows, "The door of the passenger seat wasn¡¯t properly closed."

 Chapter 357

    <h4>Chapter 357</h4>


    "The door wasn¡¯t closed?" I mused.


    "Yes, I closed it. I was driving at the time so I didn¡¯t think too much of it," admitted Mr. Li.


    ¡°What about your leg? Were you pinched?" I asked.


    "No,¡± Mr. Li shook his head. ¡°I was pricked!"


    I asked Mr. Li to show me his wound but Xiaotao¡¯s presence seemed to make him ufortable.


    "I¡¯ll look from your side of the table,¡± Iughed. ¡°She won¡¯t be able to see a thing."


    Only then did Mr. Li slowly unzip his trousers and expose his thigh. There was indeed a red spot that looked like it had been pricked by something sharp. "Officer, I¡¯m worried that I might catch some disease from that prick. Can you order a test for it?" he asked uneasily.


    Xiaotao nodded, "I¡¯ll get the coroner to take some blood samples for testingter!"


    Of course, this was all tofort him since many viruses had long incubation periods and couldn¡¯t be tested immediately. The Imitator had only pricked Mr. Lin to wake him up so he should be safe.


    Another thing urred to me then. "How¡¯s your wife¡¯s eyesight?"


    "Pretty good!" blurted Mr. Li.


    I frowned; he was telling the truth up to this point, but that was a lie.


    "Tell the truth!" I demanded, voice with a hard edge.


    Mr. Li lowered his face into his arms and sobbed, "She¡¯s already dead so I guess there¡¯s no need to hide it. Officer, she was in fact nearsighted."


    "Why lie about this?" I asked out of curiosity.


    Mr. Li confessed that it was rted to his wife¡¯s job. She worked at the airport and strived to join the cabin crew; it was her goal to be a flight attendant. But the industry was very strict about eyesight so she kept it from everyone else.


    "Who else knows about your wife¡¯s condition?"


    "No one except me!" he rified.


    We sent Mr. Li back to his cell to go back after obtaining a clearer understanding of the entire incident. This time, the crime was nothing short of brilliant.


    The Imitator snuck into the rearpartment of the car in the parking lot and covered a rag soaked with water on Mr. Li¡¯s face. At the same time, he squeezed his jugr vein with his fingers, causing ack of oxygen to Mr. Li¡¯s brain and rendering him unconscious.


    However, the Imitator dyed hypnotizing Mr. Li at this point because of a time constraint. Instead, he sat in the driver¡¯s seat and made a phone call to stop Mrs. Li in her tracks. The nearsighted woman couldn¡¯t distinguish between her husband and the man sitting in the car. I suspect the Imitator might have been wearing the same clothes as Mr. Li.


    Right then, the Imitator elerated, killed Mrs. Li and fled...


    His aim was to frame Mr. Li for the crime so killing the victim wasn¡¯t enough. He needed witnesses. Thus, he drove to a car wash, deliberately attracted the car wash manager¡¯s attention and then drove off onto the highway.


    The Imitator must have hypnotized Mr. Li on the road. In an unconscious or sleeping state, people were susceptible to hypnosis just as I had verified with Dali.


    A few hourster, the Imitator carried Mr. Li onto the driver¡¯s seat, ced his hands on the steering wheel and stepped on the elerator. When everything was perfect, he woke Mr. Li up with a bradawl and jumped out of the car. And all this was done on a speeding vehicle.


    With Mr. Li¡¯s profession and habits, the Imitator knew he would continue driving even after he had regained consciousness, thus creating the illusion of murdering his wife and absconding. What a bold and ingenious n!


    This time, the murder weapon was the car. The technical team only found Mr. and Mrs. Li¡¯s fingerprints on it. Mr. Li¡¯s fingerprints and hair were concentrated around the steering wheel and the driver¡¯s seat, with no evidence of a third person. Combined with the surveince video in the parking lot, the evidence would have been irrefutable.


    If it weren¡¯t for the previous case, this would have been deemed as anothermon case of uxoricide.


    Upon listening to my spections, Xiaotao sighed, "But from the Imitator¡¯s standpoint, the case is rather risky!"


    I nodded, "That¡¯s because the couple only met once a week, leaving few opportunities for him tomit the murder. The duration for both crimes is seven days. In thest case, we found seven evening papers in the living room of the unupied apartment, indicating that he stayed there for seven days."


    "If it¡¯s supposed to be a frame-up, isn¡¯t it easier to kill one of his students and shift the me onto him? After all, Mr. Li is a driving instructor so he¡¯s bound to use the car every day. Why go to great lengths just to kill the wife?"


    Following this train of thought, I contemted the case. The Imitator¡¯s technique showed detached calmness and a clear motive that remained separate from personal feelings. Yet both cases were uxoricide. There must be some connection!


    "Look for any connection between the two victims!" I instructed.


    "Leave the investigation to me,¡± assured Xiaotao. ¡°You should rest now. It¡¯s 4 o¡¯clock in the morning."


    "You too!" I patted Xiaotao on the arm.


    I had just taken a few steps when Xiaotao suddenly cried, "It¡¯s so dark out. Let me send you home."


    I shook my head and smiled, "No, it¡¯s alright!"


    Ever since I acquired the Eyes of Yama, I became more ustomed to the night. Gone was the sense of insecurity; I even enjoyed walking alone in the dark.


    Perhaps this was the true embodiment of the Eyes of Yama¨CLord of the night.


    The next morning, Xiaotao held a meeting. Aside from the clues we discussed yesterday, officers also found the spot where the Imitator jumped off the car¨Ca blind spot between the two traffic monitoring cameras.


    Through repeatedparisons of the two monitoring cameras, the technical team found a slight difference in the driver. The Imitator was cautious enough not to reveal his face, deliberately covering himself with a hat which would render our findings useless in court.


    Like the first case, the Imitator rented an empty apartment near Mr. Li¡¯s dormitory and stayed there for about a week. The details were still under investigation.


    As for the connection between the two wives, Wang Yuanchao who was ced in charge of this had yet to discover any intersections in both their work and social lives.


    After the meeting, I decided to drop by the section of the road where the Imitator escaped as I expected to find some clues from his tracks.


    I got out of the car and started on foot at the side of the road. The area surrounding the highway was deserted with lush greenery in early summer. Bingxin stood there with a little umbre.


    ¡°Miss Sun insisted oning along and no one could stop her!" Xiaotao smiled wryly.


    "Her enthusiasm is good!¡± Imended. ¡°She¡¯s much better than those coroners who refuse to participate in anything besides the autopsy."


    We spread out and conducted a thorough search of the area. A whileter, an officer reported a discovery. We rushed over and found indentations in the grass as well as footprints. The tracks were clear enough to be observed without the Autopsy Umbre.


    Carefully examining the traces on the ground, I endeavored to restore the Imitator¡¯s physical characteristics. "This person wears size 38 shoes, is slightly overweight and is about 1.75 meters tall,¡± I observed, narrowing my eyes. ¡°He¡¯s timid and cautious, right-handed, and lifts his heels when walking... Wait, no!"


    "What¡¯s wrong?" asked Xiaotao.


    Only then did I realize my observations perfectly described Mr. Li¡¯s characteristics. Even after jumping out of the car, the Imitator was still in character, mimicking Mr. Li¡¯s every move.


    "But the height and shoe size can¡¯t be wrong, can it?" frowned Xiaotao.


    "That¡¯s not necessarily true. He could have been wearing elevator shoes to imitate the suspect. In order to reduce the force of impact when jumping off the vehicle, he might have also intentionally padded his clothes."


    This was my first time encountering a criminal who had zero self-identity. And what an enigma he was!

 Chapter 358

    <h4>Chapter 358</h4>


    ording to the Imitator¡¯s pattern, the next crime would happen one week from now. The police covered all their bases investigating the case, but in the face of such a mysterious criminal, the more we discovered, the further away the murderer seemed!


    I continued searching through the recent cases in Nanjiang City and on the third day, a case in the Taoyuan Precinct caught my eye. It was also a case of uxoricide that happened three weeks ago with aspects that matched the Imitator¡¯s MO.


    The suspect, Mr. Jia, had been transferred to the detention center awaiting trial. Xiaotao phoned the Taoyuan Precinct and asked for all the files pertaining to the case.


    Without dy, the files were delivered and spread over the desk. I picked them up one by one and perused the information.


    Here were the facts: three weeks ago, Mrs. Jia¡¯s maternal home received a call from her, iming Mr. Jia was going to kill her. She sounded extremely flustered and hung up almost immediately.


    When Mrs. Jia¡¯s parents rushed to the Jia home, they found the door unlocked and the smell of blood originating from the apartment.


    Completely distraught, Mrs. Jia¡¯s parents opened the door only to find their daughter lying on the ground with her head smashed in. The murder weapon was a barbell, and there were footprints on the door left by Mr. Jia when he kicked it.


    The police found Mr. Jia¡¯s fingerprints and skin cells on the murder weapon and all over the crime scene. At that point, Mr. Jia¡¯s whereabouts were unknown but a few dayster, police found him in a rented apartment and arrested him.


    Mr. Jia¡¯s statement was full of loopholes. He imed he and his wife were getting a divorce, and that night, his wife called him home to sign the divorce agreement. But when he got home, he heard the voice of a strange man as well as his wife in the throes of passion.


    Mr. Jia was enraged; how could his wife bring her lover back to his house!


    He tried opening the door, only to find that the lock had been changed. After several angry roars, still no one came to answer the door. In a fit of pique, he kicked the door open. But when he entered the apartment, he was greeted by the gruesome sight of his wife lying in a pool of blood, her brains sttered all over the floor.


    Something tripped Mr. Jia, though he wasn¡¯t sure what it was. He ended up stumbling onto the pool of blood. Frightened out of his wits, he tore hell for leather out the door with his mind sluggish from panic.


    When the police asked Mr. Jia why he hadn¡¯t called the police at the time, he admitted his fear of being implicated. However, heter altered his statement, confessing he had liaised with a hitman on the inte during the worst phase of the couple¡¯s rtionship. The other party actually took the initiative to look for him but the transaction didn¡¯t go through because the price exceeded his expectations. Mr. Jia was terrified the matter would be revealed, drawing suspicion to himself, so he simply pretended to be away at the time.


    After reading the case files, I contemted for a bit.


    "Have you found something?" Xiaotao interrupted.


    "Can I speak to the suspect?" I asked.


    "This case has already gone through judicial procedures. It¡¯ll be a little difficult but you can visit him in prison, just not today."


    I nodded, "Let¡¯s head to the crime scene first!"


    Mr. Jia¡¯s home had been sealed by the court. Although a thin sheet of paper stood between us and the apartment, tearing it down would be tantamount to overstepping the government¡¯s authority.


    "What are you afraid of?¡± Xiaotao smirked. ¡°If anything, I¡¯m responsible!"


    She was just about to remove it when I stopped her. "Wait!"


    I ran to the convenience store downstairs and purchased a few heat packs and a bottle of mineral water. After applying the heat packs to the bottle, the water inside soon heated up. Then I softened the court seal, gently removed it and unlocked the door with my tools.


    "You¡¯re full of clever ideas, aren¡¯t you?¡± Xiaotao stared in wide-eyed wonder. ¡°You best stay on the right side of thew!"


    "Being a burr would be so boring, especially without a beautiful officer by my side!" I chuckled.


    "For the sake of public security and stability in Nanjiang City, I must stay beautiful then," Xiaotao solemnly added.


    The crime scene had been scrubbed clean without a trace of blood visible to the naked eye. At first nce, I noticed that the bathroom was situated next to the door. I looked inside and found more than enough room for a person to hide.


    "What a daring and clever man!" I remarked.


    "What have you found?"


    I shook my head, "It¡¯s just a guess for now. With what we have so far, I can¡¯t prove it was the Imitator. After all, the rtionship between husband and wife was very poor. Perhaps it¡¯s a simple case of uxoricide after all."


    "Let¡¯s just assume it¡¯s him," Xiaotao replied.


    "Alright then, we¡¯ll assume it¡¯s the Imitator we¡¯re dealing with!" I concurred.


    If this had also been orchestrated by him, then the man must be a genius! This time, it wasn¡¯t the husband he feigned but the wife. The crime itself was straightforward¨Cthe Imitator walked into the apartment and killed the wife. Then he called the husband and possibly with the help of a voice alteration software, asked him toe over to sign the divorce agreement. When the husband arrived, the murderer performed the act of an illicit sexual affair in the bedroom, fully aware and counting on Mr. Jia¡¯s tempestuous character for the man to make a drastic move.


    While Mr. Jia hysterically kicked the door open, the Imitator hid in the bathroom by the main entrance. He was waiting for the horrific scene to hit Mr. Jia before sliding out a foot to trip him, sessfully staining his hands with blood.


    The hitman who found Mr. Jia online was another character yed by the Imitator, for no other reason than to guilt him so he wouldn¡¯t dare call the police! In this way, the suspicion on Mr. Jia would be magnified indefinitely.


    After the husband fled the scene, the Imitator called the wife¡¯s parents with the voice alteration software, using her voice to expose her husband¡¯s murderous intentions. Then, he calmly left the crime scene.


    The crime wasn¡¯t so much a frame-up as it was discrediting Mr. Jia¡¯s every word.


    Of course, these were all my spections which I couldn¡¯t yet verify. Besides the key evidence found in the Ding case, the Li case was still up in the air. If we didn¡¯t catch the Imitator, both Mr. Li and Mr. Jia would be convicted and incarcerated.


    The furniture in the room had evidence seals on them. I didn¡¯t have to take them apart one by one to know what was inside. All I had to do was stick my ears close, tap and knock with my hands.


    There seemed to be some items in the drawer of the dresser. I repeated the same trick and carefully removed the seal, finding cosmetics, health supplements and a cell phone inside. The cell phone was dead so I turned to Xiaotao, "Do you have a charger?"


    "I¡¯ll remove my battery!" said Xiaotao.


    Xiaotao detached the battery and connected it to the cell phone we found with a cable. As it hadn¡¯t been turned on in some time, a bunch of notifications popped up. I nced through them but found no clues of importance until I checked her WeChat ount.


    After a quick browse, a message caught my attention. The victim had texted her friend: "Thank goodness! I finally got my driver¡¯s license. One of my ssmates¡¯ husband is a driving instructor. It¡¯s all thanks to him that I passed on my second try."


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a meaningful look. A thorough scroll through the victim¡¯s address book revealed a contact person named ¡°Mr. Li from driving school.¡±


    "Do you have Mr. Li¡¯s number?" I asked Xiaotao.


    "Yes... but I¡¯ve just removed my battery!" she pointed out.


    I phoned the station and officers confirmed that our suspect, Mr. Li, was the same ¡°Mr. Li from driving school¡± in the victim¡¯s phone. In other words, the two victims were ssmates... The three victims were of simr age so perhaps they were all ssmates!


    We finally found a connection between the three cases!

 Chapter 359

    <h4>Chapter 359</h4>


    I called Wang Yuanchao, "Uncle Wang, please find out which school the two victims attended."


    Wang Yuanchao reported the information and sure enough, they were from the same high school.


    "Were they in the same ss?" I asked.


    "I¡¯m not quite sure,¡± answered Wang Yuanchao. ¡°I¡¯m at the school right now but they can¡¯t find the files..."


    "Tell me where you are and I¡¯ll be right there!" I eximed.


    Xiaotao and I arrived at the archives department of the school where Wang Yuanchao was at the moment. A stack of files was piled up on the desk. It seemed like finding the particr files we wanted would take a considerable amount of time. I reported the names of the three victims and asked the archives staff, "Aren¡¯t they in the files?"


    "Which year is this?"


    After a moment¡¯s contemtion, I ventured a guess. "Around 1995 or ¡®96."


    The person in charge looked through the files, mumbling to himself, "That¡¯s strange. Why are they missing?" A whileter, he came up with nothing.


    "Let¡¯s speak to the principal!" suggested Xiaotao.


    The archives manager called the principal and learned that a fire broke out in the school six months ago, causing the loss of some files, including the ones from the graduating ss of ¡®95 and ¡®96.


    No wonder Wang Yuanchao couldn¡¯t locate them¡ªthe original files were no longer avable.


    "Don¡¯t you have them in storage?"


    The principal looked rather embarrassed, "We¡¯re just a regr school and we don¡¯t get a lot of students each year so we can¡¯t keep up with the funds. That¡¯s why we don¡¯t have the files in our storage!"


    I thought to myself, Could the Imitator have caused the fire six months ago? If this was the case, then the serial murders were calcted.


    Without the files, we could only speak to the teachers. When we brought up the names of the three victims, the teachers didn¡¯t seem to have much of an impression. After all these years of teaching, they had too many students to specifically recall them.


    However, one of the ss teachersmented, "I seem to remember they didn¡¯t have very good grades and often hung out together. I think they lived in the same dormitory."


    "The same dormitory?" I mused. "There are usually four to a dorm. What¡¯s the other student¡¯s name?"


    My intuition told me the fourth person might be the next victim or the murderer.


    The ss teacher tapped his bald head, scrambling to remember her name. "Was it Xiao Lan... Ji Xian? No, no... Oh, I remember, Lin Xian!"


    "Are you sure?" I asked.


    "Yes!¡± he nodded. ¡°That¡¯s because the girl won the Inspirational Essay Competition that year."


    The teacher next to him echoed an affirmative as well.


    When I asked what their rtionship was like, the ss teacher remarked they were good friends. But as a teacher, they were probably unaware of what was really going on in the girls¡¯ dormitory.


    There were only so many clues that could be found here. After leaving the school, Xiaotao looked up some information online.


    "The Inspirational Essay Competition was published in Future Magazine so we should be able to find it online," Xiaotao exined.


    "Oh, I hadn¡¯t thought of that at all!"


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you pay attention in school?" Xiaotao sneered.


    "I got 30 marks forposition on the college entrance examination!" I admitted somewhat embarrassingly.


    Xiaotao found the winning essay from that year and read it aloud, her voice filled with emotion. Halfway through, she suddenly stopped and said, "It¡¯s too long. I¡¯ll call the magazine and see if we can find the author."


    She contacted Future Magazine and spoke for twenty minutes, sessfully obtaining Lin Xian¡¯sst known address.


    However, this address was given ten years ago so she might have moved elsewhere by now. Xiaotao assigned Wang Yuanchao the task of investigating Lin Xian¡¯s home. The man got moving without so much as a word, leaving the two of us alone once more.


    In the car, Xiaotao continued, ¡°Let¡¯s read Lin Xian¡¯s works."


    I grabbed my cell phone and clicked on the link Xiaotao sent me. As it turned out, Lin Xian had written an autobiography, mainly describing her first awakening of love. Perhaps my low EQ made it difficult for me to enjoy the book so I quickly skimmed through the contents.


    However, Xiaotao took her time savoring the book. "It¡¯s really well written. The author must be a sensitive and fine youngdy."


    "I really admire these novelists,¡± I sighed. ¡°It¡¯s amazing how they can churn out so many words!"


    Xiaotao rolled her eyes at me, "That¡¯s because you¡¯re carefree andck sensitivity, so your ability to express emotions is poor."


    I retorted with a sarcastic grimace. "Why? Have I hurt your feelings?¡± Xiaotao patted me on the shoulder. ¡°You can¡¯t be perfect."


    "It¡¯s alright,¡± I feignedprehension and broad-mindedness. ¡°I won¡¯t take it to heart."


    Reading such novels was almost torture for me. I could feel my eyelids getting heavy.


    "Look at this!" Xiaotao eximed.


    I leaned in and found Xiaotao reading a novel about bullying in school. The main character called herself Xiao Jing. Because Xiao Jing was poor and ugly, she became the object of collective bullying by her three roommates. The girls spat in her shoes, put chewing gum in her hair, read aloud her diary, and intentionally threw away her belongings.


    Xiao Jing chose to submit to the humiliation but her three roommates didn¡¯t stop there! They pushed her to the ground and repeatedly pped her, dunked her head in the toilet, poured cold water on her while she was asleep and burned the sweater sent by her mother before her eyes.


    The novel depicted the bullying in a calm, apathetic tone, though each word was shocking. I couldn¡¯t help biting my finger as I read through the novel.


    Later on, Xiao Jing met a boy. The joy of falling in love helped her forget her nightmarish roommates for a while. But a horrible incident urred that sparked a lifelong grudge against the three girls!


    On a rainy night, her three roommates robbed her of her cell phone and mockingly read out loud the text messages between the couple.


    Xiao Jing shouted, "Give me my phone! Give it back!" But they paid her no attention.


    They thought it would be a funny prank to send Xiao Jing¡¯s boyfriend a text, feigning a high fever.


    On his way here in the heavy rain, Xiao Jing¡¯s boyfriend was run over and killed by a speeding truck.


    After the ident, the three girls came to apologize, but their words were full of threats, warning Xiao Jing against speaking out. Xiao Jing chose to remain silent about the matter until one night when she stabbed them.


    Kneeling in a pool of blood, Xiao Jing waited for judgment to fall, though her heart had long been empty.


    The tragic ending made my heart sink like a plummet of lead. It took me quite some time to regain my breath. Xiaotao¡¯s reaction was more severe than mine¡ªtears dripped down her face and wet the screen of her cell phone.


    Unsure of what to say, Iforted her, "Cry if you feel like it. There¡¯s no one else here."


    Throwing herself into my arms, the tears ran down her face like the opening of floodgates. "Were you reminded of something sad?" I gently patted her on the back.


    Xiaotao nodded and sobbed uncontrobly. A short whileter, she mustered, "When I was a child, I was bullied by an older girl... I couldn¡¯t help but feel really sad at the thought of it..."

 Chapter 360

    <h4>Chapter 360</h4>


    I couldn¡¯t help butment that this sort of bullying happened in almost every ss, hidden in a dark corner where teachers and parents couldn¡¯t see, and most people were either perpetrators or victims.


    Although I can say with a clear conscience that I had never hurt a ssmate either physically or verbally, I wasn¡¯tpletely innocent. In my young and ignorant days, I too giggled when my ssmates pointed and jeered at a less attractive student or one who wore ugly clothes.


    The sobbing left Xiaotao covered in cold sweat. Afraid she might catch a cold, I removed my coat and draped it on her. Wiping the tears away, Xiaotao smiled and thanked me. "I¡¯m sorry, I get so emotionally affected by these things..."


    "I think having strong emotions makes you adorable," I chuckled.


    Xiaotao blushed and shyly retorted, "Nonsense!"


    After she had calmed down, we continued to discuss the case. The novel was so well-written, it managed to raise everyone¡¯s hackles and even won a prize that year. However, a novel alone couldn¡¯t prove a motive or that Lin Xian was the murderer.


    We perused some of her other works and found that the theme of bullying appeared more than a dozen times, suggesting Lin Xian was indeed bullied at school.


    "What is she doing now?" I asked curiously.


    Xiaotao searched online. "Looks like she¡¯s a well-known author. One of her works was adapted into a moviest year."


    "So she should have the means to hire a hitman!¡± I nodded. ¡°We should pay her a visit."


    "I¡¯ll leave a message on her Weibo to see if she would like to meet," Xiaotao said, tapping away on her cell phone.


    Perhaps Lin Xian was busy or didn¡¯t believe Xiaotao was an officer so we didn¡¯t receive a reply. It wasn¡¯t until five dayster that Wang Yuanchao finally located her current residence.


    On that day, I was helping out in the store. Xiaotao drove over to pick me up before heading to a residential area. Downstairs of her apartment, we hit the doorbell and heard a cold voice ask, "Who are you looking for?"


    Xiaotao shed her badge but the woman refused, "I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t have time now. Please make an appointment!"


    "Ms. Lin, we are here with a search warrant,¡± Xiaotao persisted. ¡°You¡¯d better cooperate with the police!"


    Of course, Xiaotao was lying; we had no search warrant.


    After a brief pause, the woman replied, "I¡¯ll give you half an hour. Come on up!"


    "How arrogant!" I sneered.


    "Well, I heard these female authors are all very arrogant,¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°Apparently, she¡¯s beautiful and still single."


    "Why are you telling me this?¡± I huffed. ¡°I¡¯m not from a dating website!"


    Her housekeeper opened the door for us. I looked the woman up and down a few times, sizing her up. She was fat and behaved naturally, without a sliver of suspicion.


    Lin Xian¡¯s apartment was elegant and exquisitely decorated, filled with the smell of books. When we entered the apartment, she was sitting on a deck chair out on the balcony, wearing a white dress that revealed her slender figure, eyes shielded by a pair of dark sunsses¨Ca beauty indeed. There was a cup of ck tea on the table beside her.


    After Xiaotao and I took our seats, the housekeeper poured us two cups of ck tea. Lin Xian leisurely grabbed her cup and asked, "What can I do for you?"


    I furrowed my brows at the sight of those sunsses that perfectly hid her expression. In my opinion, those who spoke with sunsses on were merely pretending to be cool. It should be a crime to do so!


    Xiaotao went straight to the point, "I had the honor of reading your works. In one of your novels, you wrote about being bullied by three roommates. I¡¯d like to know if this novel is based on a true story?"


    "Readers like you are so crude. No matter what you read, you only want to know if it¡¯s true or not. But is it really that important?¡± Lin Xian chided. ¡°Was Dumas ever imprisoned? Did Hemingway fish? Was Jin Yong a chivalrous warrior? Whether true or false, literary works have their social significance."


    "We aren¡¯t here to discuss literature,¡± Xiaotao interrupted. ¡°We¡¯re the police and what we care about are facts. Is the novel based on reality?"


    Lin Xian snorted and looked away, "It¡¯s true. I killed the three of them!"


    I couldn¡¯t read her face, only her bodynguage, but she seemed very rxed without a trace of nervousness. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder, Is her mental state that good?


    Xiaotao broke the silence. "You shouldn¡¯t joke around. Your three roommates are no longer alive!"


    A hint of surprise shed past Lin Xian¡¯s face. Her reaction didn¡¯t appear to be fake. "Natural causes or was it an ident?" she looked up at us.


    Xiaotao reached out to remove her sunsses and asked, "What do you think?"


    I was secretly pleased with her move since it allowed me to finally observe Lin Xian¡¯s real appearance. Her eyes were brimming with shock which had me at sixes and sevens. Wasn¡¯t she the murderer?


    "I¡¯ll ask you once more. Were you bullied by them?" Xiaotao reiterated.


    Lin Xian nodded, her eyes growing dim. "Yes! Those were all my personal experiences."


    Xiaotao pressed on, "And that includes everything you mentioned in your novel¨Cdunking your head in the toilet, pping you, pouring cold water over you, etc."


    Lin Xian nodded silently, anguish engraved on her pretty face, but I noticed an abnormality in her bodynguage.


    "So they indirectly caused your boyfriend¡¯s death?" Xiaotao continued.


    Lin Xian nodded, "I will never forget that day¨CNovember 14th. Ever since then, I¡¯ve never liked anyone else. My heart aches with hollowness. I hate them so much that I wish I could kill them! In fact, I¡¯m a little surprised but mostly happy to hear that they¡¯re dead. They deserved it, but I swear that this has nothing to do with me!"


    Xiaotao cast a questioning nce at me. "Ms. Lin, you¡¯re lying," I sneered.


    "I¡¯m innocent!¡± she eximed. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill them!"


    I shook my head, "That¡¯s not what I mean. When you admitted to the bullying, your facial expression was very unnatural. Cold sweat seeped from the tip of your nose, your cheeks were red with your hands twisted together and your legs tightly mped. These are all signs of lying. So what¡¯s the truth?"


    "You don¡¯t have to show off your knowledge of psychology!¡± she red. ¡°I know more about psychology than you do. I noticed you staring at my legs as soon as you entered. Do my legs look good? Do you want me to send you a signed photo?" she spat.


    However, her petty tricks did little to intimidate me. With Xiaotao constantly by my side, I had long grown immune to other beauties; Lin Xian was nothing special. "I¡¯m not interested in your signed photo,¡± I scoffed. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the bullying."


    "You¡¯re really going too far! Youe into my house and expose my old wounds!¡± she burst out. ¡°Those were painful events I personally experienced. Why would I fabricate them? I¡¯m not so mentally ill that I would make up my past! You¡¯re cold-blooded animals!"


    Then she buried her face in her hands and began to sob. I frowned. Lin Xian was a tough nut to crack!


    Jin Yong or Louis Cha was a famous wuxia writer and the author of 1957-1961 Condor Hero trilogy.

 Chapter 361

    <h4>Chapter 361</h4>


    Lin Xian cried for some time before she gradually calmed down. Upon further reflection on her words, I noticed she stressed the phrase ¡°personally experienced¡± twice. The more she repeated it, the more suspicious I grew.


    What originally seemed evident became a puzzle once more. Xiaotao and I exchanged a meaningful look¨Cthere was no point in staying so we got up and said, "Ms. Lin, we¡¯re leaving!"


    Wiping away the tears from her eyes, Lin Xiaolin resumed her previous aloofness. She looked out the window with her chin resting on her hand and ignored us.


    "By the way, when did you hire the housekeeper?" I asked.


    "Last year. Please leave now. I still have a job to do!" she snapped.


    Before leaving the apartment, I observed the housekeeper who seemed to think I was interested in her. She winked suggestively at me, to which I quickly looked away.


    Downstairs, Xiaotao sighed, "She¡¯s a tough one. No wonder she¡¯s not married!"


    "The bullying might not have happened to Lin Xian, but she must have something to do with the whole incident," I analyzed.


    "Anyway, I¡¯ll send a few inclothes officers to monitor her,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t berate us online, would she?"


    ¡°She wouldn¡¯t go that far, would she?!¡± I chuckled.


    Xiaotao opened the Weibo app and found that Lin Xian posted something new: "Coming to my house in the name of official business and ripping off my old scars, then leaving without so much as an apology! Cold-hearted monsters like them deserve to die!"


    "Does she think I don¡¯t have a Weibo ount?!¡± stormed Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll dly return the favor!"


    I stopped her, "Don¡¯t be impulsive! You might cause things to escte!"


    Xiaotao made a phone call and assigned two inclothes officers to watch over Lin Xian. The two of us left for lunch, after which Xiaotao returned to the station while I went back to the store.


    After working with Luo Youyou for some time, we had quite a bit to chat about. Today, I noticed Luo Youyou looked rather gloomy so I curiously asked, "What¡¯s the matter? Did you and Dali have an argument?"


    Luo Youyou pursed her lips, "Last night I peeked at Dali¡¯s cell phone and found that he had been texting a girl named ¡®Bingxin-meimei.¡¯ They seemed to be getting along well. I was embarrassed to ask him directly but I would really like to know who this person is."


    This two-timing bastard! How could he be thinking of Bingxin when he had Luo Youyou?!


    "It¡¯s the girl who went karaoke with us that day. She¡¯s my childhood friend and we all know each other. Don¡¯t worry, Dali is one hundred percent devoted to you!" I quickly assured her.


    "What are you talking about, Song Yang?" Luo Youyou lowered her head, trying to hide her flushed cheeks.


    What a slip of the tongue! They hadn¡¯t officially established a rtionship and I must admit Dali was moving at a snail¡¯s pace. I had to give him a good talking-to.


    The rest of the day was peaceful, though my heart was gripped by anxiety. If Lin Xian wasn¡¯t the murderer, she was most likely the next victim and would be killed in the next two days.


    That night, I received a phone call from Xiaotao. "Song Yang, something¡¯s happened!¡± she cried in a fluster. ¡°The two inclothes officers I assigned to watch Lin Xian lost track of her!"


    "What¡¯s going on?" I queried.


    Lin Xian had left her apartment this evening to speak to her agent about her contract. After she exited the restaurant, the inclothes officers followed her car but eventually realized that Lin Xian wasn¡¯t actually in the car. By the time they rushed back to the restaurant, she was already gone. They checked the apartment afterwards but found no signs of her.


    "Are the officers still there?" I asked.


    "Yes!"


    "Let¡¯s head to her apartment and see if the housekeeper is still there."


    My concern was the housekeeper because there was no one else around Lin Xian. ording to the Imitator¡¯s pattern, the housekeeper was a suspicious character!


    After a while, Xiaotao dropped by to pick me up. We were about to head to Lin Xian¡¯s apartment when I changed my mind. "Wait a minute, let¡¯s go to school."


    "Are you sure?"


    "I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s my intuition talking,¡± I admitted.


    On the way there, I tried calling Lin Xian but her cell phone was turned off. The whole situation seemed suspicious.


    Xiaotao ordered the other officers to look for Lin Xian at her usual hangouts and assigned several of them to join us at the school.


    When we arrived at the school grounds, we immediately dispersed and went in separate directions looking for Lin Xian. As the students were on holiday, the entire school was currently empty. I proposed we check the girls¡¯ dormitory. Led by the dormitory manager, Xiaotao and I soon arrived at the building where the students of ¡®95 used to live.


    The dormitory manager eagerly chatted with us on the way as most ordinary folks did when they saw the police on the move. However, we were on tenterhooks and too strung up to answer her inquiries about the case.


    As soon as we reached the first floor, the overpowering smell of blood assaulted my nose.


    I dashed towards the public restroom from where the smell emanated. Upon entering, I saw a lifeless Lin Xian sprawled on the ground, head covered in blood.


    At the sight of the body, the dormitory manager screamed with fright. The blood on the ground was still pouring from the wound, not at all solidified. "The murderer is nearby!¡± I shouted. ¡°Comb the ce now!"


    Xiaotao radioed the rest of the officers and instructed them to stop and carefully observe each and every person on the school grounds. The Imitator could be anyone.


    Just before leaving the dormitory, my eyes fell upon the dormitory manager. Xiaotao immediately got the message. "Excuse me, ma¡¯am!"


    Frisking the dormitory manager, Xiaotao made sure she had nothing suspicious on her and no disguise.


    There weren¡¯t many people around, only a few workers and teachers who were marking examination papers. As soon as they were gathered, an officer reported, "Everyone is here."


    "Search outside the school!" I ordered.


    The officer spoke into his radio and left.


    As we questioned the teachers and workers one by one, I carefully observed them with Cave Vision but none of them was the Imitator.


    The officers who had gone searching soon returned with street vendors and passers-by, none of whom were the Imitator.


    I was disheartened. Could the Imitator have disappeared into thin air?


    "Do you want to look at the body first?" asked Xiaotao.


    Sighing, I turned to leave when a thought suddenly crossed my mind. I swept my gaze across the officers and ordered, "I want to see every officer here! Now!"


    The officers quickly lined up before me, standing motionless as I examined each and every face. When I had finally inspected thest man, I was so shocked I felt cold sweat pouring down my back. Perhaps I had made a mistake so a second inspection was required.


    "What¡¯s the matter, Song Yang?¡± Xiaotao interjected. ¡°Do you suspect the Imitator has infiltrated the police?"


    "No, I don¡¯t suspect. I know for sure,¡± I sighed. ¡°He was just talking to me a while ago. I told him to look outside so he must already be gone..."


    I was frustrated with myself. What a daring man! He had full confidence in his acting skills and didn¡¯t bother hiding.


    "The Imitator couldn¡¯t have gone far! Find him!" yelled Xiaotao.


    "We won¡¯t catch up with him,¡± Imented. ¡°With our intel, he must have changed immediately after leaving the school. He¡¯s probably disappeared into the crowd."


    A whileter, the officers found a police uniform in a garbage can near the school.

 Chapter 362

    <h4>Chapter 362</h4>


    Xiaotao and I returned to the dormitory to examine Lin Xian¡¯s body.


    Because she went to see her agent at night, Lin Xian was dressed in brightly-colored clothes. Looking down at the blood-covered floor and the expressionless corpse, I felt the loss of a beauty.


    After putting on rubber gloves, I conducted the autopsy. The time of death was less than half an hour ago and the cause of death was skull fracture and massive hemorrhage. Judging from the blood on the ground, she must have had severe spasms before she died.


    Next to the body was a slightly damaged concrete table stained with blood and bits of flesh.


    I checked Lin Xian¡¯s hair roots and found signs of hair follicle shedding. Obviously, the murderer pulled her hair from behind and smashed her head against the concrete table.


    Additionally, I noticed her cheeks were red and swollen as if she had been pped hard. The blow was so heavy that the corners of her mouth were bleeding. In one eye, the cornea was ripped off so her entire eye was bright red. There was bleeding inside the mouth and the faint odor of urine.


    She had bruises on both knees, and when I turned the body over, I found a clear shoe print on her back. Xiaotao immediately snapped a picture with her cell phone, though the footprint was unlikely to be of any use.


    It seemed like the murderer kicked her in the back, forcing her to kneel on the ground.


    "Song Yang, there is something on the floor!" Xiaotao pointed out.


    I looked up and noticed a mineral water bottle filled with yellowish liquid in the corner. Upon unscrewing the lid, the foul odor of urine assaulted my nose.


    "This time the Imitator seemed very agitated,¡± I analyzed. ¡°He forced Lin Xian to drink urine, pped her in the face, then mmed her head against the concrete table, basically torturing her to death."


    "A repeat of the bullying?!" Xiaotao frowned.


    I went on to examine other parts of the body, though the strange thing was, I found no other scars. If the Imitator wasshing out at Lin Xian, wouldn¡¯t she have received more injuries? Yet there was no such thing.


    There was another suspicious element¨CLin Xian was forced under duress but I found noceration marks on the body. Did shee here willingly?


    "I¡¯ll take back what I just said. The Imitator was perfectly calm this time," I surmised.


    "You call this sort of torture calm?" Xiaotao arched an eyebrow.


    I looked up and my gaze fell upon two double-sided adhesive tapes on the ceramic tile of the innermost wall with some dust stuck on it. I motioned for Xiaotao toe take a look while measuring the size and position with my hands. "I think it was a cell phone!" I remarked.


    "The Imitator was carrying out someone else¡¯s orders. He fixed his cell phone here so his employer could ¡®appreciate¡¯ Lin Xian¡¯s torture. And the Imitator himself was as calm as a machine."


    "But torture Lin Xian? Was she also one of the bullies?" Xiaotao asked.


    I shook my head, "The three bullies were murdered and had their families implicated, but Lin Xian is an exception. It seems that the murderer feels differently about her. When Lin Xian imed she had been bullied, she was obviously lying. I read interviews about her, and she won everyone¡¯s sympathy by ying a victim of school bullying on one of the programs!"


    "So the bullying didn¡¯t happen to Lin Xian but someone else!¡± Xiaotao eximed. ¡°Lin Xian was a bystander who pretended to have personally experienced the bullying, and used these ¡®experiences¡¯ to gain her position, thus bing a well-known author."


    "The murderer seems to hate her more than the others for deceiving the world. So she was killed in this manner to give her the taste of being bullied," I concluded.


    When I turned to leave, Xiaotao interjected, "Aren¡¯t you going to examine the footprint?"


    "He won¡¯t leave his real footprints,¡± I exined. ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t have my Autopsy Umbre with me!"


    The technical team would have to sweep the crime scene and collect evidence so I refrained from burning joss papers and waited till I returned to the station.


    The officers managed to find a witness¨Ca passer-by who stated he had seen a car parked nearby from which a man and a beautiful woman alighted and entered the school. He assumed it was a couple on a date and didn¡¯t pay much attention.


    "What did the man look like?" questioned Xiaotao.


    The witness tried jogging his memory but all he said was, "He had a very ordinary face. So ordinary that I can¡¯t remember anything."


    He wasn¡¯t the only one who suffered the same affliction; I too had trouble recalling the Imitator¡¯s face despite the fact that the man had actually spoken to me face to face earlier. He was so unremarkable you would forget his face as soon as you looked away.


    "Were they walking side by side?" I asked.


    "Yes!" said the witness.


    "What about the car?" Xiaotao added.


    The witness shook his head, "I didn¡¯t notice that."


    The Imitator probably drove away while disguised as a policeman. Xiaotao sent officers to check for nearby traffic surveince cameras and found one at both ends of the street. Not surprisingly, the Imitator parked right in the blind spot between the two cameras.


    We managed to obtain the license te after the technical team restored the image but it was found to be a fake.


    The Imitator was just like a ghost, managing to creep around the blind spots in the surveince cameras all over the city,ing and going without a trace. Even I was impressed!


    On the way back, I perused some of Lin Xian¡¯s works.


    "Why are you still reading her novels?" Xiaotao wondered out loud.


    "I¡¯m checking the publication dates!"


    After the award-winning novel about school bullying was first published, she wrote a few other novels on the same subject, but none of them came close to the first. Later, Lin Xian wrote another novel which basically had the same theme titled, "The Deste Age Of Seventeen."


    In my opinion, Lin Xian wasn¡¯t intentional at first and never expected her novel to gain acim. Due to various considerations such as marketing purposes, poprity and image, she assumed the experience that happened to someone else and portrayed herself as a tragic heroine.


    In the beginning, she never intended to lead the world astray. Influenced by different factors, she allowed the lies to grow to this day and became a fraud in the eyes of the murderer!


    Perhaps she didn¡¯t realize how much harm she caused the murderer. So when the Imitator offered for her to meet the murderer, she agreed immediately. She might have even held onto the naive idea of "talking it out.¡±


    When she arrived at their old school, all she saw was a cell phone before the Imitator unleashed violence upon her. And the person whose painful past was wantonly stolen by her looked on coldly.


    I sighed, "When someone tells a lie, they have to continue lying to keep up the pretense. At the end of the day, they can no longer tell what¡¯s true and what¡¯s false!"


    As we passed through the downtown area, I looked out of the window and realized that anyone could be the Imitator. How could we find him so easily?


    "We¡¯ve reached yet another dead end,¡± Xiaotao huffed. ¡°And this time, the murderer has killed all the people on the supposed revenge list. We don¡¯t even know who he is. Looks like this case..."


    "No, we still have another clue!¡± I corrected her. ¡°The murderer might not even be aware of this clue. Let¡¯s take a gamble!"

 Chapter 363

    <h4>Chapter 363</h4>


    Xiaotao asked if I had any clues but instead of answering, I asked, "Can we get all the officers in the station together?"


    "It¡¯s 9:00 pm now,¡± Xiaotao nced at her watch. ¡°Many of them are off work. Tomorrow then!"


    "Tomorrow morning it is," I nodded.


    "Why do you want to see them?¡± Xiaotao asked uneasily. ¡°Do you have a n? I have to let Sun Tiger know in advance. "


    "None!¡± I chuckled. ¡°I just want to meet them!"


    Xiaotao frowned andined, "How annoying! You¡¯re making me guess again!"


    The next morning, I arrived early at the station. Xiaotao took me to a conference room where the officers were waiting. "Is this all of them?" I swept my gaze across the room.


    "One-third of the force," replied Xiaotao.


    I closed the door and addressed the room, "Please cooperate with me on one thing. It¡¯s rted to the case we¡¯re currently investigating. I can¡¯t disclose the details, but don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s definitely not something that will put you in a difficult spot."


    They were all trained officers so no one questioned me when I said so.


    I asked each of them to walk up to me and speak in a normal tone, "We¡¯ve checked the school and found nothing suspicious."


    This was the exact sentence the Imitator said to me at the schoolst night. But at the time, I didn¡¯t doubt him at all and felt a sense of familiarity as if I had seen him before.


    The Imitator could perfectly clone a person¡¯s character, behavior and manner of speaking, so I suspected he was impersonating an officer here.


    Each officer came up to me and recited the words, then left through the back door. I went through a room full of officers but failed to find the one I was looking for.


    Xiaotao got the second group of officers toe in. This time, when one of the officers repeated the sentence, I experienced a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu and shouted, "Please repeat the sentence!"


    The officer paused for a moment and slowly repeated himself.


    "Thank you for your cooperation. The rest of you can go back,¡± I said. ¡°As for you, please stay." The officer looked at me in confusion. When I described the incident, he seemed caught on the hop. "Why did the murderer choose to impersonate me?" he asked.


    As I recalled, he wasn¡¯t part of the operationst night. "The reason is simple,¡± I chuckled. ¡°It means he sees you often. So tell me where you live and the ces you frequent."


    He reported several locations¨Chis home, the restaurant he frequented, andstly, his parents¡¯ home.


    Catching my drift, Xiaotao said, "I¡¯ll assign a few officers to check these three locations at once!"


    "No, this is the only clue we have now,¡± I waved my hand. ¡°We mustn¡¯t startle him. Let¡¯s change into some casual clothes and visit the locations ourselves."


    "Your outfit is casual enough,¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°Give me a moment, I¡¯ll change right now!"


    After a few minutes of waiting at the door, Xiaotao came out wearing a pair of shorts, a white T-shirt and a cap. My gaze flickered towards her deep cleavage. "Aren¡¯t we supposed to keep a low profile?" I smirked.


    ¡°This whole outfit is worth less than 300 yuan! Isn¡¯t that keeping a low profile?¡± Xiaotao knuckled me in the head.


    Then she noticed my gaze and said, "What are you looking at? It¡¯s not like I have a choice. My breasts are obvious in everything I wear!¡± She sighed, ¡°It¡¯s such a predicament being so voluptuous. I¡¯m considering getting a breast reduction."


    "There¡¯s no need for that,¡± I refuted. ¡°Staying natural is the best. If you go for that surgery, I guarantee the morale around here will take a huge dip."


    Xiaotao grabbed me by the ear andughed, "You mischievous rascal! Since when have you learned to be so glib?!"


    I begged for mercy and changed the subject. "Let¡¯s take a cab there!"


    The officer¡¯s home was the closest to the station so we headed there first. With Xiaotao¡¯s hand in mine, we strolled around the neighborhood. Passers-by couldn¡¯t resist staring at her.


    "Do I look like a policeman in this outfit?" Xiaotao asked, worried.


    "Your temperament can¡¯t be changed," I smiled.


    "I should probably learn from the Imitator. How does he hide himself so perfectly?"


    "I think he¡¯s an extremely insecure person who¡¯s disgusted with himself and lives based upon the evaluation of others,¡± I theorized. ¡°He¡¯s also likely to suffer from a mental illness."


    "Are you making a psychological assessment of the Imitator?"


    I nodded, "After reviewing the cases, I have a rough outline of the man in my head although he¡¯s been switching personas this whole time.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t categorize this sort of mental illness. The man might have suffered an inferiorityplex from an early age and was eager to be recognized by others. So he imitated the words and deeds of the people around him. This sort of imitation gave him a sense of security. And over time, he lost himself in the process...


    Philosophers endeavored to answer the ultimate question: "Who am I? Do my experiences define me? Or is it my body or my consciousness?" The self isn¡¯t created at birth, but a concept gradually forms.


    Children do not use the word "I" when they first learn to speak. For example, they might say, "Yangyang is thirsty," or "Yangyang wants to y for a while," which suggests they have yet to form the concept of "I.¡±


    With the continuous development of the brain and a deeper understanding of the world, children eventually realize one thing¨Cthe name others call them refers to themselves. Thus, they gradually learn to use the word "I" and gain their own reflective consciousness.


    The Imitator was a person who had no self-identity. Like aputer without a program installed, he could easily ¡°load and unload¡± someone else¡¯s personality.


    We circled around the neighborhood, looking for the property and inquiring about the tenants. Then we "trespassed" several homes but failed to find the Imitator¡¯s hideout.


    Thus, we headed to the next location¨Ca street filled with restaurants and food stalls.


    "I¡¯m starving,¡± cried Xiaotao. ¡°Won¡¯t you treat me to some beef soup!"


    "It¡¯s still a little early, isn¡¯t it?" I said, ncing at my watch.


    "I only had a ss of soy milk in the morning to lose weight," pouted Xiaotao.


    "Let¡¯s go have something then!"


    We visited the restaurant the officer frequented. During checkout, I asked the restaurant owner, "Does an officere here often?"


    "You mean Xiao Wang? Hees every day,¡± answered the restaurant owner.


    "Have you noticed anyone observing him?" I continued.


    The restaurant owner hesitated, "What a strange question you ask. Who the hell are you?"


    Xiaotao quickly dragged me away and chided, "How can you ask him like that? You cautioned me, but it looks like you haven¡¯t forgotten your consultant status either!"


    On our way out of the restaurant, I noticed several windows on the second floor of the opposite building. I immediately turned around and asked the restaurant owner, "Is there a unit for rental across the street?"


    "Yes, are you looking to rent a space?"


    "Do you have thendlord¡¯s number?" I added.


    I keyed in the contact number but left it at that. Xiaotao walked straight to the opposite building that was already upied by vendors on the first floor while the second floor was a residential space. There was a staircase in the back leading to the corridor on the second floor lined with doors.


    I checked them one by one, finally stopping in front of a door that was covered with advertisements and leaflets. My intuition told me that this was the one! ncing around to ensure there was no one else, I grabbed my lock-picking tools and unlocked the door.


    Upon entering the room, I immediately felt a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu at the sight of the shabby furnishings. There was no way I was wrong about this¡ªthe Imitator lived here!

 Chapter 364

    <h4>Chapter 364</h4>


    The room was casually furnished, with only a sofa and a TV set. Rubbish was strewn all over the floor and the curtains were drawn.


    Xiaotao and I explored the rest of the unit, heading to the room in the back. We found many secretly taken photos stuck on the walls, including the four victims and their husbands, the officer who was impersonated and some people I had never seen before.


    Xiaotao pointed to one of the photos and said, "The owner of that restaurant is on there."


    "This man is rather professional!" I said, opening a cab filled with wigs, fake beards, clothing and shoes from all walks of life, and a voice-altering device.


    Additionally, there was silicone padding used in cosmetic surgery clinics, possibly used to change his body shape by wrapping them around him.


    "Let¡¯s leave first and get some officers to monitor the ce," I suggested.


    When we exited, I noticed a broken mechanical pencil lead on the floor, caused by the opening of the door. The Imitator must have ced it on the door hinge. "This guy is so cautious! You stay here and call your men. I¡¯ll run down and purchase a lead refill."


    I dashed downstairs but found no convenience stores nearby. In the midst of my search, I received a call from Xiaotao. "Song Yang, a man just passed by and left after ncing at me!"


    "Describe him!"


    "His clothes were dirty and he looked like a migrant worker with a toolbox in his hand," answered Xiaotao.


    My heart sank, "That¡¯s probably him. I¡¯ll go after him now!"


    I turned around and used Cave Vision to detect clues within the crowd. As I passed an alley, I noticed a puddle on the ground and a trail of footprints extending into thene. Rushing in, I found a migrant worker¡¯s clothes lying on the ground.


    The Imitator had changed out of his clothes here so he could be anyone now. I called Xiaotao, "It¡¯s toote to call for reinforcements! He¡¯s our guy,¡± I dered. ¡°Come down so we can look for him together. I¡¯m in the alley diagonal to the building."


    A whileter, Xiaotao arrived with several officers, having sessfully called all the avable traffic police in the vicinity.


    "Thank you, everyone, foring. If we catch the suspect, you¡¯ll get a share of the bonus!" Xiaotao announced.


    An auxiliary officer asked, "What distinct characteristics does the suspect have?"


    "The suspect should be a middle-aged man of about 175 centimeters. He¡¯s good at hiding himself in different getups,¡± I surmised. ¡°You should pay close attention to old people, beggars and porters¨Cthose who usually go unnoticed."


    When everyone had dispersed, Xiaotao and I walked through the alley and came to the street. Looking at the passers-by going back and forth, I was at a loss.


    "Do you think he¡¯ll dress up as an auxiliary police officer?" asked Xiaotao.


    "I examined everyone earlier and the murderer isn¡¯t among them.¡±


    I suggested we spread out and keep our cell phones on call. As I walked down the street, I kept my gaze fixed on every passing face and noticed a beggar on the side. The beggar didn¡¯t shy away from my direct stare, shaking his broken bowl in my direction instead. "Show some pity!"


    I was about to walk away when a thought suddenly crossed my mind. Turning around, I leaned in towards the beggar, grabbed a handful of money from his broken bowl and sniffed. "You yed the role perfectly but there¡¯s still a tiny w," I sneered.


    The beggar turned a deaf ear and shook his bowl.


    "Opposite you is a thriving fried chicken restaurant. If restaurant patrons throw you their change, it¡¯s reasonable to say that the money you receive should have the heavy smell of oil and chicken. But I don¡¯t smell anything!"


    I intentionally said this so that Xiaotao would know our specific location through the phone.


    The beggar raised his nk eyes, "I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about."


    "You can keep pretending. I don¡¯t mind!" I scoffed.


    He suddenly threw the broken bowl into my face, scattering the coins all over me. Taking advantage of my distraught, he got up and fled. I subconsciously reached out my hand and tried to block his path. But by the time Iposed myself, the man had already infiltrated the crowd. I chased after him, shouting, "He¡¯s running east! Quick, surround him!"


    As I made my way through the crowd, I bumped into passers-by. After a while, when the beggar disappeared, I noticed dirty and worn-out clothes thrown on the ground.


    Heart burning with frustration, I saw Xiaotao running towards me. "Song Yang, an officer saw him fleeing west into an alley!"


    Upon hearing this, I turned into the alley on my left. After turning the corner, I found the alley empty. When I looked up, I was greeted by the sight of the Imitator in a delivery boy¡¯s uniform climbing up the wall with his bare hands.


    With the time constraint, he didn¡¯t have the chance to remove his makeup.


    Seeing that he was about to get away, I concentrated on activating the Eyes of Yama. Soon, the Imitator let out a miserable scream and fell from a height as if he had seen a ghost.


    I looked straight into his eyes and the Imitator fell to the ground, writhing in pain, tears streaming down his fearful face. His expression was one of utter terror as if he was facing the most horrifying nightmare in the world.


    "Don¡¯te any closer! Stay back!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.


    This was my first time using the Eyes of Yama in actualbat. The period in which I maintained the abilitysted longer than my practice in the hospital. Using this ability for a long time caused insufficient blood flow to the brain. My vision would eventually go ck and I would suffer from dizziness. These negative effects were also known as bacsh.


    My intense gaze drove the Imitator to the point of copse. When I finally stopped using the Eyes of Yama, he huddled up and shivered, appearing to havepletely given up all intention of escaping. I wrapped my hands around my head, trying to stop the throbbing.


    Right then, Xiaotao and several officers crashed into the scene from two separate directions. After handcuffing the Imitator, Xiaotao noticed my abnormality and asked, "Did he attack you?"


    "No, it¡¯s probably a sequ of the operation," I muttered.


    Xiaotao looked concerned, "You¡¯ve tired yourself out these past two days. Go home and rest!"


    "I¡¯m alright," I said, shaking my head.


    I turned to the Imitator¡¯s ordinary face, devoid of any distinctive features whatsoever. His eyes were hollow as if the man had lost his soul.


    "Thanks for the hard work!¡± Xiaotao addressed the officers. ¡°Please tell me your badge numbers. I will report your contributions to the bureau."


    While the officers rejoiced, I approached the Imitator. "We finally meet!"


    He smiled, "We finally meet!"


    "Stop messing around!" I furrowed my brows.


    "Stop messing around!" he echoed.


    I was shocked to find his impersonation of me so alike. "Forget your little tricks!¡± I sneered. ¡°I¡¯ll see you back at the station in a bit!"


    "Forget your little tricks! I¡¯ll see you back at the station in a bit!" he repeated after me.


    The officers soon came to escort the Imitator to the police car. Using the Eyes of Yama left me spent. As soon as I got into the car, I leaned back against the seat and rubbed my nose bridge.


    "Song Yang, why don¡¯t you take a nap?" Xiaotao suggested, worry evident in her eyes.


    I shook my head. It wasn¡¯t only physically exhausting. The feeling was hard to describe; it was as if my brain was heavy and swollen. When we passed by a convenience store, the milk on disy in the refrigerator was so tempting I insisted we stopped to get a bottle.


    Thankfully, Xiaotao got down and bought me arge bottle of milk. As the cold milk slipped down my throat and into my stomach, the difort in my head gradually eased and I felt as snug as a bug.

 Chapter 365

    <h4>Chapter 365</h4>


    At two in the afternoon, we began the interrogation. Xiaotao assigned two officers to test the waters, and sure enough, the Imitator repeated one of them throughout the entire interrogation. Seeing how livid the officers were, Xiaotao told them to stop.


    "How is this an interrogation room?¡± Xiaotaoughed. ¡°I think it¡¯s turned into a psych ward. Song Yang, are you ready?"


    I nodded, "Let¡¯s go in and meet the man!"


    When we entered the interrogation room, the Imitator stood up abruptly and sat back down again after us. It seemed his performance had started again.


    "Tell me your name, age, and upation!" barked Xiaotao.


    Using Xiaotao¡¯s manner of speech, the Imitator repeated, "Tell me your name, age, and upation!"


    Instead of being worked up, Xiaotao smiled and winked at me. "He¡¯s actually quite good!"


    The Imitator smiled and winked, "He¡¯s actually quite good!"


    "Do you think I can¡¯t do anything to you?"


    "Do you think I can¡¯t do anything to you?"


    Xiaotao took out a recording pen, "My name is Wang Er and I¡¯m 34 years old. I am a professional hitman."


    "My name is Wang Er and I¡¯m 34 years old. I¡¯m a professional hitman."


    Xiaotao waved the recording pen, "You said it yourself. Since you¡¯re nning to repeat after me, I might as well get you to make some incriminating statements!"


    The Imitator shook his nonexistent recording pen, "You said it yourself. Since you¡¯re nning to repeat after me, I might as well get you to make some incriminating statements!"


    Xiaotao¡¯s n wasn¡¯t working. The Imitator didn¡¯t care at all and simply enjoyed mimicking others.


    Xiaotao burst out in expletives and spread her hands, "I give up!"


    The Imitator yelled the same expletive and copied her movements. "I give up!"


    Watching the Imitator learn Xiaotao¡¯s movement and bodynguage, I felt an irrepressible bubble ofughter.


    "How dare youugh, you little heartless thing!" pouted Xiaotao.


    To her utter surprise, the Imitator didn¡¯t repeat after her this time.


    "Hmm, has he stopped?" pondered Xiaotao.


    Thus, Xiaotao continued with the serious talk but the Imitator replied haughtily, "I didn¡¯t kill anyone. I¡¯m an active policeman. You have no right to question me."


    "You? A policeman?! Shut up!" snapped Xiaotao.


    Why did the Imitator¡¯s expression seem so familiar to me? I suddenly cried, "He has be you! This is his impersonation of you."


    The Imitator cocked his head and smiled at me with admiration, "Why hadn¡¯t I noticed how smart you are?"


    He spoke in the exact manner and intonation Xiaotao usually would! This man was born to be an actor. Actually, scratch that; even an actor carried his own feelings but the Imitator was an empty shell that could transform into anyone from inside out.


    Completely out of solutions, Xiaotao sat there holding her head, looking rather depressed.


    I pointed to my eyes and then at him. "Do you want to try it again?"


    The Imitator shook his hands in horror. "Song Yang, what are you nning to do to me?"


    I motioned for Xiaotao to handcuff him. The Imitator fixed his gaze at me, body quaking like a leaf. I concentrated and activated the Eyes of Yama, causing the Imitator to scream in agony as if his eyes had been punctured by two bradawls.


    He begged for mercy, "Yi Qianren will speak! Yi Qianren will confess!"


    After a short three seconds of using the Eyes of Yama, the difort was rtively mild to my relief.


    "What is your name?" demanded Xiaotao.


    "Yi Qianren! Yi Qianren is Yi Qianren!" he answered.


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a meaningful nce. It turned out that the Imitator had no self-identity and didn¡¯t use the word "I.¡±


    Although the entire interrogation was strange, he didn¡¯t hesitate toe clean, as if he were referring to someone else¡¯s life.


    Yi Qianren was born in a poor family with parents who had great hopes for their son. Despite their financial status, his parents scrimped and saved to send him to the best school. Naturally, he became the target of discrimination and ostracism. However, he yearned for a sense of belonging so he began to imitate the popr students.


    Of course, this sort of imitation failed to bring him the poprity he so desired. Instead, he became even more marginalized. But the strange thing was, he derived great pleasure from imitating others!


    He began to observe everyone around him and mimicked them to the point where he no longer needed to specte on their private thoughts. All he had to do was perfectly copy his target¡¯s words and behaviors to ¡°transform¡± into that person. This was his unique talent.


    Without self-identity, he chose someone else¡¯s personality to live out most of the time. Upon reaching adulthood, he lived alone and happened to notice a woman suffering from prolonged domestic in the apartment opposite of his.


    He began to imitate the woman and gradually felt the pain and despair she had hidden inside. So he decided to kill her husband on her behalf. When the police investigated the case, they fixed their suspicions on the woman and arrested her.


    Yet Yi Qianren felt no guilt about this because his so-called assistance wasn¡¯t born of goodwill, but the woman¡¯s secret desire realized by him!


    Soon, he found it an interesting game and started framing others for his crimes. He usually chose families with intensified contradictions and seeded every time. By chance, he met a gang member who took a fancy to his skill and hired him to kill.


    Without a second thought, Yi Qianren agreed and began on the path of a hitman. His methods were very clever so he was able to get away with it every time and pin the me on someone else.


    But if you y with fire, you¡¯ll eventually get burned. So in one of his murders, he was seen and severely injured. In a panic, he ran for his life and bumped into a woman on the night shift who saved him and brought him to her home.


    While recovering from his injury, Yi Qianren identally discovered an old diary written by a boy. With little to do, he began imitating the boy to pass the time.


    When the woman witnessed this scene, she was astonished and cried out, "Is it really you?" before rushing towards him and embracing him.


    This was the first time Yi Qianren felt the warmth of love¡ªhe had always been regarded as a freak and a tool to be used by others. Although the one she loved was the boy he impersonated, he was the object of her affection.


    Love can change a person, even a cold, heartless one!


    As they spent more time together, Yi Qianren learned of the woman¡¯s tragic past¨C namely the bullying and the abuse. One night, the four bullies robbed her of her cell phone and texted her boyfriend, lying that she was ill. As a result, her boyfriend died in an ident on his way to her.


    After the incident, these girls muttered a few words of apology and the matter was suppressed by the school. Hence, the helpless girl was forced to suffer in silence.


    Yi Qianren decided to murder the four girls and destroy their families as a gift to his sweetheart.


    Upon hearing this, Xiaotao and I looked at each other. "Four girls? So Lin Xian was also a bully."


    The realization suddenly dawned upon me. "Not only did Lin Xian participate in the bullying, but she also used the victim¡¯s experience for her novels and drew attention to herself. No wonder she hated Lin Xian so much!"


    "What¡¯s her name?" I asked.


    Yi Qianren calmly replied, "Yi Qianren never asked. Her name isn¡¯t important. All that matters is Yi Qianren loves her!"

 Chapter 366

    <h4>Chapter 366</h4>


    Xiaotao mmed the table and stood up, "How romantic! Do you think we won¡¯t find the truth if you lie?"


    The Imitator looked indifferent.


    I whispered to Xiaotao, "Come out with me for a moment."


    Outside the detention room, I said, "It doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s lying. I have a suggestion¨Cpublish an article about the case in the newspaper and lure the woman out."


    "But this sort of case will cause social panic," she argued.


    "No! All you have to do is briefly mention that a serial murder case has been solved. You don¡¯t have to write the details,¡± I exined. ¡°As long as this woman sees the article, there¡¯s a 90% chance she¡¯lle to us."


    "Are you that confident the real culprit will turn herself in?" Xiaotao arched an eyebrow.


    "Let me correct you on that,¡± I chuckled. ¡°First off, she¡¯s not the real culprit. And secondly, she¡¯s just dropping by, not turning herself in."


    "Yes, this case is over!"


    We originally assumed this was a murder for hire, but from the Imitator¡¯s confession, the woman neither gave him money nor actively instructed him to kill these women. It was purely the Imitator¡¯s intention.


    Thus, the culprit was the Imitator and the woman wasn¡¯t actually involved in the crime.


    We still needed to investigate if we wanted to glean the whole picture.


    "Ah, what a relief to know that the case has been solved!¡± Xiaotao sighed. ¡°These two weeks of hard work wasn¡¯t in vain."


    "Someone seems to have lost the bet!" I grinned.


    "I know!¡± pouted Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯m willing to admit defeat. Just don¡¯t make me wear any strange clothes."


    "I¡¯ll give you the emperor¡¯s new clothes!" I winked.


    It took Xiaotao a moment to react. "You¡¯re getting more and more naughty!" she chided with a kick.


    Having detained the Imitator, the other suspects were released but the first suspect from the Taoyuan Precinct case was still held in the detention center, awaiting release after the necessary procedures.


    As soon as Mr. Li and Mr. Ding were released, they grabbed my hand and dropped to their knees in gratitude. "Officer, you mean just as much as a parent to me. When I was handcuffed, I thought my whole life was over. I never expected to see the light of day once more. Thank you, thank you so much!"


    "All we did was bring the truth to light,¡± I said, ¡°Besides, I¡¯m just a consultant. You should thank Officer Huang."


    The two left the station after expressing their gratitude to Xiaotao.


    The article in the newspaper was a contingency n that would only be published if we couldn¡¯t locate the woman. The police thoroughly searched the Imitator¡¯s hideout and found a cell phone with call records of her number.


    The next morning, Xiaotao called me down to the station. When I arrived at the interrogation room, I saw a woman sitting there with her head down.


    All skin and bones, she was dressed rather simply, her skin pale and evasive eyes darting around the room. She seemed very insecure about everything around her.


    "We¡¯ve never met before but I know what happened to you and I sympathize with you," I began.


    She ignored my remarks and went straight to the point, "Where is he?"


    "In the detention room. I can let you two meet, but before that, tell us your story!"


    "What¡¯s the point of listening to such a sad story? It¡¯s nothing to be proud of," shemented.


    Her name was Tao Jing. In school, she became the target of bullying because of her ugly appearance and cowardice.


    But the most rampant bullies were the three girls. Lin Xian never raised a finger against her, but what she did was even more repugnant than bullying!


    The bullying continued until the ident. Their thoughtless pranks killed Tao Jing¡¯s beloved but their families were rich and powerful so they never received the punishment they deserved. On the contrary, the school leaders had a ¡°talk¡± with her and urged her to drop the matter and forget the sad memories.


    At the time, Tao Jing hated everything and everyone in the school. If she was given a button that could destroy the school in an instant, she wouldn¡¯t hesitate to use it.


    The bullying haunted her like a never-ending nightmare that kept her miserable and constantly out of ce with the rest of the world. Meanwhile, the girls who destroyed her became winners in life. She hated the social injustice.


    By chance, she once came across Lin Xian in an interview. She was dressed in bright, beautiful clothes and introduced her new book, ¡°The Deste Age Of Seventeen.¡± She then proceeded to share her emotional story of being bullied in school which garnered sympathy from the audience and host who were so moved by her experience they even shed tears.


    Boiling with anger, Tao Jing wanted to burst out. The painful memories even she was unwilling to recollect were actually worn by Lin Xian like a medal of honor. The phony hypocrite broadcasted her experiences and shamelessly imed them as her own!


    She went onto Weibo and unleashed an angry rant, denouncing Lin Xian who not only ignored her but also got herwyer to send her a warning letter, threatening her of thewsuit she would face for spreading rumors and nder.


    At that time, Tao Jing burned with fury and nned to kill Lin Xian, even purchasing a knife and poison. However, as a bottom feeder, how could she get in touch with a popr author?


    All she could do was swallow the anger and live helplessly like doves driven headlong into a murky tempest.


    On her way back from a night shift, she witnessed a group of burly men chasing someone. Not thinking much of the matter, she immediately got the man to hide in an alley and pointed out the wrong direction to the big fellows.


    Her motives were very simple¨Cshe couldn¡¯t stand to watch any sort of bullying, and this man seemed very pitiful!


    The man was seriously injured but refused to go to hospital. Tao Jing had no choice but to take him back to her home for recuperation. She kept a diary of her first boyfriend, her only spiritual sustenance throughout the long, hard years.


    When she came home one evening, she found the man secretly reading the diary. Infuriated, she grabbed it out of his hands.


    But the man suddenly said, "Tao Jing, is that you?"


    Tao Jing froze; his tone, manner of speaking and actions were exactly the same as her ex-boyfriend. At first, she couldn¡¯t believe it and was enraged because she assumed he was teasing her.


    However, after his continuous attempts to impersonate her ex-boyfriend, Tao Jing gradually took him for that person. She soon fell in love with him and shared her darkest experiences.


    On the day he finally recovered, he suddenly said, "I will kill all those who bullied you!" Then he left without looking back.


    Since then, Tao Jing had been on tenterhooks for fear that something might happen to those girls. Upon hearing that her three ssmates were killed and their husbands arrested as suspects, she suddenly realized how powerful this man was!


    The man had originally nned to kill Lin Xian in the same manner but Tao Jing raised her objection. The lying bitch deserved a special death.


    Tao Jing suggested Lin Xian be taken to their old school and be tortured to death while she enjoyed the whole process.


    The man agreed to her request and met up with Lin Xian when she went out. Ironically, Lin Xian didn¡¯t realize the gravity of her situation. She even offered to speak to Tao Jing in person.


    When Lin Xian was taken to the public restroom in the girls¡¯ dormitory, the man made a video call so the two former ssmates could meet each other. Lin Xian brazenly argued, "I only did this so everyone would know your sad past and stop school bullying from ever happening again!"


    Revolted by her pitiful, duplicitous face, Tao Jing retorted, "Since you¡¯re an author, how can you write a good book without any personal experience?"


    Thus, the man began to torture Lin Xian by various means. Despite the cruelty of the abuse, Tao Jing was very delighted. Listening to Lin Xian¡¯s screams and pleas for mercy, and watching her wallow in her own blood¨Cthe feeling of revenge trumped everything else in this world.

 Chapter 367

    <h4>Chapter 367</h4>


    Tao Jing smiled grimly and seemed to still be savoring the pleasure of revenge from that night.


    "I¡¯d like to get one thing straight. Did you instruct him or suggest hemit those murders?"


    After a brief pause, Tao Jing affirmed, "Yes, I ordered him!"


    But I noticed her microexpressions. "Your bodynguage tells me you¡¯re lying. So the crimes were entirely the Imitator¡¯s idea. At most, your involvement changed the way thest victim was killed, but that doesn¡¯t count as instigation."


    "You¡¯re wrong,¡± she frowned. ¡°I hired him to kill them!"


    "Then how did you pay for his services?" I asked.


    "I transferred the money to himst night."


    Xiaotao immediately sent an officer to check the Imitator¡¯s bank ounts and found nothing, though he did receive four yuan red envelopes from Tao Jingst night on WeChat.


    In doing so, Tao Jing wanted to incriminate herself. "Why are you doing this?¡± I questioned. ¡°There¡¯s no way he¡¯ll escape legal sanctions, but it¡¯s not the same for you. You can walk out of this door a free man."


    "When you ¡®reason¡¯ with me, you sound just like those school leaders who tried to persuade me,¡± Tao Jing said, her eyes filled with hatred and disgust. ¡°In the eyes of people like you, the lives of others are always irrelevant and your own interests are the most important!"


    I was a little annoyed to hear her confuse me with those people. What she said waspletely unreasonable; it had nothing to do with my interests. However, the realization dawned upon me¨Cshe was deliberately provoking me.


    Whether Tao Jing was guilty or not depended entirely on how we reported the interrogation. She seemed unafraid of the consequences and was determined to follow the Imitator to prison.


    "I¡¯m not trying to reason with you. I¡¯m merely stating the truth,¡± I exined. ¡°Don¡¯t be foolish. Do you think four yuan counts as payment for his services? If I give you ten yuan, will you help me kill ten people?"


    "Whether it¡¯s four yuan or four million, it¡¯s still paying him to murder them!" she insisted.


    I shook my head andughed, "There¡¯s no proof of a transaction between you two. Neither has he received the money on WeChat, nor is there an oral or written agreement between the both of you. Then what if I identally gave a stranger a few yuan in red envelopes and that person kills someone? If this counts as murder for hire, then wouldn¡¯t I be charged with a crime as well?"


    In fact, this interrogation was unprecedented. Here we were, desperately trying to prove her innocence while she was frantically scrambling to prove her guilt.


    Tao Jing lowered her head gloomily, "No one has been so kind to me since my ex-boyfriend died. I don¡¯t want to give up on him. He¡¯s everything to me. If he¡¯s arrested, it¡¯s the end of my entire world... "


    "It¡¯s not like they put both men and women in the same prison, so it¡¯s meaningless for you to go with him,¡± I urged. ¡°If you¡¯re free, you can at least send him food from outside!"


    "Must you sentence him to death?¡± shouted Tao Jing. ¡°Those people he killed deserved it. If you were me, you would do the same!"


    "Thew is reason-free from passion. There are many ways of executing revenge. Why must you kill?" I argued.


    I exchanged a few words with Xiaotao under my breath. We hade to the end of the interrogation.


    "Don¡¯t be silly, I won¡¯t let you go to prison for nothing,¡± I persuaded. ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll take you to meet him!"


    Tao Jing looked at me unfathomably, tears wetting her eyes. "Why do you want to help me?" she bit her lip.


    I sighed and looked straight into her eyes, "I¡¯m not helping you. I¡¯m just doing what I should do. I hope you¡¯lle out of the shadows and find peace."


    Tao Jing wailed, slurring her speech, "That¡¯s easy for you to say. How am I supposed to walk out of all that? Every night, I dream of those terrifying days. I can¡¯t trust or get along with anyone. They¡¯ve turned me into a pathetic outcast."


    "Look, aren¡¯t you speaking your mind now?¡± I said, patting her on the shoulder. ¡°You don¡¯t have to waste your whole life for what those four bullies have done to you. They¡¯re dead now, and their families are ruined. Yet you¡¯re standing alive and well. Shouldn¡¯t you take control of your destiny?"


    As a consultant involved in solving crimes, it was inappropriate for me to speak these words. But deep down from the bottom of my heart, I hoped Tao Jing could walk out of the dark tunnel and no longer be tortured by her past.


    "Thank you," nodded Tao Jing as she sobbed.


    Xiaotao and I exited the interrogation room, leaving her topose herself. Looking through the one-way ss, Xiaotao sighed repeatedly, "What a poor girl!"


    In truth, I had mixed feelings about the matter. The unfairness of life couldn¡¯t be altered. Oftentimes, destroying a person¡¯s life required only an incident or a word. Most people spent their whole lives trying to heal their inner wounds, yet those who inflicted them lived at ease.


    In the face of this unjust world, all we could do was ept our imperfect selves and move on.


    At the end of the case, the police held a press conference to publicize that a serial murder had been solved. In order to protect Tao Jing¡¯s privacy, the school bullying incident wasn¡¯t made public.


    The Imitator was quickly sent to the detention center, in wait for his hearing. What surprised me most in the entire case was that a killer with mind-blowing abilities like the Imitator was actually working alone and didn¡¯t belong to any criminal organization.


    On the day we closed the case, Xiaotao and I walked out of the station together. Xiaotao stretched herself and looked up at the sky. "We can finally have a good rest!"


    "It¡¯s too soon for you to be happy,¡± I chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, you have to wear what I ask you to and do everything I say."


    "Yes, I got it,¡± she pursed her lips. ¡°Tell me then. I¡¯ll do everything you ask, but don¡¯t you dare go too far!"


    "Give me a moment!" I burst out.


    Dashing straight to her office, I grabbed the box I previously left there. Upon opening it, Xiaotao blushed like a ripe tomato. Inside was a baroque-style dress she once pointed out in passing.


    "I wasn¡¯t serious about it,¡± she smiled shyly. ¡°How embarrassing would it be if my colleagues caught me wearing such a girly dress at my age? What would be of my prestige as captain?"


    "Don¡¯t you try going back on your word,¡± I smirked. ¡°You have to wear it!"


    "Fine, I got it,¡± she nodded. ¡°Any further instructions?"


    "Go on a date with me tomorrow!"


    Xiaotao breathed a sigh of relief, "Alright,e pick me up tomorrow morning."

 Chapter 368

    <h4>Chapter 368</h4>


    The next day, Xiaotao and I went shopping, watched a movie, and visited the game arcade in the mall. Although it was a long day, we were delighted and content.


    After a day¡¯s rest, Xiaotao went back to work while l helped out in the store. I managed to sell a bunch of our products to the police force which made Dali so happy he insisted on giving me a cut, though I refused.


    Dali and Luo Youyou often chatted, ate and took long walks together. In the eyes of others, they were already a couple, but Dali imed they hadn¡¯t yet established a rtionship.


    "Are you running a marathon?¡± I chided. ¡°Then, why the hell are you taking your sweet time? Speed up the progress a little. She¡¯s such a nice girl. If you don¡¯t seize the opportunity, she¡¯ll be snapped up by someone else."


    "You¡¯re one to talk,¡± retorted Dali. ¡°What about you? You¡¯ve been with Xiaotao-jiejie for almost a year. Have you held hands, kissed, or done the deed?"


    "My situation is special,¡± I blushed. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t learn from me."


    "What¡¯s so special, huh? You meet almost every day. Why haven¡¯t you established a rtionship?" he snorted.


    Forget it, I have nothing left to say! Do as you please!


    Luo Youyou mentioned that Dali was still texting Bingxin every day. With Bingxin, once you got acquainted with her, she could talk about everything. And Dali, ever the casanova, thought Bingxin was interested in him so he kept gunning for her.


    My intuition told me Dali¡¯s first rtionship would end tragically, perhaps before it even began...


    In the afternoon, Luo Youyou and I worked in the store together while Dali headed to the logisticspany. During the afternoon slump, I was so bored I picked out a book to read.


    Luo Youyou suddenly eximed, "Song Yang, look at this post!"


    "What¡¯s the matter?" I asked.


    "Have you ever heard of the ghost bus in Nanjiang City?"


    "No, read it to me!"


    She exined a post was published a week ago, mentioning a mysterious, decrepit bus people had witnessed driving between East China Road and Redbud Roadte at night. Apparently, the bus model had been put out ofmission in Nanjiang City ten years ago. Wherever the bus went, it would be apanied by a thick fog that wouldn¡¯t disperse even with strong winds. The fog was so heavy it filled the streets, creating an eerie atmosphere.


    The bus drove at a snail¡¯s pace, stopping only at certain locations and ignoring other stops entirely. Some people imed to have discovered a pattern¨Cthey were all old stops from ten years ago!


    The driver was a grim-faced man wearing an old uniform and cap from the early days, though his face was usually well-hidden. Legend has it the driver wasn¡¯t a living person at all¡ªsomeone reported having seen his face up close. His eyeballs hung out of their sockets and maggots wriggled all over his rotting face.


    No one dared to get on the bus because the saying was that if you did, you would be taken to the underworld.


    When several nosy parkers chased behind the bus to see where it was headed, it drove straight into a river in the outskirts of the city.


    After some research, enthusiasticizens discovered a serious traffic ident that happened ten years ago in Nanjiang City. A bus on the bridge dived into the river to avoid a car going in the wrong direction. Because it was winter and the water was freezing, the bus sank to the bottom and all the passengers inside drowned.


    Netizens who dug up the old article were surprised to find that the license te number of this ghost bus matched the one that crashed into the river.


    Upon hearing this, I shrugged, "It¡¯s all nonsense!"


    "But many people have seen it!¡± Luo Youyou was unconvinced.


    "Some of them probably lied in order to gain attention while others saw something misleading and were influenced by thements online,¡± I exined. ¡°They believed they had seen the bus, but human memory is the most unreliable thing."


    Let me cite an example: Many alien abduction cases were reported every year, but before the word UFO was invented, there were none. This suggested that most of the so-called alien abductions were fictitious.


    "The universe is so vast. There must be aliens!" cried Luo Youyou.


    "I don¡¯t know if there are, but I don¡¯t believe this ghost bus is real!¡± I chuckled. ¡°At least show me some photos or a video for proof."


    "Apparently, a popr blogger specializing in paranormal activity research also confirmed the theory," added Luo Youyou.


    "But his confirmation doesn¡¯t do anything," I retorted.


    Right then, Dali walked in through the front door and asked, "What are you talking about? You¡¯re both so excited."


    Luo Youyou pointed to the screen, "I saw an incredible post on the Inte, but Song Yang doesn¡¯t think it¡¯s real."


    "That¡¯s just how he is!¡± Daliughed. ¡°He doubts everything. Even if a hundred people tell him there¡¯s a hole in front of him, he wouldn¡¯t believe it unless he fell in himself."


    "How can you make the pursuit of truth sound so bad?" I protested.


    Luo Youyou proceeded to describe the ghost bus to Dali with much excitement.


    "Redbud Road is only three blocks away from here. Why don¡¯t we go find out?" suggested Dali.


    Luo Youyou pped her hands, "Yes, what a great idea!"


    "Dude, let¡¯s invite Bingxin as well!¡± gushed Dali. ¡°She loves this sort of thing."


    Luo Youyou¡¯s face sank like lead. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder how Dali could be so blind! Dali brazenly phoned Bingxin and told her about our ns for the evening.


    "Will Song Yang-gege be there too?" asked Bingxin.


    ring at Dali, I warned him not to make any promises but the idiot said, "He¡¯sing too!"


    Bingxin agreed at once, "Alright, I¡¯ll drop by your storeter."


    Both Luo Youyou and I wore long faces while Dali grinned like the cat that got the cream.


    A whileter, Bingxin pulled up in front of the store. She cheerfully greeted me, to which I replied, "Has your father given you the green light for tonight¡¯s outing?"


    "How is that possible? He¡¯s not home from work so I took the opportunity to sneak out,¡± she beamed. ¡°By the way, what¡¯s this about the ghost bus that Dali mentioned?"


    Dali was anxious like a cat on hot bricks, "I¡¯ll show you the post. Luo Youyou, go to the convenience store and get us two drinks."


    Though I had nothing to say about his request, Luo Youyou¡¯s expression turned dim. Picking up on her emotions, I immediately stood up and said, "I¡¯ll go!"


    Bingxin shook her head, "It¡¯s alright, water is fine."


    Both of them sat at the cashier counter, eagerly studying the post. Like most girls interested in the paranormal, Bingxin was in high spirits upon hearing our n to explore Redbud Road in the evening. Luo Youyou¡¯s expression was a sharp contrast to Bingxin¡¯s wide grin.


    I thought to myself, Dali, if you go on like this, you¡¯ll surely end up with nothing!


    As a friend, I had to do something within my power. I sent Luo Youyou a text message: Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll give Dali a good talking to.


    She replied: It¡¯s alright. I won¡¯t join you tonight. You guys have fun.


    I pleaded: Come for me, won¡¯t you?


    She texted: Fine, for your sake, I will. But I¡¯m resigning tomorrow!


    Lost for words, I suddenly wished I had Xiaotao¡¯s emotional intelligence. I made up my mind to speak to Dali about this as soon as I got the chance.

 Chapter 369

    <h4>Chapter 369</h4>


    At about 10:00 pm, we closed up shop and prepared for departure. Dali suggested we have supper first since it waste. Bingxin¡¯s presence was like a dose of adrenaline for him.


    "Forget supper!¡± I snorted. ¡°Make it a quick trip. We¡¯ll go and prove it¡¯s false. Do you really think I¡¯m that interested?"


    "But we hardly hang out together!" argued Dali.


    Dali insisted on having supper and found a stall selling seafood porridge. While he went to order, I briefly exined Dali¡¯s dismal emotional life to Bingxin, and with her high EQ, she soon understood the situation. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna be the bitch who breaks people¡¯s rtionships. I promise I won¡¯t reply to Dali¡¯s text messages in the future..." she said, covering her mouth with a giggle.


    I nodded, "I¡¯m worried. This idiot¡¯s emotional intelligence is shockingly low!"


    Bingxin poked my cheek, "Pot calling the kettle ck! In fact, I text Dali to talk about you most of the time!" She took out her cell phone and said, "Song Yang-gege, please y Honor of Kings with me!"


    "Now?" I arched an eyebrow.


    "Isn¡¯t this a good excuse for ignoring Dali?" she smiled.


    "Alright!"


    A whileter, Dali came back with the food. Seeing how much fun we had, he said, "Honor of Kings? Let me join too!"


    "No way, you suck!" sniffed Bingxin.


    When Dali insisted on joining our game, Bingxin retorted, "Stop disturbing us, alright? Why don¡¯t you spend some time with Luo Youyou?"


    With nothing else to do, Dali and Luo Youyou chatted about thetest movies.


    After supper, we headed for Redbud Road. There were few people on the streets. Dali and Luo Youyou walked in front while Bingxin and I trailed behind, her hands tightly gripping mine.


    "It¡¯s so hot! Don¡¯t you think so? My hands are sweating,¡± I frowned.


    "You told me to draw a clear line between Dali and I. Well, here I am, putting words into action,¡± she smiled cheerfully. ¡°By the way, what do you think of my outfit?"


    She was wearing a bright-colored dress and carrying a cute bag while her hair was neatly pinned with a velvet hair clip. "You look beautiful!" Iplimented.


    "Xiaotao-jiejie showed off the dress you sent her the other day,¡± she pouted.


    "It was a bet!" I chuckled.


    "In which you lost?" Bingxin looked surprised.


    "She lost!"


    "What? So she gets pretty clothes when she loses?¡± Bingxin grabbed my arm, ¡°I want to bet with you as well!¡±


    "What¡¯s the bet?" I sighed.


    "I bet this ghost bus really exists!"


    I never even considered the possibility of such a supernatural phenomenon to be real. "That¡¯s absolutely impossible! It¡¯s fake, I¡¯m sure of it," I scoffed.


    Bingxin raised her eyebrows, "Alright then. If you lose, buy me a dress that I like."


    "And what if you lose?"


    "Up to you!" Bingxin puffed up her chest.


    I didn¡¯t need new clothes, so after a moment¡¯s contemtion, I added, "The store is hiring a part-time worker to hand out flyers. How about working half the day on the weekends?"


    "It sounds boring, but alright!"


    Then she stretched out her little finger and hooked mine.


    When we arrived at Redbud Road, there were almost no cars on the street. The four of us stood on the sidewalk like fools for about twenty minutes when I suggested, "Let¡¯s go home. The ghost bus is nonsense. It¡¯s some urban myth made up online."


    "Let¡¯s wait a while more," Dali interjected.


    Noticing Bingxin yawn and leanzily against me, Dali acquiesced, "Why don¡¯t we just forget it? Send Bingxin-meimei home to rest."


    "I¡¯m not sleepy!" dered Bingxin.


    Luo Youyou¡¯s smile immediately dimmed.


    Right then, a voice sounded from behind. "Excuse me, are you guys waiting for the ghost bus?"


    We turned around to see a boy with a digital camera slung around his neck, dressed in hip-hop style¨Che had a cool cap and baggy trousers.


    "I¡¯ll introduce myself. My name is Zhou Yang and I¡¯ve traveled from another city to verify this urban legend,¡± he said. ¡°You may have heard of my Weibo. It¡¯s called ¡®Nighttime Ghost Encounters¡¯!"


    ¡°You¡¯re the blogger from that paranormal ount!¡± Luo Youyou burst out in excitement. ¡°I¡¯ve been following you for several years. Your paranormal research is amazing!"


    Zhou Yang scratched his head and smiled shyly, "You¡¯re ttering me. I was able to write those posts because I personally visited each and every paranormal location."


    "Wow, really?¡± gushed Luo Youyou. ¡°The cat-faced olddy, the home of eighty-one ghosts and the subway mummy were all investigated by you? That¡¯s incredible!¡±


    As the two chatted enthusiastically, Dali looked displeased instead.


    Bingxin whispered in my ear, "Luo Youyou¡¯s enthusiasm is intentional. She¡¯s trying to annoy Dali."


    "How can you tell?" I looked at her in astonishment.


    Bingxin held her tummy inughter and pointed to her forehead. ¡°That¡¯s because I have a pair of invisible antennas on my head that can read people¡¯s thoughts!"


    I knew exactly what she was implying¨Cit was a sarcastic jab at myck of emotional intelligence!


    Zhou Yang didn¡¯t seem genuine to me. The subject of their conversation soon turned to Luo Youyou. His flirtatious eyes lingered on her chest and the bottom of her skirt.


    Pushed past the point of tolerance, Dali walked over and joined the conversation, deliberately diverting Zhou Yang¡¯s attention.


    Meanwhile, Bingxin searched online and cautioned, "You should advise Luo Youyou to be careful! This guy doesn¡¯t make very goodments online. A number ofizens have revealed that he likes sleeping with his fans."


    "To be honest, I don¡¯t have a good opinion of these inte celebrities," I remarked.


    We waited for another half hour and I nced at the time¨Cit was almost midnight. There wasn¡¯t a car in sight and I was beginning to think this whole investigation was a waste of time.


    Bingxin leaned sleepily against me. "Why don¡¯t I take you home?" I persuaded.


    Bingxin shook her head and kept her eyes closed. "No, I want that dress! Let¡¯s wait until midnight!" A few minutester, she shivered and hugged her shoulders. "Song Yang-gege, why is it so cold?"


    Her clothes were too thin to keep her warm so I removed my coat and ced it over her body. Bingxin muttered a low thanks.


    Suddenly, Zhou Yang shouted, "Look! Over there!"


    Dashing to the curb, he frantically snapped photos. I looked straight ahead and found nothing but fog.


    Wait a minute, there seemed to be something hidden in the fog!


    Right then, the overhead streetmp flickered and the outline of a bus slowly emerged from within the fog.


    Luo Youyou squealed, "I told you it¡¯s real!"


    Filled with disbelief, I stared wide-eyed at the bus.


    It was an old-fashioned bus that had been out ofmission for a long time. Broken and decrepit, it drove through the night. The lower part of the bus waspletely shrouded in fog so we couldn¡¯t see the wheels turning. It was as if the bus was gliding silently on the road.


    The dimly-lit bus was devoid of passengers.


    There was no light on the driver¡¯s seat where a man wearing a cap was seen slowly turning the steering wheel. His movements were stiff and his face expressionless, much like the dead...

 Chapter 370

    <h4>Chapter 370</h4>


    As the ghost bus approached, Zhou Yang dashed straight in that direction, yelling at us, "It doesn¡¯t stop here. Let¡¯s run to the next stop!"


    "What? You want to get on the bus?" I hesitated.


    After a round of voting, everyone except for me agreed to get on the bus. I was forced to submit to the majority.


    We ran towards the stop sign in front. But when the bus passed us, we found that it wasn¡¯t moving as slow as we had previously assumed so catching the bus on foot proved difficult. Seeing Bingxin struggle to run in her sandals, Dali seized the opportunity and said, "I¡¯ll carry you!"


    However, Bingxin removed both sandals and held them in her hand. "It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ll run barefoot."


    What if she steps on ss or sharp gravel? I couldn¡¯t bear to watch her get hurt so I bent over and offered, "Climb up!"


    After a few seconds of hesitating, she threw herself onto my back and asked me in a low whisper, "Am I heavy?"


    "Lighter than Xiaotao!" I answered.


    "You naughty boy!" she tugged my ear.


    We reached the stop sign where the bus came to a halt. The bus doors opened with a loud creak and we filed in immediately.


    Zhou Yang stretched his neck out curiously, observing the empty bus. "Why isn¡¯t there a conductor?"


    "Maybe they take our souls for the ticket fee!" Dali uttered gloomily.


    Zhou Yang red at him, "Stop messing around. Do you think it¡¯s funny?"


    "How are you a paranormal investigator if you¡¯re so afraid?¡± mocked Dali. ¡°Even I¡¯m embarrassed for you!"


    Watching Dali tit for tat, Bingxin and I exchanged a smile. The four of us found seats in the back row and Zhou Yang started taking photos of everything.


    "Make sure we¡¯re not in the photo or I¡¯ll sue you for viting my rights,¡± I warned.


    "Why would I take your photo?¡± grinned Zhou Yang. ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯re good-looking! I¡¯m taking photos of these two beautifuldies."


    "Song Yang-gege, smash his cell phone!" Bingxin frowned.


    As soon as I stood up to get to work, Zhou Yang hid his cellphone behind him. "Geez, why are you such a downer? Can¡¯t I make a joke?"


    Zhou Yang ran to the front and sat away from us, as if he wanted to speak to the driver but couldn¡¯t muster up the courage to face the disconcerting man. As the bus traveled down the street, I observed our surroundings and surmised, "It¡¯s no big deal. It¡¯s just an ordinary bus."


    In the back row, Dali suddenly let out a scream that made my eardrums ache.


    ¡°What are you doing?" I asked.


    Dali pointed out the window, tongue-tied and faltering, "Dude, look at the shadows!"


    At first, all we saw outside was the dark tarmac but when the bus drove past a wall, the reflection that appeared horrified us. There were silhouettes of people sitting next to the windows.


    "There are ghosts on the bus!" Bingxin screamed in fright and pulled me into a tight embrace.


    While Dali, Luo Youyou and Zhou Yang reacted with the same horror, I remained indifferent. So what if there were ghosts?


    "But here¡¯s what I don¡¯t understand,¡± I interjected. ¡°Some supernatural novels say that ghosts have no shadows but others write that photographs are able to capture images of supernatural beings naked to the human eye. Is there a definite answer to this? Someone give me a goddamn conclusion!"


    "Just because you don¡¯t understand doesn¡¯t mean you can babble nonsense!¡± Zhou Yang rebuked. ¡°There are people on the bus¡ªwe just can¡¯t see them."


    "An invisible object has the characteristic of allowing light to pass through. If that¡¯s the case, how can it have a shadow?" I retorted.


    Zhou Yang endeavored to reason, "Ghosts exist in another dimension, and those shadows are projected from that dimension."


    "Oh, so you¡¯re referring to a four-dimensional space. Would you please exin what that is?" I quipped.


    Zhou Yang was rendered speechless. "Then how do you exin the shadows?"


    "There must be a scientific exnation,¡± I insisted. ¡°I don¡¯t think those are ghosts."


    ¡°People hell-bent on scientific superstitions are simply hopeless!" he scoffed. Having said that, he angrily sat back down.


    I thought to myself, Scientific superstitions? This was the first time I had ever heard the phrase. Did he automatically rte the mere rustle of leaves in the wind or any sign of slight disturbance to the supernatural?


    Our little war of words greatly diluted the strange atmosphere on the bus. Every time we passed a streetmp, the silhouettes sitting by the window appeared once more.


    Pointing to the shadows on the floor, I said, "They¡¯repletely still. Isn¡¯t that a little suspicious?"


    Dali pointed out, "Ghosts don¡¯t move."


    "How can there be a ghost bus?¡± I snapped. ¡°I¡¯m going to speak to the driver."


    Right then, the bus came to an abrupt halt. Two women and a man came on board. The women were heavily made up and scantily d while the burly man wore a lewd smile on his face as he winked at the two women. "Give it a second thought. I guarantee spending the night with me won¡¯t be a loss for you two. You¡¯ll even be paid."


    I caught a whiff of alcohol from the man¡¯s body that suggested he was a lecherous old man who followed thedies from a nightclub.


    The three sat in the front row. "Why the hell are you bothering us? We work in a nightclub but we¡¯re not hookers. If you want to go whoring, look for a prostitute."


    The man rubbed his hands in glee, "Watch how you speak, youngdy. You¡¯re ones I¡¯m interested in. How about it? Have you thought it over?"


    Bingxin whispered, "How disgusting!"


    The man seemed to notice his surroundings. "s, which bus is this?" Then, turning to Zhou Yang, he repeated, "Dude, which bus is this?"


    Zhou Yang coldly replied that he was unaware.


    As it turned out, the three of them had unknowingly gotten on the wrong bus. The man continued to pester the women to spend the night with him.


    I turned to the others, "Let¡¯s get off at the next stop."


    "It wasn¡¯t easy for us to find the bus. Why don¡¯t we stay a while longer?" urged Dali.


    I deliberately frightened him, "They all say that this bus is headed to the underworld. Why don¡¯t you stay and experience it by yourself?"


    My tactic was indeed effective in getting him toe around. "Alright, let¡¯s get off at the next stop!" Dali shivered.


    However, the bus drove and passed the stop. The burly man suddenly stood up and walked to the driver. "Dude, why didn¡¯t you stop?¡± he asked, pounding the back of the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Does this bus go to Xinxiang?"


    Faced with the driver¡¯s silence, the man struck harder. "Are you mute? Why don¡¯t you say something?"


    "He¡¯s going to die! He¡¯ll definitely die!" Dali trembled.


    "Really?¡± I challenged. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to stay and watch what happens."


    Hot under the cor, the burly man reached out and shook the driver¡¯s arm. But the most unexpected thing happened¨Cthe driver¡¯s arm fell off and rolled to his feet.


    "G-g-ghost!" he yelled in horror.


    Fear was contagious and the entire bus was soon filled with screams, and only I was unaffected. It was clear to me that the arm that had fallen to the ground was a prosthetic limb.


    The driver quietly picked up his prosthetic arm, attached it to his body, and continued driving.


    Frightened out of his wits, the burly man banged at the doors with all his might, wailing like a dying pig, "Let me down! Let me down!"


    At this moment, the bus came to a stop so the burly man¡¯s leg was stuck between the bus doors. Screaming bloody murder and begging for our help, he repeatedly pulled at his leg, trying to free it from the doors. I stood up and said to the driver, "Sir, please close the doors!"


    The driver didn¡¯t seem to perceive the sounds of the outside world at all. After waiting for half a minute, the doors closed automatically and remained shut. Then the bus went on its way again.

 Chapter 371

    <h4>Chapter 371</h4>


    The burly man shivered, "What¡¯s wrong with this bus? Why is it so chilly in here? Everything feels wrong."


    ¡°This bus doesn¡¯t actually exist in our world,¡± Zhou Yang solemnly exined. ¡°It only appears in the world of the living at a certain time. Didn¡¯t you look carefully before boarding?"


    The burly man looked frightened, "What the hell do you do? How do you know about this?"


    "This is what I study,¡± said Zhou Yang. ¡°You can check out my Weibo, ¡®Nighttime Ghost Encounters.¡¯"


    When I sat back in my seat, Bingxin smiled, "Anyway, tonight was worth it. It was much more fun than a haunted house."


    "Aren¡¯t you afraid?" I asked curiously.


    "I¡¯m not afraid of anything with you around!" she giggled.


    The bus was already in the southern region of the city and only God knew when it would stop. Certain that the driver was a living person, I was hoping to ask him a few questions. If he were really a ghost, how could he drive?


    I walked to the front of the bus when Zhou Yang stopped me. "What are you doing?"


    "I want to speak to the driver!"


    "You mustn¡¯t break the peace. If you annoy the driver, we may never return to thend of the living!" warned Zhou Yang.


    What nonsense! "Look at the bright lights outside. Does this look like theherworld to you? I never knew it was so prosperous!" I quipped.


    "You don¡¯t understand!¡± frowned Zhou Yang. ¡°Theherworld is a parallel worldposed of antimatter. Everything outside is just a projection of the living world. Just imagine that we¡¯re underwater now. Seeing the outside world through the water doesn¡¯t mean we can go there! Why do you think no one else got on the bus this whole time?"


    I was convinced that no other inte celebrity could spin fairy tales like Zhou Yang. "Who would dare get on a broken bus without a number?¡± Iughed. ¡°All right, I¡¯m not arguing with you. I¡¯m going home."


    As soon as the bus stopped, the man and two women tore hell for leather out of the bus followed by the rest of us. The feeling of stepping on solid ground was reassuring. The bus floated through the white mist and slowly disappeared down the road.


    I proposed we take a cab back while Zhou Yang warned, "Your behavior today has angered the ghosts and gods. I dere that a cmity will befall you in three days!"


    "Why thank you!" I chuckled.


    With that, we hailed a cab and headed to Bingxin¡¯s home. Downstairs of her apartment, she cried, "Hehe, my dad hasn¡¯te back yet. Won¡¯t youe in for a bit?"


    I shook my head, "It¡¯ste! I¡¯m going back to my ce."


    Bingxin pouted, "Just stay the night then. I¡¯m scared of being alone."


    "Fine!" I helplessly acquiesced.


    "Let¡¯s go up together!" Dali chimed in but I quickly pushed him off.


    Although I had previously visited Bingxin¡¯s home, this was my first time dropping in at night. Upon entering the apartment, Bingxin turned on all the lights.


    "Isn¡¯t this a waste of electricity?" I asked.


    "I¡¯m scared!" she burst out.


    I thought to myself, Overthinking only leads to trepidation and fear.


    When Bingxin asked me if I wanted to take a bath, I shook my head, "No thank you!"


    Bingxin burst intoughter, "Are you nning to sleep in my bed reeking of sweat?"


    "Can¡¯t I sleep on the couch?"


    "No, you must take a bath." Bingxin insisted.


    I motioned with my hand, "Then you go first!"


    After Bingxin entered the bathroom, steady sshes sounded. For ack of something better to do, I watched TV for a while until Bingxin came out wearing a loose T-shirt. She searched through the closet and finally grabbed a pair of loose pants and a towel. "Here, you can wear my dad¡¯s!" she said.


    "Sure." I didn¡¯t mind wearing someone else¡¯s clothes.


    "You¡¯re sleeping on the sofa tonight!" Bingxin added.


    "Alright," I nodded.


    "I¡¯m going to my bedroom..."


    "Just go!" I waved her off.


    But when I came out of the shower, Bingxin was sitting on the couch snacking on fruit while watching TV.


    "Weren¡¯t you going to bed?" I asked, surprised.


    Bingxin pursed her lips, "It¡¯s not so often you get to stay the night. So how can we just go to sleep! Let¡¯s do something else!"


    I dropped into the couch, "What else can we do?"


    "Would you like to y a game?" she smiled mischievously.


    "I just want to sleep!"


    "No,¡± she cried. ¡°You must join me in some intense activities!"


    Perfectly aware she wasn¡¯t suggesting anything sexual, I didn¡¯t think of it. "What are you thinking?" I arched an eyebrow.


    "Give me a minute."


    Bingxin ran barefoot into her bedroom and soon appeared again, holding two PSVs. "Let¡¯s y this!"


    "Oh, give me a break! I want to sleep!" I grumbled.


    "No, I insist we y at least 300 rounds before you can sleep!" she pressed.


    Thus, I was forced to apany her in a continuousbat game. The loser would have their nose flicked by the winner. Bingxin almost doubled overughing throughout the game. Although I didn¡¯t often y, it was rather interesting once we got started. I deliberately lost so Bingxin could have a few victories.


    After more than an hour, Bingxin rubbed her eyes and yawned, "Onest round."


    "You¡¯re already sleepy. Listen to me, go to bed now!" I urged.


    Bingxin agreed but upon entering her room, she shrieked and came running. "It¡¯s dark in my bedroom. I¡¯m afraid."


    "Turn on the lights then!"


    "How am I supposed to sleep with the lights on?¡± she retorted. ¡°You¡¯ll have to stay with me for a while."


    Smiling wryly, I walked into Bingxin¡¯s bedroom to watch her lying on the bed, curling up like a child. I couldn¡¯t resist the urge to pamper the girl who seemed to have never grown up.


    Bingxin murmured, "Can you wait till I fall asleep?"


    "Alright, I¡¯m here."


    Bingxin rested her head on myp as her breathing gradually evened out. I gently ced her head on the pillow but just as I was about to leave, she pulled me into her embrace and dreamily mumbled, "Song Yang-gege!"


    My torso was twisted in an awkward position that was extremely ufortable to maintain. Afraid to wake her up, I slowly pried her arms open, covered her with the nket, and quietly left the room.


    I slept on the couch until about seven in the morning when I was woken up by a loud voice. "Kiddo, when did youe over?" asked Sun Tiger.


    "Uncle Sun, did you just leave the station?"


    "Don¡¯t even get me started.¡± Sun Tigerined, ¡°We were investigating the boss of a smuggling and drug-trafficking triad all throughout the night. Why didn¡¯t you sleep in my room?"


    "Then where will you sleep?" I chuckled.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so courteous with me!¡± heughed. ¡°Take this as your own ce.¡±


    Sun Tiger washed up and returned to his bedroom. Soon, thunderous snores reverberated around the room, disturbing me from my sleep. I decided to get up and get dressed, leaving a note informing Bingxin of my return to the store before quietly slipping out the door.


    After a simple breakfast, I busied myself with watching the store. Luo Youyou who was in charge of the cashier never showed up, so I had the other employees take over today.


    Worried she had really quit her job, I left to find Dali in our rented apartment. However, I was startled by an altercation between two people that came from a distance...

 Chapter 372

    <h4>Chapter 372</h4>


    I heard Dali yell, "You actually messaged the guy?!"


    "Who are you to tell me what to do?" retaliated Luo Youyou.


    "That guy is bad news. It¡¯s known all over Weibo that he likes sleeping with his friends. Are you stupid enough to give him your ount?"


    "Are you any better? You get so excited and forget everything else when you see another girl!"


    It wasn¡¯t convenient for me to interfere in their couple¡¯s quarrel, so I turned to leave. Right then, I heard Luo Youyou say, "I quit. Goodbye!"


    When I turned around, I saw Luo Youyou storming downstairs. "Song Yang, I¡¯ve quit. I¡¯m going home."


    "Calm down," I urged.


    Luo Youyou started sobbing, her eyes turning red with tears. "I originally found him very interesting. But I never expected him to be such a flirtatious bastard. He doesn¡¯t care about me at all!"


    "Let me speak to him," I persuaded.


    "No, I¡¯m leaving. Thank you for taking care of me!" With that, she walked off.


    When I returned to our apartment, Dali sat there sulking. I thought to myself, Why the hell did I get myself involved in his bullshit?


    Turning to Dali, I chided, "Are you stupid? Hurry up! Go after her! School is closed for summer vacation. Where is a girl like her supposed to go?"


    Dali snorted, "I can¡¯t stop her from quitting."


    Resisting the impulse to give him a good beating, I pushed him out of the door and insisted he go after Luo Youyou.


    At this moment, I received a call from Xiaotao. "Song Yang, are you at the store?"


    "Yes,¡± I replied.


    "I¡¯ll see you in a bit then,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°We¡¯re headed to the crime scene. We just received a report and it looks like a troublesome case."


    I went back home to pick up my autopsy equipment and waited for Xiaotao to arrive. The moment I got into her car, my first sentence was, "I have something to tell you so you won¡¯t misunderstand anything. I stayed at Bingxin¡¯s housest night."


    "You bettere clean right now!" Xiaotao pped the steering wheel hard.


    After I exined the ins and outs of the matter, Xiaotao threw me a veiled look. "Did you do anything out of line?"


    "What counts as out of line?" I teased.


    Xiaotao stretched out her hand and flicked me on the forehead. "You know perfectly well."


    "Ghost bus huh? You guys seem to have a lot of time on your hands. Did you find anything important?" she added.


    After a moment¡¯s contemtion, I ventured, "I think the driver may be mentally ill. Anyway, what about the new case?"


    "You¡¯ll find out when we get there!"


    We arrived in front of an old rental t. The perimeter had already been cordoned off by the police. Residents were noisily discussing downstairs.


    "The person who reported the case is thendlord,¡± exined Xiaotao. ¡°He found the door wide open this morning and assumed it was a burr. So he went in to have a look, only to discover the victim lying in bed with no signs of trauma on his body, calm as if he had... "


    Xiaotao paused and looked at me, "As if he had drowned!"


    "Drowned here? Did he have a bathtub?" I asked.


    "No,¡± Xiaotao shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s nothing here that could drown a man!¡±


    We entered a room with a man lying on the bed still dressed in his undershirt, suspenders and boxers. His skin was deathly pale. Upon examining his features, I was astonished. Wasn¡¯t this the burly man we met on the ghost busst night?


    Noticing my prolonged stare, Xiaotao asked, "What¡¯s the matter? Do you know this man?"


    "I don¡¯t know him but I met him once. He was on the ghost busst night. We exchanged a few words."


    Regardless of the coincidence, I began with the autopsy, putting on my rubber gloves. The victim was about 45 years old, slightly overweight, and stood at 1.7 meters tall. The time of death was about five hours ago. His whole body appeared pale and wrinkled, known as washerwoman skin, a phenomenon that only urred after a body had been soaked in water for a certain period of time.


    I noticed some mud under his fingernails and aquatic nts on his body. Grabbing the Echolocation Rod, I listened to his chest, then opened his mouth and examined the interior. "His lungs are filled with water and disys signs of oral mucosa trauma. There¡¯s arge amount of fluid in his stomach, which is typical in drowning."


    When I moved the Echolocation Rod to his abdomen, I heard signs of spleen rupture as if he had been beaten.


    I checked the victim¡¯s skin and found bruises and broken ribs. A quick examination of the back of the victim¡¯s head revealed depressions in the skull. I turned the body over and discovered blood clots in the back of his head suggesting a blow by some blunt object.


    There were no obviouscerations on this skin which indicated the weapon was either smooth and rounded or wrapped with something soft.


    I cut the victim¡¯s clothes and looking downwards, I noted, "The victim had sexual intercourse before his death!"


    Fixing my gaze on the naked body, I analyzed, "It looks like he was kicked in the abdomen, but after being soaked in water for quite some time, the traces are no longer obvious. Anyway, I¡¯ll try to find it."


    I grabbed the Autopsy Umbre and got Xiaotao to open the window. Under the Autopsy Umbre, a faint footprint appeared on the victim¡¯s abdomen. The killer was most likely an adult man over 1.75 meters tall.


    "But here lies the problem¨Chow could he have been drowned in this t?"


    "That¡¯s not a problem at all!" I grinned.


    I turned the Autopsy Umbre and found simr footprints on the ground. They appeared heavier as if the owner of the footprints was carrying a heavy object. I followed the footprints out the door and downstairs where they disappeared on the road, reced by vague tire marks.


    "The victim was attacked, drowned, and then transported here!" I surmised.


    Xiaotao mused, "This man looks quite heavy. Why did the murderer go to great lengths to get him out of the water and move him to a rented t?"


    "This is indeed a cause for suspicion. Perhaps the original crime scene is very close to the murderer¡¯s ce of residence. Or maybe there were some traces and evidence difficult to remove at the crime scene."


    "Can you pinpoint the original crime scene?"


    "Since the murderer drove here, the search radius is rather wide. It¡¯ll take too much time to locate the original crime scene. Let¡¯s continue looking for clues from the body."


    We U-turned and headed back into the t where a stack of cash and a knife were discovered in one drawer, and several pornographic pictures often found in hotels scattered in another drawer.


    Additionally, the room was left in a mess with empty alcohol bottles strewn all over the floor, evident of the victim¡¯s drinking habit. My intuition told me the victim was probably on the wrong side of thew.


    A thought suddenly crossed my mind. "Where¡¯s the victim¡¯s cell phone?"


    "We couldn¡¯t find it!" answered Xiaotao.


    Thinking back to the clothes he had wornst night, I gathered he wouldn¡¯t have had the time to change if the attack happened four hours ago. The murderer was the only one who could¡¯ve removed his coat. Perhaps important evidence had been left on that coat.


    A thorough scrutiny of the body revealed parallel abrasions on the back of his leg which was left while the victim was still alive. I endeavored to restore the positions of the murderer and victim in my head. From all the traces I found, it was clear that the murderer had kicked the victim into the water. The blow on the back of the victim¡¯s head was most likely caused when the victim resurfaced to call for help. The blow was heavy enough to cause a seizure. The victim eventually sank to the bottom and drowned...


    Thus, the distance from the surface to the edge of the water was rather close, only an arm¡¯s length at most, but the water was deep enough to submerge and drown an adult man.


    After a considerable reflection period, I finally opened my eyes and concluded, "The original crime scene must be an artificial reservoir! It has concrete surfaces and the distance from the water to the edge of the reservoir is around thirty to fifty centimeters."

 Chapter 373

    <h4>Chapter 373</h4>


    Xiaotao immediately instructed the officers to look for the original crime scene matching these features. An officer walked in with a few sheets of paper in his hand, "Captain Huang, we¡¯ve found the victim¡¯s identity!"


    The victim¡¯s name is Zhang Bing, 46 years old and unemployed. His means of making a living were deplorable, to say the least, that is, persuading innocent girls to sell their bodies and taking a cut from their earnings. The man had a criminal record of pimping and pandering and spent several years in prison.


    Xiaotao arched an eyebrow, "So he was a pimp!"


    Thinking back to the scenest night, I realized he was "working" at that time. "This sort of indecent man must have had a lot of enemies!" I remarked.


    After learning the victim¡¯s identity and upation, I breathed a sigh of relief. At first, I suspected the crime might have something to do with the ghost bus, but now it seemed like an ordinary murder.


    Xiaotao ordered the officer, "Check all his interpersonal rtionships."


    "Also check for debts! See if he owes usury or something simr," I added.


    When we left the t, Xiaotao waved her hand, "All right, you don¡¯t have to follow up on this case. It¡¯s probably an ordinary one."


    "I¡¯d bettere and help,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°I don¡¯t think I should stay in the store for the next two days."


    When Xiaotao asked what was wrong, I exined Dali¡¯s emotional troubles. "I¡¯ll go back and give Bingxin a good talking to,¡± sheughed. ¡°This littledy warms up to everyone so others might misunderstand the situation."


    I sighed helplessly, "It¡¯s only because Dali is too flirtatious!"


    At this moment, a voice sounded, "What are you criticizing me for? What have I done wrong this time?"


    Bingxin appeared with a bright smile. "How could you guyse without me?"


    "You¡¯rete again, aren¡¯t you?" Xiaotao pointed out.


    "I know it¡¯s my fault. I slepttest night! If you want to deduct my bonus, go ahead. Anyway, I¡¯ve already lost my attendance bonus for the month." Bingxin spat her tongue.


    "God, you¡¯re shameless!" Xiaotao rebuked.


    We were heading back to the station when we passed a shopping mall. Bingxin insisted I apany her on a shopping trip.


    "It¡¯s working hours, youngdy. Aren¡¯t you getting a bitzy?" chided Xiaotao.


    Bingxin grimaced and turned to me, "We¡¯lle back after work then."


    I alighted near the store where Dali stood sullenly in front of the counter. "Where¡¯s Luo Youyou?" I asked.


    "I couldn¡¯t find her but I did call her,¡± Dali frowned. ¡°She said she¡¯s going home by train and then turned off her phone."


    Choking back the urge to tell him he deserved it, I sighed, "You should quickly get her back and exin things clearly. Most of the time, you won¡¯t get a second chance once you¡¯ve missed the opportunity. Why are you still thinking of Bingxin?"


    Dali denied, "I¡¯m not always thinking about her."


    In the morning, the logisticspany came to deliver the goods. We spent the whole morning busy moving and handling stock. In the afternoon, I was sitting in the store reading a book when I received a call from Xiaotao, "Song Yang, there¡¯s been another case."


    "That¡¯s quick!" Imented.


    "The case appears rather ordinary but I think it¡¯s better for you to take a look," exined Xiaotao.


    "I¡¯ll be right there!"


    After informing Dali of the situation, I hurried down to the police station. The body was ced in the Necropsy Workshop where Bingxin and Xiaotao awaited my arrival. Bingxin had only dropped by for a visit and found it all very interesting.


    There were two bodies lying side by side on the autopsy table. From their body shapes, they looked like women.


    "Where did you find them?" I asked.


    "In a hotel,¡± answered Xiaotao. ¡°The front desk staff on duty received a telephone call from one of the guest rooms. The other party didn¡¯t say anything so the receptionist hung up. However, this person soon called again, alerting the receptionist to the abnormality of the situation. When they went up, they found two women lying side by side on the bed so they called the police... "


    I uncovered a white sheet and found the women a little familiar but I couldn¡¯t ce a finger on it. Showing the same look of bewilderment, Bingxin eximed, "What?!" She pointed at the victim¡¯s faces, bereft of speech.


    When I uncovered the second white sheet, Bingxin and I cried out at the same time, "How could it be them?!"


    "Do you know them?" Xiaotao asked in surprise.


    "These two women were with Zhang Bing on the ghost busst night!" I dered.


    They weren¡¯t wearing makeup so Bingxin and I didn¡¯t immediately recognize the first victim. But the second victim had high cheekbones and distinct features that made her recognizable at once.


    The two women were naked, pale, with water stains on their bodies and aquatic nts on their hair.


    "Could these three murders be rted to ghost bus?¡± Bingxin spected in horror. ¡°Maybe those who went on the busst night will be killed one after another..."


    I waved my hands, "Don¡¯t form and hold onto any preconceptions. The other case wasmitted by the living and so was this one."


    I asked Bingxin for a preliminary appraisal. Upon examining the bodies, she surmised, "The first victim was about 25 years old. Judging from the cloudiness of the eyes and rigor mortis, the time of death was about five hours ago. There are no obvious signs of trauma or sexual assault bu there¡¯s a bit of blood and foaming at the mouth, while her hands and feet show washerwoman skin. The cause of death should be drowning... But if it was drowning, the time of death might have to be pushed forward by three hours."


    "Don¡¯t rush to conclude anything yet,¡± I said. ¡°What about the second body?"


    The second victim was older, about 30 years old. The time of death was five hours ago and the cause of death was also drowning. There was a burn mark on her abdomen¨Ctwo dots. The victim appeared to have been burned by something before death which triggered a vital reaction. Aside from that, there were no obvious signs of trauma or sexual assault on the body.


    I thought of Zhang Bing¡¯s corpse and felt the back of the head. Indeed, I observed signs of skull fracture and a soft blood clot under the skin. These injuries were simr in location and size indicating that a blunt weapon wrapped in soft material was used to strike the victims in the back of the head, rendering them motionless before they were drowned to death.


    "A blunt weapon... What could that be?¡± Bingxin wondered out loud. ¡°An iron bucket? Baseball bat? Yes, a baseball bat seems the most likely."


    I picked up a wooden stick from the tool rack and walked towards the torso dummy I had previously purchased to facilitate my deduction of the criminals¡¯ methodologies. Grabbing the wooden stick, I swung it at the dummy and shook my head. "There¡¯s no way it¡¯s a baseball bat. A baseball bat has a t surface which will leave a linear scar. The victims¡¯ ears and face would be injured as well."


    Xiaotao mused, "They were face to face yet the murderer hit the victims in the back of their heads. I get the feeling this guy has had practice!"


    "Judging from the shape of the wound, the weapon looks like a mace that¡¯s wrapped in leather," I analyzed.


    "Do you mean those pumpkin-shaped maces?" queried Xiaotao.


    "Yes! Maces were originally used to break past defenses on ancient battlefields. Regardless how thick the armor was, a hit to the head with a mace almost certainly proved fatal. Someone stabbed by a de might struggle and resist, but a hit to the head would render them stiff and convulsive, drooling from the corners of their mouth andpletely losing the ability to resist. The murderer seems to know a fair bit about the human body or has had the experience. The medu oblongata in the back of the head controls the motor nerves of the entire body, and this part of the skull is much weaker than the front."


    "Although I¡¯ve never used such a weapon, I¡¯ve seen others employ it. It¡¯s a bit difficult to hit the back of the head with one strike, unless it¡¯s a meteor hammer. But that wouldn¡¯t work in a small hotel room. When the victims see the murderer pull that out, wouldn¡¯t they resist and scream for help? Even if it was an acquaintance whomitted the crime, the two victims were in the same room at the time. With the first victim injured, would the other women just stand there and wait for the murderer¡¯s attack?"


    Xiaotao wasn¡¯t questioning me but raising her doubts. A vague guess had formed in my mind but I wasn¡¯t certain. "Bingxin, go and test the second victim¡¯s white blood cell count!"

 Chapter 374

    <h4>Chapter 374</h4>


    Bingxin took some blood samples for testing while I brought out the Echolocation Rod and listened to the victim¡¯s chest and abdominal cavity. The victims¡¯ internal organs were rtively intact. There was arge amount of water in the lungs but strangely enough, there was no fluid in the stomach.


    I checked their fingernails and found only gravel¡ªthe victims clenched their fists, resembling eagle ws. Logically speaking, drowning victims should have mud under their fingernails but I found nothing of the sort.


    I opened one of the victim¡¯s mouths and shook the teeth with my hands but they remained secure and didn¡¯t give. There were fibers inside the first victim¡¯s nasal cavity.


    "This whole drowning incident is very strange. Some of the characteristics match and some don¡¯t,¡± I surmised. ¡°Did the victims stay in their hotel room the entire time?"


    "The hotel staff testified on that. They checked into the room at about 8:00 am and never left. During their stay, they ordered lunch, and the delivery staff also confirmed there were two people in the room. Their bodies were found around 2:00 pm. From noon till then, the front desk staff never left their posts."


    I nodded and carefully sniffed at the bodies, though I found no obvious odors.


    Even if they went out at noon and were knocked unconscious, thrown into water as soon as they left the room, the time wasn¡¯t enough to produce such an appearance!


    I gathered the aquatic nts in their hair and scrutinized them. "These aquatic nts resemble the ones on Zhang Bing¡¯s body. It¡¯s a kind of moss that some people put in their fish tanks for decoration."


    "There¡¯s a fish tank in the hotel lobby but it¡¯s unlikely for them to have drowned there,¡± added Xiaotao.


    "These aquatic nts were intentionally ced by someone. Look, they were arranged rather evenly,¡± I pointed out. ¡°I think the murderer deliberately created the illusion of drowning, but he failed to mislead us. What does he want to convey or what is he hiding?"


    "I heard Bingxin mention that the ghost bus is rted to water. Tell me more!"


    Despite my unwillingness to connect the case to the paranormal, these three victims had all boarded the ghost busst night so it seemed this connection could no longer be ignored. Thus, I gave Xiaotao a general ount of the post I read yesterday.


    Taking a deep breath, Xiaotao said, "I think we should investigate this bus of unknown origins."


    "Go ahead!" I concurred.


    While Xiaotao made a phone call to assign officers to the task, Bingxin entered the workshop once more, gushing excitedly, "Song Yang-gege, the second victim¡¯s white blood cell count is on the high end, which far exceeds the norm."


    "What does this mean?"


    Pondering for a moment, Bingxin replied, "I recall that white blood cell count increases during electrocution."


    My frown gradually eased. "That seems about right. The burn marks on the second victim¡¯s abdomen were left by a stun gun. Let¡¯s try restoring the incident..."


    I proceeded to an empty space and pointed, "Suppose this is the door. The murderer knocks on the door and the second victimes to open the door. He knocks her unconscious with a stun gun and rushes in at once! The first victim must be very rmed. When the murderer orders her to turn around, sheplies. Then, the murderer takes out his mace and hits her on the back of the head. He walks over to the second victim and does the same."


    "The two suffered a severe blow to the medu oblongata,¡± I concluded as I moved to a different position. ¡°They were unconscious and unable to move. The murderer ced them in bed and removed their clothes. Earlier, you mentioned there was no sign of sexual assault. Let me correct you on that¡ªwe can only confirm there wasn¡¯t rape. Why did the killer remove their clothes? In order to create the illusion of drowning, I suspect the murderer must have sprinkled some sort of liquid onto the victims that soon resulted in traces of being submerged in water. Just like in ancient Chinese water torture, he covered their faces with several sheets of paper and continuously poured water. Inhaling arge amount of water, the victims eventually suffocated to death."


    "How do you know the murderer used paper?" asked Xiaotao.


    "The first victim had a small piece of paper fiber in his nasal cavity. During the autopsy, I deduced it was possibly A4 paper or something else."


    "How did the murderer create the illusion of soaked skin?" asked Bingxin.


    I shook my head, "Lab tests happen to be my weakness. I¡¯ll leave that to you."


    "Okay, you specified that the victims weren¡¯t raped. Were they sexually assaulted then?" she added.


    ¡°You can say that!"


    I opened the Autopsy Umbre and adjusted the light so that the umbre¡¯s shadow fell upon the victims. Messy handprints appeared on their pale skin, especially on the breasts. The two girls gasped in astonishment.


    There were no ridges on these prints, which suggested the murderer was cautious enough to wear gloves.


    Ipared the handprints and found the murderer¡¯s palm wide and thick, like the hands one would see in a man engaged in heavy manualbor. I estimated the murderer to be about forty or fifty years of age. The sexual assault was most likely an afterthought. The murderer felt the urge to fondle their breasts after seeing them naked. I didn¡¯t believe anyone would kill just to molest their breasts.


    A picture of the murderer¡¯s characteristics gradually formed in my head. "The murderer may have a criminal record. He¡¯s restrained andposed, and not highly educated. He probably works as a carpenter, foreman or a tailor, though I believe it¡¯s most likely to be the second one!"


    Xiaotao¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, "How can you tell? Is it the mace?"


    "No,¡± I chuckled. ¡°The murderer is a perfect executor to be able to n and execute everything down to a T! His goal was to create the illusion that the victims had drowned. Although there were many ws from a professional perspective, it¡¯s still an overall sess. So I deduced he was either a carpenter, foreman or a tailor. Since foremen have the best physical strength, that was the most likely upation!"


    "That makes sense," smiled Xiaotao.


    After examining the bodies, I burned two stacks of yellow joss paper as usual. Bingxin took samples of the victims¡¯ skin and tested them. Just as I was about to leave, a thought suddenly crossed my mind. "By the way, where are their belongings?"


    "Their clothes were tucked under the bed by the murderer,¡± reported Xiaotao. ¡°One of the victims¡¯ cell phones, a Huawei, was thrown into the toilet. It¡¯s no longer operable. The other, an Apple iPhone, had the SIM card removed and taken away by the murderer."


    "So it looks like the murderer is of average economic conditions," I remarked.


    Xiaotao nodded, "I¡¯ve asked officers to pay close attention to the ck market to look out for anyone who has recently sold Apple phones."


    Worry clenched at my gut; if these serial murders were really rted to ghost bus, then the one in most danger was none other than Luo Youyou, whose whereabouts were unknown. I could only silently pray that I was mistaken.


    "Please help me locate this cell phone number!" I said, asking Xiaotao to check Luo Youyou¡¯s position.


    Luo Youyou¡¯s cell phone was now turned off so she couldn¡¯t be located. Xiaotao phoned the telmunications department to check her call records for the day. There were only three, one from Dali, one from the railway station and an unfamiliar number. It seemed she had really purchased a train ticket.


    Thest number belonged to Zhou Yang, indicating that he had recently called her.


    I didn¡¯t think Luo Youyou would actually meet up with Zhou Yang. After all, she wasn¡¯t that sort of girl. My fear was her idental involvement in this case. I pointed to Zhou Yang¡¯s number and said, "Check this number!"


    The technical officer typed away on his keyboard for a while and reported, "It¡¯s also turned off!"


    "What¡¯s going on?¡± Xiaotao frowned. ¡°Why are both of their cell phones turned off?"


    I had two conjectures¨Cthey were either currently together and Luo Youyou had moved onto Zhou Yang, or their lives were in danger.


    I would rather believe in the former!

 Chapter 375

    <h4>Chapter 375</h4>


    I called Dali over to the station, but his reluctant reply was, "Business is busy. I don¡¯t have the time!"


    "Come down to the station now!¡± I urged. ¡°Something¡¯s happened!"


    While waiting for Dali, I checked on theputer. Luo Youyou¡¯s family was from Yuzhou, and there was only one train going to her hometown at 1:00 am tomorrow. That is to say, she was probably still in Nanjiang City.


    At this moment, Bingxin came running in, "Song Yang-gege, I¡¯ve tested it. The substance left on the victim¡¯s skin is deuterated water."


    "Heavy water?" I muttered.


    Heavy water was a colorless, tasteless chemical substance, which was much heavier than water, hence the name. Since human skin was permeable to water, the water in the cells would be squeezed out after absorbing heavy water that contained higher density. Therge amount of heavy water that filled the cells created the illusion of drowning.


    "I¡¯ve never even heard of this!¡± eximed Xiaotao. ¡°How could our unsub know this without being highly educated? And isn¡¯t heavy water something you¡¯d normallye into contact with?"


    "Heavy water doesn¡¯t evaporate easily,¡± exined Bingxin. ¡°It¡¯s a kind of condensing agent only used in nuclear reactors."


    "But there isn¡¯t a nuclear power nt in Nanjiang City," Xiaotao retorted.


    "There¡¯s no way nuclear power nts produce heavy water themselves. They should be supplied by chemical nts. The murderer may have stayed in a chemical nt or currently works there, which is how he knew skin would crumple when exposed to this liquid. Only then did he think of using heavy water to create the illusion of drowning, thus misleading everyone in the direction of the urban legend, the ghost bus..."


    "Song Yang¡¯s analysis is reasonable,¡±ughed Xiaotao. ¡°We¡¯ve another important clue! I¡¯ll send officers to investigate at once!"


    Right then, Dali arrived and noticed the three of us present. He brightened up and said, "What a coincidence! We¡¯re all here. We haven¡¯t met up in a long time."


    The sight of his cheerful grin made the anger boil up inside of me. "Why the hell are you still fooling around! Luo Youyou may be in danger right now!"


    "Isn¡¯t she on the train?" Dali asked, mouth agape.


    "You¡¯re her boyfriend-to-be. Don¡¯t you even know what time her train leaves?" I chided.


    I summarized the situation, exining my suspicions of the murderer¡¯s target, that is, everyone who got on the busst night. I originally hoped this was merely a false rm but now Luo Youyou and Zhou Yang were both unreachable which seemed fishy.


    "There were only a few of us on the busst night,¡± Dali pointed out. ¡°Could it be Zhou Yang?"


    "Don¡¯t forget that suspicious driver!" Bingxin chimed in.


    I shook my head; both of them didn¡¯t conform to the characteristics of the murderer. The driver was tantly imusible with his disability. I highly doubted his ability tomit murders. Moreover, he didn¡¯t take a single look at us from start to finish.


    "So what you¡¯re trying to say is the murderer knew through certain channels that you were on that bus,¡± surmised Xiaotao. ¡°Let¡¯s split up. You look for Luo Youyou and I¡¯ll investigate this bus!"


    After Xiaotao left the room, Dali turned to me and said, ¡°Dude, can we use your divination technique?"


    "It¡¯s impossible to locate them without the motive,¡± I confessed. ¡°Please think carefully. Where might Luo Youyou go?"


    "Where can she go? She has no other acquaintances in Nanjiang City...¡± Dali pped his forehead, ¡°Wait a minute, one of her ssmates is from here. Could she have gone looking for her?"


    "That¡¯s the only lead we have. Let¡¯s just give it a try and contact her friend!"


    Dali didn¡¯t have her contact number so he looked her up on QQ. A while after his message was delivered, the girl replied, "Youyou isn¡¯t with me but we spoke earlier."


    "What did you talk about?" asked Dali.


    After a long time without an answer, I urged, "Call her on QQ!"


    The girl soon picked up, "Sorry, I was just taking a shower."


    "What¡¯s wrong with you girls?¡± muttered Dali. ¡°Why do you girls always shower in the middle of a conversation?"


    "Are you asking for my help? Excuse me, but we¡¯re not familiar with each other. I heard Youyou say that you¡¯re a bastard. You spend all day flirting with other girls. She¡¯s furious. People like you should get hit by a car!"


    "It¡¯s urgent. Show me your chat records," Dali sullenly added.


    "No, it¡¯s private. I¡¯m hanging up, goodbye!"


    I grabbed Dali¡¯s cell phone, "Hello, I¡¯m Song Yang, Wang Dali¡¯s roommate. We¡¯re in a hurry to look for Luo Youyou. Please let us have a look at your chat records!"


    The girl¡¯s voice immediately went up an octave. "Wow, it¡¯s you, Song Yang! I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re personally looking for me! Hey, can I have your QQ? How else can I send you the chat records?"


    I had no choice but to leave her my QQ ount, and we soon received their chat records.


    Luo Youyou messaged her ssmate in the afternoon, informing her of her resignation. When her ssmate asked what was going on, Luo Youyouined that Dali didn¡¯t care about her, though she was vague about the details. It seemed like girls didn¡¯t like borating about their troubles.


    Dali sighed, "When we find her, I promise I¡¯ll treat her right!"


    "Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll find her,¡±forted Bingxin.


    His words seemed like hogwash and empty promises so I quickly skipped the subject. During their conversation, Luo Youyou took five minutes to reply in the middle. Later on, she exined that she had received a phone call which coincided with the time of Zhou Yang¡¯s call.


    Luo Youyou left the conversation after revealing she had matters to attend to.


    "Fucking hell!¡± cursed Dali. ¡°She actually went looking for Zhou Yang!"


    With the current developments, Luo Youyou¡¯s danger coefficient rose again. I decided to give Lao Yao a call. After failing to graduate this year, Lao Yao bribed the administrator to allow him to stay in school during summer vacation. Two days ago, he showed off how free he was, boasting that there was no one else on campus. He even invited me over to have a look.


    As soon as the call was connected, Lao Yao¡¯s seductive voice emerged from the other end like a slimy water snake gliding over my skin. "Xiao Song-song, you meanie! You haven¡¯t called me in forever!"


    "I have a rather urgent matter at the moment. I¡¯ll give you 2,000 yuan for the information so help me locate an address!"


    "What¡¯s this about money? Would I ever refuse you?¡± he teased. ¡°Tell me, how can I help you?"


    I instructed him to locate Zhou Yang and Luo Youyou¡¯sst position via QQ. After a word of affirmation, Lao Yao hung up the call and soon sent the two addresses to my cell phone. The two locations were in the outskirts of the city and close to each other.


    Dali frantically cried, "They went to some apartment in the suburbs for a date. I¡¯m afraid to imagine what happened afterwards."


    "Don¡¯t worry about that. If Luo Youyou wanted to cheat on you, they could¡¯ve just checked into any hotel," I rified.


    "Oh please, the two of you haven¡¯t confirmed your rtionship so it¡¯s not cheating!" argued Bingxin.


    Upon hearing this, Dali grew even more agitated. "How can you be so heartless and make fun of me? My heart¡¯s grown cold!"


    Since Luo Youyou had to take the night train, she couldn¡¯t possibly have gone to the outskirts of the city without a good reason. And wouldn¡¯t she have a sense of vignce as a girl? What worried me was the possibility of her getting kidnapped!

 Chapter 376

    <h4>Chapter 376</h4>


    I immediately phoned Song Xingchen and told him to wait for me outside the station. Then, turning the other two, I said we would go looking for Luo Youyou.


    "Will your bodyguard get there so soon?" doubted Bingxin.


    As soon as we walked out the station, I saw Song Xingchen waiting nearby as he sipped on bubble tea. The man was like a ghost who could show up at any given moment.


    We hailed a cab from the side of the road. Song Xingchen sat in the passenger seat with his Tang sword in hand, frightening the driver into nervous silence. The three of us crowded into the back. In order to draw a clear line with Dali, Bingxin sat in the innermost seat, holding my arm the entire journey.


    Along the way, Dali chattered endlessly, sharing his worries about what might have happened to Luo Youyou. He swore he would treat her well and never quarrel again.


    "She has the face of good fortune,¡± Iforted. ¡°She must be alright!"


    Although I didn¡¯t quite believe those words, I knew this wasn¡¯t the time to give up hope.


    When we arrived at the address given by Lao Yao, we were greeted by the sight of an iplete building. This area was part of the urban-ruralbination n and its geographical location wasn¡¯t very good. It was probably developed in line with the trends during the real estate boom from a few years back and was abandoned when they failed to sell the units.


    We got out of the car and went on foot. I kept my eyes on my cell phone and when we reached Luo Youyou¡¯sst known whereabouts, I looked around and found tire tracks on the dusty road. Using Cave Vision, I scanned the area and discovered two tiny, white objects.


    Upon careful inspection, they turned out to be a SIM card that had been broken into two.


    "Song Yang-gege,¡± cried Bingxin. ¡°There¡¯s another SIM card here. It¡¯s also been broken!"


    "Don¡¯t pick them up with your bare hands,¡± I warned. ¡°There may be fingerprints on it!"


    Bingxin carefully ced the SIM card in an evidence bag. We walked along the tire tracks until it finally disappeared on the asphalt road.


    "Oh no!¡± Dali pulled at his hair. ¡°The murderer¡¯s gone. Something must have happened!"


    I narrowed my eyes and said, "Let¡¯s search separately. Call if you find anything!"


    We climbed up the abandoned building and searched all over. I found discarded food packages in one of the buildings and human excrement in the corner. There were four bricks stacked on the floor with the insides burnt. It looked like a simple, makeshift stove.


    It seemed like someone had been living here for some time. Was it the murderer¡¯s hiding ce? Of course, it could also have been a homeless man.


    Right then, Bingxin phoned to report, "Song Yang-gege, I found a body!"


    "Whose?" I asked anxiously.


    "I don¡¯t know. I only see the back. Hurry,e to the south side!"


    I headed to Bingxin¡¯s location, only to see a deep hole dug for the foundation. Due to rainwater that had umted over the years, it had formed a small pool. There was currently someone floating in that pool.


    And judging from the figure, it was a man, much to my relief.


    "Let¡¯s take a look!" I said.


    We went downstairs and walked towards the pool. Bingxin called to inform the others but it would take some time for the police to get here.


    As we approached the pool, I noticed scratches on the concrete floor and estimated the distance between the pool and the edge of the water.


    "This is the original crime scene!" I yelled.


    "Isn¡¯t it obvious?" Bingxin shrugged.


    "No, I mean, this is the original crime scene of Zhang Bing¡¯s murder. It seems like we¡¯ve got the right ce. The person who kidnapped Luo Youyou is the murderer!"


    I reached out to pull the body towards the edge.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to wait for the police?" asked Bingxin.


    "There¡¯s no point waiting for them. After all, it¡¯s my duty to perform the autopsy!"


    I tugged at the victim¡¯s cor and dragged the body towards the edge. Upon raising the head, I discovered it was Zhou Yang. With Bingxin¡¯s assistance, I managed to lift Zhou Yang¡¯s body to the ground.


    Weid the body beside the pool. Like the previous cases, Zhou Yang had also been smashed in the head, and then thrown into the water. The preliminary time of death was about four hours ago. If he and Luo Youyou had been kidnapped at the same time, Luo Youyou was probably beyond help by now.


    "There are no other wounds except in the back of the head,¡± observed Bingxin. ¡°It seems that the murderer has quite a lot of experience. He knows the more clues he leaves, the easier it is to catch him."


    "You¡¯ve neglected something!¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°Look here!"


    I uncovered Zhou Yang¡¯s T-shirt. There was a puncture wound made by a needle in his back and the surrounding flesh was inmed. The needle was probably left in his flesh for a considerable amount of time after the murderer injected him with something. We had to wait until we got back to theb since there was no way of testing theponents of the drug now.


    I noticed a small bruise on his neck that suggested the victim was squeezed by arge, powerful hand. "Zhou Yang might have been grabbed from behind before the murderer inserted a syringe into his body, threatening to inject poison if he moved. This is amon kidnapping method."


    "It could¡¯ve been water!" stated Bingxin.


    One of Zhou Yang¡¯s belt loops was ripped off, and since most people hung their keys here, the murderer must have taken his keys and stolen his car.


    Without any of my equipment with me, I couldn¡¯t perform an in-depth autopsy so I covered the body with a stic sheet I found nearby.


    Standing at the edge of the pool, I looked down at the murky waters, wondering if there was anything under the surface. Drown victims supposedly floated to the surface upon death but I had to confirm Luo Youyou¡¯s body wasn¡¯t below. After removing a wooden nk from the scaffolding, I poked around the pool and stirred the muddy waters.


    The wooden nk was caught onto a heavy object. My heart sank with the fear of discovering Luo Youyou¡¯s corpse.


    Noticing my expression, Bingxin asked what was wrong but I motioned for her to keep quiet as I stuck my ear to the wooden nk and slowly tapped with my fingers. This was another way to use echolocation, though the unsteady flow of the water affected my hearing.


    After listening carefully for some time, I asserted, "It¡¯s not a corpse! We¡¯ll get the officers to salvage whatever¡¯s down there when they arrive."


    Bingxin breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness!"


    We were suddenly interrupted by a call from Dali. "Dude,e quickly. I found Luo Youyou¡¯s¨C" he panicked.


    I felt my chest tighten as I waited for the rest of his sentence. Dali gasped, "Backpack..."


    "You scared me half to death!¡± I rebuked. ¡°Where are you? I¡¯ll be there right away."


    Bingxin and I headed to Dali¡¯s location. Song Xingchen was already there. Without waiting for us, Dali had already overturned the contents of Luo Youyou¡¯s backpack on the ground and said, "Everything¡¯s here."


    A pile of clothes and daily necessities, and some cash¨Cthe murderer never touched her backpack.


    Then, Dali grabbed a corner of the backpack and faltered, "The thread on the top is loose. Luo Youyou has a habit of pulling the thread whenever she¡¯s nervous. She must be in danger."


    "Hold on, she may still be alive!" I blurted.

 Chapter 377

    <h4>Chapter 377</h4>


    Dali looked at me in bewilderment, a glimmer of hope rising in his eyes. I pointed to the ground, "There are footprints here. Although they¡¯re blurred from the wind, we can still infer what happened at the time."


    "Look, the murderer¡¯s footprints are on top of Luo Youyou¡¯s which suggest she came here first with the murderer following in the same direction. What does this tell us?"


    Bingxin cried excitedly, "Luo Youyou was running for her life!"


    "Yes!¡± I nodded. ¡°The ce where we found the backpack isn¡¯t far from the tire marks, indicating that Luo Youyou escaped from the car. She was fiddling with the thread on the backpack which tells me her hands were free at the time and she was probably sitting in the back of the car. When the killer stopped the vehicle and was about to attack her, Luo Youyou opened the car door and fled, throwing her backpack aside to lighten the weight."


    "What are you waiting for?¡± yelled Dali. ¡°Let¡¯s look for her now!"


    "Don¡¯t worry, just shout at the top of your lungs!" I said.


    We followed the footprints, shouting Luo Youyou¡¯s name as we walked. The abandoned building was huge and the footprints gradually disappeared so we decided to move separately. Bingxin and I headed to the left, while Dali and Song Xingchen searched on the right.


    Shouting as we explored the ce, we soon arrived at a dark, gloomy area surrounded by unfinished buildings thatpletely blocked out the sun. I suddenly heard movement from above and pushed Bingxin aside without a second thought.


    Bang! Arge bag of cement hit the ground where we just stood, kicking up dust and sand from the ground. The impact of a forty-kilogram bag mming into one¡¯s body was unimaginable.


    Bingxin was frightened out of her wits. "There¡¯s someone up there. Let¡¯s go!" I shouted.


    To prevent the murderer from dropping down any other dangerous objects, I pulled Bingxin into the building.


    "Aren¡¯t you going to call for Song Xingchen?" asked Bingxin.


    "It¡¯s nothing, I can handle it on my own!" I assured her.


    The unfinished residential building was deserted. I motioned for Bingxin to remain silent while I listened carefully. When we reached the seventh floor, a cry for help sounded from upstairs. A girl was screaming.


    It was followed by the sounds of thrashing and a man angrily threatened, "Scream again and I¡¯ll throw you out."


    At that moment, a bruiser rushed out from the stairwell, about to throw the bag of cement in his hand at us. Bingxin and I were right in the middle of the stairs, unable to avoid it. In a fluster, I concentrated on staring into his eyes.


    The bruiser was so terrified his whole body quaked like a leaf, his pupils unconsciously contracting¨Can instinctive reaction in humans whenever they encountered a fearsome beast. Then, the cement bag fell from his hands and onto his foot.


    The bruiser shouted in pain. Taking advantage of his inattention, I dashed up the stairs and kicked him in the crotch with all my strength, prompting the man to keel over with his hands around his lower torso. That blow was painful enough to ensure he would be incapacitated for some time.


    Bingxin caught up from behind, "Song Yang-gege, what sorcery was that?"


    "Follow me,¡± I said, grabbing her hand. ¡°Remember, don¡¯t look into my eyes!" Bingxin muttered an affirmative.


    The Eyes of Yama was very energy-consuming and I now had insufficient blood supply to the brain so my field of vision was dark. But disabling and reactivating the Eyes of Yama would consume even more energy. Thus, my n was to incapacitate the rest of the criminals in one go.


    I rushed to the eighth floor and found a bunch of girls sitting in the corner, disheveled, with their hands tied behind their backs. At the sight of us, they squealed like frightened sparrows in a nest and frantically moved away from me. The man standing with them pulled out a butterfly knife and charged at us. But as soon as my gaze was fixed onto his, he screamed in horror, tossed the knife and crouched on the ground shivering with his hands around his head.


    "There¡¯s someone on your right!" Bingxin prompted.


    I turned to the right to see a long-haired man pull out his gun. My gaze met his and he immediately panicked. "Who are you?" he trembled.


    He unconsciously backed up, forgetting that the unfinished residential building had no walls. ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± His screamssted several seconds, reced by a muffled crash as he slipped and fell from the eighth floor.


    Fuck! I killed a man with the Eyes of Yama!


    With danger out of the way, I disable the Eyes of Yama. Dizziness hit me like a truck and the world spun around me as if I were drunk. Darkness shrouded my vision, warmth slipping down my nasal cavity as warm liquid emerged.


    "Song Yang-gege, you¡¯ve got a nosebleed!" Bingxin eximed.


    This wasn¡¯t the time to fixate on my difort and the nosebleed. I wiped my nose with my sleeve and strode towards the man crouching on the ground.


    My entire field of vision was dark with vague shapes that I made out to be his figure. The bacsh of the Eyes of Yama was rming! No wonder Song Xingchen warned me against using it more than three times a day. If I forcibly overdrew my energy, I might go blind.


    As I drew closer, I kicked him recklessly, relying on an optimistic oue. To my surprise, the kicknded heavily on his ribs, fracturing them. Broken ribs in this position would pierce the lungs, causing indescribable agony.


    The man let out a scream resembling a dying pig, clutched at his wound and repeatedly thumped his head against the ground. I fell to my knees which sent Bingxin running in a fluster, "Song Yang-gege, what¡¯s wrong with you?"


    I waved her off, "Find a rope and tie up these two men."


    "Alright!" nodded Bingxin.


    The blood supply to my brain slowly recovered and my sight returned to normal. The kidnapped girls stared at me in fear, as if they were looking at a ghost.


    A whileter, Bingxinpleted her task, even adding a pretty bow. "I don¡¯t know how to tie thoseplicated knots," she pursed her lips.


    "Do you have any milk?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m thirsty and dizzy!"


    "Milk?" Bingxin scanned the room and ran off. She came back holding an energy drink. "This is all I found. Is it okay?"


    Without a word, I grabbed the bottle, unscrewed the lid, and took a sip. Although it didn¡¯t taste good, the dizziness was finally alleviated. From now on, I had to take a bottle of milk with me wherever I went in case of a rainy day.


    Bingxin twisted some paper towels and shoved them up my nose to stop the bleeding. "What just happened to you? You looked like you were possessed!"


    "I¡¯ll exinter!" I deflected.


    "You were amazing! You managed to subdue two criminals and killed one instantly!¡± gushed Bingxin. ¡°Can you get up? Do you want my help?"


    Relying on Bingxin¡¯s assistance, I slowly climbed to my feet, legs still wobbly. I kicked the man on the ground and demanded, "Who the hell are you guys? You better tell the truth!"


    Ribs broken and sweating from the pain, the man endeavored to squeeze out a smile. "Buddy, I apologize for offending you. It¡¯s my fault for not recognizing a great man like yourself! We¡¯re just trying to make a living together. If I may ask, what do you do?"


    What I hated most were human traffickers so I shed my identification. "Who¡¯s buddies with you?!" I scoffed.


    The man¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, "Officer, I-I-I¡¯m just a small fry. This has nothing to do with me! Our boss brought these girls here. I¡¯m only responsible for keeping an eye on them."


    "Who¡¯s your boss?" I arched an eyebrow.


    The man pointed downstairs, "The one who jumped off the building!"


    I sneered. The cunning bastard knew how to sail with the wind!

 Chapter 378

    <h4>Chapter 378</h4>


    As Bingxin and I untied the girls one by one, we learned that they were transported here from other provinces. I originally assumed we had inadvertently run into a human trafficking syndicate, though Iter realized they were directly rted to this case.


    After I described Luo Youyou¡¯s features to them, the girls denied ever seeing her. Suddenly, a loud crash sounded from a distance, followed by a thunderous bang.


    Bingxin and I exchanged a meaningful look. ¡°We should investigate that!"


    I ced the girls in charge of monitoring the two traffickers and exined that the police would soon arrive. Aware of their hatred for these men, I specifically reminded them not to do anything untoward.


    Bingxin and I bound down the stairs and ran towards the direction of the crash. From a distance, we could hear Dali cry, "Youyou, are you alright?"


    At a nce, there crouched a crying Dali with Luo Youyou in his arms while Song Xingchen stood aside, left hand hanging down feebly. There were several long tire marks on the ground and a fallen wall.


    Song Xingchen exined that Luo Youyou heard their shouts and ran out from her hiding ce. Dali pulled her into his arms with tears of joy, only for a car to appear out of nowhere, elerating at full speed towards the couple.


    At the time, the two were frightened deer in the headlights, motionless and awaiting the impact. Song Xingchen mmed into them so they avoided the ident but was left with an injury instead. Then, the car sped off after crashing into the wall.


    It turned out that Luo Youyou was fine despite her soiled clothes. She was probably too nervous and fainted from shock.


    Thank goodness they were alright!


    I nced at Song Xingchen¡¯s arm but the man still downyed the situation. "I¡¯m alright, it¡¯s a minor injury."


    From the unnatural way his arm drooped, I knew it was broken. "Stop trying to be brave!¡± I said. ¡°Let me have a look!"


    A light touch of the hand made Song Xingchen furrow his brows and break into cold sweat. The bone was indeed broken. "You should get that sorted at once. It¡¯ll be troublesome if there¡¯s a misalignment."


    Forck of equipment, I removed my coat, grabbed the scissors Bingxin handed to me and cut off both sleeves. Then, Bingxin gathered some bamboo sticks which I used to stabilize his arm. Song Xingchen seemed inept at expressing his feelings. "Thank you!" he muttered under his breath.


    "You¡¯re wee!¡± I chuckled. ¡°Take a few days off and rest!"


    "No, I must protect you!" Song Xingchen shook his head.


    I pointed to my eyes and whispered, "These are enough. I just killed a man with them. Even I can¡¯t believe it!"


    A trace of surprise shed across Song Xingchen¡¯s countenance but he didn¡¯t ask for the details. He only cared about my personal safety, not the progress of the case.


    We walked over to check on Luo Youyou. Dali tried pinching her and actually managed to rouse her from unconsciousness. "Dali, I¡¯m thirsty,¡± mumbled Luo Youyou.


    "I¡¯ll get you some water!" Dali replied.


    "There¡¯s half a bottle left, if you don¡¯t mind drinking after me.¡± I grabbed the energy drink.


    After sipping a mouthful, Luo Youyou looked much better. I asked her to narrate the kidnapping.


    Luo Youyou exined that she purchased a train ticket home immediately after her quarrel with Dali. Then, she found a cafe to have lunch and was chatting with her ssmate when she received a call from Zhou Yang inviting her out.


    Luo Youyou had grown frustrated with Zhou Yang who continuously harassed her sincest night. She was about to hang up the call but Zhou Yang insisted it was a matter of importance and asked her where she was. He said he woulde look for her and promised to stand by the side of the road for the entirety of their conversation.


    A while after Luo Youyou reported her address, Zhou Yang came in a car. He was sitting in the passenger seat beside an unknown driver. Zhou Yang appeared flustered and repeatedly winked at her.


    Realizing something was wrong, Luo Youyou was prepared to run when the man threatened, "Get in the car or I¡¯ll kill him!"


    It turned out that he was holding a syringe containing some unknown drug inserted into Zhou Yang¡¯s flesh. The phone call was made under duress.


    "What did the man look like?" I interrupted.


    "He was wearing a hat and a mask so I could only see his eyes. His eyes were dazed and made him seem quite old. What impressed me most was his hands. His fingernails were all corroded," recalled Luo Youyou.


    I nodded and motioned for her to continue.


    At the time, Luo Youyou knew she couldn¡¯t get into the car but the man coldly threatened her with Dali¡¯s life, iming he had kidnapped Dali.


    In a state of panic and confusion, Luo Youyou got into the car under the man¡¯s intimidation and Zhou Yang¡¯s entreaties. She was robbed of her cell phone as soon as she entered the car. Frightened and alert, she desperately gestured for help whenever they passed another car on the street. However, anyone who noticed her actions turned a blind eye.


    When they arrived here, the man opened the door and ordered Zhou Yang to get off.


    At that moment, the man pulled out a mace and hit Zhou Yang¡¯s head from behind. The former fell to the ground, convulsing.


    Luo Youyou originally thought it was just a kidnapping and believed she would be found with my wit. She never imagined the man to be a murderer!


    She burst open the car door and fled with the man chasing behind her. Dithery and on edge, she ran into an unfinished residential building with building materials lying in one corner against the wall. She hid herself under the pile of building materials, too afraid to move or breathe heavily.


    The man searched the area for some time but came up empty. Soon, his footsteps faded away, but Luo Youyou was too frightened toe out of hiding.


    After crouching there for an unknown period of time, she heard Dali¡¯s voice. Overjoyed, she dashed out, never expecting the man was still lurking the entire time. Seeing an opportunity, he elerated his car and attempted to m into them.


    If it weren¡¯t for Song Xingchen, their lives would have been taken...


    Upon hearing this, I was extremely d I asked Song Xingchen toe along. Otherwise, it would be an entirely different scenario.


    "Are you sure the driver who hit you is the murderer?" I asked.


    Luo Youyou nodded vehemently, "I recognize the car. It¡¯s white with a picture of a leopard!"


    "What¡¯s the license te number?"


    Luo Youyou shook her head, indicating she wasn¡¯t sure.


    I phoned Xiaotao and asked where she was. The police were about a half an hour away so I told her to pay close attention to an SUV matching these descriptions, though I wasn¡¯t optimistic about finding our guy.


    Dali stroked Luo Youyou¡¯s hair affectionately, "Youyou, I swear if I ever make you upset again, I¡¯ll drown in a heap of used sanitary napkins!"


    Luo Youyou smiled, burying her head in his arms. The two remained in each other¡¯s arms for a long time when Bingxin interrupted, "What¡¯s the point of words? Seal the deal already!"


    Shyness colored Luo Youyou¡¯s face and ears crimson as she yed with her hair. Bingxin pulled me away to give them some privacy. Song Xingchen was wise enough to look elsewhere as well.


    Girls had a wider peripheral vision than boys. When Bingxin mischievously sneaked a peek out of the corner of her eye, I asked in a low voice, "Are they kissing?"


    "Geez, are they going to continue kissing until they suffocate?!" Bingxin eximed.

 Chapter 379

    <h4>Chapter 379</h4>


    While waiting for the police, Dali and Luo Youyou sat side by side, whispering sweet nothings in hushed tones as the rest of us looked on.


    Dali used to grumble about my public disys of affection with Xiaotao, but now it was his turn. And the guy wasying it on thick! Seeing my good buddy sessfully establish his first rtionship made me sincerely happy for him.


    Bingxin smiled, "I want to fall in love as well!"


    "You should look for someone,¡± I said. ¡°With your conditions, you should have many boys pursuing you!"


    Bingxin pursed her lips, "Those boys are all boring and can¡¯tpare to you." Then, she fixed a gentle gaze on me, "Song Yang-gege, I like the feeling you give me!"


    "But you can¡¯t always stay this way, can you? You¡¯ll have to grow up sometime,¡± I chuckled.


    She looked up at the sky, "I don¡¯t care. I¡¯ll take it one step at a time! If you marry Xiaotao-jiejie in the future, then I¡¯ll look for someone else. But at least I would¡¯ve spent my best years with you. I¡¯m content with just that."


    I was touched by her words but I merely smiled in return. The boundary of childhood friends to lovers wasn¡¯t something I was willing to cross.


    When the police cars arrived, Xiaotao alighted with a group of officers. Upon noticing Dali and Luo Youyou, she asked in surprise, "What happened?"


    "It¡¯s a long story. Let¡¯s talk while we walk!"


    I asked Xiaotao to send Song Xingchen to the hospital in one of the police vehicles while the rest of us headed to the unfinished residential building where the kidnapped girls were waiting. At the sight of the dead body downstairs, Xiaotao asked, "Who did this?"


    I pointed to myself, "It was self-defense. Bingxin can testify to that."


    "Song Yang-gege was super brave,¡± she exaggerated. ¡°With a loud roar, he shed the Buddha¡¯s Palm and defeated the criminals from a distance..."


    Xiaotaoughed and reminded, "Miss Sun, you will have to bear legal repercussions for perjury."


    "Oh, I was mistaken. What Song Yang-gege used was the Six Meridian Divine Sword!" Bingxin teased.


    "Yes,¡± I nodded. ¡°It was the Six Meridian Divine Sword!"


    Xiaotao turned to the officers behind her, "Handcuff these two and send them directly to a mental hospital."


    When we arrived at the eighth floor, I found the man with the broken ribs moaning on the ground, fresh bruises and wounds covering his entire face. Looking at these innocent girls before us, I knew they must have taken turns beating the man to vent their hatred.


    The man¡¯s injuries were much deserved so I feigned ignorance and confessed it was my doing.


    "Not bad!¡± praised Xiaotao. ¡°Looks like you don¡¯t need Song Xingchen¡¯s protection from now on. Maybe I should invite Song Xingchen to work at the Armed Police Force as a chief instructor!"


    "His student would most likely end up disabled for life,¡± Iughed.


    The youngest of these girls was only twelve years old. We swore at the ruthlessness of these human traffickers. Held captive for a long time, these girls were starving and thinly clothed. The officers took them downstairs and distributed food and water from the police cars. Many officers removed their coats and covered the girls.


    In a bid to publicize a job well done and to improve the bureau¡¯s image, Bingxin snapped several photos that she nned to share on Weibo. Xiaotao was delighted with her n.


    The statements the two traffickers gave were inconsistent. One imed it was the boss who jumped off the building, while the other insisted the boss was the man I kicked. I didn¡¯t intend to continue investigating the abduction and trafficking since a special department of the bureau was in charge of this.


    We walked to the foundation where the water had umted. When the officers came to take Zhou Yang¡¯s body away, I said, "There¡¯s something in the water. Can you get it out?"


    Xiaotao nced at the foundation, "The water is rather deep. We might need a pump to drain it."


    "That¡¯ll take too much time. I¡¯ll try to fish out whatever¡¯s in there, then you can drain it and check to see if there is anything else!"


    I found a bamboo stick and hooked a wire at the end, stirring the water till it finally caught onto something. With a pull, a military green canvas bag was revealed. This sort of bag was seldom seen in recent years and the cloth was seriously worn, indicating it had been used for quite a long time.


    We found a vacant area to empty the contents of the bag. It was full of soaked photos and a notebook which had to be dried before we could read its contents.


    These were all photos of girls. "It¡¯s them!" I cried, flickering my gaze towards the rescued girls.


    "Who do you think dropped the bag?" queried Xiaotao.


    "Whoever fell in?¡± I spected. ¡°I¡¯m almost certain it¡¯s Zhang Bing. Let¡¯s ask the traffickers."


    I went over with the canvas bag and asked the trafficker whose it was. "Zhang Bing!" he answered without a second thought.


    It was just as I expected!


    As it turned out, these traffickers needed a local pimp to sell the ¡°goods¡± when conducting business across borders, so they contacted Zhang Bing. Last night, Zhang Bing came to take pictures of every girl and contacted the buyers. If everything went well, these girls would¡¯ve been sold to illegal establishments as prostitutes and Zhang Bing would¡¯ve received his cut.


    He was supposed to meet them today but he never showed up so the gang had decided to wait for him.


    Of course, they weren¡¯t aware of Zhang Bing¡¯s death. My guess was Zhang Bing left the abandoned buildingst night and happened to bump into the murderer who kicked him into the water and pummeled his skull with the mace.


    But what I didn¡¯t fathom was the murderer¡¯s motive. Did the murders happen in the spur of the moment? Or was it really rted to the ghost bus? Or perhaps it was revenge!


    "Half of the people who went on that ghost busst night are dead.¡± Xiaotao solemnly urged, ¡°You four must be careful. Should I put you under protective custody?"


    "No,¡± I shook my head. ¡°Dali, Luo Youyou and I won¡¯t leave the store. Once we go back, I¡¯ll install rms and monitors in the store, and you can watch after Bingxin."


    Xiaotao turned to Bingxin, "Miss Sun, your father has been busy as ofte. It¡¯s not safe for you to stay at home alone. Please stay at my ce tonight!"


    "I have a solution that will make everyone happy,¡± Bingxin giggled. ¡°Dali and Luo Youyou can stay in the store, while Song Yang-gege stays at my ce!"


    "You just have to push your luck, don¡¯t you?" Xiaotao chided with arms akimbo.


    The two stared each other down in a battle of wills. I had to be the one to break them up. "Don¡¯t worry about that. I¡¯m guessing tonight¡¯s going to be a sleepless night. Don¡¯t forget, the ghost bus appears at midnight!"


    "We haven¡¯t found much information on the bus. We tried to match the rumors to the idents in Nanjiang City but found no incident of a bus plunging into the river,¡± Xiaotao reported. ¡°The closest match is an ident that happened ten years ago. Because the driver was drunk driving, he had an ident that caused the fuel tank to burst into mes when the bus overturned. More than twenty passengers died that day, and the driver who escaped death faced prosecution byw. In the end, hemitted suicide before the trial by jumping off a building!"


    "How could he drive a bus while drinking? That¡¯spletely unheard of!"


    "Which is why the public condemned him at the time and the driver couldn¡¯t handle the pressure. That¡¯s why he killed himself.¡±


    "What¡¯s the driver¡¯s name?" I asked.


    Xiaotao perused through her cell phone and showed me a file. The driver¡¯s name was Su Junting. He died at the age of 24. I had never seen the face in the photo, and he didn¡¯t resemble the bus driver fromst night.

 Chapter 380

    <h4>Chapter 380</h4>


    Upon returning to the store, the first thing we had to do was install rms and cameras. Since it was already past 4:00 pm, the camera instation expert suggested he would drop by the next day. I managed to change his mind after offering to double his wage. Several experts soon arrived at the store and installed the cameras and rms with practiced ease.


    When I arrived at the station, the officers had already left work. Xiaotao and Bingxin yed a movie in the conference room and ordered takeout.


    "You girls sure know how to enjoy yourselves!" I remarked.


    "We have to stay upte again tonight. How boring it is to just sit around," Xiaotao retorted.


    I pecked at some of their food. Although the movie was interesting, my mind was distracted by the case. I was still unconvinced that the four victims died because they had been on the ghost bus. Where was the motive in that?


    However, the murderer deliberately designed their cause of deaths to conform to drowning in order to create the illusion of a killer ghost bus. And how did he find out Dali¡¯s name or locate us in one day?


    After watching two movies back to back, Bingxin said, "My eyes are tired. Let¡¯s do something else!" With that, she ran out of the room.


    Xiaotao yelled after her, "You can¡¯t go out alone! There¡¯s no one in the corridor right now!"


    I smiled at their little exchange and phoned Dali to confirm his position.


    "I just closed up the store,¡± he reported. ¡°I¡¯m about to take Youyou to get ice cream!"


    "Just stay in the store and don¡¯t go elsewhere! Don¡¯t you know we¡¯re on the murderer¡¯s list?" I chided.


    "Are we supposed to sleep here as well?" he retorted.


    ¡°Yes!¡± I yelled. ¡°You can sleep on the floor!¡±


    After further contemtion, I couldn¡¯t rid myself of worry so I said, "Nevermind! Come down to the station... Actually, I¡¯ll pick you up!"


    On my way out of the conference room, I bumped into Bingxin carrying a big bag of snacks.


    "My God, this girl actually stores her snacks in the forensicboratory¡¯s refrigerator..." eximed Xiaotao.


    "I¡¯m going to pick up Dali and Luo Youyou from the store,¡± I exined. ¡°I¡¯m worried to leave them on their own."


    "No!¡± Xiaotao disapproved. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous for you to go out alone. I¡¯ll go with you!"


    "Then what about Bingxin?" I asked.


    "Let¡¯s all go to the store. No one should be alone," suggested Bingxin.


    "What about tonight?" I pointed out.


    "We¡¯ll check into a hotel for the night,¡± said Xiaotao ¡°I¡¯ll make sure it has monitoring!"


    These were special circumstances¨Cwe were all targets of the murderer so no one should be left alone.


    We soon headed to the store. Luo Youyou was cute in her new dress and flushed cheeks.


    Xiaotao turned to Dali, "Youyou is the beautiful flower stuck in a fresh heap of cow dung¨Cthat¡¯s you. You should cherish her!"


    Bingxin patted Luo Youyou¡¯s head and said, "You look so pretty! It must be the effect of falling in love!"


    The couple seemed to share a tacit agreement; Luo Youyou colored with embarrassment while Dali shamefully protested, "What are you two doing here?"


    Bingxin brought all of her snacks as well as Monopoly and chess which we all enjoyed. The next thing we knew, it was past 11:00 pm.


    "Let¡¯s go and see this legendary ghost bus!" Xiaotao dered.


    When we came to Redbud Road, Dali suddenly cried, "I just felt as if someone was staring at us." Luo Youyou shivered with fear while I rebuked, "Nonsense! How can your night visionpare to mine! Don¡¯t jump at everything!"


    We waited by the side of the road well past midnight but the ghost bus didn¡¯t appear. The long day had taken its toll on Bingxin who yawned sleepily. Xiaotao proposed we wait another hour but the bus never appeared.


    "Are you sure you got it right?" Xiaotao expressed her doubts.


    The three of them immediately burst into indignant argument, insisting it was all true.


    "We can¡¯t just stand here till dawn,¡± I interjected. ¡°Why don¡¯t was rest for the night ande back tomorrow!"


    "I¡¯ll book us a room," Xiaotao grabbed her cell phone.


    "There¡¯s no need,¡± interrupted Bingxin. ¡°My home is nearby. The three of us girls can sleep in my dad¡¯s bed. Song Yang-gege and Dali can share my small bed!"


    "But what if your dades home?"


    "He can sleep on the sofa!"


    The five of us voted and agreed to spend the night at Bingxin¡¯s home.


    Since Sun Tiger ended up working the night shift again, he didn¡¯te back until morning. The big case he was investigating meant spending countless nights in the station with his team. The next morning, Dali and I were woken up by a loud din in the bathroom.


    "Three women but one bathroom, and they¡¯re already busy in the morning!" Dalimented.


    Right then, Luo Youyou¡¯s voice sounded from the bathroom, "No... Jiejie, let me go..."


    "You should hurry up and save your girlfriend from the other two!¡± I burst outughing.


    Lifting the nket, Dali jumped out of bed, "I know they¡¯re the police. But what about our human rights?"


    Early in the morning, Bingxin and Xiaotao had their way with Luo Youyou, dressing her and putting on makeup. With her little loli figure, Youyou brought out the perverted motherly affection from Xiaotao and Bingxin.


    Dali ran to the bathroom and knocked on the door, "What are you doing in there? Let her go!"


    "Don¡¯t bother us,¡± Xiaotao shouted.


    ¡°We¡¯re almost done!" Bingxin echoed.


    Like a cat on hot bricks, Dali paced back and forth in the living room. A whileter, the door to the bathroom finally opened, and out came Bingxin holding a shy Luo Youyou. "Vo! Do you recognize who this is?"


    At the sight of Luo Youyou, Dali¡¯s eyes widened like saucers. The girls had permed Luo Youyou¡¯s hair into lovely curls and painted a little eye shadow on her eyelids, giving the illusion of bigger eyes. She also wore some light makeup on her face, though it wasn¡¯t obvious.


    Under Xiaotao and Bingxin¡¯sbined efforts, Luo Youyou now resembled a lovely Barbie doll. Dali¡¯s stupefaction had Luo Youyou flushed like a ripe tomato. She lowered her head shyly but her lips were curled into a smile. Perhaps this was the pleasure experienced by women who took pride in their appearance.


    "I¡¯m not very good with makeup but I gave it a shot, and the results are pretty good, right? Doesn¡¯t she look like a cute loli?" asked Xiaotao.


    "Haha,¡± giggled Bingxin. ¡°He¡¯s overwhelmed by how cute she looks!"


    Luo Youyou asked shyly, "Do you like it?"


    "I really do!¡± Dali nodded like an excited puppy. ¡°You look good in everything!"


    At the end of this little episode, we headed out for breakfast. Xiaotao sighed, "If I weren¡¯t a police officer, it would be rather interesting for us to start a private detective agency. We¡¯d spend our days having fun and sharingughter."


    "I don¡¯t think it¡¯s popr here in China,¡± I disagreed. ¡°Most private detectives are hired to investigate mistresses."


    "You¡¯re right about that," Xiaotao nodded.


    "By the way, Song Yang, when I was scrolling through Weibost night, I found something!" added Luo Youyou.


    Fiddling with her cell phone, she handed it to me. It turned out that Zhou Yang posted a microblog with a video he had secretly taken on the bus. Every one of us appeared in that video!


    "The murderer must have seen his post!" I stated.


    A Chinese idiom alluding to a beautiful woman with an ugly man.

 Chapter 381

    <h4>Chapter 381</h4>


    As I recall, Zhou Yang had invited Zhang Bing to check out his microblog that night. When Zhang Bing died, we couldn¡¯t find his cell phone which had obviously been taken away by the murderer!


    Perhaps the murderer was inspired or triggered after reading Zhou Yang¡¯s post and decided to kill everyone on the ghost bus that night. The first people he located were the hostesses of the nightclub. Zhang Bing must have kept their information on his cell phone so he contacted them using Zhang Bing¡¯s phone.


    At the time, I assumed the murderer stole one of the hostess¡¯ cell phones out of greed but now it seemed he had another reason. There must have been chat records that he didn¡¯t want the police to find.


    Then, the next easiest thing was to locate Zhou Yang. The murderer fabricated some reason to trick Zhou Yang out and kidnapped him, forcing him to call Luo Youyou. He probably obtained Dali¡¯s name from looking at her cell phone.


    This all made the murderer less mysterious and fantastical. His murder pattern had its own rules, and now, the trail has gone cold for him! Yet, we had acquired much information!


    Upon listening to my analysis, Xiaotao said, "I think we should start with Zhang Bing! The murderer could be someone who has past grievances with him."


    "Since he¡¯s already killed Zhang Bing, why keep killing?" Bingxin wondered out loud.


    "Maybe he¡¯s addicted to killing. From his sophisticated modus operandi and careful thinking, this man definitely has experience inmitting murders. A man like him regards killing as a game and a challenge!"


    "So, the case has nothing to do with the ghost bus?" asked Bingxin.


    "Let¡¯s take a two-pronged approach!¡± Xiaotao dered. ¡°We have to find out more about the ghost bus. This suspicious bus haunts Nanjiang Cityte at night, causing unwanted rumors and panic among the public. We can use this opportunity to take it out!"


    Dali and Luo Youyou returned to the store, while the three of us headed to the station. We held a case discussion and summarized the information in our hands.


    Zhang Bing had quite a lot of enemies, and his many debts had him running from loan sharks. He had to hide and stay on the move with no fixed ce of residence. It was probably for this reason that he cooperated with human traffickers to partake in such a contemptible business.


    Zhang Bing¡¯sptop was filled with debt transactions. The police made a list and were ready to investigate each and every one of those transactions.


    The police were also investigating several chemical nts in Nanjiang City. Officers were also assigned to investigate the original crime scene of Zhang Bing¡¯s murder, focusing on passing vehicles at the time. However, due to the remoteness of the location, no witnesses were found.


    That night, we waited for the ghost bus again but found no signs of it. The police tracked down a bunch of people who had grievances with Zhang Bing. After examining all the suspects brought back for questioning, none of them fit the characteristics of the murderer.


    On the third night, the five of us headed to Redbud Road once more. By this time, we hadpletely lost our initial enthusiasm. After two consecutivete nights, we were exhausted. As soon as the clock struck midnight, Xiaotao sighed, "Looks like we waited for nothing again."


    "It¡¯s boring to stand around here doing nothing,¡± grumbled Bingxin. ¡°Let¡¯s y a word game. I¡¯ll go first... Too big a tail."


    "Amateur...¡± mocked Xiaotao. ¡°Luring the tiger out of its den!"


    The two got into the game, finally stopping at ¡°do whatever you please¡± when they failed to find a corresponding idiom.


    Luo Youyou suddenly pointed into the distance and shouted, "Look over there!"


    Fog enveloped the street as the outline of a bus gradually appeared. Seeing the ghost bus for the first time, Xiaotao opened her mouth in amazement, ¡°How can this be!"


    We stood next to the stop sign so the bus pulled up right in front of us. As we filed in, I grabbed a small vial to store a sample of the fog.


    After getting on the bus, we immediately found our seats. Bingxin watched in surprise as I studied the contents of the vial. "Can you keep a sample of the fog?" she asked.


    "Look carefully at what it is," I urged.


    After further examination, Bingxin analyzed, "This gas is heavier than air." She reached out and touched the vial, "It¡¯s cold... It¡¯s carbon dioxide!"


    "Yes,¡± I nodded. ¡°It¡¯s most likely dry ice. That¡¯s why the fog is so dense and the temperature is lower near the fog!"


    As soon as I stated my conclusion, they all seemed enlightened. The eerie atmosphere was mostly diffused by now. In fact, my main goal tonight was to expose its hocus-pocus and prove that the ghost bus was fake.


    ¡°Then what about the ghosts sitting on the bus?" Dali pointed out.


    "That?¡± I scoffed. ¡°In fact, I thought about it for quite some time when I went back the other day. Finally, I realized the trick to it was¨C"


    I walked to the front window and sat down. Then, grabbing aser pointer out of my pocket, I aimed it at the window. When the spot of light moved back and forth across the ss, the others immediately realized what the problem was. When it passed through the center of the ss, the light transmittance deteriorated.


    I knocked on the window and exined, "This is a sort of optical ss. On the surface, it looks normal. In fact, its light transmittance is different from normal ss. Perhaps someone deliberately arranged this. So, when light passes through, the silhouette of a person is revealed on the ground or on the wall as if the bus is full of people."


    "Is it all fake?" Luo Youyou seemed disappointed.


    I nodded, "I was skeptical from the moment I got on the bus. I¡¯m not an atheist but I¡¯m used to verifying the authenticity of strange phenomena first instead of taking them at face value."


    "Song Yang¡¯s practice of seeking the truth is worth learning!" praised Dali.


    "Since all this is fake, let¡¯s talk to the driver!" suggested Xiaotao.


    She stood up, walked towards the driver¡¯s seat, and shed her badge. "Stop the bus. We¡¯d like to have a word with you!"


    But no matter what Xiaotao said, the driver showed no response. When I walked up to him, I noticed his impassive, vacant eyes in the reflection of the windshield, like those of a dead man.


    "This guy may have mental problems. We might as well stay till thest stop and see where that leads us."


    Right then, a crisp snap sounded through the bus¨CDali was ying with his newly bought Zippo lighter. At the sh of the me, the driver suddenly screamed, "Fire! There¡¯s a huge fire! Help!"


    The carriage suddenly tilted, prompting me to hold on tightly to my seat while Xiaotao fell into my arms.


    Then the bus swung to the other side, our bodies undting and swaying in the same direction. Dali, Luo Youyou, and Bingxin screamed in fear. We watched the windows shake and the lights in the bus flicker.


    The bus moved like a slithery snake on the road, barely stabilizing after several zigzags. At this moment, I was in my seat with Xiaotao pressed on top of my body. She covered her head with her hands as if she had bumped herself.


    Gently massaging her head with my fingers, I asked, "Does it hurt?"


    "I¡¯m alright!" Then, she snapped, "Is he trying to kill us?"


    Before I could say anything, she stood up and charged towards the driver, pulling out the bus key without warning. The bus came to an abrupt halt.


    "Get out!" Xiaotao demanded.


    However, the driver remained silent and motionless, turning the steering wheel as he looked straight ahead. It was as if the outside world had nothing to do with him...


    A Chinese idiom alluding to leadership rendered ineffectual by recalcitrant subordinates.


    Lure the enemy away from his base.

 Chapter 382

    <h4>Chapter 382</h4>


    Xiaotao impatiently pushed the driver¡¯s arm, "Are you deaf?"


    The driver¡¯s right prosthetic hand fell off, throwing Xiaotao for a loop since I hadn¡¯t mentioned the previous incident to her.


    "Don¡¯t be impulsive, let me try!" I said.


    I walked over and waved my hand in front of the driver¡¯s eyes but still he showed no response. Then, I leaned in.


    Last time we were on the bus, I didn¡¯t get a good look at his appearance. But this time, I was standing close enough to him to realize he seemed a little familiar. When Ipared him to the photo of the driver whomitted suicide ten years ago, realization dawned upon me.


    Although their features were slightly different, the bone structure was simr. I noticed that there was a contrast between the color of the skin around his neck and his face.


    "He¡¯s the man in the photo!¡± I shouted. ¡°He was disfigured by the ident ten years ago. Later on, he underwent skin grafting and stic surgery!"


    "Didn¡¯t the drivermit suicide?" Xiaotao asked in surprise.


    I shook my head, "It was probably faked!"


    Right then, a car drove up from behind and stopped beside the bus. A stout old man alighted, knocked on the door, and folded his hands in a pleading gesture.


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a questioning look, not quite fathoming what he meant. Xiaotao proceeded to put the key back into the ignition and pressed the open button.


    As soon as the old man got on the bus, he desperately begged, "Please be kind and let my son go. He¡¯s got problems here!" the old man pointed to his skull.


    "Sir, you¡¯ve got it all wrong.¡± I exined, ¡°We¡¯re not trying to hurt him!"


    Xiaotao shed her badge which seemed to draw the old man¡¯s unease. "Did my son crash into someone?" He shifted his gaze.


    "No,¡± Xiaotao shook her head. ¡°But he¡¯s been wandering around the cityte at night, seriously affectingw and order, which is why we¡¯re investigating the matter.¡±


    The old man breathed a sigh of relief, "Please get down from the bus and I¡¯ll exin everything."


    The old man sighed and began to tell his story.


    His son, Su Junting, was the driver in the ident from ten years ago, and the old man was the stationmaster at the time. In his early years, he had also driven buses. Mrs. Su passed away early on, leaving son and father behind so he often brought his son on his bus trips.


    Exposed to buses since childhood, Su Junting had a passion for buses and strived to be a bus driver when he grew up.


    When the old man eventually became the stationmaster, his son was already a youngd. At the age of neen, Su Junting got his ss A driver¡¯s license. When he begged his father to let him experience driving a bus, the old man agreed!


    Perhaps due to being pampered since childhood, Su Junting had ackadaisical attitude towards operating the bus. The old man often receivedints from passengers to which he turned a blind eye as part of his overindulgence towards his son. In his opinion, as long as it wasn¡¯t a big mistake, it was alright. Without his knowledge, Su Junting actually operated a bus after drinking with his friends one day.


    Then came the horrific ident. When the bus burst up in mes, Su Junting was the only one who escaped by breaking the window and crawling out...


    After the ident, Su Junting was subjected to endless criticism and insults from the victims¡¯ families. Due to his disfigurement from the fire, he suffered mental trauma and hid himself at home, refusing to go outside. But hide as he did, the crime of manughter couldn¡¯t be avoided. What he faced was at least ten years in prison.


    Unable to bear the pressure, Su Junting attempted tomit suicide by jumping off a hospital building. Fortunately, his fall was broken by a tree and he survived. As a result, theminuted fracture in his right arm and open injuries meant amputation.


    The old man couldn¡¯t bear the thought of his beloved son rotting away in prison so he bribed the doctor to perjure his son¡¯s death. They deceived the coroner with the body of another suicide jumper.


    Since his son mitted suicide,¡± the responsibility was borne by the old man alone. He emptied his savings topensate the victims¡¯ families, but in his view, nothing outweighed his son¡¯s life...


    However, when it rains, it pours. Ever since the ident, Su Junting suffered from serious mental illness. During these violent episodes, he either hurt himself or others. Any medicine he took didn¡¯t work!


    The doctor said he was suffering from a rare mental illness in which he remained closed-off from the world. In his head, he repeatedly returned to the day of the ident to make up for his mistakes. And there was only one way to treat it, that is, to remove the frontal lobe of the brain which would turn him into a fool.


    The old man asked the doctor if there was any other way to treat his son, to which the doctor replied¨Csatisfy his desires!


    Taking advantage of his position, the old man obtained a scrapped bus and allowed his son to drive aroundte at night so that his mind could stabilize. In the eyes of patients with such a personality disorder, except for the ident, everything else around them didn¡¯t exist.


    Even though it waste at night, people asionally got on the bus. Worried that the truth would be revealed, the old man followed behind the bus and prohibited anyone from going on board. But the truth woulde to light sooner orter so he pondered about the best solution. Couldn¡¯t he turn it into a ghost bus that no one dared to get on?


    Thus, he welded several iron boxes under the bus, ced dry ice inside, and made the windows from special optical ss. Even from a distance, such a vehicle looked eerie and suspicious. Who would dare get on?


    A few years ago, things were much simpler. It didn¡¯t matter if the bus was noticed by a few people asionally. However, in the past two years, as the Inte gradually developed, the ghost bus spread like wildfire online. Worried something might go wrong, the old man followed his son in his car from a distance every night.


    Earlier, he assumed someone was deliberately making things difficult for his son so he showed up to stop them. He never expected it was the police!


    Upon hearing his story, we were all taken by surprise. It turned out such an inside story was actually hidden behind the ghost bus. The old man was a typical example of a parent spoiling his child.


    "This ghost bus has been driving in Nanjiang City for ten years?" Xiaotao asked incredulously.


    "No!" The old man waved his hand, "It¡¯s only been five or six years, and my son¡¯s illness is periodic. He doesn¡¯te out every night."


    "No wonder we haven¡¯t seen him for days!" I remarked.


    "Please havepassion,¡± begged the old man. ¡°My son is my only spiritual sustenance. Please don¡¯t arrest him. You¡¯ll destroy our family!"


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a meaningful look. "He needs to be sent to a mental hospital," said Xiaotao.


    "But if he goes, they¡¯ll remove his frontal lobe,¡± I argued. ¡°He¡¯ll be an idiot!"


    Xiaotao sighed, "What a headache! Well, let¡¯s go back and study countermeasures. But this bus cannot continue driving around Nanjiang City. It¡¯s very dangerous to let a mental patient out at night, much less allow him to drive a bus!"


    The old man wiped his tears, "If I had any other way, I wouldn¡¯t have made such a risky decision... Please forgive us and let us go! Otherwise, my son¡¯s illness will re up! I¡¯m at my wit¡¯s end."


    "Leave your contact information,¡± ordered Xiaotao. ¡°You can go for now!"


    After a show of gratitude, the old man left us his contact information and the two vehicles drove off into the night.


    "Xiaotao-jiejie, that was really kind of you,"mented Bingxin.


    Xiaotao sighed deeply, "Pity the hearts of parents. After all, he¡¯s not some sadistic murderer. If I arrest him, it¡¯ll be akin to killing both father and son!"

 Chapter 383

    <h4>Chapter 383</h4>


    We were going to discuss countermeasures for handling the ghost bus tomorrow. It was alreadyte and we needed rest.


    I stayed at Bingxin¡¯s ce for yet another night. Since we traveled quite a distance on the bus, we hailed a cab. On the way there, Bingxin suddenly eximed, "Oh no, my cell phone¡¯s gone!"


    "Did you leave it in the store?" I asked.


    "Let¡¯s go back and get it. I don¡¯t feel safe without my cell phone,¡± she added.


    Xiaotao told the cab driver to turn around at the front intersection. When we pulled up outside the store, Bingxin said, "You can wait here! I¡¯ll be back in a jiffy!"


    I was worried for her safety, so I told her, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you."


    There was a small door on the roller shutters. When we got to the store, I opened the door with my key and turned on the lights. The table where we yed Monopoly was still there. Bingxin looked around and said, "Here it is!"


    At this moment, I noticed some things missing on the shelf. The store mainly sold women¡¯s products and snacks and I usually tallied our stock so I was aware of missing items at a nce.


    Additionally, there was an inconspicuous footprint on the ceramic tile floor, very simr to the one we saw at the crime scene. It was very likely the murderer broke in when we left and waited to ambush us.


    He must be hiding in a blind corner that I couldn¡¯t see!


    I motioned for Bingxin to keep quiet and mouthed the words, "There¡¯s someone in here!"


    Bingxin was rmed and endeavored to be as quiet as she could as I gestured for her to slowly leave the store. My n was to lock up the ce and look for Xiaotao.


    Unfortunately, Bingxin had just taken a few steps when a burly man emerged from behind the shelf, wearing a face mask and a cap, eyes burning with a murderous look. He was holding a small mace wrapped in leather with a sharp protrusion at the tip.


    Bingxin screamed in fear as the burly man charged towards her. Because he wasn¡¯t looking in my direction, there was no opportunity for me to use the Eyes of Yama on him. If I rushed to activate it now, not only would I fail to deter him, my capacity for self-defense would be affected.


    In a fit of anxiety, I pushed the shelves in front of me, and rows of shelves fell down like dominoes, one after the other. Shocked by the turn of events, the murderer took a step backwards, hiding between two shelves.


    "Run!" I yelled.


    Right then, the lights suddenly dimmed. It turned out that the murderer flipped the switch on the wall. In the dark, Bingxin tripped over the fallen shelf and cried, "Song Yang-gege!"


    When I rushed to help her up, the murderer caught up from behind. I couldn¡¯t resist swearing inside, Is this guy so eager to die?! How dare he confront me in the dark! To my surprise, I found that he was prepared; he wore a pair of night-vision goggles that could be purchased online.


    The murderer assumed I couldn¡¯t see in the dark, deliberately lowering the sound of his footsteps as he yed with the mace in his hand. Though I was so nervous my heart pounded wildly, I tapped Bingxin¡¯s palm and signalled her not to move.


    When the murderer was three steps away from us, I shouted, "Run!" Then, I pulled her and fled in the direction of the door.


    Whoosh! There came the sound of something whizzing through the air. Realization dawned upon me and I quickly dodged. The murderer actually threw the mace in his hand! The mace hit the roller shutters, making a dent. I pushed Bingxin towards the door and turned around to remove the weapon.


    Right then, the murderer strode over, pulled out an identical mace from his sleeve, and smashed it at me.


    I dodged to the right, feeling it brush past my face¡ªmy heart was pounding with fear. He held up his right hand, ready to attack the second time. I was currently in a disadvantageous position and was eventually forced between the roller shutters and the corner¨CI had no way of hiding.


    At this critical juncture, I charged head-on into the man, filled with courage I didn¡¯t even know I had.


    The murderer stumbled backwards. Had Song Xingchen been in my ce, the murderer would have been killed in an instant. Unfortunately, I hadn¡¯t studied any kung fu. At that moment, there was only one thought in my mind¨Crun!


    I grabbed Bingxin and rushed out of the door.


    "Wait a minute!" shouted Bingxin.


    She turned around and shut the door, never expecting the murderer to kick heavily at the roller shutters. Bingxin fell onto me with a loud whoop. Then, the murderer appeared in the doorway, enveloped by a murderous aura as he fiddled with the mace in his hand.


    "It¡¯s not easy to find you," he spat.


    "Why do you want to kill us?" I demanded.


    "Do I have to have a reason? I¡¯ll kill whoever I want to!" he retorted.


    The murderer sprinted nimbly towards us, hiding his right hand behind him. Earlier, I had already seen through his little trick when he threw the mace at me. As soon as we turned around, he would aim that mace at our heads. This was most likely how Zhang Bing died.


    I pushed Bignxin aside, "Come at me if you dare!"


    "Oh, you¡¯ve guts!" the murderer sneered.


    Ovee with fear, I unconsciously stepped backwards, and the murderer approached closer step by step as he watched me retreat into a corner. But I never dared to turn around. At this moment, three gunshots shattered the night sky. "Police! Freeze!" shouted Xiaotao.


    Stunned by her presence, the murderer turned tail and fled. Xiaotao stood there with both hands around her gun, carefully aiming before she fired once more.


    The murderer seemed to sway a little as he dashed into an alley.


    "Are you all right?" asked Xiaotao.


    "We can¡¯t let him escape! You watch after Bingxin and I¡¯ll chase after him!" I dered.


    The two girls persistently followed me. "Song Yang-gege, let¡¯s go together!"


    The murderer was most likely shot as indicated by the drops of blood on the ground. We followed the trail, chasing him all the way to the river where the blood disappeared.


    There was a discarded coat and a pair of night-vision goggles by the river. Looking at the vast river before me, I realized the murderer had escaped by diving in, and the water could wash away the smell of blood. He knew how to throw off his pursuers.


    Xiaotao grabbed her cell phone, "I¡¯ll contact the SWAT team so they can conduct a search!"


    ¡°Hold on,¡± I stopped her. ¡°There are several neighbourhoods and thousands of households across the river. There are too many ces in which he could hide. If the murderer is forced into a corner, it¡¯ll turn into a hostage situation! Send some officers to patrol the main roads. Let¡¯s trap him there first."


    "Surrounding him might not necessarily work!" argued Xiaotao.


    "Let¡¯s head back to the station first. I¡¯vee up with aprehensive n for arrest."


    "Why the hell are you keeping it under wraps?¡±ined Xiaotao. ¡°Can¡¯t you tell me now?"


    I shook my head, "I have to look at a map of the area."


    The three of us walked back to the store. Thankfully, Bingxin suffered no injuries except for a broken nail, which she sustained when the murderer mmed the door.


    "This guy is really daring! He actually came to the store to kill you!" seethed Xiaotao.


    "We were careless,¡± I sighed. ¡°I thought he would lie dormant for a while."


    When we reached the store, we met a bewildered Dali staring at the mess. "What happened here? Did Xiaotao-jiejie fire shots just now? Did someone bad break into the store?"


    I exined, ¡°Bingxin and I were almost killed!"

 Chapter 384

    <h4>Chapter 384</h4>


    Thus, we rushed back to the station. On the way there, Luo Youyou apologized, "Song Yang, I¡¯m sorry. I may have revealed the store address."


    She exined that the murderer must have found the information on her cell phone after checking the Taobao purchases and Meituan takeaway she often used. Her default address was the store. I waved my hand, "It doesn¡¯t matter. You don¡¯t have to me yourself. In fact, it¡¯s a good thing the murderer made the first move!"


    "Is the store seriously damaged?" I turned to Dali.


    "You broke a few shelves, but it¡¯s okay. We sell sanitary napkins and it¡¯s not like they¡¯ll be broken," assured Dali.


    Back at the station, we gathered in the conference room. Xiaotao spread out a map of Nanjiang City¡¯s High-tech Zone on the table, that is, the area across the river where the murderer escaped.


    I scanned the map and noticed two main roads in the area with the river in the rear.


    "It should be easy to seal the area off. I¡¯ll assign officers to watch the main road and send a patrol boat on the river," said Xiaotao.


    "The murderer has been shot,¡± I added. ¡°Please send a few officers to guard the only hospital in this area."


    "With his intelligence, the murderer wouldn¡¯t go to the hospital unless he¡¯s crazy!"


    Iughed, "I know, we¡¯re just putting on a show for the murderer to see. If he¡¯s shot, he¡¯ll stop the bleeding immediately. But after tonight, the wound will definitely get infected, giving him a high fever. So he needs anti-inmmatory and analgesic drugs. You can send young officers to pharmacies in this area to dress up as shop assistants."


    "Smart boy!¡± Xiaotao arched an eyebrow, ¡°Using his own methods to deal with him! Are you waiting for the prey to fall into your trap?"


    "We¡¯ll get him to lower his guard, and then, aha!" I grinned.


    "The officers might be recognized. I¡¯ll contact the police academy and send some cadets," suggested Xiaotao.


    "They have to look like honest, decent folk who can do no harm. Take Dali for example," I remarked.


    Dali tsked, "Don¡¯t always use me as an example!"


    Xiaotao made a phone call to the police academy. When the cadets heard they could participate in an arrest, they were eager beavers who couldn¡¯t wait to get started. The instructors chose more than twenty cadets who soon arrived and awaited Xiaotao¡¯s screening. In the end, only fourteen of them were left. Those selected rejoiced while the rest slumped with sadness. "Don¡¯t look so glum,¡± I consoled. ¡°I¡¯ll call again next time we have a task."


    It was a race against time and we had to get in touch with more than a dozen pharmacies immediately. I hoped they would cooperate with the police. There was no time for training. These cadets would have to head to the respective pharmacies to learn how to be a shop assistant.


    It was already 3:00 am though we were too excited to sleep. "Let¡¯s take a two-pronged approach and analyze the murderer¡¯s identity!" I proposed.


    From my personal encounter with the murderer, his height, size, and age matched my spections. He spoke with a Jiangxi ent and might have a criminal record, all of which could be used to screen chemical nt employees.


    Xiaotao and her team stayed up for overtime while the rest of us waited in the conference room, too preupied with the load on our minds to speak.


    The exhaustion gradually got to me so I took a nap at the table. When I opened my eyes, it was already dawn. My legs were cold and stiff, like stones. Bingxin spoke to me, her voice sounding nasaly.


    "Do you have a cold?" I asked.


    Bingxin sneezed, "I might!"


    "I¡¯ll get you some cold medicine," I said.


    I headed to a nearby pharmacy and purchased some cold pills. Looking at the mineral water bottles and ice packs on the shelf, an idea suddenly crossed my mind.


    At 8:00 am, Dali said, "I¡¯m going back to the store. It¡¯s a mess and l¡¯ll have to clean it up."


    "I¡¯m not going to the store today,¡± I replied.


    "No problem. Let me know when you catch the murderer. I must give him a punch!" fumed Dali.


    In the afternoon, the officers finally found a suspicious man named Xiao Dawei, aged 47, who used to be an employee of a local chemical nt and was born in Jiangxi Province. He was previously incarcerated for battery and didn¡¯t resume any work since he was released. It seemed like he was an idle man.


    Upon seeing his photo, I was 100% sure it was our guy. But there wasn¡¯t much in his case files. "There must be more than one case file on this guy," Xiaotao opined.


    This day was spent in anxious waiting, and no news came from the pharmacies.


    "Did he see through your n?" asked Xiaotao.


    I wagged my finger, "No, he¡¯s very cautious. He would rather endure the pain thane out to buy medicine."


    "What can we do then?" cried an anxious Xiaotao.


    "It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± I smiled. ¡°Onto the second step then! It¡¯s time for drastic measures!"


    I drew a circle on the map, "Contact the waterworks and cut off the water supply in this area tomorrow without prior notice."


    "Exhausting his supplies! It¡¯s a vicious n, but I like it!"mended Xiaotao.


    "If I were in his shoes, I¡¯d rather die," Bingxin said, taking a sip of water.


    For a man down with a high fever to be denied water, the agony was unimaginable. But this wasn¡¯t all to my n. ¡°Call those cadets who didn¡¯t make the cut yesterday and a few others,¡± I ordered. ¡°Send them to various convenience stores, inte cafes, tobo shops¨Canywhere you can buy water."


    Xiaotao nodded, "Alright, I¡¯ll get to it now!"


    There were more cadetsing to the station, flocking to us like excited puppies as soon as they heard about the mission. The difficulty of their task was rtively low. Because there were too many of them, heading out together would only raise suspicions. Thus, Xiaotao instructed them to drive, take a bus, or go on bicycles and move in batches.


    By 8:00 am the next day, our personnel were in ce. Xiaotao immediately contacted the waterworks and cut off the water supply for an entire day.


    We waited anxiously as the day gradually passed. When it turned dark, I nced at my watch. "It¡¯s about time. I think we¡¯ll be able to arrest him in three hours tops!"


    Xiaotao looked surprised, "Are you so sure?"


    "It¡¯s human nature to avoid the dark. But the night will give him a sense of security. After waiting all day, he¡¯s bound toe out at night,¡± I analyzed.


    At 8:30 pm, a phone call came in. "Captain, we caught him!¡± a cadet shouted with glee. ¡°He looks just like the photo!"


    "Report your location!" ordered Xiaotao.


    We tore hell for leather to run over and arrest the suspect. When we saw Xiao Dawei, he appeared absolutely miserable,cking all spirit, lips chapped and eyes swollen. He walked unsteadily, requiring the help of two officers to remain standing.


    It took no effort to catch him. He fell on the steps when attempting to escape.


    Xiao Dawei rubbed his chapped lips together and begged, "Give me water! I need water!"


    I purchased a bottle of mineral water and handed it to him. Like a man trekking through the desert for several days, he unscrewed the lid with trembling hands and poured the water down his throat with barbaric eagerness. His uncoordinated movements caused him to choke and cough violently.


    Even someone as kind as Bingxin had no sympathy for him. "You deserve it!" she scolded.


    After the suspect was sent to the hospital, Xiaotao pped her hands and said, "Call all the cadets who participated in the operation. Tonight¡¯s dinner is on me!"


    While everyone else cheered, I quietly nudged her, "It¡¯s more than a hundred people. Can you afford it?"


    Xiaotao scoffed, "I¡¯ll be happy to, even if it were a thousand cadets!"

 Chapter 385

    <h4>Chapter 385</h4>


    Xiao Dawei was sent to the hospital for treatment. When the police found his hiding ce, they realized just how much of a valiant criminal this guy was!


    In order to stop the bleeding, he used a match to burn the wound. He had originally nned to avoid going outside for a few days but never expected the situation to develop in this direction. Knowing it might be a trap, he simply drank dirty toilet water to quench his thirst. Finally, when he couldn¡¯t bear it any longer, he slipped down to a tobo shop to buy some water and was arrested.


    Three dayster, we met a healthy Xiao Dawei sitting in the interrogation room with a sneer on his face.


    "Are you more energetic now?" I asked, taking a seat in front of him.


    "You policemen have no guts. All you can do is stoop to shameless tricks,¡± he mocked. ¡°Fight me one-on-one if you dare! None of you can beat me!"


    Xiaotao ridiculed, "So you fled that night and were arrested for a sip of water. What a hero!"


    "You little bitch, if you weren¡¯t wearing that uniform, I¡¯d fuck you till I get bored. And then I¡¯ll..." cursed the man.


    Xiao Dawei suddenly screamed at this moment, shaking as if he had received an electric shock as he tried to scooch backwards.


    I stared at him with the Eyes of Yama for five seconds, refusing to stop until he begged for mercy. Then, I opened a bottle of milk and finished it. How dare he insult Xiaotao in front of me! It seemed like the man no longer had the desire to live!


    The greatest advantage of the Eyes of Yama was the fact such an attack couldn¡¯t be considered torture in the eyes of thew. Yet, the agony it inflicted was far worse than any physical pain.


    I wiped away the milk at the corners of my mouth, "Go on then, big hero!"


    Unaware of what had happened, Xiao Dawei looked at me with the fear a deer would have confronting a tiger, too frightened to speak.


    "Exin yourself. Why did you kill them?!" demanded Xiaotao.


    I never imagined how happy this guy would be confessing to his crimes. He exined that he was impulsive and irritable when he was younger, and because he had injured some people, he was imprisoned. There, he met some impressive inmates who taught him their skills. For example, his killer move with a mace was taught by a martial arts master.


    After he was released, he couldn¡¯t find employment because of his criminal record. He mixed in with the sordid, bottom rungs of society and did everything, living like a rat in the gutter.


    Just looking at the wealthy made him boil with rage at how unfair the world was!


    In the winter of 1999, he followed a rich woman home, raped her and then killed her. Watching the rich beg for mercy before him and struggle like a dog gave him a rush of power¨Cthe feeling of stepping on others and holding their fate in his hands made him euphoric.


    From then on, he became addicted to murder and had to kill every once in a while.


    He killed in the spur of the moment, without premeditation. Once he was ill and had no money to go to the hospital for treatment. Thus, he was upset after recovery. When he bumped into a doctor going home from work, he killed the doctor.


    Over the years, he moved from ce to ce, having no fixed home. On his journeys, he made friends of the same ¡°trade.¡± One time, when they were drinking and chatting, a man whomitted a massacre boasted that his city was still in panic.


    Then, another man scoffed and said that was nothing. He boasted that his previous case was adapted into a movie and became a household name. Even after watching the movie several times by himself, he still felt delighted.


    Murderers also had their dignity and desire to keep up with thepetition. By contrast, Xiao Dawei was a loser among murderers. Although he had killed many, he was still considered a small-time murderer with no sensational works to speak of. He failed to go down in history like these two predecessors.


    Xiao Dawei held on to that thought, constantly cudgeling his brains for an idea that would shock the world.


    Later, he returned to Nanjiang City where one of his lovers lived. However, he never imagined his lover would be tricked into bing a prostitute by a pimp named Zhang Bing while he was away. She eventually caught an STD and died from the disease.


    Enraged, Xiao Dawei went looking for Zhang Bing, ready to give him the beating he deserved. But the sniveling coward begged desperately for mercy and promised he would pay him to spare his life. Thus, they made an IOU¨CZhang Bing owed Xiao Dawei one million yuan with an annual interest of 3%.


    However, the sneaky bastard hid from him and refused to pay the money, dragging the matter on for five years.


    A few days ago, Xiao Dawei went to Zhang Bing for money and the man happened to be cooperating with a human trafficking syndicate. The two had a conversation near the unfinished residential ts, where Zhang Bing imed he was broke. He boldly suggested Xiao Dawei take one of the women for his own use to write off the debt.


    Having looked forward to this huge sum of money for years, Xiao Dawei was enraged that he wouldn¡¯t see a cent. How could it be written off just like that?


    So he kicked Zhang Bing into the pool, and when Zhang Bing came up struggling for help, Xiao Dawei grabbed his mace and hit him on the back of the head. He watched Zhang Bing sink to the bottom.


    At the time, Zhang Bing¡¯s cell phone fell onto the ground with Weibo on the screen. Xiao Dawei sat there reading the legend of the ghost bus, and saw the video sent by the blogger. Right then, a thought suddenly crossed his mind. Wasn¡¯t this a great opportunity to make a name for himself?


    Combined with the strange legend, the murder of all those people would be a sensation in China, let alone Nanjiang City. Perhaps it would be adapted into a movie and be yed on the big screen. Wouldn¡¯t that make him a celebrity murderer?


    After finalizing his n, he fished out Zhang Bing¡¯s corpse, transported it to his t and left it on the bed.


    The next day, he prepared his equipment and pretended to be Zhang Bing when he asked out the two hostesses. Then, he rushed to the hotel to finish them off.


    The remaining targets were a little troublesome, and the easiest one to locate was the blogger. Perhaps he might even find the others through the blogger. So he searched online and learned of Zhou Yang¡¯s notoriety and pretended to be a female fan to hook him in.


    After he kidnapped Zhou Yang, he found Luo Youyou. By then, Zhou Yang was useless to him. Luo Youyou was only kept alive because Xiao Dawei was going to use her as bait to reel in the remaining three targets. Otherwise, with his Ten-step Flying Hammer, Luo Youyou would never have escaped.


    However, he never expected the girl to be such a fast runner. While Xiao Dawei waited nearby for her to show herself, he flipped through Luo Youyou¡¯s cell phone and discovered where she worked.


    When we came looking for Luo Youyou, Xiao Dawei was pleased with the way things were going. It was as if God was helping him. He nned to kill Luo Youyou and Dali first, then Bingxin and me. But never in a million years did he foresee Song Xingchen¡¯s heroic rescue during the critical point, thus disrupting all his ns and forcing him to flee the scene...


    Xiao Dawei tossed the car in the middle of his journey back to the city. In fact, he had alreadye to the store to investigate. At the time, Luo Youyou and Dali were both there but it was inconvenient to kill them in broad daylight. So he sneaked into the store to ambush them the next day but ended up getting shot by Xiaotao.


    Xiao Dawei smiled, "But it doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯m quite satisfied with how everything turned out. It¡¯ll definitely create quite a sensation when the article is published in the newspaper! Remember to write my real name. Don¡¯t give me any pseudonyms. And don¡¯t forget to mention how great my Ten-step Flying Mace is! That¡¯s my signature move!"


    "You can dream on!¡± sneered Xiaotao. ¡°Your case will never make it to the newspapers. So no one will know. You can wait to brag to your inmates in prison!"


    "How can you do this?¡± Xiao Dawei asked in wide-eyed disbelief. ¡°Such a big case doesn¡¯t make it to the papers but anything that makes you guys look good certainly does!"


    "Would you like me to write a novel and post it online?" I asked.


    Xiao Dawei seemed to take my words seriously, "Yes! That¡¯s a great idea! Remember to use my real name!"


    What had originally been intended as sarcasm ended up being a good idea! I thought to myself, Why not y to his fantasies and obtain all the information he knows of other criminals?


    So I deliberately said, "I can¡¯t write a novel based on one case alone. You¡¯ve got to tell me more about your experiences."

 Chapter 386

    <h4>Chapter 386</h4>


    Xiao Dawei refused, "No, I¡¯ll wait till I¡¯m in prison to say anything."


    "Can¡¯t you talk now?" asked Xiaotao.


    Xiao Dawei pointed to the ten words on the wall behind us¨CLeniency to those who confess, severity to those who resist. "This phrase is used to deceive. How much leniency can I actually receive? I might get the death penalty. I¡¯d like to stay in prison and slowly tell my story. That way the prison guards will take care of me."


    "You¡¯re a smart guy!" chuckled Xiaotao.


    "That¡¯s true,¡± boasted Xiao Dawei. ¡°Do you know how many friends of the trade I¡¯ve made? If criminals could receive academic qualifications for skills of the trade, I would have gotten a doctorate."


    Xiaotao tapped the table thrice¨Cthe secret code we agreed upon earlier that meant leaving the room. I turned to Xiao Dawei, "Are you hungry? Can we get you something to eat?"


    Xiao Dawei nodded, "Yes, and bring a pack of cigarettes."


    We left the interrogation room for the time being to discuss measures. "He must have a lot of information about his own crimes and the crimes of other criminals,¡± Xiaotao remarked. ¡°We should ask him about the others first. I think he¡¯s bound to share his crimes sooner orter."


    I shook my head, "But that¡¯s not the same! The acquaintances he has are from all over the country so any credit goes to the police of the other provinces. If he talks about himself, the credit is all yours."


    ¡°What¡¯s there to worry about?¡±ughed Xiaotao. ¡°With you around, opportunities to render meritorious service are a dime a dozen. In fact, I think I¡¯m rising too quickly by the ranks. I¡¯ll go prepare a little incentive for him to speak."


    "I¡¯ll get him something to eat then,¡± I replied.


    After half an hour, we returned to the interrogation room. I purchased some beef rice, a pack of Hongtashan and a bottle of mineral water for Xiao Dawei.


    He seemed pleased, "Nice job, young man! Apologies for my offence the other night!"


    Xiaotao and I sat opposite of Xiao Dawei, watching him wolf down his food. "Aren¡¯t you two going to eat?" he asked.


    "We¡¯ll eat after the interrogation," answered Xiaotao.


    "Looks like being an officer isn¡¯t easy!"mented Xiao Dawei. Then, he lowered his head and continued shoveling rice into his mouth.


    When he was satiated, Xiaotao took out two documents with photos of two different prisons. Picking up the left one, she said, "This is the oldest prison in the province, Xiaoshan Prison. Management is backward and conditions aren¡¯t very good. Those held there are serious felons who often make trouble and kill other inmates. I heard a lot of them are homosexuals and inmates are required to work 12 hours a day. Food is also terrible, the worst among all the prisons."


    Xiao Dawei arched an eyebrow and waited for Xiaotao to pick up the one on the right. "This is the newly-built Tongshan Prison, an experimental prison with fully automated management. There are cells for two people and even single cells. The food is pretty good and the cooks are all hired from restaurants. You get at least one meat dish and fruit every day. There¡¯s also a basketball court, a gym, and a library. Inmates with good performance can even take a vocational course, and families are allowed to send inmates male masturbators."


    Xiaotao ced two sheets of paper in front of him and said, "Think about it! You¡¯ll have to stay in prison for a long time. Whether you livefortably or not depends on your attitude."


    Xiao Dawei gulped, "I¡¯ll tell you, I¡¯ll tell you everything!"


    "We want to hear stories about your friends first!" Xiaotao smiled triumphantly.


    All throughout the afternoon, Xiao Dawei never stopped talking about the criminals he knew. He dly betrayed his friends, not sparing any details. His confession could help us arrest at least five or six major criminals in the province.


    After the interrogation ended in the evening, Xiaotao and I werepletely exhausted but ecstatic with our findings. Xiaotao immediately phoned the provinces and cities where the criminals were located and gave them the information we obtained to solve the cases.


    A monthter, more than a dozen major cases in the province were solved. Xiaotao received several thank-you letters from the other provinces¡¯ public security bureaus.


    After Xiao Dawei was handed over to legal proceedings, there was still an unresolved problem on our end, that is, the ghost bus. Xiaotao gathered everyone together to brainstorm a solution.


    I was inspired after our discussion. We could create a fake bus and add a little simtion so Su Junting could sit in the driver¡¯s seat and enjoy himself. That way, he wouldn¡¯t have toe out every night and scare the public.


    Talking about the n was easy but actuallying up with the bus was another thing altogether. "Why make things so difficult? We¡¯re in the 21st century. Don¡¯t you guys know VR technology?"


    Lao Yao said he could take a video of the entire road and write an interactive program. Then, all we had to do was create a bus control panel and get Su Junting to sit and wear VR sses to simte driving.


    In order to make the experience even more realistic, a vibration device could be installed under the seat, giving the sensation of a bumpy road when driving.


    "That¡¯s a good idea. Let¡¯s do it!¡± eximed Xiaotao. ¡°Lao Yao, I¡¯m putting you in charge of this. Write an application form and I¡¯ll get the bureau to allocate some research and development funds for you."


    Lao Yao shook his head, "I can¡¯t do it alone. I need a partner."


    When he looked around the room, all the male officers panicked. Finally, his gazended on my face. "I don¡¯t want anyone else. I only want Song Yang, otherwise I won¡¯t do it!"


    I tried my best to wink at Xiaotao but she turned a blind eye. "Song Yang, you¡¯ll have to sacrifice yourself for the security of Nanjiang City."


    With a heavy sigh, I hung my head and remained in this dejected pose for a long time while the sound of relieved sighs filled the room.


    Due to the interesting nature of the project, Dali volunteered to participate and brought Luo Youyou along. The two were like conjoined twins, stuck at the hip wherever they went. Thanks to their presence, I suffered less of Lao Yao¡¯s harassment.


    It took us half a month to get the project from the drawing block to Su Junting¡¯s home. After we installed it, we exined the instructions to Su Junting¡¯s father. It looked ridiculous, like the children¡¯s toy ride at the entrance of every supermarket. At first, Su Junting refused to get inside, and only tried it after considerable coaxing from his old man.


    Unsurprisingly, Su Junting fell in love with it after his first try and refused to get down. Since then, Nanjiang City never saw the ghost bus again.


    Dali suggested we write an article on this and post it on the Inte with the title, ¡°The Rumor Terminator¨CThe Truth Of The Ghost Bus!"


    I waved my hand, "You write it if you want to. I¡¯m so exhausted I¡¯ll need two full days of rest."


    "You¡¯re so bad at this!¡± Dali rebuked. ¡°If you were willing to put in a little effort, you¡¯d be Inte famous!"


    "Seeing how an inte celebrity just died before us, I have no interest whatsoever to follow in his footsteps. You can do it if you want to!"


    I stayed in the store for two days when Bingxin came to remind me to buy her a dress. The bet had long slipped my mind, and truth be told, neither of us could be considered right. Although the ghost bus appeared, I proved it was fake so technically, it didn¡¯t exist.


    There was no point in arguing. Standing behind the counter, Luo Youyouughed, "Why continue arguing? You might as well end it with a kiss."


    "Nonsense, we¡¯re just..." I trailed off.


    Just as I turned to Luo Youyou, I felt a soft touch on my cheek. I turned around at once, only to see Bingxin grinning widely, "This time, you win! I¡¯m leaving!"


    Watching her run off, my cheeks burned and my heart wouldn¡¯t stop racing.

 Chapter 387

    <h4>Chapter 387</h4>


    Dali and Luo Youyou had been stuck at the hip for the past two days, showing all sorts of public disys of affection. The employees in the store teased Dali with outright jabs at him being a lolicon and a pedophile.


    This store was gradually getting on the right track with a stable ie. Sales and marketing were handled by Dali while I basically watched over the store. The shop assistants all addressed me as ¡®Song-ge.¡¯


    About a fortnightter, Xiaotao phoned to inform me of an incident in prison¨Cthe Imitator was killedst night.


    I was taken by surprise; I couldn¡¯t imagine why something like that would happen to him.


    Xiaotao dropped by the store to pick me up and we were on our way to Mount Leopard Prison. The Imitator¡¯s body had been ced in the prison¡¯s infirmary. Theceration was very small¨Ca stab wound under the rib. There was basically no blood on the surface of the skin. The shape of the wound looked rather irregr, resembling a self-made weapon.


    This sort of incident might often be seen in American TV shows, where prisoners grind metal fragments into knives and stab other inmates. But in reality, this was extremely rare. For entertainment purposes, confrontation and danger were often exaggerated in TV shows but real prisons weren¡¯t actually that chaotic.


    ording to the prison guards, when the Imitator was released from his cell for leisure time, he suddenly squatted under the barbed fence. The prison guard initially assumed he was ill. But when he walked over, he noticed the Imitator¡¯s chest was covered in blood. He was immediately sent to the infirmary for rescue but diedter that night...


    At the time, there were quite a few inmates in thepound, with guards watching them. None of the guards noticed anything suspicious during the leisure time and they didn¡¯t know who the culprit was.


    After a brief pause, I said, "Bring me all the inmates who were with him!"


    The prison guards brought the inmates in one by one. After questioning, they reported nothing out of the ordinary these past few days. But when thest inmate entered, I noticed his furtive eyes.


    I asked the same question, and his answer matched the others. But noticed from his bodynguage how nervous he was. "You¡¯re lying!" I sneered.


    "Every word I said is true. This guy has always been strange and liked imitating us. Everyone stays away from him," he cried in a fluster.


    "Do you usually pick on him?" I asked.


    "Him?" The inmateughed, "More like he¡¯s the one doing the bullying. When he first came in, we were going to mess with him! But we never expected this guy to be so strong. All he needed were two or three moves to take us down. After that, we never bothered him again. As long as we ignored him, he left us alone."


    "Did anyone speak to him the night before the incident?"


    The inmate didn¡¯t expect the sudden change in subject. Covered in cold sweat, he faltered, "N-no!"


    Xiaotao snapped, "You better tell the truth. We can reduce your sentence!"


    But the inmate didn¡¯t believe Xiaotao at all. "Don¡¯t lie to me. You¡¯re not the system. After interrogating me, you¡¯re just going to get up and leave."


    "We can reduce your sentence by half a year. You can trust me on that," assured Xiaotao.


    The inmate looked around, worried as if the walls had ears. Finally, he lowered his voice and said, "You must keep this a secret. I¡¯m afraid if I tell anyone, I¡¯ll be the next one to die!"


    He exined that he couldn¡¯t sleep that night and was tossing and turning in bed when he suddenly caught a whiff of a strange fragranceing from outside the cell. He looked up and saw a man standing near the cell door with an incense stick in his hand.


    "Was it a prison guard or an inmate?" I interrupted.


    "An inmate,¡± he answered. ¡°He was wearing the same uniform as us. I don¡¯t know how he got out."


    "What did he look like?" I added.


    "It was very dark at the time so I couldn¡¯t see very clearly, but he looked rather muscr.¡±


    Upon catching a whiff of the scent, he realized that it made him faint. He used to be a swindler and knew that sedating incense existed in the Jianghu. So he quietly put his sock over his crotch, pissed himself and covered his face with the soiled sock so he wouldn¡¯t pass out.


    The others inhaled the incense and slept like logs.


    Heart jumping wildly, he immediately assumed the guy had sinister motives and wanted to hurt everyone. However, the man pulled out a small tube and blew it, aiming at the Imitator. A needle pierced the Imitator¡¯s neck, and he woke up.


    The man outside whispered his name, "Yi Qianren,e over here. I have something to say to you!"


    The Imitator walked to the cell doors slowly. Hiding in the quilt and eavesdropping, his cellmate couldn¡¯t hear their conversation very well. But the gist of it was inviting the Imitator to join an organization, iming that they had taken fancy to his skills. And if he agreed, he would be rescued from prison within a month at most.


    When the Imitator refused, the man sneered, "You can think about it carefully. I¡¯ll give you till tomorrow afternoon. If you agree, pull off the top button of your uniform, otherwise..."


    The Imitator¡¯s cellmate failed to catch the man¡¯sst words. Then, the man left.


    Because he didn¡¯t usually speak to the Imitator, he was afraid to ask him any questions. Besides, he was a prisoner. Why involve himself in any intrigue? It was best he stayed away from the affairs of others.


    The Imitator never took off his button and was killed during leisure time the next day.


    "Did the man say anything about this organization?" I asked.


    The inmate shook his head, "No, he only mentioned that this organization is very powerful! He assured him they would be able to get him out of prison and even boasted of an inmate they freed a month ago. Apparently he¡¯s done a lot outside."


    The realization dawned upon me¨Cthete-night visitor was a member of the Jiangbei Daggers. It seemed that they nted an inside man within the prisons so they could bring over outstanding criminals to their side. And if they refused, they would kill them.


    Xiaotao excused the inmate who repeatedly reminded us not to break our promise before he left.


    "This organization is everywhere,¡± sighed Xiaotao. ¡°How formidable!"


    Though I didn¡¯t feel anything for the Imitator, I had never put him on the side of the wicked. He was a man, neither good nor evil, just like a ghost drifting through the earth.


    His death at the hands of the Jiangbei Daggers was a great pity. But at the same time, I was d that he hadn¡¯t be an enemy.


    "Let¡¯s round up all the prisoners so we can try and narrow down our guy!" suggested Xiaotao.


    "No,¡± I disagreed. ¡°There are thousands of inmates here. I¡¯m sure the organization has ced more than one man on the inside. If we make any rash moves, it¡¯ll attract their attention."


    "Are we supposed to just let it go then?"


    "If we meet criminals with special skills in the future, we must ce them in solitary confinement without contact from anyone."


    "I feel a deep sense of powerlessness,¡±mented Xiaotao. ¡°The organization seeds with all their evil ns every time. Until now, we¡¯re not even sure of the full extent of this organization."


    "Don¡¯t underestimate yourself,¡± Iforted. ¡°Haven¡¯t we managed to undermine them several times?"


    Xiaotao pointed to my chest¨Cthe ce I was previously stabbed with a knife. "But the price we pay is too high!" she smiled bitterly.

 Chapter 388

    <h4>Chapter 388</h4>


    Even after leaving the prison, I was enveloped by an air of despair. Xiaotao nudged me, "Still thinking about it?"


    I nodded, "The organization wanted the Imitator¡¯s ability, which means that they intend to frame someone. I¡¯m afraid they¡¯ll get started soon. Xiaotao, from now on, no matter where we go, even if it¡¯s just to buy a bottle of water, we should remember to ask for a receipt and try not to be alone so we can produce an alibi in the event of a worse-case scenario. Also, framing an officer is all about your gun. You must make sure to keep it well!"


    "Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m most cautious in this respect!" Xiaotao patted her waist.


    "Don¡¯t be so hasty. Do you often take your gun home? From now on, every day after work, you must return it to the storage and take it out when you need it," I cautioned.


    "Alright, I got it!" Xiaotao nodded obediently like a child who had been just criticized. "You should be more careful yourself!"


    "I¡¯m fine,¡± I dismissed. ¡°But you must pay special attention to everything. Although I¡¯m familiar with the police, I¡¯m actually just borrowing the glorious name of the bureau to intimidate others. If I¡¯m framed, you can uphold justice for me. But if something happens to you, I¡¯d be lost. You¡¯re more important than I am!"


    Xiaotao smiled and stretched out her arms to pull me into a tight embrace.


    At about midnight the next day, I received a call from Xiaotao. "Song Yang, there¡¯s a case. Would you like toe and have a look?"


    I asked for the location and told her I would go over at once. Then, I rushed downstairs, hailed a cab and headed to the crime scene. When I got there, I noticed the crime had happened a few meters away from the road. There were several abandoned cement pipes stacked on one side and a female corpse lying naked. A male corpsey in the grass about three or four meters away, dressed in pants and naked from the waist up.


    Xiaotao walked over and exined, "We just received a report. The man who called it in was a passing hawker."


    I nodded, put on rubber gloves and started examining the male victim. He was in his early thirties, with a slim figure and about 1.75 meters tall. His body was covered with bruises and showed obvious bone fractures.


    "He was killed after being hit by a car!" I frowned.


    Xiaotao looked surprised, "You can tell without touching the body?"


    "Look,¡± I pointed. ¡°Both tibia are broken, forming a false joint. The injury corresponds to the height where a car usually impacts. There are many bruises and scratches on the body, all in the same direction. It was obviously left by crashing and rolling on the ground. These are all consistent with the characteristics of being hit by a car."


    "So it was a hit-and-run!" eximed Xiaotao.


    "Now don¡¯t rush to any conclusions,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°Let me take a closer look first."


    Upon closer inspection, I found that the victim¡¯s eyes were bloodshot due to the severe impact, and the cornea had fallen off. The victim¡¯s nose bridge was broken, his gums loose, with five or six teeth missing. I touched his arm and neck, only to find that rigor mortis hadn¡¯t yet set in. So I grabbed a thermometer to measure intestinal temperature.


    Although the victim¡¯s body had cooled, there was still a little heat in his intestines¨Cabout ten degrees. "This man has just died, and the death time is about two hours," I analyzed.


    Grabbing the Echolocation Rod, I began to listen to his internal organs. There was arge amount of blood umted in the abdominal cavity. The victim¡¯s diaphragm was broken so the internal bleeding headed straight down and umted in the abdominal cavity that had arger space.


    The direct cause of death of the victim was the huge impact to the skull. He had almost no intact internal organs, more than a dozen broken ribs and two fractures in the spine.


    There were abnormalities in the lungs, but due to the severe damage of the internal organs, I was temporarily unable to judge if they were caused before or during the impact.


    While I was listening, I noticed tiny white particles on the victim¡¯s skin. I swiped some with my finger and sniffed, "It¡¯s sweat!"


    "Sweat?" asked Xiaotao.


    "The victim sweat quite a fair bit before death. There are even small particles of salt from his body condensed on the skin after perspiration,¡± I exined. ¡°In fact, the amount of perspiration is quite amazing. He must have been soaked from head to toe, almost as if he were submerged in sweat."


    I emptied the victim¡¯s pockets and found nothing except a few ck hairs which I ced in an evidence bag and handed to Xiaotao.


    Then, using a pair of scissors, I cut the victim¡¯s trousers. The sweat stains on the victim¡¯s underwear hadn¡¯tpletely dried. It was right then that I noticed something strange. The fracture of the tibia was in the opposite direction, that is, the car hit him from behind.


    While I stared at the empty road, Xiaotao seemed to recall something. "There aren¡¯t any cars on this road because a newer one has just been built. No one uses this old road so the municipal government is preparing to demolish it."


    "When the victim was hit, it was about ten in the evening. Two hours is barely enough time to dispose of a body,¡± I surmised. ¡°I think the crime happened on this road and the victim was hit from behind. It doesn¡¯t look like a simple hit-and-run!"


    I pointed to the victim¡¯s body, "The bruises are extremely severe, indicating the victim didn¡¯t have the protection of clothes at the time. He must¡¯ve been half-naked like this."


    "Half-naked?"


    "Yes, and he was running and sweating profusely!¡± I said, squeezing the victim¡¯s leg muscles. ¡°The serious overdraft of physical strength caused strains in the lungs."


    "Lung strain?" Xiaotao blinked in confusion.


    "If you overexercise, your lung muscles will be strained. The condition ismonly known as dyspnea. The average person will stop immediately once they feel short of breath yet the victim desperately persisted so the strain is quite serious."


    Suddenly noticing something, Xiaotao cried, "Oh look! The victim¡¯s feet!"


    As my gaze shifted downwards, I found that the victim¡¯s soles were covered in blood and mud, and ayer of skin was almost entirely stripped. "The deceased ran barefoot on the road,¡± I deduced. ¡°From his figure, my guess is he doesn¡¯t usually exercise. This has greatly exceeded his limit. Perhaps he was being chased by something... Yes, a car!"


    "You mean, a car was chasing the victim. And when he could no longer run, whoever was driving the car killed him," spected Xiaotao.


    "That¡¯s my guess as well!" I concurred.


    I grabbed a bottle of alcohol and wiped away the dirt and blood on the victim¡¯s torso with a cotton swab, revealing his injuries. In the dark, Xiaotao found it hard to see clearly. "Should we get a light?" suggested Xiaotao.


    "No, I can see perfectly..." I trailed off because I immediately realized that she couldn¡¯t see at all.


    "Yes, get a light!" I said.


    Xiaotao got an officer to bring us a lighting device which she ced beside us. Under the strong re of the light, the victim¡¯s skin looked pale. That solemn, grim face seemed full of fear and resentment, as if he was unresigned with the cruel fate.


    "These wounds weren¡¯t caused by the car, especially here,¡± I pointed to the wounds on the side of his chest. ¡°It¡¯s obviously a shoe print, a ser shoe with spikes in the sole."


    After staring at the victim¡¯s chest for some time, Xiaotao nodded.


    Upon further examination, I found more than one such injury, though the shoe prints were in different directions. "More than one person attacked the victim! There were four people wearing different shoes."


    "It¡¯s a criminal gang?" Xiaotao gaped.

 Chapter 389

    <h4>Chapter 389</h4>


    "Can you restore the shoe prints of these four people?" asked Xiaotao.


    I nodded, "We can restore them when we get back to the station. By the way, send some officers to look along the road. There should be friction marks from the tires at the scene of the collision, as well as fallen teeth and blood from the victim."


    Xiaotao got to it at once.


    Meanwhile, I raised the victim¡¯s palm to examine it. The victim had slender hands and neat nails which suggested he was engaged in office work. ncing at his face, I noticed an indentation on his nose bridge left by a prolonged period of wearing sses.


    I checked the victim¡¯s spine and under the eyelids. "The victim is most likely an office worker who spends all his time facing aputer screen. And he usually wears sses."


    "By the way, why is there hair in his pocket?¡± Xiaotao wondered out loud. ¡°Where do you think it came from?"


    "It looks like animal hair. When I sniffed it earlier, it had a damp, unpleasant odor. Cats usually like to stay clean and have soft hair. I think it¡¯s dog hair. You can get theb to test it," I suggested.


    At the mention of dogs, I made sure to search the body carefully but found no bite marks.


    "Dog? So he may have been held captive for some time," spected Xiaotao.


    I nodded, "Get Bingxin to dissect the body tomorrow and take a look at the stomach contents."


    ¡°It¡¯s strange for you to take the initiative to ask for an internal autopsy," Xiaotao¡¯s eyes widened in surprise.


    I sighed, "The internal bleeding is too serious! The blood may have congealed with the stomach contents and formed a huge lump. I can¡¯t get it out so I¡¯ll need Bingxin to do it."


    When I stood up again, my vision turned dark for a moment because I had been squatting for too long. Stretching my arms, I instructed, "Transport the body back to the station!"


    Xiaotao and I walked over to the cement pipe to look at the other corpse.


    Before starting on the autopsy, I opened the Autopsy Umbre and asked Xiaotao to turn on the ultraviolet light. Unexpectedly, there were messy footprints all around and a pair of clearer footprints on the concrete pipe. It seemed that someone was crouching in that spot earlier.


    "Hmph, this bunch of criminals will do anything!¡± I sneered. ¡°Let¡¯s gather the evidence first!"


    Xiaotao called an officer over to photograph the footprints. With the narrow body of the cement pipe, going in would prove rather inconvenient so Xiaotao proposed we moved the body out.


    But I shook my head, "No, I¡¯ll go in and examine the body there!"


    "How ufortable would that be? You can¡¯t stand up straight in there," she argued.


    "This is probably the scene where this female victim was killed! If the perpetrators wanted to dump the body, why would they have circled around the cement pipe, pacing back and forth? They even stood on top of the pipe which suggests they were here for a long time," I exined.


    "Then be careful not to bump your head,¡± Xiaotao voiced her concern.


    I climbed into the cement pipe, avoiding the rough inner walls. When I reached the victim, I was greeted by the sight of open legs and a pool of mixed liquid and blood flowing out from her torn vagina.


    Although I had always remained calm in the face of dead bodies, I couldn¡¯t fight the anger boiling inside of me upon looking at such a horrible scene.


    I didn¡¯t immediately begin the autopsy. Instead, I asked Xiaotao to pass me the ultraviolet light. Then, grabbing a piece of cloth made of the same material as the Autopsy Umbre, I twirled it over the corpse. Immediately, numerous handprints appeared all over the victim¡¯s body, especially on her breasts and hips. They were so densely packed together and ovepping one another that they were almost unrecognizable. Combined with the position of the body, it was obvious that a group of men had taken turns to have sex with the victim.


    I put away the light and started the autopsy.


    The deceased was about twenty-five years old, with a slim figure. From the pupils and rigor mortis of the body, I narrowed down the time of death to about an hour ago, an hour after the death of the male victim.


    There were traces of blunt force trauma and loosening of the hair follicles, as if the victim¡¯s hair had been yanked. Because she was lying naked in the cement pipe, the skin repeatedly rubbed against the walls of the pipe during the violent attack so her back and inner thighs were bloody. Blood had started to congeal on the pipe walls.


    Noticing a slight bulge in the victim¡¯s lower abdomen, I asked Xiaotao to bring me a pair of tweezers.


    Soon, Xiaotao¡¯s voice came from the other end of the pipe. Using a selfie stick, she handed the tweezers over. I might praise her for her ingenuity if I wasn¡¯t faced with such a distressing scene...


    I carefully stuffed the tweezers into the victim¡¯s vagina and clipped onto a ratherrge object. It turned out to be the head of a toy doll with a diameter of about five centimeters.


    The doll¡¯s head was covered in vaginal secretions, indicating it had been inserted into the victim¡¯s vagina prior to her death. And it was left there for quite some time.


    I turned to Xiaotao who was standing at the other end of the pipe, "Reach out and grab the victim¡¯s hair,¡± I said. ¡°You don¡¯t have to pull hard, just make it look convincing!"


    As Xiaotao tugged the victim¡¯s hair from the other end of the pipe, I asked, "Are there any footprints next to you?"


    "Yes,¡± she nodded. ¡°And you can see it with the naked eye!"


    The realization dawned upon me. "The four perpetrators took turns raping the victim. In order to increase the ¡®excitement,¡¯ they stuffed a toy doll¡¯s head into her vagina. And in the process of raping her, one of the perpetrators¡¯panions pulled the victim¡¯s hair from the other end so she couldn¡¯t resist."


    "Those beastly bastards!" cursed Xiaotao.


    Although the wounds inflicted on the victim¡¯s body were shocking, they were by no means fatal. I listened to the internal organs with the Echolocation Rod and found them intact. The victim had no bone fractures either, though the stomach was rtively empty indicating that she had been hungry for some time.


    It didn¡¯t seem as if the victim died of suffocation. Thus, I checked the hyoid bone and pulled on the victim¡¯s teeth to ascertain if the perpetrators had choked her or covered her nose and mouth.


    Then, I went back to examining herher regions. Judging from the damage of the inner vaginal wall, the perpetrators raped the victim more than four times. There were two symmetrical indentations in the vaginal opening as if it had been expanded by something. The rough movement caused the opening to tear.


    I inserted a cotton swab looking for semen residue but I found only a bit of fresh blood. The color of the blood on the cotton swab was different from the blood around the victim¡¯s vaginal opening, which indicated that she was still a virgin before being raped...


    There was some vaginal discharge on the cotton swabs but no semen residue. cing the cotton swab close to my nose, I took a whiff and found water-based lubricants. It seemed the perpetrators were all wearing condoms at the time.


    After the autopsy, I climbed out from behind and took a few deep breaths to calm myself.


    "Song Yang, has the cause of death been ascertained?" asked Xiaotao.


    "Too much sex!" I concluded.


    "Too much sex? But I thought that only happened to men!"


    "Being raped can indeed lead to death. This sort of thing varies from person to person. Some women have no problem having sex dozens of times a day, but the victim was a virgin. The perpetrators violently expanded her vagina and stuffed a foreign object using tools. And then they brutally raped her which led to tearing. Her organ was in a state of excitement for a long time and secreted too much vaginal discharge, far exceeding the threshold of the victim¡¯s body. Combined with the extreme fear and exhaustion of both body and mind, she suddenly died... "


    As a woman, Xiaotao couldn¡¯t help biting her lip when she heard the cause of death. After a long silence, she dered, "I must catch these scum and shoot them all!"

 Chapter 390

    <h4>Chapter 390</h4>


    After the two bodies were taken away, the officers who went out to investigate called and reported that they found the scene of the first crime. Xiaotao and I drove there immediately.


    It was about two kilometers away from the dump site. There was a pool of blood on the ground with some fallen teeth lying around and several tire tracks, including an obvious brake mark. Although few people took this road, there was still the asional car. After the incident, any vehicle passing by would have interfered with the crime scene, and the pool of blood was run over by tires.


    Xiaotao assigned several officers to snap pictures of these tire tracks and take them back for screening. Additionally, she contacted the transportation department and immediately requested for the surveince videos of this section of the road.


    I squatted down, meditating on the road for a while. "The surveince cameras definitely didn¡¯t catch anything!" I announced.


    "Why do you say that?" asked Xiaotao.


    I unlocked my cell phone and found a speed limit app used by drivers which I downloaded for handling cases. As soon as I opened the app, I could see the position of the monitoring cameras on this section of the road.


    "This road is rtively remote,¡± I remarked. ¡°There are only two intersections with cameras. The perpetrators avoided these two parts and used the side road."


    I pointed to the sand particles on the brake marks which were mixed with some grassy stems. "These debris were attached to the tires and were thrown off due to inertia at the moment of impact,nding here."


    I scanned the area and reflected for a moment. "The perpetrators drove two cars."


    "How can you tell?"


    "I can¡¯t tell based on what we currently see. It¡¯s my deduction based on the fact that there were at least five people, including the female victim,¡± I exined. ¡°Earlier, when I was performing the autopsy, I found that the rape happened two hours ago, which means it started on the road. It¡¯s a bit crowded for five people in one car to be having sex. So I think it¡¯s more likely they came in two cars! The two cars were in the back and front, sandwiching the male victim in the middle as they forced him to run barefoot on the road. Finally the man¡¯s strength gave out and was hit by the rear vehicle."


    "That makes sense!" Xiaotao concurred.


    I walked along the brake marks and came to the edge of the road where I found traces of trampled weeds, indicating that the car stopped at the time. This was probably where they got off and carried the body. There was half a footprint on the dirt road beside the grass, matching those found at the scene.


    When I closed my eyes, I could picture the scene at the time¨Cfour young people, probably high on drugs, brutally tortured and toyed with the two victims, then ran away after disposing of their bodies in a hurry.


    This was a thrill kill with no clear motive or purpose. The victims were probably people they didn¡¯t know. In truth, this sort of crime was the hardest to solve!


    Xiaotao proposed we returned to the station immediately to work the case overnight but I shook my head. "It¡¯s toote. There¡¯s no point working through the night! Go home and rest well. We¡¯ll continue tomorrow morning."


    "I can¡¯t stop thinking about the girl who was tortured to death,¡± Xiaotao frowned. ¡°I wish I could arrest them right now!"


    I patted her on the shoulder. "I¡¯m just as angry as you are!"


    "I¡¯m really depressed. Won¡¯t you apany me for the night?"


    "Alright!" I said.


    After Xiaotao instructed the others to go home, we headed back to her ce. When she removed her coat, I got a look at her holster that was hanging on her waist, gun still in ce.


    I turned grave at once, "Didn¡¯t I remind you about this?"


    "I forgot!¡± Xiaotao caressed her forehead. ¡°This is thest time. I won¡¯t take it home tomorrow!"


    While Xiaotao went to take a bath, I turned on the TV, already ustomed to her home. A short whileter, Xiaotao came out of the shower, dressed in baggy pajamas, perky breasts peeking from underneath.


    She walked towards the couch wordlessly, sat down, then leaned into my arms, her soft breasts pressing onto me. Her body still exuded moisture and heat from the shower and her wet hair smelled of shampoo.


    My heart pounded like a drum as we remained in this position for about ten seconds. Then, Xiaotao said, "I¡¯ve been an officer for so long and I¡¯ve seen many cases. Every time Ie across those horrible, cruel ones, I think to myself, maybe this is the worst one. But then something else always trumps that and I¡¯m faced with more cruel and inhuman criminals. Sometimes I can¡¯t help but wonder, how can people be so evil? We¡¯re obviously the same kind, so why kill each other?"


    It seemed Xiaotao was really disturbed by the case tonight. But I couldn¡¯t answer her question. All I could do wasfort her, "When I catch those scum, I¡¯ll stare at them for ten whole seconds and give them a taste of agony."


    Xiaotao looked up at me and smiled, "Then again, what¡¯s this about your eyes? You never told me."


    Due to my promise to Song Xingchen not to mention the Eyes of Yama to outsiders, I gave Xiaotao a vague exnation. "It¡¯s just another ability, nothing special."


    Xiaotao¡¯s face inched closer to mine, "Why can¡¯t I see anything different from before?"


    There was a hint of a smile in her bright eyes. As her face drew closer and closer, we started to kiss. She hooked her hands around my neck andnguidly rested on top of my body.


    "Don¡¯t be depressed!¡± I urged. ¡°Let¡¯s watch some TV!"


    "I don¡¯t want to watch this," she pouted, unhappy with my choice of program¨Ca variety show called ¡°Super Brain.¡±


    I changed the channel and asked, "How about this?"


    Xiaotao shook her head like a little child until I turned to a children¡¯s channel that was ying "Babloo Dabloo.¡± Though I didn¡¯t think she would like watching this, I asked and Xiaotao actually nodded.


    With my arms around Xiaotao, we watched two episodes of Babloo Dabloo. Whenever something funny happened on screen, Xiaotao would giggle, her breasts vibrating against my arm. We were merely separated by thin pajamas so the feeling was very obvious¨Ctwo soft, plump breasts rubbing my skin repeatedly. And worst of all, I was wearing a sleeveless tank top.


    My cheeks burned and then returned to normal every time she stoppedughing; on and on, even my body reacted shamefully.


    I stole a look at the beautiful, smiling girl in my arms as the impulse to make love to her boiled inside. But on second thought, being intimate now would be taking advantage of her.


    Besides, I liked the way our rtionship was and didn¡¯t see a need to speed things up.


    At the end of the two episodes, Xiaotao was quiet and unresponsive. Looking down, I realized she was breathing steadily and had fallen asleep in my arms. I carefully adjusted my position and picked her up in a princess hug, gently cing her on the bed.


    When I returned to the living room, Xiaotao¡¯s gentle fragrance still lingered on the couch. Babloo Dabloo was still ying on TV so I sat there watching another episode, and eventually found it rather interesting.


    Deciding to take a quick shower, I headed to the bathroom where I found a box of men¡¯s underwear on the shelf where Xiaotao stored her sanitary napkins. There was a note saying: I bought this at the supermarket. I don¡¯t know if it suits you. Anyway, you can¡¯t keep wearing dirty underwear after your shower!"


    The crumples in the note were caused by repeated sshes and drying. Learning that Xiaotao had prepared this early on, I couldn¡¯t help but feel moved.

 Chapter 391

    <h4>Chapter 391</h4>


    The next morning, I woke up and started sneezing. Perhaps I was too hasty after my shower and forgot to properly dry myselfst night, hence, the slight cold.


    Grabbing some tissues from the coffee table, I blew my nose and checked the time. It was only 5:30 in the morning. I might as well make Xiaotao breakfast!


    Since I didn¡¯t know anything about cooking, I decided to go to the kitchen and have a look first. Xiaotao didn¡¯t usually cook at home so all she had were some eggs and instant noodles which was perfect for an amateur like me who only knew how to make eggs sunny-side up.


    I began by heating some oil on the pan and cracked some eggs, poured soy sauce and carefully flipped them. When they were ready, I ced them on a te, rather satisfied with the final product. This was perhaps one of my better attempts.


    Then, I boiled some water in a pot and was just about to cook the instant noodles when I heard the bedroom door creak open.


    Despite waking up, Xiaotao didn¡¯t say anything. I went out to the living room, only to find her bent over and staring at the paper wads I had used to blow my nose.


    She smiled wickedly, "Hot-blooded young man, do you have nowhere to vent all that energy?"


    "It¡¯s not what you think!" I quickly exined.


    "Were you thinking of mest night, or was it a childhood sweetheart?" Xiaotao narrowed her eyes.


    It was still early in the morning and here Xiaotao was, already teasing and stoking the mes. But it seemed she had recovered from the gloominess.


    "Do you need to think of someone when you sneeze? Did this weird practice originate from some other country?" I retorted.


    "Nevermind then,¡± Xiaotao smirked. ¡°I¡¯ll just pretend you sneezed!"


    "What do you mean? I really didn¡¯t do anything wrong!" I wanted to cry tears of indignation!


    "You¡¯re young. It¡¯spletely normal. I can understand," Huang Xiaotao nodded her head meaningfully.


    Right then, the sound of water boiling came from the kitchen. I quickly returned to cook the noodles. Xiaotao followed me to the kitchen door and stuck her head in, "Are you making breakfast?"


    "I only know how to make noodles and fried eggs," I shamefully admitted.


    Noticing the eggs on the te, she praised, "Wow, it looks good. Your culinary skills are much better than mine. Can I try one first?"


    "Hold on,¡± I stopped her. ¡°Breakfast will be ready in a minute."


    "Then I¡¯ll wait for you in the living room!" grinned Xiaotao.


    In the end, Xiaotao was rather satisfied with my eggs and enjoyed her breakfast. After that, we drove down to the station. Just as we were entering the station, Bingxin happened to bump into Xiaotao and I walking in together. Surprised, Bingxin asked, "Did Song Yang-gege..."


    "Yes,¡± Xiaotao puffed with pride. ¡°He spent the night at my ce."


    "You insatiable woman!" Bingxin disdained.


    "Children like you don¡¯t understand the world of adults," Xiaotao smiled triumphantly.


    Bingxin made a face and started walking towards the forensicboratory.


    "Hey, there are two bodies we need you to dissect," called Xiaotao.


    "I¡¯ll get to it at once!" nodded Bingxin.


    A whileter, the three of us met at the Necropsy Workshop. Before Bingxin began the dissection, I restored the footprints and handprints on the corpses with seaweed ash, took several photos and marked the evidence one by one. Only then did Bingxin dissect the body.


    Conventional internal autopsies usually started from the chest but this time we only needed to look at the contents of the stomach. Bingxin¡¯s technique had undergone much improvement from before. She easily removed the first victim¡¯s stomach and ced it in a metal dish.


    Sure enough, there were several huge blood clots. Grabbing a bottle of my own concoction, I poured it over the stomach contents and waited for the blood clots to slowly melt away.


    "What magic potion is this?" gasped Bingxin.


    "It¡¯s leech fluid, ck Nightshade juice and some alcohol. Whenbined, this concoction can dpose hemoglobin. We call it Blood Dissolving Wine," I exined.


    In fact, it could also be used as medicine to treat internal injuries, which was actually practiced by the martial Songs. But because of its easy form and convenience in autopsies, the civil Songs started applying it in their work.


    After the blood clot melted, whatever food consumed by the victim was revealed¨Csmall grains. I picked one up with the tweezers and sniffed it. Upon catching a whiff, Bingxin cried, "There¡¯s a fishy odor. It¡¯s dog food!"


    "Yes, the murderers obviously had a dog."


    There was quite a lot of dog food in the victim¡¯s stomach. It seemed these murderers didn¡¯t consider the victim a human being at all. Judging from the degree of digestion, the victim¡¯sst meal should have been about ten hours before his death.


    When Bingxin asked us about the case, I dismissed it as an ordinary murder, to which she replied, "How can Song Yang-gege handle an ordinary case? The ones I deal with in the forensicboratory¨Cgang fights, car idents, and jumping off buildings¨Cthose are ordinary cases."


    "It¡¯s just an ordinary hate killing,¡± echoed Xiaotao. ¡°I only called Song Yang in due to some doubtful areas."


    Though Bingxin didn¡¯t believe us, I refused to say more because the case was looking more and more dangerous! Sun Tiger was still unaware of Bingxin¡¯s near-miss thest time. If he were to find out, he would bite our heads off! Thus, I nned for Bingxin to stay away from the investigation in the future.


    Bingxin asked if we wanted to dissect the second victim. "Hold on!¡± I said. ¡°This is the food the victim recently consumed. Open up the intestines and see what he ate before."


    "Is that important?" asked Bingxin.


    "Do you think the victim also ate dog food at home?" I smiled.


    Realization finally dawned upon Bingxin. Though the murderers fed the victim dog food, he must have consumed something else before. That way, we could judge when our victim was kidnapped.


    Food in the intestines, especially therge intestine, were revolting and had a heavy odor but Bingxin didn¡¯t utter a word ofint. Just as she was about to get started, I interrupted, "Wait a minute!"


    I grabbed the Mind Clearing Pills, wanting to hand one to Bingxin. But due to her gloves and a face mask, I would have to feed her the pill.


    With Xiaotao nearby, I wondered if the move was a bit too intimate. I thought of asking Xiaotao to do it instead, but then it would only seem as if I had impure motives to begin with.


    Biting the bullet, I threw caution to the wind and fed a pill to Bingxin¡¯s lips. She whispered thanks.


    Then, I handed another to Xiaotao. Her hand remained motionless and she opened her mouth instead, waiting for simr treatment. I smiled, fed the pill to her, and swallowed one myself.


    "Why don¡¯t you light incense instead?" asked Bingxin.


    "We can¡¯t use it during the autopsy since I¡¯ll be sniffing with my nose!" I replied.


    Bingxin shivered, "Ugh, you¡¯re going to be smelling that?!"


    She was still oblivious to the fact that Traditional Coroners even tasted with their tongue. I found thatpletely uneptable so I never used that method.


    Bingxin deftly separated the intestines. The Mind Clearing Pill sessfully blocked out all repulsive odors. Keeping my gaze fixed on the intestines, I said nothing until she cut into the third section. "That¡¯s enough!"


    I noticed an almost fully digested capsule which Bingxin removed and ced in a test tube.


    I stared at the intestine and pointed, "There¡¯s something white in there."


    "Is it a tapeworm?" Bingxin eximed.


    "No, it¡¯s enoki mushrooms!" I said, picking it up with the tweezers.


    The mushrooms were stained with some yellowish substance that disgusted Xiaotao. "Well, you have sessfully stopped me from ever eating enoki mushrooms again."


    In contrast, Bingxin seemed more resilient in the face of repugnance. Or perhaps she was deliberately disying her bravado. "Enoki mushrooms are difficult to digest,¡± she remarked. ¡°I just ate them two days ago."


    I smiled wryly, "Not easy to digest? This mushroom has a thick fibrous texture so what you eat is what you excrete. That¡¯s why some people call it ¡®see you tomorrow¡¯!"

 Chapter 392

    <h4>Chapter 392</h4>


    We were lucky to have found the enoki mushrooms in the victim¡¯s intestines, allowing us to urately judge the time of the kidnapping. I measured the distance from here to the stomach. "It takes about two days for food to travel this distance so the victim was kidnapped two days ago. The capsule we found just now will help us determine that more urately."


    Bingxin nodded, "I¡¯ll test it in thebter."


    "Alright, ce the intestines back into the body,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s move on to the next victim.¡±


    When I lifted the white sheet, the female victim didn¡¯t look as wretched as before, probably because she was lying t on the autopsy table. Despite this, Bingxin frowned, "Was she raped?"


    When I nodded, Bingxin couldn¡¯t help but curse, "I hate this sort of scum! Making love is such a sacred thing yet they desecrate it!"


    After I took the fingerprints, I asked Bingxin to begin with the internal autopsy. The victim¡¯s stomach was almost empty. I spected that the murderers might have deliberately starved her so she wouldn¡¯t have the strength to resist. Though I kept this thought to myself, or the two girls might start cursing the murderers for being sadistic beasts.


    "Open the intestines,¡± I instructed.


    Upon the dissection of the duodenum, I immediately cried, "Stop!"


    I worked with the tweezers, picking out some undigested rice grains. "The rice is narrow with a total length of about seven millimeters. I think it¡¯s Thai jasmine rice."


    "This rice is rather expensive. Even my family doesn¡¯t eat this," interjected Xiaotao.


    "We eat japonica rice,¡± said Bingxin.


    "Feeding the victim Thai jasmine rice?¡± I sneered. ¡°Either the murderers are wealthy or they sell this sort of rice."


    Bingxin pulled out something else from the duodenum. "What is this?" she asked, staring at the lump.


    It looked like meat, though the texture didn¡¯t look as if it came from a terrestrial animal. Squinting her eyes, Xiaotao faltered, "River snails? No, they aren¡¯t that big. "


    "I know a type of snail that is huge!" argued Bingxin.


    Upon careful inspection, Xiaotaomented, "It¡¯s a different color. Wait a minute, it is a snail, French escargot!" Then, she rolled her eyes and dered, "Yet another dish I¡¯ll never eat again."


    "French escargot?" I was shocked. "The murderers must be very wealthy!"


    "Rich and heartless beasts!" Bingxin spat in disgust. "Song Yang-gege, what are we dissecting next?"


    I shook my head, "That¡¯s it. We have the information we want."


    I lit some spiral incense to remove the stench in the room. Grabbing a metal basin, I burned a stack of yellow joss papers for each of the victims and I folded my hands as I whispered, "Go with a peace of mind. I swear in the name of my ancestor, Magistrate Song Ci, that I will redress your grievances!"


    Bingxin and Xiaotao stood beside me with their hands folded together, eyes closed. Although they were atheists, perhaps they wanted some assurance andfort.


    Bingxin headed to theboratory to conduct her tests while Xiaotao left to gather more clues. At present, we didn¡¯t have much information. The officer explored the surrounding area of the crime scene and found no witnesses. Surveince cameras failed to capture the murderers¡¯ cars.


    "Can you tell the model of the car from the tire tracks?" I asked.


    "Yes,¡± nodded Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯m just about to meet the vehicle expert from the Forensic Tire Tread Division.¡±


    A thought suddenly crossed my mind, "Didn¡¯t we find numerous tire tracks at the scene? If the murderers¡¯ vehicles weren¡¯t captured, all we have to do is exclude the other cars on the surveince video, and the remaining two tire tracks will naturally belong to the murderers."


    "You have a lot of good ideas!¡±ughed Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll get to it now!"


    It didn¡¯t make sense for me to wait here so I asked, "Did you test the dog hairst night?"


    "Of course, there¡¯s no DNA on the hair,¡± answered Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯m going to consult the canine experts in the city."


    "I¡¯ll take care of it!"


    I didn¡¯t visit any experts with the evidence. Instead, I headed to a nearby flower and bird market and inquired about it at the dog stalls. Most vendors couldn¡¯t tell what breed it was but an old man looked at it through a magnifying ss for a long time and said, "See this color? The top part is dark and the bottom is brighter. This is rtively rare. It¡¯smonly known as iron-d gold, or the Tibetan Mastiff."


    Though a little surprised, the old man¡¯s answer was close to my guess. It seemed the murderers were wealthy men so keeping such expensive dogs wasn¡¯t unusual at all.


    "Is there a Tibetan Mastiff breeder in Nanjiang City?" I asked.


    When the old man said no, a middle-aged man leaned in and reminded, "Dad, didn¡¯t someone start onest year? But the dogs were too expensive and no one could afford it, so it closed down."


    "Where is it?" I asked.


    The middle-aged man reported the location and curiously asked, "Are you thinking of keeping one?"


    Since I preferred to keep my identity under wraps, I made up an excuse. "I¡¯m asking for a friend. Thanks for everything!"


    After leaving the flower and bird market, I immediately phoned Xiaotao and informed her of my findings.


    "That¡¯s fast!¡± she eximed. ¡°Which expert did you consult?"


    "An expert among themon folk,¡± Iughed. ¡°I asked a dog seller."


    "That¡¯s great! I¡¯ll be right there!"


    Xiaotao came to pick me up before heading to the outskirts. The breeding site was a lonepound secured with rusted locks, as if no one had been here for a long time.


    I noticed scratches on the wall next to me as well as areas where the moss on the wall had been scraped off.


    "Someone climbed in from here,¡± I said.


    "Shall we go through the front door or over the wall?" asked Xiaotao.


    "The locks are rusty so I can¡¯t open them. If we break them by force, we might arouse suspicion,¡± I exined. ¡°Let¡¯s go over the wall!"


    I lifted Xiaotao so she could climb the wall and waited for her to pull me up. Thepound was quite spacious. Next to it were rows of smallpartments made of cement, probably used for keeping dogs. I noticed the same hairs in onepartment as the evidence we found in the victim¡¯s pocket.


    "We¡¯ve got the right ce," I said, examining the dog hairs.


    This was most likely the ce where the victim was held. I thought about the reason there was dog hair in the victim¡¯s pocket and the most likely answer was that the victim had ced them there himself. Imprisoned here at the time, he knew death was certain so he grabbed something to lead police to thepound.


    Fortunately, we lived up to his expectations!


    There was a two-story building on the west side of the kennels. The first floor was empty with some iron rings on the wall used to chain the dogs. Combined with the overpowering smell of dogs, I suspected this floor was used to train dogs.


    We went up to the second floor and found several amodations meant for staff. Upon entering the first room, we saw a mattress on the ground.


    I sprinkled some seaweed ash on the door but shook my head. "The murderers are very careful. They left no fingerprints."


    Squatting down, I examined the mattress and noticed some sticky secretions. "They raped the victim here!" I cried.


    On the dusty ground were marks left by some chairs and shoe prints, allowing me to deduce the scene at the time. While one man was raping the victim, the other three stood or sat down nearby to enjoy the live ¡°performance.¡±


    Xiaotao furrowed her brows, cursing underneath her breath. Just as she grabbed her phone, ready to call out the team to collect evidence, she suddenly stared out of the window and yelled, "Song Yang, look over there!"

 Chapter 393

    <h4>Chapter 393</h4>


    Looking out of the window, I was greeted by the sight of several dead dogs in the kennels in the southwest corner. They were bigger than skan Huskies, some with brown hair and the others were grey. They were Tibetan Mastiffs.


    Xiaotao was about to head out to check the dogs when I patted her shoulder, "Wait, we¡¯ll go in a bit!"


    I left the room and moved on to the next one. There were obvious traces indicating that someone hadid on the ground with their hands tied behind their back. Since noceration marks were visible on the victim¡¯s body, the murderers might have used something soft like cloth for binding.


    Scanning the room, I found some dog food in the corner. When I picked it up, Xiaotao unexpectedly ced a piece into her mouth, chewing a few times. I looked at her in amazement as she spat it out. "When I was a child, we raised dogs as well. Dog food of better quality doesn¡¯t contain starch. It¡¯s usually pure meat without any crushed bones. What the murderers fed the victim is imported dog food."


    "I can¡¯t believe you aren¡¯t disgusted!"


    "Unfortunately, I¡¯ve been influenced by you!¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°Testing will take too long and we don¡¯t have the time."


    I found some dog hairs in the corner, which Ipared to those found in the victim¡¯s pocket. The length and color were exactly the same which confirmed this was the ce where the first victim was detained.


    Before leaving the room, I sprinkled some seaweed ash on the doorknob but failed to find any fingerprints.


    "These murderers are very cautious. They left no fingerprints for us to find," Xiaotao frowned.


    "Cautious yet careless," I smiled cryptically.


    "What do you mean?" asked Xiaotao.


    "They are cautious in certain details, such as making sure not to leave any fingerprints. And they know binding the victim with rope would leaveceration marks. However, they¡¯ve been very careless in some aspects, such as the shoe prints left at the scene and the food fed to the victim."


    I endeavored to create a psychological profile of the murderers, "Their average age won¡¯t exceed twenty-six. They are wealthy and willful, most likely four second-generation rich kids! They crave excitement for their numb hearts and have no regard for human life. At least one of the four is slightly older and more cautious, while the rest of them are more careless. That¡¯s exactly why we see such a contrast."


    We checked out the other room but came up empty. As we walked downstairs exploring the ce, Xiaotao asked, "What are you looking for?"


    "The toilet!"


    "Is it urgent? If you can wait, we¡¯ll look for a gas stationter.¡±


    "I don¡¯t want to use the toilet,¡± I chuckled. ¡°The murderers stayed here for about two days so they would have had to go."


    "Are you thinking of testing that?" she grimaced.


    "Feces are extremely important clues. We can analyze the perpetrator¡¯s physical characteristics and sometimes detect DNA from feces. When the US military found bin Laden, it was through his feces that passed through the sewer."


    There was a revolting odor in the air. I made my way forward and turned the corner. Sure enough, I came upon a simple squat toilet built with asbestos tiles in the southeast corner of thepound. I looked inside and found that the feces had been shoveled away, leaving only bits and pieces.


    "Looks like they¡¯re very cautious. They even knew to dispose of their feces! How do you think they handled it?"


    "This is a dog breeding site. Isn¡¯t there a convenient way?" I arched an eyebrow.


    The muscles in Xiaotao¡¯s cheeks twitched as the realization dawned upon her. As a dog lover, she was disgusted by their actions.


    "This is the nature of dogs. They live in the wild andck food. Because carnivores have shorter intestines, food stays in the body for a short time. So they can¡¯t ruminate like cattle and sheep. And the way to fully absorb nutrition is to consume feces..."


    "Ugh, that¡¯s enough. No more talking about this. I still haven¡¯t had my lunch!" Xiaotao smiled wryly.


    At the southwest corner of thepound were seven dead Tibetan Mastiffs. Upon closer inspection, I found human feces stained on their mouths and chest hair. The dogs had foam around the nostrils and corners of the mouth which smelled of rat poison.


    In fact, the murderers were rather stupid. Though the Tibetan Mastiffs had been poisoned, the evidence was still in their stomachs. They had clearly overestimated their own intelligence!


    I examined the dogs¡¯ pupils and checked for rigor mortis. Despite knowing little about animal forensics, my preliminary conclusion for the time of death was around twelve hours ago. After further contemtion, a thought suddenly crossed my mind¨Cwasn¡¯t that exactly after the two murders?


    After murdering the victims, they fled all the way here to finish off these Tibetan Mastiffs for fear their identities would be exposed. As extremely loyal animals, Tibetan Mastiffs recognized one master throughout their lives and obeyed the murderers entirely.


    This foolish, counterproductive move was like putting up a sign here that shouted: We¡¯re the owners of these Tibetan Mastiffs!


    I instructed Xiaotao to call the criminal police as well as Bingxin down to thepound to collect evidence and dissect the dogs. Additionally, we had to investigate the owners of this dog breeding site which may prove to be a vital clue.


    Since the team would take some time to arrive, Xiaotao and I climbed back up the wall and strolled around the area to see if we missed any clues. About a hundred meters in front of thepound was a road, followed by a hill.


    Halfway up the hill, I caught a whiff of gasoline. As we approached the source of the smell, we found a pit dug in the ground filled with burnt embers that had been watered.


    There were some lunch boxes, alcohol bottles and clothes inside. I even found the corner of a burnt ID card. "These items were probably burned by the murderers before they left. The victim¡¯s clothes may be in there."


    When I turned around, I suddenly noticed a re on Xiaotao¡¯s button. I twisted my head around, only to see a figure in the distance, holding something reflective¨Cbinocrs perhaps.


    At this point, Xiaotao¡¯s attention had also turned to the man who stood there peeping at us, obviously with no good intentions. She pulled out her gun, ready for a warning shot.


    "Don¡¯t, he¡¯s too far away!" I interrupted.


    Realizing his presence had been detected, the man quickly strode down the hill. The trench coat he wore was unusual in this season and he walked with a limp in his right leg.


    Xiaotao immediately called the station and assigned several officers to search the area.


    A whileter, the police vehicles arrived. Bingxin alighted carrying a kit. "Did you find another body?" she asked excitedly.


    "Yes, there were six!"


    Bingxin¡¯s shock turned to anger upon seeing the dead dogs in the kennels. "How cruel!"


    "Begin the autopsy!" I instructed.


    "But I don¡¯t know much about the structure of canines." cried Bingxin.


    "I don¡¯t know much either. I just need you to have a look at the stomach contents,¡± I exined. ¡°But a word of warning, what these dogs have eaten may be really disgusting!"


    After carrying one of the dead dogs out, Bingxin wiped its abdomen with alcohol and carefully shaved the hair off. The dog had nipples¨Cit was female.


    "By the way, Xiaotao-jiejie, I have ab report in my pocket. It¡¯s about the capsule we found in the victim¡¯s stomach."


    Xiaotao removed the report from Bingxin¡¯s pocket, taking a moment to go over the details though she couldn¡¯t quite understand the content. After perusing the report, I realized I didn¡¯t understand the technical terms.


    Bingxin exined, "We only tested the ingredients in the capsule but we couldn¡¯t find the name of the drug. I¡¯ve note across such a drug so I don¡¯t know what it is."


    "Nevermind about this. We¡¯ll check thatter!"


    Chinese term for the children of the nouveau riche in China.

 Chapter 394

    <h4>Chapter 394</h4>


    Bingxin dissected the dog¡¯s stomach, exposing everything within the intestines. Frowning, she said, "What¡®s that?"


    "Human feces, dog food, and a piece of fresh meat," I listed.


    Once the feces were digested, arge amount of ammonia was released. The overpowering sour odor was too much for me to bear. I felt my eyes tear up.


    Fortunately, we had each consumed a Mind Clearing Pill so the effects were stifled. Nausea varied from person to person. Without the psychological stimtion, we wouldn¡¯t feel physically nauseous. Sun Bingxin and I were better prepared to handle the sight and smell. At most, we were slightly taken aback by the stench. Meanwhile, Xiaotao was a little overwhelmed. Covering her nose, she took a few steps backwards.


    "Why don¡¯t you deal with other matters first?¡± I waved my hand. ¡°You don¡¯t have to watch."


    "Make sure you clean up after you¡¯re done!" reminded Xiaotao.


    "Come on, let¡¯s check the feces!" I said, turning to Bingxin.


    "Don¡¯t speak such disgusting words,¡±ughed Bingxin.


    In the dog¡¯s stomach, the meat was hardly digested. Since dog teeth had no chewing function and were mainly used for cutting up their food, the meat was swallowed whole. I noticed some white powder on the meat which I suspected to be rat poison.


    We bagged the meat and handed it over to the technical team.


    Next came the feces. I dipped a little with a cotton swab and analyzed, "The color is slightly dark, soft. I think this person had excessive internal heat and an unhealthy liver, probably caused by long-term smoking and drinking."


    Bingxin picked up a small lump with her tweezers. "There are still undigested shrimp, rice grains and green peppers in it."


    "This person is a little constipated. He probably stayed upte for a period of time so his gastrointestinal movement is irregr,¡± I added. ¡°This looks like fried rice with shrimp."


    Bingxin nodded, "That¡¯s quite a big shrimp."


    We cut open the stomachs of several other Tibetan Mastiffs. Bingxin¡¯s indifference to the whole process was rather surprising. "You seem rather steady in the face of this all. Did you train yourself?"


    "Aren¡¯t you just the same?" she smiled.


    "To me, dead bodies are all objects. What¡¯s so disgusting about an object?" I chuckled.


    "We usually attended the same anatomy ss with other grades. Those cynical seniors would share all sorts of disgusting jokes,¡± Bingxin narrated. ¡°At first, I was so sick I would beg them to stop. I even threw up a few times. Then, I gradually got used to it..."


    "What sort of disgusting jokes?" I asked.


    Bingxin mentioned a few but failed to draw any reaction from me. Seeing how unaffected I was, she tossed out a ¡®big one.¡¯ "Song Yang-gege, do you know that excrement can cure diseases?"


    I thought about it and replied, "There¡¯s a lot of examples of animal feces used as medicine in the Compendium of Materia Medica."


    Bingxin shook her head and exined that certain peoplecked good bacteria in their intestines that help digest food. One kind of bacteria therapy was to break up the stools of healthy people and transfer it to patients. Not through the mouth, but with a nasal tube inserted into the throat from the nasal cavity, all the way to the intestines. Then, a few kilograms of stool would be transferred that way. And in order to ensure the survival of the good bacteria, the stools were still warm.


    At this point, Bingxin startedughing so hard that tears rolled down her cheeks.


    "Stop talking, I can¡¯t stand it..." I cried.


    We suddenly noticed some dark red liquid on one of the stools. "It¡¯s blood!" eximed Bingxin. She immediately took a sample and ced it in the evidence bag. It seemed we finally had one of the murderer¡¯s DNA.


    The task didn¡¯t require much brainwork or skills. It was mainly tedious work. After finishing up, we both stood up with backaches. Bingxin pouted, "Song Yang-gege, massage my shoulders, won¡¯t you?"


    "I¡¯ll do itter. Let¡¯s remove the dogs¡¯ bodies first,¡± I said. ¡°Haven¡¯t you noticed how everyone is walking around us?"


    The Tibetan Mastiff¡¯s body was too heavy to carry alone. After cing them in body bags, I instructed several officers to transport them outside and look for a suitable spot to bury them. Then, I brought out a small incense burner and lighted some incense, waving it around the room and over our bodies to get rid of the stench.


    I grabbed my cell phone to check something online, but Bingxin turned her back to me and demanded, "Massage my shoulders!"


    "Wait a minute. I¡¯m looking for takeout options nearby."


    "You¡¯re thinking of ordering something?" she asked.


    "At least one of the murderers ate shrimp fried rice. I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s takeout. This ce is in the middle of nowhere. I highly doubt many restaurants deliver here," I deduced.


    I checked out shrimp fried rice at all the avable restaurants, confirmed the payment and put away my cell phone. "Turn around!" I barked.


    Bingxin jumped up and turned around like an eager bunny. I stretched my hand and massaged her shoulders, drawing afortable moan from Bingxin who had her eyes closed. As soon as Xiaotao noticed what we were doing, she brought her finger to her lips, gesturing for me to remain silent and move out of the way. Then, she began squeezing hard on Bingxin¡¯s shoulders.


    A momentter, Bingxin sensed a change. Turning around, she said, ¡°Why did you guys switch?"


    "Do you have an opinion?¡± chided Xiaotao. ¡°You¡¯re really enjoying yourself huh! Doing something like this during working hours!"


    "We¡¯ve finished examining the body and found one of the murderer¡¯s DNA," argued Bingxin.


    Right then, my cell phone rang, and more than a dozen restaurants informed me our location was too remote for delivery so they rejected the order. Only one was willing to deliver all the way here¨Ca French restaurant with its own delivery staff.


    "Sorry, I only ordered my share,¡± I said.


    Xiaotao seemed uninterested in takeout. "You have it. I don¡¯t have an appetite right now."


    My cell phone rang again; it was the restaurant informing me the ce was too difficult to locate. The restaurant staff directed me to a nearby drop-off point where the delivery boy would meet me. The food would arrive in about twenty minutes.


    We decided to head there together. Xiaotao instructed the officers to clean up the scene and bring the evidence back for testing. Then, the three of us got into Xiaotao¡¯s car.


    After waiting shortly at the drop-off point, a delivery boy arrived in a battery car and asked, "Who ordered shrimp fried rice?"


    I admitted it was my order while Xiaotao shed her badge. "We¡¯re the police and we¡¯re investigating a case. We have some questions for you. Have you ever delivered meals to this address?"


    "Yes!" nodded the delivery boy.


    "Can you describe the customer¡¯s appearance?" I queried.


    The delivery boy recalled that the man was wrapped up tightly so he couldn¡¯t see his face at night. But from his hands and eyes, it was obvious he was older, probably in his forties. I was a little surprised to hear his description which differed from my guess.


    "How many portions did he order?"


    Grabbing his cell phone, the delivery boy scrolled through his orders and showed us the information. The man had ordered a meal for six, including fried rice, snail risotto, pasta and beer. He specifically asked for six sets of cutlery.


    The man who picked up the food was someone else besides the four murderers. The delivery boyined it was already very dark at the time. Driving along the dark road headed to such a remote and deserted location had him shaking in his shoes.


    I was a little embarrassed for making hime all the way to deliver shrimp fried rice so I tipped him a hundred yuan. "Thanks for the hard work. Here¡¯s a little something for the information."


    "There¡¯s even a tip for the information?" The delivery boy was pleasantly surprised. ¡°Thank you! I¡¯ll be on my way then!"


    Just as he got into his battery car, Xiaotao received a text message. Upon ncing at her phone, she suddenly stopped the delivery boy from leaving.


    Heat ording to traditional Chinese medicine is a general condition of hyperactivity that arises as a result of a fundamental Yin-Yang imbnce.

 Chapter 395

    <h4>Chapter 395</h4>


    Xiaotao showed the photo on her cell phone to the delivery boy, "Do you recognize him?"


    After staring puzzledly at the photo for a long time, the boy shook his head. But when Xiaotao covered the man¡¯s face with her fingers and revealed only his eyes, the boy suddenly eximed, "Yes, that¡¯s him! That¡¯s the man who came to pick up the food!"


    "Thanks again!" nodded Xiaotao.


    After the delivery boy left in his battery car, I asked Xiaotao about the photo. "Wang Yuanchao just found out from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce that the owner of this breeding site is Huang Xusheng."


    "It seemed that Huang Xusheng knew the murderers and might even be closely connected to them,¡± I spected. ¡°I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d find a clue so quickly!"


    Xiaotao waved her hands, "What are you waiting for? Let¡¯s go speak to him!"


    Unfortunately, we had rejoiced too soon. When we arrived at Huang Xusheng¡¯s residence, the man had long disappeared, having sold the apartment. After inquiring at the neighborhoodmittee, we learned of Huang Xusheng¡¯s current address and hightailed it to the location. Upon reaching his apartment, we were greeted by red paint sshed all over the door. The walls were painted with huge, eye-catching words: Repay your debts! An eye for an eye, a life for a life!¡±


    "I really don¡¯t understand these debt collectors,¡± Bingxin spat. ¡°Why do you have to write ¡®An eye for an eye, a life for a life?¡¯ Isn¡¯t the first part enough?"


    "This is more visually impactful,¡± I chuckled. ¡°Just the three words would look pathetic!"


    I knocked on the door but got no reply. So I grabbed my lock pick tools and unlocked the door. Upon entering the apartment, we were greeted by a terrible mess. Besides the space amodating the mattress on the ground, the rest of the ce was littered with all sorts of garbage.


    Pinching her nose, Xiaotao scowled, "This man really doesn¡¯t care at all!"


    There was aptop on the desk which I asked Bingxin to examine. Meanwhile, I headed to the kitchen and found a metal pot sitting on the stove. When I removed the lid, I realized the pot was full of water vapor on the inside of the lid, indicating that it was boiling water.


    Huang Xusheng seemed to have left in a hurry.


    "This man¡¯sputer is full of porn!¡± spat Bingxin. ¡°I didn¡¯t find any clues and his QQ is full of dubious people."


    I swept hisputer and found no important clues as well. Since this was private property, we had no right to remove any evidence.


    Xiaotao went knocking on the neighbor¡¯s door to inquire more about our suspect. ording to the neighbor, the man living next door was a bachelor who seemed to owe a lot of usury. People often came looking to collect debts, which seriously affected the rest of themunity.


    The neighbors didn¡¯t even know Huang Xusheng¡¯s name.


    When we left his apartment, Xiaotao sighed, "Looks like we hit another dead end."


    Something on the walls suddenly caught my attention. "There are some advertisements for a money lender. Let¡¯s call and ask!"


    I dialed the number and immediately a soft female voice answered the call. Careful not to reveal my identity, I exined I was short of money and wanted to borrow some. Then, I asked if we could talk face to face and was given an address.


    Thus, the three of us headed to apany called Zhengxing Credit. When we arrived, the receptionist invited me to take a seat and wait for a moment to meet the manager inside.


    The manager of this money-lendingpany was a middle-aged man with a stocky build who wore a big gold chain around his tattooed neck. As soon as we entered the room, he blew a wolf whistle at Xiaotao. Despite Xiaotao¡¯s irate re, the manager leisurely sat in his chair with a cigar in his hand. "Young man, how much money would you like to borrow?!" he asked.


    "How much can I borrow?"


    The manager smiled, "As long as you pay it back, you can borrow as much as you want."


    "Fine then, let¡¯s go with a hundred thousand first!" I dered.


    "Alright,¡± nodded the manager. ¡°Show me your ID please... I can tell you¡¯re a big boss, especially since you¡¯ve got two beautiful women with you. Which one is your girlfriend?"


    Right then, Xiaotao grabbed her badge and threw it on the desk. The man¡¯s shrill screams filled the room. "You¡¯re cops?" He stood up as if preparing to flee. Then all of a sudden, he sat back down and scratched his head. "My apologies, that was a conditioned reflex," he cried.


    Two years ago, the state first announced the legalization of private loans. It seemed the man often had run-ins with thew in the past.


    Putting away his frightened expression, he squeezed out a smile, "Officer, I am operating legally. I can assure you I¡¯ve never broken thew."


    "We¡¯re not here to investigate yourpany,¡± Xiaotao folded her arms. ¡°We¡¯d like to ask you about someone¨CHuang Xusheng!"


    Without a second thought, the manager answered, "He¡¯s borrowed money from me."


    In truth, I didn¡¯t expect our interview to go so well. The manager exined Huang Xusheng had borrowed arge sum of money to run a Tibetan Mastiff breeding site in Nanjiang City without much thought or nning. As a result, there was no market for these expensive dogs at all so the business failed miserably.


    With usury, the debt ended up snowballing as time passed. Eventually, Huang Xusheng was forced to sell his house, though the money was barely enough to return a small part of his debt. Every so often, thepany sent people to urge him to settle up, but the sneaky bastard managed to hide himself. It was like fighting gueri warfare.


    Huang Xusheng was single¡ªhis wife and children left him a long time ago. Afraid of getting into trouble, the guarantor who signed at the beginning also ran away. Hence, they were forced to ssh paint outside his apartment. However, Huang Xusheng seemed toe into a lot of moneytely, perhaps winning the lottery or something of the sort. All of a sudden, he brought arge sum of money and came to pay off his debts.


    "Looks like his money is dirty. If we knew that, we would never have epted it!" the manager assured us.


    "Please, it¡¯s no use pretending,¡± sneered Xiaotao. ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re really like?"


    Having obtained some answers, we left the moneylender. "Huang Xusheng must have used the money given to him by the four rich kids to pay off his debts,¡± I thought out loud. ¡°Perhaps the breedingpound has privately changed hands though it hasn¡¯t been officially registered."


    "Thepound is located in such a remote area. It would be easy to hide a crime,¡± snorted Xiaotao. ¡°They specifically purchased the property tomit murder! These rich kids really know how to mess around!"


    From Huang Xusheng¡¯s sudden disappearance, the murderers might have realized their exposure and told him to flee.


    The clues we had on hand required time and effort to follow up, but as the whole, the case was progressing smoothly. As long as we found a breakthrough in one of the clues, arresting these murderers would be inevitable.


    Xiaotao and Bingxin returned to the station while I visited the store. They promised to contact me if there were any new developments in the case.


    When I returned, I found a thick pharmaceutical encyclopedia to try and match the molecr form of the capsule found in the male victim¡¯s stomach. After three hours of continuous perusing, I finally identified it. As it turned out, the contents of the capsule weren¡¯t some sort of medicine but a health supplement called Rhodi Rosea extract.


    Few people consumed this health supplement so the victim either purchased it from a pharmacy or ordered it online.


    Since this might very well be a random murder, the victim¡¯s identity wasn¡¯t a vital clue so I nned to work on this alone. I searched for stores selling Rhodi Rosea Extract online, browsed thements and evaluations section, and jotted down each store located in Nanjiang City.


    Then, I sent the list with the victim¡¯s photo to Lao Yao on QQ, urging him to find information on the victim.

 Chapter 396

    <h4>Chapter 396</h4>


    After a short rest, I received a reply from Lao Yao, "Xiao Song-song, I found what you wanted. How are you going to thank me? Why not send a 520 red envelope!" He even included a smirking emoji at the end of the text.


    If he didn¡¯t try to take advantage of me, he wouldn¡¯t be Lao Yao. In retaliation, I sent him a red envelope of 500 yuan that required the password, "I am gay!" repeated three times.


    As I browsed the information, I immediately noticed the victim¡¯s ce of residence.


    I phoned Xiaotao, "Hey, I got Lao Yao to find the victim¡¯s address. I¡¯m going over to investigate right now."


    "Should I go as well?" asked Xiaotao.


    "If you¡¯re busy, I can go myself!"


    "No,¡± refuted XIaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll send someone to go with you."


    I waited at the store, assuming Xiaotao would send an officer over but it turned out to be Bingxin.


    Xiaotao sent a text message, teasing, "Is my sister very democratic?"


    My reply was a thank-you expression.


    Bingxin and I took a cab to the victim¡¯s apartment. When we arrived, I knocked on the door first to ensure no one was home, then checked the lock. Finding no traces of jimmying, I proceeded to pick the lock.


    Upon opening the door, we were greeted by a mess as if someone had forcibly entered the apartment. The shoe rack by the door suggested a man and a woman lived here¨Cit was the home of both our victims.


    Bingxin and I made use of the automatic shoe cover dispenser on the shoe rack, covering our shoes before entering the room.


    Pointing to the wall in the entryway, Bingxin said, "There are traces of some sprayed substance."


    As I nced at the wall, Bingxin pulled out a reagent to test the substance. Instead, I leaned in and sniffed, "It¡¯s ether mixed with ethanol. Come and stand in this position!"


    Bingxin was simr in height to the female victim and the spray marks matched the position of her face. The murderers must have stood at the door and sprayed ether at the female victim, sshing it on the wall.


    So the murderers broke in without warning. Looking down, I noticed a slipper that had been kicked underneath the shoe rack, with a clear footprint on the top. I immediately snapped a photo.


    The area where the female victim stood showed no traces that would suggest a fall. Obviously, when the victim fell unconscious, she was held by the murderers.


    The living room showed apparent signs of a tussle. There were ss fragments scattered on the floor, and arge coffee stain on the wall parallel to the door. In one cornery a broken mug.


    When the male victim noticed the break-in, he must have thrown the coffee mug in his hand which ended up hitting the wall.


    From the male victim¡¯s initial position, he was probably using theputer when a bunch of men suddenly broke into his home. I proceeded to theputer desk, where I noticed a bottle of Rhodi Rosea extract. Theputer was on standby, the red dot still shing.


    "The attack must have happened during the day,¡± spected Bingxin. ¡°Theputer was on and the lights in the apartment were turned off, indicating there was no artificial lighting being used at the time."


    Upon scanning the room, I disagreed, "No, it happened in the evening, just after work!"


    "Because of the bra on the couch?¡± Bingxin pointed out. ¡°The first thing any girl usually does uponing home is remove their bra."


    "That¡¯s just one of the reasons.¡± I observed, ¡°There¡¯s half a ss of water on the table, and the instructions on the bottle say the supplement is meant to be taken once in the morning and evening after meals. The heater in the bathroom is still on and the takeout boxes thrown in the trash can are evident of greasy food that¡¯s generally not consumed in the morning."


    "My goodness, your powers of observation are amazing!" Bingxin apuded.


    As my gaze circled around the apartment, I noticed indentations on the couch and the backrest that had fallen to the ground, suggesting two people had previouslyin here. Did the murderers rape the victim on the couch? My intuition told me no.


    The apartment building was rather tall with no other buildings of simr height around. Why did the murderers turn off all the lights but leave the other appliances alone?


    The answer to that was the presence of someone in the corridor at the time. Afraid of being discovered, the murderers turned off the lights in a hurry, pinned the victim to the couch and blocked their mouths. The female victimy on the couch while the male victim was pinned to the floor. The broken sses under the coffee table and the tablecloth thaty torn on the floor suggested the victim struggled hard.


    I was more concerned about how the murderers entered the victims¡¯ home.


    There were several guides to postgraduate study and leisure reading materials on the bookshelf that had rental receipts. From my observations, the victims were most likely from out of town¨Cthe woman here for education while the man here for work¨Ca loving couple who ended up being targeted by four animals!


    Bingxin moved a chair next to mine and sat down while I turned on theputer.


    The victim was still logged into QQ. Thest message sent was at seven in the evening when he texted a group of friends to gush about winning a prize.


    I switched to the web to see the victim¡¯s recent browser history. There was a forum that he often visited and thest post he sent was a photo of him and his girlfriend apanied by the words, "This is my lovely girlfriend who is still studying. Isn¡¯t she beautiful?" Below the post were dozens ofments praising the girl for her beauty and the original poster for his good fortune.


    "The murderers must have obtained information from here! Should we ask Lao Yao to investigate?" suggested Bingxin.


    I waved my hand, "Don¡¯t worry about that. Let¡¯s keep looking."


    I clicked on the victim¡¯s private messages on the forum. An ount called "Forum Lottery Center" had sent him a link. When I clicked on it, I was taken to a lottery turntable. Not surprisingly, every time I clicked on the turntable, I ¡°won¡± first prize. Anyone with a little programming skills could design such a simple trick.


    Hooked by the prize, the victim asked how he would receive the award and was told to leave his home address and contact information.


    My heart sank with a heavy sigh. The victim never expected to have a disaster knocking on his door instead! No one should ever disclose their full address and details to strangers without a good reason, especially if they were living alone.


    As I browsed through the forum, I realized the users were basically Nanjiang City locals. The post and photo sparked wicked intentions in the hearts of these strangers. So they made up an excuse to obtain the victims¡¯ address.


    Before leaving the apartment, I phoned Lao Yao and asked him to check the IP address of that ount.


    "Shall I call the technical team toe collect the evidence?" asked Bingxin.


    "Alright!" I nodded.


    As soon as we were downstairs, I went directly to the security room and instructed the security guard to bring up the surveince videos on the day of the crime. A ck SUV appeared and stayed in themunity for about half an hour before leaving.


    After copying the surveince video to my phone, I thanked the security guard.


    The subsequent investigation process was tedious and mundane. Lao Yao traced the IP address back to a fast-food restaurant. Since the murderers were surfing the Inte through wifi, we had no leads on their true identity.


    The tes on the SUV that entered themunity were found to be fake, which was verymon. Locating the vehicle seemed unlikely for the time being.


    The police searched all of Huang Xusheng¡¯s social connections but found no one matching the characteristics of the murderers and no clues in his contact information.


    Just when every clue seemed to hit a dead-end, the second murder urred...


    ng for I love you.

 Chapter 397

    <h4>Chapter 397</h4>


    Late at night, five days after the first murder, I received a call from Xiaotao. "Song Yang, these bastards havemitted another crime!" she said solemnly.


    I asked for the address and took a cab there alone. The crime scene was located in the urban area¨Cthe top floor of a newly capped high-rise building. It was discovered by an old security guard on his night patrol who almost got a heart attack.


    When I arrived at the scene, I was greeted by two bodies lying on the ground, a man and a woman. Upon seeing their faces, I couldn¡¯t resist a sharp intake of breath. The victims¡¯ faces had melted like hot wax, corroded beyond recognition!


    Not only their faces, but also their fingers suffered the same treatment so no fingerprints remained.


    "It doesn¡¯t look like sulfuric acid,¡± Xiaotao remarked. ¡°The corrosive effect is stronger than sulfuric acid, so even the deep muscles are melted."


    I picked up a cotton swab, swiping a little bit of the rotting flesh. After further examination, I wiped it on the thenar webspace of my own hand.


    Xiaotao yelled in horror, "What are you doing?!"


    "It has no response to living bodies, only to dead ones,¡± I said, showing Xiaotao my hand. ¡°This is actually a kind of bacteria that feeds on rotten flesh called corpse-dissolving bacteria. When they break down proteins in the flesh, they release heat, creating the effect of skin eroded by high temperatures!"


    "Don¡¯t test it on your own body!¡± chided Xiaotao. ¡°What if something goes wrong?"


    I did a double-take. Corpse-dissolving bacteria was a secret handed down from ancient times that was known to few. The corpse-dissolving powder often seen in martial arts novels was an exaggeration of it. So how did the murderers get their hands on it?


    The victims were left in a bizarre posture. Dressed in a blood-stained shirt, the male victim¡¯s legs were bent forward, resembling a sitting position.


    The female victimy with her legs slightly opened with clear ligature marks on her limbs and neck. Much like the previous victim, she was also violently raped, evident by the leaking blood and vaginal discharge.


    Because the victim¡¯s body was ovepping the other, I asked an officer to ce the male victim onto a tarpaulin before I began the autopsy.


    The male victim was about twenty-five years old and slightly overweight. The preliminary time of death was around twenty-four hours ago and the cause of death was very obvious, that is the striking injury on the temples on both sides, causing a skull fracture. Apart from the long, bloodycerations on the temples, both auricles were also torn. There were also obvious binding marks on his wrists and ankles. Before removing his clothes, I emptied his pockets but found nothing. So I proceeded to cut his garments and listened with the Echolocation Rod.


    The victim¡¯s internal organs were almostpletely intact, except for a puncture wound in the lungs. Using my hands, I felt the victim¡¯s ribs and found three of them broken. Upon listening carefully to the wounded area, I noticed no clotting in the lungs. There were no signs of hemoptysis in the victim¡¯s throat either.


    All of this indicated that the rib fracture and punctured lung were caused postmortem!


    When I moved the victim¡¯s wrist, I noticed they showed obvious strains due to being violently yanked and were dislocated at a 30-degree angle to the arm. For the moment, I remained uncertain as to the exact cause of the dislocation.


    There were no injuries on the victim¡¯s legs, but a clear indentation on the inner side of both thighs, which might have been left by a huge impact. Due to theck of vital reactions to the injury, I concluded it was caused after death.


    As I stood up and contemted, Xiaotao asked, "Do you know how he died?"


    "He was repeatedly beaten to death by a weapon resembling a baseball bat," I surmised.


    "What sadistic animals!" Xiaotao uttered through gritted teeth.


    "Get me a chair,¡± I instructed.


    I ced the Echolocation Rod on the victim¡¯s joints and listened carefully as I gently moved the limbs. A few minutester, an officer brought over a chair. A thought suddenly crossed my mind and I looked up at the ceiling. Confused by my actions, Xiaotao asked what I was looking at.


    "I need a shlight!" I said.


    Directing the light at the beam above, I focused on one spot. "A rope was tied there," I remarked.


    "Why can¡¯t I see anything?" Xiaotao furrowed her brows.


    I ced the chair directly under the beam and sat down with my hands behind my back, imitating the victim¡¯s position before death. "The victim was sitting on the chair with his hands tied behind his back and his feet tied up, but he couldn¡¯t sit properly," I analyzed.


    Then I stood up, lifted the chair and adjusted it at an angle. "The murderer threw a rope onto the beam, tied one end to the back of the chair, and tied the other around the victim¡¯s wrists,¡± I described. ¡°So the victim¡¯s body was tilted at a thirty-degree angle to the ground and suspended in midair!"


    Upon hearing my deductions, the officers all frowned.


    After adjusting the height of the chair, I continued, "ording to the location of the injury inflicted by the murderer, the victim was hung at this point."


    Leaving the chair in ce, I walked in a parallel line till I noticed a footprint under the beam. "At the time, two of the murderers were holding baseball bats and standing at both ends, pounding down on the victim¡¯s temples, letting him swing from one side to another as each murderer took their turn inflicting the torture...¡± I exined. ¡°They simply hung him up and brutally battered him! Roughly fourteen times until his skull fractured and he died! Then, the murderers untied the rope so the victim fell heavily on the ground, causing the indentation in his inner thighs and the broken ribs which punctured the lungs."


    "Cold-blooded beasts!" Xiaotao bit her lip.


    While everyone else condemned the murderers¡¯ cruelty, I didn¡¯t want to add fuel to the mes. "I¡¯ll continue with the autopsy," I said.


    This time, I didn¡¯t need the Autopsy Umbre because the victim wasn¡¯t actually beaten. Although I sprinkled a handful of seaweed ash on the body, I found no fingerprints left behind. Then, sniffing at the victim¡¯s corroded face, I confirmed no smell of sedatives.


    After a thorough search of the body, I finally discovered a needle hole on the side of the victim¡¯s waist. The puncture wound was infected and slightly inmed with red rashes on the surrounding areas of the skin. An earthworm-like bulge covered the blood vessels which indicated some sort of drug allergy.


    From my estimates, the time of injection was about thirty-six hours ago, though I had to test it to be certain.


    After taking some samples and cing them in an evidence bag, I walked over to examine the female victim.


    The female victim was about twenty-five years old with a slim figure. Her time of death was around the same time as the male victim. However, the cause of death wasn¡¯t immediately evident due to theck of any obvious trauma. She was naked with clear binding marks around her wrists and ankles. Strangely enough, the marks under her wrists were darker than the marks on the top, suggesting she was also suspended from the ceiling. The blood vessels around the binding marks were swollen, indicative of a prolonged period of hanging.


    Most notable were the ligature marks on her neck. From the shape of the indentations, it appeared as if the rope was tied into a knot that was wrapped so tightly around the skin it left a line of blood spots underneath the surface.


    "Was she strangled?" asked Xiaotao.


    I shook my head, "I¡¯m not sure yet!"


    Using the Echolocation Rod, I listened to the victim¡¯s internal organs. They were basically intact, though I noticed a slight abnormality in the heart. It seemed to have been in an excited state for a long period of time, yet there was little perspiration.


    There was no sign of blood clotting in the lungs but the hyoid bone was broken and the spine showed signs of overstretching and dislocation. When I opened the victim¡¯s mouth for further examination, I found no blood clots in the trachea, which proved the victim didn¡¯t die of suffocation. Hence, the dislocation of the spine and fracture of the throat bone was caused after death.


    Theck of severe bruising made me wonder why the male victim was tortured to death and rudely dropped to the ground but the female victim received gentler treatment.


    I certainly wouldn¡¯t believe these four animals were gentle with the female victim¡¯s body just because of her gender!

 Chapter 398

    <h4>Chapter 398</h4>


    I stared at the body in a daze when I felt Xiaotao nudge me, "I found some needle holes!"


    She pointed out several other needle holes on the victim¡¯s arm. Only one made it to the blood vessel while the others weren¡¯t in the right ce. The victim¡¯s skin was swollen and inmed. It seemed like these murderers weren¡¯t skilled in intravenous injections and it took a long time for them to get it right.


    "Could this be the cause of death?" asked Xiaotao.


    I nced at the victim¡¯s face reflexively. Unfortunately, her facial features were corroded and could provide no clues.


    Thus, I proceeded to listen carefully to the victim¡¯s chest for a few minutes, then raised her arm and observed the blood vessels. Finally, I came to the conclusion, "It was the cause of death indeed! The murderer injected arge amount of drugs into the victim¡¯s bloodstream, causing her to remain in a state of excessive excitement until her heart eventually stopped beating because it couldn¡¯t bear the burden. At the time, brain death hadn¡¯t yet urred and the victim still had a few minutes. If she were rescued then, she could¡¯ve survived. But of course the murderers wouldn¡¯t have cared about that."


    This time, Xiaotao didn¡¯t curse at the murderers but quietly muttered, "At least it wasn¡¯t a painful death!"


    There was no doubt that the victim also suffered from violent rape and again, the murderers left no semen behind. There were clear handprints on the inside of the victim¡¯s thighs which gave me a rough idea of the victim¡¯s position.


    As I moved the victim¡¯s joints, I listened with the Echolocation Rod. Then I stood up and shone the shlight at the beam above. "The victim was hung from this position!"


    "I still don¡¯t see anything...¡± Xiaotao said, ncing above her head. ¡°It¡¯s only two steps away from the male victim."


    "Yes, the two victims may be a couple,¡± I added. ¡°The murderers hung the woman here and forced the man to watch as they raped her! They most likely murdered her first before dealing with the man."


    Xiaotao shook her head andmented, "I can¡¯t fight the deep sense of guilt in my heart. It¡¯s all because I failed to catch the murderers that these two people died!"


    "It¡¯s not your fault,¡± Iforted. ¡°Thrill kills are the hardest to track."


    I continued to restore the crime. The female victim hung from all four limbs with her hands above her head and legs forcibly separated. The rope around her neck was tightly bound. If there was no one to support her body, the woman would¡¯ve been strangled to death.


    For entertainment and stimtion purposes, the four murderers injected arge amount of drugs into the victim¡¯s bloodstream. They might have originally nned for death by hanging, but the drugs ended up killing her.


    The four men took turns, holding the victim¡¯s legs apart as they brutally raped her. Meanwhile, the male victim was tied up in front, perhaps with his mouth covered so he could only scream desperately, watching his girlfriend being raped and humiliated...


    I walked to the window and scanned the open space. The officers in front of me seemed to slowly disappear and the four murderers appeared in the room, ready to carry out a thrill kill.


    Recalling every fragment in my mind, I endeavored to restore each of their characteristics. As I paced back and forth, I described, "The leader is nearly thirty years old, about 175 cm tall, thin, gloomy and unsmiling, and has absolute power in this murder gang. He may have been hurt emotionally, which exins his hatred for loving couples."


    "The second suspect is 180 cm tall, about twenty-five years old, has a big build, energetic, aggressive towards everyone else, and full of rage. He¡¯s the crazy one in the gang but alsocks intelligence."


    "The third suspect is about 170 cm tall, simr in age to the second suspect. He¡¯s cautious, always timid and puts forward opposing ideas, but worships the first two."


    "The fourth suspect is no taller than 170 cm and may be younger than twenty. He¡¯s rebellious, capricious, terrible atmunication, and seeks excitement."


    After a short pause, I added, "Themon characteristic of all four suspects is the fact that they aren¡¯t the eldest sons and have no status within the family! As second-generation rich kids, they have immense pride yet suffer from inferiority. They¡¯re poor at dealing with people, cage themselves off from the rest of the world and are empty inside. Only such an extreme method allows them to make up for their inferiorityplex and give them a sense of dominance and superiority over others."


    "In fact, I recently investigated the wealthy folk of Nanjiang City who match the age and characteristics,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°I discovered that there are quite a few second-generation rich kids."


    ¡°How many?" I asked.


    "A few hundred, but that¡¯s not including the illegitimate children and those studying abroad," replied Xiaotao.


    Right then, an officer came up to us and reported that he had found something. We walked to an inconspicuous corner piled with some burnt debris. A chair leg and some ss fragments were visible in the ashes.


    I leaned in, sniffing at the debris. The murderers used gasoline and started a fire so intense the smoke reached the ceiling.


    "The murderers actually thought of destroying the evidence! That doesn¡¯t make any sense!¡± I eximed.


    "Why not?" puzzled Xiaotao.


    Because it didn¡¯t align with the image I had of them in my mind. They were impulsive and acted without any regard for the consequences. Moreover, they were probably drugged and delirious when theymitted the crime. I didn¡¯t think they would be cautious enough to destroy the evidence.


    I rummaged through the ashes and found burnt condoms, alcohol bottles, parts of the chair, gloves, ropes and syringes. "Can the semen in the condoms still be tested for DNA?" asked Xiaotao.


    I shook my head, "I¡¯m afraid not. If you want to be extra careful, you can send it for testing."


    What concerned me most weren¡¯t the condoms, but the broken alcohol bottles. After searching for some time, I managed to find two fragments that could be put together. I repeatedly ran my eyes over the surface of the bottle and sniffed under my nose. It was pure whisky. I continued searching for all avable fragments of the broken bottles and spread them on the ground for observation.


    "What are you looking at?" Xiaotao wondered out loud.


    "These fragments arerge enough that they don¡¯t seem to have been broken by force. But they weren¡¯t broken by the heat of the fire either. Instead, it seems as if they fell naturally at a height of about two meters. And theynded bottom first, so the bottoms of the bottles were crushed."


    "Is there a mystery to these bottles?" Xiaotao queried.


    "Indeed there is!" I smiled cryptically.


    When we returned to where the bodies were, I crouched down, desperately sniffing the ground. Puzzled as to what I was looking for, Xiaotao suggested, "Get the technical team to help you find whatever it is!"


    Instead of answering, I continued sniffing, picking up a little dust in my nasal cavity which made me cough. Finally, I caught a whiff of alcohol in a spot not too far from the female victim¡¯s position¨Cnext to a pir.


    I stood up and looked at the beam above, pointed to one spot and analyzed, "The other end of the rope was attached here, and a man was standing here. Something happened which made him drop the bottle in his hand."


    "Perhaps he was drunk... or just too high!" Xiaotao shrugged.


    From this position, I turned to face the entrance. "No, someone came in at the time!"

 Chapter 399

    <h4>Chapter 399</h4>


    Xiaotao looked surprised. But instead of exining it to her in detail, I picked up the Autopsy Umbre and told her to turn on the ultraviolet light.


    Unfortunately, the entrance had been trodden on by the officers. The footprints ovepped,yer afteryer so the bottom ones were no longer visible.


    "Let¡¯s make an assumption,¡± I began. ¡°At the time, they were in the midst of the excitement when someone suddenly entered the room. The four suspects must have been frightened."


    "Wouldn¡¯t they have killed the man?" asked Xiaotao.


    ¡°They aren¡¯t as strong as you think,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°They might even be weak, especially since they were half-naked and in a mess during the rape. They must have been scared half to death when they realized they had a witness."


    "But this person didn¡¯t call the police,¡± Xiaotao pointed out. ¡°Did they bribe this person?"


    "No, he helped them!" I eximed.


    "Helped the murderers?" Xiaotao stared at me wide-eyed.


    There were several anomalies in the case. The female victim¡¯s body was gently taken down but the male victim was thrown to the ground. How could their behavior pattern disy such a contrast in a matter of minutes?


    The answer was¨Cit was another person¡¯s doing! The intruder was the one who ced the female victim down on the ground.


    I was uncertain what the intruder said to the murderers, but the four ended up believing him, leaving the intruder to deal with the scene. An experienced man, the intruder first destroyed the victims¡¯ faces, making it impossible for us to identify them. Then he burned all the items in the room and perhaps destroyed some other evidence.


    Xiaotao sighed, "How did it suddenly be soplicated? Why did the man help them?"


    I was struck by an idea¨Cthe stranger who appeared unannounced near the breedingpound!


    "By the way, did you find the man who was spying on us when we were on the hill opposite the breedingpound?"


    "As if we¡¯d be so lucky!¡±mented Xiaotao. ¡°When my men got there, they found nothing, not even footprints. They thought I might have been mistaken..."


    While I meditated in silence, Xiaotao interrupted, "Should we go back to the hill to take a look?"


    "Not for the time being,¡± I said with a wave of my hand. ¡°After all, this man hasn¡¯t killed anyone. He¡¯s not our focus. Perhaps he¡¯s one of the suspects¡¯ fathers, hence the ease in which he gained their trust. We will continue tracking the murderers."


    "Yes, we mustn¡¯t allow a third murder to happen!" vowed Xiaotao.


    "Are there any surveince cameras in this building?" I asked.


    "No, there¡¯s only one security guard,¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°He was hired by the construction team, mainly to guard against thieves who might steal building materials at night or the asional tramp who tries to sneak in."


    I proposed we head downstairs to have a look.


    The construction site was surrounded by a low wall and the security room was at the entrance. Xiaotao looked up and said, "Wouldn¡¯t it be easy to climb over this wall?"


    "No, they couldn¡¯t have climbed over the wall because they were with the victims! They must¡¯ve gone around the wall."


    However, we didn¡¯t find any gaps in the wall as we walked to the security room. The security guard was an old man. "Officer,¡± he greeted. ¡°Are you done with the investigation?"


    "Not yet,¡± I replied. ¡°I¡¯d like to inquire about your working hours."


    The security guard exined that he only started work at six every evening, got off at around eight in the morning and went for a patrol of the premises at midnight.


    Xiaotao asked, "With your age, isn¡¯t it hard staying up all night?"


    The security guard smiled bitterly, "I have no choice. I need to pay for my children¡¯s school tuition. In fact, the job is rtively easy, not as taxing as a neighborhood security guard."


    "Is there no construction going on today?" I queried.


    "It¡¯s a public holiday, so the workers have the day off. That¡¯s why I only found the body today."


    "Did you see any suspicious people enter the premisesst night?" I continued.


    ¡°If I did, wouldn¡¯t I have reported the case early in the morning?¡± emphasized the security guard. ¡°I monitored the entrance throughout the night. If someone dide in, there¡¯s no way I missed them."


    "Sir, it¡¯s not like we¡¯ll dock your pay for telling the truth.¡± I sternly pressed on, ¡°Were you sleepingst night?"


    The security guard shook his head in a panic, "N-no!"


    There was no need for me to use Cave Vision. The chair next to me said it all. "That¡¯s a sleeping bag!¡± I pointed. ¡°You sleep on the job every night, don¡¯t you? Anyway, there¡¯s no one around to check in on you. Am I right?"


    Much to his embarrassment, the security guard admitted to sleeping at night after closing the gates. After all, no one ever came to steal anything. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to stand the long, sleepless hours with his age.


    I asked him to lock the gates so I could have a look. After closing both the left and right sides of the gates, the security guard hung a long lock. After careful observation, I found no traces of the lock being picked. In fact, the suspects didn¡¯t have to unlock it at all.


    I turned the lock horizontally and pushed it to one end, managing to open a gap in the gates. The security guard watched in shock as I reminded, "Get a shorter lock! This sort of lock is ineffective. Wouldn¡¯t sleeping in the security room at night be just as dangerous as sleeping out on the streets?"


    The security guard nodded vehemently, "I won¡¯t sleep tonight. I promise I¡¯ll change the lock first thing in the morning!"


    I headed across the road and scanned the area. Curious, Xiaotao asked me what I was looking at.


    "I wonder, how did the murderers know about this ce?"


    "They checked out the ce beforehand?" spected Xiaotao.


    I shook my head, "Although these four men are worse than animals, their criminal skills are subpar. I don¡¯t think they even thought of doing this. This area must be part of their usual haunts."


    I turned around, only to see a massage and spa center at the end of the street. "They might have been here before. Let¡¯s speak to the staff!"


    When we arrived at the spa center, it was still business hours. shing her badge, Xiaotao asked to see the manager. The receptionist, a youngdy,ined as soon as she met us. "What¡¯s wrong with you police? It¡¯s been quite some time since you¡¯ve taken the manager away for questioning and now I can¡¯t even contact him."


    Xiaotao and I froze. "What?" puzzled Xiaotao.


    The receptionist exined that an officer came looking for their manager early in the morning to ask some questions. They even called two technicians over. The four of them left after speaking and never came back.


    "Have you called the Public Security Bureau?" asked Xiaotao.


    "No, don¡¯t you have to wait 48 hours to file a case?" argued the receptionist.


    "Are you afraid to call the police because of the shenanigans going on here?" Xiaotao quirked her brow.


    The receptionist desperately waved her hands. "God no! Absolutely not! We are a legitimate business."


    "What did the officer look like?" Xiaotao continued.


    It was a man with a beard who looked rather ordinary, though he was tall, probably 180 cm tall, and in his forties or fifties.


    "Does his right leg appearme when he¡¯s walking?" I interjected.


    "Yes!¡± the receptionist¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Do you know that man? Can you ask him to release our manager as soon as possible?"


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a meaningful look. This man had the audacity to impersonate a policeman and kidnap the manager!

 Chapter 400

    <h4>Chapter 400</h4>


    Without a doubt, the man who took the manager and the two technicians away was the stranger who spied on us near the dog breedingpound the other day.


    Xiaotao rapped her knuckles on the table, "We¡¯d like to ask you about something!"


    "Go ahead,¡± nodded the receptionist. ¡°But don¡¯t take anyone away this time."


    When we described the appearance of the four suspects, the receptionist had a vague impression of them, though she couldn¡¯t recall their names because of the sheer amount of clients she saw daily.


    I asked to see their technicians, but upon questioning, none of them admitted to ever seeing our suspects.


    I whispered to Xiaotao, ¡°The two technicians and the manager were the only ones who can lead us to the suspects, yet they¡¯ve been taken away by this mysterious man. He¡¯s cleaning up the murderers again!"


    Bereft of speech, Xiaotao bit her lower lip.


    Before we left, the receptionist inquired about the manager¡¯s whereabouts once again. Since we couldn¡¯t divulge the truth, we assured her we would look for him.


    After heading out of the spa center, Xiaotao solemnly acknowledged, "We underestimated this man. He may be the one who arranged the disappearance of the owner of the breedingpound, cutting off our lead. From the first case, he had begun cleaning after the murderers. What do you think is his motive?"


    My intuition told me this was an affluent man with possible connections to the organization. Wasn¡¯t the Jiangbei Daggers best at harboring criminals? But at this point, this was merely a conjecture, so I kept mum about it.


    On the way back to the station, we were both too upset by the turn of events to speak.


    The murderers left so many clues which led me to believe their arrest was close at hand. But out popped this mysterious man to intercept our investigations, thwarting our efforts to catch our suspects.


    "What about using the most brainless method, that is, investigating the rich kids of Nanjiang City one by one?" I suggested.


    "I¡¯m afraid that would prove very difficult,¡± admitted Xiaotao. ¡°Knowing the temper and arrogance of the rich, they won¡¯t cooperate with the investigation."


    I spent some time contemting any clues we might have missed when I was suddenly struck with an idea. "I got it!¡± I cried. ¡°Whatever he¡¯s covered up is exactly what he doesn¡¯t want us to know¨Cthe victims¡¯ identities! If we can determine that, we¡¯ll be able to move forward with our investigation."


    "Anything that can be tested has been sent to theb. What else are we supposed to do?¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°Unless we wait for the missing reports of each district, and that will take at least two days."


    "No, that¡¯s too long,¡± I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid there¡¯ll be more victims by then. Let¡¯s use the Thrice Steaming Bone Test and see if there are any clues we missed! Could you call Bingxin? If this doesn¡¯t work, we¡¯ll have to dissect the bodies."


    ¡°Let¡¯s pick her up now!"


    As soon as we were seated in the car, Xiaotao ordered an officer to send the bodies to the Necropsy Workshop while I called Bingxin. Her voice sounded muffled, as if she were speaking from under a nket. I could faintly hear Sun Tiger¡¯s thunderous snoring.


    "My dad is at home,¡± whispered Bingxin. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to go out.¡±


    "Nevermind then!" I said.


    "No, no! I¡¯ll try to sneak out."


    "Don¡¯t...¡±


    Bingxin hung up the call before I could finish speaking. Five minutester, she phoned back, "Hey, I made it out! Freedom finally! I¡¯ll wait for you downstairs of my apartment building!"


    "That silly little girl," chuckled Xiaotao.


    After picking up Bingxin, we headed back to the station. Upon seeing the bodies, Bingxin eximed in shock and asked about the case. I roughly summed it up, omitting the cruel details.


    All the tools I needed were already prepared in the Necropsy Workshop. I ced ayer of charcoal in the trench on the ground and ignited it, waiting for the mes to rise enough before pouring white vinegar onto the charcoal. The fumes had Bingxin choking and sneezing. With her help, I transferred the bodies into the trench and spread a straw mat.


    From the first test, I only found some wounds that had been previously ignored, though they were of little significance. For the second, I used alkaline water and discovered an old, horizontal wound on the side of the victim¡¯s ribs which appeared to have been caused by a de.


    "This part might have been operated on before!" I pointed out.


    "The wound is rather narrow which suggests it was an operation to remove a polyp or tumor.¡±


    Excited by the little progress we made, I continued to examine the female victim. Her nose bridge had been operated on so it seemed she had undergone rhinosty.


    Xiaotao snapped her fingers, "That¡¯s great! These two clues are enough for us to determine the victims¡¯ identities."


    "I didn¡¯t manage to help at all. Do you want to dissect the bodies?" asked Bingxin.


    "No, we¡¯ll take you home now!" I replied.


    Upon arriving home, Bingxin was forced to sneak back into her room. If Sun Tiger ever discovered she went out at night, what awaited her was a long dressing-down.


    Xiaotao temporarily halted all other investigations and focused all of the team¡¯s efforts on determining the victims¡¯ identities. The next day, she phoned to inform me of the police¡¯s discovery. By visiting major hospitals and cosmetic surgery clinics in Nanjiang City, they managed to zoom in on the victims.


    I hailed a cab and tore hell for leather to the scene where officers were still collecting evidence. A quick examination revealed that the murderers used the same trick asst, knocking out the victims with ether spray and then kidnapping them.


    The scene was neater than thest one. Through some of the victims¡¯ personal belongings, we learned of their identities. The man worked in a state-owned enterprise while the woman was a specialist at a cosmetics counter in the supermarket. They had been in a rtionship for a long time and were considering marriage.


    "The female victim worked at the Golden Age Department Store and came into contact with countless people every day,¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°Perhaps the murderers bumped into her there and followed her home?"


    ¡°Is there anything missing from the scene?" I queried.


    Xiaotao checked with the officers on scene who reported missing a cell phone.


    "The Golden Age Departmental Store is quite far from here and the victim has to switch buses midway. All four of the murderers are new at this. I doubt they would be able to track her all the way back. I think it¡¯s more likely they found her through the inte!"


    The murderers previously sent a fake lottery through the forum¨Ca safe, effective and concealed method of locating their prey. It was highly unlikely they would abandon such useful means. This time, perhaps they obtained the victims¡¯ address by sending a fake lottery to her cell phone.


    Through WeChat, anyone could check for people nearby and peep on their moments. They could find nearby people and also see the photos in their friends¡¯ circle. Perhaps it was via this channel the murderers found their prey!


    I asked for the victim¡¯s phone number and searched on WeChat. Numerous affectionate photos featuring the victim and her boyfriend popped up.


    "You¡¯re right," blurted Xiaotao.


    "The purpose of hiding their identities must be this. The murderers probably live nearby. Xiaotao, can you investigate the rich kids who live in the area?"


    After a moment¡¯s contemtion, Xiaotao said, "I¡¯ll have to go through my dad!"


    She called Mr. Huang who immediately asked why she hadn¡¯t brought her boyfriend home for dinner. Arching her eyebrows, she handed me the phone.


    "Uncle Huang, when we solve this case, I will definitely visit!¡± came my awkward reply.


    The old man said in surprise, "Are you working? Alright then, I won¡¯t bother you two. Be sure to drop by soon! Don¡¯t worry, I very much support free love between you young people."


    Xiaotao soon got down to business, asking the old man for a little favor, to which he agreed without the slightest hesitation.


    Moments is a function of the smartphone app WeChat which allows users to share and get ess to epted WeChat friends¡¯ information, creating an intimate and privatemunication circle within the users¡¯ choice of close friends.

 Chapter 401

    <h4>Chapter 401</h4>


    The scope of Mr. Huang¡¯s contacts was not to be underestimated. After making a few phone calls, he came back to us about the second-generation rich kids living in the area. But what did a second-generation rich kid really entail? The standards for that assessment were vague at best.


    Some people looked morous, drive luxury cars and live in beautiful vis, yet they might owe hundreds of millions in loans, unknown to the rest of the world. Based on Mr. Huang¡¯s own understanding, he listed the children of sessful businessmen.


    Upon obtaining the list, Xiaotao quickly retrieved their information through the household registration database. There were more than one hundred second-generation rich kids within five kilometers of the victims¡¯ home. After browsing through pages of information, we eliminated certain candidates based on age and height, and then removed the eldest sons who had sessful careers. Among the few remaining, there was a man named Zhao Dapeng who gave me a feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vu.


    My intuition told me this man was one of the murderers!


    "Don¡¯t worry about the rest,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s start by investigating this Zhao Dapeng!"


    "Should we speak to him first or drop by his home?" asked Xiaotao.


    Upon second thought, I suggested, "Let¡¯s meet his father first. It¡¯s best if we drop in by surprise."


    Zhao Dapeng¡¯s father was in catering and owned more than a dozen restaurants in Nanjiang City. His phone number was even listed on the Yellow Pages. Xiaotao called him via the bureau¡¯sndline, informing him of the police¡¯s intention to speak to him but the man outright refused, iming that he was on business abroad.


    Xiaotao sneered after hanging up the phone and used the cell phone this time. "Hello Uncle Zhao!" she greeted in a cloying tone.


    "Who is this?" The person on the other end sounded confused.


    "You may not remember me, I¡¯m Huang Xiaotao, Huang Yunhong¡¯s daughter,¡± she continued. ¡°I¡¯d like to speak to you if you have some time."


    "Wait a minute, I have a client with me right now. I¡¯ll call backter."


    "Neither identity worked?" I frowned.


    "Don¡¯t worry, just let the bullets fly!" winked Xiaotao.


    Five minutester, Mr. Zhao returned the call with great enthusiasm, "Ms. Huang, I¡¯m on the 16th floor of the Hilton Hotel. You¡¯re wee to drop by. Will your father being with you?"


    "He can¡¯t make it today,¡± answered Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ming with a friend."


    Xiaotao¡¯s use of words was very subtle, "Can¡¯t make it today," instead of, "Won¡¯te.¡± The subtext was Mr. Huang might visit another day, giving the man false hope.


    "Alright then, I¡¯ll be waiting for you!"ughed Mr. Zhao.


    Upon hanging up, Xiaotao proudly arched an eyebrow. "Do you know why he hung up earlier?"


    "He was checking if you¡¯re the real deal?" I spected.


    "Exactly! These sort of people are most afraid of encountering liars and cheats. After verifying my identity, his attitude did a 180!"


    As far as I knew, Mr. Huang had never dropped out of the top three wealthy men of Nanjiang City. You could say he was a business giant. For his daughter to visit in person was very ttering to Mr. Zhao, a small businessman engaged in catering.


    If the second-generation rich kids were divided into categories, Xiaotao was simply the creme of the crop! However, applying the phrase "wealthy, fair beauty" and "second-generation rich kid" would almost seem like nder. After all, her titles were earned based on her own efforts. In the eyes of people around her, she was "Officer Huang" or "Captain Huang,¡± not Huang Yunhong¡¯s daughter or a wealthy, fair beauty.


    We soon arrived at the Hilton Hotel to meet Mr. Zhao. Upon meeting Xiaotao, Mr. Zhao couldn¡¯t be more polite and silver-tongued. He didn¡¯t forget to send his regards to Mr. Huang whom he had never met.


    Xiaotao cut straight to the point and said, "I¡¯ll be honest with you, I¡¯m a policeman. We¡¯re here to ask you about your son."


    Mr. Zhao looked as if he had been pped in the face. He faltered, "Aren¡¯t you here to talk about cooperation?"


    "This is also a form of cooperation,¡± smiled Xiaotao. ¡°So please cooperate with our investigation."


    A trace of panic shed across his face. After taking a seat once more, he wiped away the sweat on his forehead with a paper towel. "Has my son caused trouble again..."


    "No, Uncle Zhao, don¡¯t worry. Young Master Zhao hasn¡¯t done anything disorderly. He¡¯s merely rted to one of our cases," came Xiaotao¡¯s cryptic reply.


    I wasughing inside, Sure, Zhao Dapeng didn¡¯t do anything disorderly. He directly vited the criminalw of the People¡¯s Republic of China!


    With Xiaotao¡¯s reassurance, Mr. Zhaoy everything bare as he spoke about Zhao Dapeng. When Zhao Dapeng was a child, Mr. Zhao and his wife got divorced. Dedicated to his work, he had no time to spare for his child. His only form ofpensation was a huge allowance.


    Zhao Dapeng¡¯s rtionship with his father was stiff from early on. He wouldn¡¯t even call him "Dad.¡± The most he couldst in a conversation with his father was three sentences before losing his temper.


    Even in adulthood, Zhao Dapeng spent all day fooling around with his friends. He was already in his twenties yet had no serious job. Apart from asking for money, father and son had little contact.


    "Have you met his friends?" I asked.


    Mr. Zhao shook his head, "Dapeng and I rarely meet, let alone his friends! I heard some rumors about those friends of his. Apparently, they often bring him to shady ces to have fun. s, who can understand the heart of a parent? He¡¯s got me so worried even my hair has turned white. But what can I do?"


    I couldn¡¯t resist scoffing at his feigned dolour. It was obvious he raised his son that way and was ying the martyr. None of the criminals I ever met had a normal, happy family.


    "Can we speak to him?" asked Xiaotao.


    "Yes, of course,¡± nodded Mr. Zhao. ¡°But I have to ask, are you really not here to arrest him? If he has done something wrong, I¡¯ll contact mywyer immediately to deal with it."


    "Look, I didn¡¯t bring my gun and handcuffs today,¡± said Xiaotao, opening her coat. ¡°It¡¯s a private visit. I didn¡¯te here to arrest him."


    Once again, I was fighting backughter. Xiaotao had hidden all her equipment behind her in the elevator. She had the makings of an Oscar winner.


    Mr. Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, "Alright then, I¡¯ll call him!"


    As soon as the call went through, father and son began yelling before even speaking three words. From the other end of the line came Zhao Dapeng¡¯s raised voice, "I won¡¯t see any important guests! I don¡¯t want to take over your stupid restaurant. Don¡¯t try to pull me into your business."


    "Whatever! It¡¯s up to you!¡± retorted Mr. Zhao. ¡°Come over right now. I¡¯ll pass you next month¡¯s allowance!"


    "Don¡¯t try to trick me so I¡¯ll go over. Just transfer it into my ount. God knows what the hell you¡¯re thinking, you old fart!"


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a look of consternation. It seemed we were dealing with a stubborn and obstreperous young man.


    "You little fucker!¡± Mr. Zhao swore into the phone, fuming with anger. ¡°If you don¡¯te right now, I¡¯ll freeze your credit card. Do whatever you want then!" Upon hanging up, his expression hastily shifted. Turning to Xiaotao and me, he said, "My apologies, I¡¯ve embarrassed myself!"


    While waiting, we had a few cups of tea as Xiaotao chatted with Mr. Zhao about business matters. Although she wasn¡¯t actually involved in business, regr exposure to it gave her unique insights in this respect. Mr. Zhao nodded as he listened to her speak, repeatedly expressing his desire to cooperate with the Huang family if the opportunity ever arose.


    After waiting for an hour, the doors opened heavily and a tall, sturdy young man appeared before us, wearing a pair of ripped jeans and a T-shirt that screamed rebellious. From that first nce, I was certain he was the one we were looking for!

 Chapter 402

    <h4>Chapter 402</h4>


    Zhao Dapeng coldly swept his gaze across the room, not bothering to even say hello.


    Turning to Mr. Zhao, he threatened, "You old fogey, don¡¯t you dare freeze my credit card!"


    This young man wasn¡¯t just rude, he hadn¡¯t even received basic fostering!


    Mr. Zhao shouted, "Dapeng, sit down! We need to talk to you!"


    "Fuck that! You can sit if you want to!¡± dismissed Zhao Dapeng. ¡°You said all I have to do is show up, so here I am. Give me money. I still have something to doter."


    Mr. Zhao mmed the table and roared, "What is it that¡¯s so important?! Aren¡¯t you just fooling around with those friends of yours?"


    "You¡¯re not allowed to insult my friends!" yelled Zhao Dapeng, tit-for-tat.


    Their father-son rtionship had be so strained they had no way ofmunicating besides yelling. Xiaotao pulled down her shirt, deliberately revealing her cleavage. "Dapeng, I¡¯d like to ask you about something," smiled Xiaotao.


    The fierce, aggressive Zhao Dapeng suddenly crumbled like a kitten. Face red as a ripe tomato, he nced away, too afraid to look at Xiaotao as he asked falteringly, "Who are you?"


    Although he was from a wealthy family, Zhao Dapeng was perhaps more inept than Dali at dealing with girls, especially confident, morous ones like Xiaotao... In fact, Dali¡¯s emotional intelligence would leave him in the dust.


    Xiaotao coaxed, "Dapeng, sit down. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll exin it all to you."


    "I¡¯ll only stay for a while. I really do have something and the car is still parked downstairs!" Zhao Dapeng sat beside Xiaotao.


    Xiaotao turned to me, "Song Yang, pour us a ss of water!" She blinked repeatedly.


    Aware of her implication, I stood up, pretending to serve water while I locked the door.


    As soon as I was seated once more, Xiaotao resumed her normal manner of speaking. Throwing her badge on the table, she said, "Look carefully, Young Master Zhao. We are the police. I¡¯ll be honest, it wasn¡¯t easy to meet with you."


    Zhao Dapeng¡¯s pupils suddenly contracted, his Adam¡¯s apple rolling up and down his throat and his hands subconsciously clenched the sofa cushion. "A-are you looking for me?" he feignedposure.


    "Where were you on the evening of July 12th?" Xiaotao demanded.


    Mr. Zhao was taken aback. "Ms. Huang, didn¡¯t you say it wasn¡¯t anything serious?"


    "Please don¡¯t interrupt, Mr. Zhao. We suspect your son is rted to a brutal criminal case!"


    With widened eyes, Mr. Zhao covered his chest. Instead, Xiaotao raised two fingers, baiting Zhao Dapeng as she sneered, "Actually, it¡¯s two cases. Am I right?"


    Under Xiaotao¡¯s intimidation, a veil of acknowledgement swept across Zhao Dapeng¡¯s face. Even the mostmon criminals I came into contact with had better mental resilience than this guy. His reaction basically confirmed his guilt, though I had no sympathy for the frightened boy at the thought of what he had done.


    In a venomous outburst, Zhao Dapeng yelled, "Who gave you the right to investigate me? Do you have a search warrant?"


    "Yes,e up with a search warrant!" echoed Mr. Zhao.


    "And who was it who taught you to do this?" I sneered.


    The little courage that Zhao Dapeng had mustered up immediately deted like a balloon. "N-no!" he insisted.


    "Answer the question,¡± huffed Xiaotao. ¡°What were you doing and who were you with on the evening of July 12th and July 15th?"


    "I don¡¯t know!" cried Zhao Dapeng.


    "Do you really think there¡¯s any use in lying at this point?" Xiaotao grabbed her handcuffs from the back and mmed them on the table.


    "I... I really don¡¯t know," shivered Zhao Dapeng.


    "Have you lost your memory? Or would like me to remind you what you were doing the night beforest?" Xiaotao continued.


    "I-I was drinking..." answered Zhao Dapeng.


    "Where? With whom? At what time?"


    Xiaotao¡¯s eyes pinned Zhao Dapeng to the sofa like fiery hot nails, leaving thetter in a panicky mess. I noticed the muscles in his shoulder twitch as if he were about to flip the table and flee for his life. Right then, I activated the Eyes of Yama. With a scream, Zhao Dapeng struggled to bury his face, overturning the sofa with his violent movements.


    As soon as I turned off the Eyes of Yama, my eyes descended into a sheet of darkness. I quickly grabbed the milk I had prepared in advance and gulped down the entire bottle. "Arrest him first!" I said, waving my hand.


    Our purpose ofing here was to take Zhao Dapeng away, even if it meant overstepping our authority. We had to rein in one of the four murderers first so the other three would be too afraid to act.


    At the sight of those handcuffs, Mr. Zhao immediately stood up and blocked his son with his own body. "You have no right to arrest my son!¡± he spluttered. ¡°What crime did hemit? Murder? Arson? I¡¯ll call thewyer now. "


    "You canin to my superiors. Do whatever you want but I must take him away!" asserted Xiaotao.


    "This is illegal!" Mr. Zhao red at us with eyes as big as saucers.


    "If you knew what your son did, you¡¯d think nothing of shooting him on the spot!" snorted Xiaotao.


    Mr. Zhao stared at Xiaotao in a daze for some time before bursting into tears and embracing Zhao Dapeng. "Dapeng, what stupid things have you done? Why can¡¯t you behave?" he cried. ¡°Why do you want to be friends with those people? I know you¡¯ve always been a good boy. It¡¯s those friends of yours who¡¯ve led you astray... "


    Right then, Zhao Dapeng jumped up, pulled out a butterfly knife, and pressed it against Mr. Zhao¡¯s neck, the expression on his face turning grim and malevolent. "If you take another step, I¡¯ll kill him!"


    "Zhao Dapeng, are you even human for saying that?" Xiaotao wrinkled her brow.


    Unexpectedly, Mr. Zhao continued to help his boy. "G-go now," he stuttered. ¡°Or I¡¯ll die and that¡¯s on you!"


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a triumphant smile. To begin with, we had no legal grounds to arrest Zhao Dapeng but now that was delivered right to the door. "I¡¯ve run out of milk," I sighed.


    "I¡¯ll go downstairs and buy more for you!" assured Xiaotao.


    I stared at Zhao Dapeng and asked, "Where are your three friends?"


    "What friends?¡± argued Zhao Dapeng. ¡°I did it all alone."


    "So, you admit to it?" I quipped.


    Zhao Dapeng¡¯s eyes widened in shock, "You fucking wish! What have I done? Stop trying to trick me¨C Ahhh!"


    As I activated the Eyes of Yama once more, Zhao Dapeng dropped the butterfly knife and held his head while screaming.


    Xiaotao quickly walked over and handcuffed the wailing man. Zhao pointed at me, trembling, "Th-that man¡¯s eyes are terrifying! He¡¯s not human!"


    I thought to myself, You¡¯re not human either!


    When Zhao Dapeng was taken away, Mr. Zhao caught up to us and begged, "Officers, what just happened was voluntary participation on my behalf. It has nothing to do with my son. He¡¯s my only son. Please, I beg you, let him go."


    "It¡¯s the parent¡¯s fault for not educating the child!¡± I sighed. ¡°You should reflect on yourself!"


    Zhao Dapeng¡¯s age, figure and character were basically in line with my deductions. Using the most foolhardy guy on the team was the best approach to breaking through the case.


    Wracked with pain from the side effects of the Eyes of Yama, I rushed to the nearest convenience store like a drug addict when the cravings hit. As soon as I paid for the milk, I drank the entire bottle and got into the car.


    Xiaotao asked curiously, "Why are you so into milktely?"


    Catching one of the murderers put me in a good mood so I joked, "My body must still be growing!"


    Xiaotao gently nudged me as a wicked smile rose to her lips. "You¡¯re not growing. You just need more protein."

 Chapter 403

    <h4>Chapter 403</h4>


    When we escorted Zhao Dapeng back to the police station, the officers were surprised. Xiaotao ordered one of them to carry out the paperwork for judicial custody, including two charges of carrying controlled weapons and attempted assault with a deadly weapon.


    In the eyes of thew, hostage-taking fell under the crime of illegal restraint. Since Mr. Zhao wouldn¡¯t sue, the officers didn¡¯t bother adding that to Zhao Dapeng¡¯s charges. Xiaotao sent two experienced officers to interrogate our suspect.


    During the entire interrogation, Xiaotao and I both watched outside as we sipped on coffee. Although Zhao Dapeng was a coward, his lips were sealed and refused to admit any involvement in the murder. The guy might be foolish but even he knew that confessing now would be the end of the road for him!


    One of the interrogating officers made an excuse to leave the room. ¡°Captain Huang, this man isn¡¯t easy to deal with,¡± he said. ¡°We have no evidence in hand. We¡¯re at an impasse. This boy refuses to talk."


    After using the Eyes of Yama twice today, my head was still a little dizzy. I figured activating it once more would only be detrimental to my health so I suggested, "Why don¡¯t we search his residence?"


    "Alright,¡± concurred Xiaotao. ¡°You guys stay with Zhao Dapeng. Song Yang and I will look for evidence."


    As soon as we left the room, I noticed a man in a suit and tie walking towards us with a briefcase in hand so I quickly pulled Xiaotao along.


    "What¡¯s the matter?" she asked.


    "Do you see that man?¡± I smiled. ¡°It must be thewyer Mr. Zhao hired. Let¡¯s not bump into him."


    Despite having the initiative, we were actually passive in terms of thew. Once thewyer intervenes, we would lose whatever advantage we had. As Director-General Cheng once said, solving a case is sometimes like fighting a war, and discreetly ying a few tricks was required for victory.


    "You¡¯re getting more and more cunning!¡±ughed Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll turn off my cell phone so we won¡¯t be disturbed."


    We headed to the address Zhao Dapeng had registered. It was a high-end residential area and the apartment purchased by Zhao Dapeng was on the top floor¨Ca duplex.


    I unlocked the door with my tools and entered the apartment. The furniture and furnishings were of superior quality but the apartment was in a mess. Most noticeably, a pink panty was thrown on the couch. The smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke pervaded the room, choking Xiaotao. I walked over to open the window and air the room.


    Covering her nose, Xiaotao frowned, "I can¡¯t stand people who live like vermin!"


    "Were you about to say that such people should be arrested and executed?" I chimed in.


    "It¡¯s a waste to kill them. We should throw them into remote rural areas and make them work hard. Let them experience the vicissitudes of life!"


    We wore rubber gloves and rummaged through the boxes, beginning our search though we found no clue. When I turned on hisputer, QQ was automatically logged into his ount. In one of the group chats, there were chat records of Zhao Dapeng and several people. Cross-checking the dates on the night of the two murders showed the group had discussed going out to have fun. I needed Lao Yao¡¯s assistance to look for more information. Upon further contemtion, I turned off theputer and removed the CPU. In fact, my actions could be interpreted as theft.


    Xiaotao merely coughed and turned away, "I didn¡¯t see anything!"


    I continued exploring the apartment, looking for clues we might have missed. "That¡¯s strange!" I cried.


    "What is it?" asked Xiaotao.


    "Don¡¯t you notice something unusual?"


    Xiaotao scanned the room and shook her head.


    "There¡¯s an open bottle of alcohol on the table, but the cups were washed clean and ced in the cupboard,¡± I analyzed. ¡°Empty snack packets are everywhere on the ground but the ashtray is very clean. The shelves are full of dust but the doorknobs, tables and chairs are spotless."


    "Someone came here and removed all fingerprints and DNA?" Xiaotao gasped in shock.


    "Yes and this man is a master criminal. He¡¯s cleaned up so well that we wouldn¡¯t have noticed anything if we didn¡¯t look carefully. But the more he tries to hide, the more conspicuous the truth bes. All signs point to the fact that Zhao Dapeng and his three friends stayed in this apartment."


    Lost in thought, Xiaotao frowned. "We have another clue!" she eximed, arching her brow.


    She picked up the panties on the couch, "A girl visited them. We can look for clues from this."


    Seeing how meticulous our opponent was, I couldn¡¯t muster up any enthusiasm. How could he have missed such an important clue? However, I decided against bursting Xiaotao¡¯s bubble so I said, "Let¡¯s give it a go!"


    Xiaotao turned her phone back on, ready to make a call when she noticed several missed calls. Upon returning them, she asked what happened. The officer on the line reported thewyer¡¯s intention to get Zhao Dapeng released on bail. Since they couldn¡¯t get through, the procedures were yet to bepleted.


    "No bail!" asserted Xiaotao.


    "But Captain Huang, thewyer is rather tough. He keeps threatening to report you!" argued the officer.


    "If anything happens, it¡¯ll be on me. Just don¡¯t let Zhao Dapeng go. Do you think it¡¯ll be easy to get him again?" fumed Xiaotao.


    I motioned for Xiaotao to keep quiet while I dialed Song Xingchen¡¯s number. When the call connected, I went straight to the point, ¡°Song Xingchen, is your arm any better?"


    "Thank you for your concern. I¡¯ve removed the splinter. What is yourmand?" came his cold reply.


    "How good are you at tracking someone?" I asked.


    "Not too bad!"


    His voice came from the phone and behind me at the same time. Song Xingchen walked soundlessly into the room like a ghost. It turned out he was always nearby though I failed to notice his presence.


    "Didn¡¯t I tell you to rest?" I grinned, hanging up the call.


    "Where I go is my choice," he retorted.


    Since he was already here, there was no point in finding fault. "This case is a little troublesome. The suspect has his guard up so well he hasn¡¯t revealed any clues. Now, hiswyer is trying to bail him out. I want you to follow him."


    "My first priority is..."


    I interrupted, "Wouldn¡¯t I be safe if you¡¯re monitoring the murderer?"


    Song Xingchen seemed to agree with me so he stopped arguing.


    I told Song Xingchen to wait in the vicinity of the station and proceeded to describe Zhao Dapeng¡¯s physical characteristics, not forgetting to remind him to pay attention to his safety and defend himself in the case of extraordinary circumstances. "Don¡¯t worry, he won¡¯t be able to tell I¡¯m there!" Sing Xingchen¡¯s impassive reply showed no trace of human emotion.


    I nced meaningfully at Xiaotao, to which she called the station and ordered, "Dy thewyer for as long as you can. I¡¯ll handle the bail procedures when I get back!"


    Downstairs of the building, we went our separate ways. I headed to Lao Yao¡¯s dormitory to investigate the suspect while Xiaotao and Song Xingchen returned to the station. Before releasing Zhao Dapeng on bail, I had to return his CPU or he might use that against us.


    I prayed silently in my heart, hoping for Song Xingchen¡¯s sess and for some results from the CPU on my end.


    I returned to campus in a cab. At the school gates, I grabbed my invalid student ID and showed it to the security guard, exining I was here to visit a professor to handle some matters after my recent graduation. Fortunately, the guard let me in.


    Returning to the campus again filled my heart with emotion. The incident involving Deng Chao seemed like a lifetime ago but I could almost still see the blood and bodies on the ground. Deng Chao paid his dues; he was executedst month. I was told he was screaming my name even on the verge of death.


    Soon, I arrived at Lao Yao¡¯s dormitory. I was surprised to find the door locked since it was usually open. Just as I was about to knock on the door, I heard Lao Yao gasping inside. I thought to myself, Fuck, did Ie at a bad time?

 Chapter 404

    <h4>Chapter 404</h4>


    I had to send the CPU back before dark so I really didn¡¯t have any time to waste. Thus, I went ahead and knocked on the door several times.


    Unexpectedly, Lao Yao opened the door. Upon noticing me, he quirked his eyebrows and said, "Xiao Song-song, what brings you here?"


    With how neatly dressed he was, it seemed he wasn¡¯t doing anything strange. It turned out to be a misunderstanding on my part. "What were you doing in there?" I casually dropped the question.


    "ying games. I¡¯ve taken a job working as a tester for a gamepany," he replied.


    I couldn¡¯t help thinking this wasn¡¯t at all in line with his character. Would he actually find a job with zero technical content just to earn money?


    Upon entering his dormitory room, I saw VR equipment on the desk and a CD box with a muscr man in the most suggestive posture on the cover. I instantly understood what sort of game it was.


    "Xiao Song-song, would you like to experience the feeling of being pinned down by a hunk?" he asked.


    I quickly waved my hand, "No, thank you! I¡¯m in a hurry so please look at this for me."


    Lao Yao grabbed the CPU from my hand and stared. "Holy shit!" he eximed.


    Assuming Lao Yao had found something, I was about to ask when he ced the CPU on the desk and took the cab apart. "Hey, don¡¯t open it!" I immediately stopped his actions.


    Looking as if he had discovered a great treasure, Lao Yao gushed, "This thing is awesome! The motherboard, hard disk, CPU and graphics card are all top-notch. ying games on this would be so satisfying!"


    "Is it very expensive?"


    "You would need at least a hundred grand!"


    Lao Yao plugged into the power and connected the monitor to start probing. He took one nce at the system and said, "This was started yesterday."


    My heart sank. Perhaps we can¡¯t find any clues.


    Theputer was almost empty with only some movies andndscape pictures, making the conversation preserved on QQ seem rather suspicious.


    "Can chat records be forged?" I asked.


    "Yes!" Lao Yao exined, "All you have to do is change the time. Even entry-level hackers know how to do that."


    "Could you check to see what was deleted from theputer?" I furrowed my brows.


    After fiddling with the keyboard for some time, Lao Yao shook his head, "It¡¯s empty. This machine was only recently equipped."


    "He was ahead of us again!" I ranted through gritted teeth.


    I thanked Lao Yao and took the CPU back to Zhao Dapeng¡¯s apartment. When I exited the apartment building, I phoned Xiaotao to give her the green light.


    Right then, I noticed three young men standing at the gates of themunity. The oldest one was nearly thirty years old, dressed in a white T-shirt and white jeans. He had one hand in his trouser pocket while he listlessly yed with his cell phone. The second guy had a rather unconventional style¨Cdyed hair and metal rings on his lips, he wore a pair of baggy jeans. The entire get-up lent him the appearance of a little hedgehog that no one could approach. The other guy wore sses and looked rather refined, though his bodynguage suggested insecurity as he continuously looked around.


    Although I had never seen them before, they gave me a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. My intuition told me that these were Zhao Dapeng¡¯s three partners in crime!


    Rushing up for questioning would only startle them so I hid behind the flower bed and snapped a few photos with my cell phone. The oldest one answered a phone call, briefly exchanging a few words before turning to the other two and leaving together.


    I called Xiaotao to inform her about my unexpected discovery. "Did Zhao Dapeng just leave the station?" I queried.


    "Yes, he left ten minutes ago!"


    It seemed that the call the young man answered was from Zhao Dapeng. "Check his phone records and see who hest spoke to," I instructed.


    "Alright, it¡¯s gettingte. Go back to the store first. I¡¯ll text you if I find anything," said Xiaotao.


    In the evening, I received a text message from Xiaotao. Apparently, Zhao Dapeng hadn¡¯t made any calls at the time. In fact, there weren¡¯t any noteworthy calls throughout this entire month which suggested he had two SIM cards.


    The case suddenly reached a stalemate. The clues we could follow up on included some physical evidence found at the scene, as well as the panties, though neither clue yielded anything.


    Song Xingchen continued to report Zhao Dapeng¡¯s movements daily. This man was vignt and hardly contacted anyone since leaving the station.


    But on the bright side, Xiaotao and my actions made the suspects nervous so there were no new murders for the time being. The calm in Nanjiang City during this period of time only proved that the four of them were the perpetrators of the heinous crime.


    A few dayster, Song Xingchen called in the afternoon and said, "There¡¯s a situation. The target has juste into contact with a middle-aged man."


    "Are you sure?" I was excited by the news.


    Zhao Dapeng had entered a fast food restaurant and sat at a table diagonal to a middle-aged man. Although there seemed to be no contact between them, their covert moves couldn¡¯t evade Song Xingchen¡¯s observant eyes. Zhao Dapeng spoke while chewing on his food; a prudent way of meeting indeed!


    Song Xingchen also sent me a photo. But because it was taken through the window, the photo wasn¡¯t very clear. I forwarded it to Xiaotao and asked if she could restore it by technical means.


    After waiting anxiously for an afternoon, Xiaotao called, brimming with excitement. "Song Yang, do you know who that man is?"


    "Oh enough with the suspense! Just tell me!" I urged.


    Xiaotao chuckled, "We managed to restore the photo using technical software. I sent an officer down to the spa center and the receptionist confirmed this is the man who impersonated the police and kidnapped the witnesses."


    "So this man has been secretly helping the murderers!"


    "That¡¯s right!" The happiness in Xiaotao¡¯s voice couldn¡¯t be concealed.


    After further contemtion, I asked, "Can we take any action?"


    "The crime of impersonating a policeman is enough for us to bring him in. Ask Song Xingchen for the address and we¡¯ll arrest this man first."


    A while after I told Xiaotao to contact Song Xingchen directly, she arrived outside the store. "Get in!" she waved.


    We tore hell for leather to the location Song Xingchenst saw Zhao Dapeng. It was an old residential building where the two men had entered together.


    As the three of us headed upstairs, Song Xingchen and I observed the footprints of the ground with Cave Vision. Finally, we stopped in front of a locked door. After knocking several times, no one answered so I took out my pick locking tools.


    Upon opening the door, choking tobo fumesing from the bedroom assaulted our noses.


    The sight that greeted us was thoroughly shocking! The four second-generation rich kids were lying in bed and on the floor with two women and a striking bag of what seemed to be drugs sat on the nightstand next to them.


    With a cigarette between his lips, Zhao Dapeng sat by the bed, high. He seemed slow to respond at the sight of us. "Who let you in?"


    He tried to stand up, but failed, almost falling to the ground.


    The oldest one among themy in bed, arms wrapped around a woman. "Get out of here, you son of a bitch,¡± he drawled. ¡°Do you know who I am?"


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a look of surprise. What the hell was going on? Did we win the lottery? Surprisingly, the four criminals fell into our hands without much effort!

 Chapter 405

    <h4>Chapter 405</h4>


    Right then, Song Xingchen suddenly ran out without saying so much as a word. I followed him out the door and asked, "Where are you going?"


    "It¡¯s a trick!" Song Xingchen pointed to the footprints on the stairs and said, "When we first entered the house, the middle-aged man had already left."


    Listening to the sound of a car engine starting below, I knew it impossible to chase him.


    But I didn¡¯t understand what the point of losing the pawn to keep the rook was? The man¡¯s motive was clearly to protect the four young masters so this wasn¡¯t losing the pawn to keep the rook but the other way around.


    Could there be some sort of conspiracy?


    When I returned to the t, Xiaotao was reprimanding the men and women, ordering them to obediently squat down by the bed. Having smoked quite a few and already on a high, their movements were rather clumsy. The oldest one was still putting on airs, "You fucking bitch, do you know who my dad is? If I tell you his name, you¡¯ll be so scared you¡¯ll piss yourself!"


    ¡°Go ahead then,¡± Xiaotao spread her hands.


    "Listen up! My dad is the richest man in Nanjiang City!" he said, holding his head up high.


    "So you must be my long lost brother who¡¯s been gone for many years?" scoffed Xiaotao.


    The boy pointed his thumb at his nose, "Don¡¯t try to worm your way into my family. My dad is Qin Guozhu. You can ask around on the streets. Who in Nanjiang City doesn¡¯t know him?"


    I was familiar with the name; he was a famous entrepreneur. "Is he the richest man in Nanjiang?" I whispered to Xiaotao.


    "He used to be,¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°But the richest man in the past three years has been an entrepreneur named Huang."


    "Oh,¡± I chuckled. ¡°How I wish I knew his daughter."


    Soon, reinforcements arrived and handcuffed the men and women, escorting them away. We followed the police cars back to the station and registered our detainees. The oldest one was named Qin Aonan, son of Qin Guozhu, an entrepreneur in the petrochemical industry. The one wearing sses was called Hong Chao and his father had started an automotive repair chain. The third one was our old acquaintance, Zhao Dapeng. And the youngest of the group was Bai Xiaowei, son of a bank president.


    The two women weredies who worked in a nightclub.


    WIth thebined wealth of the four men¡¯s fathers, they could probably buy half of Nanjiang City. They were out-and-out second-generation rich kids! Since their surnames were Qin, Hong, Zhao and Bai respectively, the police nicknamed them ¡°The Four Rights and Wrongs.¡±


    Taking drugs wasn¡¯t a crime but it was a justifiable reason to arrest them. The four young men showedpletely different attitudes upon entering the interrogation room. Qin Aonan was unreasonable and threatened to deal with us. Hong Chao trembled, iming the drugs were brought by the others and he had never touched them before. Meanwhile, Zhao Dapeng remained silent, though he repeatedly kicked the table and overturned several cups. Bai Xiaowei merely stared at his interrogators with stony eyes.


    Xiaotao and I stood outside the interrogation room to observe them. However, the absurdity of their arrest indicated it must be some sort of trick.


    The four young men refused to admit to the crimes. With no evidence and no breakthroughs, we were once again at a stalemate. By 7 in the evening, Bingxin came running, holding ab report in her hand. "Song Yang-gege, I¡¯ve made a discovery!" she eximed.


    "What is it?"


    Bingxin had taken the cups used by the four suspects for testing. One of them was a perfect match to the DNA found in the breedingpound, and the man was Qin Aonan.


    Of course, Bingxin aplished this on her own. It was under Xiaotao¡¯s secret orders.


    "Why didn¡¯t you tell me?" I turned to Xiaotao.


    "Then there wouldn¡¯t be any suspense!¡± she chuckled. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go out, have a celebratory dinner ande backter to interrogate Qin Aonan. Let¡¯s see what he has to say."


    As the three of us were leaving the station, we suddenly heard a noise in the corridor. Several officers stopped an old man who was shouting, "I want to see my daughter! Let me in!"


    The man was about sixty years old, tough-looking, with cold, sharp features like a knife, and two white eyebrows that extended upwards without a curve.


    When Xiaotao asked what happened, the old man imed to be the father of the female victim from the second case. Because we hadn¡¯t yet confirmed her identity at the time, the police posted a notice on the Inte which the old man came across. He immediately hurried down to the station but refused to cooperate when the officers told him to register.


    "What¡¯s your name!" asked Xiaotao.


    "I am Wang Xuebing. My daughter Wang Lulu is the girl in the news. She¡¯s only twenty-four years old this year. She just started working! How could this..." The old man trailed off, his eyes turning red as tears streamed down his wrinkled face.


    Xiaotao invited the old man down to the morgue with us. Fortunately, the body hadn¡¯t been dissected so he could say goodbye to his daughter.


    Upon seeing the corpse, the old man¡¯s emotions burst out like a dam, sobbing as his eyes traced his daughter¡¯s every feature. We tried consoling the old man but our words had little effect.


    After exiting the morgue, the old man turned to Xiaotao, "Officer, can you tell me which animal killed my daughter?"


    "Don¡¯t be impulsive,¡± advised Xiaotao. ¡°We¡¯re trying our best to solve the case. We will definitely redress your daughter¡¯s grievance."


    "I don¡¯t want to hear this! Tell me who it is!" demanded the old man.


    Xiaotao bowed her head helplessly, "I¡¯m sorry, the details of the case cannot be disclosed!"


    The old man began to remove his coat. Just as I wondered what he was up to, I noticed the old green military uniform underneath with medals on his chest. "I am a veteran from the Third Regiment of the Dagger Battalion of the Yunnan Military Region. I once participated in the attack against Vietnam and charged to the frontlines. I shed blood, sweat and tears fighting with my life for this country! Lulu is my only rtive. I watched her grow up. She is everything to me! Officer, put yourself in my shoes. If this unfortunate thing happened to you, would you like to hear such perfunctory words?"


    Xiaotao sighed and held the old man¡¯s hand, "I understand how you feel but..."


    "Old man, don¡¯t worry,¡± interrupted Bingxin. ¡°In fact, we have caught the murderers and are currently interrogating them.¡±


    Xiaotao red at Bingxin as the old man added, "Can I see them?"


    The old man insisted on seeing the murderers, even kneeling down to beg us. Xiaotao tried desperately to persuade him and only managed to deter him with the crime of obstructing justice. From her standpoint, this wasn¡¯t something she could be partial about.


    After the old man left, Xiaotao immediately blew up and shouted at Bingxin, "Miss Sun, the Public Security Bureau isn¡¯t some ce youe to y house! How can you casually disclose such important information to an outsider? What if he does something extreme and causes serious consequences? Would you be able to bear the responsibility?"


    "I just find the old man really pitiful," argued Bingxin.


    "Do you even think of yourself as a personnel of thew? Justice and sympathy mustn¡¯t be confused. Go home and write me a self-evaluation tonight. If you make this mistake again, then leave the criminal police team! Go back to theboratory and dissect your monkeys!"


    With that, Xiaotao strode angrily, leaving a weeping Bingxin behind. In truth, I wasn¡¯t sure what to say either. I patted her on the shoulder andforted her, "Don¡¯t be sad. Who among us hasn¡¯t made a mistake?"


    Bingxin sobbed even louder, holding onto my shoulder as tears slid down her cheeks. I patted her gently on the back to soothe her.


    At the door, Xiaotao suddenly turned around and said, her voice carrying a hint of gentleness, "What are you still doing? Let¡¯s go get dinner. We still have work to do!"


    Bingxin wiped her tears, "I won¡¯t eat tonight. I think I deserve some punishment!"


    "How can you skip your meals? Why don¡¯t you switch to a different punishment? You can buy us dinner," I suggested.


    "Then I¡¯ll treat you to a good meal to express my apologies," sniffled Bingxin.


    "Don¡¯t worry,¡± smiled Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to go all out for dinner and vent some of that frustration!"


    A Chinese metaphor meaning to give up something less important to keep something of priority.


    ÇàºìÔí°× (q¨©ng h¨®ng z¨¤o b¨¢i) is a homonym of their surnamesbined which means the rights and wrongs of a matter.

 Chapter 406

    <h4>Chapter 406</h4>


    After dinner, we rushed back to the station. It was already past eight o¡¯clock. Left in the interrogation room, Qin Aonan wasn¡¯t given any food. Cursing, he lost his temper, "Fucking cops! Let me go or I¡¯ll make your lives miserable!"


    I went in with Xiaotao holding a takeaway box in my hand. At the sight of food, Qin Aonan hungrily gulped. "If you confess, you will have food. But if you don¡¯t, you¡¯ll continue to go hungry," I threatened.


    "Confess? Fuck you!" yelled Qin Aonan. "I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. I confess to taking drugs but that¡¯s about it. Don¡¯t try to pin some other crime onto me!"


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a knowing look. Taking out her cell phone, she pulled up a photo of the owner of the breedingpound. "Do you know this man?" she asked.


    Qin Aonan¡¯s pupil contracted, "I don¡¯t know who this is."


    "You don¡¯t know him, but he certainly knows you. Did you settle his debts for him?" questioned Xiaotao.


    "Do I look like I¡¯ve nothing better to do?" he snorted.


    "On the evening of July 12th, a brutal murder urred in Nanjiang City,¡± I began. ¡°We found this breedingpound and the owner is the man in the photo. Thispound has been confirmed to be a crime scene."


    When I mentioned crime scene, I was alluding to the kidnapping and rape, which would have more of an effect.


    "We found your DNA at the crime scene. How do you exin this?" I added.


    "That¡¯s impossible!¡± he eximed in shock. ¡°It¡¯s another one of your tricks!"


    Xiaotao mmed the table, sending the teacups bouncing. "Qin Aonan, you bettere clean. Your DNA has been found at the scene and the evidence is conclusive. Unless you have a twin brother, I think you need to exin yourself!"


    Qin Aonan lowered his head, his eyes shifting as he endeavored to fabricate a lie. "I know the person in the photo," he calmly answered.


    "Oh, so now you¡¯re changing your story?" sneered Xiaotao.


    "I just recalled him. I only went there to purchase a Tibetan Mastiff,¡± he continued. ¡°I might have had food poisoning at that time so I took a shit. But that doesn¡¯t mean anything."


    "Oh, what a coincidence!" quipped Xiaotao.


    "It¡¯s up to you to believe it or not. Anyway, it¡¯s a fact," Qin Aonan looked away.


    "I didn¡¯t mention anything about finding your DNA in feces. How can you be so sure?" I retorted.


    A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead as he rolled his eyes at me.


    "Tell me, what did you and your little friends do on the evening of July 12th?" I asked.


    "The usual¨Cwe were drinking."


    His statement matched Zhao Dapeng¡¯s to a T, apparently having arranged their confessions in private. There was confidence in Qin Aonan¡¯s eyes. He knew that we had no conclusive evidence since the DNA found in the dog¡¯s intestines was only indirect at best and not enough to convict him.


    Opening the recording app on my cell phone, I prepared to use extreme measures. I took a deep breath and activated the Eyes of Yama. "Tell the truth!" I roared.


    With a scream, Qin Aonan leaned back, inertia making his chair move back a few inches. After torturing him for about thirty seconds, I disengaged and quickly opened a bottle of milk to drink.


    Appearing as if he had just finished a bout of strenuous exercise, Qin Aonan¡¯s chest vehemently heaved up and down as cold sweat covered his skin. "We were drinking at the Mars Bar that night," he said, trembling.


    "Can anyone prove it?"


    "The bartender and boss can prove it," answered Qin Aonan.


    "What did you drink?" I sped up my questions.


    "Cocktails!"


    "Which ones?"


    "I drank a Hiroshima, Four Eyes drank a Blue Lagoon, Lao Zhao had a bomb shot, and Xiao Bai had a peach cocktail..."


    "What did Zhao Dapeng drink again?" I fired away.


    He answered without a second thought, "Bomb shots!"


    "What did Bai Xiaowei have?"


    "Peach Cocktails!"


    "What time did you guys start and stop drinking?" I increased my speed of speaking, not wanting to give him time to make up any lies.


    "We started at 7:30 and ended at 11:00. Then we went home."


    "So you had one cocktail for more than three and a half hours?" I sneered.


    "We ordered whiskey and fruit tters afterwards. Xiaobai even vomited!" reported Qin Aonan.


    I secretly gritted my teeth at his answers. When he was speaking, I could clearly sense he was lying. Those words had obviously been prepared beforehand. Most people couldn¡¯t even remember what they had for breakfast two days ago. How was it possible they remembered the details of that night clearly after so many days?


    While I drowned in the feeling of helplessness, Xiaotao asked, "Why is the owner of the breedingpound missing?"


    "How should I know that? Maybe he¡¯s hiding from his debtors!" Qin Aonan seemed to think he passed and was more rxed than before.


    "Who taught you to say all this?" I growled.


    Qin Aonan spread his hands, "No one."


    "Who taught you to say it?!"


    "No one!"


    "Who taught you to say so?!!!¡± Upon striking the table, I activated the Eyes of Yama once more. Qin Aonan¡¯s screams filled the interrogation room. After torturing him for more than a minute, I felt a morbid sense of pleasure listening to his tormented screams.


    Right then, Xiaotao tugged my sleeve, "That¡¯s enough, Song Yang. He¡¯s about to go mad."


    Qin Aonan was shivering all over, his pants wet and a small pool of yellow liquid under his chair. I took the opportunity to gulp down my milk and asked, "What¡¯s his name?"


    "I don¡¯t know. He calls himself the Dog¨C"


    Realizing his indiscretion, Qin Aonan immediately shut up. His words reminded me of Kong Hui¡¯s confession. Staring into his eyes, I said, "The Dog Trainer?"


    His Adam¡¯s apple bobbed up and down, suggesting I was right.


    ording to Kong Hui, the Dog Trainer was a mid-level leader of the Jianbei Daggers in Nanjiang City and his only contact person. This man was extremely elusive and an expert at making people disappear. Until now, he had never been photographed or left any fingerprints and DNA.


    I never thought that the organization would send one of their superiors to help the four second-generation rich kids get away with crime. No wonder we were thwarted each time.


    At the thought of this, I suddenly had a bad feeling. I rapped my knuckles against the table several times, gesturing for Xiaotao to leave the room.


    By now, Qin Aonan was probably starving. As he reached for the takeaway box on the table, I noticed his actions and pushed it down onto the floor. Qin Aonan shed me an angry re but soon turned away, too afraid to look me in the eye again.


    As soon as we left the room, Xiaotao appeased, "Don¡¯t be so impulsive!¡±


    I shook my head, "The thought of what he did makes me sick. To be honest, I¡¯ve never hated a criminal so much."


    "It¡¯spletely understandable!" agreed Xiaotao.


    "Let me ask you something. When the four suspects were detained, did they mention anything about calling their families orwyers?"


    "No," replied Xiaotao.


    Sure enough, it was as I had expected. The arrest of the four suspects was much too coincidental. I frowned, "We were tricked! There¡¯s bound to be another murder tonight!"


    When Xiaotao asked what was going on, I sighed, "It¡¯s toote to exin. Call all the precincts and get the officers to go out on patrol, especially in inessible and uninhabited areas. If we¡¯re lucky, maybe we can stop it from happening."


    Xiaotao nodded, "I will inform them now!"

 Chapter 407

    <h4>Chapter 407</h4>


    While the officers from the various precincts patrolled around, we waited with bated breath in the station. Every time the phone rang, our hearts skipped a beat.


    At eleven in the evening, Xiaotao asked curiously, "Song Yang, how can you be sure that there will be a murder tonight? Aren¡¯t the four suspects in detention?"


    "It¡¯s precisely because they are detained!¡± My lips curled into a bitter smile. ¡°If a murder urred at this time, it¡¯s tantamount to dering that they aren¡¯t our suspects! Their arrest was peculiar to begin with. When I tried putting myself in the shoes of a man who wants to exonerate them, I realized that would be my next move."


    Right then, the ringing of the phone interrupted our conversation. A while after Xiaotao answered, she stood up and asked, "Where?"


    Upon hanging up, Xiaotao looked as if she had taken a bat to the head. "You were spot on. Under a bridge in Taoyuan District, two bodies have just been found!"


    "Let¡¯s go!" I sighed, a sense of powerlessness striking me hard.


    We rushed to the scene where the bodies were found. It was on the shoal where a concrete bridge crossed over the water surface. On the ground were two female corpses covered in bruises and blood. The police in the jurisdiction stood guarding the scene.


    Instead of walking over to where the corpses were, we began setting up lighting equipment. The technical team marked the footprints, bloodstains and left-behind objects with evidence markers and took photos of the evidence. At a nce, I recognized that the footprints on the scene were exactly the same as those found in the previous two murders.


    The man¡¯s skill of substituting one for another was perfect. He managed to pull a fast one on us all, getting the police to be witnesses in proving the four young masters¡¯ innocence!


    Putting on rubber gloves, I started the autopsy. The two female victims were about twenty-five years old, both wearing thin shirts with numerous bruises on their hands, feet and face. They both showed signs of sexual assault. One of the victimsy near the water, her long hair floating like grass, while the other was close to the bridge pier.


    The preliminary examination revealed that the time of death was four hours ago. Picking up the victim¡¯s palm, I inspected it. One of the victims had neatly trimmed nails painted in several different colors while the other victim¡¯s hands smelled of perfume with more than one type of scent. This suggested the victims were sales associates at a cosmetics counter. I also noticed binding marks that appeared to have been caused by a belt.


    Both wrists and ankles showed traces of being bound and it seemed the victims were held in captivity for a period of time. I would have to see the contents of their stomachs to determine exactly how long.


    After cutting the victims¡¯ clothes, I found a needle hole near the first victim¡¯s vicle and the second victim¡¯s waist. It seemed that the cause of death was the same as before. After being injected with an excessive amount of drugs, the victims were violently raped which led to sudden death.


    In order to confirm my spections, I listened to their internal organs with the Echolocation Rod and found a lot of liquid umted in the lungs of the victim lying by the water¡¯s edge.


    A closer look revealed pinch marks on her neck. It seemed the victim was rather resilient and didn¡¯t die immediately after being raped. The murderer then submerged her head into the water, forcing her to suffocate.


    "What did you find?" Xiaotao asked.


    "I¡¯ve made quite a few discoveries but these aren¡¯t important,¡± I sighed. ¡°The task at hand is to prove that the murder wasmitted by someone imitating the four young masters."


    I asked for a cotton swab and inserted it into the victim¡¯s vagina. When I pulled it out, it was stained with sticky fluid and blood that had not yet solidified. Upon sniffing it, I confirmed the murderer had used a condom. I examined the body once more and came to the conclusion, "These injuries obviously deviate from the usual style of the four young masters."


    "What¡¯s different?"


    "What is your initial impression of these two bodies?"


    "The bruises!" Xiaotao answered truthfully.


    "Yes,¡± I nodded. ¡°The injuries are rather uniform and the blows weren¡¯t that heavy. It¡¯s not so much as abusing the victims as it is to deliberately make them look like this. This time, the murderer was imitating on purpose."


    "There were also four perpetrators! Although they wore the exact same shoes as the four young masters, the depth of their footprints are slightly different, and one of them is a woman.¡±


    "A woman?" Xiaotao was shocked. "How can you tell if it¡¯s a man or a woman?"


    I opened the Autopsy Umbre and asked Xiaotao to turn on the ultraviolet light. Handprints appeared on the body, mainly on the legs and the hips. Although they were messy, it was easily recognizable that only three people raped the victims.


    Why didn¡¯t one of them partake in the rape? Either they couldn¡¯t or they didn¡¯t have that ability.


    As I turned the Autopsy Umbre, the wounds on the victim¡¯s body appeared in different colors. Of course, they weren¡¯t colorful, but there was a difference in shades. Surprised, Xiaotao blurted, "I didn¡¯t know your umbre could do that!"


    "The darker the color of the wound, the longer it¡¯s been there,¡± I exined. ¡°And the lighter it is, the shorter the age of the wound. It¡¯s clear that the injuries were left by four different types of weapons."


    Xiaotao nodded.


    I pointed to them and analyzed, "The wounds caused by three of the weapons are rtivelyrge, and only the wounds caused by thest weapon are rtively small. This suggests that the perpetrator eithercked strength or couldn¡¯t bring themselves to injure the victim. And here¡¯s an interesting detail¨Cthe perpetrator with the least strength didn¡¯t attack the victim in the face!"


    When I switched to examining the other corpse, my findings corroborated my conclusion from the first victim. One of the murderers refused to hurt the victims in the face. Thus, I deduced there was a woman among the murderers.


    They were ordered by the Dog Trainer to orchestrate a murder. Hence, theck of malice towards the victims. After all, it was only a job to them. And appearance, namely the face, was most important to women. Out ofpassion, the female perpetrator avoided injuring the victims¡¯ faces.


    Pleased with the current developments, Xiaotao smiled, "With this evidence, it¡¯ll be easy to prove it was the work of copycats."


    "These are just inferences based on indirect evidence,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°Can they stand up in court?"


    "Evidence with sufficient arguments can determine the direction of the case," answered Xiaotao.


    However, the suspects were four second-generation rich kids. They would certainly hire the bestwyers in the country to defend them. If we couldn¡¯t produce direct evidence, we would have to watch them go free.


    "Besides, I¡¯m only specting there¡¯s a woman among the four copycats. Perhaps he has issues in gender cognition or might just be an effeminate man!"


    I took a closer look, staring at an obvious handprint for some time and noticed an abnormality. Picking up the clothes I had just removed, I spread them on the tarpaulin and twirled the Autopsy Umbre. Very quickly, handprints appeared all over them.


    "Can your umbre show the Yang Energy Prints on cloth?" Xiaotao eximed.


    "Of course not. These aren¡¯t Yang Energy Prints but palm prints!"


    After putting away the Autopsy Umbre, I sprinkled a handful of seaweed ash onto a palm print. Gently blowing off the ash revealed an entire palm print. Though the palm lines were extremely clear, there were no fingerprints on any of the fingers.


    "What¡¯s going on?¡± Xiaotao wondered out loud. ¡°The murderer has no fingerprints!"

 Chapter 408

    <h4>Chapter 408</h4>


    I carefully studied the palm print, noting that the fingerprints were blurred. There were two possibilities¨Cthe first was to cover the fingerprint with 502 glue and the other was to corrode it with chemical agents. I required a sebum test to determine which it was.


    The rest were handed over to the technical team. Xiaotao passed me a tablet with photos of several sets of footprints the officers had just snapped. "The shoe size and print match those left by the four young masters."


    "Yes, it¡¯s almost impossible to tell their height and weight...¡± I said, ¡°But there are still some differences. After all, someone else¡¯s shoes don¡¯t fit as well.¡±


    I pointed to a set of footprints, "Look at this. The person wearing the shoes obviously has bigger feet, ttening the edges of the shoes... And here¡¯s another example. Whoever wore this pair of shoes has smaller feet so the shoes aren¡¯t lifted as much. The front of the footprint is heavy while the back is much lighter."


    ¡°However, these don¡¯t count as decisive evidence!" I sighed.


    To prove that this wasn¡¯t a copycat crime, we had to at least present DNA and fingerprints, but the murderers were very cautious, leaving neither behind.


    Xiaotao smiled bitterly, "Sometimes I think thew is too rigid. It¡¯s obvious we know who the murderers are. But there¡¯s nothing much we can do if we can¡¯t prove their guilt. I really wish I could go back to the station and just shoot them all."


    Right then, Xiaotao¡¯s phone rang. After a brief conversation with the caller, she turned to me and said, "Theirwyers are here and they¡¯re causing trouble in the station, insisting on taking the four young masters away!"


    "Assholes!¡± I cursed. ¡°What perfect timing!"


    The crime scene was left to the technical team to deal with while Xiaotao and I rushed back to the station. Four men in suit and tie were waiting in the corridor when we arrived. One of them stood up and arrogantly introduced himself, "We are now acting on the client¡¯s behalf. ording to China¡¯s criminalw, you uwfully detained our clients without notifying their families, which constitutes as a serious vition of thew. We reserve the right to file awsuit. Now we¡¯re here to take our clients away!"


    "I see, so you take their money and help them eliminate all disasters, eh?¡± Xiaotao mocked through gritted teeth. ¡°And no matter what kind of scum they are, as long as they can afford you, you¡¯ll stand up for them, am I right?"


    "Officer, may I remind you that your words are nder!" said one of thewyers, pointing at Xiaotao.


    I patted Xiaotao on the shoulder, motioning for not to be impulsive. In a fit of pique, she waved her hand, "Take your masters away and get the hell out of here!"


    Thewyer coldly red at Xiaotao and proceeded with the formalities. The current situation sat heavily on the heart. Compared to the criminals I had previously faced, the Dog Trainer was terribly meticulous. I endeavored to find any ws I might have missed. As long as onemitted a crime, it was impossible not to leave any evidence behind.


    A whileter, the four young viins were escorted by theirwyers. Qin Aonan walked up to me, his head cocked up and lips curled in a triumphant smile. "Officer, I¡¯ll be on my way. Let¡¯s have tea next time."


    Zhao Dapeng wolf-whistled at Xiaotao, "Hey beautiful, with your looks, why be a policeman? Come with us. I promise you¡¯ll earn more in one night than an entire year¡¯s worth of sry."


    Xiaotao¡¯s clenched fists were an indication of an oing venomous outburst. I quickly stopped her and stared straight into Qin Aonan¡¯s eyes. "Do you think the Dog Trainer can protect you for a lifetime?"


    Having experienced the lethality of my eyes, Qin Aonan took a step back in fear. "Hmph, that¡¯s none of your business!"


    My lips curled into a grim smile, "Have you ever seen a dam stop the flood?"


    "I don¡¯t understand what the hell you¡¯re talking about," he smiled calmly at hispanions. "This guy¡¯s gone cuckoo."


    Ignoring his attempts at mockery, I continued, "To stop the monstrous flood with a fragile dam... You stand here thinking your actions are foolproof. But let me tell you, as long as there¡¯s even a tiny crack in the dam of lies, that¡¯s it for all of you!"


    "You¡¯re so poor you can¡¯t even imagine the world of the rich,¡± sneered Qin Aonan. ¡°I have plenty of money. And with that, I can do whatever the hell I want!"


    Thewyer standing next to Qin Aonan coughed to remind him not to shoot his mouth off.


    Qin Aonan mmed into my shoulder and the four young masters walked away,ughing with their heads held high. Fuming with anger, Xiaotao pulled out her gun and shouted, "As an officer, I¡¯m supposed to watch the murderers get away with their crime? What¡¯s the point of my job then?"


    I held her hand and shook my head, gesturing for her not to be impulsive. "Song Yang, I can¡¯t just let it go!" she yelled, sounding as if she was on the verge of sobbing.


    "We haven¡¯t lost yet,¡± Iforted. ¡°He¡¯s just given us an important clue!"


    "What do you mean..." Xiaotao looked up in astonishment.


    "Hiring the Dog Trainer to help them will definitely cost a lot of money. We can check their recent expenses," I exined.


    Xiaotao¡¯s eyes brightened as if she had seen the light at the end of the dark tunnel.


    A suddenmotion sounded from outside. Qin Aonan yelled, "How dare you hit me! Where¡¯s the damn police?"


    When we arrived outside, the old soldier Wang Xuebing came out of nowhere, clutching Qin Aonan¡¯s cor with both hands. "Did you kill my daughter?¡± demanded Wang Xuebing. ¡°Was it you?!"


    The old man¡¯s hands were like pliers so even the other second-generation rich kids next to him couldn¡¯t pry his fingers open.


    Xiaotao walked up to them and urged, "Old man, calm down!"


    "How can you tell me to calm down?¡± retorted Wang Xuebing. ¡°You clearly said that the culprits have been arrested. Why were they let go? Did you take his money? I worked hard for this country at the frontlines of Laoshan, yet this is what I get in return."


    Qin Aonan¡¯swyer coldly interrupted, "This old fart is threatening my client¡¯s safety. Aren¡¯t you going to do anything?"


    "Please show some respect. He¡¯s a former soldier. Do you know why he¡¯s so angry?¡± quipped Xiaotao. ¡°That¡¯s because his daughter was brutally killed by these four animals!"


    Then, Xiaotao slowly read out the names of the four victims, "Please remember these four names. Their souls won¡¯t rest in peace until they get even with you!"


    With their guilty conscience, the four young masters looked rather flustered upon hearing the victims¡¯ names. Qin Aonan grinned widely, "I¡¯ve never heard of these four people at all."


    Smack!


    A loud pnded across Qin Aonan¡¯s face, his cheeks swelling like a balloon. Wang Xuebing¡¯s eyes seemed to breathe fire as he roared, "You killed my Lulu. I¡¯ll make you pay for it. Pay for it with your lives!"


    Thewyer snapped, "Officers, please arrest this man at once!"


    Xiaotao took out her handcuffs but I reached for them. "Let me be the viin!"


    As I handcuffed Wang Xuebing, I whispered, "I¡¯m sorry, old man."


    After receiving a p on the face, Qin Aonan wanted to retaliate with a kick but was stopped by hiswyer while I pulled Wang Xuebing away. Thewyer shook his head at him and turned to us, "This happened at the entrance of the Public Security Bureau. The responsibility falls on the police entirely. I will take legal measures so wait for the court summons!"


    With that, they strode off.


    Wang Xuebing squatted on the ground, burying his face in his hands as tears rolled down his cheeks. "Did my Lulu die for nothing? Is there no justice in this world?"


    In the face of such circumstances, Xiaotao and I felt our hearts sink with sadness.


    "Old man, I swear that we¡¯ve never received any bribes from the suspects,¡± assured Xiaotao. ¡°We only suffered a temporary defeat. But we will bring them to justice. Justice may bete but never be absent!"

 Chapter 409

    <h4>Chapter 409</h4>


    Early the next morning, I headed to the station to see Xiaotao. It turned out she had stayed up all night checking the bank ounts of the four young masters all the way till dawn beforeying her head on her desk for a short nap.


    I went out and got us coffee and breakfast. When I called out to her, Xiaotao lifted her head and rubbed her eyes sleepily, "Song Yang, you¡¯re here!"


    "Why work yourself so hard?" I sighed, feeling rather distressed for her.


    Xiaotao tore open the sandwich bag and took a bite, "The old man was crying for his daughter in the detention roomst night. How could I go home and sleep with a peace of mind? What happenedst night seemed to fuel the entire task force. We all agreed that the murderers cannot escape thew, otherwise we¡¯d be forsaking the badge we so proudly wear."


    ¡°Did you find anything?" I asked.


    Xiaotao made a quick phone call and an officer soon sent over a document. "Captain Huang, we¡¯ve checked their bank ounts, credit cards and insurance. Thergest expense they¡¯ve made is 200,000 yuan."


    "I don¡¯t think that¡¯s enough to pay for the Dog Trainer," I said, shaking my head.


    Xiaotao opened the file, ncing through before handing it over to me. The details of their recent ie and expenditures were included. The daily consumption of these second-generation rich kids was nothing short of incredible. The money was paid to a winepany; they spent 200,000 yuan just to buy a bottle of wine.


    The total expenses of these four young masters added up to more than two million yuan a week. However, the transactions were all separate and used for misceneous items. It seemed we hadn¡¯t found the clue we were searching for.


    A thought suddenly crossed my mind, "Did they call thewyers yesterday?"


    "No, thewyers came by themselves!"


    I chuckled, "We¡¯vepletely ignored something important. It wasn¡¯t the kids who hired the Dog Trainer to clean up after their mess. It¡¯s their rich daddies!"


    "Check the transactions made by the suspects¡¯ fathers," Xiaotao instructed the officer.


    Shortly after the officer left, there was amotion outside. Wang Yuanchao returned with four people in custody. Last night, Xiaotao ordered Wang Yuanchao to investigate thetest murder. He visited the residents nearby and managed to obtain the surveince videos in the area. The license te number of the murderers caught on camera led him to them.


    The four suspects were a muscr man in his forties, a skinny middle-aged man who wore sses, a sixty-year-old man, and an effeminate man with beautiful skin who resembled a model or makeup artist.


    I grabbed one of them by the hand and found all his fingerprints corroded by chemicals.


    "What do the four of you do?" I asked.


    They answered one after the other, reporting their upations¨Cchefs, teacher, retiree and advertisement model. What surprised me was how different they were from each other yetmitted a crime together.


    "How much did the Dog Trainer give you to do this?" I added.


    "I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying,¡± replied the effeminate man. ¡°Wemitted the murders and now you¡¯ve arrested us. We¡¯re guilty!"


    Xiaotao waved her hand, "Alright, take them away for interrogation."


    The four confessed to the crime which was undoubtedly arranged by the Dog Trainer. The man actually managed to find four people willing to take the me.


    During the interrogation, I watched outside the room. Xiaotao asked if I made any discoveries. "Their expressions are strange, very numb. When they confessed their crimes, it was as if they were talking about someone else,pletely ignoring the fact that they might lose their lives."


    "Were they hypnotized?" spected Xiaotao.


    I shook my head, "They are awake and conscious. It doesn¡¯t seem like hypnosis but perhaps voluntary sacrifice. I don¡¯t understand how the Dog Trainer managed to persuade them. Even if he gave them all the money in the world, what¡¯s the point if they lose their lives?"


    Xiaotao suddenly blurted, "Remember the guy from the human pig case?"


    The realization suddenly dawned upon me as I recalled the fake Kong Hui with the same look of numbness.


    "Where¡¯s that man now?" I asked.


    "At the time, he was arrested for obstructing justice. After all, he hadn¡¯t really killed people so he was soon released. However, ording to case files, this man has no fingerprints. We¡¯ve been unable to determine his true identity."


    "Dog Trainer..." I wondered out loud. "It seems that the ¡®dogs¡¯ he trained are the people who volunteer to die for the organization. This guy has amazing skills!"


    Although the case was concluded, we could hardly muster up any enthusiasm. At the end of the interrogation, I said, "Let¡¯s speak to them!"


    Xiaotao told the interrogators to switch with us. Then, we entered the room and sat in front of the effeminate man.


    "What else do you want?¡± he snapped. ¡°Haven¡¯t I already confessed to everything? You guys are so inefficient!"


    I fired three questions in a row, "What¡¯s your name? What do you do? Did you participate in all three murders?"


    This was a technique used in lie detection,bining irrelevant questions with important ones. The man answered them one by one with the same nk expression which seemed all the more bizarre. His eyes were dull as if he had no soul, and he rarely made eye contact with us.


    "Why sell your life to the Dog Trainer?" I stared fixedly into his eyes.


    "I don¡¯t know what you are talking about," the man smiled.


    Right then, Xiaotao took out a bottle of milk and ced it on the table. As I activated the Eyes of Yama, the man broke out in ear-splitting screams. When I finally looked away, his expression had undergone a dramatic change, his voiceced with panic. "Master, master! I will always be your most loyal dog, I will not betray you. Woof, woof... Woof, woof!"


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a meaningful look¨Cthe man was crazy. Just as I was about to go over to check the authenticity of his crazy act, Xiaotao stopped me. "Don¡¯t touch him. The monitor is still on. If something happens, we¡¯ll have one more thing to deal with."


    I rubbed my temples, helpless at the situation. Having used the Eyes of Yama so many times, I was well aware that it induced extreme fear in the intended party. However, the mind of a normal person was able to resist to a certain extent. This was the first time I had ever made a person go mad.


    Looking at the effeminate man behaving like a dog, I was suddenly struck by a thought. "He was brainwashed!" I eximed.


    "What?" Xiaotao was baffled.


    This was the Dog Trainer¡¯s unique skill. He imprisoned people and forced them to obey by various methods which were a form of training.


    The self was protected by a shell, better known as willpower, which varied from person to person. The trainer used different means to make the trainees obey, gradually shattering their willpower so theypletely lose their personality and be obedient ¡®dogs.¡¯


    The self could be shaped by behavior. Watson, the founder of behavioral therapy and an American psychologist, once said this: ¡°Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in. I¡¯ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to be any type of specialist I might select¡ªdoctor,wyer, artist, merchant-chief, and yes, even a beggar and a thief.¡±


    The Dog Trainer was undoubtedly a master at this. I finally understood why he kidnapped witnesses instead of killing them. He could turn anyone into his own dog!


    This was more horrifying than hypnosis. Once sessfully trained, these victims would lose their self-identity!

 Chapter 410

    <h4>Chapter 410</h4>


    Xiaotao covered her mouth and eximed, "Does such a terrible thing really exist?"


    I nodded, "Have you ever heard of Stockholm syndrome?"


    "I think I¡¯ve heard of it somewhere."


    In 1973, two criminals went to thergest bank in Stockholm and held four bankers hostage. After a stalemate with the police thatsted over a hundred hours, the criminals chose to turn themselves in.


    However, the four hostages pitied and sympathised with the two criminals, not only refusing to testify against them in court, but also actively raising defense funds for them. One of the female hostages was eventually engaged to one of the criminals while serving his sentence.


    This incident sparked a great uproar in the academic circles who named it the Stockholm Syndrome. Psychiatrists explored the reasons behind it and found that everyone had a mental switch that leaned towards favorable circumstances and away from pain and harm. Once the surrounding environment exceeded the threshold considered bearable, this mental switch would automatically turn on as soon as the perpetrator showed little gestures of goodwill, such as giving the victims a meal or a mouthful of water! Feelings of gratitude, dependence, and trust towards the perpetrators would sprout within the victims. Eventually, they would surrender and obey their perpetrators.


    This was a self-preservation mechanism in order to protect themselves. Anyone, even me, Xiaotao or Wang Yuanchao whose will was as strong as iron would copse and surrender in such an environment and under constant ¡®rewiring.¡¯


    MLM organizations and cults often used this method to brainwash people. They imprisoned them and forced them to do all sorts of things, repeatedly instilling facies in their heads. Over time, these people would be bound by invisible chains. Therefore, it wasn¡¯t surprising to see news of rescued MLM members who return on their own ord or perhaps create their own organization to harm others.


    "It is terrible!¡± cried Xiaotao. ¡°That¡¯s to say, the witnesses kidnapped by the Dog Trainers won¡¯t testify even if we manage to find them..."


    In fact, there was a simple solution¨Cfight fire with fire and rewire the victims¡¯ minds by means of torture and training! However, this was obviously illegal. If we ever reached the end of the road, I could resort to this under necessity.


    At the time, I never imagined both Xiaotao and I were hatching a bold yet illegal n.


    With the four scapegoats in detention, Xiaotao led the task force to continue tracking the expenditures of the real culprits¡¯ fathers. Before I left the station, she turned to me and said, "Don¡¯t worry. I will do everything in my power to arrest these criminals."


    "You should pay attention to your health as well. Make sure you rest and shut those eyes every once in a while. Don¡¯t push yourself too hard!¡± I urged. ¡°If you die now, I¡¯ll have to spend so much money buying flowers every year."


    Xiaotao burst intoughter, "I know! I¡¯d rather live to receive your flowers!"


    Thus, I returned to the store and briefly chatted with the cashier about my work. The store was operating well so Dali and I weren¡¯t required to do a lot of hands-on work. During this period, Dali stuck to Luo Youyou like glue.


    After my conversation with the cashier, I headed to the supermarket and bought a whole ck chicken and some herbs to prepare a nourishing soup for Huang Xiaotao.


    I chanced upon Dali whom I didn¡¯t expect to see home. The idiot was lying in bed holding a literary ssic. Feigning surprise, he said, "Hey, weren¡¯t you going to investigate the case today?"


    Scanning the apartment, I chuckled, "Luo Youyou, you cane out!"


    The closet door slowly opened and there stood Luo Youyou. "Song Yang, you¡¯re so observant!¡± she spat her tongue. ¡°How did you know I¡¯m here?"


    "Dali, the book in your hand upside down!¡± Iughed. ¡°Why the hell are you still pretending?"


    Embarrassed by the revtion, Dali made up some excuse about hanging out with Luo Youyou at home. I couldn¡¯t be bothered to expose their lies. Instead, I headed to the kitchen to start cooking soup. A novice at cooking, I decided to follow a recipe on Baidu and managed to churn out a decent pot of soup.


    Smelling the fragrance, Luo Youyou walked into the kitchen. "Song Yang, how thoughtful of you to make soup for your girlfriend. Dali has never even thought about doing that for me."


    "Dude, you¡¯re deliberately making me look bad, aren¡¯t you?!" frowned Dali.


    "Go away!¡± I waved my hand. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you two were home today."


    "Youyou, why don¡¯t we go shopping!" suggested Dali.


    Just as they were about to leave, I reminded, "Be careful out there! Don¡¯t walk around alone and buy a stun gun or pepper spray if you can."


    "Who have you offended this time?" asked Dali.


    I kept my worries to myself. In fact, I had a premonition the arrival of the Dog Trainer meant a tough battle ahead. The case of the four young masters was just the warm-up. I didn¡¯t want to involve the people around me. If something were to happen to them because of me, I couldn¡¯t live with myself.


    At four in the afternoon, I took my thermos and headed down to the station. Xiaotao had just concluded a meeting. Seeing the thermos filled with chicken soup in my hand, she smiled with, "Did you specially make this for me?"


    I scratched my head awkwardly, "I cooked too much soup and I thought you might like a taste."


    "Why won¡¯t you just admit it?¡± Xiaotao yfully poked my cheeks. ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re like. You order takeout every day!"


    She slipped into her office to taste the soup. When I asked how it was, she scooped some and fed me, "Try it yourself."


    Afraid someone would suddenly barge in, I nced around furtively and took a sip.


    "It needs more salt,¡± I remarked. ¡°I¡¯ll do better next time!"


    "I think the soup you personally cooked tastes better than any delicacy!" gushed Xiaotao.


    "I have some good news to share,¡± she continued. ¡°I have in my hands a clue that may be the key to bringing down the four young masters."


    "What is it?"


    "I won¡¯t tell you yet,¡± teased Xiaotao. ¡°You¡¯re always making me guess! So this time, I¡¯m taking a page out of your book!!"


    A few dayster, while the task force was still following up on the case, I would visit Xiaotao from time to time. Investigating their ounts was a tedious task, especially when it involved the rich. One man alone had several ounts and the payee had to be verified one by one. Therefore, it often took several months for the Anti-Corruption Bureau to investigate a corrupt official. In the course of the investigation, certain cases of bribery were unexpectedly discovered. In order not to alert the ones responsible, these details were kept under wraps for the time being.


    Early this morning, I received a call from Xiaotao. "Song Yang, we have a witness!" she shouted excitedly.


    I immediately rushed down to the station. Upon meeting Xiaotao, she handed me some files. "This is Qin Guozhu¡¯s expenditure over the past month." She pointed to several transactions, "All these were made out to an overseas tradingpany, totaling sixteen million yuan. But after verification, thispany doesn¡¯t exist."


    "Creating a fakepany and collecting money in the name of investment are indeed the usual methods of the organization. Sixteen million divided by four... So the original price to protect one of them is four million. The prices are clearly marked indeed.¡±


    The four young masters shared the same interests. If one person were caught, the others would be arrested as well. Qin Guozhu gritted his teeth and paid such arge sum to protect his son.


    "But the transactions alone aren¡¯t enough. When the timees, Qin Guozhu can say that he gave the money to his mistress or bribed someone which is why we also need a witness,¡± exined Xiaotao. ¡°Qin Guozhu¡¯s secretary has agreed to cooperate with us and testify against his boss for sheltering criminals, destroying evidence and murder-for-hire!"

 Chapter 411

    <h4>Chapter 411</h4>


    Xiaotao took me to meet the witness. Qin Guozhu¡¯s secretary was a tall, skinny man with broad shoulders and a slightly neurotic style.


    ording to him, Qin Guozhu met with a mysterious man in the early morning on July 13th and the evening on July 17th. He overheard their conversation about Qin Guozhu¡¯s son being a murderer. The other party imed to be a professional at cleaning up such messes. They settled for a price of four million yuan per person.


    During their second meeting, the man exined there were someplications. He nned to find the young masters a few scapegoats so the price would be doubled so Qin Guozhu was forced to pay another ten million. Thinking the man was simply greedy, Qin Guozhu lost his temper and only calmed down after the man muttered something to him. Qin Guozhu suddenly turned around.


    ¡°Do you have a recording?"


    The secretary smiled bitterly, "How could I? This whole thing is terrifying! If I recorded it and was discovered, the next one to die would be me!"


    I showed the secretary the photo taken by Song Xingchen and asked if this was the man Qin Guozhu met with. After studying the photo for some time, he admitted, "I can¡¯t tell. He wore a mask that day."


    I couldn¡¯t help but wonder out loud, "Will his testimony be epted in court?"


    ¡°The case is extremely brutal. I think the court will handle it with caution,¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°The indirect evidence we have and the witness testimony should be enough!"


    "Why are you willing to stand up and testify?¡± I turned to the secretary. ¡°Is it your conscience speaking?"


    The secretary nced at Xiaotao, his little careless act revealing much information. "Isn¡¯t it the duty of every citizen to report a crime?" he lied.


    "Thank you then!"


    Upon leaving, I lowered my voice and asked Xiaotao, "Did you pay him perjure?"


    Xiaotaoughed at the seriousness of my tone. "You¡¯ve got it all wrong. I did spend money, but it¡¯s definitely not perjury."


    In fact, Xiaotao had contacted her father and revealed information about the case. As amercialpetitor of Qin Guozhu, he secretly assisted his daughter through some of his contacts upon catching wind of an opportunity to bring hispetitor down. Finally, he bought off Qin Guozhu¡¯s secretary at a staggering price.


    "Money makes the world go round,¡± sneered Xiaotao. ¡°This is what Qin Aonan taught me. I¡¯m merely using his methods against him."


    "But if this matter gets out, you¡¯ll lose your job!" I argued.


    "Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures. If we continue like this and allow the scapegoats to go to court, the real murderers will be free and atrge."


    I nodded helplessly, "Don¡¯t worry, I have your back. I won¡¯t speak a word about this to anyone!"


    The rest of our investigation went very smoothly. Xiaotao applied for an arrest warrant and arrested the four young masters as well as Qin Guozhu. At the same time, she made a huge fuss and published details of the case to the public, building pressure from public opinion.


    Xiaotao had grown a lot since the time we first met. Although her methodsy in a grey area, her righteous, genuine heart remained the same which I very much admired.


    Amid the outcry of public opinion, the four young masters became public enemy number one. Their fathers¡¯panies were also implicated with stock prices diving, employees resigning and suppliers suspending partnerships.


    Netizens shared prayer and blessings for the six victims on Weibo with the post being forwarded by millions. The public expressed its meager form of justice with its actions!


    We were d to see that justice still existed in this world and the evil would eventually be punished.


    On August 15th, the case of the four young masters was officially tried. On that day, I attended the trial with Xiaotao. The prosecutor, an old ssmate of Director General Cheng, was well known for his unyielding integrity in the judicial circles. The battle of words in court was incredible; the prosecutors refuted thewyers¡¯ defense one by one.


    When the judge summoned the witness to appear in court, there was no movement for quite some time. Then, a bailiff whispered a few words into the judge¡¯s ear and a temporary adjournment was announced.


    The charged atmosphere was suddenly doused with a bucket of cold water as the spectators burst into a noisy discussion. We were still unaware of the situation even after Xiaotao made a few phone calls. A smirk rose to Qin Aonan¡¯s lips and my heart sank within me like a plummet of lead.


    Right then, Xiaotao received a phone call. After a brief conversation, she reported, "Song Yang, something¡¯s happened. One the journey to the court, the car carrying the witness was knocked over by a truck. The witness and several bailiffs died on the spot!"


    I couldn¡¯t believe my ears. "It¡¯s the Dog Trainer again!" I snapped.


    There was no point in visiting the scene of the ident now. Fiddling with the phone in her hand, Xiaotao cursed, "Damn it, we were so close!"


    Since the witness was unable to appear in court, the case was postponed indefinitely. The four young masters walked out of court arrogantly with Qin Guozhu. Facing a group of reporters who flocked around them, Qin Aonan showed his middle finger.


    From the side, Xiaotao watched helplessly, her fists clenched angrily.


    Right then, something flew out of the crowd, hitting Qin Guozhu on the face. It turned out to be a rotten egg.


    "You will receive retribution sooner orter!" shouted a man in the crowd.


    "Where the hell are the police?¡± barked Qin Guozhu. ¡°Isn¡¯t there any justice?"


    The outraged crows threw any items they had on hand at Qin Guozhu and the four young masters, forcing them to return to the court. At this moment, my attention was attracted by a burning bottle flying towards them.


    With a bang, the burning bottle exploded on the steps of the court, the me aggressively spreading so the crowd dodged away in fear.


    "You beasts! You murdered my daughter! I¡¯m going to kill you!" came a thunderous roar. Wang Xuebing charged out of the crowd, holding a military dagger in each hand as he strode across the mes, murder evident in his eyes. Before the rest of us could react, the daggers pierced Qin Guozhu¡¯s arm.


    Qin Guozhu screamed like a dying pig, clutching his bleeding arm. "Murderer!"


    Qin Guozhu was soon kicked away by Wang Xuebing whose goal was the four young masters. Xiaotao stood motionlessly on the side, watching the scene y out without the slightest intention to call for backup.


    "Call the police!¡± I urged. ¡°Are you just going to stand here and watch this happen at the doors of the court? What a great shame for the public security and judicial system this will be!"


    "They deserve it!" Xiaotao spat through gritted teeth.


    "Is it worth losing an old soldier for these scum?" I retorted.


    Sighing helplessly, Xiaotao called the SWAT team for reinforcements.


    In the face of this vengeful father, the four young masters hopped all over the ce like frightened chickens. The bailiffs ran out, hoping to stabilize the hostile man. But upon witnessing Wang Xuebing¡¯s ferocity, no one dared toe forward.


    Qin Aonan stumbled down the steps. Wang Xuebing seemed determined to kill him as he honed in on his target, military daggers shing with a dangerous glint. Qin Aonan screamed and ran towards the sidewalk.


    Noticing danger, pedestrians on the street ran away. Xiaotao and I immediately chased after them. As a veteran soldier who fought against Vietnam, Wang Xuebing was a fast runner. I ran out of breath very quickly. Meanwhile, Xiaotao pulled out her gun andmanded, "Drop the weapon!"


    The three of them disappeared into an alley, followed by the sound of gunfire. My heart sank with a sense of foreboding. When I reached the alley, I found Wang Xuebing lying on the ground, clutching his chest while gasping for air. Qin Aonan leaned against the wall, head drooping to one side. A dark bullet hole marked the spot between his eyebrows and the skin surrounding the hole charred ck.


    Xiaotao was holding the gun in her hand, the barrel still smoking.


    "Song Yang, I didn¡¯t kill him! You have to believe me!¡± she cried in a panic.


    My head was a mess but I feignedposure. ¡°Calm down. Tell me, did you identally hit him?"


    "No, I swear I fired into the sky but he suddenly copsed!" trembled Xiaotao.


    I felt as if I had taken a bat to the head. It was a well-designed trap. The dog trainer had dered war on us!


    I stared into Xiaotao¡¯s eyes and assured her, "I promise to clear your name!"

 Chapter 412

    <h4>Chapter 412</h4>


    After Xiaotao¡¯s arrest, Wang Xuebing and I were escorted to the bureau for questioning. The policeman who recorded my testimony was someone I was familiar with.


    "Song-ge, no one expected this to happen,¡± he smiled wryly. ¡°Please don¡¯t be offended!"


    "It¡¯s okay. Just y by the rules. I¡¯ll give you my full cooperation," I assured him.


    After I exined the situation in detail, the officer asked, "When you ran into the alley, you didn¡¯t see anyone other than Qin Aonan, Wang Xuebing, and Captain Huang?"


    "I didn¡¯t see anyone!" I stressed the word "see," a clever approach to implying there must have been a fifth person at the scene.


    "And Captain Huang¡¯s gun had just been fired?" he added.


    "Yes,¡± I nodded helplessly.


    "Well, thank you for your cooperation!" The officer closed his notebook.


    "About the case..." I anxiously inquired.


    "The case has now been taken over by Captain Xing and the Director Sun has specifically indicated that you¡¯re not allowed in the investigation," exined the officer.


    Disheartened, I asked to meet Xiaotao but was refused. Since I was an important witness and had a close personal rtionship with Xiaotao, I wasn¡¯t allowed to contact the suspect during this sensitive period.


    Not only me, but Bingxin and Wang Yuanchao weren¡¯t allowed to see her either.


    Hoping to meet with Sun Tiger, I walked to the director¡¯s office but was stopped at the door. It was Captain Xing whom I had once cooperated with before.


    "Song Yang, Director Sun isn¡¯t in the office now," he said.


    "Where did he go? Is he at the scene?" I asked.


    "I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t disclose this,¡± frowned Captain Xing. ¡°This case happened within the Public Security Bureau and the case of the four young masters is at the forefront. Haven¡¯t you seen the reaction on Weibo? Everyone¡¯s cheering. Since the situation is so, we have to appear even more impartial. So please avoid any suspicion!"


    "I know," I nodded.


    Captain Xing patted me on the shoulder, "Don¡¯t worry, I will definitely find the truth!"


    After saying goodbye to him, I called Sun Tiger and found his phone turned off. At the forensicboratory, another coroner reported that Bingxin was on leave and they couldn¡¯t get through to her.


    It seemed the entire station received a memo from Sun Tiger, ordering my exclusion from the case. Although I could understand their intentions, I was depressed at the thought of my helplessness.


    When I walked out of the bureau, a bunch of reporters were waiting outside. Seeing me exit the station, they came flocking around me and asked questions.


    "I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m not an officer,¡± I made up an excuse. ¡°I¡¯m just here on an errand." Fortunately, the reporters didn¡¯t know me so they let me go undisturbed.


    Back in the store, Luo Youyou was scrolling through Weibo. Since today marked the public trial of the four young masters, almost everyone around me was paying attention to the developments of the case.


    "Song Yang, the news on Weibo says that the four young masters were acquitted. And an officer was impulsive enough to kill one of them. Is it true?"


    I didn¡¯t know how to answer her question so I waved my hand, "Those are just rumors. That¡¯s not true at all!"


    Throughout the day, I sat in the store in a daze, heart heavy. I didn¡¯t get a wink of sleep at night. The thought of Xiaotao sitting in the cold detention room in handcuffs was a passing insomnia that wouldn¡¯t quit.


    Tossing and turning until four in the morning, I decided not to hesitate any longer. So I got dressed and headed to the crime scene.


    When I arrived at the doors of the court, dawn had just broken. There were no pedestrians on the streets. Arge scorch mark stained the ground where the burning bottle was thrown yesterday. I stood there trying to recall the scene.


    The court faced a main road. If this was premeditated, how was the murderer able to manipte Qin Aonan and Wang Xuebing¡¯s movements to ensure they headed to the alley where Xiaotao was framed?


    I paced back and forth on the sidewalk but I couldn¡¯t figure it out.


    Then, I went to the crime scene that had been cordoned off. Fortunately, there were no officers around at this time. Wrapping my shoes with shoe covers I had prepared in advance, I wore rubber gloves and quietly entered the alley.


    Qin Aonan had been shot at the end of the alley so that was where I began my investigation. There was a bay window on the second floor, probably part of the kitchen of a residential home. The window was broken and mended with a stic sheet which was covered in soot.


    Xiaotao¡¯s position at the time was close to the bay window. If anyone were to orchestrate a set-up, the bay window was the best point of attack! I was certain I heard the sound of one gunshot so the murderer must have used a silencer.


    But there was still something I couldn¡¯t wrap my head around, which were the rifling marks. Every gun had a unique rifling mark, equivalent to the fingerprint of a gun. Thus, any bullet could be easily traced to the gun it was fired from.


    Right now, I wasn¡¯t privy to the ballistic results. But an expert like the Dog Trainer would surely understand this so he must have had special means to fabricate such evidence.


    There weren¡¯t many clues at the scene so I decided to head to the second floor. If this was where the murderery in ambush, then the ce must be unupied!


    I walked around to themunity, stopping in front of the apartment. There, I pried the door open as quietly as possible, sessfully opening the door. To my great surprise, the house was inhabited. There were two people snoring soundly in the bedroom, and takeout boxes and fruits were on the table.


    My actions constituted breaking into someone else¡¯s home. After hesitating at the door for a moment, I grabbed my handkerchief, covered my face and closed the door behind me.


    Breaking and entering kept me on my toes. With every step I took, I made sure to make as little noise as humanly possible. If the owner of the apartment were to wake up, I would use the Eyes of Yama and flee the scene.


    I slowly tiptoed my way through the living room. When I passed the bedroom, I noticed a man and a woman in bed and wedding photos of them hanging on the wall.


    The darkness didn¡¯t affect me at all. From my observations, it did seem like the home of a couple who had lived here for some time. When I arrived at the kitchen, I approached the bay window overlooking the crime scene, examining the stic sheet and leaning in to sniff. There weren¡¯t any distinct odors.


    I checked the kitchen but came up empty. The soot on the stic sheet covered arge area. If I were to tear off a piece and rece it with a new one, the homeowners would notice the abnormality at a nce...


    Thus, I quietly left the apartment and decided to visit the third floor. The bay window on the third floor was also a suitable point of attack, though not as effective as the second floor.


    When I opened the door, an elderly voice sounded from the apartment, "Hui Zhen, you¡¯re back?"


    I remained motionless, afraid to move as my heart raced a mile a minute. The apartment was filled with old mahogany furniture, giving the impression that an old man lived here alone. The muffled voice I had just heard made me wonder if the man was awake or talking in his sleep.


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, I decided to proceed anyway. Scanning the bay window and the surrounding area, I found nothing special. The only sound that apanied my search was the grinding of the old man¡¯s teeth as he slept in the bedroom.


    However, on my way out of the apartment, I suddenly noticed a dark figure standing at the door with something in his hand. Click! A white light shed; it turned out to be a cell phone. I was photographed breaking into the apartment.


    The biggest weakness of Cave Vision was the fear of bright lights. Vision blurry, I could hardly make out a man in a long trench coat with his hands in his pockets as he wordlessly left.


    I ran after the man, searching outside the door for his figure. Suddenly a deep voice sounded from behind¡ª


    "Hello, Song Yang. I am the Dog Trainer!"

 Chapter 413

    <h4>Chapter 413</h4>


    I whipped my head around and saw a middle-aged man leaning against the wall with a cigarette in his mouth. He looked ordinary, just like a middle-aged uncle you would see in the vegetable market, but his eyes were very cold.


    I never imagined the Dog Trainer would show himself so easily.


    "Why set up Xiaotao?" I asked.


    The dog trainer sneered, "Did I set her up? It¡¯s obvious that she killed my client on impulse. Think about it, why would I kill my client? Do you know how much money I¡¯ve lost?"


    When he spoke, his expression was extraordinarily calm without the slightest sign of lying. But I didn¡¯t actually believe he was truthful. This man had definitely undergone professional training and could lie without batting an eyelid.


    "So, you admit that you were cleaning up after the four young masters?"


    I reached into my pocket and secretly turned on the recording app.


    The Dog Trainer saw through my trick at a nce, "Kiddo, out of my appreciation for you, I decided to meet you in person. Yet here you are recording our conversation. You¡¯re being rude!"


    I sighed, took out my cell phone and turned it off in front of him.


    "That¡¯s much better," he smiled.


    "Let¡¯s get back to our conversation!" I snapped.


    "Apologies, kiddo. I have no obligation to answer you. But I can tell you something else. The organization has ordered me to get rid of you at all costs. As you know, I am a man of skills. If you join us... " he trailed off.


    Before he could finish speaking, I roared, "Dream on!¡±


    "Don¡¯t be so impulsive, young man,¡± he said, cing his hand back into his pocket. ¡°I will give you a choice. If you join us, Huang Xiaotao will be proven innocent and of course, you¡¯ll get your benefits."


    "Let¡¯s hear it then," I sneered.


    "I spent a lot of time getting to know you, even losing some of my precious pieces..." he exined.


    His words had me knocked for six. It turned out that he had arranged Deng Chao¡¯s attack.


    The Dog Trainer added, "The more I got to know you, the more I appreciated you. You¡¯re a rare genius! What an insult it would be to speak of money to you! In fact, deep down, you and I are both the same kind of people. We¡¯re not bound by the rules and we long for darkness. We¡¯ve merely chosen different paths. What you¡¯re doing now is nothing more than giving others the glory. Are you satisfied with that? Don¡¯t you think the world has festered into a foul mess? I think you have long felt the weakness of thew. You lie to yourself so you¡¯ll feel better. But what the world needs is a powerful system to correct it."


    "Put away your bullshit,¡± I gritted my teeth. ¡°My patience is short."


    The Dog Trainer slowly removed the cigarette from his lips, "You can secretly join us. No one else will know about this. You can still keep your job as a criminal consultant. The organization can give you all the resources to make you the best detective. You¡¯ll solve many more cases than before. More importantly, you¡¯ll hold your own fate and the fate of others in your own hands. It¡¯s like being God. Once you get a taste of that feeling, you¡¯ll be addicted to it!¡±


    Inexplicable anger boiled inside of me. "Enough with your sweet words. In my opinion, you guys are the biggest cancer of this world. I won¡¯t join you."


    "In fact, more than one Song family member has said this,¡± he scoffed. ¡°Let me tell you a secret. In truth, someone in the Song family has joined our organization. How do you think the Song family has survived thus far?" A smirk rose to his lips.


    "You¡¯re lying!" I eximed.


    "Why should I lie to you? In fact, that person is..."


    Right then, I felt a hand cover my mouth from behind. I looked up, only to stare into Song Xingchen¡¯s aloof face. It was as if lightning had struck me. How could it be?


    Song Xingchen¡¯s hands were stained with fine powder. I struggled desperately, well aware that once I fell into the hands of the Dog Trainer, I would be beyond redemption.


    "Breathe, you¡¯re poisoned,¡± came Song Xingchen¡¯s solemn order.


    Stunned, I did as he asked and a cool, refreshing sensation immediately soothed my head. Only then did I realize the abnormality of my mood swings. Song Xingchen pulled me behind him, the Tang Sword at his waist slightly unsheathed. "There¡¯s Mind Shrouding Incense in his pocket!"


    I hade across it in books. It was a colorless, odorless spice that could vtilize on its own. Inhtion would increase the heartbeat and make one emotional to the extent of losing their senses and judgment.


    The Dog Trainer took out a small smoking bamboo tube from his pocket and smiled, "The martial Song really deserves their reputation." Then, he covered the bamboo tube.


    Song Xingchen swiftly pulled out his sword. "I admire your courage. But I hope your skills are equally as good."


    "You can¡¯t kill me because I have hostages!" the Dog Trainer shook his finger.


    "I don¡¯t believe it!" I cried.


    He slowly counted, "One, two, three..."


    Suddenly, my cell phone rang, not a phone call but a notification from QQ video. Upon connecting the video call, I saw Dali sleeping as a leather glove covered hand held a knife a few centimeters away from his neck.


    Then the video turned to Bingxin who was sleeping as well. Taken from the window, the video showed a red dot on Bingxin¡¯s forehead.


    The video switched to someone else once more. It was Sun Tiger sitting at his desk, smoking while sipping on hot tea as he perused some files in his hand. He waspletely oblivious to the red dot on his forehead.


    I gasped at the unfathomability of the man. He had everything arranged beforehand because he was certain I would show up at the scene.


    "Do you know why the righteous can¡¯t defeat us?" He scoffed, ¡°It¡¯s because you have too many weaknesses. In fact, you can kill me right now. After all, it¡¯s worth my while to exchange three lives for mine."


    "Are you threatening me with my friends¡¯ lives?¡± I clenched my fists. ¡°But let me warn you, their lives can only be used as coteral once! If they die, I will destroy you by any means necessary."


    "You misunderstand,¡± he smiled sinisterly. ¡°I¡¯m not some low criminal. I have my own style. I¡¯ve also said that I admire you very much. I hope you can join us on your own free will."


    "I¡¯ve already said it¡¯s impossible," I snapped.


    "Song Yang, why don¡¯t you do something for me?" blurted the Dog Trainer.


    I frowned as I listened to him continue, "I have a client on hand, who¡¯s bound to stir up trouble every seven days without fail. I am tired of wiping his ass! Last night, he went out to have fun again. Now there¡¯s a body lying in Mount Treasure Park. I want you to destroy the evidence before the police get there so my client is protected from usations."


    "Why should I agree to that?!" I fumed.


    "Because if you refuse, one of your three friends will die. And if youplete the task, they will live. You¡¯ll receive a big reward as well. I¡¯ll give it to you one day. On top of that, I¡¯ve prepared a car and a driver for your convenience. The tools you need are in the car. There¡¯s also this..."


    The Dog Trainer walked up to me and stuffed a hotel room card into my hand. "Don¡¯t let me down, Great Detective Song!" he grinned, patting my shoulder.


    Listening to his footsteps fade away in the distance, my heart was like a ball of tangled yarn. Yet my only option was to turn around and leave the neighborhood.


    From behind me came Song Xingchen¡¯s voice, "You mustn¡¯t agree! Do you know what this means?"


    I nodded, failing to hide the loss and helplessness in my tone. "I know. That means walking into his trap!"

 Chapter 414

    <h4>Chapter 414</h4>


    I didn¡¯t leave right after the Dog Trainer. Instead, I photographed his footprints with my cell phone, took a sample of the sand left by his sole with my rubber gloves, removed the gloves and wrapped them up.


    At the entrance of the neighborhood, we came across a Mercedes parked by the side of the road. The driver was as motionless and unresponsive as a puppet¨Canother one of the ¡®dogs¡¯ domesticated by the Dog Trainer without a doubt!


    I was about to get into the car when Song Xingchen held my shoulder and warned, "Think twice."


    "Don¡¯t worry,¡± I sighed. ¡°I will never betray my principles!"


    I knew exactly why the Dog Trainer wanted me to handle such dirty work. He was a master at brainwashing which began with action. If I epted such moralless tasks one task at a time, my stance on the matter would gradually shift.


    When I was a child, I listened to the bad of "Golden Dart Hero.¡± Huang Tianba was a hero at first. But after being caught by the government who gave him both carrot and stick, Huang Tianba gradually turned into a government ve whose hands were covered with friends¡¯ blood.


    Once you crossed the line, it was easy to lose all morality. Thus, in the war with the Dog Trainer, I had to keep my principles and listen to my conscience!


    As soon as we got into the car, the driver started driving. When we passed a store, I yelled for him to stop.


    I was just about to alight the vehicle when the driver pulled out a gun and pointed it at me. "The master says you¡¯re not allowed to leave halfway!"


    Song Xingchen threatened, "Would you like me to cut off those hands?"


    "Alright, I understand. Song Xingchen, get my tools and I¡¯ll meet you in Mount Treasure Parkter." As I spoke, I handed him the evidence wrapped in the rubber gloves and showed him my cell phone with the words I had previously typed: Inform the three of them that they may be assassinated!


    Before getting out of the car, Song Xingchen took the gloves and cautioned, "Be careful!"


    I was driven to Mount Treasure Park which was covered with dense fog early in the morning. There wasn¡¯t a soul in sight. I opened the trunk which contained gasoline, a shovel, ammonia, and some other tools used to dispose of corpses. Ammonia could destroy DNA and was a good choice for removing blood.


    Grabbing the tools, I headed for the park with the driver in tow.


    The park was huge, so I searched for higher ground that overlooked the surroundings and noted possible dump sites.


    After walking around, I suddenly smelled the faint odor of blood. I scanned the area and found a corpse underneath a tree, covered with fallen leaves.


    Sweeping away the fallen leaves, I observed the body. At first nce, the victim looked like a young girl, but from the Adam¡¯s apple and the shape of the pelvis, he was a man. His wrists, ankles and neck showed binding marks. He was wearing a red dress, a wig and heavy makeup. Noticing blood between his legs, I lifted his skirt, only to discover that the victim¡¯s genitals of the deceased had beenpletely severed.


    The realization dawned upon me¨Cthe murderer was the Transvestite Killer who had disappeared for many years! He was a homosexual who picked out good-looking young men and even boys, dressed them up as women for his own sexual gratification, and then cruelly killed them.


    Aftermitting a brutal murder a few years ago, he was supposedly wandering around so his whereabouts were unknown. Apparently, the case of the boy in red, a sensational case from back then, was his work. I never imagined that he would flee to Nanjiang City andmit murder under the protection of the organization.


    Taking a few deep breaths to calm myself down, I began examining the body. The time of death was about four hours ago, and the cause of death was postural asphyxia, that is, cing the victim in a certain position, such as tying their hands and feet behind their backs, forcing them to suffocate due to obstructed breathing.


    The victim suffered a long period of torture and sexual assault before his death. Judging from the earliest wound, he was held captive for about five or six hours. I noticed white foam on the chin that appeared to be shaving cream.


    I removed the victim¡¯s clothes and found his mutted genitals covered in blood. What was more outrageous was the spots of dried semen around his crotch. There was also a faint smell of alcohol that seemed to be wine. The tannic acid in wine could constrict blood vessels and stop bleeding. The murderer must have used wine to clean the wound.


    I was so absorbed in the autopsy that Ipletely forgot my present situation.


    Right then, I felt a kick in my ribs, courtesy of the driver. He shouted, "Stop dawdling and get to work!"


    I clutched my chest, gritting my teeth, "If you want me to destroy the body, then I¡¯ll have to do it my way."


    "Don¡¯t lie to me,¡± he red. ¡°I can see you¡¯re trying to dy. You better hurry up or someone mighte!"


    Just then, he noticed a man walking towards us and immediately pulled out his gun. As the man approached, he realized it was Song Xingchen. As soon as he ced my tools on the ground, Song Xingchen swung his fist and punched the driver in the face, catching him off guard.


    The driver tried to retaliate with the gun but Song Xingchen managed to twist his arm, forcing him to lean backwards. Then, Song Xingchennded more pummeled his fists into the driver¡¯s ribs, drawing painful screams from the man.


    "That¡¯s enough!" I interrupted.


    Song Xingchennded two more punches when I heard the sound of the driver¡¯s ribs breaking. Throwing the man to the ground, Song Xingchen coldly uttered, "If you so much as touch a hair on his head, I will kill you!"


    Angered, the driver raised his gun at Song Xingchen who stared him down without so much as a change in his expression. The stalematested for a minute, and even I couldn¡¯t help but worry for Song Xingchen.


    Then came the voice of several old men chatting at the foot of the hill. The fog was still very heavy at this time so they couldn¡¯t see up the hill. But if there was gunfire, they would definitely hear it. Hence, the driver was forced to lower his gun.


    I started shoveling until arge pit was dug into the ground. Then, carefully tossing the body inside, I poured ammonia and covered it with soil, making sure to restore the ground to its original appearance. Finally, I opened the Autopsy Umbre and erased all footprints around me.


    "Let¡¯s meet the man!" I said, dusting my hands.


    The hotel key card given to me by the Dog Trainer led me to a nearby hotel. It was a master key used by the internal staff that could open every room with a room number marked on it.


    When we arrived at the hotel, the driver waited outside this time. I found the room and opened the door with the room key.


    "Ahh! How did you get in?" screamed the man in the room.


    He was in his thirties with dark eye circles which indicated he stayed up all night yesterday. There was nothing particrly noteworthy in the room, only a briefcase on the table. It seemed like he was on a business trip.


    In fact, the man didn¡¯t look like a murderer. He was missing the sort of ragemon to criminals. To get him to talk, I showed him my consultant ID and said, "Don¡¯t be afraid, I¡¯m with the police!"


    "H-how do you know?¡± he stuttered. ¡°I didn¡¯t call the police!"


    "What?" It was my turn to be shocked.


    The man cried in a panic, "Officer, I know I was wrong. Well, I admit I did see something unusualst night."


    I quickly walked to the window which overlooked the crime scene. "It was two in the morning. Weren¡¯t you sleeping?"


    "N-no...¡± he replied. ¡°I saw a man torturing a woman in the park and I was afraid."


    It was then that I connected the dots¨Cthe Dog Trainer hadn¡¯t nned for me to meet the murderer. He wanted me to silence the witness!

 Chapter 415

    <h4>Chapter 415</h4>


    When I asked him to exin the situation, he described seeing a man who looked between his forties and fifties, bald, and about 180 cm or so. At the time, there were only streetmps illuminating the park so his vision was impaired. It appeared as if the man pushed a woman in a red dress on the ground and had sex with her, though he couldn¡¯t hear anything due to the distance.


    Because he had been too timid to call the police, he convinced himself it was a couple¡¯s quarrel. After about an hour, he looked out of the window once more but the two had disappeared.


    Song Xingchen nced at me waiting for mymand. I knew that if I gave the order, he would y the witness. However, that meant traveling down a path of no return.


    After a moment of silence, I said, "Do you remember anything else?"


    The man thought for a moment, "I think he drove there because I saw a ck SUV parked next to him!"


    "Thank you for your cooperation. Don¡¯t call the police and keep this to yourself. We are secretly investigating this murder, got it?"


    "Alright,¡± he nodded fervently. ¡°Please don¡¯t mention me. I¡¯m a nobody¨Ca civil servant on a business trip so I don¡¯t want any trouble."


    When Song Xingchen and I exited the hotel, the driver¡¯s first sentence was, "Have you disposed of him?"


    "Yes!" I snapped.


    "We¡¯ll meet my master for further instructions!" said the driver as he started the engine.


    "No, there¡¯s something else I must do,¡± I refused.


    "Absolutely not!¡± protested the driver. ¡°The master says you¡¯re not allowed to do anything without his permission."


    "When we tortured that guy, he said that he was with another personst night. So there are two witnesses. I must get rid of the other one, otherwise the client is still in danger!"


    "I must ask the master for further instructions," stated the driver upon contemtion.


    When the driver grabbed his cell phone, I quickly ced my hand in my pocket and dialed ording to his movements, secretly recording the Dog Trainer¡¯s number.


    After a brief conversation, the driver hung up. "The master says yes."


    "You¡¯ve got to be a little smarter to please your master, got it?¡± I sneered.


    The driver replied, "I¡¯m loyal to my master and I don¡¯t need any returns!"


    Upon getting into the car, I nced at the number I recorded. Since my eyes had the ability to see afterimages, I was able to memorize the number ten seconds after sweeping my eyes across the driver¡¯s cell phone. I opened Google Maps and looked at nearby wineries, then instructed the driver to head to one of them first.


    The murderer poured an entire bottle of wine on the victim, indicating there was wine at the scene. On top of that, the victim¡¯s mouth wasn¡¯t gagged at the time which meant wherever he was held had good sound instion. Thus, the wine cer of a winery was in line with the original crime scene.


    For the murderer to employ the organization¡¯s protection for such a long time, he must have considerable economic means and was most likely the owner of the winery.


    We visited several bars throughout the morning but couldn¡¯t find anyone matching the characteristics. Right then, I received a call from Bingxin, "Song Yang-gege, what are you doing?"


    Through the rearview mirror, the driver cast a menacing look in my direction. "Nothing much,¡± I quickly replied. ¡°I¡¯m just wandering the streets."


    "I have the day off as well, Let¡¯s hang out together. Wait for me in front of the city bureau, alright?"


    "Today isn¡¯t..."


    "Oh, you muste!¡± interrupted Bignxin. ¡°If you don¡¯t, you¡¯ll regret it!"


    I caught the implication in her words so I said, "Alright, I¡¯ll see you at noon."


    As soon as I hung up, the driver coldly warned, "No tricks, you got that?!"


    "Are you a dog or a fox? Why the hell are you so suspicious?¡± I chided. ¡°Can¡¯t I hang out with my childhood friend?¡±


    The car stopped in front of a high-ss winery called Opulence. When I walked into the store, I was warmly greeted by the waiter. I repeated the opening I used in the other bars, "I bought a bottle of wine from your store two days ago but it doesn¡¯t taste right. I¡¯d like to meet the manager."


    The waiter paused before replying, "Alright, let me check with the manager. Please take a seat."


    A whileter, the waiter led a balding man of about fifty years old into the room. As soon as I caught a glimpse of his face, I had a strong intuition that this was the murderer.


    For confirmation, I examined him with Cave Vision. From head to toe, his clothes were newly changed. There was dirt under his nails, mud on his shoes and the man looked rather haggard, a symptom caused by long-term overindulgence. There was also a small feature that wasn¡¯t exactly logical in terms of deduction. His nose was crooked, a shared feature among gay tops, an interesting snippet of information I hade across in a book about ethnology. Since Lao Yao didn¡¯t have a crooked nose, I assumed he was a bottom.


    The manager sat down and looked straight into my eyes, making me a little ufortable. "Sir, what can I do for you?" he smiled.


    I lowered my voice, "The Dog Trainer sent me."


    The manager muttered an affirmative and deliberately raised his voice, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll show you around the wine cer."


    "You lied to me,¡± used the driver. ¡°You said you were looking for the other witnesses!"


    "I have my own style of doing things! Stop interrupting, you dog!" I snapped.


    The four of us went to the wine cer filled with huge oak barrels and crates of wine. Authentic wine was extremely expensive. No wonder this man was wealthy enough to afford the Dog Trainer¡¯s services.


    The manager grinned, "Why didn¡¯t the Dog Trainer show up this time? Did he send you because of my special hobby... " His grubby paws reached out to touch me but was thwarted by Song Xingchen who grasped his hand and bent his arm in the opposite direction.


    The manager screamed in pain and the driver quickly dissuaded, "Don¡¯t hurt the client!"


    "We will clean up your mess but we don¡¯t provide other services. You¡¯d better show some respect," I warned.


    "I got it! I got it!" cried the manager.


    I nced meaningfully at Song Xingchen, motioning for him to let go. The tear-eyed manager held his arm.


    "How should I address you?"


    "I¡¯m only a small winery owner to the outside world but they know me as the Transvestite Killer in the Jianghu!" he beamed with pride.


    I feigned surprise, "You were the one who killed the boy in red?"


    "No, no!¡± he shook his head. ¡°That wasn¡¯t my work but my modus operandi was inspired by that case. By the way, did you dispose of the body and witness fromst night?"


    "I¡¯ve handled it," I lied.


    "That¡¯s great! Cooperating with you guys has always been a pleasure! I will bank in the money to the Dog Trainer¡¯s ount." The manager took a bottle of wine from the shelf and offered, "Let me buy you a drink. Here¡¯s to a happy cooperation!"


    I waved my hand, "Forget about the wine first. I¡¯m afraid we might have missed something. Is this the original crime scene?"


    "Yes," admitted the manager.


    The dust on the ground did show signs of struggling. "Who was the deceased?" I asked.


    "A handsome guy who came to purchase some wine,¡± replied the manager. ¡°I¡¯ve been eyeing him for several days and finally managed to trick him toe down here." His lips curled in a triumphant smile as if he was showing the recent acquisition of an antique.


    "Good taste," Iuded.


    "I¡¯ll be honest with you, I can¡¯t usually get an erection. Only killing stimtes me enough to achieve hardness. So whenever I see a handsome man, my impulses run wild. The addiction is a hundred times stronger than my desire for good wine!" exined the manager.


    "As long as you don¡¯t try anything with me!" I chuckled.


    "No, I would never! I respect you as much as the Dog Trainer,¡± assured the manager. ¡°By the way, I haven¡¯t got your name."


    I ignored his question and added, "How many people have you killed?"


    After a moment¡¯s contemtion, he said, "I¡¯ve not kept count but it¡¯s probably around forty!"


    "What about the souvenirs left behind after the murders? I¡¯m rather interested in them.¡±


    The manager¡¯s expression shifted abruptly. Meanwhile, the driver rebuked, "What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing? We don¡¯t ask about the client¡¯s private matters."


    The manager quickly recovered his smile, "That¡¯s alright. It¡¯s understandable since it¡¯s your first time. Just make sure not to repeat it!"


    "By the way, how is the sound instion here? Could the waiter above have heard anything?"


    "You can be assured that this cer was specially rebuilt by me. There are five or sixyers of soundproofing materials. Even if there¡¯s an explosion in here, you wouldn¡¯t be able hear it outside."


    Putting away my jovial smile, I said, "Thank you for that information. Song Xingchen, get him!"

 Chapter 416

    <h4>Chapter 416</h4>


    As soon as the words slipped from my lips, Song Xingchen knocked the manager to the ground and unleashed a series of powerful kicks. The man crawled on the ground, pulling out a dagger. However, his attempts were thwarted by Song Xingchen who kicked the dagger away and raised his foot up high, crashing down heavily on the manager¡¯s crotch.


    As Song Xingchen continued trampling on the manager¡¯s genitals, banshee-like screaming filled the cer. The driver grabbed my arm, urging, "Stop it! STOP! Don¡¯t hurt the client!"


    "That¡¯s enough!" I nodded.


    When Song Xingchen moved his feet away, the managery there twitching, blood and white liquid flowing out between his legs. He was foaming at the mouth and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. It was then that I realized crushing a man¡¯s genitals would render him unconscious.


    Watching the pervert being tortured filled my heart with glee. "Let me have a go!" I said.


    The driver tried to reach for his gun but Song Xingchen was a step ahead, shing the Tang Sword in his direction and holding him back.


    I walked up to the manager, patted him on the face and pinched till he regained consciousness. "What are you doing?" he cried.


    "I¡¯m making sure you¡¯ll never kill again!" I sneered, flipping up his eyelids as I activated the Eyes of Yama. As if electrocuted by a high voltage, the manager struggled and convulsed, his deafening cries echoing throughout the cer. I stared at him for half a minute, waiting till his screams died down. When I finally looked away, my vision was a sheet of ck.


    The mental trauma left the manager with a foolish expression on his face. He suddenly sat up, shrinking behind a barrel as he shouted nervously, "Who are you? Go away!"


    Pulling his cell phone out from his pocket, I called one of the psychiatric hospitals and reported our location. "Help, there¡¯s a mental patient here. Pleasee quickly!"


    "Sir, please leave your name and contact information," came the voice from the other end of the line.


    "It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m just a concerned citizen," I smiled.


    Upon hanging up, I threw the phone into the manager¡¯s arms and waved at Song Xingchen, "It¡¯s time for us to go!"


    As we walked out of the winery, the driver threatened, "How dare you! I¡¯m reporting this to the master. You and your friends are dead!"


    "But I cleaned up after the client. I¡¯vepleted the task," I retorted.


    "The master said you¡¯re not allowed to do anything without his permission!" the driver gritted his teeth in anger.


    "He told you that but he never mentioned anything to me,¡± I chuckled. ¡°If you want to report to him, go ahead!"


    The driver looked as if he couldn¡¯t wait to eat me alive as he dialed for the Dog Trainer. After a brief conversation, he turned to me and said, "The master said you can go. But there will be a new task tomorrow and he wille to you."


    I nodded to Song Xingchen, "Let¡¯s go!"


    We hailed a cab and rushed back to the station. Bingxin was waiting at the entrance in a beautiful dress. "What is it?" I asked curiously.


    "Let¡¯s go shopping!" she giggled.


    "You heartless little devil! How can you even think of shopping now?" Iughed.


    "My dad banned me from participating in the case and gave me a holiday. There¡¯s no point in worrying," she pouted as she hooked my arm with hers. "Come on then, let¡¯s go shopping!"


    I thought to myself, Did I really overthink this? Perhaps Bingxin is just looking for somepany to go shopping. Right then, she patted her pocket and looked meaningfully at me, "Oh, I don¡¯t have any money with me. Let¡¯s go see my dad. I¡¯ll ask him for my allowance."


    I instantly understood that shopping was just a cover so I asked Song Xingchen to wait outside.


    When we arrived at Sun Tiger¡¯s office, the door was unlocked so we walked right in. Bingxin pretentiously blurted, "Where¡¯s my dad?"


    There were a few files lying around the office. It turned out to be a father-daughter collusion. Since they had decided to help, there was no need for me to be courteous. I closed the door and began looking through the documents.


    There were autopsy reports, ballistic reports and interrogation files.


    The autopsy report confirmed that the victim Qin Aonan was killed instantly by a bullet that prated the brain. There was something suspicious¨Chis cell phone was on call the entire time. However, due to encryption, the caller couldn¡¯t be found so the police didn¡¯t know what was said during the call.


    ording to Wang Xuebing, he had heart disease. Because of running too fast, he felt pain in his chest and fell to his knees. Then, he heard a gunshot and looked up, only to see Xiaotao holding the gun with both hands, aimed forwards. Meanwhile, Qin Aonan had crumpled to the ground.


    Wang Xuebing and Xiaotao had met only once and he didn¡¯t even know her name. Additionally, he was present at the scene during the shooting so his testimony held more weight than mine. He was currently detained on charges of assault and attempted murder.


    The ballistics report was even more unfavorable to Xiaotao. The muzzle of her gun was smoking at the time which proved she fired the gun. Although she imed to have fired into the sky, the bullet was never found.


    The bullet that hit the victim¡¯s head was proven to have been shot from Xiaotao¡¯s gun by the rifling test. Technically, this couldn¡¯t be faked.


    I looked at the signature below of the appraiser Li Yonggang. "What¡¯s the appraiser¡¯s experience?"


    Bingxin feigned surprise, "Oh, why are you peeking at my dad¡¯s files?"


    "Are you still pretending? Tell me!" I chided.


    "Professor Li is a famous ballistics expert in the province and he has never made a mistake."


    "Has he traveled or taken a holiday recently?" I asked.


    "That I don¡¯t know," admitted Bingxin.


    I believed Xiaotao didn¡¯t kill anyone so there must be falsehood in one of the links, perhaps the ballistics expert. I suspected he was one of the Dog Trainer¡¯s subordinates.


    Picking up the photos of the deceased, I examined every nook and cranny and finally noticed something suspicious. The man¡¯s eyes were turned to the left, yetmon sense dictated that he should be looking the gunman in the eye in the face of a threat.


    Who was on his left?


    It was Wang Xuebing who had chased after him!


    There was a second possibility¨CWang Xuebing was lying. But he was a 60-year-old veteran whose daughter had been murdered. It stands to reason that he couldn¡¯t wait to eat the murderer¡¯s flesh and drink his blood. Why did he lie?


    The current situation was extremely unfavorable to Xiaotao. Since our opponent was the Dog Trainer, I had to assume everyone was a suspect!


    I sighed, "I wish I could check if Wang Xuebing is really the victim¡¯s father." Naturally, my words were aimed at Bingxin, my little spy who kept in touch with Sun Tiger.


    "Song Yang-gege, are you done? My dad will kill us when hees back."


    "I¡¯m done! Let¡¯s get out of here!"


    I put the files away and left with Bingxin. "Let¡¯s get shaved ice!"


    I guessed she was up to some trick so I agreed.


    The three of us headed to a cafe. At a table in an inconspicuous corner sat Dali and Wang Yuanchao. "We meet again."


    ¡°Dude, is it true what Song Xingchen told us this morning? Someone was going to kill us?" asked Dali.


    "It¡¯s true!" I nodded.


    All of us sitting at this table weren¡¯t allowed to participate in the case. As we exchanged information with each other, I revealed that I was currently dealing with the Dog Trainer and omitted the task he put me up to.


    After receiving the soil sample, Bingxin promised she would find aboratory to test it.


    Wang Yuanchao tried every means possible to meet Xiaotao yesterday. Apparently, she was in good spirits. Although the interrogators went hard on her, she stuck to her guns, insisting she never shot Qin Aonan.


    "Did Xiaotao notice anything unusual at the time?" I asked.


    Upon further contemtion, Wang Yuanchao replied, "There was nothing distinctive at the scene. But she did mention a man in a mask bumping into her during the chase. At the time, the situation was chaotic so she didn¡¯t think much of it!"

 Chapter 417

    <h4>Chapter 417</h4>


    "Someone bumped into her?" I pondered the possibilities.


    Song Xingchen blurted, "Could someone have stolen her gun at that time?"


    I instantly connected the dots. Holding the two sugar shakers on the table, I pointed out, "You mean the man stole Xiaotao¡¯s gun and exchanged it for another, recing the new gun into her holster. The two guns had exactly the same shape, weight and inscription. Xiaotao pulled out the recement and fired into the sky. Meanwhile, the real murderer used her gun to kill Qin Aonan, then switched the gun back at a certain point?"


    "What amazing sleight of hand. Is it possible?" asked Dali.


    Song Xingchen exined, "During the Republic of China, expert thieves could thread lightning through a sewing needle, that is, aiming the needle at a bolt of lightning the instant it appears in the sky. Another special skill is to mix a mung bean in a handful of soybeans and throw it into the air. The experts could grab the mung bean instantly with only two fingers. But these are all tricks in the Jianghu. Nowadays, thieves don¡¯t have masters. If Nanjiang City really has such expert thieves, there can¡¯t be more than two or three of them!"


    Wang Yuanchao nodded, "If that¡¯s the case, we can narrow the scope. I¡¯ll check with my informant in the Jianghu."


    "This person works for the Dog Trainer and must have been brainwashed,¡± I said. ¡°Look out for thieves who have mysteriously disappeared for some time!"


    Dali interjected, "Can¡¯t you tell us more about the people assassinating us? Will our lives be in danger?"


    I shook my head, "Not for the time being. I will try my best to deal with the Dog Trainer. By the way, are your phones all dual SIM standby?"


    Except for Wang Yuanchao who used an old-fashioned cell phone, the rest of us had dual SIM standby phones. I instructed Wang Yuanchao to purchase a new cell phone which I offered to pay for. We had to prepare new SIM cards to facilitatemunication.


    The five of us sat there for a considerable amount of time and the waiter came to ask for our order several times so Bingxin ordered some coffee.


    After the waiter left, I continued, "Aside from Xiaotao, were there any other traces of gunpowder?"


    "No,¡± replied Wang Yuanchao. ¡°I asked around privately and they only found gunpowder on her!"


    "I visited the scene this morning and noticed several bay windows above the crime scene which were good vantage points..."


    Wang Yuanchao sighed, "I¡¯ve checked them. The residents are elderly folk."


    I couldn¡¯t figure out how the murderer fired the gun. The effective range of Xiaotao¡¯s gun was only a hundred meters. Even if the murderer was a sharpshooter, the environment determined that he couldn¡¯t be too far away.


    Leaving this aside for the time being, I wondered out loud, "When do you think the gun was reced? At that time, I was at the scene. There was no one near Xiaotao. Later, the police came and removed her gun. And these were officers I personally knew. They can¡¯t be working for the Dog Trainer. Unless it was switched on the way to the ballistics center. Or perhaps Professor Li is the one working for the Dog Trainer. I n to meet up with him to confirm my suspicions."


    "I know his home address!" Wang Yuanchao interjected as he jotted it down on a cigarette paper.


    I assigned our little group separate tasks. Song Xingchen and I would continue to deal with the Dog Trainer while Bingxin had toe up with ways to mobilize the resources of the Public Security Bureau and track down the Dog Trainer. Wang Yuanchao had two tasks¨Cthe first was to locate the thief and the other was to verify Wang Xuebing¡¯s identity.


    Only Dali could remain leisurely. He pointed to himself and asked, "Song Yang, what should I do?"


    "Nothing, just stay at home."


    "But, I want to contribute as well!" he protested.


    Upon second thought, I said, "Alright, I¡¯ll give you a task. Go get Baldy. I¡¯m nning to kidnap someone!"


    As soon as the words fell from my lips, the others looked at me in astonishment. "I¡¯m going to use the Dog Trainer¡¯s methods against him. I want to kidnap one of his dogs, brainwash him into a normal person, and obtain information about the Dog Trainer from him. This sort of thing is best left to a man like Baldy.¡±


    Dali frowned, "Isn¡¯t this... illegal?"


    "Oh, who cares about that now!"


    Having recently researched this, I briefly exined the matter and instructed Dali what to do.


    At the end of our rendezvous, I said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we can¡¯t let anyone else know our ns. What we¡¯re about to do goes beyond the limits of thew, so we must be extra careful!"


    "To restore Xiaotao-jiejie¡¯s innocence, it doesn¡¯t matter even if we end up in handcuffs!" Dali patted his chest.


    After the five of us said our goodbyes, Bingxin turned to me and shouted, "Song Yang-gege, you must be careful!"


    It was still early in the day so it wasn¡¯t convenient to visit Professor Li. Since we hadn¡¯t eaten yet, I suggested to Song Xingchen, "Let¡¯s have something to eat, my treat. I¡¯ve known you for so long, but I still don¡¯t know what you like."


    "Green peppers and shredded potatoes," he replied.


    At first, I thought he was joking. After finding a restaurant nearby, we sat down to order. I didn¡¯t think the two of us could stomach a sumptuous meal of meat and fish so we each ordered a green pepper and shredded potato rice set and two cups of bubble tea.


    After lunch, I turned to Song Xingchen, "Get me a weapon for self-defense."


    "There¡¯s no need for that. I will protect you!"


    "Just get me one. I can¡¯t always rely on the Eyes of Yama. I¡¯ve been drinking so much milk I have excessive heat in the body," I smiled wryly.


    "Then I¡¯ll bring you something tomorrow morning," agreed Song Xingchen.


    We took a cab to Professor Li¡¯s neighborhood where I asked around about his appearance. At about six in the evening, Professor Li came home with his briefcase.


    I walked up to him and greeted, "Hello Professor Li, there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to ask you."


    Professor Li frowned, "And you are..."


    The staff at the material evidence center didn¡¯t usually have much contact with me so they didn¡¯t know me. I showed him my identification which assured him at once. When I asked about the ballistics results, Professor Li instantly refused, "These are confidential and I¡¯m not allowed to say anything to anyone unless you are involved in the investigation!"


    "Let¡¯s not talk about that,¡± I smiled. ¡°I¡¯d like to ask you some personal questions. Have you been working in the material evidence center throughout the year?"


    "Yes, what¡¯s the matter?" Professor Li fixed a suspicious gaze at me.


    "Have you heard of the name Dog Trainer?" I added.


    "Who is that? A pet seller?" He seemed unaware.


    Judging by his bodynguage and use of words, he wasn¡¯t lying. It seemed that he wasn¡¯t working for the Dog Trainer. "Who came into contact with the gun on the way to the ballistics center?" I continued.


    "I can¡¯t disclose that. Officer, what¡¯s going on? Don¡¯t you believe in my ballistics report? You have seriously exceeded your powers by asking questions like this. I am an officer of thew as well. You have no right to doubt me." Professor Li appeared downhearted.


    "I know what I¡¯m doing doesn¡¯t conform to regtions but please help me. The suspect is my friend and I¡¯m trying to clear her name!" I pleaded.


    "Young man, I understand your good intentions but there are some things I can¡¯t disclose. I¡¯m really sorry."


    When Professor Li walked away, Song Xingchen whispered to me, "Do you want my help?"


    "No, no,¡± I shook my head. ¡°Forget it."


    I was walking out of themunity, dejected by my failure when I felt Song Xingchen nudge me. Turning around, I noticed a piece of paper had fallen from Professor Li¡¯s briefcase just as he was unlocking the door. He turned a blind eye and entered his home.


    Picking up the paper, I realized it was the contact information and addresses of several assistants in the ballistics center. I smiled, bowing deeply to the door, "Thank you, Professor."

 Chapter 418

    <h4>Chapter 418</h4>


    Song Xingchen and I visited the assistants, and through face-to-face questioning, I ruled out each of them one by one. However, I was still hoping to check the surveince videos in the ballistics center to determine if there were any chinks in the armor.


    Their hands were tied regarding this matter so I could only look to Bingxin for help.


    "Song Yang-gege, I¡¯m in the universityboratory right now. The soil sample has been analyzed. I found coal and lime," reported Bingxin.


    "Coal and lime?" I mused. This didn¡¯t narrow the range at all. There are many heavy industrial factories around Nanjiang City.


    It was gettingte so Song Xingchen and I said goodbye to each other and agreed to meet early next morning.


    The next day, I was awoken by a call from an unfamiliar number. Since part of the number was hidden, I couldn¡¯t see the caller ID. The voice of the Dog Trainer came from the other end of the line, "Little Detective,e out for breakfast. I¡¯m waiting for you at Yonghe Soymilk near your home!"


    I got dressed at once and woke Dali up, reminding him of the busy day ahead.


    Downstairs of our apartment, Song Xingchen leaned against a telephone pole with his favorite bubble tea in his hand. He pulled out a metal expandable baton and handed it to me. Waving it in the air, I found it rather nifty so I kept it in my pocket.


    "Let¡¯s go!" I said, turning to him. Thus, we both headed to Yonghe Soymilk.


    There were few customers around this time. The Dog Trainer stood at the counter, ordering soymilk, fried dough sticks and steamed buns. He kindly reminded the cashier that their shirt buttons were undone, to which the cashier whispered thanks.


    If I passed this in-looking man in the streets, I never would have imagined he was a vicious criminal.


    The Dog Trainer brought us breakfast, "Come on, let¡¯s go out for a walk!"


    With him leading the way, Song Xingchen and I followed him to the park. Wiping the bench with a paper towel, he sat down and opened the takeout boxes. "I don¡¯t know what you like so I bought a bit of everything."


    "There¡¯s no need for courtesies. Let¡¯s get down to business!" I sneered.


    He bit into the steamed bun and smiled, ¡°Mmm, these pickled veggie and pork steamed buns are delicious! Would you like to try one?"


    We stood there, watching him finish breakfast by himself. Then, he cleaned his mouth with a paper towel and began, "Yesterday, you made me lose an important customer on top of a lot of money."


    ¡°I finished the task you gave me," I retorted.


    "Little detective, you¡¯re not very sincere. Stop with your little tricks. Here¡¯s a bit of punishment for you!"


    The Dog Trainer reached out, waving his hand at me. Song Xingchen suddenly pushed me away and keeled over, as if he had been heavily punched. Arge patch of blood spread from his abdomen as he fell to his knees, hand covering his wound.


    "Xingchen!!!¡± I shouted, rushing over to check his injury. It turned out that a bullet hit him and the sniper had used a silencer. I looked up and saw a reflection on one of the buildings in the distance which seemed the perfect location for a sniper.


    Song Xingchen crouched on the ground, using his Tang Sword to prop himself up. Cold sweat dotted his forehead though he feignedposure, "I-I¡¯m fine."


    Gritting my teeth, I red at the Dog Trainer.


    "There¡¯s the punishment if you don¡¯t behave. This shot is just a warning. Your task today is rtively simple. I need you to escort a client out of Nanjiang safely. Don¡¯t you dare touch a hair on his head. Do you understand?"


    The Dog Trainer stood up with the cup of soymilk in his hand. "Send your friend to the hospital first. My people will be waiting for you here at eight o¡¯clock."


    As I watched him leave, I could hear my own teeth rattling from the suppressed rage. I grabbed my cell phone and dialed 120. Fortunately, the bullet hit Song Xingchen¡¯s abdomen and wasn¡¯t anywhere near his spine. The sniper¡¯s marksmanship was excellent. The purpose of the shot wasn¡¯t to kill him but to iste me.


    A whileter, the ambnce arrived and the paramedic carried Song Xingchen into the vehicle. In the ambnce, he grabbed my hand and said, "Young Master, let me go with youter."


    "No,¡± I shook my head. ¡°Take good care of yourself. The Dog Trainer won¡¯t kill me. He wants to use me. I owe you for this. I promise to pay my debts!"


    "You don¡¯t owe me anything!¡± refuted Song Xingchen. ¡°It¡¯s my duty!"


    The paramedic urged, "Please don¡¯t talk to the patient. Don¡¯t you want him to live?" Then, he ced an oxygen mask on Song Xingchen¡¯s face.


    At the hospital, I followed to the emergency room where a doctor asked to see me. "Young man, is that a gunshot wound? We have to contact the Public Security Bureau."


    I shed my ID, ¡°There¡¯s no need. I¡¯m with the police force. He¡¯s an undercover police officer who was identally injured."


    "Alright then, please sign the consent form for the operation."


    "Is his life in danger?" I asked.


    "It¡¯s not that serious. The bullet didn¡¯t hurt any of the main organs. It¡¯s just the excessive blood loss," exined the doctor.


    After signing the consent form, I paid for the operation and hospitalization fee. I called Baldy with the cell phone I purchased yesterday after leaving the hospital. Upon hearing my voice, Baldy sounded very excited. "Song-ge, what are your orders?"


    "Is Dali with you?" I asked.


    "Yes! We¡¯re having breakfast."


    I briefly exined what I needed him to do, "This is illegal so I won¡¯t force you to help me. Even if you refuse, I won¡¯t me you."


    "Hey, Song-ge, what the hell are you saying?!¡± dismissed Baldy. ¡°You gave me my life. Who cares about breaking thew? I won¡¯t even blink even if you asked me to kill someone!"


    Baldy¡¯s sincerity was truly heart-warming. "Brother, I will definitely return the favor!" I dered.


    I took a cab back to the park and noticed a car parked outside so I immediately kept my other cell phone which was still on call with Dali in a hidden pocket I sewed in my sleeve.


    Right then, a familiar face alighted from the car. It turned out to be Wang Yuanchao. "Get in. The master said the client must be sent out of Nanjiang before ten!"


    "Wang Yuanchao¡¯s" voice sounded different from usual. When I carefully observed the man, I noticed his stiff expression, an obvious indication of a face disguising technique.


    There was also an officer in the car, obviously an imposter. A fat middle-aged man sat in the back seat with a gloomy expression. The Dog Trainer was so bold he dared to send a criminal out of the city by impersonating the police.


    But the two imposters weren¡¯t enough. He wanted me¨Ca real police consultant¨Cto serve as insurance.


    Before getting into the car, ¡°Wang Yuanchao¡± searched me and found the expandable baton and my usual cell phone. "What¡¯s this?" he asked, waving the baton.


    "If you don¡¯t trust me with it, you can take it away. Just give me my cell phone. How else will I pass the time on the journey?"


    "No way!" he answered coldly. Then, turning off my cell phone, he ced it in his pocket with the expandable baton.


    As soon as I was seated, the middle-aged man nodded at me, "I¡¯ve heard a lot about you. I have a friend who was arrested by you."


    "And what glorious deeds do you boast of?" I retorted.


    ¡°I¡¯m not so stupid to tell you all about myself,¡± chuckled the man. ¡°I just want to say how lucky I am not to fall into your hands. It¡¯s a great honor to have you personally escort me out of town!"


    Judging from his words, this man was a murderer.

 Chapter 419

    <h4>Chapter 419</h4>


    In the car, I hummed my secret code with Dali in a low voice. Every time the car turned, I would hum a tune. A specific tune represented each of the eight directions. To prevent Dali from being confused, I left him a note.


    It was fine having someone trail us in the city, but a car would definitely be spotted once we entered the outskirts.


    At around ten o¡¯clock, we were in the outskirts of the city. In front of us was a toll booth. A traffic policeman walked over to speak to us so I showed him my consultant¡¯s ID and said, "We¡¯re from the bureau. We¡¯re escorting a suspect out of the city."


    The traffic police looked uneasy, "I have to make a phone call to confirm."


    "This is a confidential operation that only Director Sun knows. You¡¯ll have to call him directly." Then, I reported Sun Tiger¡¯s number with ease.


    The traffic police took out his cell phone, ready to dial, while ¡°Wang Yuanchao¡± nervously ced his hands into his pocket.


    "But if you speak to him, that makes you an insider,¡± I added. ¡°To prevent any leak of information, you¡¯ll be detained for three days."


    Havinge across so many lies, I was perfectly adept at it myself. Lying requiredposure and decisiveness, without a care for the loopholes in your lies. Because most of the time, a lie sounded reasonable, but the truth was absurd.


    I kept my gaze fixed at the traffic police¡¯s eyes until he finally gave in. "Alright, go!"


    "Thank you for your cooperation," I nodded.


    When we left the toll booth, we were officially out of Nanjiang City. "Stop!" I cried.


    ¡°Wang Yuanchao¡± argued, "No, the master said we have to send him to..."


    "Stop the car,¡± I kicked the seat. ¡°I have to take a piss."


    "I need to go too!" echoed the middle-aged man.


    When we stopped at the side of the road, the middle-aged man left to relieve himself. ¡°Wang Yuanchao¡± alighted and lit a cigarette, ncing at me, "Why are you still here?"


    "I just want to get some air first," I said, stretching myself.


    "Don¡¯t try anything. The master said..."


    "You¡¯re very loyal to your master,¡± I mocked. ¡°Why don¡¯t you bark twice for me!"


    ¡°Wang Yuanchao¡± red angrily at me. Seeing the cars passing the toll booth, I said with peace of mind, "I¡¯m going to the bathroom."


    Those cars headed straight for us, prompting ¡°Wang Yuanchao¡± to toss his cigarette and curse, "Son of a bitch, you called others! Sir, get in the car!"


    The client ran towards the vehicle as he endeavored to pull up his pants. I was thrown into the car by ¡°Wang Yuanchao¡± who told the driver to drive off. Seeing those cars headed for us aggressively, I pushed myself against the seat and waited for impact. A momentter, we were hit from the side, the force staggering the entire car.


    Fortunately, I had prepared myself and wasn¡¯t too dizzy. Taking advantage of the chaos, I kicked the car door open. At the same time, ¡°Wang Yuanchao¡± got out of the car in a panic and pulled out his gun from his pocket.


    Painful screams filled the air as I used the Eyes of Yama on the man. While he was distracted by the agony, I snatched my cell phone and baton from him. Waving the baton, I swung it against his ear.


    "You motherfucker! How dare you!"


    The middle-aged man pulled out a knife and climbed out of the car just as a bunch of burly men jumped out of the other vehicles led by Baldy. They approached the middle-aged man and sent him crumbling to the ground with a kick, trampling on the hand holding the knife. The pain was enough to send the man screaming.


    After that, the others were easily captured.


    "Song Yang, I¡¯m d to see you¡¯re doing well!" greeted Baldy.


    "You¡¯ve handled this nicely,¡± I smiled. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s clean up the scene. We don¡¯t want to be seen by the traffic police over there. These two dogs will be taken back to prison and starved for a day."


    Baldy kicked the middle-aged man on the ground, "What about this guy?"


    I promised the Dog Trainer I would escort the client out of the city unharmed. Now that I had aplished my task, I said, "Take him to the Wu Qu Public Security Bureau. I¡¯ll speak to Captain Liao and get him to take over there."


    Baldy turned to his gang, "Let¡¯s get to work!"


    The others gathered round, tied up the two dogs, stuffed their mouths with rags and threw them into the trunk while the client was taken to another car. "Do you know who the hell I am? I will kill you when Ie out!" he roared.


    "In your next life!" I sneered.


    We quickly cleaned up the scene, making sure not to leave any traces behind. When I got into the vehicle, I was surprised to see Dali and Luo Youyou inside.


    Shocked by the turn of events, Dali eximed, "Dude, you¡¯re amazing! I wouldn¡¯t be able to do any of this."


    "Why did you bring Luo Youyou?" I frowned.


    "I¡¯m afraid to leave her alone in the store,¡± exined Dali. ¡°Besides, she insisted oning along."


    Luo Youyou stared at me starry-eyed, "Song Yang, how do you know these gangsters?"


    "It¡¯s a long story!" I sighed.


    With that, we headed back to the city. Baldy invited me for dinner but I refused, "I¡¯m afraid today isn¡¯t good. I¡¯ve been busytely."


    "Song-ge, when aren¡¯t you busy?" Baldy smiled.


    "When we solve this case, I promise I¡¯ll treat you and your buddies to something delicious, alright?"


    "No, keep your money,¡± Baldy waved his hand. ¡°When the timees, look for me at the Sea Sky Hotel. We¡¯ve switched businesses. The boss asked me to manage the hotel."


    "Of course! There isn¡¯t anything shady going on, is there?" I teased.


    "No, absolutely not! We¡¯re a legitimate business!" insisted Baldy.


    We parted at an intersection. Before leaving, I handed Baldy a piece of paper and instructed him to detain the two ¡®dogs¡¯ ording to my methods. Training them was actually very simple, but it took time. We would imprison them, whip and force them to sing the national anthem. Only when they say the words, ¡°I¡¯m normal¡± would they be given food.


    Using the Dog Trainer¡¯s methods against him wasn¡¯t exactly an original idea of mine. In fact, there was an anti-cult organization known as "Cult Detoxification" in the United States. The organization abducted children brainwashed by cults, turned them back to normal people by various extreme means, and then returned them to their families.


    Since these two ¡®dogs¡¯ were loyal to the Dog Trainer, they must have been brainwashed to a great extent. It would definitely take a considerable amount of time for them to return to normal, perhaps even after the case is solved. But it didn¡¯t matter as long as they could testify in court.


    "This is my first time engaging in such ¡¯ideological training,¡¯ which seems quite challenging. Leave it to me!" assured Baldy.


    Having messed up the Dog Trainer¡¯s ns once more, I was certain he would punish the people around me. After saying goodbye to Baldy, I turned to Dali, "Close the store for the time being and find a safe ce to hide. I¡¯ll ask Bingxin toeter. Make sure someone is awake 24 hours a day. I¡¯ll find a way to inform Sun Tiger."


    "What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?"mented Dali.


    "It¡¯s not you, but unfortunately you¡¯re my friend."


    "And I don¡¯t regret it!" grinned Dali.


    Right then, I received a call from Wang Yuanchao, "Song Yang, I checked out Wang Xuebing. He was never married and has no children. But it¡¯s true he was a soldier. He used to be a sniper in the Vietnam War and killed more than fifty Vietnamese guerri members. And... "


    Wang Yuanchao paused, "He disappeared mysteriously for half ofst year."


    Everything finally fell into ce¨CWang Xuebing was the one who shot Qin Aonan. From the moment he pretended to be the victim¡¯s father, the Dog Trainer¡¯s n had already been set in motion...

 Chapter 420

    <h4>Chapter 420</h4>


    When I heard the news, I was shocked. "Let¡¯s meet up and talk about it!" I suggested.


    "I¡¯ll see you at the same caf¨¦," replied Wang Yuanchao.


    After I informed Bingxin, Dali and I headed there together. Meanwhile, Luo Youyou was tasked with renting an apartment, preferably one with a basement andplete security for our temporary stronghold.


    We waited a while at the caf¨¦ for Bingxin to arrive. I was worried that something had happened to her so I called, to which she replied she was on her way.


    Only by the time we finished a cup of coffee did Bingxin arrive, handing me an envelope. Inside was a tracker button given to me by Sun Tiger. Knowing I was dealing with the Dog Trainer, Sun Tiger called for caution.


    "By the way, why isn¡¯t Song Xingchen here today?" asked Bingxin.


    "He was shot by the Dog Trainer¡¯s man this morning but his life isn¡¯t in danger!"


    Upon hearing this, the others looked astonished but we quickly proceeded with summarizing our intelligence. Bingxin got an officer she knew to check the Dog Trainer¡¯s number but hit a dead end. The person they found was obviously not the Dog Trainer whom I met with. Additionally, the phone callssted less than thirty seconds each time, so they couldn¡¯t trace the call.


    Wang Yuanchao reported that Wang Xuebing was now detained which meant he was under the protection of the police. Hence, there was no way we could get in touch with him. But even if we somehow managed to, how would we prove that he was working for the Dog Trainer?


    I continued down this line of thought¨Cat the time, Wang Xuebing had Xiaotao¡¯s gun in his hand. He pretended to have a heart attack and knelt on the ground, then fired a shot at Qin Aonan which exined why he was looking to the left when he died.


    Because Xiaotao and I were thrown off bnce, we didn¡¯t pay any attention to Wang Xuebing¡¯s actions. He might have left his gun at the scene. I remember seeing a trash can nearby which must have been removed by someone else to perform the switch.


    Bingxin cried, "By the way, I asked my dad for something today. Let me show it to you!"


    She took out a USB sh drive and plugged it into herptop. There were some video files¨Csurveince videos of the ballistics center after the incident. People came and went in the video which Bingxin fast-forwarded till several officers appeared.


    Wang Yuanchao blurted, "I know them. They¡¯re all colleagues."


    Bingxin pointed to the screen, "The bag in their hands contains the gun brought back from the scene."


    In the video, a man in a whiteb coat with a stack of files in his arms walked past and bumped into the officer holding the evidence. The papers were scattered all over the ground so the officer helped pick them up. Then, the man left.


    I instructed Bingxin to y the video frame by frame. We stared intently but found nothing. Finally, I erged the picture and repeated it from the beginning.


    After scrutinizing the video three times, I suddenly shouted, "Stop!"


    The video was paused at the exact moment the man bent down. There was something fuzzy in his hand that matched the color of the evidence bag.


    In the next frame, whatever was in his hand disappeared.


    "Is this the moment he switched the gun? That speed... It¡¯s crazy!¡± eximed Bingxin. ¡°The video is 24 FPS so he actuallypleted the switch in one-quarter of a second."


    "Some magicians¡¯ hands are so fast that they can¡¯t even catch them with high-speed cameras!"mented Dali.


    "Looks like that¡¯s our guy,¡± I nodded. ¡°Can we get a better look?"


    Bingxin restored the video back to normal. The man had a mustache and wore sses, which were obviously part of his disguise. Additionally, he was smart enough to know the position of the cameras and never showed his face throughout the whole process.


    "I have already put out the news,¡± said Wang Yuanchao. ¡°My informant is inquiring about this man. We should have results in the next two days."


    "As long as we catch him, we will have an important witness who can overthrow Xiaotao¡¯s conviction! By the way, how is Captain Xing¡¯s investigation going?"


    "My dad says Captain Xing has decided that Xiaotao is the murderer, and the direction of his current investigation is merely to collect evidence that is beneficial tomuting the sentence as much as possible,¡±mented Bingxin. ¡°My dad says there¡¯s not much time. In three or four days, Xiaotao will be transferred to the detention center."


    "There¡¯s really not enough time!" I sighed.


    I rapped the table with my knuckles as I pondered. "I want to see Wang Xuebing."


    "It won¡¯t be easy, but I can give it a try," answered Bingxin.


    When calling Sun Tiger to exin my request, he lowered his voice to refuse, "No, I have taken a great risk to secretly help you. You mustn¡¯t contact the witnesses."


    Bingxin conveyed Sun Tiger¡¯s refusal so I motioned for her to hand me the phone. "Uncle Sun, thank you for everything."


    "It¡¯s nothing. Xiaotao is one of my trusted subordinates and I don¡¯t want her to suffer injustice! But because I have a personal rtionship with her, I must avoid suspicion in this case. s, being the Director isn¡¯t easy."


    "We found something!" I cried.


    Upon listening to my brief exnation of the situation, Sun Tiger was filled with astonishment. "It was Wang Xuebing who fired the gun? Are you sure?"


    "It is only my spection at present," I admitted.


    After a few seconds of silence, Sun Tiger responded, "Your spection is very bold but I believe in your intuition. However, without evidence, everything else is useless."


    "Whether it¡¯s the four young masters¡¯ case or the Xiaotao¡¯s case, all the answers now lie with the Dog Trainer,¡± I stated. ¡°So I want to see Wang Xuebing and obtain information from his lips."


    After a moment¡¯s contemtion, Sun Tiger reluctantly relented, "Match your watch to mine. Find a way to enter the station at three o¡¯clock in the afternoon. I¡¯ll buy you fifteen minutes, but not a second more! You have been to the bureau many times. You mustn¡¯t be caught on surveince."


    "Don¡¯t worry!" I assured.


    I immediately called Lao Yao whosenguid voice came from the other end of the line, "I¡¯m sleeping. Is there work to do again?"


    "Would you be interested in an extremely challenging job?" I baited.


    "Speak!" Lao Yao was an eager beaver at once.


    "Hack into the surveince system of the city bureau and block all images captured from 3:00 to 3:15 pm today!"


    I heard the sound of Lao Yao sitting up in bed. "Holy shit! That is challenging, but isn¡¯t it illegal?"


    "I¡¯ll be honest with you,¡± I smiled wryly. ¡°We¡¯re in a pickle so this is unauthorized. It¡¯s alright if you¡¯re notfortable doing this."


    "Am I that sort of person to you? If I abandon you in your time of need, how can it be true love? We¡¯ll speak to each otherter then."


    In this critical period, these friends with all sorts of skills seemed all the more precious.


    ncing at the time, I noted we had half an hour to go.


    Bingxin interrupted, "Song Yang-gege, how are you going to sneak into the station? More than half of the officers there know you. "


    "It¡¯s going to be difficult,¡± I sighed. ¡°How about I change my clothes and wear a mask?"


    "That¡¯s no good. It¡¯ll be too easy to see through such a flimsy disguise.¡± Wang Yuanchao shook his head. ¡°I know, I¡¯ll arrest you. I¡¯m not allowed to participate in this case but I can still get in and out of the station."


    ¡°Perfect!¡±


    We headed to a nearby clothing store and bought an outfit that waspletely different from my usual style. I looked like a punk. Wang Yuanchao grabbed a wig from one of the mannequins and put it on my head.


    "Haha,¡±ughed Bingxin. ¡°You look so different!"


    When Wang Yuanchao pulled out his handcuffs, I teased, "Officer Wang, please show mercy."


    "If you¡¯re this polite, you¡¯ll blow your cover!"


    Then, Wang Yuanchao handcuffed me from behind, shoving me. "You¡¯reing back to the station with me!"

 Chapter 421

    <h4>Chapter 421</h4>


    Wang Yuanchao escorted me into the station without suspicion from any of the officers. In the lockup, I noticed Xiaotao sitting in one of the cells, reading a book. I tapped the door gently, drawing surprise from Xiaotao. But when she wanted to speak, I gestured for her to remain silent.


    I was d to see Xiaotao doing well. "Don¡¯t worry, we are trying to clear your name!" I whispered.


    "I¡¯m not in a hurry. I¡¯ve finally got some good rest these past two days,¡± she smiled. ¡°My dad is worried and he¡¯s going to ask the city leaders for help. But I warned him against going through the back door. Otherwise, I might really be a suspect... "


    "Take care, alright? We¡¯ll meet again in a couple of days."


    "You too!"


    Wang Yuanchao ced me in the innermost detention room. He stood outside keeping watch. Wang Xuebing was sitting on the ground with his eyes closed and reciting Buddhist scriptures. I knocked on the prison door and greeted, "Hello, old man."


    Wang Xuebing opened his eyes in surprise, "Aren¡¯t you the..."


    "Yes, it¡¯s me,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯d like to talk to you about something!"


    "I have nothing to say. I have already given my statement. If you have any questions, go to Captain Xing!"


    "I¡¯d like to talk about something else,¡± I sneered. ¡°Who is your master?"


    Wang Xuebing¡¯s pupils suddenly contracted, which was enough proof of his association with the Dog Trainer¡¯s hand. "I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about,¡± he retorted.


    "Why fear if you aren¡¯t guilty?¡± I scoffed. ¡°I¡¯ve discovered that you don¡¯t have a daughter at all. You killed Qin Aonan and you participated in the set-up!"


    "How did you..." Wang Xuebing blurted beforeing to his senses. "nder!"


    I didn¡¯t have much time to slowly observe him so I deliberately urged, "You participated in the Vietnam War, a soldier who fought on the frontlines. You¡¯re a hero with outstanding military achievements. But who would¡¯ve thought you were a man without integrity, bing someone else¡¯s dog!"


    Wang Xuebing bit his lip and refused to say a word. "What¡¯s it like to be a dog? What reward does your master give you?" I goaded.


    "I forbid you to insult me like this..."


    "So you admit to it?" I asked.


    Wang Xuebing¡¯s lips trembled, "If you experienced what I did, you¡¯ll understand what it is like to be forced to surrender. You won¡¯t stand here spouting words of sarcasm."


    I didn¡¯t expect him to say this. It seemed he wasn¡¯t brainwashed deeply, possibly because the Dog Trainer was anxious to frame Xiaotao.


    "How did he do it?" I questioned.


    Wang Xuebing froze as if unable to speak, cold sweat dotting his forehead. "I¨CI will not betray my master. I will never betray him," he choked.


    Those who had been brainwashed had a fuse in their heads, and Wang Xuebing¡¯s "fuse" was his loyalty to the Dog Trainer.


    Wang Yuanchao pointed to his wrist, reminding me that time was running out. I sighed and said, ¡°I will see you soon, old man!"


    I recorded everything he said, though it couldn¡¯t be used as evidence. His words confirmed my spections.


    Wang Yuanchao immediately took me away. At the door, I was suddenly stopped by someone. When I turned around, I was greeted by Captain Xing¡¯s stern face. He was followed by two officers.


    ncing at me, Captain Xing ordered the other two to leave. Then he said, ¡°Yuanchao, bring the ¡¯suspect¡¯ here!"


    As soon as we entered an empty conference room, Captain Xing exploded, "Consultant Song, how can you do such a thing? Who allowed you in here?"


    Of course, I couldn¡¯t involve Sun Tiger. "It was my idea. It¡¯s got nothing to do with Wang Yuanchao."


    Captain Xing shook his head and sighed, "Don¡¯t you believe in me? I¡¯ve collected a lot of evidence, all of which proves that it was a crime of passion. Huang Xiaotao will be sentenced to five or six years at most. With the support of the media and the public, she may even get a reduced sentence."


    "Do you know what five or six years in prison means to a policeman? What is she supposed to do when shees out? And stay with the criminals who were sent in there by her own hands? She might not evene out alive!"


    Captain Xing mmed the table, "What else can I do to help her? All the evidence shows that she killed Qin Aonan and this is the most I can do! Please stop lying to yourself. I understand what you¡¯re feeling and I know you can¡¯t ept it, but this case is really a matter of fact."


    I knew that Captain Xing was only doing his duty but his eyes were clearly blinded by illusion. "Listen to this recording then," I snapped, grabbing my cell phone.


    When I yed the conversation between myself and Wang Xuebing, Captain Xing sputtered, ¡°You must have synthesized this!"


    "Look at the time. It was recorded five minutes ago. Do you think I have the ability to do that?"


    Knocked sideways by the sudden revtion, Captain Xing muttered repeatedly, "That¡¯s impossible... Impossible..."


    I exined the truth of the entire case roughly and summarized, "Everything was arranged by the Dog Trainer. As long as we find the man who executed the switch, we can prove Xiaotao¡¯s innocence!"


    Captain Xing bowed his head, saying nothing.


    "Have you investigated the Dog Trainer?" I asked.


    "Yes! I¡¯ve been investigating this person since Deng Chao¡¯s case. But he has no criminal record and hasn¡¯t personallymitted any crimes. I can tell you this, even if he¡¯s sitting here now, I have no reason to arrest him," replied Captain Xing captain.


    The Dog Trainer was indeed one of the most special criminals. His hands weren¡¯t stained with blood but he manipted everything like a puppet master lurking in the dark. It¡¯s no wonder he was assigned by the organization to oversee Nanjiang City.


    Captain Xing added, "ording to what you say, he likes to turn others into ves who work for him. As long as these ves don¡¯t use him, he¡¯s innocent."


    "No, he¡¯s not innocent,¡± I refuted. ¡°Actually, I have an idea! The Dog Trainer¡¯s business is to clean up after criminals. And the people he deals with are all vicious criminals so there won¡¯t be a written contract between him and his client. How can he ensure that these people will pay after the job is done? I¡¯m guessing he must have a handle on them."


    "What do you mean?" Captain Xing nced at me curiously.


    "The Dog Trainer holds a lot of evidence of the crimes others havemitted. If he can be brought down, all his clients will be arrested, including the four young masters,¡± I exined. ¡°This evidence, in turn, can be used against him as proof of ckmail and extortion. It¡¯s enough to send him to prison."


    Captain Xing arched an eyebrow, "So what you¡¯re trying to say is, the key to solving the case of the four young masters and Huang Xiaotao lies in him alone?"


    "That¡¯s exactly what I mean," I nodded.


    After reflecting for a considerable amount of time, Captain Xing pointed out, "But we can¡¯t establish a case."


    "Let me take care of him! I¡¯ll find enough evidence to file a case." In fact, I was thankful for the fact that I was just a consultant, not a policeman.


    "Then you should be careful. I will reinvestigate Huang Xiaotao¡¯s case. That way, we can at least dy the judicial process."


    Turning Captain Xing¡¯s around was one of the biggest unexpected gains today. When I said my thank yous, Captain Xing waved, "Don¡¯t thank me. You did all of this. I¡¯m relieved to learn that Huang Xiaotao is innocent. But there is one thing¨Cyou¡¯re not allowed in the station before the case is solved. There are reporters everywhere. If you¡¯re seen participating in the case, the public might question the police¡¯s impartiality."


    "Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t show up again," I assured him.


    Captain Xing stood up and shook hands with me, "I hope the next time we meet, we will be at the celebration party and won¡¯t have to meet in secret. I¡¯ll personally make amends to Huang Xiaotao!"

 Chapter 422

    <h4>Chapter 422</h4>


    After leaving the station, Wang Yuanchao turned to me, "I¡¯ll continue locating the thief!"


    "Alright, I¡¯m going home first."


    After we said our goodbyes, I headed back to the store, though Dali and Luo Youyou were nowhere to be found. Upon calling and asking Dali, I learned that Luo Youyou had rented a ce.


    When I arrived at the location of the address, I found myself outside a basement apartment. The door opened and I was greeted by Bingxin, Dali and Luo Youyou. There were snacks and a game of Monopoly on the table, and several sleeping bags on the floor. Bingxin even moved an entire set ofboratory equipment.


    "Where did you get this?" I gasped in amazement.


    "I borrowed it from the universityboratory,¡± replied Bingxin. ¡°You should quickly collect more evidence for me to test. Or I¡¯m going to be bored out of my mind waiting here."


    I smiled and exined the events that had just transpired.


    There was nothing on the agenda throughout the afternoon. Bingxin suggested going to the hospital to visit Song Xingchen which I immediately vetoed. The Dog Trainer¡¯s people were everywhere. If we casually walked around unprotected, wouldn¡¯t we be giving him what he wanted?


    Naturally, I wasn¡¯t at all interested in ying Monopoly with the others. I explored the apartment, summing up all the clues I had at the moment, and thought about the Dog Trainer¡¯s next move. My intuition told me that he was nning a big conspiracy.


    Unfortunately, Dali picked up the terrible habit of smoking ever since he started the business. He finished three cigarettes in the living room, choking the rest of us with the horrid smell of smoke. Bingxin couldn¡¯t take it any longer and chided, "You don¡¯t pick up the good stuff but you learn to smoke?"


    "What¡¯s the difference between a eunuch and a man who doesn¡¯t smoke or drink?" scoffed Dali.


    "You little fucker, who are you cursing?" I frowned.


    Dali waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no! I didn¡¯t mean that. I¡¯m talking about others."


    "I can¡¯t stand it anymore!¡± cried Bingxin. ¡°Song Yang-gege, let¡¯s go out for a walk!"


    We headed out and wandered around for some time when Wang Yuanchao called, "Song Yang, my informant says he¡¯s met the thief. The manes from Jiujiang and studied under Yun Zhonghe, an expert thief during the Republic of China. He was called Lightning Hands in the Jianghu! The thefts he¡¯smitted are worth more than ten million each and he¡¯s not interested in small cases at all. In the Jianghu, he¡¯s known as the Innocent White Wall because he has never been caught. More importantly, he disappeared for a whilest year."


    "Can you find him?" I asked.


    "That might be a little difficult. I¡¯ll ask around and get back to you!" Wang Yuanchao replied.


    "Thanks for the hard work," I acknowledged before hanging up.


    When Bingxin asked what happened, I reported Wang Yuanchao¡¯s finding, to which she jumped up excitedly. "The witness has been found! Xiaotao-jiejie will soon be dered innocent!"


    I shook my head, "Don¡¯t be happy just yet. The gap in the enemy¡¯s strength and ours is a vast ocean. This is just a small game to the Dog Trainer but it¡¯s taking all we have to solve it. If he decides to deal with us seriously, I¡¯m afraid our lives would be in grave danger."


    "What do you think is his purpose?" queried Bingxin.


    Instead of answering her question directly, I deflected, "By the way, I forgot to mention something. From now on, you must text me every hour and I will reply after receiving your message. If I disappear, then go to your father!"


    "Why would you disappear?" Bingxin appeared rmed.


    "I¡¯m talking about the worst-case scenario."


    Bingxin held my hand, "Song Yang-gege, please be safe. Without you, my life would be so bleak."


    "Don¡¯t worry!" Iforted.


    We strolled around and headed back to the apartment after dinner, only to find Dali and Luo Youyou missing. I picked the lock and opened the door, finding opened snack packets left by two people in the room. I immediately called Dali but his phone was turned off.


    Bingxin and I exchanged a look of consternation and rushed back to the store together. However, the cashier didn¡¯t know where Dali and Luo Youyou had gone either.


    My heart sank with worry. The disappearance of the two must be rted to the Dog Trainer. I called Wang Yuanchao and Sun Tiger, asking for their help to locate Dali and Luo Youyou. Meanwhile, Bingxin and I visited their usual haunts.


    Just past seven in the evening, I received a call from Wang Yuanchao. "An old colleague from the DEA said a couple was caught with drugs at around four in the afternoon and their characteristics match Wang Dali and Luo Youyou," reported Wang Yuanchao.


    "What?!" I eximed.


    "My colleague said they found half a kilogram of heroin on Wang Dali, which is enough to put him away for ten years!"


    "How did the DEA find out?" I asked.


    "They went after the couple after receiving a call," answered Wang Yuanchao.


    Knowing this was another one of the Dog Trainer¡¯s schemes disheartened me.


    "Tell me where you are. I¡¯ll pick you up and we¡¯ll head there together!" said Wang Yuanchao.


    We agreed on a meeting ce, and after a while, Wang Yuanchao¡¯s car pulled up in front of us. Thus, we tore hell for leather down to the DEA office. Although it was also part of the public security system, I had never been there.


    There were several fierce-looking detection dogs in the courtyard being trained. Bingxin tightened her hand around mine in fear.


    When Wang Yuanchao shed his badge, we were taken to a detention room where Dali and Luo Youyou were being held. At the sight of us, Dali burst out, "Dude, what¡¯s going on here? Youyou and I went out to eat when a group of DEA officers suddenly jumped out and pinned me to the ground. Then they found a pack of white powder in my pocket."


    "When did this happen?"


    "4:30!" cried Dali.


    I sighed, "Didn¡¯t I tell you not to leave the apartment? Why would you still go out?"


    Luo Youyou sobbed, "I¡¯m sorry, Song Yang. It¡¯s all my fault. I wanted to eat luosifen from a restaurant nearby, so Dali took me out."


    I stared helplessly at my two pig teammates, "Who gave you the drugs?"


    "I don¡¯t know,¡± Dali looked nkly at me. ¡°We were chatting and didn¡¯t notice anyone close to us."


    Like a man going up a creek without a paddle, I sighed, "You guys stay here for two days. It¡¯s safer in here."


    After leaving the detention room, Wang Yuanchao greeted his former colleague and exined the situation. In fact, the officer also found it rather odd that such arge amount of drugs were found on a boy. No drug trafficker would be so bold. However, he couldn¡¯t just let them go, and hence the arrest. Before we left the DEA office, he promised to take good care of them.


    As soon as I stepped out of the office, I received a phone call without a caller ID. It was the Dog Trainer. "Do you like my surprise?" he asked.


    "You¡¯re really an expert at set-ups!" I mocked.


    "This is your own fault. Since you won¡¯t behave, then I must punish you. Meet me at the Golden Dragon Mall at eight tomorrow morning. I hope you¡¯lle with a sincere attitude this time."


    "How long are we going to y this game?" I retorted.


    The Dog Trainer smiled, "I¡¯m the rule maker so I have the final say. By the way, if I find out that you¡¯re up to any little tricks again, the sniper rifle aimed at your friends¡¯ heads will go off. Remember, I expect sincerity if you want the same in return."


    Then, he hung up right at 29 seconds. This man was extremely meticulous and cunning!


    Wang Yuanchao interjected, "Song Yang, I¡¯ll go with you tomorrow!"


    "No, I¡¯ll go alone,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°The Dog Trainer won¡¯t do anything to me for the time being. I¡¯ll wear a tracker."


    There¡¯s a Chinese saying-a weak teammate does more harm than the enemy. So a pig teammate refers to that.

 Chapter 423

    <h4>Chapter 423</h4>


    I got up early the next morning and brought the necessary equipment to the front of the Golden Dragon Mall. The Dog Trainer was waiting there for me with his hands in the pockets of his trench coat.


    At the sight of me, he grinned widely. "Go ahead,¡± I said. ¡°What game would you like to y today?"


    "Don¡¯t be so antsy. Worrying is only going to make you age. Have you had breakfast?" he asked.


    I didn¡¯t have the heart to chat and joke around after he hurt four of my friends. The Dog Trainer walked to a stall nearby, ordered a bowl of oden, and handed it to me. "Eat!"


    Instead of reaching for it, I frowned, "I don¡¯t like to beat around the bush."


    The Dog Trainer ordered, "You better obey!"


    "Are you going to threaten me with my friend¡¯s safety for such a stupid little thing?" I scoffed.


    I grabbed the bowl, ready to toss it into the trash can when the Dog Trainer¡¯s eyes turned dark, "Do you know the price of disobeying me? The more disobedient the dog is, the more it stimtes my desire for dominance. I don¡¯t want to show you my other side."


    I gritted my teeth and pulled out the bamboo stick. Eating it felt like chewing on wax. Coerced to do as he asked made me feel humiliated. At the same time, I realized that this man had an abnormal desire for control.


    After finishing my food, the Dog Trainer looked his usual jovial self. He was now back to the kind uncle who wouldn¡¯t hurt an animal, much less a person. Smiling with satisfaction, he said, "That¡¯s more like it."


    I threw away the rest of the soup and analyzed, "You were born in a middle-ss family and have been self-abased since childhood. Your father was very strict and your mother either died young or divorced your father!"


    The Dog Trainer paused, looking puzzled.


    "Your boyhood didn¡¯t go so smoothly,¡± I continued. ¡°You were a nerd who was bullied by everyone else. You used to disguise yourself with a mask and catered to others. You like everything to be in order, but reality never goes as nned which makes you resentful of everything around you. Your marriage turned out to be a disaster. You may have children, but they are very rebellious so this meaningless game of control has be a sort ofpensation that makes you feel like the king of everything!"


    The Dog Trainer asked coldly, "Are you making a psychological evaluation of me?"


    "Just reciprocating the favor. You like to control people and I like to analyze them!"


    "Song Yang, I hope that confident expression will always remain on your face,¡± he smiled. ¡°One day in the future, you¡¯re going to miss this wild and unfettered side of yours."


    I understood the implication of his words. It seemed today¡¯s task was by no means simple. "Get to the point!" I snapped.


    The Dog Trainer handed me a photo of a skinny man. "Today¡¯s task is very simple. Kill a witness for me. I¡¯ve locked him up and the gun has been prepared."


    "I thought you don¡¯t kill them," I arched an eyebrow.


    "Not everyone has the potential to be a dog. For some of the more ipetent ones, it¡¯s much better to kill them, don¡¯t you think?"


    "I think it¡¯s best for everyone if the people in your organization are all dead!" I mocked.


    Roaring withughter, he took out a photo with a gun and a bullet on top. "If you finish the task, this is a reward for you."


    This was the gun and bullet Xiaotao fired at the time. It must have her fingerprints on it which was an important piece of evidence to overthrow her conviction.


    "And what if I fail?" I asked.


    "One of your friends will die! Have I made myself clear enough? There¡¯s an address behind the photo. Remember, don¡¯t leave any evidence behind."


    After that, he turned to the boss stall owner and said, "Excuse me, I¡¯ll have another one!"


    I stared at the person in the photo. Cheating my way out of today¡¯s task would be difficult. But if I killed someone, the Dog Trainer would certainly use that for ckmail, making it impossible for me to escape his control in the future.


    The Dog Trainer urged, "Don¡¯t call anyone. Don¡¯t try anything!"


    With clenched fists, I decided to take a look at the situation first. On my way there, I texted Wang Yuanchao, Sun Tiger and Bingxin, "You may be in danger. Stay hidden!"


    I soon arrived at the location written on the back of the photo¨Can unfinished building. On the sixth floor, I found a man hidden behind one of the building material boards. He was sitting on a chair with his hands tied behind his back. There was a bag beside him that contained a semi-automatic pistol.


    As soon as the man saw me, he screamed. I removed the rag from his mouth and asked, "Who are you?"


    "I¡¯m just a businessman,¡± he cried. ¡°I don¡¯t know why I was kidnapped."


    "Have you ever heard of the name Dog Trainer?" I asked.


    "No!" he replied.


    "Are you involved in any cases?" I asked again.


    Seeing his refusal to answer, I showed him my identification and said, "Don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯m with the police!"


    The man crumpled in relief, "Officer, thank goodness you¡¯re here. In fact, I went out two nights ago and parked my car on the side of the road to relieve myself. Then I saw two cars passing by with a naked man sandwiched between them and running barefoot. I was surprised at the time so I secretly followed them. And then... then... I saw four young men dragging a woman from the car into a concrete pipe. The woman kept screaming. And when they were done with her, the young men came out and started punching and kicking the naked man."


    It turned out he was a witness to the four young masters¡¯ case!


    "Why didn¡¯t you call the police at that time?" I chided.


    "I was afraid,¡± he sobbed. The four young men looked like rich people. I was afraid of being retaliated by them. But then a policeman came to me and asked if I had seen anything. I told him everything, and then... the man covered my face with a rag and knocked me out. "


    "What does the policeman look like?" I asked.


    ording to the man¡¯s description, it was the Dog Trainer impersonating an officer. "Did you see the faces of the four young men clearly?"


    "Yes!" he nodded desperately.


    "Would you recognize them if you saw them again?" I asked.


    "Of course!"


    This man¡¯s existence was crucial for the progress of the four young masters¡¯ case. It suddenly dawned upon me that this was a test given to me by the Dog Trainer. He wanted me to choose between Xiaotao¡¯s innocence and bringing down the four young masters. If I didn¡¯t kill this man, Wang Yuanchao, Bingxin or Sun Tiger would die. Was the price worth it?


    I shook my head vehemently. None of that mattered. What mattered most were my principles and I couldn¡¯t kill anyone!


    Seeing that I remained motionless for some time, the man pleaded, "Officer, please cut me loose. I have been sitting here all night and my arms are numb."


    "Don¡¯t worry. Let me make a phone call first!"


    Just as I was about to call Sun Tiger and task for backup, a thunderous gunshot resounded in the empty floor, bouncing off the walls. When I turned around, I found a hole in the witness¡¯s forehead. His head dropped to the side and he no longer moved. Out of the hole, flowed crimson blood that dripped along his nose bridge and down to his chin.


    The Dog Trainer stood on the other side, his gloved hand holding a gun. "I told you no more tricks! You failed your test!"

 Chapter 424

    <h4>Chapter 424</h4>


    I clenched my fist angrily, "You deliberately set me up!"


    The Dog Trainer smiled, "In fact, I knew you wouldn¡¯t kill him, especially since he¡¯s such an important witness. A person¡¯s character is like a cage that binds the heart. You may have made a difference, but you¡¯re bound by this meaningless sense of justice."


    I gritted my teeth, picked up the semi-automatic pistol from the ground, and shot at the Dog Trainer, but there were no bullets.


    "Look, you¡¯ve finally taken an amazing step forward!" the Dog Trainerughed.


    I threw the gun aside, shivering with rage. "Come at me then. Don¡¯t threaten me with my friends!"


    "You have no coteral to use against me. Your weakness is your self-confidence. Do you know the real purpose of these three tests?¡± he arched his eyebrows. ¡°The purpose was to make you think that I won¡¯t hurt you. You didn¡¯t even bring anyone with you today and confidently came to the meeting alone. My purpose has been achieved."


    In that instant, I broke out in a cold sweat at the uracy of his judgment of me. "What do you want?" I asked.


    "I want to turn you into my ve!" The Dog Trainer¡¯s eyes shed sinisterly, "In fact, I didn¡¯t want to use coercion because you¡¯re valuable for two things¨Cone is your ability and the other is your identity! If you disappear for no reason, everyone will know that you¡¯ve be my dog, then your identity will be meaningless. But you forced me to do this. You didn¡¯t follow my rules, so you have to be punished."


    As he walked towards me, I took a deep breath, ready tounch the Eyes of Yama.


    The Dog Trainer continued, "I don¡¯t care whether a policeman lives or dies. In fact, what I want the most is you, Song Yang! The case is just a means of distracting you. If you have something to do, you won¡¯t be too wary of me. You now regard me as the enemy. But once you are baptized by me, you will have a new self. When the timees, you will thank me, you will fall in love with me, and you will die for the organization! The stronger the man is, the more loyal he is after surrendering. I can¡¯t wait to hear you call me master..."


    His eyes lit up with a strange glow, a morbid smile rising to his lips like a devil from the depths of hell.


    Even in the face of the most dangerous criminals or the paranormal that couldn¡¯t be exined bymon sense, I had never been so frightened as I was at this moment. I knew that once I fell into his hands, it was the end of the road for me. I would be his aplice, even killing my former friends for him!


    I closed my eyes and opened them again. Profound fear seemed to intensify the power of the Eyes of Yama. The Dog Trainer covered his eyes with a scream and fell to the ground, firing several shots at random.


    I quickly rushed downstairs but was attacked with an iron bar halfway down near a blind corner, making me lose my bnce and I started rolling down the stairs.


    "Don¡¯t you dare hurt the master!" A big fellow pounded me with the stick in his hands.


    Though I didn¡¯t expect an ambush to be waiting for me, I managed to activate the Eyes of Yama once more at the critical point. With an ear-piercing scream, the big fellow fell over the railing, and a few secondster the dull thud of a body hitting the floor came from below.


    After using the Eyes of Yama twice in a row, I was close to fainting. I knew using it again meant zero chance of escape. Body swaying left to right, I staggered as I slowly stood up. Suddenly, arge enveloped me.


    The man holding the fishing pulled so hard that I stumbled to the ground. He dragged it all the way to the middle of the floor and began kicking.


    Suddenly, a white light shed and a bloody mark appeared on the man¡¯s neck, slowly expanding. He subconsciously covered the wound with his hand but the blood gushed out like open floodgates. Finally, he fell to his knees.


    It was none other than Song Xingchen who killed the man. Song Xingchen stood beside him, the Tang Sword in his hand slicing away at the fishing which allowed me to break free.


    The sound of a gunshot reverberated through the air, and Song Xingchen crouched down at once, throwing his Tang Sword out.


    I turned around to see a man aiming a gun in our direction, with the Tang Sword embedded in his face as he slowly keeled over.


    Because of the abrupt movements, Song Xingchen had torn open his wound. He covered his stomach, blood staining his hands red. "Go!" he urged.


    ¡°We¡¯ll go together,¡± I said.


    "Just go!" Sing Xingchen was almost yelling.


    ng! The sudden noise came from the side. Song Xingchen turned over and kicked something out of the way. Nailed to the cold wall, it was still bouncing¨Cit was a knife.


    From where the knife originated stood a topless muscr man with an armband full of throwing knives. He drew two of them into his hand.


    I immediately darted towards the second body and pulled out the Tang Sword, tossing it to Song Xingchen. As soon as he held onto the sword, Song Xingchen sliced through the air, causing sparks as he thwarted the oing knives.


    "I¡¯ll be fine. Just go!" shouted Song Xingchen.


    "Don¡¯t die!" I said, gritting my teeth. As I tore down the stairs, a fierce struggle sounded from behind.


    In the span of one breath, I managed to make it downstairs. Using the Eyes of Yama earlier had me seeing ck. Unfortunately, I found several cars waiting downstairs. At the sight of me, a bunch of people jumped out of the cars with weapons in their hands.


    "Master has given the order. Catch him alive!" shouted the leader.


    Despite the odds that were stacked against me, I tried to rush through the crowd but there were so many of them that I was surrounded. The encirclement was shrinking, and I couldn¡¯t use the Eyes of Yama again. First of all, it had no way of coping with so many people, and secondly, it was my life-saving card.


    Right then, a loud noise interrupted my thoughts. Looking in the direction of the noise, I saw Song Xingchen stepping on a flying knife andnding on top of a car, smashing the roof. He suffered multiple injuries and his body was dyed red by the blood but his eyes were as cold as a lone wolf.


    While everyone else remained stunned, Song Xingchen did a flip and sliced the man standing closest to him. As the other charged at him, Song Xingchen swung his sword horizontally, splitting three or four people at the same time, sending blood sttering all over the ce.


    However, this group of brainwashed dogs didn¡¯t know fear or pain. Even after killing more than a dozen people, the rest of them still rushed towards him, eyes filled with murderous intent. It was almost too difficult for one man to stand against so many, and Song Xingchen gradually grew weaker and began to tremble...


    Two seriously injured men clung to Song Xingchen¡¯s legs to stop him from moving.


    A man with a dagger pounced on Song Xingchen, stabbing his shoulder. Though he was immediately beheaded by Song Xingchen, the weight of the headless body rested on him so the three corpses and one living man fell to the ground at the same time.


    The people in the back took the opportunity to jump on him. "Stop!" I shouted.


    "Let him live and I¡¯ll go with you."


    Apuse came from upstairs. There stood the Dog Trainer in amanding aura. Upon seeing their master, the dogs knelt down one after the other.


    "I told you already, you have too many weaknesses. You should¡¯ve just listened from the start!" the Dog Trainer smiled.


    Crushed to the ground by the corpses, Song Xingchen shouted hysterically, "No! If you do this, I willmit suicide."


    "I order you to live. As long as we¡¯re alive, there¡¯s hope," I persisted.


    As I watched Song Xingchen clench his bloody fists, a man immediately covered my face with an ether-soaked rag. My consciousness sank into darkness...

 Chapter 425

    <h4>Chapter 425</h4>


    I had a dream I was drowning. Cold water filled my lungs, burning my insides so badly I couldn¡¯t stop coughing.


    When I opened my eyes, I found myself upside down in the back of a vehicle with my hands tied. An expressionless man was pouring mineral water on my face.


    I struggled violently but the man held me down and barked, "Don¡¯t move!"


    At this moment, the vehicle stopped and I was dragged out of the vehicle by the man. There were two other cars. When the Dog Trainer alighted from one, his ¡®dog¡¯ helped him put on his coat. We appeared to be in the outskirts of the city. There was a factory ahead, though it didn¡¯t look abandoned. The machines inside were still running, making noises so loud they deafened the ears.


    At the Dog Trainer¡¯smand, several men pushed me forward.


    When we entered the factory, the guard bowed his head respectfully to the Dog Trainer, and so did the workers busy working on the assembly line. They stopped what they were doing at once and stood in two rows like servants, bowing their heads to the Dog Trainer...


    So these were all the Dog Trainer¡¯s subordinates. He had purchased a processing factory as his hiding ce. No matter how the police investigated, they wouldn¡¯t have imagined that all the people working here were his ¡®dogs.¡¯


    We walked through the workshop and arrived at a door. Below was adder leading downstairs to a warehouse where they stored human beings instead of goods.


    Many cementpartments were built on both sides, welded with iron railings. Thepartments were so small it was impossible for a person to stand up straight, so they could only lie down like dogs.


    I saw a naked man or woman in everypartment, and the air was filled with the stench of the living. As we passed thesepartments, people screamed, "Master, let me out!"


    "I will kill you! I will kill you!"


    "I¡¯ll do anything you ask, just let me out please!"


    "I¡¯m hungry. Let me eat something, please!"


    This heart-rending begging and cursing made me tremble all over but the Dog Trainer seemed intoxicated by it as if listening to moving music. "What beautiful voices,¡± he sighed. ¡°Nothing stirs me more than the servility hidden in each human!"


    "Fucking psycho!¡± I cursed.


    The Dog Trainer stopped in front of apartment where a womany in a pool of blood, still bleeding. Her wrists were bloody and her mouth was stained with blood. It turned out she killed herself by biting off her blood vessels with her teeth.


    The Dog Trainer asked, "What¡¯s going on here?"


    An old hunchback walked over and said, "Master, I¡¯m sorry. This is due to my oversight."


    The Dog Trainer red at the old man, "Get rid of the body quickly. Don¡¯t affect the health of the other dogs. As for you... You should know the punishment for losing a dog. You know what to do."


    The old man shrank, "Yes, Master!"


    Looking at the body, I thought to myself, Perhaps this is what will be of me in the near future. I would rather die than surrender to him.


    We entered a door and passed a long corridor, then came to a white room. There was a mirror on one of the ceramic tile walls resembling those in interrogation rooms and a chill in the air.


    The Dog Trainer gestured towards the door, "Clean him up!"


    His men dragged me in and began to strip me. With a heart of shame, I mmed my forehead against one of them in the face, causing the man to bleed from his nose. In retaliation, he mmed his fist into my face.


    Falling to my knees, I felt a gush of warm blood on my lips. I must¡¯ve knocked my teeth against them.


    Right then, a thunderous noise filled the room, the echoessting for some time. The man who raised his fist against me fell to the ground limply, his eyes wide open, eyes staring into nothingness and a hole in his forehead.


    The others were frightened. Meanwhile, the Dog Trainer who fired the shot stood at the door, voice cold as he warned, "Don¡¯t hurt Song Yang. Any one of his fingers is worth more than your life. Got it?"


    The men nodded desperately, and the Dog Trainer added, "Song Yang, if there¡¯s any kindness left in you, don¡¯t resist. Because these people are all victims in your own words."


    "You won¡¯t be standing for long!" I roared at the Dog Trainer.


    "You can say whatever you want. I¡¯m used to it,¡± he smiled. ¡°Alright, get back to work."


    They continued to remove my clothes. Just as my pants were taken off, I suddenly reached and grabbed something, stuffing it into my mouth. As soon as the others noticed my actions, they knocked it out of my hand.


    Seeing the tracker that had fallen to the ground, the Dog Trainer sneered, "What a naughty boy!¡± Then, he crushed it with his foot.


    After stripping me naked, they dragged away the body on the ground. Standing naked in front of the Dog Trainer, a great sense of shame filled my heart. I knew that this was only the first step in shattering a person¡¯s dignity, and there were even more unbearable tortures waiting for me.


    One of the men turned on the high-pressure water jet and glistening water shot towards me, knocking me down like a fist. I used both hands to block the oing water but my whole body was soon dripping wet, leaving me trembling from the cold.


    "Just kill me!" I shouted in indignation.


    "Tsk, tsk! Dogs should be treated like dogs. Have you ever seen a dog dressed in clothes?" the Dog Trainerughed.


    After washing me, a woman with short hair came into the room and dried my body with a towel. Finally, she ced a dog cor around my neck. I struggled hard but the woman was so strong she twisted my joints, making me tear up in pain.


    Then she handed the chain to the Dog Trainer who patted her on the shoulder and turned to me, "Do you know who she is?"


    I stared at him angrily, saying nothing.


    "Duan Yunjie used to be a policewoman. In one of the missions to capture me, she failed and is nowpletely loyal to me. This is your future!"


    I stared at her cold face and vaguely recognized the shadow of Xiaotao in her. If Xiaotao was forced to suffer such humiliation, I didn¡¯t know what I would do.


    "Song Yang, I¡¯m a man who likes to give people opportunities. Now, if you kneel, crawl up to me, and call me master, I¡¯ll make things easier for you. But if you refuse, there will be worse things waiting for you. I will destroy your will little by little!"


    "Go fuck yourself!" I shouted.


    The Dog Trainer sneered, ¡°I like headstrong! Remember, this is the choice you made."


    He jerked the chain, forcing me to stagger forward as I was dragged out of the room by him.


    I was led by him like a dog. No one could protect me now and I had to relypletely on willpower.


    I am Song Yang and I am my own master! I am Song Yang and I am my own master! I desperately repeated.


    I was taken to a little dark room with an X-shaped wooden crossplete with leather fasteners used for binding. It was covered with a thickyer of human sebum due to long-term use.


    The Dog Trainer ordered his men, "Tie him up!¡± Then, turning to me, he smiled, ¡°This will be an experience you¡¯ll never forget!"

 Chapter 426

    <h4>Chapter 426</h4>


    The Dog Trainer¡¯s men attached me to the cross. I watched as Duan Yunjie grabbed arge needle and injected some unknown drug into my body,pletely unable to resist.


    The Dog Trainer moved his shoulder and one of his men immediately removed his shirt for him. Then, another handed him a small whip. "Leave the room!" he said with a wave of his hand.


    After the others left, only the Dog Trainer and I remained in the room.


    "Turn people into ves is an art,¡± said the Dog Trainer. ¡°Rather than hunger and fatigue, I¡¯m more deeply impressed by the methods of the ancients¨Cpain! The drug I just injected activates the pain nerves throughout your entire body so the pain you feel will be ten times stronger than usual. Even if the wind blows on your skin, it¡¯ll burn like fire."


    I gritted my teeth, feeling the drug working. It was as if countless ants were crawling under my skin¨Ca sensation of pain and itchiness spreading all over my body.


    The Dog Trainer continued, "You should be d that it¡¯s me. If it were someone else, they would torture you to death by various sadistic means. But I would never. I appreciate you more than anyone else and I want you for my own use!"


    I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. "Am I the first Song family member to be taken here?"


    "Yes, but definitely not thest one!¡± answered the Dog Trainer. ¡°Well, let¡¯s begin."


    The Dog Trainer fiddled with the whip andshed the side of my ribs. It felt like being pressed to the ground by a red-hot steel bar. Intense pain sunk into my bones as I screamed in pain, sweat pouring from the pores of my body.


    "Call me Master and I will stop."


    "Dream on!" I gasped for air.


    "Your struggle is meaningless. It¡¯s only a matter of time before your will copses. Do you think you¡¯re more special than the thousands of people I have tamed?" asked the Dog Trainer.


    I sneered, "Just kill me!"


    He put away his smile and continued whipping me. The terrible pain was almost enough to render me unconscious. The screams that escaped my lips sounded, unlike any cry I had ever heard myself utter. They echoed throughout the tiny room, piercing my eardrums.


    The whip he was holding wasmonly used for bondage purposes and sounded more painful than it actually felt. Thus, it didn¡¯t leave any wounds. However, the drug enhanced my senses so the pain I experienced was eight or nine on a scale of one to ten.


    But this was the limit I could bear. With only twoshes, I was already soaked with sweat, as if I had been fished out of water. Panting violently, the pain made me lose my mind.


    The Dog Trainer ordered, "Call me Master!"


    "Dream on..." I panted heavily.


    Crack! Crack! Two moreshes decorated my body. I lifted my head and screamed at the top of my lungs. Goosebumps covered my flesh as a strong sense of shame impacted the fragile thing known as reason. My inner desire for survival was desperately trying to persuade me to surrender to the man before me. There was only one belief that supported me¨Csomeone wille to save me.


    "Amazing! Ordinary people can¡¯t even bear threeshes," praised the Dog Trainer.


    My hair was soaked in cold sweat and stered on my forehead. All the shouting had given me a sore throat. I might have torn my vocal cords.


    I looked up with defiance, "All you¡¯re getting is my dead body."


    "No, I will make you my loyal dog!"


    The Dog Trainer sneered, and down came another crack of the whip. The pain pushed me beyond my limits. I felt my consciousness begin to blur and everything around me seemed almost unreal. My body¡¯s self-preservation mechanism kicked into gear, sinking me into unconsciousness to protect me.


    The Dog Trainer turned on the tap and poured cold water on me. It felt like being sprinkled with hot molten iron. My body was red and swollen. I was a trembling mess, teeth ttering and unable to speak.


    The Dog Trainer held the whip in his hand and snapped it. Upon hearing the sound, I shook like a frightened bird.


    "Call me Master!"


    "Dream... on...." I muttered.


    He fed me the whip once more. But this time, the Dog Trainer seemed angered. I felt pain tearing my body apart and I threw up uncontrobly. A glowing button-shaped object, food residue, and gastric juice sttered all over the floor.


    That was the tracker that Bingxin had given me. I swallowed it when I was dealing with them in the unfinished residential ts. What they previously crushed was just an ordinary button battery which I deliberately exposed.


    Surprised, the Dog Trainer picked it up, then smashed it and roared, "You son of a bitch!"


    With that, he left the room and a triumphant smile rose to my lips before I faintedpletely.


    Fragmented nightmares filled my anxious rest and I felt a huge needle inserted into my body. I woke up screaming to see Duan Yunjie, the female officer, piercing a needle into me.


    ¡°You dog!" I spat.


    "Don¡¯t get me wrong, this is the antidote,¡± exined Duan Yunjie. ¡°I wasn¡¯t brainwashed. I was just pretending to surrender to him."


    I replied coldly: "I don¡¯t believe it!"


    Duan Yunjie untied me and put me down, "You don¡¯t have to believe me, but I¡¯m taking you out of here now."


    Uponnding on my feet, I was retching so hard I thought I would vomit out my stomach and intestines. Duan Yunjie handed me a bottle of water and my clothes. Without a second thought, I took a sip and grabbed my clothes.


    However, my limbs were still weak at this point so I couldn¡¯t get dressed at all. "Let me help you!" offered Duan Yunjie.


    Under the current circumstances, I felt no shame in receiving her help to get dressed.


    Duan Yunjie began, "I¡¯m a graduate of the Police Academy¡¯s ss of 13¡¯, just like your girlfriend Huang Xiaotao. I received an undercover task from my superiors, that is, to approach the Dog Trainer, but I didn¡¯t expect to be found by him. Thus, I had to feign obedience to save myself."


    I was shocked, "The police have already started to investigate the Dog Trainer?"


    "The Dog Trainer has been in Nanjiang City for ten years, but he used other code names before. There¡¯s evidence that many major cases were secretly manipted by him ten years ago. I¡¯ve investigated and collected information about his crimes. As long as I can contact my superiors, I can bring him down!"


    The antidote began working and my body gradually regained feeling. As Duan Yunjie led me away from the torture room, two men bumped into us midway and asked, "Duan Yunjie, where are you taking him?"


    "The master ordered me to move him to a safe ce,¡± replied Duan Yunjie.


    Just when the other party rxed his guard, Duan Yunjie suddenly swept one of them to the ground with a kick. The other man was ready to draw his knife when he too was mmed to the ground by Duan Yunjie¡¯s skillful move. Then, she kicked him heavily on the head, knocking him unconscious.


    Duan Yunjie gestured, "Follow me!"


    There were sounds of gunshots in the distance. "Are the police here?" I asked.


    "No! The Dog Trainer is going to transfer all his ves. Those who aren¡¯t fully trained yet are being executed."


    I gritted my teeth. I must bring this devil to justice.

 Chapter 427

    <h4>Chapter 427</h4>


    Duan Yunjie led me outside and climbed from the fire escape to the top floor. It was already night and a siren sounded in the distance. "They may exchange fire, so it¡¯s safer to stay here," said Duan Yunjie.


    "Does the Dog Trainer have a gun?" I asked.


    "More than one. He has an army, one that¡¯s not afraid of death!"


    I saw a row of the Dog Trainer¡¯s men standing in the middle of the road. When the SWAT team¡¯s armored vehicles arrived, they raised their guns like a well-trained army. The SWAT officers immediately jumped out of the armored vehicles and set up the 95 automatic rifles under the cover of bulletproof shields. I noticed Sun Tiger among the SWAT team.


    The Captain shouted through the megaphone, "Dog Trainer, you¡¯re suspected of kidnap and assault. Get your men toy down their weapons and surrender, or we will respond with force."


    Strong winds howled in the night sky as the two sides were deadlocked. I clenched my fist and asked Duan Yunjie, "Do you have a cell phone?"


    I called Sun Tiger with the cell phone Duan Yunjie handed me. He cried in surprise, "Kiddo, are you in the factory?"


    "I¡¯m on top of the building in the southwest. Can you see me?" I asked.


    I waved my hand and waited till I received a wave from Sun Tiger. "An undercover officer saved me. Her name is Duan Yunjie. Do you remember her?" I added.


    After a moment¡¯s contemtion, he replied, "I do. She¡¯s been missing for three years!"


    It seemed that Duan Yunjie wasn¡¯t lying. "Uncle Sun, all these people have been brainwashed. Try not to kill them if possible.¡±


    "Alright, I got it. I¡¯ll instruct the SWAT team to use riot guns and rubber bullets and try their best not to kill these people."


    Sun Tiger immediately gave his orders. Standing high up above the rest, I could see the situation below clearly. The Dog Trainer walked out of the factory surrounded by his men.


    "The Dog Trainer is out,¡± I reported.


    "Don¡¯t turn off your cell phone and stay on call,¡± instructed Sun Tiger.


    As the Dog Trainer approached the entrance, he shouted, "Dogs, it¡¯s time to show our guests what you can do!"


    Without any dy, the first six people suddenly held a gun against their own temples. They shot themselves at the same time. The sound of gunfire shook the night sky, leaving us mortified.


    The six men with holes in their heads fell to the ground lifelessly, shedding glistening brain matter and deep red blood.


    The other ¡¯dogs¡¯ watched as theirpanions died, their expressions remaining callous and indifferent. Many SWAT officers dropped their guns in shock.


    King Goujian of Yue would send a group of death warriors to the front every time he went to war. These death warriorsmitted suicide by slicing their own necks in front of the enemy to deter them. Their extreme loyalty to the extent of treating their own life like dirt was exactly what the Dog Trainer wanted to show the SWAT officers. Those tamed by him were both his soldiers and his hostages.


    Another six people held their guns to their temples. When the Dog Trainer walked out of the crowd, he shook his head and smiled, "Tsk, tsk. Officers, as you can see, they killed themselves. I didn¡¯t do anything."


    Sun Tiger cursed, "You fucking bastard!"


    "Take one more step closer and they will die. If you¡¯re willing to trade hundreds of lives for me, then go ahead," he quipped.


    He held out his hands and continued, "But before you say anything, I¡¯m aw-abiding citizen. I have never broken anyws. Have you lost a lovely little consultant? I don¡¯t know anything about that at all..."


    The man standing next to him raised his hand, "I kidnapped Song Yang!"


    The man who voluntarily gave himself in stretched out his hands and awaited arrest. "The real murderer has been brought to justice! Congrattions, the efficiency of the police is really amazing!" the Dog Trainer smiled, pping his hands.


    His performance made me sick, but his strength was far more formidable than Li Wenjia¡¯s hypnosis.


    Sun Tiger whispered into the phone, "Look out for my signal. I¡¯ll put out tear gas and then hit them with the riot guns."


    "You can¡¯t, Director. It¡¯s too risky. These people are more loyal than terrorists!" One of the officers disagreed.


    "From the infrared drones, we¡¯ve detected that the number of people in the factory is several times our numbers. We can¡¯t hold out against so many of them. Let¡¯s drag this out till the armed police force arrives," said another officer.


    Sun Tiger gritted his teeth, "Then let¡¯s buy ourselves some time!"


    "Dog Trainer, do you take us for idiots? Stop wasting our time and hand over Song Yang!¡± shouted Sun Tiger.


    The Dog Trainer replied, "I can promise you that, but you must evacuate the premises once you get your man back."


    "We won¡¯t negotiate with you. Even if you are as innocent as you im, gathering people and inciting them to cause trouble is enough for us to arrest you."


    The Dog Trainerughed, "Gathering people to cause trouble¨Care you kidding, Director Sun? This factory is part of my business and these are just my employees."


    "Employees?¡± sneered Sun Tiger. ¡°What are they holding in their hands? This is a private armed force."


    Right then, one of the Dog Trainer¡¯s men came rushing in. "Master, Song Yang has escaped!"


    Duan Yunjie whispered to me, "Let¡¯s go down now. The Dog Trainer is afraid to make any mistakes in front of the police. He fears doing anything that might be used against him."


    Upon second thought, I agreed and spoke into the phone, "Uncle Sun, I¡¯ming out now."


    As Duan Yunjie and I headed downstairs, the Dog Trainer turned to look at us at the sound of our footsteps, his face turning dark. "So it seems there was a wolf among my dogs. Duan Yunjie, why did you betray me?"


    "She was kidnapped like me. Are you going to detain us in front of the police?" I retorted.


    The Dog Trainer¡¯s cheek twitched uncontrobly, as if holding back his anger. "Go then!"


    We walked slowly past the Dog Trainer who whispered into my ear, "Song Yang, it¡¯s a pity that we can¡¯t have a good chat this time. I¡¯ll see you next time!"


    Thinking back to what I had experienced in the past few hours, the urge to kill him welled up inside of me, but still, I restrained myself. We were at daggers drawn and any rash actions would put all our lives in jeopardy.


    There was one thing that I found suspicious¨Cthe Dog Trainer¡¯s indifference to Duan Yunjie¡¯s betrayal. I suspected Duan Yunjie might have been deliberately ced among our ranks.


    As soon as I reached the SWAT team, Sun Tiger apologized, "I¡¯m sorry, kiddo."


    Seeing the two handcuffs he pulled out, I was well aware of his intentions. I had been missing for several hours so I might have been brainwashed. Naturally, Duan Yunjie couldn¡¯t be trusted either.


    I held out my hand and allowed him to cuff me. The Dog Trainer sneered, "Is this the way the police behave? You¡¯re as cold as winter towards yourrades and as hot as fire towards your enemies."


    "You can¡¯t fight now. Let¡¯s retreat first!" I urged.


    Sun Tiger asked, "What did he do to you?"


    "I¡¯m fine,¡± I replied. ¡°He has too many people and the internal structure of the factory isplicated. You¡¯re no match for him."


    Sun Tiger cursed under his breath, then ordered, "Let¡¯s withdraw!"


    I turned and red at the Dog Trainer who returned a sinister smile. "Dog Trainer, the next time we meet will be the day you die!"


    These soldiers are usually specially trained to engage in the task of suicide attacks or missions with little chance of survival.

 Chapter 428

    <h4>Chapter 428</h4>


    Duan Yunjie and I got into the police vehicle. Recalling the events that had just transpired, I found it difficult to calm down. I used to call the Dog Trainer¡¯s men ¡¯dogs,¡¯ but now I could sympathize with them. Every one of them was forced into very after experiencing what I did and more.


    When Sun Tiger got into the vehicle, he sat across me. Sizing me up, he seemed surprised. "Kiddo, are you all right?" he asked.


    "I¡¯m fine."


    "How can you be fine? Look at yourself!"


    Sun Tiger turned the rearview mirror towards me. As soon as I caught sight of my own reflection, I froze. I was actually crying. By this point, I could no longer control my emotions so I buried my face and began to sob.


    Sun Tiger sighed, "I must kill the bastard."


    He wrapped his arm around my shoulder despite his inability tofort. Patting my back, he said, "Don¡¯t go home tonight. Stay at my ce!" Then, he handed me a paper towel.


    As I wiped away the tears, Sun Tiger added, "There¡¯s good news..."


    "What?" I asked.


    Sun Tiger stopped talking and looked at Duan Yunjie uneasily. "What is your badge number and who is your superior?"


    Duan Yunjie answered his questions one by one. It turned out that she belonged to the SWAT team and joined this undercover mission as soon as she graduated. However, her original superior died in the line of duty.


    Sun Tiger admitted, "Officer Duan Yunjie, I don¡¯t trust you. You have been missing for three years. Anyone would doubt you."


    "I have a list of the Dog Trainers¡¯ clients in my hand and important evidence to charge him. This can prove that I have not been brainwashed," replied Duan Yunjie.


    "Where¡¯s the list?"


    Duan Yunjie pointed to her head, "I can¡¯t do anything under his supervision so I memorized the list."


    "What was the Dog Trainer¡¯s previous code name?" I questioned.


    "His previous code name was Nightcrawler. In fact, he wasn¡¯t part of the organization at first. He was a criminal who made a living by kidnapping and extortion. Later, his skills were appreciated and coveted by the organization so they made him one of them," Duan Yunjie exined.


    "So it looks like the Public Security Bureau has already started investigating this organization..."


    "It started as early as my cooperation with your grandfather. But every time we failed, the people involved in the mission were either missing or mysteriously killed."


    It seemed Sun Tiger knew more than I thought.


    "Duan Yunjie, I will arrange a psychologist to counsel you and confirm your state of mind,¡± added Sun Tiger. ¡°Then if you¡¯re given the clear, I¡¯ll formally return you to the team with the honor you deserve!"


    Duan Yunjie wanted to salute, only to remember that her hands were shackled. "Thank you, Director Sun," she smiled.


    "Song Yang,¡± he said, turning to me. ¡°You need to receive psychotherapy as well!"


    At the thought of revealing those incidents to a stranger and reopening my wounds, I felt resistance. "I¡¯m fine,¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°Listen to me!¡± urged Sun Tiger.


    These two words stimted me like a sharp needle through the marrow. "I said I was fine. Don¡¯t confuse me with them!" I shouted.


    My outburst frightened everyone in the vehicle. When I regainedposure, I realized my gaffe and bowed my head in loss, "I know, I¡¯ll go for therapy."


    Back at the station, I saw Xiaotao, Bingxin, Dali and Wang Yuanchao waiting at the entrance as soon as I alighted the vehicle. When they saw me in handcuffs, Dali asked in surprise, "What happened?"


    "This is for his own protection,¡± rified Sun Tiger. ¡°Let¡¯s go inside and talk about it."


    Upon seeing Xiaotao after such a long parting, I couldn¡¯t resist a smile. There were a thousand words I wanted to say but all I could manage was, "I¡¯m back."


    Xiaotao rushed over and wrapped her arms around me. "Song Yang, we were worried about you!"


    "Where¡¯s Song Xingchen?"


    "He doesn¡¯t have any serious injuries and is now in the hospital,¡± answered Xiaotao.


    We headed upstairs to the conference room. There was a SWAT team with live ammunition patrolling outside the door. It seemed this was a confidential meeting.


    Before entering the room, Sun Tiger uncuffed me. There were many people seated inside, including Captain Xing. I recognized quite a few team leaders from the SWAT police.


    When we all took our seats, Sun Tiger cleared his throat and said, "There was a vicious kidnapping in Nanjiang City today. We already have evidence that a criminal code-named the Dog Trainer is acting against the Nanjiang City police."


    The main content of the discussion was the special team that the provincial public security department had set up to catch the Dog Trainer. We would be given the authority to use extraordinary methods in dealing with special circumstances. The cases that were orchestrated and framed by the Dog Trainer were put on hold, and all efforts were concentrated to tackle the problem and bring down the Dog Trainer. So Xiaotao and Dali were now free agents.


    ording to the clues we had at present, the Dog Trainer¡¯s true identity was still unknown. The police couldn¡¯t find his face in the household registration system and he was very likely to have undergone cosmetic surgery. His business was mainly to clean up after wealthy criminals, arranging for obedient ves to take the rap. At present, at least forty major cases in Nanjiang City had been found to be rted to the Dog Trainer, though we had no direct evidence.


    Before this, the police had been investigating specific cases and their forces werepletely dispersed. Like our investigation of the four young masters, they were all yed by the Dog Trainer.


    This time, Sun Tiger was going to change his policy. He would try his best to bring down the Dog Trainer first.


    "Officers, this isn¡¯t so much as solving a case as it is fighting a war,¡± announced Sun Tiger. ¡°This is the first time we¡¯re dering war on this organization. Each of us must be prepared physically and mentally, and be ready to sacrifice ourselves at any moment. Can you do this?"


    "Yes, sir!" We replied in unison.


    After the meeting, Xiaotao and I left the conference room together. The others were worried about me going home. "Song Yang, would you like to stay at my ce?" suggested Xiaotao.


    Bingxin grabbed my arm, "Let¡¯s go to my ce."


    "I¡¯m not going anywhere. I want to see Song Xingchen," I replied.


    Thus, we decided to head to the hospital together. As soon as we entered the ward, we heard amotion. "No, you can¡¯t leave the hospital now,¡± chided the nurse.


    Song Xingchen growled, "Don¡¯t try to stop me!"


    When I walked in, Song Xingchen froze in shock before dropping on one knee. "Young master, I couldn¡¯t protect you. Please punish me!"


    I shook my head, "No, I¡¯m back now. You¡¯ve done well."


    When Song Xingchen refused to get up, I suddenly felt inexplicably irate. "Stand up and get back to bed!" I yelled.


    The others looked at me, wide eyes filled with worry and questions. I couldn¡¯t tolerate the look in their eyes. My cheek trembled uncontrobly as I assured, "I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m normal! So stop looking at me like I¡¯m sick."


    Xiaotao asked, "Song Yang, are you hungry, or should we go out to eat?"


    "I¡¯m not hungry. I just want to stay here and rest for a while."


    Xiaotao urged the others to leave first while I remained in Song Xingchen¡¯s ward. Perhaps I was traumatized. I couldn¡¯t be alone and felt uneasy at the silence. With Song Xingchen and Xiaotao around, my dangling heart found solid ground.


    Knowing I was mentally unstable at the moment, Xiaotao distracted me with mundane chit-chat. I was very grateful for herpany.


    At around ten o¡¯clock, I finally fell asleep on my chair, exhausted from the ordeal I just experienced. In my nightmares, the Dog Trainer held a red-hot iron rod and repeatedly stabbed me...

 Chapter 429

    <h4>Chapter 429</h4>


    I woke up from my nightmare, soaked in cold sweat. In the dark, a pair of eyes approached, "Song Yang, are you okay?"


    I screamed at the top of my lungs, only to realize it was Xiaotao.


    At the moment, I was lying in a hospital bed. "Turn on the light!" I cried.


    When Xiaotao turned on the light, I scanned the room. This wasn¡¯t Song Xingchen¡¯s ward. "Why am I here?" I asked.


    Xiaotao smiled, "I asked the nurse to put you in a special ward so you can rest. The room is quite nice. Would you like to watch TV?"


    I shook my head and said apologetically, "I¡¯m sorry you have to see this embarrassing side of me."


    "Don¡¯t apologize. No one would be alright after going through all that,¡±forted Xiaotao. ¡°The fact that you haven¡¯t been defeated makes you a strong person! In fact, I have had an experience like this. When I first joined the force, I killed a gangster in an operation. For a long time afterwards, I would see his soulless, dead eyes as long as I closed my eyes. I had to turn on the TV and lights every night just to fall asleep."


    I held her hand, "Xiaotao, you have to believe me. I am still Song Yang. I haven¡¯t been brainwashed."


    Xiaotao patted me on the back of my hand, "I believe you, just like you believed me at the beginning!"


    Xiaotao climbed into bed and hugged me from behind, gently humming the Three Little Bears song. Her gentle voice lulled me to sleep, and even after falling asleep, I could still hear her humming so my nightmares no longer haunted me.


    The next morning, when I saw the sun outside the window, I felt much better. Xiaotao slept with her clothes on, hands under the pillow. I leaned over and kissed her gently on the forehead.


    Right then, Song Xingchen entered the ward. Surprised, I asked, "Can you get out of bed already?"


    "The Song family¡¯s Golden Cure is really effective. My wounds have stopped bleeding. From now on, I will not leave your side!"


    "You¡¯d better rest today. I have to go to therapy. I¡¯m really sorry for yelling at youst night."


    "No, it¡¯s my fault!" Song Xingchen seemed unconcerned.


    A whileter, Xiaotao woke up. We headed out for breakfast together and strolled down the bustling streets.


    "After being detained for two days, I realized how precious our ordinary daily life is," remarked Xiaotao.


    "I hope I can apany you every morning from now on,¡± I said.


    "Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll take you to the psychologist!"


    When we arrived at the clinic arranged by Sun Tiger. Xiaotao handed me over to the doctor and left. The doctor was a kind middle-aged man who spoke slowly. He took me in and started with some tests.


    After the test, he asked some questions and exined that I had post-traumatic stress disorder and needed psychological counseling for a period of time.


    "I have read some books on psychology so I can fix this little issue on my own!" I insisted.


    The doctor smiled, "I know you¡¯re smart, but psychological problems are like colds. You need to prescribe the right medicine. In fact, we psychologists can also have problems after consulting for a long time and need psychological counseling. There¡¯s nothing to be afraid of."


    When the doctor suggested hypnotherapy, I was very much against it. It was only with the doctor¡¯s patience that I gradually entered the right state. After two hours of counseling, I felt some improvement.


    As soon as I left his office, I heard smashinging from next door. A woman was yelling, "Go away, I don¡¯t need any treatment!"


    Then, Duan Yunjie stormed out of the room and froze at the sight of me. It turned out she was also receiving treatment here. She stared at me and walked towards the entrance of the clinic. The doctor immediately made a phone call to Sun Tiger.


    I had only been tortured for a few hours and already it left such deep mental trauma. I couldn¡¯t imagine the severity of Duan Yunjie¡¯s psychological problems.


    But being distrusted by the people around you made everything worse.


    Over the next few days, I returned to the clinic to receive psychological counseling every morning and headed to the station in the afternoon. The special task force was taking a two-pronged approach: collecting evidence of the Dog Trainer¡¯s personal involvement in crime and investigating the missing persons in Nanjiang City for the past ten years. They were also finding out more about the hostages in his hands and preparing for future attacks.


    When I arrived at the station today, Xiaotao was ready to head out. "Has the Dog Trainermitted another crime?" I asked.


    "I just got a call from Sun Tiger informing me of a murder case in Taoyuan District. He¡¯s asked you to go to the scene. I was just nning to look for you," she exined.


    "I don¡¯t have my equipment with me, but it¡¯s alright,¡± I said, waving my hand. ¡°Let¡¯s look at the crime scene first. If necessary, I¡¯ll ask Dali to fetch my equipment."


    We rushed to the crime scene which was situated in a bar. All personnel had been evacuated and several officers were taking statements from the witnesses. Sun Tiger walked out of the bar and said, "Song Yang, you¡¯re just in time. Come on!"


    The bar was divided into two floors, with a private room on the top. Sun Tiger exined as we walked upstairs, "This case may have nothing to do with the Dog Trainer, but I promised you that I would inform you when a simr case happened."


    Upon hearing this, my heart pounded like a herd of stampeding bison as I tore my way upstairs.


    I was greeted by the sight of two male corpses lying in a private room, both around forty years old. There was a bottle of alcohol and two sses in front of them. The cigarette in the ashtray had been burned to the butt but the ash hadn¡¯t yet fallen off the cigarette.


    The dead men looked ruddy, as if drunk, leaning on the sofa with vacant eyes.


    At first nce, I noticed no trauma on their bodies. I was too familiar with this method of killing. "Are you sure it¡¯s him?" I asked with widened eyes.


    "Most likely," replied Sun Tiger.


    I asked Xiaotao for her assistance in moving one of the bodies over. Sticking my ears to the victim¡¯s chest, I found one organ¨Cthe heart!


    In order to confirm my deduction, I asked for a pair of scissors. Although I was in a hurry, I didn¡¯t forget to check the victim¡¯s clothes for any items that could identify him. The victim had a wallet and cell phone in his pocket as well as his ID card. There was some wear and tear on the cuffs which seemed to be left by long-term driving.


    When I removed the victim¡¯s clothes, I was presented with apletely undamaged body, just like my grandfather¡¯s.


    Heart pumping with excitement or perhaps fear, I looked up and shouted, "My grandfather¡¯s murderer is back!"


    "How can it be? Would the Jiangbei Daggers show up again now?"


    "In fact, he¡¯s not called the Jiangbei Daggers, the organization is! The words left on the wall that year¨CJiangbei Daggers, Protect The People, Condemn The Corrupt meant the organization he belongs to."


    "So that¡¯s what it means," muttered Sun Tiger.


    "That is to say, he and the Dog Trainer belong to the Jiangbei Daggers,¡± summarized Xiaotao. ¡°And the organization now realizes that the Dog Trainer may be in danger and sent him for support!"


    Sun Tiger sighed, "It seems like a bloody storm ising to Nanjiang City!"

 Chapter 430

    <h4>Chapter 430</h4>


    Grandpa¡¯s murderer was back. Right now, I couldn¡¯t remainposed.


    I took a deep breath before I instructed, "Xiaotao, go down and get me a bottle of absinthe and a cocktail shaker."


    Huang Xiaotao quickly brought me what I wanted. Since I didn¡¯t have wormwood with me, this was a good substitute. I poured some absinthe into the shaker, wrapped it with a towel, and borrowed a lighter from Sun Tiger to heat it up.


    As the alcohol gradually evaporated, I fumigated the walls of the private room and the familiar words emerged¨CJiangbei Daggers, Protect The People, Condemn The Corrupt.


    Xiaotao sneered, "The man is obviously an aplice, yet he speaks as if he¡¯s the master of justice."


    Sun Tiger previously cautioned me against investigating the case. If the murderer returned, there would be violent waves throughout Nanjiang City and Sun Tiger would send another officer to investigate.


    "We¡¯re going to raid the Dog Trainer¡¯s hideout tonight!" announced Sun Tiger.


    Xiaotao and I looked at him in surprise, "Tonight?"


    "We¡¯re going to take him by surprise. The Dog Trainer has hundreds of people in his hands. It¡¯s a terrorist organization and we can¡¯t allow it to run rampant any longer. Xiaotao, we need more people tonight. You and your team areing."


    Xiaotao saluted, "Yes, sir!"


    Sun Tiger told us to meet the SWAT team at five and then left. It was currently noon and since I was concerned with this case, I thought investigating it would be a good way to pass the time. I decided to examine the scene first.


    A whileter, the officers from the Taoyuan Precinct arrived. It was Officer Ma with whom we cooperated in the Yi Xi case. Upon seeing Xiaotao and me, Officer Ma asked, "Have you conducted the autopsy?"


    "The time of death was about two hours ago and the cause of death is the loss of his heart... There is no trauma throughout the body."


    Officer Ma stared at me agape, "How is this possible?!"


    He wasn¡¯t aware of the murderer¡¯s means. In order to distinguish the murderer from the Jiangbei Daggers, I decided to call him the de Master. I gave Officer Ma a general ount of the murdersmitted by the de Master, after which Officer Ma stared at the words on the wall incredulously.


    "Let me be frank,¡± he began. ¡°If this case can¡¯t be solved by the city bureau, aren¡¯t we less likely to..."


    "We¡¯ll do what we have to do. The motive of the de Master has always been clear. He ims to be a messenger of justice. So we must identify the victims and confirm if he¡¯s back to help the Dog Trainer this time or if it is a separate crime."


    I pointed Officer Ma in the right direction and he quickly got to work. It didn¡¯t make sense for Xiaotao and me to stay upstairs so we explored downstairs instead. The bar was currently empty so I walked to the back of the bar and asked Xiaotao, "Can I make you a drink?"


    "Are you crazy? I can¡¯t drink during work hours!¡±ughed Xiaotao.


    "Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t be intoxicated."


    The materials on the shelf were quiteplete. I found a recipe for a non-alcoholic mojito on Weibo which was actually rather simple. All it required was soda, lemon and mint. I mixed two sses, one for me and the other for Xiaotao. Upon taking a sip, Xiaotaomended, "I didn¡¯t know you were so good at this!"


    "Thanks for thepliment!" I smiled.


    "I¡¯m very happy to see you back to normal."


    A thought suddenly crossed my mind, "By the way, I forgot to ask you something. Have you ever heard the name Duan Yunjie?"


    "Duan Yunjie?" Xiaotao recalled that Duan Yunjie was the top student in the Police Academy¡¯s ss of 13¡¯. When she graduated, she seemed to suddenly fall off the grid. Everyone assumed that she had gone undercover because this sort of thing wasn¡¯t umon among officers. Xiaotao and Duan Yunjie once participated in the same shootingpetition where they met.


    I was relieved to hear that Xiaotao knew her.


    In fact, I shouldn¡¯t have such doubts about Duan Yunjie. After all, she suffered so much and lost her superior in the line of duty. She was still receiving psychological treatment and could only restore her status as a police officer after she received a clean bill of health signed by her psychologist.


    Of course, we wouldn¡¯t drink without paying. So after a brief conversation, I left some money for the drinks we had.


    At about 3:00 pm, Officer Ma returned from the station, "I¡¯ve identified the victims. One is the owner of a film and televisionpany and he looks clean, without a cause for suspicion."


    "What about the other one?" I asked.


    "It¡¯s rather strange. He doesn¡¯t have any fingerprints so we¡¯re searching for his picture through the household registration database which will take quite a while.¡±


    "No fingerprints?" The Dog Trainer¡¯s men had their fingers corroded with chemicals to remove their fingerprints, and so did our victim.


    We asked for the victim¡¯s address and nned to investigate for ourselves. Outside the victim¡¯s ce of residence, I stealthily picked the lock and entered the apartment. It was a spacious ce with elegant furnishings. A photo of the couple decorated the wall.


    "This is a nice ce!" Xiaotao remarked.


    "Don¡¯t you notice anything unusual?" I queried.


    Then, pointing to a tea set on the coffee table, I said, "This tea set has two new cups."


    I crouched down to look at the carpet, then wiped the surface of the table with my finger. "Doesn¡¯t the carpet feel a little fancy? And it has more dust on one side than the other which suggests it was originally hung as a tapestry. I wonder why it was moved here. Additionally, a heavy object was left on the table before, but it has disappeared."


    ¡°Is this a crime scene?" gasped Xiaotao.


    "I can¡¯t say for sure. Perhaps it was broken after the couple¡¯s quarrel,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s look at the bathroom."


    Because I didn¡¯t have my tools on me, I went to the kitchen to get a bottle of sd oil. Examining the bathroom floor, I found nothing out of the ordinary except for a strong odor¨Cobviously, the floor was recently cleaned repeatedly with disinfectant.


    After emptying the water in the toilet, I poured in the oil. As soon as the oil reached the line where the water was, tiny red fragments floated from below. Xiaotao connected the dots, "That¡¯s solidified blood!"


    "Looks like there¡¯s something fishy about our victim. Check if his wife is missing."


    Xiaotao made a phone call and gave a thumbs-up upon hanging up. "You guessed it!¡± she eximed. ¡°A few days ago, he reported his missing wife to the Public Security Bureau in this district."


    "That¡¯s interesting! This man killed his wife so the other victim is probably working for the Dog Trainer. So, they were talking about ¡¯business,¡¯ but were interrupted and killed by the de Master."


    I had previously taken for granted that the de Master was working for the Jiangbei Daggers. But it seemed he was actually fighting against the organization. We had to reexamine his position.


    Of course, this was all spection and required confirmation. We didn¡¯t have the time to follow up on this for the time being. Xiaotao nced at her watch and reminded, "It¡¯s time for us to gather!"


    I called Officer Ma before leaving to meet the SWAT team with Xiaotao.


    When we arrived, I was stunned by the sight that greeted me. There were more than a dozen police SUVs, armored vehicles, riot water cannon trucks, Z-9 armed helicopters, and two SWAT team squadrons gathered, lined up in four rows with riot guns and shields in their hands.


    Sun Tiger walked up to the front, eyes aglow, "Tonight, I want the Dog Trainer and his mob to know what a real army is!"

 Chapter 431

    <h4>Chapter 431</h4>


    Sun Tiger showed us around and picked up a thick gun. "Kiddo, have you ever used this? Come on, give it a try," he said.


    "A signal re?" I aimed at the open space and pulled the trigger, only to see a huge appear in the room.


    Sun Tigerughed while Xiaotao teased, "Director Sun, don¡¯t you have anything better to do?"


    Sun Tiger straightened his clothes nervously, "This is the first time I¡¯mmanding such a huge battle!" He turned to the other officers, "Take a break but don¡¯t leave. We will start at seven o¡¯clock sharp!"


    The officers stood to attention and then went on their break.


    "Xiaotao, fetch your team so they can get familiar with the equipment. Tonight, the SWAT team will attack the enemy while the criminal police are responsible for wiping out anyone who tries to slip out of the. The armed police will be responsible for external support," exined Sun Tiger.


    Xiaotao gave her team half an hour to prepare themselves. Soon, several police cars carrying the officers in the team including Wang Yuanchao arrived. Many officers were participating in such a task for the first time and were extremely excited.


    Compared to the militarized special police, the criminal police seemed rather carefree and sloppy. Xiaotao called for their attention but these officers dilly-dallied, testing her patience. Finally, bursting into anger, she turned to Wang Yuanchao, "Deal with them."


    Wang Yuanchao walked up to the front and shouted, "Stand up!"


    When the officers were all standing, Wang Yuanchao swept his eyes across them, scanning for mistakes. His gazended on two officers who were out of ce and pointed to the ground, "I want a hundred push-ups from the both of you."


    The officers smiled bitterly and argued, "Yuanchao-ge, are you serious? It¡¯s not like we¡¯re actually going to do anything tonight."


    "Obey orders!" Wang Yuanchao coldly barked.


    The two officers dropped down to the ground and began doing their push-ups, making a good example for the rest. Wang Yuanchao was obviously an experienced instructor. The others immediately stood as straight as arrows.


    Muchter, Xiaotao mentioned that Wang Yuanchao was the candidate of choice for the head coach of the Armed Police during the change of the leadership in 2015. However, Wang Yuanchao preferred to work in the criminal department so he refused the offer. At most, he taught some of the new cadets to give them a hand.


    Past 7:00 pm, Sun Tiger didn¡¯t show any intention of setting out so Xiaotao and I went to look for him. He was repeatedly dialing on his cell phone.


    ¡°Director Sun, is something wrong?" asked Xiaotao.


    "I¡¯ve lost contact with the four officers I sent to monitor the factory..."


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a look of consternation as Sun Tiger hung up the call. "There may be a situation. Let¡¯s get started at once!"


    Xiaotao and Sun Tiger instructed their teams respectively and five minutester, we left the premises. When I saw the factory once more, I couldn¡¯t fight the panic that welled up inside of me. What happened that day had be a source of phobia and being back here made my thoughts spin out of control.


    There wasn¡¯t a soul in sight in the entire factory which was very strange. Sun Tiger decided to send a small team to explore the factory. Wang Yuanchao volunteered to lead the team and at the same time release drones to observe the situation.


    Wang Yuanchao put on his gear and went in with a team, quickly disappearing from our sight. After a while, Wang Yuanchao¡¯s voice sounded from the radio¨C


    "Zone A, clear!"


    "Zone B, clear!"


    "Zone C, clear!"


    It was as if the people in the entire factory had disappeared in an instant. Suddenly, someone shouted, "Turn around! There¡¯s a bomb in there!"


    The UAV detected explosives fixed to several buildings of the factory and the countdown was at thest minute so it was toote to dismantle them. Sun Tiger ordered Wang Yuanchao to evacuate immediately while the rest of us waited anxiously. A loud explosion almost shattered our eardrums and mes rose from the ground. Several buildings slowly crumbled as a cloud of smoke covered the night sky.


    "Yuanchao!" Sun Tiger yelled into the radio but all he got was static.


    Consumed by worry, we tore down to the front of the factory and waited with bated breath. As the seconds ticked away, our hearts pounded anxiously.


    Sun Tiger cried, "Send in another team for rescue!"


    "No, it¡¯s too dangerous inside,¡± argued one of the squadron captains. ¡°Some buildings are at the point of copse. The slightest movement will cause the disintegration of the building structure. I can¡¯t send my men in to die."


    Sun Tiger paced back and forth until an officer pointed in front and shouted, "Look!"


    Much to our relief, Wang Yuanchao and the SWAT officers walked out of the smoke, covered in ash, holding four inclothes officers. When they found the missing officers, Wang Yuanchao decided to rescue them without a second thought. Contact was lost due to the short-wave interference of the explosion.


    Sun Tiger punched Wang Yuanchao in the chest and growled, "You scared me half to death. Don¡¯t do this next time!"


    "They have something to report," said Wang Yuanchao.


    A inclothes officer exined that the entire gang left at about four in the afternoon. They hadn¡¯t expected the Dog Trainer to make such a big move and they were captured before they could report the situation. Then, they were tied up in the factory which was loaded with bombs. The time of the bombs was set at 7:30 pm, which was right about the time when we rushed in.


    The Dog Trainer calcted the time almost perfectly which made us suspect that someone might have leaked the operation. Sun Tiger hesitated for a moment before waving, "Let¡¯s go back to the station first!"


    Our teams were divided into two. Xiaotao took the criminal police back to the criminal department while Sun Tiger returned to the SWATpound with the SWAT team. In the conference room, Xiaotao began, "Boys, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t believe you but it¡¯s better we confirm everyone¡¯s innocence. Please hand over your cell phones."


    The officers ced their phones on the table and I was no exception. After examining our phones, Xiaotao determined that several officers made phone calls in the afternoon. She assigned someone to check these numbers. Right then, an officer pointed out, "I saw someone in the bureau this afternoon."


    "Who was it?" Xiaotao asked.


    "It was Duan Yunjie who was rescued with Consultant Songst time. I saw her in the archives and she imed she was looking for her own files," replied the officer.


    Xiaotao and I were taken aback by the news. "Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier?" fumed Xiaotao.


    "I assumed she had returned to the force so I didn¡¯t stop to think further," exined the officer.


    We rushed down to the archives. Because I was here for a considerable amount of timest year, I was familiar with the archives. I nced at the criminal case files and found one missing from the serial number.


    When I reported my discovery to Xiaotao, she asked, "Do you remember which case?"


    I smiled bitterly, "How can I? There are thousands of files here."


    "Do you have Duan Yunjie¡¯s number?" queried Xiaotao.


    I grabbed my cell phone and called but she didn¡¯t pick up. Unexpectedly, the ringtone sounded in the silent building. I gestured for Xiaotao to follow the sound.


    In the women¡¯s toilet at the end of the third floor, we found Duan Yunjie. She was crouching on the ground with her head in her arms. There were torn documents all over the ground. Upon seeing us, she appeared frightened.


    "Ahh! Who are you?" Duan Yunjie¡¯s voice seemed different from the usual.


    "Are you still pretending?!" Xiaotao pulled out his handcuffs, "Duan Yunjie, you are under arrest."


    I motioned for Xiaotao to hold on while I stared into Duan Yunjie¡¯s eyes and asked, "Do you know me?"


    "No."


    "What about her?" I pointed to Xiaotao.


    "I have seen her before. Her name is Huang Xiaotao. She was also at the police academy!"


    "You can tell she¡¯s lying!¡± retorted Xiaotao. ¡°The n must have been leaked by her. We can question her after I put these handcuffs on."


    I shook my head, "No, she¡¯s not lying. She might have a split personality!"

 Chapter 432

    <h4>Chapter 432</h4>


    The torn file on the ground was obviously Duan Yuanjie¡¯s doing. Xiaotao handcuffed Duan Yunjie and searched for her cell phone which had two outgoing calls.


    Xiaotao asked an officer to check the number but we couldn¡¯t identify the caller. "Try calling back!" I suggested.


    As soon as the call connected, a voice came from the other end of the line, "Duan Yunjie, have youpleted the task?"


    Xiaotao hung up and raged, "She¡¯s indeed the traitor!"


    "More urately, being a traitor is a personality of hers."


    The woman before me waspletely different from the one I had met before. I previously always doubted Duan Yunjie¡¯s ability to keep her independence and self-identity in the face of three years of torture. Out of pity and shared agony, I chose not to suspect her.


    Judging her actions, however, she was merely pretending. The Dog Trainer had given her a secret mission toe back as an undercover spy and destroy this file which suggested the importance of the file to the Dog Trainer.


    Fortunately for us, the Dog Trainer didn¡¯t know the existence of another personality in her body which was created by Duan Yunjie during the painful brainwashing process so she could keep her conscience as an officer. In the process of destroying the files, this personality suddenly emerged, interrupting thepletion of her task.


    The two personalities were independent of each other and did not share the same memories so she didn¡¯t recognize me.


    I turned to Duan Yunjie, "Did the Dog Trainer give you a mission?"


    Duan Yunjie shook her head desperately, "I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know who the Dog Trainer is."


    "Do you know that there¡¯s another person in your body?" I asked.


    Duan Yunjie nodded, "That woman is very fierce. She upies my body most of the time. I only dare sneak out in the middle of the night!"


    Xiaotao sighed, "Duan Yunjie, I¡¯ll have to detain you for now. I¡¯ll send you to a doctor when tonightes."


    "I don¡¯t want to see a doctor! I don¡¯t want to see a doctor!" resisted Duan Yunjie.


    "Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t throw you into a mental hospital,¡± assured Xiaotao. ¡°We will find a good doctor and kill your wicked ¡¯sister.¡¯ Will you cooperate with us?"


    Duan Yunjie finally nodded.


    Fortunately, Duan Yunjie had a split personality so we now knew the Dog Trainer had a secret to hide. "Let¡¯s see what this file is about!" said Xiaotao.


    "But it¡¯s already torn up," I sighed.


    "Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll get the others to help piece it back together!"


    Xiaotao brought the torn files back to the conference room and got the officers to put them together. It took us half an hour to recover the ten-year-old case documents. A man named Liu Juncheng was suspected of fleeing after murdering a family due to emotional entanglements.


    This was a verymon case which made me wonder why the Dog Trainer tried so hard to destroy the files. I stared at the photo of the suspect and suddenly found the man a little familiar. After a few seconds, I shouted, "Liu Juncheng is the Dog Trainer. This is a crime hemitted in his younger days!"


    "So that¡¯s what this is! What a person wants to hide most is their own mistakes. The Dog Trainer has beenmitting crimes without staining his own hands with blood. There¡¯s almost no evidence to convict him, but this file is his weakness." Xiaotao smiled and said, "It¡¯s all thanks to Duan Yunjie for helping us!"


    However, I found it hard to smile. The Dog Trainer disappeared with hundreds of people. He was definitely going to make a move tonight. Just as I followed this line of thought, a sudden explosion sounded in the distance, the sound echoing in the night sky for some time.


    We rushed to the window to see what had happened. There was a firelight in the distance. Xiaotao immediately called the police in that jurisdiction and the other party said they were investigating.


    Just after she hung up, Sun Tiger called. "Something¡¯s happened! A group of thugs appeared on the street, madly smashing stores. Xiaotao, quickly send three people out to patrol. I suspect it¡¯s rted to the Dog Trainer!"


    Xiaotao immediately assigned several officers out on duty while I called Dali and told him to close up the store at once as well as inform the other store owners on the same street.


    When the officers had been sent out, the phone suddenly rang. Several citizens said that someone in Jiangxing District was attacking people with a knife as loud sobbing rang throughout the street.


    After that, the phones were ringing off the hook with people reporting all sorts of crime¨C


    "Officer, a truck suddenly rushed in near mymunity and injured two security guards. Send an ambnce..."


    "I¡¯d like to report a fire on Coast Road. I saw several people throwing burning bottles..."


    "Help!!! Officer, save me. Some bad guys broke into my bakery and killed my grandparents!"


    Xiaotao was wide-eyed with disbelief. In the blink of an eye, several jurisdictions in Nanjiang City were riddled with crimes. Right then, an officer ran up, panting, "Captain Huang, there¡¯s someone outside who wants to see you."


    "I don¡¯t have the time now. We¡¯ve got to head out to maintainw and order!"


    "That man is the Dog Trainer!" blurted the officer.


    When we arrived downstairs, we saw the Dog Trainer standing alone in front of the station. He grinned, "Song Yang, didn¡¯t you say that the next time we meet again would be the day I die? Well, here I am. Are you going to arrest me?"


    Behind him, all of Nanjiang City was burning, the mes lighting up the night sky. There were screams in the streets and loud crashing in the distance.


    Xiaotao angrily pulled out her gun, "What have you done?"


    The Dog Trainer shook his finger yfully, "Don¡¯t be impulsive, Captain Huang. I just yed all my cards. If I die, Nanjiang City will be buried with me. Can you bear the responsibility of that?"


    "You instructed your men tomit crimes all over the city? What the hell do we have to talk about?¡± I sneered.


    "You¡¯re a smart one, Consultant Song,¡± his lips rose in a smile. ¡°As you can see, my dogs are venting their anger out there. Now I solemnly put forward three demands to the police. First, I need a visa and a criminal exemption order signed by the Ministry of Public Security. Secondly, I want you to escort me to the airport. Lastly, prepare a special ne for me so that I can leave the country. On top of that, you¡¯re not allowed to evere after me! There¡¯s no time limit. Every time youplete a request, I¡¯ll send instructions to my dogs, ordering them to reduce a portion of the crimes. When all three requirements arepleted, they will stop all actions. And these criminals will be arrested by you. You can solve hundreds of cases in one night. Isn¡¯t that amazing?"


    ¡°You son of a bitch, are you negotiating with the police?" cursed Xiaotao.


    "Crime, as defined byw, constitutes the perpetrator and the victim, and I don¡¯t belong to any category. Therefore, from a legal standpoint, this crime tonight has nothing to do with me. But you should know that my life determines the fate of Nanjiang City. Either ept my terms or watch Nanjiang City turn into hell on Earth!"


    He walked straight towards us. An officer tried to stop him but Xiaotao bit her lip, shaking her head. A group of officers was forced to make way for a criminal.


    The Dog Trainer swaggered through the main entrance of the city bureau, stretched out his arms and said, "I¡¯ll go in, have a cup of tea and take a short break. Captain Huang, you talk to your superiors!"


    After that, he turned around and smiled, "Song Yang, thew is really a funny thing, isn¡¯t it?"

 Chapter 433

    <h4>Chapter 433</h4>


    Listening to the nightmarish cries in the distance and watching the mes light up the night sky, we were all bereft of speech. Xiaotao gritted her teeth, "There¡¯s no time to dy. It is important to protect the people. I will call Sun Tiger right away."


    I soon received a call from Dali who yelled into the phone, "Song Yang, there are many criminals out on the streets. It¡¯s terrible!"


    "I¡¯m sorry, I won¡¯t be able to watch out for you tonight. Make sure you close the doors! Is Luo Youyou with you?" I asked.


    "Yes, we¡¯ve just piled all the furniture against the door."


    "Be careful!" I cautioned.


    I returned to the conference room where the Dog Trainer leisurely sat, his legs ced on the table with a cup of hot tea in his hand. "Song Yang, miss me?"


    "No, I can¡¯t wait to cut you into pieces!" I spat.


    "No matter how you deny it, there¡¯s a certain connection between us. It¡¯s more than friendship or love. No matter if I seed tonight or not, I will always stay in your head and heart. I¡¯ve be one of your demons,"ughed the Dog Trainer.


    "And I¡¯ve be yours!"


    The intense hatred made me switch to the Eyes of Yama instantly. The Dog Trainer fell to the ground screaming, hot tea spilling all over his body. He crawled on his hands and feet as if frightened by the devil,ughing wildly, "So the intelligence was right... You¡¯ve woken up the Eyes of Yama..."


    I felt a fearful energy gather in my body as I strode towards him, ring fiercely, "Order them to stop!"


    The Dog Trainer retreated to the wall, mumbling, "You¡¯ve forgotten one thing... No matter how strong your fear is, you can¡¯t ovee the desire for survival... I can¡¯t hand over my cards..."


    "Then go to hell!"


    I violently unleashed that fearful energy unto the Dog Trainer who screamed and tried blocking with both hands. Right then, the door behind me burst wide open and Xiaotao shouted, "Stop!"


    I shut away the Eyes of Yama, my entire body drained and weak. Xiaotao asked, "Are you crazy? If he loses his mind, Nanjiang City will suffer heavy losses."


    I covered my forehead, "Then are we just going to sit here and let him seed?"


    "This is a chess game with no solutions. We can onlypromise,"mented Xiaotao.


    The Dog Trainer roared with maliciousughter and got up from the ground. "The police are more obedient than I thought!"


    Xiaotao clenched her fists, "We¡¯re only forced to agree to your request. It doesn¡¯t mean that I will personally tolerate you. If you keep running that mouth of yours, I won¡¯t be able to control where my fistsnd!"


    Seated once more, the Dog Trainer ordered, "Miss Huang, get me a cup of tea."


    Xiaotao frowned and pulled me out of the room. "Don¡¯t worry,¡± she whispered. ¡°It¡¯s just a temporarypromise. We will settle all debts with him in the future."


    A whileter, Sun Tiger arrived, clearly suppressing his anger. "This is a dereliction of duty on my part. I will speak to him first."


    When he entered the room, the Dog Trainer greeted him, "Good evening, Director Sun!"


    "I have to say your methods are brilliant, forcing even me, the director, to surrender. I¡¯m here to talk terms. The visa you want can be done immediately but the amnesty can¡¯t be signed so quickly. Get your men to stand down first. "


    The Dog Trainer shrugged, "I¡¯m not negotiating. You figure it out for yourself!"


    Thud! It seemed as if one of the chairs was overturned. We assumed Sun Tiger had acted in rage, but when we entered the room, we found him kneeling before the Dog Trainer. "I beg you! Your purpose has been achieved. If you want my life, take it. Please let go of the innocent citizens."


    The Dog Trainer smiled, "What a privilege. I almost feel guilty."


    The Dog Trainer pulled out his cell phone, gave his orders and hung up. "For the sake of Director Sun¡¯s humility, I have just lifted the first phase of the operation. In half an hour, a hundred criminals will show up at the station and surrender."


    I gritted my teeth, jaw clenching in anger. Human life was merely dirt to him. He was simply a monster among criminalspared with the rest!


    Yet, he was just a middle-level member of the organization. The true power of this organization far exceeded my cognition.


    Sun Tiger stood up, uttered his thanks, and immediately ordered officers to prepare the airne and vehicle for the Dog Trainer.


    Half an hourter, a group of people suddenly showed up in front of the station. They were covered in blood and expressionless. Upon seeing the police, they held out their hands without so much as a word, waiting to be handcuffed.


    Since the detention room couldn¡¯t hold so many, Sun Tiger sent a SWAT team armed with loaded rifles to monitor them.


    We waited anxiously while Sun Tiger phoned the airport, confirming that the earliest a special airne could be arranged was one in the morning. Fuming, Sun Tiger mmed his phone onto the table.


    I turned to Huang Xiaotao, "The amnesty is just a cover for him. In fact, he¡¯s never intended to ask for this since the beginning. He still thinks he¡¯s innocent and hasn¡¯t left behind any evidence!"


    Xiaotao looked out of the window, "Even if we kill him right now, the price the city has paid far is too great! I honestly never imagined anything like this! Countless properties have been destroyed in Nanjiang City tonight and we can be considered aplices."


    There was nothing I could say to absolve us of our responsibilities. Perhaps after tonight, Sun Tiger, Xiaotao and all these officers would resign.


    But I would continue to be a criminal consultant. The cancer of society¨Cthe Jiangbei Daggers¨Cmust be eradicated! I secretly swore in my heart!


    An officer came to inform us that the car escorting the Dog Trainer had arrived so we headed outside. Sun Tiger stood humbly before the Dog Trainer and said, "I¡¯ve made an agreement with the airport. At 12:30 am, you will be flown to the US on a special airne. Let¡¯s head to the airport now!"


    A slight smile rose to The Dog Trainer¡¯s lips as he pulled out his cell phone and made a brief call. Then, turning to us, he said, "I have lifted the second phase of the operation. Wait here, your chance for meritorious service ising!"


    The officers clenched their fists, trying hard not to tear him to pieces.


    Xiaotao and I got into Sun Tiger¡¯s car. We sat in the back while Sun Tiger drove, surrounded by four armored vehicles.


    Five police cars drove through the devastated city. There were smashed vehicles and burning buildings everywhere. The sirens of the fire brigade reverberated through the night sky and sweat-covered policemen guarded the people of the mothend with their lives.


    Everyone fled home to lock the doors at the request of the police and the streets were empty, making Nanjiang City extremely deste.


    Huang Xiaotao ridiculed, "What a great honor it is for you, Dog Trainer!"


    "I don¡¯t pursue these meaningless things,¡± he smiled. ¡°The reason why you failed is because you regard me as an ordinary, vulgar criminal. But in fact, I¡¯m essentially different from them."


    "Are you trying to say you¡¯re much better than them?" Xiaotao asked coldly.


    The Dog Trainer shook his head, "A little officer like you won¡¯t understand me. There¡¯s only one person in this car who can!"


    The Dog Trainer looked at me through the rearview mirror and continued, "Song Yang, it¡¯s a pity that our game can¡¯t go on. Sometimes your opponent is your true bosom friend. And Song Yang, that is what you are to me."


    "I don¡¯t think we have anything inmon!" I cried in disgust.


    "You constantly solve crimes, and for the sake of what? Honor? Money? Self-satisfaction?" The Dog Trainer threw me a question in return.


    Without a second thought, I replied, "It¡¯s my mission."


    "For me as well!"ughed the Dog Trainer.

 Chapter 434

    <h4>Chapter 434</h4>


    "Oh, a sense of mission!" I sneered.


    The Dog Trainer exined, "There are three main gods in Indian mythology. Lord Brahma is responsible for creation, Shiva is responsible for destruction, and Vishnu is the God of protection. From this, you can see that creation, destruction and protection are the cornerstones of this world. If someone creates and maintains it, someone will inevitably destroy it. No matter how you advertise justice, you can¡¯t deny the fact that it is human greed and evil, not kindness and justice, that push history forward."


    With zero tolerance of his facies, I said, "You¡¯ve brainwashed others for too long, and in the process, you¡¯ve brainwashed yourself. Have you seen those burning buildings outside? Every store is a home that a person has spent half his life running, but now they¡¯ve been so easily destroyed by you. And here you are with these sarcastic words, pretending as if their deaths are worthwhile. What if this happened to you?"


    "Thew of the jungle is the way of the world,¡± he replied. ¡°Song Yang, you have a sentimental heart, which is good, but it also restrains your talents. You could¡¯ve been so much better!"


    "Be a scum of society like you?" I grew sick of his viewpoint. "Have you heard of a story? A teacher asked his student to find a man with great ability. When his student went to the market, he saw a crazy donkey breaking all the jars. The student thought it would take a lot of time to create a jar, but the donkey destroyed so many at once. Hence, it was much more capable than the man who created the jars, so the student took the donkey back. However, he was lectured by his teacher upon returning. Destruction is always simpler than creation and maintenance. No matter how you advertise your misguided beliefs, it seems to me that it¡¯s all fig leaves. You¡¯re no different from the donkey in the story. You¡¯re just a criminal!"


    There was a trace of humiliation in the Dog Trainer¡¯s eyes as he argued, "Real destruction is art!"


    I couldn¡¯t be bothered to continue speaking to him. There was a fire raging in my heart at the moment. If I had the choice to start over, I would¡¯ve killed him the very first time I saw him.


    Sightly past eleven o¡¯clock, we arrived at the underground parking of the airport. The SWAT officers jumped out of the vehicle and escorted the Dog Trainer to the waiting room, which was a great shame for all of us.


    Just as I took a step forward, I stopped. "What¡¯s the matter?" asked Xiaotao.


    Looking around, I wondered out loud, "There are four SWAT officers in each vehicle but why are there seventeen people?"


    The SWAT team usually wore masks during an operation, so we couldn¡¯t see their faces. Sun Tiger immediately shouted, "Take off your masks at once!"


    As soon as the words fell from his lips, two smoke bombs appeared from one of the SWAT officers¡¯ sleeves. The others pulled out their gas masks in panic. But a slight inhtion of the gas was enough to make us weak all over so we crumbled limply to the ground.


    "Since you can¡¯t administer justice, then justice will be presided over by me," the "SWAT officer" said in a gloomy voice.


    My eyes widened in disbelief. This was a voice I would never forget¨Cit was my grandfather¡¯s murderer!


    The Dog Trainer screamed, "W-why are you here!"


    But like the rest of us, he couldn¡¯t move. He tried crawling forward, but it was in vain.


    The de Master slowly pulled out a thin, sharp dagger from his sleeve. It was almost transparent like ice. "Dog Trainer... or I should call you Liu Juncheng. You have sinned and God has sent me to eradicate you,¡± came the gloomy voice.


    The Dog Trainer¡¯s calmness waspletely shattered. "Traitor! You traitor!¡± he screamed. ¡°The organization will not spare you."


    The de Master pulled the Dog Trainer up and dragged him behind a pir. "Stop!" yelled Sun Tiger.


    I gritted my teeth, desperately crawling forwards, one centimeter at a time. With a muffled moan, the Dog Trainer came out from behind the pir like a drunk, then fell to the ground. Like the previous victims, his face was an unnatural bright red, his eyes wide open, and his entire body without any wounds.


    The de Master walked out with something bloody in his hand. Perhaps it was just my imagination, but the Dog Trainer¡¯s heart seemed to beat.


    I didn¡¯t care about the Dog Trainer¡¯s life at the moment. I just wanted to know who the de Master was. "Stop..." I shouted with all my strength.


    Turning around, the de Master cast a meaningful look in my direction. "Song Yang, you¡¯ve grown up!"


    "Why kill my grandfather?!"


    "My de never hurts the innocent. I killed Song Zhaolin for the same reason I killed this dog."


    His words were like a bullet tearing through my chest. Tears slid down my cheeks, though I was unaware I was crying. "You¡¯re lying!¡± I shouted. ¡°My grandfather was a good man!"


    "Song Yang, a person¡¯s position in life determines what he believes. You may not believe what I say now, but one day you will understand what sort of scum your amiable and respectable grandfather was. We will meet again soon!"


    With that, he walked away despite my ceaseless cries.


    Wey there for a long time until the airport security found us.


    The security guards thought we were suffering from gas poisoning and asked Sun Tiger if he should call an ambnce, to which Sun Tiger agreed immediately. There were still hundreds of criminals in the streets of Nanjiang City and we had the opportunity to apprehend them.


    The events that transpiredter that night remained vague in my memory, though the words of the de Master hit me like a heavy hammer on the heart.


    That night, Nanjiang City got little sleep. All the armed police and SWAT teams were dispatched. The leaders of the municipal party personally took the lead in the frontlines, searching the streets for the Dog Trainer¡¯s remaining subordinates.


    When the first rays of the sun baptised the streets, we saw Nanjiang City gradually recover from the damage. The SWAT team held crying children in their arms tofort them while the mayor personally fed the injured with water, and the leaders went house to house to ount for the losses.


    That was the night we truly witnessed the terror of crime and care from the government.


    Xiaotao and I stood outside the station and watched the police bring the criminals in batches. "Looks like we won this battle,¡± sighed Xiaotao. ¡°But in fact, we suffered an utter defeat!"


    I remained silent.


    "Are you still thinking about it?¡± asked Xiaotao. ¡°That man¡¯s words are one-sided, so don¡¯t take them seriously. "


    "How can my grandfather be the same as the Dog Trainer?¡± I muttered. ¡°How can that be?!"


    Right then, Sun Tiger appeared and sighed, "What a long night!"


    "Director Sun, what¡¯s the n?" queried Xiaotao.


    "ording to the current conservative estimates, nearly a hundred people were injured in Nanjiang Cityst night. Dozens of fires and break-ins caused nearly a hundred million worth of property damage. The detention room and detention center are overcrowded,¡± summarized Sun Tiger. ¡°Now that the state of public security is as such, what can I do as the director? Take responsibility and resign, of course! But before that, I have something important to tell you..."


    After a pause, Sun Tiger added gravely, "I¡¯ve just received a phone call from the Ministry of Public Security. My superiors have officially issued special instructions to crack down on these evil forces. We will never bow down orpromise with terrorist organizations. And we must protect the people and their property. The entire police force is prepared for an all-out war with the Jiangbei Daggers!¡±

 Chapter 435

    <h4>Chapter 435</h4>


    Sun Tiger took me and Xiaotao to his office and shut the door. Then, he opened the drawer and handed us a document.


    It contained orders regarding the Jiangbei Daggers, but it was merely a draft.


    Sun Tiger proposed to create a special team without restrictions by absorbing a group of talented people outside the public security forces. They would be able to mobilize a certain amount of resources and be given the same authority to deal with crimes as bureau-level officials.


    "Director-General Cheng and I proposed this bill, but the Ministry of Public Security has repeatedly rejected it. The upper ranks don¡¯t realize the seriousness of the situation! We have repeatedly failed topete with the Jiangbei Daggers and we know so little about them. Last night¡¯s terrorist attack was like a catalyst. Now, the Dog Trainer and your name have spread to the Ministry of Public Security and Beijing. I just received a call from the Ministry of Public Security. My superiors have approved this proposal and will set up a special team based in Nanjiang City. This team falls outside the authority of the city bureau. Even the director has no right to interfere with your actions. This means you¡¯ve gained theirplete trust."


    Shocked by the news, I retorted, "The responsibility is too great! I¡¯m just a fresh grad out of university. "


    Sun Tiger shook his head, "No one else can shoulder this heavy responsibility except you. You have inherited your grandfather¡¯s mantle and have enough experience in cracking down on crimes. There¡¯s no other Song Yang in the entire public security system! This was a major terrorist attack. Even I can¡¯t escape resignation and might face court sanctions. I hope to stand and fight against these terrorists before I leave office and be worthy of my country and people."


    "How many personnel will the special team require?" I asked.


    "I proposed six people,¡± smiled Sun Tiger. ¡°I think you already have suitable candidates in mind. If you want Bingxin¡¯s help, I won¡¯t say anything. My daughter is a grown-up and can make her own decisions. Just make sure you¡¯re careful."


    After pondering for a moment, I said, "Uncle Sun, I¡¯m not an officer so I won¡¯t salute you. But I promise to give my all in taking down the Jiangbei Daggers!"


    "This is exactly what I want to hear. Remember, this must be kept secret. The special team¡¯s existence can¡¯t be known to the outside world. I will issue a new ID for you. Of course, respecting your grandfather¡¯s final wish, you¡¯re still not part of the public security system!" Sun Tiger nodded.


    At the mention of my grandfather, my heart sank once more. "I have something to ask you," I began.


    "Is this about what the man saidst night?"


    I nodded, "Do you think my grandfather could¡¯ve done something wrong?"


    His lips curled into a meaningful smile, "Your grandfather was the most honest and kindest person I ever met. He has solved countless cases in his life. More than just a colleague, he was also my good friend. I can guarantee his conscience is as clear as your ancestor Song Ci!"


    I whispered my thanks and left his office with Xiaotao.


    There was still much to do. All throughte August, we dealt with the aftermath of the crimes. Although Sun Tiger submitted his resignation letter, he was ordered by his superiors to redeem himself with meritorious service and restore the security and stability of Nanjiang City as soon as possible.


    Some of the Dog Trainer¡¯s men underwent trial in court but most of them were sent to a mental rehabilitation center forprehensive treatment. Treating those who had been brainwashed would take a long time.


    In contrast, my methods were expedient. The two prisoners detained by Baldy returned to normal after half a month of training. My original n was to use their testimony against the Dog Trainer, but it was no longer necessary.


    Those who gradually returned to normal provided useful information such as the Dog Trainer¡¯s client list. The police arrested arge number of murderers ording to the list and solved at least forty old cases in one go, including the four young masters¡¯ case.


    During that time, every policeman, prosecutor and judge had their hands full. Director-General Cheng transferred a group of veteran officers from the province to assist with work! In mid-September, Nanjiang City finally restored its previous order. The disaster brought about by the Dog Trainer was like a scar on Nanjiang City, one that only time could heal.


    During this time, I didn¡¯t remain idle. I helped Xiaotao solve several cases while considering the six people I would ce on the special team, namely Xiaotao, Wang Yuanchao, Bingxin, Song Xingchen, Lao Yao and me.


    Xiaotao¡¯s leadership skills were indispensable; Wang Yuanchao had first-ss investigation abilities and arge number of informants. He was also the chief coach of the armed police. Bingxin was proficient in toxicology and forensic analysis, which was an effective supplement to my own Traditional Coroner skills; Song Xingchen had amazing skills and knew the Jianghu like the back of his hand. As for Lao Yao, I hadn¡¯te across anyone with better hacker skills than him. In this age of information, he could provide good technical assistance.


    I spoke to them separately. Naturally, I had no problem getting Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao on the team. Bingxin was very happy upon hearing that she was going to join the special team. Lao Yao agreed as long as there was no danger and he could earn money.


    However, I never imagined Song Xingchen to be the person to say ¡®NO¡¯ to me!


    When I visited him at the hospital, he had basically recovered from his injuries. Upon hearing my proposal, Song Xingchen said, "I exist only to protect you and I have repeatedly warned you not to have too much contact with this organization. Not only do I refuse to join you, but you¡¯re not allowed to join the team either!"


    "I was forced by the situation. The Dog Trainer actually dared to engage in terrorist attacks. Do you think I can sit idly by?"


    Song Xingchen shook his head and sighed, "For hundreds of years, the Song family has failed to bring down the Jiangbei Daggers and was almost destroyed by them. You¡¯re very important to the Song family. Your life doesn¡¯t belong to you alone. Even if I went along with you, the Song family would never allow that!"


    All along, I had my doubts. Were there other branches of the Song family?


    Thus, I replied, "I don¡¯t know the Song family you keep talking about. If they really exist, please allow me to meet them..."


    Song Xingchen sighed and silently recited the familyw, "Young master, no Song family member should ever dabble in professions of thew!"


    "I can¡¯t do that!¡± I cried. ¡°And why do you all assume I¡¯ll definitely die as long as I get involved with this organization?"


    Song Xingchen said with great certainty, "Anyone who has been targeted by them ends up dead. Think about it. You almost lost your lifest time when you confronted them twice. This time, it¡¯s even more dangerous than just losing your life. Every generation of the Song family who wanted to bring them down has failed to escape such a fate, even your grandfather. The ancestors of the Song family suffered the same way, except for one person who narrowly defeated the Jiangbei Daggers. But that person is someone we couldn¡¯t control ¡ª our ancestor Song Ci!"


    "Just think of me as young and ignorant,¡± I said, getting to my feet. ¡°Anyway, I won¡¯t be dissuaded by your words. Ask the Song family out. I¡¯d like to talk to them personally!"


    Song Xingchen folded his arms and turned away. "I will inform them of your intentions. If you manage to convince them, I¡¯ll join this special team."


    "That¡¯s a deal!" I eximed.

 Chapter 436

    <h4>Chapter 436</h4>


    A few nightster, after I visited the bureau on an errand, I received a guest at the store. Luo Youyou said mysteriously, "Song Yang, there¡¯s someone here to see you."


    When I walked into the store, there sat Song Xingchen. Upon noticing me, he stood up and said, "The Song family has responded!"


    "What did they say?" I asked.


    Song Xingchen pulled out two train tickets and ced them in front of me, "The elders want us there in person!"


    The train tickets were for Jianyang, Fujian, which was a long way from here. "Why didn¡¯t they buy ne tickets?" I wondered out loud.


    "Because airnes aren¡¯t safe!" cried Song Xingchen.


    I smiled at his conservative thoughts. "I¡¯ll get ready then," I nodded.


    I informed Xiaotao that I was going away to deal with some family affairs. "What family matters do you have to deal with?¡± she asked in amazement. ¡°Do you have to go back and inherit the mantle?"


    "What the hell are you talking about?¡± I clicked my tongue. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s no big deal. I¡¯ll be back soon!"


    At the time, I never imagined this might have been myst time seeing Xiaotao.


    On the day of our departure, Song Xingchen hired a cab to pick me up early in the morning before the store opened. Xiaotao couldn¡¯te to see me off because she was too busy with work so Bingxin dropped by with a big bag of food and drinks. Aside from the snacks I usually liked to eat, there were more than a dozen cups of instant bubble tea for Song Xingchen. When I thanked her, Bingxin smiled, "There¡¯s no need to thank me. I prepared this with Xiaotao-jiejie. Be safe!"


    After I got into the cab, I sent a text to thank Xiaotao. Surprised by my message, she wrote: ¡°I didn¡¯t help prepare anything. It was all Bingxin."


    The little white lie Bingxin made up really touched me.


    The next day, we arrived in Jianyang and took a bus to the town known as Huifu. "This is where our ancestor, Song Ci, is buried," exined Song Xingchen.


    "So the Song family has people here!¡± I eximed. ¡°Did you grow up here?"


    Song Xingchen nodded.


    Past the mountains and rivers, we finally made it to Huifu Town in the deep mountains. From a distance, we could see ancient mansions from the Ming and Qing Dynasties with the white bricks and ck tiles against the misty backdrop. On the terraced fields in the mountains, there were farmers driving big cattle to plow the fields. It was as if we had traveled across time and space.


    When we alighted from the bus and entered the vige entrance, I felt a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu! The Song family¡¯s old manor that stood in front of us had the exact same feng shui pattern and architectural style as the family home in my hometown. Despite being thousands of miles apart, the two Song family¡¯s old manors seemed evident of the shared blood rtionship.


    When we walked to the door, the main entrance creaked open, and a man and a woman slowly approached us. The man was in his mid-forties, with gray hair at the temples and kind eyes while the woman was skinny with bright eyes and rather resembled my aunt.


    The woman smiled, "Xiao Song Yang, it¡¯s been a long time since Ist saw you!"


    I asked in amazement, "Have we met before?"


    "When you were born, I carried you in my arms. My name is Song Heting and this is my husband Di Yi¡¯an. In terms of seniority, I¡¯m your aunt."


    "My aunt is also named Heting!" I stared in wide-eyed surprise.


    Song Heting smiled, "What a coincidence! Perhaps my parents¡¯ generation liked the word ¡®he¡¯."


    Right then, a girl of about seventeen or eighteen suddenly jumped out and called, "Mom, do we have guests?"


    Song Heting introduced, "This is the little girl, Song Jie.¡± She turned to her daughter, ¡°And this is your cousin Song Yang!"


    Her daughter¡¯s surname was also Song which meant that Di Yi¡¯an had married into the family. Song Jie bit her finger and whispered, "Hmm, why are two of my cousins named Song Yang?"


    I was rather surprised to learn of this, but Song Heting quickly changed the subject. "You¡¯ve been on a long journey. Come in and rest for a bit!"


    Song Xingchen and I walked into the manor which had the exact sameyout as my old home. It was already noon and several cold dishes were ced on the dinner table. Song Heting invited us to take a seat and asked if we wanted anything to drink but I shook my head.


    Then, Song Heting busied herself in the kitchen while Di Yi¡¯an sat with us. He seemed like a nice guy and made polite conversation, though his position within the family wasn¡¯t high. On the other hand, Song Jie was a spirited little chatterbox who asked me questions about everything. She was very interested in Honor of Kings and invited me for a game after lunch.


    The ng of a spat against a wok came from the kitchen. Song Heting asked her husband to serve the food. "Oh don¡¯t worry about us. There¡¯s enough food on the table to fill us up!" I assured my aunt.


    "Oh, it¡¯s nothing!" smiled Song Heting.


    Song Jie blinked her big, misty eyes at me and said, "My mother is a good cook but she seldom makes the effort. Today, she¡¯s made so many dishes at once. Looks like you¡¯re a distinguished guest. By the way, Song Yang, do you practice martial arts?"


    "No, I¡¯m terrible at that," I smiled bitterly.


    "So you are a civil Song.¡± Song Jie nudged my arm, ¡°Wow, you must be very good at solving crimes. Show me your skills!"


    Right then, Song Heting walked out of the kitchen with a bowl of soup. "Xiao Jie!¡± she shouted. ¡°Why are you so chatty? Haven¡¯t I taught you anything? You shouldn¡¯t talk at the dinner table!"


    Song Jie pouted, "It¡¯s not like we¡¯ve started eating yet!"


    The bowl of soup in Song Heting¡¯s hands was milky white. "Try our ancestral snake soup. Song Ci loved drinking this,¡± she said. ¡°Speaking of which, you do resemble Song Ci. Doesn¡¯t he, Yi¡¯an?"


    "Yes,¡± echoed Di Yi¡¯an. ¡°We have a portrait of Song Ci in our home. All you need is a beard to look just like him!"


    "Not only do you look alike, but your skills are also very simr. The elders have praised you as the most capable Song family member in your generation!"


    Although I knew these words were meant to tter, hearing them still made me happy.


    Song Xingchen interrupted, "Aunt Song, is this what the elders have decided?"


    "That¡¯s enough from you!" chided Song Heting.


    I wasn¡¯t sure what they were talking about so I tasted the soup instead. It was really delicious and Song Heting told me to finish the entire bowl which she made especially for me.


    After lunch, I asked, "Aunt Song, are you the only Song family member living here?"


    "Nine out of the ten families in this vige are surnamed Song," she exined.


    "So you¡¯re all descendants guarding the mausoleum of our ancestor Song Ci?" My eyes lit up.


    "Well, at first that was so. In the past, they lived here free of rent and a vige was slowly formed. During the war, one of the Song families moved over. This ce is far away from the bustle, a paradise where we can train."


    "Yeah, there¡¯s no cable TV, no bookstores, no music stores... What a paradise!" grumbled Song Jie.


    "What are youining about!" rebuked Song Heting.


    "Do the elders live here as well?" I asked.


    "There¡¯s a Taoist temple on the mountain where the elders live, but they rarely get involved in family affairs. So you don¡¯t have to see them. They¡¯re just three old men."


    "So the reason I¡¯m here..." I trailed off.


    "The elders know what you¡¯re doing out there! They have decided to give you a test, and if you pass that test, you can act ording to your own wishes. But if you fail, you must obey the family¡¯s arrangement and stay away from the outside world." Song Heting¡¯s expression turned solemn.


    "What?!" I cried.


    "Don¡¯t get all excited. This test should be very simple for you. In fact, this vige isn¡¯t as calm as it seems. There¡¯s an old case here that we¡¯d like for you to solve. As long as you do that, you pass the test."

 Chapter 437

    <h4>Chapter 437</h4>


    I frowned, "I¡¯m good at solving crimes but I don¡¯t have my tools with me!"


    "No tools are allowed this time. It¡¯s a condition for the test,¡± smiled Song Heting.


    I looked out of the window and asked, "Isn¡¯t there a public security bureau here?"


    "No, the Song family patriarch decides on how to deal with criminals. You only need to find out who it is," Song Heting replied.


    I didn¡¯t expect the customs here to be so simple, much like China before liberation. "What am I supposed to investigate?" I asked.


    "Let¡¯s not talk about this right now. Eat!" Song Heting waved her hand.


    After dinner, Song Heting took me to the Song family¡¯s ancestral temple so I could worship our ancestors. I noticed my grandfather¡¯s name among the tablets so I lit three joss sticks and paid my respects.


    I suggested we start the test immediately, but Song Heting refused, "No, you¡¯re tired after such a long trip. Rest for tonight!"


    She was both gentle and firm, leaving me no choice but to agree.


    The people in the vige lived ording to the rise and set of the sun. It was extremely dark at night, with no TVs orputers in the old house. The room where I stayed had the bare essentials with a pile of ancient books on the shelf meant for leisure reading.


    However, I grew up in this environment so I found nothing wrong with it.


    Laying in bed, I nced at the weak signal on my cell phone and sent Xiaotao a message, informing her of our safe arrival and my rtives¡¯ enthusiasm.


    Right then, someone knocked on the door¨Cit was Song Heting. "Xiao Song Yang, I¡¯ve boiled some hot water so you can take a bath!"


    When I thanked her, Song Heting smiled, "You¡¯re wee. Just think of this as your own home."


    She led me to the bathroom where a big wooden tub full of steaming medicinal bathwater awaited me. "This is a medicinal concoction secretly passed down from the martial Songs which can heal pain and relieve fatigue,¡± she exined. ¡°Try it. It¡¯s veryfortable."


    Seeing Song Heting¡¯s intention to stay, I blushed, "Aunt Song, I can bathe on my own."


    "Oh, you shy thing!¡± sheughed. ¡°There¡¯s hot water there which you can use when the bathwater cools. Call me if you need anything."


    When she left, I removed my clothes and soaked myself in the medicinal bath. Although the water was warm, it had a mint-like coolness that seemed to drill into my pores, refreshing my entire body and washing away the fatigue.


    After my bath, I wrapped myself in a towel and headed back to my room. The floors of the old manor creaked as I walked. Suddenly, the light above me shed and went out. Was the electricity in the mountains unstable?


    At this moment, light footsteps came up behind me. I turned around and was greeted by a man in flowy robes and wide sleeves turning the corner. He was dressed like a man from ancient times!


    Filled with surprise, I wondered, Is this an apparition of my ancestors?!


    As for fear, I had none. This wasn¡¯t my first rodeo with ghosts after all.


    Ignoring the apparition, I continued walking to my room. Suddenly, a gloomy voice crept up from behind me, "Song Yang, why aren¡¯t you kneeling before me!"


    A cold breeze licked my skin from the back. "Who are you?" I asked.


    "What insolence! I am Song Ci!"


    In the dark, I noticed a man wearing a Song Dynasty official uniform. But with Cave Vision, the ¡®man¡¯s¡¯ fair face and big, misty eyes were clearly visible to me.


    The lights were suddenly turned back on and Song Heting strode over, holding a feather duster in her hand used to spank Song Ci¡¯s imposter. "What the hell are you doing running about in the middle of the night scaring others!" chided Song Heting.


    Dressed as Song Ci, Song Jie smiled and begged for forgiveness, "Mom, don¡¯t hit me! I was just fooling around!"


    "Do you think this is funny?"


    Song Jie spat her tongue, "Didn¡¯t you say Song Yang-gege had the Eyes of Yama? I wanted to scare him to see what the Eyes of Yama look like."


    "What nonsense! Go back to your room!" Song Heting rebuked.


    They knew about the Eyes of Yama which suggested how concerned the Song family was about me.


    After that little episode, I went back to my room and slept peacefully throughout the night. The next morning, Song Xingchen came looking for me, "Did you sleep wellst night?"


    "Yes,¡± I nodded. ¡°Yesterday, Aunt Song prepared a medicinal bath for me. Soaking in it was quite nice. You martial Songs seem to really take care of yourselves..."


    "What medicinal bath?" queried Song Xingchen. I caught a trace of nervousness in his expression.


    Upon listening to my brief description, Song Xingchen remained silent.


    Perhaps due to oversleeping, I felt a little weak all over and wanted to sleep some more. However, this being someone else¡¯s home, I couldn¡¯t be so capricious. Breakfast consisted of porridge, pickles and scallions. At the end of our meal, Song Heting instructed, "Xiao Jie, take Song Yang to the vige!"


    "Is this about the test..." I ventured.


    "Xiao Jie will take you there," answered Song Heting.


    Thus, Song Xingchen, Song Jie and I set out together. Throughout our entire journey, Song Jie chattered and asked about interesting things in the city and if I had a girlfriend.


    "Don¡¯t you have to go to school?" I asked in return.


    Song Jie chuckled, "I¡¯m in my third year of university! I don¡¯t have any sses right now so I¡¯m back for a short holiday!"


    In fact, Song Jie looked eighteen at most, but she was already in her third year. It turned out she had skipped grades from childhood, went to elementary school for four years, then middle school for four years, and university at the age of fifteen which was an admirable feat indeed.


    When we passed by a field, Song Jie picked up a stone from the ground and turned to Song Xingchen, "Let¡¯s y the game!"


    "I don¡¯t want to. You¡¯ll just lose like always," replied Song Xingchen.


    Song Jie pouted, "How dare you belittle me! I¡¯m much better than before!"


    "Is that so?" Song Xingchen retorted.


    Just when I thought they were going to y a game, Song Xingchen raised his hand and threw a stone into the sky with Song Jie following in the same direction. With a smack, the stone thrown by Song Xingchen was smashed to smithereens. The both of them stood in ce, resembling two martial arts masters in the proper stance of throwing knives.


    Then, Song Jie threw another stone into the sky and Song Xingchen quickly followed, his stone crashing into hers.


    The two went at each other for ten rounds, and finally, Song Xingchen was dered the victor. I was amazed by the martial Songs. Song Xingchen once used a straw against a weapon which I assumed was his unique skill, but it turned out to be a basic requirement of the martial Songs.


    "You lost again!" scoffed Song Xingchen.


    Song Jie stood with arms akimbo, "It¡¯s only because thatst stone was a little slippery. Let¡¯s have another round!"


    "I¡¯m done messing around. Train for a few more years and maybe we¡¯ll have another go!" Song Xingchen turned away.


    "No, you¡¯re never home and no one else will y with me,"ined Song Jie.


    "Who¡¯s there?" The voice of an old woman interrupted their little argument.


    An old woman with a hunchback walked up with her crutch. Song Jie respectfully greeted, "Hello, Granny!" Song Xingchen nodded slightly in her direction.


    Blind in one eye, the olddy sized me up with her other eye. "And this is..."


    Song Jie quickly introduced us to each other. It turned out that the olddy was the vige shaman, surnamed Yan ¡ª she married into the vige decades ago. Song Jie exined that there was a mysterious tradition in the vige. Since ancient times, there would be a shaman in every generation. When the shaman from the previous generation died, a widow would soon develop a high fever and fall into aa. And upon regaining consciousness, the widow would im to be the reincarnation of the shaman! Since she couldmunicate with the dead, the shaman would be invited to preside over all funerals.


    All shamans had a token of inheritance, an iron walnut the size of a baby¡¯s fist. The selected shaman could swallow the walnut into their stomach without any harm, and the iron walnut would stay in their stomach until death. When the corpse was cremated, the walnut would be picked out from the ashes and be passed on to the next shaman.


    If this shaman was a phoney and tried to swallow the walnut, she would either suffer from rectal bleeding or die from asphyxiation when the walnut got stuck in her trachea! As long as they were the chosen shaman, they would be able to pass this incredible test. Hence, the shaman was respected by the vigers and was the most influential person in the vige.

 Chapter 438

    <h4>Chapter 438</h4>


    After greeting the old woman, Song Jie watched her slowly walk over the ridge. Tugging my sleeve, she whispered, "We¡¯ll take our time. Let¡¯s not walk with her!"


    "Why?" I asked.


    "Just listen to me," Song Jie refused to exin further.


    Since Granny Yan walked slowly, Song Jie took us around from the side in order not to walk ahead of her.


    We soon arrived at a hill overlooking the entire vige. The rows of ancient buildings looked very pleasing to the eye. There was a big banyan tree in the center of the vige, the leaves wide like a veil that covered the sky and some colored cloth was tied onto the branches. Song Jie pointed and said, "What you need to investigate is in that banyan tree."


    "In the tree?" I asked in amazement.


    "That¡¯s what my mother said, though I¡¯m not very clear about the details. As far as I know, this is a sacred tree in the vige. You¡¯d better not let the others see you investigating, especially that old woman!" Song Jie warned.


    When Granny Yan finally entered one of the houses, we slipped into the vige. It was foggy in the morning, so I wasn¡¯t worried about being seen. I circled the tree while Song Jie sat on a big millstone next to me, eating wild fruits she had picked along the road.


    I instructed Song Xingchen to thump on the tree trunk slowly with his scabbard as I ced my ear on the trunk to listen. After switching from several different angles, I heard something in the tree. Sound traveled at different speeds through different objects and whatever was in that tree sounded like... a corpse.


    "There is a corpse inside!" I eximed.


    Song Jie looked surprised. "That¡¯s amazing. You can tell just by listening? Are you a dolphin?"


    "Echolocation is a basic skill of the civil Songs."


    "Wow! If only I had this sort of listening ability, I could cheat on the exam. Hehe!"


    I chuckled, I¡¯ve certainly never done such a thing!


    But how were we supposed to remove the skeleton from within? The banyan tree had extremely tenacious vitality. Even if one hanging branch reached the earth, it would slowly grow into a tree. In Southeast Asia, some temples were oftenpletely wrapped in banyan trees.


    Since this was a sacred tree of the vige, I would certainly anger the vigers if I sawed the tree in half. If I wanted to pass the Song family¡¯s test, I would have to abide by the rules.


    After staring at the trunk for a considerable amount of time, I frowned, "I need something sharp!"


    Song Xingchen asked, "What about my sword?"


    "Is your sword resistant to heat?" I asked.


    "Yes!" Song Xingchen nodded.


    However, none of us had a lighter so we decided to head back first. Right then, amotion sounded in the vige. A crowd wearing white belts poured out of one of the houses, the cries of several women filling the air. Granny Yan walked in front, tossing yellow joss paper all around while she uttered, "Come back to us! Return to your home. The world out there is filled with thieves and traitors!" She seemed to be chanting a passage from the Verses of Chu, Summoning Of The Soul.


    "Is this a funeral?" I whispered to Song Jie.


    "No!" Song Jie smiled, "This is called the bone-seeking burial. You¡¯ve probably never heard of it. Let¡¯s watch the excitement!"


    We followed the crowd to arge cemetery outside the vige, only to see two young men walking out of the crowd and digging away. Granny Yan knelt down and removed the skeletons with bamboo tongs while chanting prayers to pacify the soul. She ced the bones put on a mat, cleaned them with soju, and then put them in a jar.


    ording to the local folk customs, the bones had to be removed three years after their death and they had to be buried separately. The final burial ground was considered the real resting ce of these bones.


    Before the ceremony ended, Granny Yan walked to another grave with the jar and removed the second set of bones. cing both bones in the same jar, she ughtered a big cock, poured the chicken blood in the jar and sealed it with a red cloth before solemnly handing it to the family.


    Song Jie exined that the bone-seeking burial and ghost marriage were performed at the same time. The deceased were an unrted young man and woman before their death. In local folk customs, those who died before marriage were considered children. Thus, the two families arranged a ghost marriage so the man and woman¡¯s souls could have each other aspanions in theherworld.


    Song Jie muttered, "If the couple were reincarnated, they would probably be brother and sister in their next life. Don¡¯t you think so, Song Yang-gege?"


    ¡°Perhaps!" I nodded.


    "Don¡¯t get me wrong,¡± Song Jie blushed. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean anything."


    I wasn¡¯t sure why she had such a strong reaction; I didn¡¯t think too much of her words.


    When I asked Song Jie if the vige head was among these people, she pointed to an old man. After the ceremony, I walked up to him and greeted, "Hello, vige chief. I¡¯m a rtive of the Song family. I¡¯d like to ask you something."


    The vige chief said in amazement, "Whose rtives are you?"


    I forgot there was more than one Song family here. Song Jie grabbed my arm and said, "Uncle Song, he¡¯s my cousin from the city. He¡¯s a famous detective who knows many policemen and officials!"


    The vige head looked at me with starry eyes. "Oh yes! I heard Heting mention you. You¡¯re Song Zhaolin¡¯s grandson, aren¡¯t you?"


    "Yes!" I replied.


    The vige chief smiled, "In fact, we¡¯re of the same blood. Those surnamed Song in this vige are all either rtives or friends. Just tell me if you need anything."


    "Has anyone disappeared in the vige over the past ten years?" I got straight to the point.


    The vige chief frowned, "In the past ten years? That¡¯s too long for me to remember."


    "Do you have the household registration files for the entire vige?" I added.


    "Yes, you can drop by and look at them if you like," the vige chief readily agreed.


    "I¡¯ll visit you tonight then!" I smiled, cupping my fist.


    Song Jie tsked at my reply, "The vige chief probably wants to sleep at night. This is a rural area. Unlike your city, there¡¯s no nightlife here. Tomorrow is better! Uncle Song, we¡¯ll visit you tomorrow morning."


    ¡°Alright then, you cane over at noon. I¡¯ll let make you lunch," nodded the vige chief.


    I couldn¡¯t helpmenting at life in the countryside. Things moved at a snail¡¯s pace and I would be wasting a day. But as they say, when you¡¯re in Rome, do as the Romans do.


    Song Jie pulled my arm, "Song Yang-gege, it¡¯s still early. Let¡¯s go explore the cannon building!"


    I wondered out loud, "What¡¯s the cannon building?"


    Song Jie¡¯s cheeks reddened once more. "It¡¯s the cannons which they used to fight enemies. Song Xingchen-gege and I used to y there when we were little. There¡¯s even an old cannon still standing there!"


    We walked up the mountain path to the cannon building which was actually two small buildings made of bricks¨Cnothing special at all. The river in front flowed in sweeping meanders, the waters so clear you could see the yful fish chasing each other.


    Song Xingchen and I stood by the river. "The air here is great. It¡¯s so rich in oxygen," I sighed.


    Song Xingchen turned around abruptly to face Song Jie who was about to sneak up on him from behind and kick him into the river. "Geez, aren¡¯t you too old for such tricks?" he scoffed.


    Making a face, Song Jie shoved Song Xingchen, causing thetter to stagger a few steps backwards. As Song Xingchen backflipped from the riverbank, Song Jie threw a few stones and shouted, "Look out for hidden weapons!"


    The water sshed when the stones crashed onto the surface. Song Xingchen swept the water away with a wave of his sword, without so much as a drop on his clothes.


    Thus, the two broke into a duel on both sides of the river while I stayed away for fear of being identally injured. I never imagined such a side to Song Xingchen. He and Song Jie probably grew up together like childhood sweethearts.


    An Anthology of Ancient Chinese Poetry by Qu Yuan and other poets.

 Chapter 439

    <h4>Chapter 439</h4>


    A whileter, Song Jie said, "Tang-ge, there¡¯s a beautiful flower over there. Pick it for me, will you?"


    Song Xingchen smiled, "Are you a child?"


    "Yes, I am. Is there anything wrong with that?¡± she retorted, arms akimbo. ¡°Pick it for me!"


    Song Xingchen picked a bright-colored flower and tucked it behind Song Jie¡¯s ear. However, I soon noticed something odd about the flower and immediately shouted, "Wait! Let me have a look."


    After observing the flower, I exined, "This is opium poppy! Why is there opium poppy here?"


    "How do you know?!" Song Jie blurted, then covered her mouth to hide her gaffe.


    "It¡¯ste summer and it should be the time of the year when the vigers are busy farming, but I noticed a few people ploughing in the fields. Is there a secret in the vige?"


    Song Jie spat her tongue, "I can¡¯t believe you noticed..."


    "Is someone in the vige nting something illegal?"


    Song Jie tucked the flower behind her ear, "Alright, I¡¯ll show you but don¡¯t tell my mother!"


    As Song Jie led us over a hill, I scanned the area. A sea of deep red, pale pink and white, with opium poppies on the left, jimsonweed on the right and bedonna in the distance. I frowned, "Don¡¯t you know that these nts are illegal?"


    "So what? We¡¯ve been nting these flowers for many years. How do you think the concoctions that you usually use like Dream Entry, Heart Poison and Bone Erosion Drug are made?"


    Some of theponents of these drugs were handed down by my grandfather while the others were obtained via Xiaotao because quite a few of these raw materials were considered contraband.


    "You mean this is the Song family¡¯s ntation?" I eximed.


    "Yes,¡± answered Song Jie. ¡°The Song family has a great demand for these drugs. The water and soil here are perfect for nting so we do it ourselves!"


    "Who else uses these drugs besides me?" I asked.


    "Aren¡¯t you arrogant!¡± sheughed. ¡°You¡¯re not the only descendent of the Song family to work with thew. The civil Songs are now in decline, but arge part of the martial Songs are just like you. They cooperate with the state on difficult missions. My mother used to be a bodyguard in Zhongnanhai. In 1997, she rescued a foreign president from terrorists. My father was my mother¡¯s colleague."


    I never imagined Song Heting had such an identity! It turned out that the martial Songs were actively involved in secr affairs. Of course, they cooperated with the state as consultants like me.


    Opium poppies were a rare variety. Drugs of extremely high purity could be extracted from processed poppies. "Are you sure these nts are really just used for us and not for profit?"


    Song Jie chuckled, "Geez, you¡¯re so suspicious of everything! How can the Song family do such a thing? Our ancestors are buried in these mountains!"


    "Song Yang, don¡¯t worry! The Song family would never do such a thing,¡± assured Song Xingchen. ¡°Aside from thews of our ancestors, the martial Songs have another rule we abide by... "


    ¡°Asura methods but the heart of a Bodhi!" recited Song Jie.


    Since it was past noon, Song Jie urged us home for lunch. Song Heting cooked me another bowl of snake soup. After drinking it once, I couldn¡¯t resist this delicious soup which made me wonder if something extra had been added.


    "How¡¯s your investigation?" Song Heting queried.


    "Aunt Song, how did you know about the corpse hidden in the old tree? Who is it?"


    "We do know a little about the corpse, but I¡¯m not allowed to tell you anything."


    "Why?" I was rather puzzled.


    "Because this is a test and you have to prove your ability to solve the case on your own!" exined Song Heting.


    I was perfectly confident of my ability to solve the case, but I kept quiet about it for fear of sounding boastful.


    With little to do after dinner, I followed Song Jie to the martial arts hall. This old manor had the exact sameyout as my grandfather¡¯s home. We put the patio here while the Songs had a martial arts hall with eighteen weapons on disy on both sides.


    Song Jie changed into her training outfit and practiced boxing on the wooden dummy.


    "This is where I grew up,¡± said Song Xingchen.


    "You seem rather close to Song Jie!" Imented.


    "Unfortunately, she¡¯s my cousin!"mented Song Xingchen.


    Upon hearing this, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if he meant something else.


    Grandfather once recounted the birth of the martial Songs. Our ancestors realized that members of the Song family who could only solve crimes were too easily harmed in the line of duty, so they split the Song family in two¨Cthe martial branch and the civil branch. The two familiesplemented each other like two sides of a coin.


    There have been well-known martial Songs, such as Song Buping, the number one constable of ancient Guangdong and Guangxi, as well as Song Shirong and Song Shide, founders of the Song family¡¯s internal martial arts technique.


    After practicing a set of the Xingyiquan, Song Jie proceeded to practice Wing Chun, her entire body covered in sweat. During this time, Song Xingchen suddenly disappeared while I wasn¡¯t paying attention and came back with a towel. As Song Xingchen patiently wiped away the sweat on Song Jie¡¯s face, she smiled and said, "Thanks!"


    For the rest of the afternoon, Song Jie suggested we y Honor of Kings since she usually had no one else to join her. Although Song Xingchen wasn¡¯t interested in the game, he went along with her proposal. In fact, Song Xingchen was like a different man before Song Jie.


    The day passed uneventfully. The next morning, we headed to the banyan tree. Song Xingchen pulled out his Tang sword and sliced into the tree trunk while I ced my ears against the bark to listen. "Watch out for your ears. You might be injured by my sword," reminded Song Xingchen.


    "Don¡¯t worry!" I replied.


    The sword seemed to have been embedded into the skeleton. I grabbed an alcohol burner and began heating the de. A few minutester, I told Song Xingchen to remove the sword.


    There was banyan sap of different shades on the de. After ncing at it, I surmised, "This corpse has been trapped inside for five years!"


    "How can you tell?" Sing Jie asked in surprise.


    "I heated the de so the sap would stick to it,¡± I exined. ¡°As you can see, there¡¯s the outline of the annual rings¨Cfive of them means it¡¯s been enclosed in there for five years!"


    Song Jie arched an eyebrow, "How did youe up with this? Did you learn this technique from a book?"


    "This is expected of the best Traditional Coroners. We can determine the best autopsy methods in different environments," I smiled.


    We met up with the vige chief who greeted us enthusiastically and pulled out the household registration files of the entire vige. Unfortunately, no one disappeared five years ago. Even when I expanded the scope to seven years, I was surprised to find zero disappearances.


    The corpse inside the banyan tree was obviously an adult, and a grown person had to have a file. So I turned to the vige head, "Has anyone from the vige disappeared over the past few years?"


    The vige looked at me strangely, "No, we often see each other so I would definitely be aware if someone¡¯s missing. There are several young ones who leave the vige for work but theye back to visit every year."


    "Are there any outsiders or visitors missing?" I added.


    ¡°There are very few outsiders in this vige. The few outsiders we have here are like you, rtives of the vigers," answered the vige chief.


    This whole thing was bizarre. Did the bones just appear out of thin air?


    Older male patrilineal cousin


    Zhongnanhai is a former imperial garden in the Imperial City, Beijing, adjacent to the Forbidden City.


    Internal martial arts technique that roughly trantes to Form-Intention Fist", or "Shape-Will Fist".

 Chapter 440

    <h4>Chapter 440</h4>


    After a moment¡¯s contemtion, I asked the vige chief, "When did that tree be sacred to the vige?"


    "I¡¯m not sure. In fact, as a vige chief, I¡¯ve never really approved of superstitious beliefs and activity in the vige. But since everyone partakes in superstition, I can¡¯t do anything about it except respect their beliefs. In fact, I don¡¯t believe in this so-called sacred tree," admitted the vige head.


    Removing her shoe soles, the vige chief¡¯s wife reminded, "Old man, have you forgotten that the tree once glowed at night? Everyone said that the tree god had appeared."


    The vige head recounted, "Oh, yes! That was in 2013."


    "2013?" I mused. That was just five years ago and the glow of the tree must have been the effect of phosphorus vtilizing from the corpse, the same principle as the will-o-wisp. This meant that someone hid the corpse in the tree before the incident.


    "Young man, why are you so interested in this tree?" asked the vige chief.


    I wanted to keep the matter out of the limelight for the time being so I said, "It¡¯s nothing, I¡¯m just curious."


    The vige chief insisted on keeping us for lunch which we had a hard time refusing. When I left his home, I found myself at a loss. What a conundrum indeed¨CI couldn¡¯t touch or identify the body!


    With these thoughts on my mind, I silently paced back and forth along the ridge. Song Jie chuckled, "What¡¯s wrong with him? Has he gone mad?"


    "He¡¯s thinking about the case,¡± exined Song Xingchen.


    "Tang-ge,e with me up the hill! We¡¯ll catch sparrows!" suggested Song Jie.


    "You two have fun. I¡¯ll hang around here for a bit and meet you back at hometer," I said.


    "See youter then!" Song Jie chirped as she pulled Song Xingchen away.


    After an hour of cudgeling my brains, I suddenly noticed the hill where the ghost wedding was held yesterday and the lonely graves. Despite no disappearances in the vige during the five years, deaths must have still urred. Could the body be one of the dead vigers? In this case, there must be an empty grave.


    Wandering down this line of thought, I quickly headed back to the Song family¡¯s old manor. Song Heting was picking vegetables when she noticed me. "Aren¡¯t Xiao Jie and Song Xingchen with you?"


    "Aunt Song, to investigate the case, there¡¯s something I must do! I¡¯d like to go up the hill at night to check the graves!"


    Song Heting froze and arched an eyebrow, "If the vigers find out about this, you¡¯ll be in big trouble!"


    "I don¡¯t really have to open the coffins. I just need a Luoyang shovel. Don¡¯t worry. A Traditional Coroner knows how to perform an autopsy without leaving any traces behind," I assured.


    "Be careful and make sure no one sees you,¡± said Song Heting. ¡°I don¡¯t have a Luoyang shovel, but there are some iron sheets in the backyard. You can make one yourself!"


    It was to my utter relief that Song Heting supported my actions. Thus, I headed to the backyard and created a Luoyang shovel with iron sheets and a bamboo pole. When I tried digging up some soil from the ground, the Luoyang shovel proved useful.


    As the afternoon turned to dusk, it was soon time for dinner. When Song Jie heard I was going up the hill to conduct autopsies, she squealed excitedly and insisted oning along.


    Hence, the three of us headed out, surrounded by the darkness of the night. With Cave Vision, neither of us needed lighting equipment. As we neared the graveyard, Song Jie grew frightened. "There won¡¯t be any ghosts, will there?" she asked.


    Iughed, "Are you afraid of ghosts? Aren¡¯t you a Song?"


    "I¡¯m not like you. I don¡¯t face dead bodies every day,¡± pouted Song Jie. ¡°Song Yang-gege, have you ever seen a ghost?"


    "Yes," I nodded.


    "Let¡¯s about hear it then... Oh, forget it. Tell me when we¡¯re home... No, no! Tell me about it when the sun¡¯s out!" Song Jie covered her ears in fear.


    I picked up the homemade Luoyang shovel and dug at the grave. Shoveling out the soil to catch a whiff, I confirmed a body was indeed buried below. Then, I explored all the graves in the same manner but couldn¡¯t find any empty ones. "How can this be?¡± I muttered to myself. ¡°Why are all the bodies here? Could there be other graves nearby?"


    Song Jie interjected, "The vigers are all buried here. If you go up further, you¡¯ll see the grave of our ancestors. Are you going to desecrate Song Ci¡¯s tomb?"


    "Bold little girl, be careful! You might get struck by lightning for running your mouth off!" chided Song Xingchen.


    Song Jieughed, "Hehe, I¡¯ll just hide behind you! If I¡¯m getting struck by lightning, then so are you!"


    Naturally, I wasn¡¯t in the mood to joke around. I sat on one of the graves, thinking, Did I miss something?


    Some timeter, Song Jie waved her hand in front of my eyes, "Aren¡¯t you cold?"


    "I¡¯m going back to get some tools. I¡¯ll need to open the coffins and perform autopsies!"


    "Haven¡¯t you checked all the graves?" asked Song Jie. ¡°Why are you thinking of opening the coffins now?¡±


    "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. There¡¯s definitely one body missing from these graves. I am sure of that!"


    Song Xingchen and Song Jie exchanged a meaningful look. "Song Yang, you have to think twice before you do this,¡± advised Song Xingchen. ¡°If the vigers see their ancestral graves desecrated, you won¡¯t be able to keep investigating..."


    "Don¡¯t worry. A Traditional Coroner knows how to open a coffin without being found. We¡¯re even more experienced than grave robbers,¡± I assured. ¡°Besides, I only need to dig up three graves."


    ¡°What makes you say that?" queried Song Jie.


    "It¡¯s just a guess at present. I¡¯ll share it with you once I verify the truth."


    "Geez, you really like whetting our appetites and leaving us hanging!" grumbled Song Jie.


    By the time we reached home, Song Heting and her husband had already fallen asleep. In order not to disturb them, Song Xingchen jumped up the wall and threw over a pick and a shovel from the backyard. Without much effort, Song Jie caught the tools in her hand and waited for Song Xingchen to climb back from the other side.


    Back on the hill, I turned to Song Jie, "The people here practice the tradition of the bone-seeking burial. Show me which graves have been removed for the ritual."


    Song Jie pointed to one, but instead of digging into the grave at once, I shoveled at the soil from the back, carefully making a hole. In order not to destroy the shape of the grave, I took extra precaution and time¨Calmost half an hour¨Cjust to create a squarish hole into which I could reach.


    In the dead of the night, the graveyard was deste and the forest behind was shrouded in fog. There were strange movements and soundsing from within. Frightened, Song Jie tugged Song Xingchen¡¯s sleeve, "Thank goodness I¡¯m not one of the civil Songs. I wouldn¡¯t want to do this sort of thing."


    "What¡¯s there to be scared of? Compared to the living, at least the dead are honest," I smiled.


    "You¡¯ve got the courage of a lion!¡±mended Song Jie.


    I knelt down and slipped my hand into the hole, much to Song Jie¡¯s shock. She quickly hid behind Song Xingchen and poked her head out. "Song Yang-gege, aren¡¯t you afraid a hand will suddenly grab yours?" she whispered.


    I wasn¡¯t afraid of some ghost¡¯s hand, but a slippery snake would terrify me. Generally speaking, however, snakes only hid themselves in the winter.


    Something fluffy grazed my hand and whatever it was escaped with a squeak. Much to my relief, it was a vole. The presence of voles meant there would be no snakes.


    Finally, I felt something hard. Sliding my other hand in, I slowly pulled out an earthen jar.


    Then, I unsealed the jar, poured the bones onto the ground, and crouched down as I began to piece the bones together.


    Song Jie turned to Song Xingchen, "Does he always behave so strangely?"


    Song Xingchen shook his head, "No, he¡¯s usually more bizarre!"

 Chapter 441

    <h4>Chapter 441</h4>


    I quickly arranged the bones, casually cing them in a way that only I could understand. With her head tilted, Song Jie blurted, "What are you doing? Writing your girlfriend¡¯s name?"


    Just when I noticed something strange about the bones, she added, "Hey, do you have a girlfriend?"


    "Why do you talk so much?" I helplesslyined.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to ease my fears," pouted Song Jie.


    I stuffed the bones back into the earthen jar and carefully ced the jar in the grave. After filling the hole with soil, I covered the surface with grass which made it unnoticeable from the outside. Then, I moved onto the next grave.


    "What did you find?" asked Song Jie. ¡°Why don¡¯t you say something?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know? Empty vessels make the most noise!"


    "Oh, cut it out with the suspense!" cried Song Jie.


    By the time I had examined the three skeletons in the same manner, it was midnight. I wiped the dirt off my hands and said, "I¡¯ve figured out the truth."


    "What is it?" queried Song Jie.


    "The reason why it seems the corpse appeared out of thin air,¡± I exined. ¡°The bones from the first two graves I just examined are missing two ribs, and the third one is missing two vertebrae..." I scanned the area, "If my guess is right, there are a few bones missing from the corpses under each grave. And these missing bones make up aplete skeleton!"


    Covering her mouth in shock, Song Jie gasped, "Don¡¯t speak in such a grave tone! Why do you make it sound so frightening? Why would the missing bones make aplete skeleton?"


    "Isn¡¯t this obvious?"


    Song Jie stomped her feet, "How is it obvious? I don¡¯t understand at all."


    I sighed and exined that the corpse in the banyan tree meant one of the graves was empty. In order to keep the fact hidden, the murderer produced a corpse by removing one or two bones from each of the other corpses.


    "Who would do such a thing?!" eximed Song Jie.


    "I think the question is who can do such a thing?¡± I smiled. ¡°In this vige, there¡¯s only one person with ess to all the bones and can remove one or two bones without arousing any suspicion. And that is... "


    Right then, Song Xingchen interjected, "Someone¡¯sing!"


    Who woulde up the hill in the middle of the night?


    The three of us immediately found a ce to hide.


    From a distance, I noticed a spot of light moving slowly up the hill¨Cit was a shlight. Our eyes were temporarily blinded by the light so we couldn¡¯t see who it was.


    Someone soon walked up to one of the graves, knelt down and ced the shlight aside. Pulling out paper money, the person began burning them. "XX, I¡¯vee to see you again. I hope you¡¯ll be reincarnated as soon as possible and stop pestering me."


    This voice was very familiar¨Cit was none other than Granny Yan!


    Her voice was almost iprehensible due to the distance.


    Song Jie lowered her voice and gave me a thumbs up. "Song Yang-gege, you¡¯ve incredible foresight! She¡¯s really the murderer!"


    I desperately motioned for her to remain silent.


    Though soft, Granny Yan overheard Song Jie¡¯s high-pitched voice. She rose to her feet in a panic, looking around anxiously. "Is that you? I was forced to do those things. Don¡¯te looking for me anymore. Go to that person instead!"


    It seemed she was guilty. At this moment, all I wanted was to jump out and interrogate the old woman. But in this environment, Granny Yan might be scared to death given her age. Unfortunately, this was as far as the clue led tonight. I nned to visit her tomorrow.


    Terrified, Granny Yan picked up her shlight and slowly made her way down the hill. We stayed hidden until she disappeared from sight.


    "Let¡¯s check the grave!" I suggested.


    On the ground in front of the grave were ashes of the burnt paper money. Using the previous method, I removed the earthen jar from within and soon confirmed my conjectures. This skeleton was pieced together with bones from other people but the skull was missing Perhaps due to the size of the skull, removing it would be too conspicuous.


    Granny Yan¡¯s deception was ingenious to say the least. The old woman managed to keep the truth hidden by producing a ¡°corpse.¡±


    "But what¡¯s the point of her doing this?" Song Jie argued.


    "Of course there¡¯s a point,¡± I said. ¡°If the corpse inside the banyan tree is found, someone will visit the graveyard to investigate. When the jar of bones is unearthed, there¡¯s no way of determining the victim¡¯s identity due to the mixed jar of bones. After all, the first step in solving any case is to determine the victim¡¯s identity"


    At the thought of this, I added, "Was Granny Yan the person who dered the banyan tree sacred?"


    "Yes, she personally hung the cloth on the branches,¡± nodded Song Jie. ¡°Do you think she¡¯s the murderer?"


    "I¡¯ve not determined that,¡± I shook my head. ¡°By the way, do you know whose grave this is?"


    There wasn¡¯t a tombstone in front of the grave. Upon looking around, Song Jie said, "I¡¯ll have to ask my mother. The graves on the hill are arranged ording to generation and age. Check the genealogy and we¡¯ll know."


    Right then, the sound of approaching footsteps interrupted our conversation. But the visitor wasn¡¯t holding a light. Song Xingchen immediately pulled out his sword, ready to attack. When we finally caught a glimpse of the visitor, we realized it was Song Heting.


    "Why aren¡¯t you sleeping? You worried me to death!" cried Song Heting.


    "Aunt Song, I¡¯ve found some clues. Do you know whose grave this is?" I asked.


    Song Heting waved her hand, "Let¡¯s talk about it tomorrow. What time is it? Go to bed now!"


    I quickly restored the grave to its original appearance, taking the earthen jar with me.


    "What are you going to do with this?" Song Jie curiously asked.


    "It¡¯s evidence!" I dered.


    "Oh my God! You¡¯re going to keep these bones at home? What if this draws ghosts to the house?" Song Jie quivered.


    "And which ghosts would that be?" Iughed.


    This skeleton was made up of dozens of people. Would all these ghosts show up together?


    After another peaceful night, Song Heting took us to the ancestral temple the next morning and brought out our genealogical records¨Ca yellowed scroll, full of names. And the names of all the people in this vige were recorded on it.


    Song Heting searched for the recently deceased Song family members. I suddenly noticed a familiar name¨CSong Yang.


    "Why is my name written on this?" I blurted in surprise.


    Song Heting smiled, "Because you¡¯re one of us."


    I nced at Song Xingchen and Song Jie, "No, the name written here doesn¡¯t refer to me! When Song Jie first met me, she asked why there were two Song Yangs. And when we went out together, she seemed a bit off when she called me ¡®Song Yang-gege¡¯ and I answered. So the man named Song Yang is actually... "


    "You!" I pointed at Song Xingchen.


    Song Xingchen¡¯s eyebrows twitched slightly, his microexpressions betraying him.


    "Yes, Song Xingchen¡¯s name on the genealogical records is Song Yang. He changed his name when he reached adulthood. Xiao Jie used to call him Song Yang-gege when they were little."


    "Xiao Song Yang, looks like you¡¯re the smartest one among us!" praised Song Heting.


    "In fact, I noticed my grandfather¡¯s name on the tablet and my aunt¡¯s name is exactly the same as yours. Is there any hidden mystery behind this?"


    "There isn¡¯t one.¡± Song Heting exined, ¡°Our names are the same because the martial Songs are shadows of the civil Songs!"

 Chapter 442

    <h4>Chapter 442</h4>


    "What do you mean?" I asked, taken aback.


    Song Heting exined that the Song family had been ill-fated since the Southern Song Dynasty. Thus, an ancestor who was well versed in the philosophy of change came up with such a way to divide the Song family. The two ns had the exact same genealogical records so each n yed shadow to the other.


    It was of practical significance to do so, much like the Double Dragon Formation in military tactics. The two families could help each other, and in the event of a catastrophe, certain members of the family could escape disaster. During the Ming Dynasty, Assistant Minister of Justice, Song Tiemian, was framed by traitors which implicated all his rtives. The civil Song n almost entirely copsed and only made aeback with the help of the martial Songs...


    There was another interesting fact about the two ns¨Cin order to preserve the continuity of the Song family, the two ns always stood on opposite sides in the times of great historical changes! For example, during the War of Liberation, the head of civil Songs was chief of staff within the People¡¯s Liberation Army, while the martial Songs joined the Kuomintang. With the help of the civil Songs, the martial Songsunched the Changsha Uprising and managed to prevail through turbulent times without a hitch.


    Song Heting sighed, "As the saying goes, those stubborn and rigid are easy to break. We have arge number of talented people in the Song family and it is inevitable for us to attract great attention. In order to survive through troubled times, our ancestors came up with this strategy, which is why the three elders have ordered me to stop you from dealing with the Jiangbei Daggers. Not so much for anything but for the big picture, for the entire Song family!"


    "Aunt Song, I¡¯m not being obstinate for no reason. The organization has beenwless for..."


    "Let¡¯s not talk about this now,¡± Song Heting held out her hand. ¡°Solving the case at hand is more important!"


    After looking through the genealogical records, she said, "Let¡¯s head over to the hill to have a look," she cried.


    With that, the four of us went up the hill once more. The ashes of the joss paper burned by Granny Yanst night still remained in front of the grave. Looking around, Song Heting dered, "This grave belongs to my brother."


    "When did your brother die?" I asked in surprise.


    ¡°Eight years ago, he was killed by an enemy,¡± replied Song Heting. ¡°It can¡¯t be him!"


    Upon further reflection, I realized only Granny Yan knew who the victim¡¯s identity was since the bones had been switched. Thus, I decided a visit was in order.


    "Be polite when speaking to her,¡± advised Song Heting. ¡°Although Granny Yan is an outsider who moved into the vige, she is the current vige shaman and her status befits the title. Don¡¯t use the Eyes of Yama on her."


    After I agreed to her precautions, Song Jie, Song Xingchen and I headed to Granny Yan¡¯s home. Several knocks on the doorter, a middle-aged woman greeted us and asked who we were looking for. I made up an excuse to see Granny Yan which the middle-aged woman then reported.


    Song Jie whispered, "This woman is also a widow. She¡¯s now dedicated to serving Granny Yan. Everyone says she¡¯ll be the next shaman after Granny Yan passes."


    "Ooh, can they tell?¡± Iughed. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re the one?"


    "Go away! How dare you curse me! The shaman must be a widow. It has been like this since the first shaman in the Southern Song Dynasty and that has never changed."


    Aware of my mistake, I apologized with a small voice.


    A whileter, the middle-aged woman invited us in. The room was dark and lit with sandalwood. Mysterious items, amulets, spices and paper men hung on the walls. Granny Yan sat on a mat, holding a string of prayer beads in her hand with incense burning before her.


    I was about to open my mouth to speak when Granny Yan suddenly stretched out her w-like hand, grabbed mine and squeezed hard. The pain almost made me tear up. It turned out that she was feeling for my bones.


    With her eyes closed, she said, "Both dragon and tigery in your palm. You have the fortune of one in a million but the fires burn strong and you will face three cmities. However, heaven helps the worthy. Looks like Heting has found a good son-inw!"


    "Granny Yan, you¡¯ve made a mistake. I¡¯m also a member of the Song family and Song Heting is my aunt,¡± I awkwardly exined.


    Granny Yan opened her eyes and looked at me. "What can I do for you?"


    I stopped talking and nced at the woman standing behind me. "Cui Huan, leave us," waved Granny Yan.


    "A man died in the vige five years ago,¡± I went straight to the point.


    "People die every year," came Granny Yan¡¯s deadpan reply.


    "I¡¯m talking about a murder, and the man¡¯s body is now hidden in the sacred tree in the vige. You don¡¯t know about this, do you?" I asked meaningfully.


    With her status among the vigers, no one ever offended Granny Yan. Thus, she wasn¡¯t as calm or resilient as a criminal. Upon hearing this, she grew visibly nervous but still remembered to squeeze out a calm smile. "I must be too old to understand exactly what you¡¯re trying to say."


    I refused to budge, "Granny Yan, you live in this vige so you must know the skills of the Song family. Where did you gost night? If my guess is right, your shoes are still stained with soil from the grave. Should I check them to prove my point?"


    Granny Yan yed with her prayer beads, "That person is already dead. What¡¯s the point in turning out old scores and harming the living?"


    "If the world worked as you say, then the police would be out of a job. Anyway, people can¡¯t be resurrected after death so what¡¯s the point in catching the murderer, am I right?" I sneered.


    "Young man, if you don¡¯t watch that mouth of yours, I¡¯ll have to invite you out of my home!¡± shouted Granny Yan.


    "Granny Yan, with all due respect, your status might make you respectable but I am investigating this case. No matter who you are, you¡¯ve only one identity before me, and that is a criminal suspect!"


    Keeping her head lowered, Granny Yan remained silent. "Did you kill the victim?" I pushed on.


    "I have been a vegetarian all my life. I¡¯ve never even hurt a chicken, much less a human being."


    From her microexpressions, I gathered she was telling the truth. It seemed that Granny Yan wasn¡¯t the murderer, though privy to the crime.


    In order to unsettle her, I recounted the entire story. "But you are hiding the truth for the murderer. You secretly removed one or two bones while performing burials and managed to produce a corpse seemingly out of thin air, which hides the identity of the corpse in the banyan tree. As a shaman, it is not disrespectful to the deceased? What could make you do this? There are two possibilities¨Cthe murderer is closely rted to you or perhaps it involves your interests!¡±


    Her fingers moved frantically along the prayer beads. Song Jie stared wide-eyed at me, afraid I would anger Granny Yan with my aggressive tone.


    However, dealing with someone respected required such methods. This was my personal experience in solving cases.


    "Young man!" Granny Yan¡¯s eyes flickered open as she held out a skinny finger and fiddled with the rising smoke from the incense burner, writing: Where it is possible to let someone off, one should spare them.


    "Ah!" eximed Song Jie.


    "Song Yang-gege, let¡¯s go!¡± she whispered. Then turning to Granny Yan, she said, ¡°Excuse us, Granny Yan."


    In the face of her so-called miracle, my heart was as calm as a frozenke. "I have a few words for you as well!"


    I pulled out a small bottle from her cushion, dipped my finger inside, and wrote in the smoke: God is watching.


    The words stayed in midair for a few seconds before slowly drifting away...


    "That¡¯s enough!" exploded Granny Yan. "Get out of my home and learn some etiquette before visiting me again." With that, the widow ran in and gave us a marching order.


    "Granny Yan, do you believe in ghosts?" I lowered my voice. ¡°He¡¯s in this room right now."


    As I spoke, I used the Eyes of Yama, not on her but on the row of candles behind her.


    And the candles went out at once...


    Dragons and tigers are metaphors for outstanding, heroic men.

 Chapter 443

    <h4>Chapter 443</h4>


    With a scream, Granny Yan copsed on the mat. "Leave,¡± snapped the widow. ¡°Granny Yan needs to rest."


    The widow was just about to drag me away when Granny Yan ordered, "Cui Huan, leave us!"


    When the widow left, Granny Yan sighed, "I thought I would bring this secret with me to the grave, but I never imagined it would be discovered by you. You¡¯re right, God is watching. Even after death, I will not be at peace. Come back tonight after the you hour and I will tell you what you want to know."


    I breathed a sigh of relief and bowed, "I apologize for the offence."


    "No, it¡¯s not your fault. It¡¯s the guilt speaking." Granny Yan fluttered her sleeves, ¡°Go!¡±


    Upon exiting Granny Yan¡¯s home, Song Jie looked at me in shock, "How the hell did you do that?"


    Keeping mum about the Eyes of Yama, I carelessly replied, "I blew it out."


    "I¡¯m not talking about the candles. I mean the words..."


    In fact, I wasn¡¯t sure at the time, but I did notice Granny Yan dipping her finger into that little bottle. My guess was the mysteryy in there. Thus, I ventured and seeded.


    Some timeter, I read about this trick from a book about the mystic arts of the Jianghu. The sandalwood incense was actually specially made. Upon burning, it released tiny water droplets while the little bottle was filled with putty. The principle behind this miraculous phenomenon was simr to rain condensation. The tiny droplets of water automatically condensed on the putty particles so writing in incense was made possible.


    Eventually, I used this little trick against a chatan.


    After the you hour meant 8:00 pm. There wasn¡¯t much to do during the day so I stayed in the old manor reading and had dinner with the family at night. Song Xingchen and Song Jie insisted on joining me but I argued, "She said to go alone!"


    ¡°We¡¯ll just wait for you outside," persuaded Song Xingchen.


    "Alright then!" I nodded.


    When we arrived outside Granny Yan¡¯s home, I knocked on the door several times but received no reply.


    "Could she be asleep?" asked Song Jie.


    Right then, smoke drifted out the gaps around the door. "Oh no!" I shouted.


    Song Xingchen kicked the door down and what we saw was a mess inside. When I broke into the back room, I found a pile of straw burning, the smoke making it hard to keep our eyes open.


    Song Xingchen grabbed a piece of cloth to put out the fire but it burst into mes. The arsonist was insidious, having buried mmable materials under the straw and pouredbustible liquids onto the beams. mes grew at the slightest ignition which soon set the beams and roof on fire.


    Song Xingchen dragged me out of the house while Song Jie was nowhere to be seen. Panicking, I scrambled to save her but Song Xingchen assured me, "She will be fine."


    Just then, Song Jie leaped out of the window, coughing vehemently.


    "Ahh, fire!"


    "It¡¯s Granny Yan¡¯s home!"


    rmed, the neighbors ran out one after the other. The three of us standing in front of the burning house were conspicuous to say the least. "Did you do this?" used one of the vigers.


    It suddenly dawned on me that someone had deliberately set us up.


    "That¡¯s not important now. Put out the fire first!"


    "Song Lao¡¯er, watch these three arsonists. Don¡¯t let them get away."


    Some of the vigers went to fetch water while others came to monitor us. Song Xingchen stopped them, ¡°You don¡¯t have to do anything. We¡¯ll stay right here."


    Song Jie¡¯s face was gloomy as a bitter smile rose to her lips, "If my mother finds out about this, she¡¯s going to kill us..."


    I looked up, only to see the old manor still brightly lit. There was no way Song Heting would miss the zing mes in the vige.


    The vigers transported water in barrels and put out the fire. In the blink of an eye, all that was left of Granny Yan¡¯s home was a pile of wooden frames burned into charred ashes and a few earthen walls. There was a suddenmotion in the crowd before someone cried, "The vige chief is here!"


    Upon noticing the three of us, the vige chief eximed, "Aren¡¯t you Song Heting¡¯s nephew? What are you doing here at night?"


    Someone immediately came up to him and exined, "They were the ones who set the house on fire. This boy has been strolling through the vige for the past two days and he looks like he¡¯s up to no good..."


    Before the man could finish his sentence, Song Jie kicked him in the butt and chided, "Song Lao¡¯er, watch what you say. My cousin is here to investigate a case."


    The viger named Song Lao¡¯er immediately stopped talking. At the time, I thought perhaps Song Jie was too unrestrained. Later on, I learned of the disorderly lineage of the Song family in the vige. The middle-aged man¡¯s seniority was actually lower than that of Song Jie¡¯s so she had every right to teach the younger generation a lesson.


    "Investigation?" The vige chief asked, "What case are you investigating?"


    By this point, there was no need to keep the case under wraps so I came clean to the vigers. "Ladies and gentlemen, in fact, I was ordered by the elders to investigate an old case. I am a criminal consultant of the Public Security Bureau. There¡¯s a body hidden in the sacred tree in the vige."


    Discussion rang out among the vigers. "Are you kidding? How can there be a dead body in the sacred tree?"


    "Even if there is, how do you know?"


    "Hmph, a young one like you? How dare you lie without blinking! Don¡¯t you think we¡¯d know if someone in the vige died?"


    "You¡¯re all part of the Song family. Even if you¡¯ve not seen much, you should know the unique skill of Organ Echolocation!"


    The vigers stopped talking at once, though some of them whispered of their doubts in the crowd. Because they were descendants of the martial Songs, no one had ever studied Organ Echolocation.


    The vige head cupped his fist towards the mountain, much like the ancients when they mentioned the holynd. "Since the elders have ordered it, we should support him. But can you exin the fire?"


    "I don¡¯t know anything about it. The house was already burning when we arrived," I said.


    "I saw the three of theme out of Granny Yan¡¯s home!" shouted one of the vigers.


    "If we were the ones who set the house on fire, would we be stupid enough to allow witnesses and risk our lives?" My lips broke into a bitter smile.


    "Who knows what the hell you¡¯re thinking? Anyway, you¡¯re covered in soot and thest ones to leave this house are the three of you," retorted the man.


    "It takes fifteen minutes to get here from the old manor. My aunt, Song Heting, can prove that all three of us were at home at 7:45."


    The vige chief offered topromise, "Let¡¯s not talk about this first. We¡¯re all descendants of the Song family. If you have something to say, there¡¯s no need for anger. Now the key isn¡¯t the fire, but Granny Yan? Where is she? We can confront her and get to the bottom of the matter. Have the three of you seen her?"


    I shook my head.


    A thought suddenly struck me¨Cperhaps Granny Yan set the fire and fled from the vige because she didn¡¯t want us to know the truth.


    Right then, a woman suddenly eximed, "Sir, there¡¯s blood in his pocket!"


    I looked down, only to see my trouser pocket stained with blood. There seemed to be something inside. Wrapping my hand with my sleeve, I removed the contents and found a blood-stained iron walnut.


    At that moment, the world seemed to spin around me. Wasn¡¯t this the inheritance token of the shaman that Song Jie mentioned? It should have been in Granny Yan¡¯s stomach!


    The vigers broke out in a frenzy and someone screamed, "Oh my God, he killed Granny Yan!"


    5-7 pm (in the system of two-hour subdivisions used in former times)

 Chapter 444

    <h4>Chapter 444</h4>


    Faced with censure and criticism from everyone, I stared at the iron walnut for a few seconds and suddenly burst intoughter.


    "He¡¯sughing! What a cold-blooded monster!" yelled a viger.


    Song Jie shook my arm, "Song Yang-gege, what¡¯s wrong with you?"


    "It¡¯s really fascinating,¡± I sneered. ¡°There weren¡¯t any clues before but now there is one."


    "I have a message for one of you,¡± I said, scanning the crowd. ¡°I already know your identity and purpose and I¡¯ming for you!"


    My threat was half bluff but I observed each and every person¡¯s microexpressions. Someone quietly left quietly as if guilty. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t catch who it was.


    The vige chief interrupted, ¡°Young man, this has just gotten moreplicated. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to exin yourself."


    "We should ask the elders to preside over the matter!" suggested a viger.


    "No, no,¡± the viger waved his hand. ¡°We will handle the matter ourselves. We shouldn¡¯t disturb the elders."


    Walking up to me, the vige chief tried to remove the iron walnut from my hand. Since I was afraid of leaving fingerprints, I asked Song Jie for a handkerchief and carefully wrapped the evidence.


    A bunch of vigers surrounded us for fear that I would flee.


    "Where are we going?" I whispered to Song Jie.


    "The ceremonial hall is the ce where the vige decides on internal affairs." Song Jie frowned and anxiously muttered, "Why hasn¡¯t my mothere forward?"


    "And what will that do?" I asked.


    "Are you silly? My mother is the current head of the martial Songs. If she¡¯s here, we won¡¯t have to be so passive," exined Song Jie.


    "Song Xingchen, you don¡¯t have toe with us. Find out who ughtered chickens tonight!" I instructed.


    In fact, the blood on the iron walnut wasn¡¯t human but chicken blood which wasn¡¯t a smart idea. Since the entire vige would gather in the ceremonial hall, it was the perfect time to look for clues.


    Song Xingchen agreed to check the vige while I followed the vige chief and the others to a simple, unadorned two-story building. As soon as I entered, I saw the que "Leaving A Good Reputation For Generations To Come" hung on the wall. The vige chief sat at the top while the other Song family descendants stood on both sides.


    "Song Yang, tell me what you did today. Why were you there when the fire started? How did the iron walnut get into your pocket?" the vige chief interrogated.


    "I visited Granny Yan with Song Jie and Song Xingchen in the morning to inquire about a murder that happened in the vige eight years ago."


    "What murder?" asked the vige chief.


    Much to everyone¡¯s shock, I detailed Granny Yan¡¯s little trick with the bones and the body in the banyan tree. The vigers stirred in a noisy discussion once more, prompting the vige chief to knock the table. "Where do you think you are? Silence! Song Yang, continue!"


    "Eight years ago, a man faked his death in this vige. He was probably trying to avoid something,¡± I began. ¡°When he came back, the person who knew of the truth killed him and hid his body in the banyan tree. Granny Yan has a certain rtionship with the murderer so she did two things¨Cpiece together a skeleton and dere the banyan tree sacred so people would be afraid to get too close."


    "That¡¯s just spection," said the vige chief. "Why do you think it¡¯s murder?"


    "If it wasn¡¯t so, the murderer wouldn¡¯t have to go to such lengths! Additionally, the corpse in the banyan tree shows signs of struggle, indicating that the victim was still alive when he was stuffed inside."


    The elders ordered me to investigate the case, yet Song Heting never showed up even after such a hugemotion. My intuition told me that the elders and Song Heting were well aware of the facts of the case but couldn¡¯te forward due to certain reasons. Thus, they needed an outsider to reveal the truth.


    There must be secrets hidden within this vige!


    As the vige chief hesitated, another viger standing next to him said, "Don¡¯t change the subject. Where¡¯s Granny Yan?"


    "I don¡¯t know, but if I¡¯m allowed to investigate, I¡¯ll be able to find her!" I replied.


    "Oh, stop pretending! The iron walnut is clearly on you. You must have cut it out of her stomach."


    "This iron walnut..."


    The man took advantage of my sudden silence to gain the upper hand in this argument. "Tell us, what about the iron walnut?"


    Song Jie tugged my sleeve and whispered, "There¡¯s no need to be afraid. We¡¯re innocent. Just tell them the truth."


    "I don¡¯t know," I muttered.


    The man wanted to continue but the vige chief rapped his knuckles against the table, ¡°That¡¯s enough. Granny Yan¡¯s whereabouts are still unknown. Before we use anyone of anything, there must be evidence. We can make a decision when we find Granny Yan!"


    Right then, Song Xingchen came sauntering in with a dead chicken in his hand. Seeing my delight, the vige chief asked, "Song Xingchen, what is the meaning of this?"


    "The blood on the iron walnut is chicken blood and it¡¯s rather fresh so I asked Song Xingchen to find out if any vigers ughtered a chicken tonight. Those who did fall under suspicion," I exined.


    Then, turning to Song Xingchen, I asked, "Whose chicken is this?"


    Song Xingchen scanned the room and pointed at the man who had just used me. Panicking, he cried, "That¡¯s nder! How could I do such a thing..."


    "What¡¯s your name?" I added.


    "This is ridiculous. How did the me suddenly fall upon me?" he badgered. ¡°This chicken does belong to me, but I was drinking at Dazhuang¡¯s house tonight. Dazhuang can verify that."


    Another viger spoke out to prove the man¡¯s innocence. It turned out the murderer was cunning enough not to ughter their own chicken.


    I picked up the dead chicken and examined the wound with Cave Vision. There were some rust and tiny skin tissues on the wound, suggesting it was caused by a dull knife that hadn¡¯t been used for many years. I suspected the knife could still be found in the murderer¡¯s home. Even if it was wiped clean, I could still obtain clues from the knife.


    "Sir, I¡¯d like to investigate each home!" I suggested.


    The vige chief frowned and the others raised the roof with their protests. "Is he trying to fool us with his flimsy act?!"


    "Clearly we were talking about the iron walnut. How did we digress to the knife now?"


    "We¡¯re all friends and family. He¡¯s the only outsider here. He must have done it!"


    A sense of powerlessness overwhelmed me. This was exactly what I feared most when investigating a case¨Cwhat could¡¯ve been open-and-shut was turned into a convoluted mess due to the disjointed ways of the world.


    "Silence!¡± the vige chief mmed the table. ¡°Song Yang, there¡¯s no evidence to prove your innocence at the moment. If I let you go, the vigers will be upset. I¡¯ve decided to ce you in the holding cell. We¡¯ll ask the elders for their opinion tomorrow morning."


    Two burly young men immediately came to arrest me but were stopped by Song Xingchen and Song Jie who stood in their way.


    "Don¡¯t you dare!" threatened Song Xingchen.


    One of the young men clenched his fists and used, "Song Xingchen, are you really helping an outsider over your rtives?"


    "Have you forgotten who we are? Do you dare disrespect your elders?" added the other.


    Unresigned to the situation, I gritted my teeth. If we yed along to the vigers¡¯ tune, the murder would never be solved and I would be falsely implicated in Granny Yan¡¯s disappearance. Backed into a corner, I activated the Eyes of Yama. Upon noticing my eyes, the two men screamed in horror and shivered as they quickly backed away. "No... That¡¯s impossible. How could he have the Eyes of Yama..."


    The others watched in utter shock. The Eyes of Yama hadn¡¯t appeared in any of the Song family descendants for hundreds of years which made it almost a legend.


    The vige chief blurted in awe, "Young man, who exactly are you?"


    "Sir, I¡¯m just an ordinary criminal consultant. Since this haspletely spun out of hand, I¡¯d like to simplify things. Let¡¯s call in the police and discover the truth!"

 Chapter 445

    <h4>Chapter 445</h4>


    When it came to calling the police, the vige chief inexplicably disagreed, "No, we mustn¡¯t air our dirtyundry in public. No matter who the murderer is, that person is most likely a member of the Song family. This matter must remain within the vige!"


    The others echoed the vige chief¡¯s opinion. In fact, his reaction aroused my interest. What was he trying to hide?


    Right then, another viger ran into the hall¨Cit was Cui Huan, the widow we had previously met at Granny Yan¡¯s home. "Sir, Granny Yan was murdered..." she panted.


    When the vige chief told her to slow down, Cui Huan buried her face in her hands and cried, "Granny Yan was murdered!"


    The hall broke into an uproar which took the vige chief a considerable amount of shouting before everyone quieted down.


    "Where were you and Granny Yan before eight o¡¯clock?" I asked.


    "I-I followed her up the hill to collect some herbs," she replied.


    ¡°Granny Yan and I agreed to meet at eight in the evening. Why did she choose to go out at that time?" I pressed.


    "Hey, have you forgotten your identity? Who are you to interrogate others?" shouted a viger.


    Unhappy with the interruption, I stared at the man coldly and snapped, "Shut up!"


    The vigers around me fell silent at once, possibly due to the intensity of my gaze. Thus, the man turned to the vige chief for help, "Sir, look at this boy. He¡¯s outrageous. You should teach him a lesson!"


    "Enough with your nonsense!" said the vige chief. "The familyws can only be administered with the elders¡¯ instructions. Cui Huan, take us to see the body."


    As Cui Huan led us out, I whispered something to Song Xingchen who quietly disappeared into the crowd.


    "Song Yang-gege, do you have a n?" asked Song Jie.


    I shook my head, "There are too many twists and turns in this investigation."


    In the darkness, we walked up the hill without any lighting equipment since most of the Song family descendants had Cave Vision. The scene resembled a group of people marching mysteriously into the night. When we reached the hillside, an ear-piercing scream filled the air. There Granny Yany, arge pool of blood under her body, her intestines and stomach pouring out of the wound.


    The vigers exploded into panicked discussion while I prepared for the autopsy.


    "What are you doing?" demanded a viger as he tried to stop me.


    "An autopsy!" I replied.


    "No, you may be the murderer so you shouldn¡¯t touch the body."


    I rolled my eyes, "And which one of you will perform an autopsy?"


    Everyone present was a martial Song. As the saying goes, each profession had its specializations. They weren¡¯t adept at post-mortem examinations yet they didn¡¯t want me touching the body. The situation was ridiculous.


    "Right now, the vige chief is the most respected one among us. Let him examine the body!" a voice shouted from within the crowd.


    Their foolishness irritated me to the point ofughing. Could anyone perform an autopsy just because they are respected?


    Fortunately, the vige chief refused. "No, I can¡¯t do that,¡± he waved his hand. ¡°Shall we invite the head of the family instead?"


    With that, he sent several young men over to Song Heting. They practically flew away at lightning speed with their Lightness Skill. After fifteen minutes, they returned with a message, "She won¡¯t involve herself in the matter. Song Yang is solely responsible for the investigation!"


    Song Jie stamped her feet in anger, "What¡¯s my mother doing? Why hasn¡¯t she shown up?"


    The vigers protested, dering that a criminal suspect shouldn¡¯t be allowed to handle the body.


    ¡°You can monitor the whole process if you like,¡± I sighed. ¡°I won¡¯t tamper with the body."


    "All right!" nodded the vige chief.


    Although there were a few naysayers in the crowd, the vige chief disregarded them and urged me to perform the autopsy.


    This might be the most special investigation I had ever experienced, with people watching my every move from all 360 degrees. Flipping the victim¡¯s eyelids open, I checked the pupils and the degree of rigor mortis. The time of death was about an hour ago.


    Then, I examined the open wound on the abdomen. Though bloody, the intestinal mucosa remained intact. It seemed the murderer wasn¡¯t a professional.


    When examining the victim¡¯s hands, I noticed dandruff kes under the fingernails.


    I leaned in and sniffed at the victim¡¯s nose which prompted another noisy discussion.


    "Hey, what are you doing?" the vigers protested.


    Ignoring them, I analyzed the scents on the victim¡¯s nostrils¨Csome sort of medicinal concoction. The fibers on her lips indicated the murderer covered her nose and mouth which resulted in bleeding of the nasal mucosa due to the rough movements.


    I repeated an examination of the pupils and the joints. Since I had no way of testing my theories, I could only offer conjectures. Judging from the traces on the body, the victim inhaled highly concentrated hallucinogens as suggested by the rxed muscles and the dted pupils that mirrored a state of excitement. It stood to reason that the muscles would stiffen if a struggle had urred before death.


    When I lifted the victim¡¯s cor, I found strangtion marks on the neck, proving that the victim was strangled from behind. I caught a whiff of a slight fragrance but it was mixed with a peculiar odor.


    When I rose to my feet and scanned the crowd, the vigers avoided my sight. Turning around, I hooked my index finger at Song Jie whose hair was in a ponytail. "Turn around!" I ordered.


    "Why?" Despite the confusion, Song Jie turned around as asked. I leaned in and sniffed her head.


    "What are you doing?" Song Jie asked in embarrassment.


    "What did you apply to your hair? It smells really good," I remarked.


    "Hair oil,¡± answered Song Jie. ¡°Us girls have long hair that tangles without hair oil."


    In fact, most people outside the vige used conditioner instead of hair oil.


    The vige chief wondered out loud, "Have you found anything?"


    I summarized my findings, though the vigers seemed even more confused.


    "Who is the murderer then?" a viger anxiously blurted.


    I raised a finger and the crowd parted like the Red Sea. Finally, my finger stopped in the direction of the widow Cui Huan.


    "You!" I shouted.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Cui Huan stared at me, mouth agape with incredulity. ¡°I have sincerely served Granny Yan for so many years. How could I do such a thing? My conscience is clear and everyone can attest to that."


    Iughed, "There are many motives for murder, such as money, revenge, a crime of passion... Or to cover up a previous crime! In fact, you¡¯ve already handed the evidence to me."


    As the vigers watched in shock, I took out the iron walnut. "This is the evidence!"


    "What is the meaning of this?" the vige chief cluelessly asked.


    "Sir, would you please describe how this iron walnut was passed down among the shamans?" I respectfully cupped my fist.


    "Each chosen shaman swallows the iron walnut into their stomachs, and after death, it is removed from the shaman¡¯s skeletal remains and passed on to the next shaman."


    I whispered my thanks and said, "This is made out of iron and the mainponent of stomach acid in the human body is hydrochloric acid. Iron would be severely corroded after being soaked in hydrochloric acid for decades. Yet this iron walnut remains smooth and round. Cui Huan, I think you know the reason for that."


    Flustered, Cui Huan bit her lip.


    "That¡¯s because the ceremony is a sham and no one has ever swallowed it!" I announced.

 Chapter 446

    <h4>Chapter 446</h4>


    As soon as the words left my lips, the vigers stared at me in shock and many used me of nder. I urged them to calm down so I could share my deductions.


    ording to the size of this iron walnut, it was almost impossible for the human esophagus to swallow. Even if swallowed, a foreign object in the stomach would cause serious pathological changes!


    The idea that the iron walnut chose the witch was fabricated by the first shaman because widows in ancient times had low status and no means of earning a living. The first shaman fabricated such a ritual in order to grant future shamans a means of livelihood. In fact, it was worn on them all the time, and the swallowing ritual was merely a smokescreen.


    The secret was passed down by each shaman to the next one. However, outsiders thought that the iron walnut remained in the shaman¡¯s stomach the entire time which the murderer exploited to set me up. Of course, this little trick couldn¡¯t fool me. First of all, it was chicken blood smeared on the iron walnut. And secondly, Granny Yan¡¯s stomach and intestines were intact.


    Who could have known that the iron walnut was with Granny Yan and she had ess to it? There was only one person who fit the criteria, that is, Cui Huan.


    In fact, I had solved the mystery during our discussion in the ceremonial hall. At the time, I never imagined Cui Huan would kill and pin the crime on me so I had no intention of exposing the shaman¡¯s lies. However, considering Cui Huan was the murderer, I had no qualms about letting the cat out of the bag.


    Upon hearing my exnation, the vigers fixed their gaze on Cui Huan.


    "Apart from this clue, I also found that Granny Yan was strangled by a hair tie and the murder weapon should still be on the murderer,¡± I said. ¡°Additionally, she struggled violently before she died and scratched the murderer¡¯s arm. Cui Huan, please show us your hands! If there are no wounds, then you¡¯re innocent."


    Cui Huan bit her lip so hard she was bleeding and deliberately covered the back of her hand with her sleeve. Her guilt was evident.


    "Did you murder the man in the banyan tree as well?" I demanded.


    Cui Huan vehemently shook her head, "It wasn¡¯t me!"


    The vige chief suddenly shouted, "Cui Huan, how dare youmit such a heinous crime! Lock her up while we wait for judgement from the elders!"


    "Wait a minute!" Song Xingchen strode out of the crowd with a scroll in his hand.


    "That¡¯s ..." the vige chief blurted in shock.


    "I asked Song Xingchen to bring the Song family genealogical records!"


    "You¡¯re not allowed to take the records out of the ancestral hall! How can you..." the vige chief trailed off.


    "Don¡¯t worry. I will plead my wrongdoings to Aunt Song," I assured him.


    The genealogical records revealed that Cui Huan was married twice, to two brothers. Her first husband was named Song Qinghe and the second was Song Qingyang. Song Qinghe died eight years ago and the cause of death noted on the records was a sudden illness, while Song Qingyang died unexpectedly in the process of logging three years ago.


    "Cui Huan, is the man in the banyan tree your first husband, Song Qinghe?" I asked.


    "Yes!" she trembled.


    "The truth has been revealed,¡± interrupted the vige chief. ¡°What a vicious woman. She murdered her husband and Granny Yan! Take her away."


    "If I¡¯m going down, you¡¯re alling with me!¡± Cui Huan maliciously spat, ¡°I¡¯ll bring the vige secrets to light!"


    "Enough with your lies!¡± roared the vige chief. ¡°Take her away!"


    As two men approached Cui Huan, she suddenly turned around and kicked one of them, ferociously charging towards the vige chief.


    "This woman is crazy, stop her!" the vige chief shouted in a panic.


    Another man dashed into the scene, exchanging a few moves with Cui Huan before sending her flying with a punch. Having sustained injuries, Cui Huan vomited a mouthful blood all over her chest.


    This group of seemingly unprepossessing martial arts practitioners charged towards Cui Huan immediately. Song Xingchen hit one of them in the chest with his scabbard, causing the man to fall back. With a sh of the sword, Song Xingchen carved a line on the ground which no one dared cross.


    "Song Xingchen," growled the vige chief. "You¡¯ve gone too far. How can you draw your sword against your own people?"


    "Forgive me for my rudeness. I fight on the side of truth, not blood rtionship. No one is allowed to touch the suspect until she has revealed the truth!"


    "What nonsense!" shouted the vige chief. ¡°We have our rules, and this woman has sinned. She should be disposed of ording to the familyw."


    Right then, a clear voice broke the deadlock. "The familyw is decided by the elders!"


    The others seemed afraid to see Song Heting slowly sauntering up the hill. She was no longer dressed like a housewife, but wore an elegant scarlet hanfu with a pike in her hand.


    "Mom, you¡¯re finally here!" Song Jie shouted excitedly.


    Stroking Song Jie¡¯s hair, Song Heting turned to the crowd and apologized, "I¡¯m sorry I¡¯mte. It takes time for a woman to leave the house. Now that it¡¯se to this, let¡¯s get straight to the point! I want to hear everything."


    "But certain things..." the vige chief grimaced.


    "You can say all you want, but the elders have given full authority to Song Yang regarding the investigation,¡± Song Heting coldly interjected. ¡°I¡¯m just here to watch the excitement and lend my influence."


    I smiled at Song Heting. She clearly knew there were secrets hidden in the vige yet she yed dumb, using me to act instead since her position as head of the n made it hard for her to speak out.


    Turning to Cui Huan, I said, "Go ahead, but let me remind you that I can see through your lies, so you¡¯d better tell the truth!"


    Cui Huan sighed, "I know that I¡¯vemitted a terrible crime. Since I¡¯m already at the end of the road, I might as welle clean. I promise I won¡¯t lie."


    In fact, it wasn¡¯t much of a secret. About twenty years back, the vigers began discreetly selling poppy ointment in exchange for the huge profits. Many of the vigers present had a share in this matter.


    Although the elders forbade it, the vigers involved were happy to forego the rules in the face of interests. The vige chief was the one who contacted the drug lords and he sold most of the poppy ointment.


    This matter was merely a stain on the family, but they never expected the events that happened eight years ago.


    At the time, Cui Huan had an affair with her husband¡¯s younger brother, Song Qingyang. There was no concealing the truth and the affair eventually came to light. Despite noticing something amiss, Song Qinghe who worked away from the vige wasn¡¯t aware of Cui Huan¡¯s lover so he beat her in retaliation.


    Enraged by the abuse, Song Qingyang came up with an idea to get rid of his brother by using someone else¡¯s hand. When he shared his thoughts with Cui Huan, she was initially frightened. Wouldn¡¯t that make them Pan Jinlian and Ximen Qing from the Water Margin? Ouws of the Marsh?


    But under Song Qingyang¡¯s constant persuasion, she finally wavered. Song Qinghe had a terrible temper and often beat her after getting drunk, even when she was pregnant. Suffering a heavy kick during pregnancy caused a miscarriage that made her barren for life.


    Thus, Song Qingyang created a fake Hong Kong buyer who was willing to purchase poppy ointment from Song Qinghe at a high price. Naturally, the vige chief also participated in this matter. Driven by their interests, the two men handed ten kilograms of poppy ointment to the swindler invited by Song Qingyang. Unfortunately, the man ran away with the goods.


    The ten kilograms of poppy ointment had another buyer who was part of the mafia. Song Qinghe originally nned on selling the goods at a high price and purchasing ten kilograms of poppy ointment from elsewhere to make up the shortage. But now that the goods were gone, the mafia was sure to get even if he failed to deliver on the agreed-upon date!


    In fact, the Song family needn¡¯t fear the mafia, but the problemy in the legitimacy of the entire business. They sold the poppy ointment under the table, without the knowledge of the elders and the head of the n. If the incident was revealed, none of them could escape punishment.


    The vige chief shirked his responsibilities, leaving Song Qinghepletely powerless. At this point, Cui Huan put forward a n¨Cfake his death to avoid his debts. Without a second thought, Song Qinghe agreed, never imagining that he had stepped into the trap designed by Cui Huan and his younger brother!


    Water Margin is a 14th-century Chinese novel attributed to Shi Nai¡¯an and is considered one of the Four Great ssical Novels of Chinese literature.

 Chapter 447

    <h4>Chapter 447</h4>


    To fake his death, Song Qinghe swallowed a small amount of bedonna poison. When the consignee came looking for Song Qinghe, he couldn¡¯t believe such a coincidence. But when he opened the coffin, he was resigned to his misfortune.


    Song Qingyang nned to secretly kill Song Qinghe that night, but he never expected Song Qinghe to return after the medicinal properties wore off. Upon catching his brother and his wife together, Song Qinghe flew into a rage. In desperation, Song Qingyang grabbed an axe and hacked at Song Qinghe.


    As they stared at the dead man, the two were terrified, brain desperately scrambling for a way to get rid of the body. The crime would be easily discovered if they buried the body in the vige, and it just so happened there was a hidden hole in the banyan tree which faced upwards. It was only noticeable if you climbed up the tree. When the brothers were young, they often yed inside the hole.


    While transporting his brother to the tree, Song Qingyang realized Song Qinghe was still alive. Thus, Song Qingyang hacked at him once more, stuffed the body inside and sealed the hole with mud.


    Sooner orter, the body in the banyan tree would be exposed. Furthermore, the vigers practiced the custom of cleansing the bones and cing them in the final burial ground. Three yearster, when they opened Song Qinghe¡¯s coffin, they would find it empty.


    At the time, Song Qingyang had a huge sum of money, which was obtained from the sale of the poppy ointment. With the determination to put all their eggs in a basket, the two sought out Granny Yan and confessed the truth of the matter. They nned to buy her off with a hefty bribe and if worsees to worst, they would elope together!


    To their surprise, Granny Yan was tempted by the money and agreed to conceal the truth. Thus, she dered the banyan tree sacred, secretly produced a fake skeleton, and exchanged this skeleton for the other.


    When things finally died down, Song Qingyang married Cui Huan. At first, they were constantly frightened that the truth would be revealed but they gradually realized no one in the vige even mentioned Song Qinghe. It seemed like they seeded in covering up the crime.


    Perhaps it was retribution from the gods, but a few years ago, Song Qingyang unexpectedly died while logging and Cui Huan became a widow. In order to prevent Granny Yan from spilling the beans, she volunteered to serve her as a form of monitoring the olddy.


    She never expected that I would uncover the truth eight yearster. When I visited Granny Yan in the morning, Cui Huan stood outside eavesdropping. Afraid her sins would be revealed, she decided to dispose of the olddy.


    "Mistake after mistake," I sighed.


    "Even if God gives me another chance to do this all again, I will make the same choices because Qingyang was sincere to me and I love him," sobbed Cui Huan.


    Suddenly, a stone came flying towards Cui Huan¡¯s forehead. Blood spilled from the wound, staining her face red.


    A viger angrily cursed, "You shameless whore!"


    Filled with rage, the vigers picked up stones, ready to attack Cui Huan. Song Heting mmed her pike against the ground and shouted, "How dare you! I¡¯m still here so all of you better behave!"


    Afraid of the consequences, the vigers slowly put down their stones.


    Song Heting walked up to Cui Huan, "Even if you really loved Song Qingyang, you shouldn¡¯t have covered up your crime. Go home. I¡¯ll speak to the elders and decide what to do with you!"


    Cui Huan fell to her knees and kowtowed, banging her head against the ground several times before she went down the hill.


    Meanwhile, the vige chief was covered in cold sweat. A faint smile rose to Song Heting¡¯s lips as she swept her gaze through the crowd. "Regarding the shameful matter Cui Huan mentioned, those of you who have taken a slice of the pie should confess now."


    The vige chief trembled, knees heavily mming against the ground. "I¡¯m willing to receive my punishment!"


    Behind him, arge number of people suddenly knelt down as well. It turned out that almost half of the vigers were involved in the illegal sale of poppy ointment. It was no surprise there were all sorts of people in a n as big as the martial Songs. Even the Song family had dirtyundry we couldn¡¯t air.


    "Since this matter involves so many of you, I will not pursue it. But from now on, if any of you dare use this to make a fortune, then don¡¯t me me for being merciless!"


    Ecstatic with the show of leniency, the vigers kowtowed repeatedly. "Thank you, madam!"


    "But you must hand over the money you obtained from selling the ointment,¡± added Song Heting. ¡°The money will be used to repair the ancestral hall and support the orphans and widows in the vige. If any of you tries to hide it, you will be punished ording to the familyws."


    "Thank you, madam,¡± the vige chief prostrated himself. ¡°I will definitely make up for my mistakes!"


    Laughing coldly, Song Heting leisurely made her way down the hill. I chased after her and asked, "Aunt Song, you have other motives, don¡¯t you?"


    "Why do you say so?" she smiled.


    "You¡¯ve long known about the little tricks they y in the vige. But for certain reasons, you couldn¡¯t bring them to light. The case is just the tip of the iceberg. What you really wanted was to eliminate misbehaviors in the vige."


    Song Heting nodded, "There are too many people in the n, so it¡¯s hard to avoid such matters. However, money is often a sensitive subject, especially if you try to remove a person¡¯s source of livelihood. Many vigers make a little extra in private using this method. Although I¡¯m well aware, it¡¯s difficult for me to bring it up. In the long run, the ways of the Song family would inevitably disappear. When that happens, how am I supposed to face our ancestors? As the saying goes, when the waters are too clear, there are no fish¨Cwe shouldn¡¯t demand perfection. s, it¡¯s not easy being the head of the family!"


    Song Jie interjected, "Mom, you should retire then. Let me shoulder the burden!"


    "You wish!¡± chuckled Song Heting. ¡°You should marry into a good family and stay away from these muddy waters."


    "I don¡¯t want to get married!" pouted Song Jie.


    "You¡¯re already a grown woman, you¡¯ll get married sooner orter. What do you think of Song Yang?" asked Song Heting.


    Bewildered, Song Jie shifted her gaze from me to Song Xingchen. "Which Song Yang do you mean?"


    However, Song Heting ignored the question and threw her head back inughter. I couldn¡¯t help thinking to myself, Could Song Xingchen marry Song Jie with their familial rtionship? Upon further contemtion, it seemed possible.


    Right then, a young man suddenly ran towards us and reported, "Madam, Cui Huan hung herself in her home."


    "Alright," acknowledged Song Heting.


    It turned out she deliberately showed leniency so that Cui Huan could choose a dignified way to die since the martial Song¡¯s familyws were cruel. Song Heting¡¯s wisdom was something I admired.


    When we got home, I was about to head to my room when Song Heting stopped me. "Song Yang, I need to speak to you!" she said, taking a seat in the living room.


    "Mom, I¡¯m going back to my room first," said Song Jie.


    "Song Jie, you stay as well!" ordered Song Heting.


    Song Heting poured herself a cup of jasmine tea and slowly sipped, "Song Yang, that¡¯s the end of your test. You¡¯re capable enough to ept responsibility. You are worthy of being Song Zhaolin¡¯s grandson!"


    "Don¡¯t I have to see the elders?"


    She shook her head, "In fact, the elders are just a smokescreen. They have long stopped asking questions about the family. I¡¯m the one who sent Song Xingchen to protect you and also the person who set the test."


    "So, can I join the special team?"


    "Yes, but..." She raised three fingers, "I have three conditions!"


    "Go on," I beamed.


    "First of all, you¡¯re not allowed to leave for the time being. You must marry Song Jie as soon as possible. Secondly, you must have a child within a year. When the child grows up, you will pass on your Traditional Coroner skills. Andstly, the martial and civil Songs will no longer remain separate from each other. Meet these three conditions and I will allow you to take the risk."


    My eyes widened in disbelief. Her words came as a bombshell.


    Song Jie colored with embarrassment, "Mom, what are you talking about? H-how can I marry Song Yang-gege?"


    "Why not? You¡¯re distant rtives at best and you seem very suitable for each other," answered Song Heting.


    "We¡¯re in the 21st century. Arranged marriages are a thing of the past!" cried Song Jie.


    Song Heting mmed the cup of tea on the table and shouted, "This matter is of great importance so I can¡¯t be bothered with what you think!"


    Song Jie¡¯s eyes widened with fear. Although Song Heting was usually a loving mother before her, she was now the cold, imposing head of the martial Song n.


    "Aunt Song, I can only agree to yourst condition," I admitted.


    "That¡¯s not up to you,¡± sneered Song Heting. ¡°I¡¯ve poisoned you so you¡¯ll have to do as I say!"

 Chapter 448

    <h4>Chapter 448</h4>


    "Did you drug me?" I asked in shock.


    Song Heting sneered, "I mixed Yearning Powder into the snake soup you drank. If you use your brain too much, you¡¯ll have a splitting headache. On top of that, I added Cartge Ointment into your bathwater. Every time you think of escaping, you will feel weak all over. You must agree to my conditions if you want the antidote."


    "This is a vition of my human rights!" I protested.


    "Don¡¯t try to pressure me with thosews. We have different rules here," Song Heting dismissed.


    I shook my head, "Aunt Song, I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you. In fact, Song Xingchen warned me on the first night itself so I vomited the soup and I only used the bath water once. The drugs you¡¯ve used won¡¯t work on me at all!"


    Song Heting stared in wide-eyed rage, "Song Xingchen, you dare betray me?!"


    Song Xingchen fell on one knee, "Aunt Song, my mission is to protect Song Yang from all harm. How can I turn a blind eye to such a thing?"


    "Song Xingchen, you¡¯re good at using my words against me,¡±ughed Song Heting. ¡°So you¡¯re all grown up and rebellious now? When you were young, your parents were killed by the enemy. Have you forgotten who brought you up? Who taught you martial arts?"


    "Aunt Song, you¡¯re like a mother to me and I will always remember the kindness you¡¯ve shown me. But I disagree with your methods," Song Xingchen respectfully argued.


    Song Heting gritted her teeth, "Everything I do is for the benefit of the Song family!"


    Song Xingchen stood up and slowly pulled out his Tang Sword, using the sharp de to protect me. "Then please forgive me for what I¡¯m about to do."


    Song Jie immediately got into position, "Song Yang-gege, my mother has gone mad. We¡¯ll escort you out of the vige."


    Throwing her head back inughter, Song Heting crushed the armrest. "How dare you disobey me!"


    "I¡¯m willing to ept my punishment afterwards,¡± bowed Song Xingchen. ¡°I will break my finger to make up for my mistakes."


    "There¡¯s no need for that. Defeat me and you can go anywhere you please!" a cold glint shed past Song Heting¡¯s eyes.


    I thought to myself, How could a middle-aged woman defeat Song Xingchen and Song Jie? At the time, Ipletely underestimated Song Heting.


    Song Heting swept away the teacup which was sliced into two by Song Xingchen midair. Embedded into the pir next to Song Xingchen, both parts of the teacup remained unbroken, much to my astonishment.


    Song Heting¡¯s hands moved rapidly like shing lights, her feet firmly fixed in Horse Stance. Deliberately turning the sword around, Song Xingchen met Song Heting head-on with the back of the de.


    Song Xingchen¡¯s de hit Song Heting at lightning speed, but thetter easily dodged out of the way. Her feet seemed to have taken root. No matter how she swung her upper body, her feet remained firmly on the ground, like bamboo swaying in the wind.


    Her hands swiftly flew out towards Song Xingchen¡¯s vulnerable parts, her palmsnding heavily on his chest. Stumbling a few steps backwards, Song Xingchen covered his chest.


    "Mom, forgive me!"


    Song Jie charged towards Song Heting, mother and daughter exchanging blows so quickly that all I could see were shing figures. However, what was clear to me was Song Jie¡¯s struggle against her own mother who seemed at ease.


    More than a dozen blowster, Song Heting¡¯s palmnded on Song Jie¡¯s abdomen. She screamed and flew towards a row of chairs, breaking all of them.


    Song Heting leisurely took the stance of a martial arts master. A strong sense of hostility rose in my heart and my pupils reflexively turned red.


    Song Heting coldly threatened, "Don¡¯t use that on me or I¡¯ll dig your eyes out!"


    The threat to my Achilles Heel woke me up like a bucket of cold water over my head. I didn¡¯t dare to use the Eyes of Yama. This was a fearsome woman!


    Right then, Di Yi¡¯an strolled in all rmed. Greeted by such a scene, he asked in shock, "Darling, what¡¯s going on?"


    "Go!" Song Heting snapped.


    Song Jie took the opportunity toin, "Dad, look at what Mom did. Say something, won¡¯t you?"


    "If there¡¯s a disagreement, talk it out. Don¡¯t make your mother angry." With that, Di Yi¡¯an went back into the house with his tail between his legs. Song Jie looked as if she would vomit blood in a fit of pique.


    "Song Xingchen, I taught you all your tricks and moves,¡± came Song Heting¡¯s cold voice. ¡°Without the determination to kill me, there¡¯s no way you can defeat me."


    Song Xingchen sped his hands and shouted, "Apologies for what I¡¯m about to do!"


    Song Xingchen turned his de around in a sudden attack on Song Heting. This time, his movements showed a great difference. Wherever the de fell, chairs were neatly sliced into two, cracks and grooves appeared on the floor and pirs.


    Song Heting had to evade such ruthless moves. The two people fought from one end of the living room to the other. Finally, Song Xingchen drove Song Heting to the wall. Nimbly leaping like a cat, Song Heting stepped on the bright silver pike on the wall, causing its body to bounce like a spring, toppling in Song Xingchen¡¯s direction.


    Using his sword, Song Xingchen split the bright silver pike into two. Unfortunately, Song Heting managed to grab the end of the pike, sweeping down with great momentum and forcing Song Xingchen to jump aside. In a split second, she withdrew the pike and stabbed Song Xingchen in the chest like a venomous snake.


    ng! Song Xingchen was attacked in midair!


    Beads of cold sweat dotted my forehead, but upon closer inspection, I realized Song Xingchen managed to protect his vital areas with his sword. What a close call!


    Song Heting remained steadfast in Horse Stance, her hand holding the pike in a rather strange posture. Later on, I learned that this position was the Overlord Technique, an original creation by Xiang Yu the Conqueror.


    Both of them stood face to face for a few seconds, the air thick with tension. Suddenly, Song Heting moved to kill, the pike in her hand dancing with a silver glint. Song Xingchen raised his sword and parried, sparks flickering in midair between the two.


    Despite my limited knowledge of martial arts, I could see that Song Xingchen¡¯s strategy was to get as close to Song Heting as possible.


    As the saying goes, the longer the weapon in hand, the wider the attack range and the greater the attack power. But the reverse was also true¨Cthe shorter the weapon in your hand, the closer one must be to attack their opponent and the greater the risk borne.


    Noticing a gap, Song Xingchen shed down on Song Heting with his sword. Song Heting withdrew her pike, her movements so fluid it almost seemed like the pike was part of her body. Then, the end of the pike struck Song Xingchen¡¯s right wrist in an upward motion, causing the Tang Sword to fly out of his grip.


    Song Heting tried to kick Song Xingchen away, catching the falling Tang Sword with her pike. The Tang Sword swiveled around the pike as if a suction force had been applied. Swish, thud! The sword was thrown out and the de embedded into the pir.


    Song Heting¡¯s sardonicughter filled the air, her expression remaining the same throughout the fight, without so much as a drop of sweat on her face.


    On the other hand, Song Xingchen was in a mess and covered in cold sweat. Right then, I truly understood what it meant to always have someone better than you, stronger than you, and smarter than you.


    Song Heting was the best among the martial Songs and her martial arts cultivation could defeat almost anyone except Zhang Jiulin, the Yin object merchant.


    "It¡¯s my turn, Mom!"


    As soon as the words fell from her lips, Song Jie charged out of nowhere, holding a pair of crescent moon spades in her hands. Her first three moves were vicious and urate, driving Song Heting a few steps backwards. However, Song Heting quickly regained the advantage, overwhelming Song Jie.


    Both mother and daughter exchanged countless blows before throwing their killer move. Song Heting stabbed Song Jie¡¯s throat with her pike while Song Jie¡¯s crescent moon spades hooked Song Heting¡¯s wrist!


    But even the most vicious person couldn¡¯t hurt their own children¨CSong Heting stopped at a critical moment contrary to Song Jie, perhaps due to failure to control her own strength. My throat was dry from nervousness and the fear of the approaching tragedy. I dreaded watching as they destroyed each other and dyed the floor red with blood.


    At this moment, Song Heting suddenly threw away her pike, pushing her palms in the air, making sure not to touch Song Jie. Even then, Song Jie slid a few meters away, two dark handprints visible on her clothes.


    I was appalled. How did this happen?


    Such a move drew a drop of sweat from Song Heting, a martial arts master. She exhaled slowly, the breath from her lips resembling a white arrow. After stabilizing her internal energy, she resumed a fighting stance.


    With wide eyes, Song Xingchen said, "Aunt Song, that move is..."


    "The Song family¡¯s assassination skill¨CWorlds Apart!"


    Xiang Yu the Conqueror (232-202 BC) was a warlord defeated by first Han emperor.

 Chapter 449

    <h4>Chapter 449</h4>


    The three of us were stunned by Song Heting¡¯s stunt. Song Xingchen kicked the pir next to him so his Tang Sword fell into his hand.


    Wiping the de with his sleeve, he got back into battle.


    Song Jie assumed a fighting stance as well. "Song Yang-gege, Song Xingchen and I will hold off my mother. Run!"


    "Dream on!" sneered Song Heting.


    She kicked the weapon on the ground ¡ª the pike drew an arc in the air andnded firmly in her hand.


    ¡°Run!¡± Song Xingchen shouted.


    "I¡¯ll wait for you at the mountain pass,¡± I nodded.


    "Don¡¯t bother waiting for me. We won¡¯t go!" he yelled in return.


    With that, the two joined hands and charged towards Song Heting, sparks and silver glints dancing all over the room, the air thick with murder.


    I gritted my teeth as I ran out of the manor, led by the path in my memory until I found my way out of the vige. Halfway up the mountain, a boom sounded from behind me. The living room of the old manor copsed.


    Three figures emerged from the rubble, still fighting fiercely. Disturbed by the movement, every household in the vige was brightly lit.


    I didn¡¯t dare dy for even a moment. However, Song Heting¡¯s voice crept up behind me. Shocked, my first thought was that she had caught up to me! Her voice spread over the entire valley, "Listen to me, descendants of the Song family. Song Yang has disobeyed me. Catch him alive and remember not to touch even a hair on his head!"


    The "Thousands Mile Sound Transmission" meant producing sounds from the Dantian loud enough to spread over great distances.


    Arge group of people charged out of the vige, searching the vicinity. Upon spotting me, someone shouted, "He¡¯s on the mountain!"


    Several martial Songs flew over the cliff using their Lightness Skill, nimbly climbing up the steep mountain. Before I could even take a few steps forward, a flurry of footsteps sounded behind me. One of them had already caught up.


    Turning around, I immediatelyunched the Eyes of Yama to deter him. With an ear-piercing scream, the man quickly backed off.


    The side effects of the Eyes of Yama descended upon me, weakness spreading in my limbs. This was the third and thest time I could use it today.


    Soon after, arge group of people ran after me, shouting, "Stop, or we¡¯ll have to resort to drastic measures!"


    Hope turned to dust as I watched them approach. Suddenly, a whizz sliced through the air and a hidden weapon hit them between the thighs. They all dropped to their knees at once. It was Song Xingchen who had thrown a few stones in desperation.


    Sweeping their throats with his scabbard, Song Xingchen knocked two of them to the ground while the others cried, "Song Xingchen, are you trying to rebel?"


    The members of the n immediately squared off. Without using his sword, Song Xingchen exchanged a couple of blows with them, sessfully taking them down in no time. However, he showed them mercy, only leaving them with light injuries.


    "Song Yang, I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have brought you back,¡± he said, running up to me.


    "What¡¯s the point in saying this now?¡± I sighed. ¡°Where¡¯s Song Jie?"


    Song Xingchen¡¯s eyes grew dim, "She threatened Aunt Song with her own life, or else I couldn¡¯t have made it out of there."


    ¡°Stop!¡± A voice interrupted us.


    ¡°Go!¡± Song Xingchen waved his hand.


    Song Xingchen pulled me with him, almost dragging me along the mountain path because I couldn¡¯t keep up with his pace. Right then, a whoosh drew my attention. Song Xingchen immediately pushed me away and drew his sword, splitting the weapon that came from behind, his movements smooth and effortless.


    It turned out to be the bright silver pike thrown by Song Heting which nowy on the ground, shaking, after being split by Song Xingchen.


    Above us stood someone, partially hidden in the shrubbery. Who else could it be but Song Heting?


    "Jiangbei Daggers, then it¡¯s worth it!"


    ong Yang, why do you insist on your ways?" she roared.


    Knowing we had no way out, I admitted, "Aunt Song, I¡¯m sorry. When my grandfather died, I swore to avenge him. This is my mission which I mustplete!"


    Song Heting was gritting her teeth so hard that the muscles on the side of her face swelled and throbbed. Her eyes seemed to breathe fire as she approached me. I suddenly felt a hot palm across my face.


    My cheeks were on fire though she used little strength in her p, otherwise I might beying on the ground now.


    Song Heting shouted at the top of her voice, "Since Song Zhaolin¡¯s death, you¡¯re the only remaining descendant of the civil Songs, and all the Traditional Coroner skills passed down by our ancestors belong to you alone. Your life isn¡¯t yours to squander, yet you just won¡¯t take your own life seriously. If you die, these skills will be lost to us. How will you face our ancestors when in theherworld? Can you ept such heavy consequences?"


    Clenching my fist, I found myself bereft of speech. Finally, after a considerable amount of time, I said, "If I can use my life to bring down the Jian"You arrogant fool!" Song Heting stretched out her arm, ready to strike me once more when Song Xingchen dashed towards me, blocking me while stopping Song Heting¡¯s wrist. "Aunt Song, I swear that I will protect Song Yang with my life and never put him in danger."


    Song Heting burst outughing, "I don¡¯t need an oath from you because I don¡¯t believe it. How many disasters have happened to the Song family over the past thousand years? If it weren¡¯t for the past sacrifices of our ancestors, would you be standing here? Can¡¯t you make this small sacrifice for the sake of the Song family?"


    "Aunt Song, even if I agreed to your conditions, I can¡¯t stay here for long. The Jiangbei Daggers are getting more and more rampant, and someone must stand up against them!" I appealed.


    She withdrew her hand and asked, "Do you know why Granny Yan is dead?"


    Taken aback by her question, I shook my head.


    "Because you investigated the case. Justice and evil are like yin and yang. The stronger the yin, the greater the yang, and vice versa. If you don¡¯t provoke the Jiangbei Daggers, they won¡¯t stir the waters."


    "Perhaps there¡¯s another way?¡± I bit my lip. ¡°We could pick a few children from the Song family. I¡¯m willing to pass on my skills to them."


    Song Heting shook her head, "Not everyone has your potential. Lineage is as important as skill. The civil Songs are like a candle in the wind. As a member of the martial Songs, how can I sit idly by!"


    "Do I have to marry Song Jie?" I argued.


    "Yes! Because I n to make you the next head of the n," Song Heting reasoned, still holding the pike against the night breeze.


    Silence reigned for a moment, before I added, "Aunt Song, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t carry such a heavy responsibility! I¡¯m not a person with great ambitions. All I want is to catch the wicked, nothing more. I have never thought about being a head of the n."


    Song Heting sneered, "So all this talk and you still won¡¯t agree?"


    I shook my head.


    "Then I have no choice but to use force.¡± Turning to the others, she ordered, ¡°Seize them both!"


    At Song Heting¡¯smand, the descendants of the n proceeded to capture us only to be stopped by the unhurried voice of an old man, "Heting, that¡¯s enough!"


    The others turned in unison, their expressions showing a drastic change. One by one, they fell to their knees, including Song Heting who respectfully showed obeisance, "Greetings, patriarch!"


    When I turned around, my gazended on an old man standing with a dragon head cane. I didn¡¯t even notice his presence until he spoke. The old man was short in stature and had silvery-white hair, with a long beard hanging down to his chest. He looked at least a hundred years old.


    Song Xingchen tugged at my shirt, pulling me down to one knee.


    The point two inches below the navel where one¡¯s qi resides.


    A cane with a dragon carving on the top.

 Chapter 450

    <h4>Chapter 450</h4>


    The patriarch stroked his long beard, his voice sounding strong and steady, "Xiao Ting, haven¡¯t I always reminded you that everything has been arranged by the heavens? In this world, perfection is impossible to achieve. If you sacrifice so much just to seek perfection, you¡¯ll only lose everything. Why bother?"


    "But patriarch, the civil Songs are almost extinct. How can I not worry?" replied Song Heting.


    "The Jiangbei Daggers are bitter enemies of the Song family. They¡¯ve almost destroyed the entire n several times. Even though Magistrate Song Ci tried his best, he failed to eradicate them! Song Yang is the closest we¡¯vee to Song Ci in the past thousand years. Perhaps it is God¡¯s will that the Jiangbei Daggers are eradicated in this generation. Xiao Ting, you should let go of your obsessions. There are many things in this world that are more important than lineage. Don¡¯t forget that it is the duty of the Song family to redress injustice and prevent crime. If we hide ourselves deep in the mountain, we will survive with our ancestors¡¯ skills. But are we any different from cowards?"


    "Patriarch, I didn¡¯t forbid him from dealing with the Jiangbei Daggers. I just want more insurance to ensure the continuation of our family!" argued Song Heting.


    The patriarch shook his head slightly, "Let nature take its course. Song Yang should be allowed to make his own decisions. Song Yang..."


    At the call of my name, I immediately answered, "Yes, patriarch!"


    "Be careful out there,¡± advised the patriarch. ¡°The Jiangbei Daggers aren¡¯t just your enemy but the enemy of the entire Song family. Remember that you can always count on the Song family."


    "I will remember this, patriarch,¡± I respectfully replied.


    "Get up, all of you. I¡¯m going back to rest,¡± said the patriarch.


    With that, he turned to leave, disappearing from the mountain path. The martial Songs all straightened up one after the other. Song Heting looked unresigned but the patriarch¡¯s words couldn¡¯t be disobeyed.


    "Song Yang, rest early. I¡¯ll have someone escort you out of the mountain early tomorrow morning!"


    "Aunt Song, I apologize if I offended you.¡±


    "Nevermind. I made a few mistakes myself,¡± she waved her hand. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go home and rest!"


    The others dispersed while we headed back to the Song family¡¯s old manor. Song Jiey unconscious underground after suffering a blow from Song Heting. The entire living room was in ruins due to one of the pirs copsing during the fight. I couldn¡¯t imagine how heated the battle was!


    The night passed by uneventfully. Early the next morning, Song Xingchen and I packed up, ready to leave. The vige chief arranged for a boy named Song Shichao to drive us down the mountain. Despite being my junior in terms of seniority, he was actually older than me. It felt rather odd having an older man call me uncle.


    Song Sichao pulled up in an off-road vehicle and carried our luggage into the car. We didn¡¯t take much with us, just a few local products gifted by the vigers, such as dried bamboo shoots, preserved meats and fruits. It was difficult to refuse their persistent kindness and hospitality. As for what I would do with these gifts, that was a deliberation I set aside for the train ride home.


    Many vigers came to see us off, but not Song Heting.


    "My mother stayed up all night sighing,¡± exined Song Jie. ¡°s, it looks like she¡¯s really worried!"


    "It¡¯s alright. I wouldn¡¯t know what to say to her even if she came to see me off."


    Song Jie stuck out her tongue, "Thank goodness I don¡¯t have to marry you. I haven¡¯t decided how to address you in the future. It¡¯s so weird just thinking about it."


    "You already know what your heart wants, don¡¯t you?" I teased, pinching her little nose.


    Song Jie colored with embarrassment, yfully punching me in the chest. "Hmph, I don¡¯t know what you mean by that!" Despite the denial, her gaze flitted over to where Song Xingchen was standing, secretly sneaking a nce.


    Right before we parted, Song Jie said, "Save travels! I¡¯ll visit you when I have time, if my mother allows it!"


    After saying my goodbyes, I nudged Song Xingchen who was sitting next to me. "Don¡¯t you have anything to say to her?" I whispered.


    "No!" came his stiff reply.


    "You should wish her goodbye even if you have nothing to say,¡± I urged. ¡°God knows when you¡¯ll see each other again."


    Song Xingchen remained indifferent, with the same apathetic expression on his face, but his fingers betrayed his emotions. Fiddling with the design on the scabbard, he didn¡¯t seem to know how to express himself despite having much to say.


    Only when I ordered him to go down and say goodbye did Song Xingchen alight from the vehicle.


    The both of them stood at the intersection, speaking for a considerable amount of time before Song Jie jumped into Song Xingchen¡¯s arms, much like a little girl. Looking at a loss, Song Xingchen didn¡¯t know where to put his hands as he whispered to Song Jie which was quite uncharacteristic of him.


    I sneaked a nce through the mirror, smiling to myself. While I experienced quite a number of obstacles during this trip, nothing felt quite as important as this moment.


    When Autumn¡¯s Golden Wind embraces Dew of Jade, all the love scenes on earth, however many, fade.


    From the poem, Immortals At A Magpie Bridge by Qin Guan from the Song Dynasty, tranted by Xu Yuanchong.

 Chapter 451

    <h4>Chapter 451</h4>


    After leaving the vige, Song Shichao drove us down the mountain road. Concerned, he said, "Uncle, there¡¯s still a distance to Jianyang. Why don¡¯t you take a nap?"


    "Alright then. Thank you," I replied.


    "Oh, we¡¯re family. There¡¯s no need to be so polite!"ughed Song Shichao.


    Iy in my seat in repose. An unknown amount of time passed before the car came to an abrupt stop. Waking up from my nap, I assumed we arrived at the railway station but I found the vehicle parked by a deserted stretch of the mountain road. Left and right of us were cliffs.


    Turning to Song Sichao, I asked, "Why did we stop?"


    Song Shichao patted the dashboard, "That¡¯s strange, why have we run out of gas? I¡¯m certain I filled the tank when I left..."


    The three of us got out and examined the vehicle. I immediately caught a whiff of gasoline. Looking down, I found the fuel tank intact. However, Song Xingchen went around the other side and called, "Young Master, over here!"


    We walked over and discovered a small hole in the fuel tank that appeared to have been caused by a bullet. In movies, cars exploded once the fuel tank was hit but in truth, that was all fake. A bullet to the fuel tank wouldn¡¯t really cause an explosion.


    Someone obviously used a silencer when shooting a hole in the fuel tank while we were traveling at high speeds. Since the shot was made from the other side of the fuel tank, I surmised our shooter had sharp marksmanship.


    I felt a chill crawl up my spine at such a thought. If this bullet had been aimed at my head instead of the fuel tank, I would be a headless body right now.


    Song Xingchen frowned, "Something¡¯s wrong. We have to go."


    "Uncle Xingchen, what are we going to do about your luggage?" asked Song Sichao.


    "Forget about that. Our lives are more important!¡± urged Song Xingchen.


    As soon as the words fell from his lips, we noticed a fleet of trucks around the bend of the Panshan Highway. The three of us exchanged a look of consternation.


    ¡°Run!" shouted Song Xingchen.


    A big truck elerated instantly towards us, mming into the off-road vehicle. The railing on the other side of the road copsed and the vehicle was pushed over the cliff. Rolling and bumping along the rocks, it finally fell to the bottom.


    The truck stopped on the side of the road with half of the front almost suspended in midair. A group of burly men jumped out of the truck with iron rods, axes, watermelon knives and other weapons in their hands, reeking of ill intent.


    Song Xingchen quietly ced his hand on his Tang Sword and coldly asked, "Hello there, which mountain are you from?"


    Upon hearing Song Xingchen speak in Jianghu ng, the leader of these men sneered, "Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re not here to kill anyone. We just want to borrow something from you."


    "What is it?" I asked.


    "One of your bones,¡± he pointed to my nose.


    He spoke in such an understated tone that I wondered if I misheard him. Is this something you could borrow?


    Song Xingchen whispered, "You two run and I¡¯ll deal with them!"


    "No, I¡¯m a martial Song as well,¡± protested Song Sichao. Turning to me, he said, ¡°Uncle, you hide while we deal with them.¡±


    Song Xingchen slowly pulled out his sword halfway, "I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re crazy or are up to something. Whatever it is, you¡¯ll have to go through me if you¡¯re thinking of hurting him!¡±


    "If you know what¡¯s for your own good, you¡¯ll get out of the way,¡± spat the leader. ¡°But since you don¡¯t, you asked for it! Get him!"


    Upon hismand, the other men charged towards us. With a graceful sh, Song Xingchen broke the iron rod in one of the men¡¯s hands and kicked him in the abdomen so he fell on hispanions.


    Song Shichao¡¯s hands were positioned in Fanged Snake Style as he charged into the crowd, aiming at their throats¨Ca quick and cruel strategy.


    The two resembled lions entering a flock of sheep. In the blink of an eye, they beat the gang ck and blue. In fact, Song Xingchen showed them mercy, or else they wouldn¡¯t still have their limbs.


    Sinking his foot onto the leader¡¯s chest, Song Xingchen demanded, "Who sent you?"


    "I-I don¡¯t know..."


    Before the man could finish speaking, Song Xingchen mmed the scabbard into his face and two bloody teeth flew out. Once again, Song Xingchen repeated his question. This time, the man replied with a mouthful of blood, "Someone offered a reward of ten million for one of his bones."


    "Which one?" I asked, walking towards him.


    He pointed to his right forearm. The mafia people often spent money to get rid of a leg or a hand, but I had never heard of them ask for a radius. Besides, if I gave him my radius, wouldn¡¯t I be disabled?


    "Who ordered it!" Song Xingchen kicked the man in the face.


    I was tempted to prevent Song Xingchen from beating the man every time he asked a question, but that would be undermining him. Anyway, I was well aware of his violent tendencies so I kept my mouth shut.


    "N-no one ordered me. It was..." muttered the man.


    Right then, I noticed a red dot on his forehead.


    "Get out of the way!" I shouted.


    Poof! A bloody hole appeared on his forehead, his head swaying back and forth under the huge impact of the bullet. With that, he copsed to the ground, eyes wide open and blood slowly dribbling out from the back of his head.


    The three of us immediately retreated. Fortunately, the bullets came from above and our position under the cliff happened to be a blind corner for the sniper.


    The gangsters convulsed as they were shot in the head, one by one. The sniper¡¯s marksmanship was superb, and in the blink of an eye, all the gangsters were dead.


    Under the cliff, the three of us didn¡¯t dare make a move. Song Xingchen listened carefully for movement while I pulled out my cell phone and opened Baidu Maps. Due to poor reception, I refreshed the page for some time before exiting entirely. Our hiding ce was right smack in the bend of the highway. Since the sniper upied amanding height, we would eventually be exposed to his bullets no matter which direction we went.


    We didn¡¯t have any other options except to stay and fight!


    After remaining motionless for an hour, Song Shichao pointed to the truck on the side of the road and said, "I have an idea. Why don¡¯t we run up to that truck and drive away?"


    I shook my head, "It¡¯s too dangerous, not to mention the fact that the vehicle is parked in an unfavorable position. Even if we manage to reach the truck, it will take quite a few seconds to start the engine. That¡¯s enough for him to kill all of us."


    This sniper didn¡¯t seem to be aiming for my life since he had dozens of opportunities to attack before. Did he also want my bones like those gangsters?


    I couldn¡¯t help cursing on the inside. God only knows which criminal I had provoked to bring this upon myself!


    Bang! A gunshot interrupted my thoughts. Frightened, Song Shichao trembled as he quickly checked himself. It turned out that the bullet hit the truck¡¯s fuel tank and the gasoline started gushing out. Obviously, the sniper had overheard our conversation and intended to destroy ourst chance of escape.


    In shock, Song Shichao pulled out a cigarette from his pocket to smoke. Shaking his head, Song Xingchen held his lighter. There was gasoline all over the ground so the slightest spark could cause an explosion.


    I was suddenly struck by an idea and pointed to my eyes, then to the top, and made a throwing motion.


    What I meant was to use the Eyes of Yama to frighten the sniper so Song Xingchen could hit him with stones. However, Song Xingchen disagreed, mouthing the words, "It¡¯s too dangerous!"


    Grabbing Song Shichao¡¯s lighter, I pointed to the fuel tank. If we could produce an explosion, the re would instantly deprive the sniper of his sight. There might be hope for us to escape!

 Chapter 452

    <h4>Chapter 452</h4>


    Upon further contemtion, Song Xingchen nodded. I knew he didn¡¯t want me taking risks, but given our circumstances, death was certain even if we did nothing. If we missed this opportunity, there would be no other chance.


    Song Xingchen dug out a sharp stone from the cliff, indicating for me to begin!


    Throwing the lighter upwards to the ground, I watched the gasoline burn, the turquoise me spreading all the way to the fuel tank. With a thunderous boom, the explosion sent a wave of impact everywhere. We immediately covered our faces with our sleeves.


    The explosion wasn¡¯t as exaggerated as those in movies. The fuel tank burst open, but because the truck was parked at the edge of the cliff, the impact of the explosion caused it to slowly tilt till it fell over, rolling down to the valley below.


    At this point, I rushed out of our hiding spot, only to be faced by a man on the hilltop wearing a costume and camouge with a semi-automatic sniper rifle in front of him, rubbing his eyes hard. When the human eye was stimted by strong light, one would lose vision for one to two seconds.


    Keeping my gaze on him, I immediatelyunched the Eyes of Yama the moment he turned to look at me. Screams filled the air as the man stood up, trying to escape under the influence of fear. Right at this moment, Song Xingchen threw a stone, hitting the man squarely on the small of his back so he copsed with anguish cries.


    Unfortunately for him, he was unlucky enough to fall into the burning gasoline, his body aze, rolling desperately on the ground. There was no way we could interrogate the man.


    "Hurry!" urged Song Xingchen with a wave of his hand.


    We had just taken a few steps away when another loud explosion came from behind us. It turned out that the bullet the man was carrying was ignited. Caught in the explosion, the man perished in the mes.


    ncing at the time, I said, "Oh no, we won¡¯t be able to catch the train!" The tickets had been booked online in advance.


    Song Xingchen sighed, "Let¡¯s get away first!"


    We proceeded to walk along this mountainous road. On our way here, we had taken a bus and this stretch of our journey didn¡¯t seem that long. But now that we were forced to travel on our own two legs, the road seemed to stretch on and on.


    After walking for two hours, we finally left the mountain. Familiar with this area, Song Sichao took us through a less-traveled path. About ten kilometers away was the outskirts of the area, and we could hail a cab.


    We noticed a small gas station on the side of the road with a simple restaurant next to it.


    Song Shichao suggested, "Uncle, you must be hungry. Let¡¯s have something to eat before we continue!"


    I was starving, so the three of us sat at a table outside the restaurant and called for the waitress. A girl in sses who looked like a college student working on summer vacation handed us the menu. The restaurant only served fried rice and noodles.


    I ordered an egg fried rice, Song Shichao ordered noodles, while Song Xingchen didn¡¯t want anything.


    Without much to do, Song Sichao pestered me about my experience solving cases. Song Xingchen red at him and said, "Shut up!"


    Zipping his lips with his fingers, Song Shichao lit a cigarette. A whileter, the noodles he ordered were served. When the waitress brought his food to the table, Song Shichao remarked, "Hey, your fingers are touching my noodles. How dirty!"


    "I¡¯m sorry,¡± apologized the waitress. ¡°Why don¡¯t I get you a bowl of noodle soup?"


    Five minutester, the waitress walked out of the restaurant. "Are you doing this on purpose?¡± used Song Sichao. ¡°Why are your fingers in my food again?"


    The waitress smiled, "I¡¯m really sorry, I wasn¡¯t paying attention."


    "Get me another bowl!" frowned Song Sichao.


    "We don¡¯t have any more soup so it has to be cooked. Do you mind waiting?" she asked.


    I suddenly noticed that the waitress was wiggling her eyebrows and winking the entire time she spoke, so I said, "Forget it. We¡¯ll make do with this!"


    "Alright then! Make sure you watch out while eating!" she replied.


    Watch out while eating? Her words seemed to hide a deeper meaning. Perhaps someone or something was preventing her from speaking. Song Shichao picked up his chopsticks, ready to eat when I interrupted, "Hold on."


    I picked up the noodles, ced them under my nose and sniffed. There was only the smell of chopped green onion and sesame oil. However, when I turned over the bowl of noodles with my chopsticks, I finally discovered a melting pill at the bottom.


    Upon noticing the pill, Song Shichao mmed his chopsticks on the table and snapped, "What the fuck is this! Let¡¯s go get even with the boss!"


    Song Xingchen shook his head, "This restaurant is strange. We should leave."


    "Wait a minute,¡± I interjected. ¡°It looks like the waitress is being held hostage. Let¡¯s go in and have a look."


    "Young Master, we shouldn¡¯t get involved," disagreed Song Xingchen.


    "But we can¡¯t just leave her to die!" I protested.


    Sighing, Song Xingchen entered the restaurant with me. It was dimly lit without a soul in sight, not even the waitress. I noticed a figure in the kitchen hidden in the corner so I gestured to Song Xingchen who nodded.


    Drawing out his sword, Song Xingchen slowly made his way to the kitchen. The people lying in ambush suddenly yelled and aimed at Song Xingchen¡¯s head with a rolling pin. Thetter deftly evaded the attack, mming the end of the scabbard into the man¡¯s throat. ng, thud! The man hit the dirt, overturning the table during his fall.


    As soon as I entered the kitchen, I found arge, muscr man in the corner, clutching his throat in pain. Behind him, the waitress shrank in the corner, trembling with fear, "Don¡¯t kill me! I am not with them!"


    "What happened?" I gently asked.


    "I don¡¯t know. A group of people suddenly broke in an hour ago and kidnapped my parents. They told me to bring you a bowl of noodles with sleeping pills," exined the waitress.


    "So you did it on purpose?" I continued.


    The waitress nodded, "They threatened to kill my parents if I said anything. Please save them!"


    As soon as the words fell from her lips, there came a flurry of footsteps behind us. It turned out there was an imperceptible hidden door in the restaurant leading to the cer. Several men quietly climbed out, cutting off our exit from the back. The man leading them looked ferocious, with a grey wolf tattooed on half of his shiny bald head. He wore a tan leather jacket and a thick gold chain around his neck.


    Big Baldy bowed with both hands stretched out, his left hand wrapped around his right and his pinky raised. I watched enough mafia films to know that this was their form of a greeting.


    Big Baldy began, "Now that you¡¯re part of the Jianghu, there are certain things you can¡¯t control. Someone has spent a lot of money to buy one of your bones. We¡¯ve encountered some problemstely and urgently need the money. Do us a favor, won¡¯t you!"


    "So you¡¯re here for this as well,¡± I frowned. ¡°Who ordered it?"


    Big Baldy smiled, "I don¡¯t know the person¡¯s identity. All I know is that someone has issued ¡®gold for bones¡¯ open to the entire underworld! I¡¯ll be honest with you, we¡¯re not the only ones eyeing you within a hundred kilometers. You¡¯ll have to hand over this bone sooner orter, so you might as well give it to us."


    Gold for bones?


    What sort of madman would spend ten million to buy one of my bones?


    One of the gangsters next to Big Baldy interrupted, "My boss is rather reasonable to even discuss this with you. If it were someone else, you wouldn¡¯t be this lucky!"


    "Why should I give it to you?" I coldly retorted.


    ¡°I¡¯ve told you everything,¡± smiled Big Baldy. ¡°If you don¡¯t agree, the restaurant owner and his wife will die. I know you¡¯re a kind young man. Isn¡¯t it a good deal to trade a bone for two lives?"

 Chapter 453

    <h4>Chapter 453</h4>


    "Do you know who I am?" I demanded.


    "I don¡¯t, but I know that the people you offended must hate you very much! Injustice has its perpetrator, and debt its creditor so don¡¯t me us for this!"


    His underling threw a small bag containing a pill. Pointing to the pill, Big Baldy said, "After taking this, you won¡¯t feel any pain. I, the Wolf King, am a decent guy, eh?"


    "The Wolf King?" Song Shichao looked astonished. "You¡¯re the wanted criminal who killed more than a dozen policemen?"


    "Haha,¡±ughed the Wolf King. ¡°I never expected to be recognized in a small town like this! Ah, but heroes don¡¯t rehash their past glories! That was all in the past."


    It turned out that this man was a notorious wanted criminal throughout Fujian which exined why I had never heard of him.


    "Let me see the hostages!" I said.


    The Wolf King snapped his fingers, and his underlings immediately stepped aside, exposing a middle-aged couple in the cer who both had a knife to their necks.


    "Dad! Mom!" shouted the waitress.


    Judging from the waiter¡¯s expression, she wasn¡¯t in cahoots with these people. The hostage situation was real.


    After showing us their faces, the hostages were taken back down. What aplicated situation indeed! There was no way we could save them even with Song Xingchen¡¯s abilities.


    Upon further contemtion, I turned to Song Xingchen, "Your knifework is impable. Remove my radius and send me to the hospital immediately. We can still save my arm!"


    The forearm had two long bones, namely the ulna and radius. If the radius was removed, the hand could no longer exert strength which was essentially a disability.


    "No!¡± protested Song Xingchen. ¡°I won¡¯t allow you to do this."


    ¡°Should we watch them kill the hostages then?" I argued.


    Song Xingchen replied indifferently, "I don¡¯t care about some stranger¡¯s life. It is my duty to protect you."


    Raising his sword, Song Xingchen shouted at the gang, "Listen up, let us go now, or I¡¯ll kill all of you!"


    A sinister smile rose to the Wolf King¡¯s lips, "Cut off an ear!"


    A woman¡¯s scream sounded from below, then a bloody ear was thrown up andnded on the floor.


    ¡°Mom!¡± The waitress shouted at the top of her voice.


    As I had expected, the Wolf King was a ruthless one. The woman¡¯s ceaseless wailing worried me but I knew Song Xingchen couldn¡¯t watch me get hurt.


    The Wolf King arrogantly held out five fingers, "You two seem to disagree. I¡¯ll give you five minutes to discuss this. When the time is up, I¡¯ll cut off a tongue."


    When Song Xingchen pulled out his sword, the gang reciprocated by shing their weapons. Two of them had homemade guns.


    ¡°Look, it¡¯ll only take me a second to kill you but I¡¯ve been very polite!" said the Wolf King.


    A thought suddenly crossed my mind. Since the madman wanted my radius, the sniper and gangsters who had targeted us before could have killed me and then removed the bone, but they didn¡¯t do that.


    Did the madman specifically ask for my bone and not my life?


    As time went by, the entire restaurant remained in a tense atmosphere. My throat became dry from nervousness. Suddenly, an off-road vehicle pulled up outside the restaurant. As soon as the Wolf King caught a glimpse of the vehicle, the look in his eyes changed drastically.


    The next second, three grenade-like objects were thrown into the restaurant, filling the room with smoke. Taking advantage of the panic, Song Xingchen charged towards the gangsters and shed twice, severing two of the gangster¡¯s arms. Blood spurted from their wounds, drawing an arc in the air.


    "Asshole!" cursed the Wolf King as he pulled out a pair of guns from his belt and pointed them at Song Xingchen. Dropping down to the ground, Song Xingchen deftly dodged and rolled to the cer. From below came the shrieks of the Wolf King¡¯s underlings.


    The smoke grew thicker and thicker, causing uncontroble coughing. It turned out that those weren¡¯t grenades but smoke bombs.


    ¡°Uncle, run!" shouted Sing Sichao.


    The Wolf King¡¯s men fled outside one after the other. There seemed to be some sort ofmotion outside. All I saw was the men in the frontmost copsing to the ground and a bloody mist spraying forth from their bodies like a morbid fountain. This time, the people after me were using light machine guns.


    My discovery shocked me. In fact, gun control in our country had always been the most severe in the world. How did these men obtain light machine guns? Were they smuggled in from the border via special channels?


    It would make perfect sense if the weapons were smuggled in from the border. In 1992, an all-out anti-drug campaign swept the country. At the time, assuming that the operation wouldn¡¯t spread to such a remote location like a vige in Pingyuan, Yunnan Province, every household there made money from the sale of drugs. In order to resist counter-narcotics police, they dug deep trenches and smuggled arge number of arms from the Sino-Vietnamese border to arm themselves, including heavy weapons such as light machine guns, rocket artillery and mortars. In the end, the Ministry of Public Security dispatched three thousand armed officers. After more than fifty days and nights of fighting, the evil drug lords were annihted, restoring peace to Pingyuan. However, a few remnants went underground and continued to engage in arms trading. This operation was known as the Pingyuan Incident, which was eventually made into a TV series.


    At the moment, I didn¡¯t have the liberty of further contemtion. Crouching down, I stuck to the bottom of the wall to avoid the oing bullets.


    Right then, something suddenly flew in through the thick smoke¨Ca severed hand. Song Shichao shivered with fear. A few secondster, Song Xingchen nimbly rolled over to our side, his face stained with blood. "The hostages are safe! But the Wolf King has fled."


    I thought I heard the sound of ss breaking. The Wolf King must have escaped through the window.


    "The Wolf King used to be a criminal gunman. He was involved in a gunfight with a dozen policemen on the main road, causing a sensational incident known as the May 23rd Shooting. Many people think he¡¯s dead, but that¡¯s obviously not true!" remarked Song Sichao.


    "I don¡¯t care about the Wolf King¡¯s past,¡± I snapped. ¡°I just want to know who the hell is sadistic enough to offer a reward for my radius. What is he going to do with my bone? Make soup?"


    "Only the Jiangbei Daggers would do such a thing!" said Song Xingchen.


    I believed that was entirely possible. The criminals in that organization were all strange, to say the least. Each and every one of them had a distinct personality that set them apart as individuals. Perhaps this time, I was dealing with a pervert who liked collecting bones.


    The gunfire finally stopped and the smoke in the restaurant had almost dispersed. The floor was littered with corpses. Three of them had their throats slit by Song Xingchen while the rest were shot to death. The walls were riddled with bullet holes and blood, much like a scene from an American movie.


    Footsteps sounded from outside. Whoever it was seemed to be wearing boots. The man paused at the door and an object fell to the ground¨Che was reloading his gun.


    Song Xingchen suddenly charged towards the man. The sound of the de hitting metal reverberated in the room. Song Sichao and I looked up to see a tall, muscr man going head to head with Song Xingchen! The man¡¯s strong, ripped body reminded me of an action star. He wore aviator sunsses and a beret, a ck T-shirt over his scarred body, with a pair of karambits in his hands.


    After several blows, Song Xingchen managed to slice a long wound along the man¡¯s arm. However, the man remained indifferent, without so much as a wrinkle in his brows. His hands continued their nimble movements as if pain wasn¡¯t part of his vocabry.


    Completely defenseless, he continued approaching Song Xingchen. Very quickly, several bloody wounds appeared on his body. But even Song Xingchen was uninterested in such a desperate battle. During the fight, he shouted, "The two of you should go! I¡¯ll be right with you!"


    "Alright, be careful," I cautioned.


    With that, Song Shichao and I ran out of the restaurant. Halfway through, the man threw a karambit at us. Fortunately, Song Shichao reacted quickly, dragging me away so the karambit was embedded into a tree instead.


    We ran up the street for some time before stopping to catch our breath. Suddenly, I noticed that the tree on the side of the road was shaped rather strangely.


    As it turned out, there was a man standing in front of the tree in camouge. He was stark naked, having painted himself to resemble the tree bark. A silver glint shed from the thin pipe in his mouth. I pushed Song Shichao away at once.


    The needle from the pipe struck a few millimeters away from Song Shichao. Before I could rejoice at avoiding yet another attack, I felt a sting on my neck¨Cthe man¡¯s needle pricked my skin!

 Chapter 454

    <h4>Chapter 454</h4>


    As soon as the needle pierced my blood vessel, my head grew dizzy.


    Upon pulling out the needle, I noticed venom smeared on the tip. I suspected it was an anesthetic rather than a neurotoxin. Had it been thetter, I would¡¯ve instantly suffocated the moment the needle pierced my neck. Instead, it took several minutes for the full-blown effect of the anesthetic to hit me.


    "Motherfucker!" yelled Song Sichao as he charged at the attacker. However, the man simply fled from the scene.


    "Come here..." I shouted, despite the lightheadedness. My legs wobbled like a drunk man and I felt the world around me shake.


    pping myself awake, I pinched the Hegu acupoint located between my thumb and index finger. Some timeter, Song Shichao came running back. "The attacker got away! Uncle, were you poisoned?" he asked.


    I took a deep breath, "It¡¯s an anesthetic but I won¡¯t be able to hold out much longer. Let¡¯s look for a ce to hide!"


    Scanning the area, Song Sichao reported, "There¡¯s an abandoned house over there. We can hide there."


    I felt as if my brain was stuffed with cotton. I couldn¡¯t think; the gears in my brain refused to budge. If this were any other time, I wouldn¡¯t have agreed. Hiding in a deserted ce made us easy targets.


    Song Shichao supported me throughout the challenging walk to the abandoned house. Halfway through, weakness overwhelmed me and I fell to my knees.


    "Uncle, why don¡¯t I carry you?" he suggested.


    "Pass me a cigarette!" I waved my hand.


    When he handed me the cigarette, I folded it in half and emptied the contents into my mouth, chewing it hard. The nicotine in tobo was a stimnt, especially for non-smokers.


    As I chewed the tobo, the disgusting vor slipped down my throat, giving me the kick I needed. However, my limbs were still as soft as noodles.


    "Do you have a knife?¡± I asked.


    "Yes!"


    I grabbed the knife and shed twice at my wrist. Due to the effect of the anesthetic, I felt little pain.


    "Uncle, why are you hurting yourself?" eximed Song Sichao.


    I shook my head, "I need to bleed."


    "Why?"


    I didn¡¯t have the strength to exin that the human body secreted adrenaline during blood loss, which could help me stay conscious a while longer. At the same time, losing blood activates the immune system. In fact, bloodletting was used to strengthen immunity in the Middle Ages.


    With danger all around, I couldn¡¯t fall asleep at this time. That would mean certain death!


    Song Shichao supported me rest of the way. As he walked, he marked the trees by the roadside. When I asked him what it was, he exined, "This is the secret code used by the martial Songs. With this, Uncle Xingchen will be able to find uster."


    We finally reached the dpidated house which had no ceiling. It was empty with piles of dried dog feces in the corner.


    As soon as I sat down, Song Shichao asked, "Uncle, can I get you some water to drink?"


    I shook my head with difficulty.


    It was a battle against drowsiness, my mind constantly see-sawing between wakefulness and sleep. I asked Song Shichao for more cigarettes and chewed the tobo, keeping myself awake with the pungent vor.


    Finally, Song Shichao couldn¡¯t bear watching me suffer. "Why push yourself? Just take a nap!"


    "Anesthetics merely deceive the brain,¡± I said. ¡°I can get through this. Don¡¯t let me fall asleep, alright?"


    "When the head refused to let you leave, I thought she was making a mountain out of a molehill. But it looks like you really do have a lot of enemies outside, uncle,"mented Song Sichao.


    Right then, Song Shichao¡¯s cell phone and mine rang at the same time. Pulling out his phone for a look, Song Sichao cursed, ¡°Fuck!"


    "What¡¯s wrong?" I asked.


    He handed me his cell phone which showed a multimedia message, ¡°Gold For Bones¡± and a photo of me, as well as a human anatomy chart. The radius of the right hand was marked in red and the message read, ¡°Reward: Sixteen million yuan. Remove a bone from this man but don¡¯t hurt his life. Ordered by the ck Dragon Hall!"


    Perhaps there was amunication station nearby which could exin why the task was sent to us.


    Song Shichao smacked his lips, "Damn, this guy is rich! It¡¯s sixteen million now! how can he be 16 million in a blink of an eye? If it were up to me, I¡¯ll hand my bone over to him. With that kind of money, I don¡¯t have to work for the rest of my life!"


    "It¡¯s not that simple,¡± I sighed. ¡°Is it easier to remove a bone or kill me?"


    "Thetter of course!"


    I nodded, "Yet whoever ordered this chose a moreplicated way of dealing with me. He wants my radius, not my life. He¡¯s either making a point or has some other sinister n which requires trapping us here."


    I picked up my phone, wanting to call Xiaotao. However, my eyes grew heavy after flipping through a few contacts and I soon fell asleep.


    When I woke up, the sky was already dim, and there was no one else in the room. Fortunately, the effect of the anesthetic had passed. I stood up and called Song Shichao¡¯s name. Pulling up his pants, Sing Sichao walked in and said, "Uncle, you¡¯re awake. I¡¯m sorry, I had to do a number two."


    It turned out to be a false rm. "Why didn¡¯t you wake me up?" I chided.


    "I could see you were very tired and I didn¡¯t want you to torture yourself so I thought I¡¯d let you sleep for a while... Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s all wilderness within a few kilometers of here. How can there be so many criminals nearby?"


    "Where¡¯s Song Xingchen?" I frowned.


    "He hasn¡¯t shown up yet!" answered Song Shichao.


    It was already six in the evening. The darkness only meant more trouble. I walked out of the abandoned house and scanned the area. "Let¡¯s look for him!"


    Song Shichao and I took the same way we came when we came across Song Xingchen kneeling beside a big tree with his sword stuck in the ground. Clutching his stomach, his clothes were soaked in blood.


    "Uncle Xingchen!" shouted Song Sichao.


    Without a second thought, Song Sichao ran to him. At that point, I realized something off about ¡°Song Xingchen.¡± Despite looking and being dressed exactly like Song Xingchen, the Tang Sword in the ground was obviously different.


    "Don¡¯t move!" I shouted.


    As soon as the words fell from my lips, the man stood up and stabbed Song Shichao in the chest, the de piercing through his back. Song Sichao keeled over in pain, struggling to pull at his attacker¡¯s clothes.


    Kicking Song Shichao to the ground, ¡°Song Xingchen¡± raised his head. It turned out to be a woman.


    Song Shichao convulsed uncontrobly, spewing several mouthfuls of blood as mumbled inartictely, "U-uncle... run..." With that, his pupils dted, signifying death!


    When my eyes widened in horror, the woman disguised as Song Xingchen couldn¡¯t help but sneer, "Someone spent twenty million to buy a bone of yours. Is your bone made of gold?"


    Overwhelmed with rage, I gritted my teeth and shouted, "So why don¡¯t youe and get it!"


    I activated the Eyes of Yama. In the state of explosive rage, my powers were stronger than ever. With an ear-splitting scream, the woman desperately tried to cover her eyes. I found a sharp stone from the ground and bashed her head in.


    The woman copsed, shaking all over as blood poured from her head wound. When I disabled the Eyes of Yama, all I saw was a sheet of ck for a moment, evident bacsh of using my ability.


    I walked over to Song Sichao but found that he was no longer breathing. At the thought of the life lost due to my troubles, I was drowning in guilt and grief. cing my palm against his eyes, I shut his eyelids, picked up the body, and carried him to the abandoned house.


    My current circumstances didn¡¯t allow for a burial so I removed everything that could be used to identify him. Then, taking off my coat, I covered his face. "This is all my fault,¡± I cried, hands folded. ¡°When this is all over, I¡¯lle back to bury you!"

 Chapter 455

    <h4>Chapter 455</h4>


    When I came back out, the womany motionless on the ground without any signs of twitching.


    My discovery shocked me to the core. Perhaps my attack had been too severe and unexpectedly killed her. But with my understanding of the human body, it was very unlikely for such a thing to happen. After all, I held back during the attack.


    As I approached her body, I noticed foam on the woman¡¯s lips, prompting me to the peculiarity of the situation. This was clearly a sign of poisoning which was confirmed by the needle as thin as a mosquito¡¯s proboscis stuck to her neck.


    I looked up, only to see a man crouching in the treetop, exposing a thin pipe from within the leaves. This man was the same one who attacked me with the anesthesia. It seemed like he was deliberately waiting for me to check the body and step into his trap.


    He was obviously unaware that I could see clearly in the dark, even better than during the day!


    At present, Song Shichao was dead while Song Xingchen remained missing. I only had myself to rely on. If I was struck by another one of his needles, I would be at the mercy of others.


    Quietly picking up two stones, I stuffed one into my pocket and held onto the other one.


    I approached slowly, staring unblinkingly at the thin pipe exposed among the leaves. As I drew close, I deliberately stamped my feet, pretending I was still moving forwards. In the night so dark you couldn¡¯t see your own fingers, the leaves trembled almost imperceptibly¨Cthe man seemed to be adjusting his posture.


    Bare feet resting on the branch, the outline of his body and the position of his head was faintly discernible.


    Stretching my arm at a snail¡¯s pace, I aimed at his head and hurled with all my strength. Startled, the man shot a fine silver needle through the pipe. But this time, I was prepared and narrowly avoided the needle. At the same time, the stone I threw hit the man¡¯s body.


    Thin as a monkey, the man fell from the tree. Armed with thermal night-vision goggles, his entire body was painted in jungle camouge. His limbs were so flexible that he managed to hook himself onto a branch as soon as he lost bnce. In midair, he yed with his tongue and out shot another flying needle aimed at me!


    Fortunately, he was a considerable distance away so I had enough time to react. Dodging to the side, I found the needle stuck in my clothes, coated in the same drug.


    Well aware that he had been exposed, the man no longer relied on ambush. He spit out the thin pipe, rolled his tongue, and added another pipe between his teeth. I couldn¡¯t help but think to myself, Did this thing have fucking automatic reload?


    His weapon seemed to be a small bamboo pipe with flying needles hidden inside. The two ends were probably sealed with bamboo paper, hidden in the cheek or hollowed teeth, so he could shoot again immediately after an attack, with almost no pause in between.


    I started to run, keeping my escape route zigzagged, narrowly dodging two flying needles that flew dangerously on both sides.


    I had originally assumed he wouldn¡¯t keep up once I made it out of the woods. To my surprise, I turned back, only to be greeted by a man covered in green, crawling on all fours like a huge toad at a terrifying speed.


    The man crawled noiselessly through the tranquil wilderness¨Ca strange sight indeed!


    Although he was very thin, his hands and feet were coarse and thick. Like an ape, he seemed excellent at climbing.


    Right then, I recalled an extraordinary killer in the Jianghu known as the Mythical Man who could quietly sneak into any ce and kill his targets with flying needles.


    Because of their strange whereabouts and unpredictable behavior, the Mythical Men was even thought to be monsters by the ancients. The idiom ¡°shooting sand at shadows¡± originated from these Mythical Men. In fact, lurking in the water while waiting for their targets to step into their trap was also a specialty of these Mythical Men. They were rather simr to the Japanese ninjas, but the history of Mythical Men could be traced back to the Eastern Han Dynasty. ording to unofficial historical records, Empress Lu once paid the Mythical Men to assassinate Han Xin.


    Sure enough, with great rewards came brave warriors. This killer who had been long lost to the Jianghu actually came out of hiding for the bounty on me!


    The Mythical Man was hot on my heels, though in no hurry to attack. When I ran, he ran; when I slowed down, so did he. The man refused to give up. Finally, when I could no longer run, he suddenly rolled his tongue, squatted on the ground like arge toad, and shot a flying needle in my direction.


    I dodged to the side and almost stumbled due to the force of my movements.


    Staring into his eyes, I prepared myself for yet another showdown using the Eyes of Yama. But I quickly realized he had escaped by jumping into the grass between me and the highway. His camouge was the perfect disguise as he was instantly invisible.


    Without dy, I backed up, my eyes scanning back and forth through the grass, ears trying to catch every sound and movement. Right then, a whoosh came from somewhere in front of me. Not noticing any flying needles, I panicked and instinctively dodged.


    I felt a small vibration on my foot as if I had been struck by a grain of sand. Looking down, I discovered a needle stuck in my shoe! Fortunately, I was moving when the needle struck so it pierced the surface of my shoe but not my flesh.


    This entire time, I constantly reminded myself to stay calm. The Mythical Man had no other tricks up his sleeve except for the flying needles. I was safe as long as I managed to avoid them.


    We remained in such a deadlock for about half an hour. Perhaps running low on needles, the man stopped attacking. Right then, a vehicle stopped by the side of the highway, and two people alighted. Their conversation was extremely clear amidst the deathly silence¨C


    "Is that guy here?"


    "This is hisst known position. I¡¯m sure of that. Geez, I didn¡¯t think it would be this easy to make twenty million! Man that feels good!"


    "I wonder which psycho spent twenty million just to buy a bone."


    "Maybe there¡¯s enmity between them. Oh, who cares about that? We will never understand how the wealthy think!"


    From their conversation, I obtained bits of information¨Cthe bounty on me had increased yet again and perhaps my location was pinpointed by cell phone positioning!


    No wonder criminals from all walks of life kepting to my door. It turned out they had a system for locating cell phones. Once again, I had underestimated my foes.


    The two men were obviously small fry, having exposed their goal before even getting started.


    One of them whispered, "What the hell! Why are there mosquitoes here?"


    "That¡¯s strange, why am I so dizzy?"


    Thud, thud! It turned out that the Mythical Man wasn¡¯t going to share his bounty with two others so they were knocked unconscious with his needles. In fact, I thought staying here was safer than being out there. At least I had my own ¡°bodyguard."


    "Thank you!" I shouted towards the grass but got no reply.


    The more important task at hand was to destroy my SIM card. Cautiously taking a few steps backwards, I pulled out my cell phone, ready to remove the SIM card when I received a phone call from an unfamiliar number.


    Briefly hesitating, I ended up hitting the answer button though I kept my eyes on the grass, afraid to look away for even a moment.


    "Hello, Great Detective Song!" came the husky, maic voice of a middle-aged man.


    "Who are you?" I coldly asked.


    "It¡¯s been ten hours since I arranged this surprise for you. You¡¯ve held on for so long. I have to say you did a good job!" From the other end of the line came the sound of apuse. "I am the Infernal Bone Trader!"


    "Another one of the Jiangbei Daggers¡¯ dogs?¡± I sneered. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re a dog who likes bones."


    "Yes, you are very keen. I am a colleague and friend of the Dog Trainer whom I heard that you killed. So, the higher-ups sent me to meet you." He burst into maliciousughter, "Pleased to meet you. I hope we can get to know each other better!"


    The idiom º¬É³ÉäÓ° originated from a mythical monster that lurked in shallow waters, waiting for unsuspecting people to approach before shooting sand at their shadows and making them sick. What the idiom actually means is to make insinuations or to attack someone with innuendo.


    Han Xin (-196 BC): a famous general of first Han emperor Liu Bang.

 Chapter 456

    <h4>Chapter 456</h4>


    As I expected, it was another member of the Jiangbei Daggers. Since the Dog Trainer¡¯s death wasn¡¯t made public by the police, it seemed they held me ountable.


    Clenching my fist around the phone, I asked, "Does my bone mean something to you? I don¡¯t have a rare blood type so my bone marrow has no medical value. My bones aren¡¯t special at all."


    "Great Detective Song, you¡¯re going about this the wrong way,¡±ughed the Infernal Bone Trader. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t ask what it¡¯s for. You should be asking what I¡¯m nning to do with it."


    "Well, go on then!" I said impatiently.


    "After I receive the first bone, I¡¯ll put out another bounty for the second one, and so on, until you¡¯re left with a spineless body that cannot support your flesh. Hahaha, I can¡¯t wait to see you like that!"


    Maliciousughter filled my ears once more, sending a tingle of goosebumps on my skin.


    I would probably die after losing more than a dozen bones. This method of torture would cost the Infernal Bone Trader upwards of a hundred million yuan! His financial resources and degree of madness was unimaginable.


    Upon hanging up, I removed my SIM card. Right then, I noticed a cab driving slowly along the road.


    Realizing my opportunity for escape had arrived, I dashed towards the cab. The rustling of the grass sounded along with the Mythical Man¡¯s movements and out flew another flying needle.


    But because we were both in motion, the needle failed to hit me.


    As the distance to the cab drew closer and closer, the Mythical Man grew anxious, jumping out of the grass and standing in my way with a thin pipe in his mouth. Without a second thought, I stared at him with the Eyes of Yama. Gripped by fear, the Mythical Man instinctively gasped, sucking the needle into the back of his throat. He rolled on the ground painfully, clutching at his neck.


    After using the Eyes of Yama once more, I was overwhelmed by a sudden spell of dizziness and the ground beneath my feet seemed to be violently shaking!


    On top of the fact I had recently lost some blood, my body was weak without the optimum water and food intake. That would be thest time I used the Eyes of Yama today.


    As I passed where the Mythical Many, I reached out and grabbed something off of his body, then darted to the road and hailed the approaching cab.


    shing the headlights twice, the cab driver pulled up in front of me. It was a gentle-looking middle-aged man who spoke with a Fujian ent, "Young man, where are you headed sote?"


    Upon further contemtion, I decided that looking for Song Xingchen was too dangerous, especially since we had lost contact. After all, these criminals were after me. Therefore, the best solution was to leave this remote ce and head directly to the city. As long as I managed to reach the police, my safety would be assured.


    "Take me to Jianyang City,¡± I said.


    The driver looked me up and down, taking note of my dishevelment. "I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said, shaking his head. ¡°I won¡¯t take just any passenger in the middle of nowhere. I¡¯m in a hurry to go home. You should wait for another cab!"


    He was about to leave so I stood in front of the car, shed my consultant ID and fabricated a bunch of lies about a mission. Only when I proved my credibility did the driver allow me to climb into the vehicle.


    As soon as I was seated, I heaved a sigh of relief and felt exhaustion wash over me. The driver offered me a bottle of water, "Officer, would you like some water?"


    "Thank you!" I replied.


    Though my throat was burning with thirst, I didn¡¯t dare take a sip. Right then, I caught the driver staring at me through the rearview mirror with a strange glint in his eyes. Unscrewing the cap, I poured out some water and pretended to take a few sips before handing the bottle back to him.


    As the car sped along the country road, the pin-drop silence was almost too much to bear! Perhaps I was being overly suspicious, but something was amiss despite how decent the man looked.


    He turned on the radio and chatted with his colleagues. Most of the time, they were talking, while he listened and echoed a few words of ord.


    After passing several intersections, I gradually discovered the pattern. "Every time you pass an intersection, you say a few words, sometimes only two, sometimes three,¡± I chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re actuallymunicating with your partner, aren¡¯t you? This trick of yours isn¡¯t anything new. Even I¡¯ve used it."


    The driver turned to me dully, "What are you talking about?"


    "Are you here for the bounty as well?" I cut straight to the point.


    From the rearview mirror, I observed a slight twitch in the corner of the driver¡¯s eyes, yet he still denied it. "Are you mad? I don¡¯t understand a single word you¡¯re saying!"


    "Fine then, let¡¯s just say I¡¯m seriously ill. You can stop here. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll still pay the full fare."


    "That¡¯s not up to you!" The driver sneered, hitting the elerator. The sudden increase in speed had me leaning into my seat.


    "Don¡¯t bother resisting. I¡¯ve added a little something into the water. Does your head feel heavy? Just go to sleep and when you wake up, everything will be alright."


    "Do you really think I drank the water?" I scoffed.


    "It doesn¡¯t matter if you drank it or not. We¡¯re currently traveling at a hundred kilometers per hour. If you try anything funny, we¡¯ll both end up dead!" threatened the driver.


    "So how much is this worth now?" I pointed to my arm.


    "It seems you¡¯re well-informed,¡± said the driver. ¡°Twenty-five million. Gee, I never dreamed that anyone would spend so much money for just one bone."


    By this point, I understood how the reward increased. The reward went up by one million every hour as well as for every failed attempt. So far, I hadsted ten hours, and a total of five teams made an attempt on my radius.


    Stuffing my hand into my pocket, I pulled out the object I picked up from the Mythical Man¡¯s body. It was a little leather bag filled with thin pipes and needles that he carried on him.


    The pipes consisted of two colors¨Cred and green. The pipe in his mouth was green in color so that was most likely the anesthetic.


    cing the green pipe between my lips, I aimed a needle at the back of the driver¡¯s neck. With a low cry, the driver covered his neck and shouted, "What the hell did you do?"


    "I just gave you a taste of your own medicine. That was an anesthetic so you¡¯ll fall asleep soon."


    "Don¡¯t you understand what¡¯s going on? I¡¯m driving!¡± shouted the driver.


    "Are you willing to give up your life for twenty million and let your partner take everything? Besides, the person who put up the bounty doesn¡¯t want my life. If I die, my radius can¡¯t be exchanged for money so you would¡¯ve died for nothing!" I mocked.


    "Alright then, let¡¯s see who gives in first!" yelled the driver. "I¡¯m tougher than you!"


    He elerated to a speed of 120 kilometers per hour. Having dealt with numerous criminals, one nce was all I needed to judge the driver¡¯s character. He wasn¡¯t the sort of fearless criminal. At most, he was a fraudster, a little worm who cherished his life. There was no way he would sacrifice himself.


    Although I was taking a huge risk, I was quite certain of my judgement.


    The driver gradually began to feel drowsy, his head bouncing up and down. The car swayed dangerously from side to side. Fortunately, there weren¡¯t other cars on this road. Shaking his head vehemently, the driver pped himself but his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.


    The car slowed down and finally stopped at the side of the road. "Hmph, you win!" muttered the driver before falling face down on the steering wheel.

 Chapter 457

    <h4>Chapter 457</h4>


    Dragging the driver out of the driver¡¯s seat, I threw him onto the side of the road. His cell phone had a GPS positioning system, and there were three carsing this way.


    If I kept going, I would definitely bump into these people. The safest thing was to return to the woods and meet up Song Xingchen first before looking for an escape route out of this ce.


    I removed and snapped the driver¡¯s SIM card into two, stripped the man off his jacket and cap, and changed into his clothes.


    Then, getting into the driver¡¯s seat, I started the engine and drove back the way we came.


    There was a bottle of unopened mineral water in the glovepartment. Upon confirming it was unopened and contained no added substances, I unscrewed the cap and gulped like a thirsty man stumbling upon an oasis. The sensation of cool water slipping down my throat and into my belly was simply indescribable!


    Contemting the current situation, I turned off the headlights as I traveled down the dark road.


    I wasn¡¯t sure how far the scope of the bounty extended, but then again, with the increase of the reward, more powerful criminals woulde looking for me.


    At most, my physical strength couldst until dawn, so I needed to find an escape route as soon as possible. Once I left this remote town, I had better chances of survival.


    Half an hourter, I arrived at the woods where I had been previously deadlocked with the Mythical Man. There was silence all around. Parking the car on the side of the road, I alighted to deal with the Mythical Man.


    Following my original path, the grass around me gradually extended to my torso, an indication that the Mythical Man¡¯s body was close by. As I drew closer, the warm scent of blood assaulted my nose. I noticed a man standing in front of me with a sword in his hand. Terrified, I turned tail out of there.


    However, the man seemed to have extremely sharp hearing and quickly caught up. I turned, ready tounch the Eyes of Yama when I discovered he was carrying a Tang Sword¨Cit was Song Xingchen.


    Relief and joy washed over me. I was even tempted to hug the man but since it was appropriate, I held back.


    "Young Master, you¡¯re alright! Thank goodness!"


    Song Xingchen followed the markings left by Song Shichao all the way here. Just a moment ago, Song Xingchen dealt with the Mythical Man who had just regained consciousness.


    "Song Shichao is dead," I said.


    The news was obviously a huge shock to Song Xingchen. "We can¡¯t stay here,¡± he replied. ¡°We¡¯ll talk as we walk!"


    "Let¡¯s bury Song Shichao first. He¡¯s in an abandoned house not too far away."


    Throughout our walk there, we remained vignt like birds startled by the mere twang of a bow. Fortunately, Song Shichao¡¯s body hadn¡¯t been moved. Thus, we picked up a few wooden boards, chose a suitable location, dug a shallow pit and buried Song Shichao. The wooden boards were inserted into the soil as a tombstone.


    Although I hoped to burn some joss paper for Song Sichao, the firelight might attract others so I folded several paper ingots and ced them at the tombstone.


    "I¡¯ll engrave his name on it,¡± suggested Song Xingchen. ¡°That way the martial Songs will be able to take his body back. Besides, there are criminals looking for you. If they see an unnamed grave, they may dig it up."


    What he said was reasonable so I nodded. Pulling out his Tang Sword, Song Xingchen carved the words "Song Shichao" on the tombstone with a rapid swish of his sword.


    On the way back to the cab, we exchanged information. The gunfire from Song Xingchen¡¯s fight with the muscr man in the afternoon attracted another group of criminals. Meanwhile, the Wolf King was enraged by the deaths of hispanions. Thus, three different groups started fighting against each other, giving Song Xingchen the opportunity to escape. However, it took him some time to find me.


    "The muscr man looks a bit familiar. He must be a wanted criminal as well. But I¡¯m not familiar with the criminals on this side of the coast."


    Upon further discussion, we decided on an overnight drive to Jianyang. When we arrived, we could either take a bus or train out of Fujian immediately. With that, we embarked on our journey. For safety reasons, I drove without headlights.


    We sat in silence as the scenery outside the window faded into a blur. At an intersection, we came face to face with ring lights that blinded my sensitive eyes.


    Before I could recover, I heard an engine roar like an angry bull. Rubbing my eyes hard, I finally noticed a jeep frenziedly elerating head-on towards us.


    "Fuck!" I cursed, turning the steering wheel and backing up the vehicle.


    As the jeep forced us into retreat, Song Xingchen eximed, "It¡¯s the muscle man¡¯s car! He knows this is the only way out of here, so he¡¯s been waiting for us."


    I gritted my teeth, "The Infernal Bone Trader doesn¡¯t want me dead. Let¡¯s see who gives in first!"


    Turning the steering wheel, I hit the gas pedal and elerated straight into the jeep. Not to be intimidated, the man spun the back tires rapidly on the tarmac, creating a thick, white smoke as he eagerly sped towards us.


    The two cars drove head-on at a speed of sixty kilometers per hour. It was a game between fearless men¨Cone side either admits to cowardice or both die together.


    My heart pounded in my ears while Song Xingchen¡¯s gaze was fixed calmly ahead. The dazzling lights of the jeep grew closer and closer, almost filling our whole field of vision.


    A second before the moment of impact, the muscr man suddenly twisted the steering wheel to the left and the jeep raced down to the roadbed...


    Ecstatic, I put the pedal to the metal and felt the car rushed forward, my heart roaring with the joy of escape. However, the joy didn¡¯tst. A few secondster, the car jolted violently, and harsh friction came from below, both sides of the car emitting dazzling sparks like mes.


    Looking back, Song Xingchen cursed, "That bastard! He covered the road with metal spikes!"


    A t tire meant driving was out of the question so I quickly braked. Before the car came to aplete halt, Song Xingchen and I opened the door and jumped out of the moving vehicle.


    "Run! He¡¯sing!" warned Song Xingchen.


    We ran along the road until a rumble of an engine roared from behind. The jeep mmed into the cab, crushing it like a tank. The muscr man sat in the driver¡¯s seat like the tough guys in those American movies with bandages all over his body, a cigar between his lips, and a submachine gun stretched out from the window.


    The bullets flew towards us while the bullet casings bounced on the ground. Unexpectedly, the sound of gunfire wasn¡¯t very loud, almost muted as if the bullets were made of soft material. When one of the bullets bounced onto my skin, I realized they were rubber bullets.


    Song Xingchen pulled out his Tang Sword and threw aside his scabbard. "Young Master, I¡¯ll cover you!"


    I watched him leap andnd on top of the jeep, like a ferocious long-legged beast. He climbed on the roof, holding onto the rack while plunged his sword into the vehicle with his other hand.


    The jeep swayed left and right along the road but Song Xingchen took root to the roof like a stubborn bug impossible to get rid of. Right then, the muscr man switched to his other gun, aiming the muzzle at the roof. A few shotster, holes appeared in the roof.


    In order to dodge the bullets, Song Xingchen grabbed the roof rack while his body was thrown on the side of the car, hanging dangerously in mid-air. Cold sweat dotted my forehead as I watched from the sidelines.


    At this moment, a light appeared in the distance, moving slowly towards us. A motorcycle was headed our way...


    A Chinese idiom that means easily frightened due to past experiences.

 Chapter 458

    <h4>Chapter 458</h4>


    At the thought that yet another enemy wasing after me, a crushing sense despair welled up inside of me.


    However, the motorcycle approached, its body suddenly swinging across me. The rider, whose face was obscured by his helmet, pulled out a Glock from both bags on the left and right sides of the motorcycle and started shooting at the driver of the jeep.


    Aware of danger, the muscr man crouched, abruptly exiting the vehicle, his body tumbling on the hard tarmac.


    The moving jeep rolled down to the roadbed.


    "Song Xingchen!" I shouted but got no response.


    Upon emptying his magazine, the rider quickly reloaded and jumped off the motorcycle, raising both hands as he wildly shot at the muscr man. Thetter dropped to the ground and threw a knife at the rider.


    Metal shed with metal as a bullet met the flying knife in mid-air. Taking the opportunity to pull out a gun from his belt, the muscr man engaged in a shoot-off with the rider.


    Across a distance of over a dozen steps, the two shot at each other while repeatedly dodging the oing bullets, their limbs like leopards. The chaotic exchange of gunfire left me speechless!


    Finally, relying on a machine pistol, the rider managed to injure the muscr man¡¯s leg. Darting across the road and into the grass, the muscr man fired several shots at the rider while running. The rider continued to chase after him, emptying his magazine with a dozen shots at the grass before walking away...


    The battlested less than ten seconds, but it felt like an eternity. When the gunfire stopped, I immediately rushed to the side of the road to look for Song Xingchen.


    Movements came from within the grass and out crawled Song Xingchen. His clothes were dirty but he wasn¡¯t injured.


    Breathing a sigh of relief, my gaze turned to the mysterious rider. At this point, I couldn¡¯t figure out who he was. When he took off his helmet, the first thing I saw was the grey wolf tattooed on his shiny, bald head. To my utter surprise, it was the Wolf King!


    Song Xingchen reflexively raised his sword but in a show of goodwill, the Wolf King stretched out his hands and said, "Rx, I¡¯m not here for the bounty. I just want to kill the Tyrant Riger to avenge my buddies!"


    "I don¡¯t believe you,¡± came Song Xingchen¡¯s cold reply.


    The Wolf King smiled contemptuously and put away his gun, "Believe whatever you want! Anyway, I always keep my word!"


    The Wolf King walked to the side of the road to check on the jeep. Song Xingchen and I exchanged a look of consternation, still unaware of the real reason behind the Wolf King¡¯s sudden change in position on the matter. If it was really just for vengeance, it was unlikely that he would willingly help us for nothing. After all, I was no less of a hot potato. Who would dare stand on my side?


    The roar of an engine interrupted my thoughts. The Wolf King returned driving the jeep that was crushed beyond recognition.


    "Just get in!¡± he said, patting the door. ¡°The gunfire is bound to attract others."


    After a few seconds of hesitating, Song Xingchen and I climbed into the jeep. As soon as we were seated, I went straight to the point. "Why are you helping me?"


    The Wolf King lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply, "As the saying goes, even thieves have their morals. When the reward was first offered in the Jianghu, we all discussed and agreed upon fairpetition. But who would¡¯ve thought the Tyrant Tiger would y against the rules! He¡¯s killed all my buddies. I can¡¯t just let him go. The money isn¡¯t as important as avenging my buddies!"


    I couldn¡¯t help but look upon him in a new light. "You¡¯re not that bad after all!"


    The Wolf King snorted, "I know you¡¯re not local. You can ask anyone about me and they¡¯ll tell you I killed those officers to save my buddies. Although my actions have put me on the national wanted list, I don¡¯t regret a single thing."


    "So you¡¯re helping me to avenge your buddies?" I asked.


    "Alright then, let¡¯s put our cards on the table! I heard that you¡¯re a policeman. And since someone spent so much just for a bone of yours, you must be someone important,¡± the Wolf King puffed a mouthful of smoke. ¡°I¡¯ll escort you away from the hunting range. Once you¡¯re safe, you must do two things for me. First of all, send someone to collect my buddies¡¯ bodies. Secondly, I¡¯ll need a new identity and a way out of the country.¡±


    I contemted his requests in silence. The first was a no-brainer but I didn¡¯t have the authority to approve the second request. Additionally, helping him would be going against my conscience. No matter how loyal he was as a friend, he was a wanted man after all.


    Before I could speak, Song Xingchen interrupted, "The Song family can get you a new identity. As for going overseas, that will take some time to arrange."


    The Wolf King nodded, "Alright then! Let¡¯s not doubt each other any longer. A real man¡¯s words... "


    "Is his bond!" added Song Xingchen.


    The Wolf King began driving as he exined the muscr man¡¯s origins. The Tyrant Tiger was a fierce fugitive along this side of the coast who used to be a special forces soldier in Southeast Asia. He was removed from the special forces for killing prisoners. After returning home, he turned his skills towards robbing banks, sting the vaults open with explosives. He was both ferocious and bold.


    He remained atrge due to his ruthlessness. At the end of every operation, he murdered all his aplices so the police couldn¡¯t find him. Because his methods were so vicious, both thew and the Jianghu were after him. This time, the attractive reward must have lured him out of hiding.


    In fact, the bounty was apanied by an extra reward. Those who sessfully obtained my radius would be given a new identity to leave the country so criminals of all walks of life were out to hunt me regardless of the consequences. With the Jiangbei Daggers¡¯ vast resources, this matter was definitely a piece of cake for them. The promised reward was certainly not an empty check.


    Since the bounty covered Fujian in its entirety, even if I went to Jianyang City, I would still be in danger. Leaving the province through the back roads would be the best bet.


    "How do you know that the reward is real?¡± I asked. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s all a lie."


    The Wolf King chuckled, "Trust is the most important thing for those who walk in the Jianghu. This sort of bounty must have a guarantor. This time, the guarantor is the former boss of the ck Dragon Hall mafia gang, which is probably the most reputable person throughout the gangs on the coast."


    It seemed the underworld had their own set of rules. While I had never heard of the ck Dragon Hall, from the Wolf King¡¯s words, I gathered they were big shots in the underworld.


    Half an hourter, a car appeared on the side of the road with a middle-aged man waving at us. It seemed his car had broken down.


    The Wolf King snorted, "There it is, another oneing for you. Who would buy such a stupid trick!"


    Then, he pulled out his Glock and aimed it out the window. But before he could fire, I stopped him, "What if he¡¯s a good man?"


    Ignoring my words, the Wolf King stopped the car and fired a few shots at the man, all of them hitting the ground. The man was so frightened he wrapped his head in his hands, trembling uncontrobly. Jumping out of the vehicle, the Wolf King rapped his knuckles against the door and said, "Come down. We¡¯ll switch cars."


    Despite being appalled at his actions, I soon discovered he was right. Upon starting the engine, we found the car in perfect condition with a full tank of gas.


    "Look, what did I say?¡± the Wolf King smirked. ¡°Bad guys all have the same vibe. I can sense them from a hundred meters away."


    "Aren¡¯t you a bad person as well?" Iughed.


    The Wolf King sighed, "I was just born at the wrong time. Take the Liangshan heroes for example. If they were judged based on the currentws of the country, wouldn¡¯t that make them criminals as well?"


    Of course, the Liangshan heroes would certainly be punished for their shady business in today¡¯s society. I couldn¡¯t resist the outpouring of a little goodwill for the man; he didn¡¯t seem like a bad guy.


    When we were ready to hit the road, I suggested, "Lang-ge, let me drive!"


    "No, you should rest,¡± he said. ¡°Are you still worried I might plot against you?"


    I shook my head, "No, but driving with the headlights on will attract more attention."


    Thus, I turned off the headlights and started the engine. The night was our best cover. The Wolf King expressed surprise at my ability to see in the dark.


    From the Water Margin.


    Means wolf from his alias.

 Chapter 459

    <h4>Chapter 459</h4>


    We drove all night in the dark, and when the sky brightened, the Wolf King took over so I could rest.


    Much to my relief, we had made it to the highway by this point. Thus, I leaned into my seat and closed my eyes, joining Song Xingchen in repose. Unfortunately, I was haunted by nightmares and slept uneasily. When I awoke, the sun was high up in the sky and we were still traveling on the highway.


    The Wolf King had one hand on the steering wheel with his head lowered. Curious as to what he was doing, I peeked through the gap between the seats. It turned out he was holding a cellphone with his right hand and sending a text message.


    He slowly typed out a sentence: ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I¡¯ll soone into a lot of money!"


    Upon sending the text, he deleted the chat. Realization finally dawned upon me¨Cit seemed his purpose of helping was really for the reward. Naturally, keeping me by his side was the best bet. I was silly to believe he was a man of loyalty.


    The Wolf King nced at me through the rearview mirror. Afraid of being discovered, I kept my eyes closed and pretended to be sleeping.


    At ten o''clock, the car came to a stop. Outside was a bustling street with low and shabby buildings, unlike the city. The Wolf King suggested we take a break in this small town. In broad daylight with people all around, none of the crazy criminals like the Tyrant Tiger would dare run rampant.


    As I alighted from the vehicle, I wrote a few words in Song Xingchen''s hand¨Cbeware of this man. Song Xingchen nodded to show he understood.


    Looking around, the Wolf King suggested we stop for some food so we decided on a wonton stall. I decided on some wonton and pancakes, scarfing down my food after a day and night of starvation.


    The Wolf King led us into an alley, going around in what seemed like circles before finally stopping in front of a red hair salon. Without hesitation, he opened the door and entered the salon[1].


    "I''m not interested in this sort of thing..."


    The Wolf King grinned, "What are you thinking? I¡¯m just here to inquire about something!"


    Thedy boss soon greeted him with a smile. When the Wolf King whispered something into her ear, her expression changed drastically. After a brief conversation, we left the salon together.


    A stranger to this town, the Wolf King wasn¡¯t sure whose territory this was. The quickest way to obtain information about the local gangs was to inquire at a ce like this because they were backed by the mafia.


    Thedy boss led us to a small building which turned out to be a secluded motel. The rooms were poorly furnished and the bed smelled of cheap perfume. This was the ce where the youngdies usually conducted their business.


    "You can rest here. If you need anything, just let me know," said thedy boss.


    "Thank you!" The Wolf King grabbed a wad of cash and stuffed it in her hands. Upon politely epting the money, thedy boss left.


    "What did you say to her? That my bone is worth twenty million?" I turned to the Wolf King.


    "This isn¡¯t my first rodeo,¡± heughed. ¡°I told her we offended the boss and ran away."


    In truth, the three of us did look like we were escaping from something, though the mafia¡¯s way of thinking wasn¡¯t something I could easily understand.


    "This room is simple but it¡¯s enough for us to sleep and shower. We¡¯ll resume our journey after dark."


    "Where are you taking us?" I asked.


    "It¡¯s about a day¡¯s trip to Jiangxi Province from here. If all goes well, you¡¯ll be safe and sound tomorrow. Rest up. I¡¯m going to get some supplies."


    I listened to his footsteps gradually disappearing from the corridor before exining to Song Xingchen what I caught the Wolf King doing.


    "A leopard never changes its spots,¡± remarked Song Xingchen. ¡°It¡¯s clear he¡¯s got ill intentions."


    "Why don''t we leave now?" I said.


    Song Xingchen shook his head, "Let''s use him for the time being. When he shows his true colors, I¡¯ll get rid of him. Right now, we have no money to go anywhere."


    Indeed, I had overlooked such an important factor. Since I used WeChat to pay for my transactions, I usually didn''t have much cash on me. But right now, my cell phone couldn¡¯t be used and Song Xingchen was in the same predicament.


    Naturally, I wasn¡¯t in the mood to rest. Calling Xiaotao was my main priority at the moment. I was supposed to be back yesterday so she must be worried sick.


    After leaving a note informing the Wolf King that we would be back shortly, Song Xingchen and I left the motel.


    Despite wandering around the county, it was impossible to find a public phone in this day and age. Fortunately, our search around half the county eventually yielded results. I noticed a phone in a store offering long-distance calls for ten yuan.


    I dialed Xiaotao''s cell phone number, and as soon as the call connected, I cried, ¡°Xiaotao, it''s me!"


    Gasping in surprise, Xiaotao queried, "Where on earth are you? The entire bureau is in a panic, thinking that something has happened to you. We were going to contact the Fujian Public Security Bureau to rescue you."


    "But I¡¯ve only been missing for less than 48 hours," I teased.


    "You unconscionable thing, how dare youugh!" chided Xiaotao.


    Here I was, wondering how to exin the situation to her. But from her tone, it seemed like the police already knew I was in trouble.


    "By the way, how do you know that something¡¯s wrong?"


    "Do you still remember the live stream website we shut downst time?" asked Xiaotao.


    "Yes! What does that have to do with this?"


    After the In-depth Live Stream website was terminated, the police cklisted thousands of their users and began monitoring their bank ounts to prevent such websites from popping up again in the future, because these people were undoubtedly a group of valuable clients to the organization.


    At six in the morning, thousands of bank ounts showedrge transfers at the same time. The police originally assumed that the website had been revived, but they were suspicious of the speed at which the clients returned this time.


    Thus, the police investigated through various channels, inviting Lao Yao to hack into theputers of several clients, and made an incredible discovery. These people were participating in online gambling, and what they were gambling on was truly shocking¨Chow long Song Yang could survive!


    There were options for ten-hours, twenty-hours, thirty-hours, and forty-hours on the website. And the amounts wagered were astounding. There were even live streams of me, switching to different cameras the entire time. Lao Yao exined that they might have hacked into the surveince system of the town, thus obtaining the surveince videos. It was impossible to determine my specific location through the video. Xiaotao guessed that something might have happened but couldn''t contact me.


    I couldn¡¯t quite believe what I just heard. In fact, I had always assumed that the reward for my bone was a simple demonstration. It turned out there was a bet behind it, and my fight with these criminals was the dice on the gambling table.


    Since the Infernal Bone Trader had the list of clients, he was most likely the mastermind behind the In-depth Live Stream as well.


    "Song Yang, report your position,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°We¡¯ll find a way to get you out of there!"


    Upon obtaining my location, Xiaotao urged, "Just stay there and don''t move around. I¡¯ll contact the SWAT police in Fujian immediately."


    "Be careful. I don''t want any innocent people hurt because of me!"


    With that, I hung up the call whichsted for about five minutes and it took almost all the cash I had. Just as Song Xingchen and I were about to leave the store, a man walked up, holding a shirt in his hand ¡ª his eyes were cold as ice.


    Before I could respond, the man stretched out his covered hand towards me. With a kick, Song Xingchen sent the man crumpling on the ground. A shiny dagger fell out of his hand, drawing horrified screams from passers-by...


    [1] Hair salons and massage parlors are known for prostitution.

 Chapter 460

    <h4>Chapter 460</h4>


    Another heavy kicknded on the man and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. At this point, Song Xingchen yelled, "Let¡¯s go!"


    We tore hell for leather out of there when Song Xingchen suddenly pulled me into an alley. Right where I just stood, a brick on the wall had been blown off, scaring the daylights out of me.


    I gasped, "It seems the reward order has gone up yet again! These criminals don¡¯t care whether I live or die!"


    "Let¡¯s go back to the motel first,¡± suggested Song Xingchen. ¡°The streets are too dangerous."


    When we returned to the motel and entered our room, we were greeted by a pair of guns. Song Xingchen raised his sword reflexively. After a brief stalemate, the Wolf King put down his guns and sighed with relief, "Where have you been? Don¡¯t you know that it¡¯s dangerous? How can you still wander about?!"


    "Just tell us your purpose," Song Xingchen coldly demanded.


    The Wolf King spread his hands, "Why are you so suspicious? What purpose do you think I have? You lead the Tyrant Tiger out and I¡¯ll kill him to avenge my buddies!"


    Since Song Xingchen spoke his mind, I decided to cut straight to the point. "I saw the text message you sent this morning."


    Surprised, the Wolf King took a moment to respond, waving his hand. ¡°We¡¯ll talk inside.¡±


    When we entered the room, the Wolf King sat on the bed and said, "In fact, there¡¯s something I didn¡¯t tell you. At six o¡¯clock this morning, your bounty was updated, not the reward, but three words were added¨Cdead or alive!"


    "Why didn¡¯t you mention this earlier?¡± I used. ¡°I was almost killed just now."


    "Didn¡¯t I tell you to stay here?" retorted the Wolf King.


    "Don¡¯t change the subject,¡± I said. ¡°Tell us why you¡¯re helping me."


    "It¡¯s for the money! But also to keep you alive," added the Wolf king.


    It turned out that the Wolf King learned about the bet through his own channels, but he put all his money on the lowest odds¨Cthat I would survive. With his understanding of this area, those criminals were just small fry. The Tyrant Tiger was the one who posed the greatest threat. In the underworld, he and the Tyrant Tiger were equally matched. So, as long as he was my "bodyguard,¡± it wasn¡¯t difficult to keep me alive. After all, it was against his principle to kill the innocent.


    "How am I supposed to trust you?" I argued.


    The Wolf King smiled, "Because the odds are against you surviving are, thirty to one. I¡¯m putting my reputation on the line here by personally guaranteeing your safety. On top of that, you¡¯re more valuable to me alive! You can ask this young man here about my character!"


    I looked up at Song Xingchen who exined that the cropping earlier had been faked. In fact, none of the hostages were injured.


    From my observation of the Wolf King, his microexpressions suggested he was telling the truth. Never in a million years would I have guessed his motives!


    It seemed that the real reason behind the no-kill order yesterday was to heat things up for the bet to gather these hunters. Thus, I was trapped like a turtle in a jar! Then, when the Infernal Bone Trader lifted the restriction, these criminals would be all blood and guts.


    "How did you know about the bet?" I asked.


    "Because this isn¡¯t the first time they¡¯ve held such a bet. A mass murder happened on a cargo ship a few years ago. In the end, only a few sailors survived out of the dozens that went out to sea. Everything transpired solely for betting. At the time, tens of thousands bet on the lives of these sailors but the police weren¡¯t aware of this. They simply regarded it as a murder."


    "Who could have nned such a thing?"


    The Wolf King shrugged, "Apparently, it was the work of a powerful organization. Being part of the underworld for so many years, I¡¯ve heard a little about this organization, but they have always remained mysterious. Every time the organization does something, they pull out all the stops. For nobodies like us, this organization is the .¡±


    "You must really want to join them then!" I sneered.


    The Wolf King pondered for a moment and shook his head, "No, I¡¯m used to working on my own. Although it would be cool to join them, having people ¡®supervise¡¯ me would be so annoying."


    Judging by everything the Infernal Bone Trader did so far, he was definitely a shrewd businessman who bought lives with money and earned money by sacrificing lives.


    Right then, the lights in the room shed and went out. A burst of gunfire sted from below.


    "Fuck, they¡¯re here!" The Wolf King lifted the mattress and pulled out a huge bag full of guns.


    Upon noticing my stupefaction, the Wolf King chuckled, "You don¡¯t think I meant instant noodles and mineral water when I said I was getting supplies, do you?¡± Then, turning to Song Xingchen, he asked, ¡°Can you use a gun?"


    Song Xingchen shook his head. Thus, the Wolf King carried a submachine gun on his back and four pistols in his belt. With a bulletproof vest and terrorist mask on, only his eyes and mouth were exposed.


    He handed us two wireless headphones and mics, "I¡¯ll head out first and clear the way. You guys run out of the room after me. Don¡¯t die. I bet all my money on you!"


    With that, he opened the window and climbed up from the third floor. In the alley down below, there came another burst of gunfire and terrified screams from passers-by.


    There were two bulletproof vestsid out on the bed, one for each of us. After putting them on, we stepped out of the room and slowly explored the corridor. A man in sunsses armed with guns was waiting for us at the end.


    "Duck!" yelled Song Xingchen as he kicked the fire extinguisher to the ground, first plunging his sword into the extinguisher, then the man¡¯s chest. In the chaos, the man fell out of the window.


    The fire extinguisher was filled with dry ice, the white smoke spreading through the stairwell. With one hand on the handrail, Song Xingchen nimbly jumped down, and soon, the rapid sound of shing apanied by messy gunshots and shrieks filled the stairwell.


    A few secondster, his voice sounded from the headphones, "You cane down now!"


    As I walking down the stairs, all I saw were bodies of our attackers strewn all over the floor, some still alive. Song Xingchen was about to end their lives when I stopped him, ¡°Don¡¯t! Let the police interrogate them.¡±


    Downstairs, I was greeted by a bullet-ridden front desk and bloody walls. The receptionisty limp on the ground, devoid of breath¨Cyet another innocent life taken. A deep sense of guilt welled up inside of me.


    We ran out of the motel and into the alley. From time to time, the roar of gunshots filled the air, announcing the ongoing fight. When we turned the corner, the Wolf King was crouching behind a car as cover against the bulletsing from across the street. Aside from us and these criminals, there wasn¡¯t another soul in sight.


    It was as if time had rewound back to the 80s and 90s. Although I didn¡¯t experience it personally, it wasmon knowledge that various criminal gangs and organizations rose up during the start of the economic reform so the streets were often filled with fierce gunfights. At the time, there were numerous violent confrontations. The Wolf King most likely made his name in that era.


    Right now, the Wolf King and our attackers were in a stalemate.


    "Young Master, I¡¯m going to help him," said Song Xingchen.


    "Be careful,¡± I reminded. ¡°There may be snipers."


    Song Xingchen climbed up the wall and jumped onto the roof effortlessly, keeping his body lowered as he sprinted across the roof. A scream suddenly echoed through the alley. The Wolf King stood up from behind the car and waved at me.


    As soon as I came out of hiding, I witnessed Song Xingchen slice those gangsters down as if they were meat on a chopping board. Not too far off, a many on top of a parked vehicle, a Tang Sword embedded in his chest. The impact of his fall ttened and deformed the car.


    The spot where hey was directly below one of the windows on the third floor. Clearly, this was the man who had previously ambushed us.


    Pulling the sword out of the body, Song Xingchen wiped the de using the dead man¡¯s shirt and returned the sword to its sheath.


    "Great skill you got there!¡± praised the Wolf King. ¡°Would you be interested in joining me?"

 Chapter 461

    <h4>Chapter 461</h4>


    Song Xingchen replied coldly, "Not interested!"


    There was a traffic camera on the utility pole so the previous scene must have been clearly witnessed by thousands of spectators on the gambling site. The Wolf King broke the camera with his gun and asked, "Should you cover your faces?"


    I shook my head, ¡°They¡¯ve already seen us so it¡¯s not necessary! We should leave now before we bring more trouble to this small town."


    "You¡¯re right, we shouldn¡¯t stay here," said the Wolf King.


    Shattering the window of one of the cars, the Wolf King opened the door and fiddled the keyhole with a tactical knife, but to no avail. He was about to remove the dashboard when I told him to step aside. With my lock picking tools, I managed to start the engine after a few tries.


    We spent a short time on the road when three ck vehicles suddenly appeared behind us.


    The Wolf King cursed, "Geez, these fuckers keeping!"


    I turned around and found two men in suits armed with guns in the passenger seats of the cars in front of us, shooting at us unceremoniously. With a deafening bang, the windshield broke, scattering ss fragments all over us.


    "Get down!" ordered Song Xingchen.


    While remaining lowered, the Wolf King hit the gas pedal, swaying the car from side to side, almost flying off the road. I felt as if I was on a dizzying rollercoaster ride.


    Constant gunfire rang in our ears and soon, the car was riddled with bullet holes. In fact, everything in the movies was fake¨Cthe car¡¯s metal body couldn¡¯t resist bullets at all. Fortunately, we were traveling at high speeds so the gunmen¡¯s aim was impaired.


    Suddenly, a bullet entered the vehicle and hit the roof, causing a burst of sparks. The Wolf King ducked in fright, "We¡¯re sitting ducks here! We¡¯ve got to think of something to stop them!"


    ¡°Kiddo, this is an automatic gun. Just put your hand on the trigger and shoot," said the Wolf King as he handed me a firearm.


    While I hesitated, Song Xingchen interjected, "I¡¯ll take it!"


    Gun in hand, he waited till the gunfire outside came to a halt, then burst out of the door with half of his body exposed and emptied the magazine. A shrill brake threatened to rupture my eardrums, and then boom! When I looked up, I found that one of the cars following us had overturned. It turned out that a bullet hit the driver, thus causing the ident. The car in the back was forced to stop. Only one car remained on our tail.


    Surprised, the Wolf Kingmended, "That¡¯s amazing! Did you undergo training?"


    "It was a lucky shot," dismissed Song Xingchen. Despite his modesty, even I suspected Song Xingchen had training.


    ¡°Get rid of the other one!¡± The Wolf King threw several magazines at him.


    I smiled bitterly, "Is this justifiable defense?"


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. When the police are here, I¡¯ll hide as usual,¡± came his indifferent reply.


    Song Xingchen¡¯s casual remark seemed to shock the Wolf King. "What! You called the police?"


    "I didn¡¯t call the police. My friend contacted the Fujian Public Security Bureau,¡± I exined. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, I will honor my promise."


    The Wolf King¡¯s expression turned ugly. With his identity, obviously the word ¡®police¡¯ made him nervous. Gritting his teeth, he ventured, "Alright then, I believe you but I¡¯ll leave before the police arrive!"


    At that moment, an ear-splitting boom interrupted our conversation.


    The three of us stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the rearview mirror. A truck crashed out of the side wall, overturning thest car and covering the ground with dust and broken bricks. It elerated straight towards us, and the driver was the Tyrant Tiger!


    "He¡¯s here!" shouted the Wolf King.


    The truck came after us like a raging bull. Taking the narrow roads, the Wolf King tried to throw him off but it did nothing to thwart the Tyrant King. His huge truck came rolling down the road, bulldozing the cars that he encountered along the way so the front of the truck was caved in from the constant impact.


    "What a fucking annoying bastard! I think it¡¯s time we settle our debts," the Wolf King narrowed his eyes.


    "There¡¯s bad history between you two?" I asked out of curiosity.


    "I have a bullet hole in my shoulder, courtesy of this bastard,¡± replied the Wolf King.


    The Wolf King recounted his history with the Tyrant Tiger. As it turned out, the Wolf King once worked on a job with the Tyrant Tiger, robbing an armored vehicle. However, he never expected the Tyrant Tiger to turn against hispanions when they were splitting the spoils. Fortunately, the Wolf King and a buddy of his managed to escape from his clutches hid in a temporary stronghold.


    In order to remove all risks of future crises, the Tyrant Tiger informed the police about their hideout, using the police to snuff them out. At the time, the Wolf King was involved in a gunfight on the streets with the police to ensure his buddy¡¯s escape. Unfortunately, his buddy didn¡¯t make it in the end, while he had been on the run for more than twenty years...


    New and old hatred surged in his heart, the Wolf King¡¯s eyes turning red with rage, teeth tightly clenched.


    At the sudden appearance of crossroads in front of us, the Wolf King swerved, almost overturning the car at the bend.


    "Shit, the chassis may be broken! The brakes aren¡¯t working!" he shouted.


    With a huge truck hot on our heels, slowing down was actually more dangerous. Scanning our surroundings, I pointed and said, "There¡¯s a construction site over there. The sand will slow us down so we can jump out."


    ¡°Good idea, kiddo!" The Wolf King nodded, quickly steering the vehicle towards the construction site, the truck behind us still in hot pursuit.


    The construction site wasn¡¯t operating today. At the sight of an unauthorized vehicle entering the premises, the security guard stood in the middle of the road, shouting loudly, but was soon frightened into running back to the security room when the Wolf King fired a shot in the air.


    The car mmed into the railing, knocked down a pile of bricks, crashed into the sand heap, and finally came to aplete halt before impacting the second heap of sand. At that point, the three of us jumped out of the vehicle.


    Behind us, the Tyrant Tiger drove headlong towards us. Firing several shots in the Tyrant Tiger¡¯s direction, the Wolf King yelled, "Take cover inside!"


    We tore hell for leather into the newly-roofed building, away from the deafening noise that sounded behind us. The truck hit something, causing the ground beneath our feet to quake. On our way to the stairs, a bullet shot towards us, though missing its target when we ducked. In the midst of his battle against the Tyrant Tiger, the Wolf King cried, "Go! I¡¯ll try to hold him back!"


    The sound of gunfire echoed throughout the building. Song Xingchen and I dashed up to the third floor which was empty, with only some materials piled up on the ground to provide cover. At this moment, the gunfire stopped abruptly, and the Wolf King came racing up the stairs. His mask had been removed so the splotches of red on his forehead were clearly visible. It seemed he had been hurt by flying debris.


    Leaning against the wall, the Wolf King cursed, "What a fucking madman!"


    "I¡¯ll deal with him!" Song Xingchen clenched his fist around his sword.


    "Don¡¯t! This guy¡¯s a good marksman. One shot is all it takes for him to blow your head off,¡± countered the Wolf King. ¡°You¡¯ve fought him before. Didn¡¯t you find anything wrong with him?"


    "His skills are average at best but he doesn¡¯t seem to be affected by pain," remarked Song Xingchen.


    The Wolf King pointed to his head, "Back when he was part of the special forces, shrapnel from a grenade hit him in the head so he doesn¡¯t feel pain anymore.¡±


    I sighed, "Looks like the Eyes of Yama won¡¯t work on him then!"

 Chapter 462

    <h4>Chapter 462</h4>


    The pain center of the human brain was also in control of negative emotions such as fear, depression and sadness. Negative emotions could be considered a sort of mental pain. The principle of the Eyes of Yama was to stimte the pain center of the brain and cause deep fear.


    But the Tyrant Tiger couldn¡¯t feel pain, so he was missing those emotions as well. No wonder he was so ruthless.


    The Wolf King froze, "What¡¯re the Eyes of Yama?"


    "Nothing,¡± I prevaricated.


    Right then, a thud sounded, as if something had been thrown onto the floor. As soon as I turned around, I was greeted by a small metal can spewing out smoke that was stifling when inhaled. The Wolf King signalled us to the other side of the floor.


    Right then, a flurry of footsteps came from within the smoke.


    A tall, muscr man stood in the dense fumes, armed with a gas mask and a submachine gun. Upon noticing his presence, Song Xingchen pulled me behind a pile of cement bags.


    Firing several shots into the smoke, the Wolf King barely managed to hold out against the Tyrant Tiger, finally bolting behind a pir to take cover.


    Bullets from the Tyrant Tiger sted holes in one side of the pir like a torrential storm. Then, the gunfire stopped and the smoke gradually dispersed. Out of the corner of my eye, I peeked at the Tyrant Tiger as he rubbed a magazine against his gun. It took me a moment to understand what he was doing.


    The Wolf King saw this as an opportunity to attack.


    "Stay where you are!" I shouted.


    The Tyrant Tiger had deliberately rubbed the magazine against his gun to trick the Wolf King into thinking he was reloading. But in fact, he still had ammunition. Unfortunately, my warning came a little toote. At that exact moment, both parties fired their weapons, two bullets crossing each other through the blurry smoke.


    The next second, the Wolf King suffered a heavy blow. Trembling, he fell to his knees and covered his bleeding throat with his hand. Across the room, the Tyrant Tiger bled as well, shoulder punctured by the Wolf King¡¯s bullet. Though blood was pouring out of his wound, he didn¡¯t seem to care.


    The Wolf King struggled to stand up but the Tyrant Tiger nipped his efforts in the bud, aiming at his shoulder and knees. The impact sent the Wolf King crumbling on the ground. This time, the Tyrant Tiger put a bullet in the back of the Wolf King¡¯s head.


    Watching a good man like the Wolf King breathe hisst shocked me to the core. I almost couldn¡¯t believe my eyes!


    Right then, Song Xingchen darted out from behind the cement bags, prompting several shots from the Tyrant Tiger. Quick as lightning, Song Xingchen jumped to the back of the pir where the Wolf King previously took cover. A few secondster, he emerged from the right, taking a few shots from the Tyrant Tiger.


    To my utter surprise, someone else jumped out from the left side of the pir. When I turned to check on ¡°Song Xingchen,¡± I realized he had thrown out his windbreaker which was now riddled with bullet holes as it slowly drifted to the ground.


    With this move, Song Xingchen quickly narrowed the distance between him and the Tyrant Tiger. Only when the Tyrant Tiger threw aside his submachine gun did I notice the detonator in his left hand. Thumb against the trigger button, he callously applied pressure.


    A thunderous boom shook the whole building as if the ground had been shaken by an 8.0 magnitude earthquake. It turned out that he had attached remote control bombs to pirs on the first floor. What a fearless criminal indeed!


    The quaking floors had Song Xingchen wobbling unsteadily. Breaking out in cold sweat, I watched as the Tyrant Tiger swung his fist towards Song Xingchen¡¯s face.


    With Song Xingchen¡¯s quick reaction, he easily swung his sword at the Tyrant Tiger. Thetter dodged, grabbing a pair of karambits from his belt and countered with a vicious sh at Song Xingchen¡¯s torso.


    Though Song Xingchen retreated a few steps, his arms never stopped moving, slicing left and right in a bid to kill the Tyrant Tiger. Sparks shed in the air as metal shed against metal. In the absence of pain, the Tyrant Tiger had the advantage without the need for defense. Song Xingchen was forced into a passive position.


    What a desperate man!


    The two exchanged more than a dozen blows when the entire floor shook violently and tilted southeast. Everything on the ground, including the Wolf King¡¯s body, slid down the sloping floor. After that explosion, the pirs downstairs could no longer bear the pressure and copsed...


    After all, the Tyrant Tiger¡¯s martial arts weren¡¯t as profound as Song Xingchen¡¯s. Upon losing bnce, his steps sounded chaotic. However, Song Xingchen remained firmly rooted to the ground as his sword slit the Tyrant Tiger¡¯s throat, blood gushing out like a fountain.


    Before I could breathe a sigh of relief, the Tyrant Tiger wrapped his hand around the de while pulling out another detonator from his belt. Hanging on to hisst breath, the Tyrant Tiger hit the trigger without the slightest hesitation.


    "Run!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.


    Boom! An explosion tore through the Tyrant Tiger¡¯s body, scattering flesh and blood all over the floor. I ran towards Song Xingchen who suffered from the impact of the explosion. His hands were still reflexively blocking the impact while his body was covered in blood.


    "Wake up! Wake up!" I anxiously cried.


    Song Xingchen coughed as he slowly got up, holding his head in confusion. Bits of shrapnel were embedded in his flesh. Fortunately, the bulletproof vest took most of the shrapnel, leaving his vital organs unharmed.


    The impact seemed to have caused a concussion. A whileter, he said, "I¡¯m fine."


    I heaved a sigh of relief, both grateful and guilty for all Song Xingchen had done for me. Patting him on the shoulder, I smiled, "Thank goodness you¡¯re alright!"


    We looked around the room and found the bloody lower half of the Tyrant Tiger¡¯s body on the ground. This madman had actually attached a bomb to himself.


    Feeling sorry for the Wolf King¡¯s sacrifice, I walked over and shut his eyes, "Thank you for everything.¡±


    Since the building was on the verge of copse, I helped Song Xingchen down the stairs. The first floor was filled with dust from the explosion.


    As soon as we left the building, several cars came speeding down the road and into the construction site. There was no way we could resist another attack.


    However, I was delighted to find seven ck armored vehicles and a team of heavily armed SWAT officers with QBZ-95s who quickly set up three defense positions nearby!


    The captain of the team saluted me, "Mr. Song, we just got a call from the Nanjiang City Bureau so we¡¯re here to protect you. The terrorists in the county have been eliminated."


    "Thank you very much. Is there an ambnce?" I asked.


    "Of course!" nodded the captain.


    Although Song Xingchen was reluctant, I insisted he receive a proper examination. I climbed into the captain¡¯s vehicle and was handed a phone. Xiaotao¡¯s excited voice came from the other end of the line, "I¡¯m so d you¡¯re alright. Thank goodness we¡¯ve found you!"


    "How are things on your end?"


    "We¡¯ve been investigating the gambling site. They¡¯re using an overseas server so we can¡¯t shut it down,¡± replied Xiaotao. ¡°But if it weren¡¯t for the live stream, we wouldn¡¯t be able to determine your specific location."


    "I¡¯ll be back soon!" I said, clenching my fist.


    Upon hanging up, I felt weakness overtake me. With seven armored vehicles carefully escorting me the entire way, almost all the remaining criminals were eliminated. After that, it was a smooth trip and the end of my nightmarish adventure.


    But the battle with the Infernal Bone Trader had just begun!

 Chapter 463

    <h4>Chapter 463</h4>


    As soon as I returned from Fujian, I went to see Xiaotao first thing. She teared up with joy upon my safe return. "From now on, you¡¯re not allowed to leave Nanjiang City without my permission!" she dered.


    ¡°Alright!" I chuckled.


    The Infernal Bone Trader left us no time for rest. His actions proved how important and urgent the establishment of the special team was.


    I handed the list of proposed personnel to Sun Tiger who seemed to have no opinion on the matter. "Two days ago, the State Council issued a document¨CNotice Pertaining To The All Out Fight On Crime. Ever since the economic reform, there have been quite a few criminal organizations on the rise. Our special team will cooperate with the country¡¯s anti-crime operation. I¡¯ve managed to win you some goodies!"


    He handed me six special team IDs as well as six ck cards. Although I had never used them, I heard they were a rare credit card issued by the central bank, with an overdraft limit of 500,000 and certain special privileges.


    "From now on, your sries will be paid directly by the Ministry of Public Security. Each person will receive 30,000 yuan a month with insurance and bonuses allocated by the State Council if you make substantial contributions to the anti-crime operation. What do you think of all this? Not bad eh?"


    My business partnership with Dali afforded me a monthly ie of 60,000 to 70,000 yuan. But to be fair, what they were offering was considered a hefty sum for a public institution.


    "Uncle Sun, does that make me an officer of thew?" I asked.


    Sun Tiger chuckled, "Of course not. I¡¯ve repeatedly stressed to my superiors that you¡¯re just a consultant. I don¡¯t quite understand the ancestralws of the Song family but I respect it."


    Observing one¡¯s bodynguage was a basic skill of min, and Sun Tiger¡¯s smile seemed a bit stiff.


    "Uncle Sun, don¡¯t worry. Bingxin-meimei won¡¯t be out there on the frontlines,¡± I assured him. ¡°I promise to abide by your rules!"


    "It¡¯s not Bingxin I¡¯m worried about,¡± Sun Tiger waved his hand. ¡°I¡¯ve something to tell you but I¡¯m not quite sure if now is the right time..."


    Upon my insistence, Sun Tiger sighed, "After the Dog Trainer was killed, we found a tiny card in his pocket. The front of the card showed a German Shepherd on its belly, and the back was a bloody machete. We¡¯ve determined it¡¯s an identity card from the Jiangbei Daggers! ording to the Dog Trainer¡¯s subordinates, there are seven agents like the Dog Trainer in the organization, known as the Seven Kings!"


    "The Seven Kings?" I mused. Up till now, Nanjiang City was still suffering from the repercussions of the Dog Trainer¡¯s attack. Many police officers had yet to fully recover from their physical and mental traumas. Could there really be six other criminals just as powerful and evil as the Dog Trainer?


    "Don¡¯t take it too seriously, kiddo,¡± advised Sun Tiger. ¡°There¡¯s no conclusive evidence yet, which is why I didn¡¯t want to say anything. In my opinion, it¡¯s probably false."


    "Anyway, all we can do right now is strategize and act ording to the circumstances!" I said.


    Sun Tiger nodded, "Yes, Rome wasn¡¯t built in a day. Eradicating this malignant tumor overnight is impossible."


    After saying goodbye to Sun Tiger, I handed out the IDs and ck cards to each member. Despite different reactions, we were all excited and eager for the establishment of the special team. Xiaotao actively mobilized the resources at hand and prepared to build an office space that would be convenient for future assembly.


    At the same time, I had to fulfill my promise to Xiaotao, that is, to visit Mr. Huang. Although Xiaotao and I hadn¡¯t officially expressed our feelings for each other, in the eyes of others, we were clearly in a rtionship.


    Actions spoke louder than words, and I didn¡¯t mean to pay lip service. So I made an appointment to visit her over the weekend.


    On that day, I got up early in the morning, showered, shaved, and put on a suit that was neither too casual nor formal. I made sure to wear the watch Xiaotao gifted mest year and grabbed the gift I prepared.


    Xiaotao wasn¡¯t on duty today but she had something to deal with at the station so she told me to drop by.


    As soon as I arrived at the station, some of the officers I was well-acquainted with teased, "Hey, Consultant Song! You¡¯re all dressed up today. Are you going on a date?"


    "When will the two of you tie the knot? We¡¯re still waiting for the wedding invites!"


    Cheeks colored with embarrassment, I politely replied before texting Xiaotao to inform her of my arrival. Exining that I would wait for her in the lobby, I stood looking out at the cloudless sky when a man suddenly stopped me. "Hello there, are you a policeman? Do you know the chief? I have a case to report."


    The man was about thirty years old, his face red with panic.


    "You don¡¯t have to go to the chief to report a case. Just go straight to the front desk!" I answered.


    "No, no! This is something terrible. I can¡¯t just report it to anyone. What if theye for revenge? I have to speak to the chief!" insisted the man.


    "Alright then, what¡¯s going on? Let¡¯s hear it," I chuckled.


    Eyeing his surroundings suspiciously, the man stopped talking at once. I pulled out my identification and said, "It¡¯s alright. You can tell me what¡¯s going on. I deal with criminal matters."


    "Y-you have to keep it a secret,¡± he frowned. ¡°I¡¯m here to report about a restaurant..."


    He pulled out a stic bag containing a soup dumpling which had already been bitten.


    "There¡¯s a restaurant selling soup dumplings with human stuffing!" he cried.


    His words reminded me of Chef Tang whom we once dealt with. Was there another monstrous cannibal in Nanjiang City?


    When I asked the man where he purchased the soup dumpling, he refused to speak, but the stic bag clearly had the word ¡¯Guihe Garden¡¯ written on it. These crab soup dumplings from Guihe Garden was the most authentic in the city.


    If Guihe Garden was really making soup dumplings with human stuffing, then this would be a major case. Chef Tang¡¯s stall was iparable to Guihe Garden which was an old restaurant that probably sold tens of thousands of soup dumplings every day. How many people would have consumed human flesh each day?


    "Pass me the soup dumpling and I¡¯ll check it out, alright?"


    After hesitating, the man finally relented. I brought the soup dumpling to the Necropsy Workshop and bumped into Xiaotao on my way there. She was wearing a coat and a beautiful dress today with her hair in an updo. "Sorry for making you wait! Let¡¯s go!" she said.


    "I was waiting at the entrance when a man walked in and said he had something to report. I¡¯ll only take a few minutes!¡± I waved the soup dumpling in the air.


    "What¡¯s wrong with this soup dumpling? Does it have human stuffing?" Xiaotao asked in surprise.


    "You¡¯re right, that¡¯s what the man said." I gave a wry smile.


    When we entered the Necropsy Workshop, I filled a beaker with water and heated it on the alcohol stove. Putting on a pair of rubber gloves, I broke the soup dumpling in half and took a whiff. It smelled of crab roe, pork and spices¨Cnothing out of the ordinary.


    As soon as the water started boiling, I dropped some of the stuffing into the hot water.


    "What is this?" asked Xiaotao.


    "An oil test! In fact, this is an ancient method of testing human flesh, that is, observing the oil that floats to the surface of the water. Ordinary livestock show a circr pattern. Because of different fat densities, human sebum is semicircr," I exined.


    "Wow, that¡¯s amazing!" eximed Xiaotao.


    The oil in the water had a circr pattern, suggesting this was pork. "Maybe he¡¯s crazy. This sort of false report happens every day. Someone once imed he was a wanted criminal and told us to arrest him. Later on, we realized it was a couple of middle school students up to mischief so we taught them a lesson."


    The man¡¯s nervousness was genuine so perhaps he was mentally ill. However, something about the case made me ill at ease so I decided to open up the dumpling and spread the pieces and stuffing on a tarpaulin.


    "Is there something wrong?" Xiaotao leaned in.


    There wasn¡¯t anything suspicious with the meat itself, but the stuffing contained an ingredient I didn¡¯t recognize¨Cit was thin, brittle, white and very stiff. It would definitely scratch the throat when ingested.


    Upon further examination, I realized how familiar the fibers on the surface looked. Wasn¡¯t this a human nail?

 Chapter 464

    <h4>Chapter 464</h4>


    I quickly picked out all the nail fragments from the meat and pieced them together. Finally, I managed to gather about half a nail which looked whiter than usual because they were cooked.


    Xiaotao looked appalled. There was no way an employee would identally leave such arge piece of fingernail during the preparation process, unless the entire nail was torn off.


    Picking up the stic bag, Xiaotaomented, "God, I just had soup dumplings at Guihe Garden two days ago. Could I be any more unlucky? This is my second time tasting human stuffing. Song Yang, are you sure this came from a human? Maybe it was from a pig?"


    "Over millions of years of evolution, the shape and structure of human nails are different. The nails of even-toed ungtes are much thicker than this, so this can only belong to a human."


    Covering her mouth, Xiaotao seemed to recall the soup dumplings she had eaten. "Don¡¯t worry,¡± I waved my hand. ¡°We¡¯ve already determined the stuffing isn¡¯t made from human flesh. This nail probably fell inter, after going through the meat grinder."


    "In this case, there must be a murder in Guihe Garden. Let¡¯s go there now!" announced Xiaotao.


    "Aren¡¯t we visiting your home today?"


    "Nevermind about that,¡± dismissed Xiaotao. ¡°My dear father can wait."


    A wry smile rose to my lips as I thought, But he would have a bad impression of me! On the other hand, Xiaotao and I couldn¡¯t possibly ignore a murder, could we?


    When we exited the station, we found that the informant had left without leaving his name or contact information. However, that was no longer of importance. Thus, Xiaotao and I drove to Guihe Garden, an old, traditional restaurant with antique tables and chairs. As soon as we entered the restaurant, we were greeted by a waitress, "Wee! Please have a seat."


    Xiaotao shed her police badge, "Call your manager out. We have some questions to ask."


    Due to the sensitivity of the case, we couldn¡¯t reveal too many details, so the manager was puzzled as to what happened and behaved very politely before Xiaotao.


    I asked if we could check their cold storage, to which the manager immediately agreed.


    Scanning the refrigerator, I told Xiaotao to close the doors so I could use the Soul Returning Incense. However, I found there no signs of a murder happening here.


    "If the problem isn¡¯t the restaurant, could it be the meat factory?" Xiaotao pointed out.


    "It looks like it,¡± I nodded. ¡°So you didn¡¯t eat human soup dumplings."


    "Thank goodness!" Xiaotao patted her chest. "I¡¯ll get someone to check on that."


    A brief phone callter, we headed to her home as nned. I assumed Mr. Huang lived in a luxurious vi built in an exclusive neighborhood. To my surprise, it was a normal residential area. Although the area was upscale, it was slightly different from what I had imagined.


    Upon entering the residential area, we seemed to make quite a few turns. "Are we there yet?" I asked.


    Xiaotao chuckled, "We¡¯ve arrived. This entire area belongs to my dad. When he was looking to buy a house, he didn¡¯t think much of the avable options, criticizing the location and the environment. So he ended up buying somend and developing it himself.¡±


    I stared in amazement,pletely unable to imagine the world of the wealthy.


    "I don¡¯t mean to show off,¡± added Xiaotao. ¡°My dad¡¯s achievements have nothing to do with me!"


    "Don¡¯t get me wrong,¡± Iughed. ¡°In my mind, you¡¯ll always be a heroic police officer!"


    Xiaotao pursed her lips, "Don¡¯t you mean beautiful and smart as well?"


    "Beautiful, smart and heroic!" I corrected myself.


    We pulled up in front of a standalone building and took the elevator to the top floor¨Ca two-floor penthouse where Mr. Huang lived. Taking off her coat, Xiaotao hit the doorbell and waited for the housekeeper to open the door. "Miss, you¡¯re back. This is ..."


    "My boyfriend!" Xiaotao proudly took my arm.


    "What a handsome young man,¡± remarked the housekeeper. ¡°The old man is waiting for you in the dining hall."


    The living room could be described as low-key luxury, inconsistent with the resplendence I expected. At first nce, the apartment looked ordinary. Hanging in the most conspicuous ce wasn¡¯t an expensive oil painting but a family portrait. In the picture, Xiaotao was only eight years old, a lovely little girl with a doll in her hand. Her mother was a dignified and beautiful woman with eyes simr to Xiaotao¡¯s. The furniture was all wood and the coffee table was actually made from a split red sandalwood log. For such a piece, it would take at least a hundred years for the tree to grow, and the market price was staggering.


    Xiaotao looked at the family portrait and sighed, "Since my mother passed away, my rtionship with my dad has grown more and more distant. But it¡¯s not because of some huge contradiction. I just don¡¯t want to inherit his business."


    The sound of footsteps signalled the arrival of Mr. Huang, a robust man, with straight, sharp eyebrows which gave him an imposing air of arrogance. Upon noticing me, heughed, "So it¡¯s you! I see Xiaotao has been hiding a lot from me. Thest time I saw you together, I could tell there was something between you two!"


    "Hello, Mr. Huang. Xiaotao often talks about you," I politely greeted.


    Mr. Huang waved his hand, "I hope it¡¯s not all bad. Come in, take a seat!"


    I handed him the gift I had previously prepared. It was a bottle of French red wine that cost a few hundred yuan. After all, I couldn¡¯t really afford anything too expensive and it would only seem pretentious to Mr. Huang.


    After epting my gift, he invited us to the dining hall. It was brightly lit with the tableware neatly arranged. When I noticed the vegetarian food, Mr. Huang exined, "My blood lipids are a bit on the high side so I decided to go vegetarian. In fact, this diet is quite beneficial. The human body can either be acidic or alkaline..."


    "Dad, there you go again!" interrupted Xiaotao.


    Mr. Huang smiled, "I¡¯m sorry. Xiao Song, make yourself at home. Please, dig in!"


    Over the course of our meal, I answered whatever questions Mr. Huang threw my way while trying not to make a sound when eating.


    Although he was a vegetarian, Xiaotao and I were served grilled steak.


    Mr. Huang¡¯s polite demeanor wasn¡¯t feigned. Xiaotao exined that her father admired capable people, regardless of their wealth or family background. A man in his position didn¡¯t care about these external conditions. After all, no one in Nanjiang City could boast of riches before the city¡¯s wealthiest man.


    After our brief conversation, Mr. Huang suddenly eximed, "Oh my, what a forgetful old man I am! Do you drink, Xiao Song?"


    "No, I don¡¯t!" I repeatedly refused.


    "How can that be? Well, this is a rare asion. Have a drink with me," he insisted.


    Before my ¡°father-inw,¡± I could only obey his wishes. When the old man turned to the wine rack to select the wine, I nced at Xiaotao, smiling bitterly.


    "It¡¯s just one drink, don¡¯t worry,¡± assured Xiaotao.


    When Mr. Huang returned with three wine sses, Xiaotao protested, "Dad, I¡¯m driving! It would be so embarrassing if a police captain was detained for drunk driving!"


    "It¡¯s just one ss,¡± smiled the old man. ¡°This was a gift from a friend of mine. It¡¯s not avable on the market so I¡¯m usually reluctant to drink this."


    There wasn¡¯t abel on the half-empty wine bottle in his hand. At the time, I never imagined that this ordinary bottle of wine would involve a bizarre case.

 Chapter 465

    <h4>Chapter 465</h4>


    "Aren¡¯t all the bottles on that wine rack a gift?¡± Xiaotao quipped. ¡°Your friend probably tore off thebel and told you it¡¯s not avable on the market just to please you. Do you really believe that?"


    "Your Uncle Mu gave me this wine bottle. Would he lie to me?" argued Mr. Huang.


    I stood up and offered to pour the wine before the old man could get started. Mr. Huang returned to his seat, raised his ss and motioned for us to try the wine. Upon taking a sip, I found the wine soft and mellow, the delicate vors lightly caressing the taste buds.


    Even so, I only drank half a ss.


    As he spoke, Mr. Huang served himself some sd. However, after several bites, his expression turned ugly. "Dad, what¡¯s wrong?" Xiaotao stood up in consternation.


    Mr. Huang spat his food and angrily fiddled around with it using his fork. Unsure of what to make out of his actions, Xiaotao and I exchanged a look of perplexity.


    "Mrs. Zhang! Mrs. Zhang!" he shouted.


    The housekeeper entered the dining hall and waited for his instructions. "Who made the sd? Get me the chef!" roared Mr. Huang.


    As soon as the housekeeper left, Mr. Huang wiped his mouth with a napkin and apologized, "Please excuse me. I almost never lose my temper with my staff. But this is too much, too much!"


    "Dad, was there sand in your food?" Xiaotao wondered out loud.


    Mr. Huang shook his head, "Doesn¡¯t matter if it was sand or even a dead insect! But this tastes revolting! I don¡¯t know what the hell they put in there! Xiao Song, I hope you didn¡¯t eat this sd?"


    Despite having tasted the sd, I shook my head in a daze. In fact, the sd tasted delicious. It had celery, baby tomatoes, red cabbage and diced ham.


    With panic written all over his face, the chef walked in,pletely unaware of what his mistake might be.


    Smoldering under his stony expression, Mr. Huang pushed the te over and told the chef to taste the sd. Upon taking a bite, the chef looked aggrieved, "Sir, it tastes fine."


    "Fine?" Mr. Huang exploded in anger, "I think you should go to the hospital to get your tongue and nose checked. Can¡¯t you taste how disgusting it is? You know I have important guests today, yet this is what you serve. Tell me, what are your intentions for doing so?"


    Furrowing his eyebrows, the chef couldn¡¯t understand what was wrong. Xiaotao stared in apparent confusion while I stirred the sd with my fork. "Mr. Huang, how long have you been a vegetarian?"


    The old man sighed, "It¡¯s been three months now."


    "I¡¯ve heard that vegetarians can¡¯t stand the smell of meat after going meatless for too long. Could it be the diced ham that¡¯s making you nauseous?" I suggested.


    After a moment¡¯s contemtion, Mr. Huang shook his head, "That¡¯s impossible!"


    "The old man has been strange ofte,¡± interjected the chef. ¡°Thest time I cooked him steak, heined of the smell as well!¡±


    Mr. Huang mmed the table, "Excuses! That steak you made reeked so bad! God knows what you did with it!"


    "When did this happen?" I asked.


    "Three months ago!" answered the chef.


    Three months ago? What a coincidence...


    Forking up a piece of diced ham, Xiaotao and I carefully tasted it and exchanged a meaningful look. This was authentic Jinhua ham that tasted as delicious as reputed.


    Xiaotao suddenly spat the bite she took. "The meat has been kept for too long. Remove this and make sure you¡¯re careful in the future. Don¡¯t you know that my dad is a vegetarian?"


    "I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s all my fault,¡± the chef awkwardly touched his toque. ¡°I¡¯m so used to preparing it this way in the restaurant."


    I was well aware of Xiaotao¡¯s intentions. Despite suspecting there was something wrong with Mr. Huang¡¯s health, she didn¡¯t want to rm him, hence the pretence. In the spirit of collusion, I too spat out my ham. With that, Mr. Huang told the chef he could go, indicating the end of the matter.


    After lunch, Mr. Huang returned to his usual affable self as he shared Xiaotao¡¯s childhood photo album with me. Little Xiaotao was so cute I had to wonder how she grew into such a... sexy and charming youngdy.


    "Oh, my gosh! How can you show him photos of me still sucking from a milk bottle?" cried Xiaotao.


    "What¡¯s wrong with this? Xiao Song will be part of the family in the future," chuckled Mr. Huang.


    Xiaotao¡¯s cheeks colored from embarrassment, "It¡¯s too early to say that!" Then, she approached Mr. Huang, asking gently, "Dad, how have you been recently?"


    "Great. I went out golfing with my friends two days ago."


    "Do you feel any difort?" she added.


    "No, my health has been great. I¡¯ve always done my annual physical examination without fail. Why do you suddenly ask?"


    Though concerned about the incident at the dinner table, Xiaotao wasn¡¯t quite sure what questions to ask, so I said, "Mr. Huang, why don¡¯t I check your pulse?"


    "So you have studied Chinese medicine as well!¡± heughed. ¡°That¡¯s really good. Most young people today don¡¯t know much about Chinese medicine."


    cing my fingers on his outstretched wrist, I read his pulse.


    "How is he?" asked Xiaotao.


    There was definitely something wrong with Mr. Huang¡¯s taste buds. I originally attributed the cause to his galldder, but could find nothing out of the ordinary from his pulse. Contrary to my suspicions, the old man was as fit as a fiddle.


    "You¡¯re in great condition but you do have yang hyperactivity in the liver. So my advice is not to be overexcited or angry."


    "You do have some skill,¡± praised Mr. Huang. ¡°My doctor said the same thing and advised me not to lose my temper. s, thepany¡¯s affairs are such a headache!"


    I turned to Xiaotao, discreetly shaking my head. Unwilling to put the matter to rest, Xiaotao reached for the beef jerky on the coffee table instead, but I quickly grabbed her hand. Since we already knew the symptoms, there was no need to test him again.


    We left the old man¡¯s apartment at around four in the afternoon. "Your father¡¯s symptoms shouldn¡¯t be of any huge concern. I¡¯ll go back and check my medical books."


    "I can¡¯t help but worry,¡± sighed Xiaotao. ¡°Thank you."


    Right then, the ringing of her cell phone interrupted our conversation. A whileter, she said, "They need me down at a station for a case. I¡¯ll drop you off on my way there."


    "Do you think I managed to impress your dad?" I asked as soon as we got into the car.


    "I was just wondering when you¡¯d ask me the question,¡±ughed Xiaotao. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my dad isn¡¯t a hypocritical sort of person. He really likes you."


    "Yes, I¡¯ve passed the challenge!" I said, patting my chest.


    "Since you¡¯ve visited my family, doesn¡¯t that make us an official couple?¡± Xiaotao fixed her flirtatious gaze at me. ¡°Yet you¡¯ve not expressed your feelings for me."


    "Um..." My cheeks turned crimson as I met Xiaotao¡¯s eager eyes. After a considerable amount of time, I gathered enough courage to say, "Xiaotao, I like..."


    Xiaotao ced her finger on my lips and teased, "It¡¯s a little unromantic to be confessing your feelings for me in the car, isn¡¯t it? I would prefer a more formal venue."


    "There you go again, teasing me!" I chuckled.


    Xiaotao suddenly leaned in and kissed me on the lips. "Are you happy with thepensation?" she smiled.


    As soon as I returned to the store, Dali gathered around me, excited for gossip. "How was today? Did it go smoothly? Did Mr. Huang threaten to sever his rtionship with Xiaotao?"


    "I¡¯m sorry to let you down. It went very well," I said, throwing him a yful punch.


    Dali feigned disappointment, "How boring of him to ept you just like that. Damn, you¡¯ll soon be the son-inw of the richest man in Nanjiang City. It¡¯s just like a dream! I demand you buy me dinner! If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll have to end our friendship."


    What about being the richest man¡¯s son-inw? The thought hadn¡¯t even crossed my mind. In my opinion, Xiaotao and Mr. Huang were in fact people from two different worlds who just happened to share the same blood.


    My sessful visit put me in a good mood so I waved my hand and offered, "Alright, I¡¯ll treat you to Qianlixiang wonton..."


    "You stingy bastard!" used Dali.


    I deliberately paused, "The steakhouse across the street then!"


    Jinhua ham is a type of dry-cured ham named after the city of Jinhua, where it is produced.

 Chapter 466

    <h4>Chapter 466</h4>


    Naturally, Dali brought Luo Youyou along with us. When we were seated at the steakhouse, the waiter asked how we would like our steaks done.


    "80% cooked!" said Dali.


    The waiter left with a sardonic smile on his face. Meanwhile, Dali endeavored to ¡°educate¡± us with the supposed facts he had learned. ording to him, the usual ssification of how one would order a steak¨Cthirty, fifty, seventy and ny in terms of percentage well done¨Cwas wrong. And the right way to enjoy a steak would be either twenty, forty or eighty percent cooked.


    "Oh, shut up!¡± I chided. ¡°Who cares about that! Stop being so pretentious!"


    While waiting for our steaks to be served, Dali began clowning around as usual. "Shall we try practicing something? I¡¯ll have to visit Youyou¡¯s parents in the future. Dude, y my future father-inw."


    Before I could refuse him, Dali immediately got into character. "Hello, Mr. Luo."


    "Do you y Honor of Kings?" I deliberately deepened my voice.


    "Yes, I¡¯m already tinum 4. Do you enjoy ying the game as well? Why don¡¯t we have a go?"


    "Get out!¡± I shouted. ¡°Boys who y games are all good-for-nothings. I won¡¯t allow my daughter to marry you! Get out!"


    Luo Youyou seemed amused with my rendition of Mr. Luo while Dali¡¯s expression turned stony. "What are you doing? Why aren¡¯t you ying along?"


    "Isn¡¯t this supposed to be practice? How can I make it so easy for you?" I quipped.


    "Let¡¯s try again!"


    Fortunately, our steaks arrived soon, saving me from having to y this silly game with Dali. The steak and egg sizzled on the iron griddle, delighting the senses. Without hesitation, Dali grabbed his fork and knife and began chowing down on his steak.


    Although the smell of the steak seemed a little off, I didn¡¯t want to ruin the atmosphere, so I silently picked up my knife and fork, cut a small piece and took a bite. The juices from the tender steak burst upon my tongue, infecting my mouth with the rotten smell of corpses. Unable to control myself, I spat out my food immediately.


    Both Dali and Luo Youyou were shocked by my reaction. "Dude, what¡¯s wrong with you? Did you eat too much for lunch?" asked Dali.


    Instead of answering him, I sliced another small piece and slowly chewed the meat, enduring the nausea that welled up. Aside from the rancid odor, there was a gamey smell, unlike any steak I had ever tasted. I couldn¡¯t help but spit out my food once more.


    Unconvinced, I tried a bite of Dali¡¯s steak instead. To my utter disbelief, it tasted exactly the same.


    "What is it?" Dali queried.


    "There¡¯s something wrong but don¡¯t worry about it."


    "Is it the steak?" he asked.


    "The steak is delicious,¡± remarked Luo Youyou. ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with it."


    I took a bite out of the garlic bread and sipped the juice. Everything tasted fine, except for the steak... Or perhaps I should say there was something amiss with my taste buds when it came to the steak.


    To verify my conjecture, I called the waiter, "Another T-bone steak please!"


    "How would you like it cooked?" asked the waiter.


    ¡°Rare!"


    The waiter froze for a moment, staring at me in perplexity before confirming my order several times and leaving. Well aware that these two would be worried if I failed to exin myself, I said, "I may have been poisoned by something strange so I can¡¯t stomach meat."


    "Don¡¯t scare me!¡± eximed Dali. ¡°We eat together every day. If you are poisoned, then we are also poisoned... No, I¡¯ll have to eat more now, in case I be like you and stop enjoying good food!"


    Smiling miserably, I pushed my almost untouched steak towards him, "Finish it for me then!"


    "Song Yang, did you eat something weird during lunch?" Luo Youyou keenly asked.


    "I¡¯m still not clear about that. I¡¯ll have to look into it."


    A whileter, my steak was served. The big, bloody T-bone took a lot of trouble to slice into. I braced myself, taking a small bite. As the juices from the meat spread over my tongue, I found the steak as hard to swallow as a rock and I spat it out immediately.


    Regardless of how cooked the meat was, the taste was extremely disgusting. Mr. Huang¡¯s symptoms immediately crossed my mind.


    Without dy, I phoned Xiaotao who was still busy with work in the station. ¡°Xiaotao, what are you doing now?" I nervously asked.


    "I just finished processing a few documents. What¡¯s up? Do you miss me?" she teased.


    However, I wasn¡¯t in the mood for jokes so I went straight to the point, "Have you had dinner yet?"


    "Not yet, but my food has arrived..." She stood up to grab her takeout, "I ordered fish-vored shredded pork rice and it¡¯s really delicious. I¡¯ll have to take you to this ce next time... By the way, is there something important?"


    "Take a bite of your food first!" I urged.


    Xiaotao chuckled, "What are up to...¡± Then, spitting out her food, she cursed, ¡°What the hell is this? It tastes disgusting! Goodness, I just ate the most revolting thing I¡¯ve ever eaten in my life. How can this be? I must report this restaurant!"


    Sure enough, the three of us had the same symptoms. "Something weird has happened. I suspect it has something to do with the lunch we had at your father¡¯s ce. I¡¯lle over right now."


    With that, I headed down to the station and went straight to Xiaotao¡¯s office. Several officers gathered around the table, sampling the takeout. "Captain, this tastespletely fine. In fact, it¡¯s delicious!"


    It seemed Xiaotao had discovered her abnormality as well.


    Upon noticing my presence, she instructed, "You can all leave first. And take the food with you. I don¡¯t have an appetite right now."


    The officers took onest nce at us, lips curling in a mischievous smile before they left.


    "Dali and I went for steak when I encountered the same thing. Looks like we both have whatever this is."


    "This is really bizarre,¡± mused Xiaotao. ¡°Did someone do something to our taste buds?"


    "What did you eat in the morning?"


    "Buns and soy milk," Xiaotao replied.


    "Was it a meat bun?" I asked.


    "Yes!" nodded Xiaotao.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t do much today or eat anything out of the ordinary,¡± I recounted. ¡°My guess is the problem lies with your father¡¯s bottle of wine."


    Frowning, Xiaotao seemed lost for words.


    "Are you familiar with the person who gave your dad that bottle of wine?" I continued.


    "Not really, but my dad has known him for many years and he often visits. I don¡¯t believe he would hurt my dad. But then again, this isn¡¯t considered poisoning. I mean, is there a poison capable of causing an aversion to meat?"


    "Let¡¯s see... What are theponents of meat? Protein, iron, glycogen... Let¡¯s do an experiment to find out what this poison does!"


    While Xiaotao headed to the supermarket to do some shopping, I went down to the Necropsy Workshop to prepare for our experiment. A whileter, Xiaotao returned with salt, red cabbage and milk. Pounding the red cabbage, I squeezed out the juices and collected it in a container. After diluting it with salt, Xiaotao and I tasted the samples one by one. As soon as we got to the milk, I found the taste extremely nauseating and spat it all out at once.


    "It seems the problem lies in the protein!" surmised Xiaotao.


    I picked up the milk carton and said, "No, milk also contains glycogen. Let¡¯s rule out the sugars first."


    "Should I get sugar?" Xiaotao asked.


    "Glycogen is also known as liver glycogen which differs from the sucrose we use in daily life. The closest thing to that is glucose!"


    Xiaotao eximed, "There¡¯s glucose solution in the forensicboratory!"

 Chapter 467

    <h4>Chapter 467</h4>


    We headed to the forensicboratory where theb assistant was studying something through the microscope. Upon noticing us, he was just about to greet us when Xiaotao said, "Don¡¯t worry about us, carry on with your work. I¡¯m just here to grab some glucose solution for a case."


    Xiaotao grabbed one of the bottles and we walked back to the Necropsy Workshop, ready for further testing.


    I pierced the top with a sterilized awl, poured some into a container and tasted it. It turned out that glucose tasted normal so it was the protein we couldn¡¯t stomach.


    "Remember the case where our suspect was mistaken for a vampire because of a protein metabolism disorder. Could it be a simr kind of disease?" suggested Xiaotao.


    At the thought of the pale vampirish man, I shook my head, "That¡¯s impossible. Protein metabolism disorder is a gic disease that produces an allergic reaction with the intake of certain proteins. That¡¯spletely different from not being able to stomach meat. Ours is a problem with taste. Besides, we ate meat in the afternoon and we¡¯re fine."


    "Why wasn¡¯t there a reaction during lunch?" asked Xiaotao.


    "Perhaps our bodies hadn¡¯t absorbed the poison at the time," I spected.


    Even with further contemtion, I was still scrambling to make sense of it all. What was the point of such a poison? Xiaotao began tidying up the workshop, identally cutting her finger in the process. As she clutched her finger, I said, "Don¡¯t move, I¡¯ll get some iodine to disinfect the wound."


    "It¡¯s a tiny wound," she argued.


    She slipped her finger between her lips and sucked on the blood. As I exined how easy it was for the wound to get infected, I reached for the iodine. But just as I turned around, a thought suddenly crossed my mind. Noticing the look on my face, Xiaotao asked, "What¡¯s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"


    "Don¡¯t you feel sick when tasting your own blood?" I queried.


    "Not at all,¡± Xiaotao shook her head. ¡°Is there protein in blood?"


    "Yes, a very high content of it!" I said.


    "I don¡¯t have the slightest bit of nausea. In fact, it tastes sweet!"


    As soon as the words fell from her lips, I had a bad guess as to what the poison did. To verify my hypothesis, I grabbed a sterilized knife, sliced my finger, and tasted my own blood. An attractive vor spread across my tongue, apanied by an indescribable sweetness.


    I reached out so Xiaotao could taste my blood as well. A momentter, she covered her mouth with shock and cried, "Goodness, why does your blood taste so good?"


    "My blood doesn¡¯t taste good. It¡¯s the poison interfering with our taste buds that makes the brain think human blood tastes good."


    "But is the protein in human blood any different from the protein in milk?"


    ¡°Of course."


    Recalling what happened in the steakhouse earlier, I wondered why the steak tasted so bad. The proteins in human blood and bovine blood could be said to have the sameposition. But strictly speaking, every species had its own unique biological enzyme. Therefore, our bodies produce a sense of aversion when we eat our own kind to prevent this sort of behavior.


    "The problem doesn¡¯t lie with the bottle of wine but with the person who delivered it. He definitely has ulterior motives."


    "I¡¯ll call my dad now!" said Xiaotao.


    Upon realizing she couldn¡¯t get through to her father, Xiaotao phoned home. The housekeeper, Mrs. Zhang, said Mr. Huang went out with a friend in the evening. When Xiaotao asked who that friend was, the housekeeper reported it was Mr. Mu, the man who gifted Mr. Huang the bottle of wine.


    As soon as she hung up, Xiaotao left the Necropsy Workshop and headed to the technical department to get them to locate Mr. Huang¡¯s position through his cell phone.


    As long as his cell phone was on, it could be tracked. Unfortunately, Mr. Huang¡¯s cell phone waspletely unreachable. Iforted an anxious Xiaotao, "Don¡¯t worry. Nothing will happen to a good man like your father. Let¡¯s start from the clues we have now."


    "Alright, let¡¯s get Bingxin to test the bottle of wine!"


    We drove to Sun Tiger¡¯s home, where Bingxin was already waiting for us downstairs. "How did you get your father to agree to let you out at night?" I asked.


    "I said Xiaotao-jiejie had a super urgent task and I had to go," she smiled. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m a member of the special team now!¡±


    ¡°Up to your little tricks again, huh?" I snorted.


    Xiaotao drove in somber silence, too troubled for jokes.


    When we arrived at Mr. Huang¡¯s home, Mrs. Zhang came to wee us. I instructed Bingxin to take the entire bottle back for testing since it was our only clue at the moment. The fingerprints on the bottle and the producer were also worth investigating. Before leaving, I made sure to grab one of Mr. Huang¡¯s sses that had his fingerprints on it.


    "Do you remember what I did when Li Wenjia asked me to make a choice? I chose to sacrifice my dad," Xiaotao recalled as we were headed downstairs.


    Well aware of the significance of her words, I consoled, "You don¡¯t have to feel guilty about it. That gave you no choice.¡±


    Xiaotao shook her head, "How can I feel any less guilty? Since then, I¡¯ve realized what a failure of a daughter I am. I keep hoping to make it up to my dad. All I want is for him to be safe and healthy. But who would¡¯ve thought he¡¯s involved in something again..."


    "Xiaotao-jiejie, my dad often stays out the whole night. It¡¯s probably nothing."


    "That¡¯s easy for you to say now,¡± scoffed Xiaotao. ¡°When your dad was hit by a car, didn¡¯t you cry?"


    "Alright now, let¡¯s not think of the worse,¡± I mediated. ¡°We¡¯ll do what we can given the circumstances."


    "What else can we do besides test this bottle of wine?" Xiaotao asked.


    "When I first entered his apartment, I noticed several ties thrown on the sofa, a pair of leather shoes missing from the shoe rack, as well as the walking stick originally hanging on the clothes rack. It must be a formal asion if he¡¯s wearing a tie and leather shoes. Judging from this, we can at least specte that he wasn¡¯t kidnapped,¡± I exined. ¡°By the way, did he leave in his own car?"


    ¡°No,¡± Xiaotao shook her head.


    "That means a friend picked him up. It¡¯s definitely not a meeting given the time of day. Perhaps he¡¯s attending a private party or banquet. You can inquire about this from your father¡¯s social circle."


    "But why can¡¯t we track his cell phone?"


    "Maybe there¡¯s a signal jammer on scene so we can¡¯t reach him. Some high-end clubs do have that feature."


    "Your analysis does sound reasonable,¡± sighed Xiaotao. ¡°Maybe my dad is fine after all."


    My words were meant tofort but they were far from the truth. It was highly unlikely that nothing had happened. However, perhaps it wasn¡¯t the sort of ident we imagined. Whoever produced that bottle of wine that made human proteins taste delicious definitely had skills beyond the average person. Additionally, the mastermind must have a purpose.


    I feared Xiaotao might have to handcuff her father after knowing what he did tonight!

 Chapter 468

    <h4>Chapter 468</h4>


    At nine in the evening, Bingxin began examining the bottle of wine. There were three groups of fingerprints on the bottle, one belonging to Mr. Huang, the other belonging to me¨Cfrom serving the wine during our lunch¨Cand the other was unknown. It probably belonged to the man who gifted the wine.


    Theposition of the ss used to create the wine bottle contained silicon sulfide. Bingxin googled it and found that it was probably French-made. The original bottle may have been filled with imported red wine.


    As for the ingredients contained in the wine, Bingxin could only identify tannin. The rest couldn¡¯t be identified withoutparative samples. After all, there were more than twenty thousand known toxic substances in the world, and even I had never heard of such a bizarre poison.


    Bingxin asked if I had a solution.


    Upon further contemtion, I said, "This substance makes the same kind of protein taste extremely delicious. Could it cause some sort of reaction with the symptoms of aversion? You can try experimenting on mice."


    "How should I do that?"


    "Kill a mouse, get another mouse to feed on it, then extract the chemicals from their blood," I replied.


    "How cruel!¡± frowned Bingxin. ¡°I¡¯ll get to it straight away!"


    Meanwhile, Xiaotao had been trying to reach Mr. Huang but to no avail. Mr. Huang had only been missing for less than three hours so she couldn¡¯t file a case. Because this involved her own father, she had to be all the more above-board and refrain from taking advantage of her position in the bureau.


    Xiaotao stood up anxiously, "I can¡¯t wait any longer. I¡¯ll check the ces my dad frequents!"


    "Calm down. Have you tried contacting Mr. Mu?"


    "I did but I can¡¯t get through to him either."


    "Let¡¯s go to his home," I suggested.


    Just before we left, I asked Bingxin to give me a sample of the wine. Mr. Mu was engaged in the construction business and lived in a vi in Taoyuan District. In fact, this was where he housed his mistress. A few years ago, after divorcing his wife, he married his mistress and moved here.


    "Your father¡¯s private life seems rather tame inparison," I remarked.


    "Tame? You think too highly of him. He¡¯s had a string of different lovers ever since my mother died. When I was a child, I actually met several A-list actresses at home. He¡¯s only started to take it easy these past few years. When men have money, they lose their morals." Xiaotao nced at me, probably remembering the fact that I too was a man.


    I changed the subject, "At least your dad didn¡¯t have an affair."


    "He was very loyal to my mother. In fact, he started from nothing and got to where he was thanks to my mother¡¯s help," Xiaotao exined.


    From outside Mr. Mu¡¯s home, we could already hear the loud music booming through the night. It turned out Mrs. Mu had some friends over for a small party. Expensive cigarettes, alcohol and delicious delicacies were spread all over the table. The dim lights barely concealed the couples making out in the corner.


    Was this the debauched life of the wealthy? What an eye-opener!


    No one cared when we walked through the front door, much less stopped us. Perhaps they assumed we were also here for the party. Without the slightest vignce, wouldn¡¯t it be easy for miscreants to enter the vi?


    Xiaotao pulled one of the guys over and asked where the hostess was. He was originally trying to pick up a girl, and upon noticing Xiaotao¡¯s appearance, he smiled and sorted out his hair with his fingers. "What¡¯s your name, beautiful?"


    "You can read it yourself!" As soon as Xiaotao shed her badge, the guy froze, panic written all over his face as he tried to leave.


    "Why are you panicking? Did you take any drugs?" I quipped.


    "N-no. We¡¯re just drinking and ying cards, that¡¯s all!" I didn¡¯t need Cave Vision to read the guilty expression on his face.


    "You better watch yourself. Where¡¯s the hostess?"


    The boy left to look for Mrs. Mu and soon returned with the woman herself. Though sexy and seductive, she was probably younger than Xiaotao. "Officer, are you looking for my husband? He¡¯s out and I¡¯m not sure when he¡¯ll be back."


    "Where did he go?" I asked.


    "How should I know? He¡¯s always busy with work. Sometimes, he doesn¡¯te home for days," replied Mrs. Mu.


    ncing at the messy living room, I said, "You obviously knew your husband would be out tonight so you invited a bunch of your friends over to party. You bettere clean with us!"


    "His affairs have nothing to do with me,¡± she sneered. ¡°I said I don¡¯t know!"


    Just then, one of the guests eximed, "Oh my God, what¡¯s in this pizza? Why is it so disgusting?!"


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a meaningful look and headed over to the guest at once. There were several young men in the dining hall snacking on pizza. "No, it tastes fine. Is there something wrong with your tongue?" asked another guest.


    The young man whoined about the taste dered, "It tastes like shit. Try it if you don¡¯t believe me!"


    "Did you just drink something before this?" I turned to the man.


    "I don¡¯t remember,¡± the man stared nkly. ¡°I noticed some expensive wines on the wine rack so I tried some of them."


    "What?! Why did you do that? Don¡¯t you know my husband hates people messing with his wine?" Mrs. Mu screamed. "He¡¯s going to kill me when hees back!"


    "Which one was it? Can we have a look?"


    Faced with Mrs. Mu¡¯s indifference, I pointed to the young man and said, "He may be poisoned so you better cooperate!¡±


    The terrified man followed the three of us into Mr Mu¡¯s study. On the left side of the door was a wine cab with a wide variety of foreign wines. After ncing through, I found no such poisoned liquor.


    The young man timidly interjected, "I slipped in the study to look around and happened to discover that this wine cab could be opened..."


    Stretching out his hand, he opened the wine cab and revealed the hidden bottom shelf which was only noticeable upon meticulous observation.


    There were three bottles of wine inside; the two other bottles were extremely rare and precious world-famous wines, while thest bottle was the poisoned liquor we were looking for. The bottle looked exactly the same as the one given to Mr. Huang without abel on it.


    "I chanced upon these three bottles of wine,¡± exined the man. ¡°It¡¯s not like I usually get the opportunity to drink such expensive wines so I tried them."


    By this point, Mrs. Mu was so furious she couldn¡¯t resist beating the man. "You bastard!¡± she cursed. ¡°Who said you could drink these three bottles of wine? My husband is going to kill me when he sees this!" Then, turning to me, she said, "Officer, my husband might be very kind to me but no one is allowed to touch his wine, not even me. Once, I poured myself a ss of wine from one of these bottles and was pped by my husband. He ran barefoot all the way from our bed to the study just to check on his wines. After that, he warned me never to touch these three bottles of wine unless I wanted to be kicked out of our home. I cried all night because of this."


    My guess was, the poisoned liquor was what Mr. Mu really cared about. "Do you know where he went tonight?"


    "To a club. He goes there every weekend and he doesn¡¯te home until midnight which is why I knew he wouldn¡¯t be here tonight."


    "How long has he been in this club? Has he changed ever since joining?" I added.


    Mrs. Mu mused, "It¡¯s been about half a year. And since then, he¡¯s grown less fond of meat..."

 Chapter 469

    <h4>Chapter 469</h4>


    When I asked for more details, Mrs. Mu insisted the young man leave the room. "Officer, didn¡¯t you just say I was poisoned? Should I go to the hospital?" he asked uneasily.


    "This poison temporarily makes it impossible for you to ingest protein. But aside from that, there¡¯s nothing to worry about. Please leave your contact information and we¡¯ll inform you when we find a cure."


    After leaving his contact information, the young man walked out of the study.


    Mrs. Mu poured herself a ss of bourbon and asked if we wanted a drink, but I declined. Then, dropping into the desk chair, she began her story.


    Half a year ago, Mr. Mu joined a club through a friend¡¯s introduction, but the details weren¡¯t disclosed to Mrs. Mu.


    To put it bluntly, Mrs. Mu believed that the pastimes of the rich involved pleasure of the flesh. As a mistress herself, she was open about such matters. After all, she was only with Mr. Mu for the luxuries and couldn¡¯t care less if her husband had a debauched life outside of their home.


    However, upon returning from the club, Mr. Mu seemed spirited and full of vigor. Naturally, there wasn¡¯t much sex for a man in his fifties. But ever since he joined the club, he had be so passionate and intense in the sheets that even Mrs. Mu was frightened!


    Every time she looked into his eyes, she found them red and bloodthirsty like a wolf. Once, Mr. Mu even bit her neck. It was not the yful intimate sort between lovers, but a bite so hard blood gushed out of the wound. Mrs. Mu screamed in pain and tried to push her husband away. Despite apologizing, Mr. Mu licked the blood with terrifying greed in his eyes.


    Mr. Mu was so keen on this club that he wouldn¡¯t eat or drink, counting down the days till the weekend.


    And as soon as the weekend arrived, he would get dressed and leave at five in the afternoon.


    Although unaware of what her husband did at the club, Mrs. Mu couldn¡¯t fight the uneasiness she felt. She would asionally remind him to be careful outside given his age, but Mr. Mu wouldn¡¯t listen at all. Upset with his behavior, Mrs. Mu started inviting friends over for weekend parties.


    There was one other strange thing¨CMr. Mu had asked where he could purchase human centa. Since Mrs. Mu was hospitalized for some time, she knew that human centa wasn¡¯t easy to obtain. She managed to procure it via her friend and ended up stewing it for Mr. Mu. In fact, human centa was simr to a piece of skin with a little meat. But just thinking about its origins made Mrs. Mu disgusted.


    Strangely enough, Mr. Mu, who hadn¡¯t eaten meat for half a year, devoured it with relish.


    "Officers, has my husband done something illegal?¡± asked Mrs. Mu. ¡°Tell me the truth. I wouldn¡¯t want all his property to be confiscated when the timees. What a huge loss it would be if I don¡¯t get a penny!"


    "You¡¯re really straightforward, aren¡¯t you?" scoffed Xiaotao.


    Mrs. Muughed, "Why should I bother pretending with the police? Doesn¡¯t it boil down to that between men and women?"


    "Don¡¯t worry. You won¡¯t lose your assets," assured Xiaotao.


    Mrs. Mu nodded, "Thank goodness. But then again, if he has reallymitted a crime, do go easy on him. After all, he is my husband.¡±


    "Thanks for your cooperation. We¡¯ll leave you to your party!" I said.


    Upon exiting the vi, I furrowed my brows, "From the clues we have so far, this mysterious club is probably dealing in the same business as Chef Tang."


    Xiaotao gasped, "I really hope my dad won¡¯t get mixed up in all this."


    Ill at ease, Xiaotao nned to wait for Mr. Huang in his apartment. Right then, we received a call from Bingxin, reporting her findings. "Song Yang-gege, the poisoned liquor has no reaction with the chemicals in the mice¡¯s blood."


    "Have you tried feeding the mice with the poisoned liquor and then their own kind?" I suggested.


    "I did think of it so I separated the alcohol content from the poisoned liquor and injected the mice. I tested them with beef jerky, milk and the meat of other mice. They wouldn¡¯t eat any of it."


    I turned my attention to the cage on the table. The mice were nibbling on the peanuts and celery but ignored the meat next to them.


    "Perhaps the poison doesn¡¯t react on chemicals in the blood but on human proteins. Can you get a sample of human protein?"


    After all, this wasn¡¯t a hospital so we couldn¡¯t just grab a blood bag. "Can we use human milk?¡± asked Xiaotao. ¡°A colleague of mine just gave birth. I can ask her for some milk."


    "That¡¯s too much trouble, just take my blood!"


    "Gosh, do you have to be so dedicated!"ughed Bingxin.


    Rolling up my sleeves, I allowed Bingxin to tie a tourniquet around my arm and extract a tube full of blood. Then, she ced the blood into a small stic cup meant for feeding.


    At first, the mice were indifferent, but one soon crawled over and began licking at the blood. It continued licking frantically, drawing the attention of the other mice. In a matter of seconds, the mice finished a small cup of human blood, their red eyes gleaming like shiny adzuki beans as if they were still looking for that "delicacy.¡±


    ¡°How horrifying! They¡¯re drinking human blood!¡± eximed Bingxin. ¡°Let¡¯s get rid of these mice!"


    "Don¡¯t!¡± I stopped her. ¡°We have to study how to relieve this effect. I don¡¯t want to be a vegetarian my entire life!"


    ¡°Xiaotao-jiejie, I¡¯ll have to trouble you to get some human milk."


    "Oh no!" I cried, palming my forehead.


    When the girls asked me what was wrong, I smiled bitterly, "I drink milk every time I use my abilities. But now I can¡¯t ingest protein unless it¡¯s human, which means I can¡¯t use my abilities..."


    ¡°Should I ask my colleague to give you some?" Xiaotao interjected.


    "God, no! I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to stomach that!"


    "What¡¯s the big deal? Many fitness enthusiasts drink human milk. If my colleague knows that you drank her milk, she¡¯d be very proud." The girls threw their heads back inughter.


    After handling this matter, Xiaotao nned to wait at Mr. Huang¡¯s apartment, along with Bingxin who wanted to spend the night there. Since the apartment would be empty except for the two, I was duty-bound to watch over the girls.


    We stayed up all night watching movies and snacking. I eventually fell asleep on Mr. Huang¡¯s couch while the girls shared his bed.


    Early the next morning, Xiaotao ran out of the bedroom, looking a mess. "Is my dad home?" she cried.


    Sitting up, I shook my head, "No!"


    "I just had a nightmare that my dad came back with blood. He scared me half to death!" she said, patting her chest. Returning to the bedroom, she got properly dressed and tried to reach Mr. Huang once more but to no avail. Xiaotao knitted her brows in consternation.


    "Check if Mr. Mu is home," I suggested.


    This time, the call to Mr. Mu actually connected. As soon as she said the words ¡°Uncle Mu,¡± he hung up on her. Gritting her teeth in anger, she cursed "That bastard knows I¡¯m a policeman. Something must have happened... Bingxin, get up! We¡¯ve got to go!"


    At her call, Bingxin reluctantly got up. Who said that girls took forever to get ready? We were out of the apartment in fifteen minutes!


    Xiaotao drove over to Mr. Mu¡¯s vi like a madman on wheels. Even Bingxin turned pale with fear. I had to keep reminding Xiaotao of the traffic policeman ahead so she would go easy.


    Unfortunately, we saw only Mrs. Mu, having narrowly missed her husband. She reported that Mr. Mu packed up and left right after returning home and receiving a phone call.

 Chapter 470

    <h4>Chapter 470</h4>


    Boiling with anger, Xiaotao clenched her teeth, "He has been friends with my dad for so many years. How can he do this? What an asshole!"


    "Is my husband really guilty?" Mrs. Mu anxiously asked.


    "What was your husband like when he came home? Did he bring anything back?" I questioned.


    "He was exactly the same as he was when he left in the afternoon,¡± recalled Mrs. Mu. ¡°He did bring home a bag. It¡¯s on the table."


    Upon checking the bag, I found an opaque bottle of wine that was loosely sealed and the cork appeared to have been opened and reattached. Borrowing a bottle opener from Mrs. Mu, I unplugged the cork and sniffed at the neck. Despite detecting the smell of alcohol, I noticed there was something else stuffed in the bottle.


    "Let¡¯s go to the bathroom!" I said.


    After pouring out all the wine, something was stuck in the bottle. I mmed the bottle against the edge of the bathtub, shattering the ss. Horrified screams came from the girls, prompting me to look into the pile of ss fragments.


    Therey a kidney the size of a fist. It was undoubtedly human.


    "Why is there a kidney in this bottle?" Bingxin wondered out loud.


    Upon further observation, I surmised, "This kidney is already necrotic, and it¡¯s salted. I¡¯m afraid this isn¡¯t meant for transnt but for consumption."


    "Eating a human kidney?" Bingxin covered her mouth, trying to fight the nausea.


    ¡°There¡¯s no doubt about it.¡± Xiaotao solemnly added, ¡°There are illegal activities going on in this club."


    I walked towards the shoe rack in the hall and picked up each pair to examine them. One of the leather shoes were still warm from wear and had fresh mud on the soles, suggesting Mr. Mu had just removed them.


    Xiaotao and Bingxin leaned in as I sniffed at the sole. ¡°I smell asphalt, manure, chicken manure... and egg white. Could it be a chicken farm? Are there any chicken farms around Nanjiang City?"


    Checking her cell phone, Xiaotao affirmed, "There are more than a dozen!"


    "Could the asphalt suggest that it was just built?¡± I mused. ¡°No, asphalt is used to depte chickens. So this chicken farm probably ughters the chickens as well. Then the farm should be of a certain scale," I analyzed.


    "Asphalt is toxic and Nanjiang City banned the use of this deption method more than ten years ago,¡± exined Xiaotao. ¡°Let me check with the Food Safety Bureau!"


    A brief callter, Xiaotao reported, "Got it! They mentioned the Xinglong United Chicken Farm in the northern suburbs. Our friends at the Food Safety Bureau said they vited food safety regtions several times by using asphalt to depte their chickens. They were fined quite a hefty sum."


    "Let¡¯s go then!"


    Xiaotao instructed Bingxin to stay behind and deal with the rest while we headed to the chicken farm.


    "I¡¯m just a forensic assistant. How can I tell them what to do?" protested Bingxin.


    ¡°Have you forgotten you¡¯re a member of the special team? The ID you were given can be used to transfer a SWAT team without going through the usual procedures."


    "Wow, it¡¯s that powerful?"


    We intended to take over this case in the name of the special team because I had an inkling that this stretched far beyond conventional crimes in both nature and scale. Additionally, it would be good practice for the special team.


    Xiaotao and I drove to the northern suburbs where we soon arrived at the gates of the chicken farm which was connected by a stone bridge. This bridge was the only way in and out of the farm. If there had been a war, this chicken farm would be considered the perfect base by military strategists since it was easy to defend and difficult to attack!


    I originally assumed the chicken farm was just a cover for the mysterious club. But upon entering, we were greeted by a busy scene, with all sorts of documents, announcements and duty sheets on the wall, and trucks carrying goods in and out. It seemed this was a real chicken farm. After all, if this was merely a cover, they wouldn¡¯t have to go to such lengths.


    When we found the person in charge, Xiaotao immediately pullet out photos of Mr. Huang and Mr. Mu which could be found on Baidu Encyclopedia. The person in charge imed he had never seen them.


    I asked to look around, to which the man agreed. Thus, the three of us explored the grounds and stopped at a big yard in the back of the farm.


    I noticed it was newly-built so I asked the factory director why they built a yard in the back. The factory director exined they had ns to widen the back path and make it the main road. Thus, the main entrance of the chicken farm would be moved to the back for the convenience of loading and unloading. Since heavy trucks couldn¡¯t go through the bridge in front, their products had to be shipped out in batches which was very troublesome.


    I scanned the ce and found chicken manure, chicken feathers and patches on the ground repaired with asphalt. There were also messy tire marks all over the ground. "There were vehicles here!"


    The factory director looked confused, "That¡¯s impossible. The cars are usually parked outside. Who would waste all that effort to drive their car to the backyard? They would have to go through the flow shop."


    "Who was on dutyst night?" I asked.


    "Xiao Wang!" replied the factory director.


    "We¡¯d like to speak to him!" I ordered.


    A whileter, a pimple-faced security guard walked up to us. He appeared to be in his early twenties¨Ca strapping young man.


    "Did you let anyone inst night?" I questioned.


    ncing at the factory director, the security guard shook his head. "No, why would I let anyone in?"


    His bodynguage instantly revealed his guilt. Turning to the factory director, I said, "I¡¯d like to speak to him alone."


    As soon as the factory director walked off, I warned the security guard, "You better tell the truth. I won¡¯t say anything to your factory director. But if you lie, you won¡¯t only lose your job. You¡¯ll have toe down to the station for a cup of tea!"


    The security guard turned pale with fear, "Th-they paid me to do this.¡±


    "Who?" I demanded.


    About six months ago, a mysterious man came to him, offering 100,000 yuan in exchange for something. Every weekend, two fleets of cars would drive into the farm in the evening¨Cone stopped here while the other fleet picked up a bunch of people. In the early morning, these people would be sent back and they¡¯d drive away in their cars.


    Therefore, he took the initiative to stay on duty every weekend to earn the extra money.


    "Officer, it shouldn¡¯t be illegal to allow a bunch of people to park their cars here, right?"


    Xiaotao snorted, "A bunch of sneaky people meeting herete at night... Didn¡¯t you think they were criminals?"


    The security guard seemed to be lost for words at Xiaotao¡¯s question. When she showed him the photos and asked him if he had ever seen them, the security guard shook his head, "I¡¯m not allowed to watch when they meet up. But these people look rich. Every time theye in their luxury cars, I stare in envy. When would I be able to drive such an expensive car?"


    "Is there a ck Rolls Royce among them with the license te N23467?¡±


    "Yes, yes!¡± shouted the security guard. ¡°I remember it clearly because it¡¯s here every weekend. I also took photos!"


    Upon searching his cell phone, the security guard showed us the photos he took. ncing at them, Xiaotao whispered to me, "This is Mr. Mu¡¯s car. He brought my dad herest night."


    When asked if he had any more information to share, the security noted that the vehicles used to transfer these people were off-road vehicles with extremely high chassis.


    The back entrance of the yard led to a dirt road which was bumpy¨Ca difficult road for any vehicle with a low chassis. Xiaotao and I walked up the path, observing the ground. There were indeed traces of passing vehicles.


    Eager to locate her father, Xiaotao suggested, "Let¡¯s follow these tracks. Maybe we can find my dad!"

 Chapter 471

    <h4>Chapter 471</h4>


    After walking down the path for about three hours, we realized they deliberately detoured and finally left through a main road, where countless vehicles came and went, making it impossible to track them.


    Xiaotao bit her lip, "Damn it!"


    "Let¡¯s go back to the car,¡± I sighed. ¡°We can drive and keep looking. There¡¯s no way we can continue on foot."


    A considerable amount of time passed before we managed to hail a cab. The driver said that he could take us to the airport but not elsewhere.


    Suddenly, Xiaotao shouted, "Get out of the car now!"


    The driver stared her nkly.


    "Where did you get the watch on your wrist?" Xiaotao asked, shing her badge.


    It was only then that I noticed the Omega diamond-encrusted watch on his wrist. It turned out Mr. Huang had the exact same watch which I failed to observe yesterday.


    Frightened, the driver cried, "Officer, my watch is a counterfeit. It¡¯s not the real thing. I bought it for a few hundred yuan."


    "I said get out!¡±


    Xiaotao pulled the driver from his seat and grabbed his watch. Clenching her teeth, Xiaotao confirmed, "It¡¯s my dad¡¯s watch. This is a limited edition watch issued by Omega to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the British Queen¡¯s ession to the throne. There are only a hundred of these in the world."


    Her gaze fell upon the driver as she demanded, "Where did you get this? If you dare lie, I¡¯ll cuff you right away!"


    Trembling like a leaf, the driver confessed to being acquainted with the miscreants around the area. This morning, when he was having breakfast in the outskirts of the city, a deadbeat known as Two Scar mysteriously leaned in and said he had something good to offer, which was this watch.


    Although Two Scar insisted on a steep price of a thousand yuan, the driver happened to be celebrating his father-inw¡¯s 60th birthday so he purchased the watch. He only wore it temporarily to show off but Xiaotao unexpectedly pulled him over.


    "Just think of the money as a lesson,¡± sneered Xiaotao. ¡°Where¡¯s Two Scar?"


    He reported an address and begged Xiaotao to return the money after catching Two Scar, vowing never to buy stolen goods again. With Xiaotao¡¯s current mood, I was worried she would pull out her gun and shoot him on the spot so I urged the driver to leave his contact information and sent him off.


    Tears swirling in her eyes, Xiaotao clenched her fist around the watch. "I¡¯m so afraid the next thing we find is my father¡¯s corpse lying on the ground!"


    Having experienced the same despair the day my grandfather died, I understood there was nothing more heartbreaking than seeing the dead body of a loved one. I gently rubbed her shoulders, hoping tofort her.


    We stopped a truck and hitched a ride to the outskirts of the city, where people made a living by the highway, either running repair workshops, gas stations or restaurants. Despite asking around where we could find Two Scar, it seemed everyone was deliberately feigning ignorance. It was obvious they knew Two Scar, perhaps as frequent customers of the man. However, each and every person we spoke to imed they didn¡¯t know anything.


    By this point, Xiaotao looked exhausted, both physically and mentally. "Are you thirsty?¡± I asked. ¡°Let¡¯s get a bottle of water!"


    I was walking to the stall to purchase some water when I happened to overhear this conversation¨C


    "The old man wouldn¡¯t give it to me at first. But when I showed him my knife, he was so scared he wet himself and removed all his valuable belongings."


    "Damn Two, you¡¯re actually robbing the rich and helping the poor!"


    There was a small table under the huge locust tree in front of the stall where several young men sat, chatting and sipping on soda. One of the young men happily babbling had dry, yellow hair like hay and two scars on his left cheek. I beckoned for Xiaotao toe over.


    Upon noticing Xiaotao and me, two of the men at the table realized something was wrong and left immediately while the other winked at the speaker.


    "What¡¯s your name?" I asked.


    "You¡¯re mistaken, I¡¯m not Two Scar. He¡¯s a friend of mine!"


    "Is that so? Then where can I find him?"


    "Unfortunately, he was killed in a hit and run."


    Though furious, I was also amused by his answer. The man was so desperate to remain hidden that he would rather jinx himself with such misfortune. Two Scar was probably used to being hunted by the owners of the stolen goods he sold!


    Right then, Xiaotao shed her badge, prompting hispanion to slip away on the grounds of stomach difort. Sipping at his soda, Two Scar reiterated, "I¡¯m telling you, you¡¯ve got the wrong guy..."


    As soon as the words left his lips, he threw his soda at Xiaotao¡¯s face and fled, never expecting that her first reaction would be to kick the stool which ended up mming into his leg. The man fell to the ground, screaming.


    Without hesitation, Xiaotao handcuffed him and shouted, "Don¡¯t you know that assaulting an officer is a crime?"


    At the sight of Xiaotao¡¯s bleeding temples, I was filled with distraught. I grabbed a wet towel and cleaned the wound. Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t arge wound and wouldn¡¯t leave a scar.


    Grabbing the man by his cor, Xiaotao questioned, "Have you seen an old man in a suit and tie..." As she was speaking, she abruptly pped him across the face, having noticed the tie hidden under his cor.


    "Help! Police brutality!" screamed Two Scar.


    "Believe me when I say I will kill you if you don¡¯t speak!" threatened Xiaotao, her teeth rattling with rage. "Where¡¯s the old man?"


    "I¡¯ll tell you where he is. Just don¡¯t arrest me!" shivered Two Scar.


    "You have no right to talk terms with me. And I don¡¯t have the patience for your bullshit!" Xiaotao stared at him, rage smoldering in her narrowed eyes.


    "Then I won¡¯t say a word!" Two Scar shook his head.


    Boiling with rage, Xiaotao was close to beating the man once more. In fact, with our authority as members of the special team, police brutality wasn¡¯t a problem. However, ordinary citizens obviously weren¡¯t aware of that, and our actions might look bad on us. Blocking Xiaotao¡¯s hands, I turned to the young man, "Look into my eyes!"


    "Hmph, so you know hypnosis..... Ahhh!!!¡±


    As soon as I stared at him with the Eyes of Yama, his neck shrank in fear, the yellow hair on his head standing on end. "Would you like to enjoy this for a while?" I sneered.


    He shook his head.


    "Then tell the truth!" I demanded.


    He confessed bumping into an old man covered in mudst night. At the time, he was taking a stroll when he noticed what seemed like a wealthy man running away from something. Exhausted, the man sat on the ground and asked him for water, food and a phone, so he made a deal with the old man.


    "What was the deal?" asked Xiaotao.


    "He exchanged his suit for a bottle of water, his watch for some takeout and all his money for a phone call. He couldn¡¯t get through to whoever he was calling but that¡¯s got nothing to do with me!" Two Scar seemed proud of his deeds.


    Pulling out her cell phone, Xiaotao confirmed that she received a call from a strange number at around 1:00 AM. She tried calling and sure enough, Two Scar¡¯s cell phone rang.


    Judging from Two Scar¡¯s words, I could imagine how miserable Mr. Huang wasst night. Fortunately, he was safe which was great news for us.


    Xiaotao asked eagerly, "Where¡¯s the old man now?"


    "He¡¯s resting in a nearby garage. I¡¯ll take you there."

 Chapter 472

    <h4>Chapter 472</h4>


    Two Scar led us to a garage where Mr. Huangy on top of a metal bed. Rushing over excitedly, Xiaotao shouted, "Dad!"


    Mr. Huang awoke, slowly sat up, and smiled, "I knew you would find me!"


    Perhaps due to his eventful night, Mr. Huang had fatigue engraved on his worn face. Sadness welled up inside of Xiaotao as she rubbed her red-rimmed eyes. "I couldn¡¯t have located you this quickly if it weren¡¯t for Song Yang."


    Lips curled up in a grateful smile, Mr. Huang nodded and patted Xiaotao on the back. "Don¡¯t cry. I¡¯m alright thanks to this young man."


    "Him?" Xiaotao cast a look of doubt upon Two Scar.


    From the moment Two Scar heard Xiaotao address Mr. Huang as her father, he was so frightened he was trembling.


    "Dad, this guy robbed and threatened you,¡± Xiaotao pointed at Two Scar. ¡°Would you like to file charges against him?"


    Mr. Huang magnanimously spread his hands, "For us businessmen, any voluntary exchange isn¡¯t considered a threat! Last night, that bottle of mineral water and bowl of hot rice were more important to me than my suit and watch."


    He kindly looked at Two Scar and said, "Young man, you can keep the suit and watch. Thank you for your care. I think you¡¯ve got a good head for business. Stop wasting your life here. Go to the city and try your luck! Perhaps you¡¯ll pave a career for yourself."


    Two Scar¡¯s eyes were wide open in an expression of stunned surprise, perhaps touched by Mr. Huang¡¯s kind words. Being a bottom-feeder used to crawling on his knees in a ce like this, he had never received such affirmation or validation.


    "Sir, I can¡¯t do that! That would be taking advantage of you. I promise to return your things!"


    "No, keep them. I have more than I need!" Mr. Huang waved his hand.


    Xiaotao threw me the key to the handcuffs so I could free Two Scar. "Get us a cab!" I ordered. Two Scar left the garage while Xiaotao helped her father up.


    By the time we got to the side of the road, Two Scar managed to hail a cab. When father and daughter got into the car, Two Scar whispered to me, "Who is this old man? I could tell he was some big shot."


    I smiled, "If you have time, turn to Nanjiang City¡¯s financial channel. You¡¯ll probably see his name there."


    "So, he is a rich man! Can you introduce me?"


    This young man was fortunate we didn¡¯t arrest him, yet he seemed to be pushing his luck. Ignoring him, I was about to leave when he interjected, ¡°There¡¯s something else I haven¡¯t told you. If you introduce me to him, I¡¯ll tell you."


    ¡°Stop ying games,¡± I sneered. ¡°What important information could you have to offer?"


    "After I hid the old manst night, a bunch of people came looking for him and they looked like trouble," he said.


    "What did those people look like?" I asked.


    Two Scar zipped his lips, grinning slyly like a fox. As Xiaotao urged me to climb onboard, I waved my hand and said, "Wait, he might have some valuable information." Turning to Two Scar, I motioned, "Come back with us and I¡¯ll rmend you to him."


    "Back where? The police station? " He looked nervous.


    "Don¡¯t you have the guts? We already said we won¡¯t detain you. This is your chance to change your life!"


    Teeth gritted in firm resolve, he entered the cab with us.


    Xiaotao and I were curious about the events that transpiredst night. However, in view of our current location, we waited till we reached the station where we could have more privacy. Two Scar went with an officer to the sketch artist while we headed to the conference room with Mr. Huang.


    After drinking a mouthful of tea, Mr. Huang sighed, "I have been friends with Lao Mu for thirty years. Who would have thought that he¡¯d drag me down with him in his immoral ways. Fortunately, I still have a conscience."


    "Dad, tell us what happened," urged Xiaotao.


    A few days ago, Mr. Mu mysteriously revealed to an interesting club outside the city to him. Under his friend¡¯s persuasion, Mr. Huang decided to give it a go.


    What¡¯s the big deal? That¡¯s what Mr. Huang thought. After all, he had seen almost everything throughout his life. Out of trust in his friend¡¯s character, he believed it wouldn¡¯t be anything too immoral.


    Last night, Mr. Mu drove him out of the city. Along the way, he repeated how this club could make him realize the meaning of life once more and boasted of the new world that awaited him. Mr. Huang was confused by all this iprehensible talk.


    When they arrived at the chicken farm, there were dozens of luxury cars already parked here. Mr. Huang met a bunch of rich people he knew and several unfamiliar faces. They didn¡¯t sound like locals, probably visitors specifically for this club.


    Like him, there were other people new to this club, also introduced by their friends. Everyone seemed excited and curious, looking forward to the surprise that awaited them, but these seasoned members of the club evaded the subject!


    Some timeter, several off-road vehicles came to pick them up. They were escorted by men in suits and handed ck blindfolds upon entering the vehicle. These men insisted he wear the blindfold and hand over his cell phone for safekeeping. At first, Mr. Huang was livid. It wasn¡¯t as if he was begging to go to this club. Since they didn¡¯t trust him, he would happily walk away.


    However, these men refused to budge. With Mr. Mu¡¯s desperate persuasion, he eventually gave in.


    Yet he couldn¡¯t help but worry if this involved something illegal. Hence, he endeavored to memorize the turns they took, hoping to gain a sense of direction. Unfortunately, he was soon confused by the many twists and turns they made.


    About an hour or soter, they finally alighted and were taken into a building where their blindfolds were removed. The windows around were welded shut and the room was brightly lit. Men and women dressed formally carried sses of champagne, like a scene from a private party.


    "Lao Mu, all that trouble for a party?¡± scoffed Mr. Huang. ¡°What a joke!"


    Mr. Mu assured him the best had yet toe. After that, he sat through several spontaneous performances by the guests which weren¡¯t arranged by the host. Mr. Huang noticed a curtain behind the stage where people snuck in and out. His friend immediately offered to broaden his horizons.


    Thus, the two headed into a dark room with a huge ss column in the middle and lights underneath. In the ss column was a naked girl soaked in some sort of liquid. A bubble would appear from her nose from time to time, suggesting she would remain alive despite being submerged in liquid. The expression on her face indicated she was in a dreamlike trance.


    The well-informed Mr. Huang knew of a liquid called carbon tetrafluoride, in which oxygen was highly soluble. It made breathing in liquid possible. In fact, the astronauts¡¯ gravity control cabin was filled with this liquid.


    A bunch of people surrounded the ss column as if they were watching some rare fish.


    ¡°What the hell are they doing?¡± Mr. Huang shouted. ¡°If you don¡¯t start talking, I¡¯m leaving!"


    Mr. Mu calmed him down, vowing to wow him when the "main course" was servedter.


    They returned to the hall and drank some wine. A whileter, the host finally showed up. After a short, profound speech, he announced the official start of the dinner.


    Everyone took their seats excitedly, eagerly watching as the waiters served te after te.


    The guests had different entrees¨CMr. Mu received a piece of marbled meat, a red, blood curd-like chunk, and some fried ribs.


    Meanwhile, Mr. Huang was served a te of charred meat, covered in sauce. Mr. Mu exined that each guest received different service ording to their membership grade. Since it was his first time here, he would only be given a taste.


    Despite his insistence on avoiding the meat, Mr. Mu tried to convince Mr. Huang to take a bite. Right then, Mr. Huang noticed the woman sitting next to him digging her fork into an eyeball, savoring it with a look of intoxication...

 Chapter 473

    <h4>Chapter 473</h4>


    Mr. Huang looked around the table, observing the food on each te. Some had braised meat, some ate sweet and sour ribs, and others enjoyed the internal organs.


    But all of thesebined made up an animal... No, a human being!


    Watching these people eat with relish was like taking a bat to the head. For a moment, Mr. Huang wondered if he was having a nightmare.


    Angrily standing up, Mr. Huang shouted, "Lao Mu, I think of you as a dear friend, yet you¡¯ve brought me to such a ce! From now on, we¡¯re no longer friends!"


    Turning to everyone else, he used, "Take a good look at what¡¯s on your te. You¡¯re eating human flesh!"


    Several neers were so frightened they spat out their food. In truth, the organizers cleverly arranged their seating so the neers couldn¡¯t see what was served to the old members. Additionally, the food served to the neers was properly processed so they couldn¡¯t tell they were munching on human body parts. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Mr. Huang was sitting next to Mr. Mu, he wouldn¡¯t have gained a grand view of the woman relishing a human eyeball.


    Several waiters surrounded him, their eyes unfriendly. It seemed like they were prepared for strong-arm tactics.


    "If you dare touch a hair on my head..." threatened Mr. Huang.


    Right then, the host took to the stage and told them not to panic. "The gentleman is right,¡± he smiled. ¡°The food you are enjoying now is something you¡¯ve never tasted¨Chuman flesh! We eat everything, so why not humans? All of you here are social elites, those who stand at the top of society. Ordinary people are like cattle and horses to us. If we can domesticate cattle and horses, we can consume humans! What are secr rules and taboos for those who really dominate the world?¡±


    These heresies won a thunderous apuse from the room, excluding Mr. Huang who turned to leave in a pique.


    However, Mr. Huang was stopped by the host. Although his tone sounded polite, his words carried the shadow of a threat. If he dared leave the room, the host couldn¡¯t guarantee what his men would do for the safety of the club and everyone else.


    "Can¡¯t I leave if I don¡¯t have an appetite?" seethed Mr. Huang.


    "Since you¡¯re already here, how can you leave without at least tasting the food carefully prepared by our chefs?"


    "Why should I? You just said secr rules and taboos are nothing to people like us. I¡¯ll eat what I want. No one can force me into doing something I don¡¯t want to do!"


    As he made his stance clear, Mr. Huang scanned the room, noticing several neers who looked frightened, possibly unable to ept cannibalism like him, but hesitant to stand up against the host. Mr. Huang hoped to win some "allies.¡±


    Lost for words, the host shed all pretense of cordiality. "Mr. Huang, you must have a bite, or you won¡¯t be able to leave!"


    The waiters were eager to get started, like tigers eyeing their prey. Mr. Huang sighed, well aware of his own vulnerability. Sitting back down, he ced his napkin on hisp, reluctant to tuck into his meat. But under the watchful eyes of the other guests, he had no choice but to take a bite.


    As soon as the meat came into contact with his tongue, what he tasted wasn¡¯t unpleasant or gamey. On the contrary, the meat was soft, juicy, crisp yet tender, more delicious than any delicacy Mr. Huang had ever tasted¨Ca fact that chilled him to the bone. He couldn¡¯t believe he would think human flesh was this delicious!


    The host seemed to see through his thoughts, "What do you think, Mr. Huang? Even a selective man such as yourself can¡¯t find any faults with it, can you?"


    Despite the resistance he felt, Mr. Huang sliced the meat, devouring piece by piece, hands shaking the entire time. Sumbing to such unrivaled delicacy, he finished the entire te of meat in the blink of an eye.


    Much to the host¡¯s relief, this matter came to an end and the guests continued with their meal.


    After dinner, Mr. Mu approached Mr. Huang, "What do you think, Lao Huang? Has it opened up a brand-new world for you? In fact, I was just as scared as you when I first tried it, but the taste..."


    "Stay away from me!¡± snapped Mr. Huang. ¡°We¡¯re not friends anymore."


    He was filled with disgust for their repugnant behavior and his own, agonizing over an indescribable inner torment. Excusing himself to the restroom, he dug his fingers down his throat and threw up everything he had eaten, even bile. Only then could he live with himself.


    Mr. Huang decided to leave at once and report their actions to the authorities upon returning.


    When he looked up, he noticed a camera in the corner, and his heart sank within him like a plummet of lead. The organizers had long expected neers to resist by vomiting their food. As soon as he left the restroom, there were several waitersing for him.


    Squeezing through the crowd, he desperately fled, causing chaos and panic among the guests. Perhaps wracked with guilt, Mr. Mu deliberately overturned a table, blocking the waiter and buying Mr. Huang a few seconds so he could escape.


    With his heart in his mouth, Mr. Huang fled down a corridor where two guards were chatting at the end. Mr. Huang clutched at his chest, feigning a heart attack without so much as batting an eyelid. "Help me! I¡¯m having a heart attack. If I die here, there¡¯ll be awsuit waiting for all of you!"


    When asked if he had any medicine with him, Mr. Huang pointed behind him and said, "Get my assistant. He¡¯s wearing a white suit."


    One of the guards immediately left while the other stayed behind to take care of him. Right then, amand rang from the guard¡¯s headphones, ¡°Area C! I repeat Area C! There¡¯s an old man trying to escape. Stop him!"


    Gritting his teeth, Mr. Huang mmed his walking stick into his guard¡¯s face, breaking his nose. With a painful scream, the man copsed, giving Mr. Huang an opportunity to knock him out with his walking stick.


    Despite sessfully making it out, Mr. Huang was dismayed to find himself at the foot of a mountain. It was alreadyte at night and pitch dark but he had to escape before the others caught up.


    He tore through the wilderness, chased by the sound of running engines. Lying down in the grass, he waited for the car to pass, heart pounding against his chest.


    After slipping through those guards, Mr. Huang chanced upon a young man in the outskirts of the city¨CTwo Scar.


    Although Two Scar ripped him off, he also saved his life which was why Mr. Huang refused to file charges against him.


    At the end of Mr. Huang¡¯s story, I had to admit my admiration for his wit and bravery. As the saying goes, like father, like daughter. Xiaotao had inherited her father¡¯s extraordinary courage, but instead of exercising it in the marketce, she used it to uphold justice.


    As he recalledst night¡¯s events, Mr. Huang was dominated by a profound sadness. Wrapping his hands around his face, he said, "The scariest thing about all of this is the fact that I found human flesh delicious! Am I a perverted savage as well?"


    ¡°Mr. Huang, it¡¯s not your fault,¡± I sighed.


    I proceeded to exin about the poisoned wine. It only took Xiaotao and me one ss for the effects to appear. On the other hand, Mr. Huang had been poisoned for six months.


    ¡°Lao Mu, Lao Mu! That bastard! I must have been blind to call him my friend!" eximed Mr. Huang.


    Having unraveled the inner torment, Mr. Huang grabbed both our hands and urged, "Xiaotao, Xiao Song, these people are cannibalistic demons. They must be stopped!"


    "Don¡¯t worry, Mr. Huang,¡± I assured him. ¡°We will bring these criminals to justice!"

 Chapter 474

    <h4>Chapter 474</h4>


    Xiaotao wanted to send her father home, but Mr. Huang refused, "No, you get to work! I¡¯ll take a cab home. The sooner you solve the case, the fewer the victims.¡±


    "By the way, Mr. Huang, there is one little thing."


    I exined Two Scar¡¯s request, to which Mr. Huangughed, "Let him call mypany. I¡¯ll get the HR department to find him a position. I like ambitious young people. Xiao Song, what are your ambitions?"


    Without the slightest hesitation, I replied, "A peaceful world!"


    Mr. Huang nodded, "That¡¯s a great ambition. I used to think that Xiaotao¡¯s work was too dangerous and the ie was too low. But now that I¡¯ve personally experienced crime, I realize how important peace is. If the country isn¡¯t peaceful, how should we businessmen and ordinary citizens live? I will fully support you in the future, in my own way. Xiao Song, I heard that you¡¯ve just started a business so you probably don¡¯t earn much. When the two of you are engaged, I¡¯ll transfer a listedpany to you. That way, you don¡¯t have to worry about money."


    In fact, I was doing pretty wellpared to the other graduates. I made enough money and had the freedom to do whatever I wanted. But for someone like Mr. Huang, perhaps my current situation could be viewed as a struggle.


    "Thank you, but I¡¯m doing alright. I can still support myself."


    "Don¡¯t mention it. When you be my son-inw, you¡¯ll be a member of the Huang family. Who else would I leave my assets to?"


    I felt moved by his words. Xiaotao interrupted, "Come on, Dad, don¡¯t try to tempt Song Yang with that. You¡¯re only in your sixties but you¡¯re constantly thinking about leaving an inheritance. Maybe you¡¯ll live till a hundred!"


    "Alright, get to it then!"ughed Mr. Huang.


    Meanwhile, Two Scar had described the people he witnessed to the sketch artist. Only three of them left a deep impression. Since they were chasing after Mr. Huang, they were most likely bodyguards. The police started their investigation from major bodyguardpanies in Nanjiang City.


    Upon learning that Mr. Huang was offering him a job, Two Scar was so happy he couldn¡¯t stop grinning. Since he had neither education nor specific skills, Mr. Huang started him off as a porter.


    This young man eventually climbed up thedder with his own abilities and became so sessful he could write a book on how to go from zero to hero. Of course, that was a story for another day.


    When Bingxin returned from Mr. Mu¡¯s home, I decided to hold our very first meeting and called the other members of the special team. Upon answering my call, Lao Yao sounded as if he had just woken up.


    ¡°You better show up!¡± I insisted.


    "Oh, Xiao Song-Song, I just got up,¡± he pouted. ¡°I¡¯ve not even washed my face. Just get aptop and I¡¯ll join you in a video call.¡±


    "That was alright before you joined the special team. Look, I chose you, not anyone else. If the thirty thousand monthly sry doesn¡¯t interest you, I can get someone else. It¡¯s easy to find skilled hackers nowadays."


    "If you can find someone better than me, then go ahead! I¡¯d rather die than have my freedom restricted!" retorted Lao Yao.


    At my wits¡¯ end, I turned to Xiaotao for help. "Get here in half an hour, or you can forget about your bonus!"


    "Can¡¯t you give me an hour..." pleaded Lao Yao.


    Before he could finish his sentence, Xiaotao hung up the call and threw my phone back to me. "Looks like your methods work better now that we¡¯re part of the force!"


    Yet another trick to add to my repertoire!


    As soon as I entered the conference room, I noticed Song Xingchen was waiting for us. We were standing at the door the entire time so I was surprised to see him. "How did you get in?"


    "He jumped in from the window and scared me half to death!" eximed Bingxin.


    Xiaotao sighed, "A great disy of your skills, but you¡¯re not allowed to climb through windows in broad daylight. This is the city bureau. What if you¡¯re seen by the public?" Then, she turned to Wang Yuanchao who was smoking in the corner. "And you, no smoking in the conference room!"


    "Yes! It¡¯s like a fire in here every time we hold a meeting. Let¡¯s state the rules now¨Cno smoking!" added Bingxin.


    Xiaotao watched in exasperation as Wang Yuanchao silently extinguished his cigarette butt and pulled out a silver hip sk.


    This was Song Xingchen¡¯s first formal meeting. He sat wordlessly in his chair, Tang Sword in hand. When I asked if his injury had improved, he nodded, "Yes. By the way, Aunt Song heard about what happened and chided me for not contacting her in time. She¡¯sing to visit you."


    Upon hearing the words ¡®Aunt Song,¡¯ goosebumps prickled my skin. The events that happened in the Song vige remained vivid in my head. "No, tell her not toe!"


    "I have no say on this," Song Xingchen shook his head.


    I sighed helplessly, hoping that her visit was really just that.


    While Lao Yao made his way to the station, the five of us discussed some infrastructure issues, that is, office space. Despite being an independent group outside of the city bureau¡¯s jurisdiction, we couldn¡¯t establish an office outside the city bureau as it would be inconvenient for us to utilize the bureau¡¯s resources. Additionally, we might seem unprofessional, much like an ordinary detective firm. Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t any space avable at the station.


    "Is it necessary to establish an office? Can¡¯t we just borrow the conference room when we hold our meetings?" suggested Bingxin.


    "It is necessary! First of all, someone aszy as Lao Yao should punch in every day. If we do have a case, then he¡¯ll be avable immediately. Secondly, as the cases add up, we¡¯ll have more files and require storage space. On top of that, we need our own armory, or at least a safe for our weapons!"


    "Wow, can I carry a gun as well?" asked Bingxin.


    "In theory, you can. But your father won¡¯t allow it,¡± chuckled Xiaotao.


    Bingxin appeared crestfallen.


    Song Xingchen interrupted, "If you expect me to be here nine to five, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t!"


    "Fine, your circumstances are special. Anyway, as soon as Song Yang shows up, you¡¯ll be there." Although Xiaotao was being sarcastic, her description was rather urate.


    The location of our office was a headache. The most practical solution was to get the other officers to vacate a room for us.


    "How about this? My dad says they¡¯ll be expanding the Jiang precinct in the near future. Shall we move there?" asked Bingxin.


    "No, it¡¯s inconvenient for me. I¡¯ll have to take the ferry to and from work."


    "Isn¡¯t the ferry fun?¡±ughed Bingxin. ¡°I¡¯d love to take the ferry!"


    Xiaotao suddenly bent over inughter. "I just imagined Song Xingchen with a pipe in his mouth, secretly protecting you from the water. It¡¯s hrious!"


    "You shouldn¡¯t tease him just because he doesn¡¯t speak much!" I retorted.


    While our attention was ced elsewhere, Wang Yuanchao had once again broken the rules. With a cigarette between his lips, he said, "We can go to the Armed Police Base. There¡¯s an empty room over there."


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that even farther? It¡¯s in the outskirts,"ined Xiaotao. "And why are you smoking again? Where¡¯s your sense of discipline!"

 Chapter 475

    <h4>Chapter 475</h4>


    After our discussion, Xiaotao suggested, "Since we can¡¯t find a ce, why don¡¯t we just create one?"


    "Build an office?" asked Bingxin.


    "That¡¯s right. After experiencing this incident, I think my dad wouldn¡¯t mind donating some money to the city bureau so we can construct another building next to this one and justifiably upy the first floor."


    "Wow, your dad¡¯s got deep pockets!" Bingxin shed two thumbs up.


    A few minutester, Lao Yao rushed in, looking like an indescribable mess. His head was tangled like beach kelp after a storm, shirt buttoned incorrectly, with one foot in a shoe and the other in flip-flops. He carried his breakfast in a paper bag, gasping for air as if he had run all the way here.


    ncing at her watch, Xiaotao remarked, "Just in time, not bad! Guys, give him a round of apuse."


    While Bingxin and Xiaotao pped their hands enthusiastically, Lao Yao scanned the room, taking a seat between Song Xingchen and me. As soon as he was seated, Lao Yao winked flirtatiously at Song Xingchen, "What¡¯s your name, handsome?"


    Song Xingchen replied coldly, "Fuck off!"


    Thus, Xiaotaomenced our first formal meeting, giving a general idea of our current case. Upon hearing the incidents that led up to our discovery, they were horrified and taken aback, especially Lao Yao and Bingxin.


    The urgent task at hand was to locate this club. We had three directions to start our investigation. The first was the bodyguardpany, which Wang Yuanchao was in charge of exploring. Next were the wealthy folk present for the club meeting, which Xiaotao would look into. Meanwhile, Song Xingchen and I were to locate the actual location of the club ording to Mr. Huang¡¯s description.


    Lao Yao would search for clues of the club on the Inte. Considering the hidden nature of the club, the Inte was undoubtedly most convenient for the organization¡¯s operations.


    On the other hand, Bingxin was tasked with testing the kidney to determine the victim¡¯s identity.


    After assigning our tasks, Xiaotao turned her attention to me.


    "Let me modify Bingxin¡¯s task. Do you still remember the human nails we found in Guihe Garden¡¯s soup dumplings two days ago?" I asked.


    "Another team has been ced in charge of the investigation. I hear they¡¯ve brought some people in for questioning," replied Xiaotao.


    "My intuition tells me that this case is somehow involved with the cannibal club. Bingxin, look for any connections between the two cases... Oh, never mind,¡± I changed my mind. ¡°I¡¯ll look into it. I¡¯m rather concerned about this case."


    "Alright then, that¡¯s it for the time being. I¡¯ll set up a WeChat group to facilitatemunication. Please share your contact information with each other to ensure that we have no problem contacting one another. We are now a special team so we must learn to cooperate with each other!" said Xiaotao.


    With that, Xiaotao, Bingxin and I headed to the forensicboratory. Unfortunately, the coroner didn¡¯t find any information from the fingernail. Because it was broken and cooked, extracting DNA from the fingernail proved even more challenging.


    The coroner pulled out physical evidence from the refrigerator. In fact, it wasmon for them to keep human organs in the refrigerator. At the sight of those bloody organs, my mind drifted to the cannibal club once more.


    Therey the soup dumpling and nail that we pieced together. It was aplete adult-sized nail with traces of trimming in the front section and lun on the base.


    I stared at this fingernail thoughtfully for a long time, unable to discern anything from it.


    "How did this fingernail get into the meat? Was it added into the meat before the wrapping process or after? Could it be a deliberate attempt of sabotage by theirpetitors?" Bingxin wondered out loud.


    Though unintentional, Bingxin¡¯s casual remark sparked a thought. "Yes, now that you mention it, can you check how long the meat was frozen?"


    The coroner took some samples and looked at them under a microscope. When cells were frozen and thawed, the damage would be inevitable. The severity of the damage could only be seen under a microscope. Upon examination, the coroner proceeded to test the cells with reagents. We waited patiently for the results.


    "It has been frozen for quite some time, at least a week," concluded the coroner.


    I nodded after getting the message.


    "Why do you ask if the pork was frozen?" asked Xiaotao.


    "In order to determine the time and ce of the victim¡¯s death!" I exined.


    "What?" Bingxin and Xiaotao eximed in unison.


    I smiled, "Bingxin¡¯s question reminded me that the fingernail was inserted into the meat. You¡¯ve all seen frozen meat. They¡¯re as hard as stone. It¡¯s impossible to get a fingernail in there. In other words, when this fingernail was added to the meat, the meat was still fresh. Since it was frozen for about a week, the victim was most likely killed a week ago."


    A week ago?


    Speaking of which, I suddenly remembered that the cannibal club held their activities once a week.


    "I see,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you thought of that! What about the location of the crime scene?"


    "I¡¯m not sure about that,¡± I admitted. ¡°But it¡¯s definitely not Guihe Garden. We did check the cold storage where the frozen meat was kept. ording to the manager, it was directly shipped from the meat factory, which makes it the most probable crime scene!"


    Xiaotao shook her head, "The people in the meat factory were repeatedly questioned and investigated by the police. There are no suspicious people or missing persons."


    "What?"


    Bingxin interjected, "What I¡¯m curious about is why the victim would ce his fingernail in the meat. What¡¯s their motive?"


    Upon picturing the scene and putting myself in the victim¡¯s shoes, I came to a realization, "That¡¯s because the victim wants to tell the world that he was murdered!"


    The two stared at me as I rubbed the corner of my eye, "This happens in many cases. The victims try their best to leave some clues, hoping to have someone like Song Ci redress their grievances. I guess the victim had nothing around him except for meat. Knowing that he was going to die, the only thing he could do was pull out a fingernail and stuff it into the meat."


    "Why choose such a painful method?" asked Bingxin.


    I nced at the coroner who was present since what I was going to say involved some inside information about the case.


    Gesturing for us to leave, I waited till we exited theb. "Because the victim knows there won¡¯t be a body..."


    "What!" the girls shouted.


    The gears in my head were put into motion. Like open floodgates, the crime scene emerged in my mind¨Ca naked man trapped with meat in a cold room. His limbs were frozen stiff. Well aware there wouldn¡¯t even be a corpse, he pulled out his nails and stuffed them into the meat, hoping to let the outside world know he had been murdered via his nails.


    The man¡¯s body disappeared, probably bing a pot of meat in the club, but the pork was sent to Guihe Garden and was made into soup dumplings. Why was there such an intersection? Was there a rtionship between Guihe Garden and the club? Obviously not. The ce where the victim was killed was a refrigerator truck. Temperatures in these refrigerators could reach 20 degrees below zero. Only if the victim¡¯s peripheral nerve waspletely frozen could he have pulled out his entire nail.


    At the thought of this, I quickly ordered, "Check the driver who transports the meat. I suspect he has a ¡®part-time job¡¯ like the security guard from the chicken farm!"

 Chapter 476

    <h4>Chapter 476</h4>


    Xiaotao went to check on the truck driver, while Song Xingchen and I searched for the location of the club.


    "What am I supposed to do?¡± asked Bingxin. ¡°There aren¡¯t any corpses to dissect."


    "Song Yang, find something for Bingxin to do!" instructed Xiaotao.


    Upon further contemtion, I suggested, "Could you please gather the recent missing person reports from each branch and look for potential victims?"


    "How would I do that?" Bingxin wasn¡¯t involved in the investigation of the human buns case.


    I chuckled, "Go with your stomach! Whoever looks the most delicious!"


    Thus, we went our separate ways. Song Xingchen and I took a cab to the outskirts. I circled the area, twirling the Autopsy Umbre searching for footprints. Despite stumbling upon some footprints, the surrounding area was empty due to the strong winds. The ground was covered in weeds and intermittent footprints.


    I had a map plug-in designed by Lao Yao on my cell phone which could connect to Baidu Maps. Every time I noticed something, I would mark my position. I discovered that Mr. Huang did circle the area for some distancest night, going back and forth many times.


    Eventually, I ran out of clues to follow. When I pulled up the map to check if there were any hills nearby, I found a hill range in the southwest. Because it was too deste, it didn¡¯t show up on the map.


    Calling Lao Yao, I ordered a search for any neighboring vis and otherndmarks and told him to send me the coordinates.


    On the other end of the line, Lao Yao hammered away at his keyboard. "There aren¡¯t any residences, but there is a Qingliang Temple. Would you like the coordinates?"


    "What about residential areas?" I asked.


    "Who the hell would build a residential area here? There aren¡¯t any!" replied Lao Yao.


    ording to Mr. Huang, one of the possible locations of the club was a vi in the hills. I instructed Lao Yao to take a second look. Was it possible for an unregistered building to exist in the vicinity? After hacking into the Ministry of Land and Resources¡¯ database, Lao Yao sent me some satellite images. Upon careful inspection, I found that there were no buildings.


    However, there was a faint reflection in one location when the photo was taken, probably around noon. Erging the image until it became pixted, I endeavored to figure out what it was. At this point, Song Xingchen interjected, "That¡¯s a buried antenna!"


    "A buried antenna?" I had never heard of this.


    "It¡¯s an antenna used in underground structures formunication with the outside world. This antenna isn¡¯t very long so it¡¯s not noticeable. During the stalemate with the Soviet Union, Aunt Song¡¯s father, Song Zhaolin of the martial Songs, served as a consultant in a secret department of the Ministry of National Defense and participated in the construction of underground fortifications. I¡¯ve seen drawings when I was little."


    "That is to say, there¡¯s a bomb shelter under this hill!" I eximed.


    As I recalled, Mr. Huang described sealed windows. Due to his ount, we initially assumed it was an above-ground building, but it turned out to be an underground one. There was nothing outside the windows; perhaps the windows weren¡¯t even real.


    However, I was interested to hear about my ¡®grandfather¡¯ from the martial Songs. "Is Song Zhaolin still alive?" I queried.


    "He disappeared during a ssified mission twenty years ago. Apparently, he died for our country. They made an exception and erected a cenotaph for him at the Mt. Bao Revolutionary Cemetery."


    "How unfortunate!" I sighed.


    We set out and arrived at the foot of the hill half an hourter. Although the image sent by Lao Yao gave an unobstructed view of the terrain, it was difficult to distinguish what exactly we were looking at. Making a thorough observation of our surroundings, Song Xingchen soon discovered footprints. We followed the trail of footprints that ended abruptly as if the man had disappeared into thin air.


    "There must be a secret door here!" remarked Song Xingchen.


    He pulled out his Tang Sword and inserted the de into a gap in the ground, using all his strength till the sword bent unnaturally. Worried he might break his sword, I said, "Don¡¯t bother. There may be some sort of mechanism or something. Let¡¯s look for it."


    Scanning the area with Cave Vision, I noticed a slight protrusion on the ground and dug away at the soil. There was a thick wire beneath that led all the way to a tree.


    By tapping the trunk, I discovered it was empty on the inside.


    Song Xingchen immediately walked over, sliced the bark with his sword and demolished it with his hand, revealing a switch that was installed inside the hollowed tree.


    This switch was so well hidden that I wondered, "Where¡¯s the power supply?"


    "This switch is merely used to open the door so all they need is a battery. Large underground shelters usually get their power supply by generating their own electricity," exined Song Xingchen.


    "How do you know so much about this?" The Song Xingchen I knew understood little about modern equipment.


    "Because there are such facilities in the Martial Song Vige,¡± answered Song Xingchen. ¡°Although the country is now peaceful, the martial Songs have been very cautious since ancient times and have prepared for the worst."


    If it weren¡¯t for our close friendship, Song Xingchen wouldn¡¯t have revealed such a confidential matter. I sighed to myself. It seems that the small vige isn¡¯t as simple as it looks.


    When I pulled the switch, the rumble of a hydraulic press came from beneath the ground as a gap gradually opened behind our feet. The secret door was extremely thick and heavy, made of reinforced concrete underneath and dirt on the top. The turf used as camouge was authentic.


    The stairs led to the bottom in the absence of light, though the darkness had no effect on us.


    The shelter had been rebuilt so its original purpose remained a mystery. Passing through a dreary corridor, we soon arrived at the ce that Mr. Huang described. The underground room was as luxurious as a vi, withrge chandeliers, indoor fountains, expensive furniture, and odd litter on the ground after the party.


    "No one¡¯s here. It looks like it was abandoned in a hurry,¡± I analyzed. ¡°These people are really cautious. Because Mr. Huang managed to escape, they immediately abandoned the entire facility.¡±


    I took special care not to disturb the footprints on the ground which were probably left by the guests and could be used as evidence. In the absence of tools, I pulled out my cell phone and began snapping photos.


    We stumbled upon a room that appeared to be an office. Upon entering, we were greeted with arge oak desk and aputer, a bookshelf on the side, and a disy stand opposite the shelf. A big tortoise shell protected by a square ss case stood proudly on disy.


    As I approached, I noticed abel written in English under the tortoise shell¨CHarriet (1842-2006).


    Who was Harriet and how did she live that long?


    Realization dawned upon me¨Cit was referring to the tortoise. A few years ago, there was a report about the death of Darwin¡¯s tortoise. Could the tortoise shell in front of me belong to it?


    The tortoise that witnessed the birth of Darwin¡¯s book ¡°On The Origin Of Species¡± was said to be the treasure of the Australian Zoo. On the day of its death, Darwin fans from all over the world mourned. Its shell was said to have been auctioned in Switzend¨Cthe first auction of animal bones in Swiss history, and the price must have been astounding.


    It seemed that the owner of this club was very wealthy and a big Darwin fan who believed in thew of the jungle.


    "Look at this!" Song Xingchen pointed out.


    In his hand was a small aluminum alloy card that had been ced under the ss top of the desk.


    This card was delicate, with a smiling skull wearing a chef¡¯s hat on the front, knife and fork in its hand.


    A machete covered in blood was engraved on the back.


    My heart skipped a beat. "The Jiangbei Daggers!"

 Chapter 477

    <h4>Chapter 477</h4>


    There was no mistake about that¨Cthis card was very simr to the one found on the Dog Trainer. Was this mastermind also a member of the organization, one on the same level as the Dog Trainer and the Infernal Bone Trader?


    After staring at it in a daze for a considerable amount of time, I kept the card in my pocket and turned to theputer. Unfortunately, a password was required to ess theputer so I removed the CPU, hoping Lao Yao could give us some informationter on.


    Song Xingchen and I left the study but found no clues in the other rooms. In an old, decrepit room, I noticed wine simr to the one that Mr. Mu brought home.


    We soon stumbled upon the kitchen which wasrge enough to house a family of three. On the right was a huge freezer, and on the left was an L-shaped counter with more utensils than a five-star hotel.


    In the middle of the room was the ss column described by Mr. Huang.


    It was filled with liquid and upon closer inspection, we could see floating particles such as hair and dead skin. The length of the hair suggested it belonged to a female.


    I couldn¡¯t help but mourn for the girl who was eaten that night!


    In ancient times, before human beings had formed the concept of the soul, they would cook the dead and feed on them due to theck of food. However, with the emergence of diseases caused by cannibalism and consciousness of the soul, human beings gradually abandoned this inhumane habit.


    Of course, certain backward tribes in Africa still practiced cannibalism decades ago.


    Cannibalism was something only the most ignorant, primitive barbarians could practice. It made me sick to think that these wealthy folk willingly partook in such a savage custom, using all kinds of eloquent words to justify their actions!


    At the cooking counter, I picked up one of the knives and sniffed. Then, pulling out a bottle of liquid, I dropped some fat-dissolving solution onto the knife and discovered the residual oils that came from human beings.


    These were all physical evidence pertinent to the case. I grabbed my cell phone and was about to make a phone call when I noticed there was no signal underground.


    Meanwhile, Song Xingchen found a metal funnel attached to a tube. Upon careful observation, I found food residue on the inner walls. Because the perpetrators fled in a hurry, the funnel hadn¡¯t been cleaned.


    cing it under my nose, I caught a whiff of several ingredients. "Beef, chicken, dairy product, eggs... They¡¯re all high-protein food.¡±


    Though faint, there were signs of corrosion at the end of the hose that was apanied by a horrible smell¨Cone that could only be found in a human being¡¯s stomach.


    This was most likely used to feed the victims. The tube was inserted all the way into the victim¡¯s stomach, then filled with ground food from the top of the funnel. Like ducks, the victims were cruelly force-fed.


    Putting aside the cruelty of their methods, it was clear that the victims were "reared" for quite some time¨Cat least half a month. These murderers wanted them plump and juicy!


    I proceeded with the freezer. Despite theck of a power supply, a gloomy cold draft wafted my way as soon as I opened the doors. Song Xingchen remained motionless at the door.


    "Aren¡¯t you going in?" I asked.


    "I¡¯ll wait for you here," he shook his head.


    I instantly understood his intention. If we went in together, someone could close the doors from outside, locking us in the freezer. Although the possibility of this wasn¡¯t high, Song Xingchen¡¯s vignce prevailed.


    At the thought of Xiaotao and my investigation of Guihe Garden, I realized how careless we were.


    There wasn¡¯t much in the freezer, just a few bags of vegetables printed in English¨Ccelery, tomatoes, asparagus and so on. the door. As I went deeper into the freezer, I came across a piece of meat spread apart by a stick hanging from a metal hook. At first nce, I thought it was amb spine, but with my knowledge of the human body, I recognized it was human.


    To be precise, a human¡¯s torso had been hollowed, with their limbs and head severed.


    Even someone with strong resistance like me subconsciously covered my mouth at the sight of it. The corpse had been carefully skinned so it looked as white as pigskin. The middle was opened with a stick, exposing the ribs, while the pelvis below had been removed...


    I noticed that the ribs were intact, without any scratches whatsoever, and the muscles were well preserved. No trauma could be found on the surface of the skin which suggested that whoever handled the body was well acquainted with human anatomy. Without a doubt, these sadistic animals viewed humans as food.


    There were several wooden boxes next to me which I opened using a crowbar. They were filled with ice cubes and two fresh human kidneys were buried within.


    In the other boxes were cleaned human intestines and lungs, and in another contained several bottles of frozen blood.


    What was more incredible was my subsequent discovery. Only after closer inspection did I realize that I was looking at human feces which were quite healthy as far as feces were concerned. I also noted the presence of undigested meat fibers.


    At the thought that they were ssified as ingredients, it took all my willpower not to vomit!


    I didn¡¯t think I could bear looking at this any longer. It was better left to disgust the technical support team.


    Exiting the freezer, I turned to Song Xingchen, "Let¡¯s get out of here first!"


    As we passed the living room, Song Xingchen suddenly cried, "There¡¯s something under the table!"


    I saw it as well. It was a long bag about the size of an adult. Could it be...


    Just as I wondered at what it was, the bag suddenly moved, much to surprise. My first reaction was to quickly examine it, but Song Xingchen stopped me, "Be careful! It could be a trap."


    "Alright."


    I began by poking the bag. And judging from the touch, it wasn¡¯t human, though the shape was very simr.


    At this moment, the bag moved once more. I jumped in fright.


    Slowly unzipping it, I soon discovered what it was when a head popped out¨Cit was an intable doll, but its body was constantly expanding as if it were filled with some kind of gas. In the blink of an eye, the doll was erected within the bag.


    "It¡¯s a trap, run!" shouted Song Xingchen.


    As soon as the words left his lips, the lights in the living flickered, causing dizziness and disorientation. Thud! The sound of some type of mechanism reverberated around the room and the air was filled with a pungent smell¨Cit was an incapacitating agent!


    When I finally recovered my sight, I noticed the fireproof doors all around us had closed. The doll remained spinning in the same ce, its seams cracking in session, spewing out gas from within. It turned out there was a pipe underneath the doll.


    "The pill..." Song Xingchen fell to his knees, supported by his sword as a porcin bottle rolled to my feet.


    Holding my breath, I immediately stuffed a pill into his mouth and swallowed another. It was some sort of muscle rxant which I identally inhaled. Even with the Mind Clearing Pill, I felt my limbs weakening.


    I knelt weakly on the ground when the doors were suddenly opened. A group of men in ck wearing gas masks marched in and lined up in two rows. A tall, bald man walked out with his hands behind his back, also wearing a gas mask.


    pping his hands dryly, he said, "Great Detective Song, I never expected to catch you!"


    "Who are you?" I bit the bullet.


    "I¡¯m known as the Crazy Six Tao Chef. I¡¯m a mid-level official of the organization. It¡¯s very nice to meet you!"

 Chapter 478

    <h4>Chapter 478</h4>


    Realization dawned upon me¨Cit was the Jiangbei Daggers! I had underestimated their courage and cunningness.


    Right now, we were twenty meters below ground. It was unlikely anyone woulde to save us. Beside me, Song Xingchen struggled to keep himself upright, supporting his body with his sword.


    "Did you kill the Dog Trainer?" demanded the Crazy Six Tao Chef.


    "If I said no, would you believe me?"


    The fact was, even if I revealed the truth, the organization wouldn¡¯t believe that the de Master killed the Dog Trainer. Unfortunately, I would have to shoulder the me.


    But even if it never happened, good and evil were on the opposite sides. Since the organization regarded me as a thorn in the flesh, they wouldn¡¯t spare me. At present, I was facing a death sentence.


    "Kill me or cut my flesh, just get over with it!" I coldly spat.


    The Crazy Six Tao Chef burst into manicughter, "You really don¡¯t understand my art. Revenge for my colleague or loyalty to the organization isn¡¯t something I care about. What I want is your intelligent brain. I¡¯m going to elevate it to the next level by using the best cooking methods. Then I¡¯ll taste and relish it as I integrate your wisdom with my body!"


    Even gritting my teeth became impossible with the weakness that washed over me. mes of hatred smoldered in my eyes as I stared venomously at him, though my heart was filled with helplessness.


    The Crazy Six Tao Chef gestured to his men, "Grab him but don¡¯t hurt him or the taste will be affected."


    Two men in ck strode towards us followed by loud exmations. Next thing I knew, there were two weapons stuck in their throats. The men covered their wound painfully and crumbled to the ground.


    "That¡¯s impossible!" shouted the Crazy Six Tao Chef.


    When I turned around, I watched Song Xingchen slowly rise to his feet as he drew his sword, the sharp de gleaming beneath the lights.


    "Kill him!"


    At the Crazy Six Tao Chef¡¯s orders, his bodyguards charged towards Song Xingchen who deftly jumped on the table and into the air. His sword diagonally sliced the frontmost bodyguard from the right shoulder to the left rib, and moved on to sever another man¡¯s head. Before the head could touch the floor, Song Xingchen had eliminated the third bodyguard.


    Song Xingchen¡¯s white figure resembled a snow lion. Wherever his de went, blood sttered like shing sheets of warm raindrops. I hoped to keep one of them alive for questioning but my lips wouldn¡¯t move.


    Fortunately, Song Xingchen wasn¡¯t lost in his murderous desire, leaving two men behind who fainted after being pounded on the head with his hilt. Meanwhile, the Crazy Six Tao Chef had escaped during the fight. Without further dy, Song Xingchen chased after him.


    Heart in my throat, I remained alone in the living room filled with blood and severed bodies.


    A whileter, Song Xingchen returned, removed the gas mask from the unconscious bodyguards, ced one on my face, and another on himself.


    With that, he pulled me out of the room since my limbs were still weak. Gathering all my energy, I asked, "How did you do that?"


    "Turtle Breath!"


    It suddenly dawned upon me that he had been holding his breath as soon as the poisonous gas was released.


    At least five minutes had passed from the moment I had been gassed until the Crazy Six Tao Chef came in with his bodyguards, chatted with me, and was attacked by Song Xingchen.


    How long could a person hold their breath?


    Three minutes? Five minutes?


    In fact, the world record was nine minutes and thirty-seven seconds, a feat achieved by a Russian man who managed to hold his breath under an Arctic cier without any equipment.


    Apparently, Yue Fei had a frogman general named Ruan Jilong, who was able to stay underwater for a long time, and this man practiced the Turtle Breath Technique.


    Although Song Xingchen wasn¡¯t skilled at Turtle Breath and only practiced it during his breathing exercise, it was more than enough training for him to hold his breath for ten minutes, which heter informed me.


    As soon as Song Xingchen helped me out of the underground facility, I urged, "Just leave me here. That guy couldn¡¯t have gotten far. Get him!"


    Dropping everything, Song Xingchen ran after the man. Meanwhile, I removed my gas mask and inhaled the fresh air. With the detoxification of the Mind Clearing Pill, I finally managed to move.


    A whileter, Song Xingchen reported, "He escaped! He had a car."


    "What sort of vehicle?" I asked anxiously.


    "I¡¯ve contacted Ms. Huang so the police can intercept him on the road." With that, he dropped to one knee.


    "What¡¯s the matter?" I asked in confusion.


    "I deliberately pretended to be affected by the gas because I was trying to draw information from the man. But I¡¯ve put you in danger. I¡¯m sorry," Song Xingchen hung his head.


    I smiled, "No, you did the right thing! You¡¯re not only my bodyguard, but also a member of the special team. I think you deserve a reward!"


    As for what the reward was, I reckoned a bonus from the bureau would suffice, despite the fact that Song Xingchen seemed uninterested in money.


    Acting quickly, Xiaotao informed the traffic and civilian police, ordering them to intercept a ck off-road vehicle. We waited here till about half an hourter when Xiaotao pulled up in front of us. Seeing me sitting listlessly on the ground, she chastised, "Geez, you get into trouble the moment I take my eyes off you! Are you injured?"


    "I¡¯m fine thanks to Song Xingchen. Otherwise, I might have be someone else¡¯s meal." I smiled bitterly.


    Upon greeting the officers on site, Xiaotao ordered for the two bodyguards who were knocked unconscious to be escorted to the station and interrogated as soon as they regained consciousness. As I had expected, the technical team vomited their guts out when they found the ingredients stored in the freezer by our murderer.


    I asked Xiaotao if there was any progress, to which she replied, "Wang Yuanchao has been busy. He¡¯s searched all the registered bodyguardpanies in the city but found nothing suspicious. As for the missing persons, we¡¯re still looking. What about you?"


    After I briefly exined my findings, Xiaotao queried, "Is it the organization again?"


    "No!" I shook my head. "I don¡¯t think so."


    "Why?"


    Both the Dog Trainer and the Infernal Bone Trader had an air of dominance every time they stepped into the room. Additionally, they were prepared to handle almost any situation which left their opponents at a loss.


    Compared to them, this bald man who called himself the Crazy Six Tao Chef was weak in both strategy and aura, and Song Xingchen easily defeated him. If the organization was this inept, it would have been long uprooted.


    However, these would remain conjectures until I caught the real murderer.


    At this time, Xiaotao received a phone call and eximed, "Damn it, he got away!"


    "What?" I wrinkled my brow.


    "The traffic police found the car on the side of the road in Fengxiang. The murderer abandoned his car and fled. I¡¯ve instructed the officers to drive the car back to the station for further investigation."


    When we returned to the station, the murderer¡¯s car was already parked in thepound. Putting on gloves and shoe covers, I climbed into the car and used seaweed ash to extract fingerprints from the steering wheel. I immediately noticed how fuzzy the fingerprints were.


    In the glovepartment was a box of inhibitory drugs and half a bottle of mineral water which must have been consumed by the murderer. There was a chance we could obtain his DNA.


    "This man leads by example. He has been consuming human flesh for so long that the toxins from human flesh have invaded his nerves so his hands often shake!"


    Yue Fei (1103-1142), Song Dynasty patriot and general.

 Chapter 479

    <h4>Chapter 479</h4>


    "Toxins in human flesh?" Xiaotao tossed me a questioning look.


    "When people are killed, they feel great fear, uneasiness and anger. These negative emotions are actually realized by the endocrine nds. When these hormones enter the blood, they form a sort of toxin. Long-term intake of said toxins is definitely harmful."


    "But if that¡¯s the case, wouldn¡¯t pigs and cows be the same?" Xiaotao asked.


    "Yes, which is why certain high-grade beef will euthanize their cattle while ying soothing music. However, animals don¡¯t secrete as many toxins when they die. Perhaps our nervous system is more developed or this is our creator¡¯s punishment for cannibalism.¡±


    "I think we should just be vegetarians!¡± Xiaotao tsked. ¡°Isn¡¯t it supposed to be good for you? Besides, you can lose weight!"


    Iughed, "I wouldn¡¯t like to be forced to be a vegetarian. Let¡¯s try to get rid of the poison in our bodies... Then again, you are not fat at all!"


    "Who says I¡¯m not fat?"


    Every time we spoke about the subject, Xiaotao would overreact by pointing out her supposed chubby areas and thick waist, going on and on in my ear. Girls were so sensitive about their own bodies.


    Upon opening the trunk, I carefully examined every nook and cranny but found nothing suspicious. As I leaned in, I caught a whiff of perfume, though very faint. I also found a strand of long hair within the cracks which indicated the car had been used to transport the victims.


    The hair was safely kept in an evidence bag so we could match it to the victimster on, if only there was still a body!


    When we entered the station, Bingxin immediately handed me a stack of files. "Here you go. These people look delicious!"


    As I scanned through the files, I noticed the missing persons selected by Bingxin were all good-looking, young and healthy which met the criteria. They were either white-cor workers, civil servants or business owners. I couldn¡¯t help making the connection¨Cwere good looking people given better opportunities because of our beauty-obsessed society?


    "You might be right,¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°Once, when we were recruiting officers, everyone unanimously rejected a horse-faced mustache man. But now that I think about it, his resume was actually pretty decent."


    "But I¡¯ve never felt that way,¡± argued Bingxin. ¡°I¡¯ve relied on my grades ever since I was a child."


    "Think about it, if you had a swollen face with e and a thick, manly waist, would Song Yang bother befriending you?" Xiaotao chuckled.


    "Hmph, all you have are big boobs and a perky bum, you dairy cow!" retorted Bingxin.


    "What are you dissatisfied about, Princess t-All-Over? Do you even have any womanly characteristics?"


    The girls began their eager personal attacks while I stood before them, unwilling to get involved. I knew it wasn¡¯t a serious argument.


    Returning to the subject, I analyzed, "These missing persons are all respectable people with high positions. Check for an intersection and we might be able to determine the area the murderer haunts..."


    Having said that, I paused in silence, the gears in my head turning. If Ipared this case to Chef Tang¡¯s, thettermitted the murders himself because he was merely the owner of a food stall. On the other hand, we were currently dealing with a powerful man, one that had numerous people working for him.


    Even if those bodyguards were well-paid, would hired men be willing to take risks working for such a dangerous man, regardless of their conscience?


    There seemed to be only one possibility¨Cthe bodyguards were personally trained by the Crazy Six Tao Chef.


    "Are the bodyguards awake?" I asked.


    "I¡¯ll have a look!" replied Xiaotao.


    When we entered the detention room, one of the bodyguards had awoken so we took him to the interrogation room. At first, he refused to speak and only relented after being stared at with the Eyes of Yama for ten whole minutes.


    As I expected, the murderer had his own bodyguardpany!


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a meaningful look. "So this involves a criminal gang."


    "What¡¯s thepany called?" I added.


    "D-Di Jiang!" Cold sweat dotted the bodyguard¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°Does thispany really exist?¡± I whispered to Xiaotao.


    Shaking her head, she hammered the table with her fist and roared, "I want the truth!"


    The bodyguard shivered, "That¡¯s what it¡¯s called."


    "What¡¯s thepany¡¯s address?" I asked.


    "I don¡¯t know. The boss doesn¡¯t allow us to go there,¡± he replied. ¡°We¡¯re given a monthly sry, and we¡¯re only called to work when the club has activities. Besides that, there¡¯s nothing else that needs to be done."


    "How much does he pay for you to willingly be part of something so unconscionable?" sneered Xiaotao.


    "It¡¯s not about the money.¡± A strange gleam shed in his eyes. "We agree with the boss¡¯s practice!"


    "What?!" At this point, Xiaotao could no longer remainposed.


    "Cannibalism!" The bodyguard smacked his lips, "My first taste of a human being was a girl¡¯s hand. Because we had eaten other weird things, I wasn¡¯t opposed to it at all. The hand had been steamed in a pressure cooker, then it was deep-fried in oil. It came out crispy and had a mouth-watering fragrance. When I bit into the bone, the juices from the bone marrow squirted onto my tongue. I had never eaten anything so delicious. I even saw her photo. She was a beautiful girl. Although she smelled delectable, I was still a little sad. But the boss said that real love for something is to eat it and make it a part of myself...¡±


    "Stop it!" Xiaotao mmed the table, her brows tightly knitted.


    Noticing the tattoo on his wrist, I asked, "What did you do before this?"


    "No one wants to hire a guy who¡¯s been to jail, but the boss took me in."


    Thus, he recounted the selection process. After being released from prison, hemitted little petty thefts here and there due to his inability to find a job. Eventually, one of the gang bosses found him and asked if he was interested in working as a bodyguard.


    Naturally, he agreed immediately. Without so much as an interview, he was hired. All he did was make a phone call before he was sent a debit card. Despite doing nothing, he received a monthly sry of 7,000 yuan without fail.


    Three monthster, he received a phone call about the pre-job training at an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts. He was surprised to find that the rest of the employees were much like himself: ex-prisoners. When the boss appeared, he gave a confusing speech which could be summed up in one sentence: ¡°Different roads lead to different destinations so I hope everyone has simr interests.¡±


    At the end of his speech, each employee was served a te of pangolin. As formerly incarcerated men, who cared about protecting animals? Hence, they happily dug into their food.


    The second session of their pre-job training was held a weekter. The boss repeated the same perplexing speech and then invited them to a big meal. This time, they ate raw monkey brains. The monkeys were ced under a hole in the table, their fur removed, skin opened and hot oil poured onto their brains. Then, the bodyguards dug into the brains with their spoons and relished a live monkey in groups of three.


    Throughout the entire ordeal, the monkeys screamed miserably, prompting protests from several of them. However, the boss threw his head back inughter, courteously inviting the protestors to leave, at the risk of losing their jobs of course.


    With the boss¡¯s mysterious ways, these men had long grown suspicious and several walked away at this point.


    Then came the third session of their pre-job training. This time, it was something no one had ever seen¨Ca huge golden-fried, pupa-shaped thing. Smiling, the boss introduced it as the Golden Grain Meal, that is, a girl¡¯s excrement!

 Chapter 480

    <h4>Chapter 480</h4>


    Upon hearing this, an officer threw up immediately, while the others hammered the table in anger, throwing the scene into chaos.


    The boss stood on the stage and sullenly said, "You can leave if you can¡¯t ept this. I won¡¯t force you to be myrades."


    About a third of them left, but this man was obviously a part of those who stayed. On one hand, he was reluctant to lose his monthly sry, and on the other hand, eating pangolins and monkey brains had presented him with a new understanding of eating. He wanted to taste this Golden Grain Meal that he had heard so much about.


    What he said next made both Xiaotao and I so disgusted we couldn¡¯t stomach lunch. He described the Golden Grain Meal in detail, iming itpletely overturned his impression of food.


    "It turns out you can even eat that sort of thing! My previous understanding of food was much too shallow. The boss is simply the greatest foodie in the world!" said the bodyguard as he drooled. "By the way, the Golden Grain Meal is excreted by a girl who¡¯s fed only tomatoes for a week..."


    "That¡¯s enough!" Xiaotao waved impatiently. "Skip that, please. Tell us how the next training session went."


    During the fourth session, he was finally served a girl¡¯s hand. As soon as the cloche was opened, these grown men started screaming in horror at the different body parts they were assigned.


    The boss gave yet another speech that was all smoke and mirror, basically advocating the consumption of human flesh. In his words, forbidden foods were the ultimate delicacy.


    This time, only three men chose to leave while the others epted it without much difficulty, having passed the previous three tests.


    Then came the fifth and final pre-job training session. With a wicked grin, the boss announced, "Congrattions, you¡¯ve all be myrades. I won¡¯t give a speech today. Instead, I¡¯ll let the food do the talking!"


    The curtains behind him slowly opened, revealing a bunch of chefs who were slicing vegetables. There were severalrge cages holding naked men. Soon, they recognized their pastpanions who had left halfway through training. Like livestock, they had been raised plump and juicy.


    Since the boss said they could choose whatever dish they wanted, this bodyguard went with the freshest option¨Csashimi. A piece of tender thigh meat was ced before him, with dip on the side, stimting his salivary nds. Without the slightest bit of guilt, he savored a sumptuous spread of human flesh.


    These men were finally qualified to be the boss¡¯s confidants and participated in maintaining the order of the club. After each dinner party, the remaining delicacies were used to reward them.


    At the end of the bodyguard¡¯s narrative, Xiaotao and I were bereft of speech. Furrowing her brows, Xiaotao took a sip of tea while I continued the interrogation. "What¡¯s your boss¡¯s name?"


    "Crazy Six Tao Chef," he proudly replied.


    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t know much about the inner workings of the club, including the origin of those victims. Thus, Xiaotao instructed the officers to escort him back to the holding cell.


    Xiaotao was still deeply nauseated even after leaving the interrogation room. "This guy is too cautious. He brainwashes his men before using them."


    "No, it¡¯s not exactly brainwashing, he¡¯s preaching!"


    Xiaotao stared nkly at me, "Isn¡¯t that the same thing?"


    "What the Dog Trainer does is brainwashing. He himself doesn¡¯t believe in what he teaches. However, the Crazy Six Tao Chef believes more than anyone else that cannibalism is the right way. He not only requires obedient men but also their approval,¡± I exined. ¡°In fact, everyone needs a sense of belonging. For example, if you like an unpopr TV series or anymodity, you might go online to find like-minded people. Like Chef Tang, this man not only has a unique diet but also hopes everyone will ept it. But what makes him more terrifying and formidable than Chef Tang is his vast resources allow him to satisfy his abnormal hobby."


    "To put it bluntly, he can do whatever the hell he wants. I wonder how he makes his money.¡±


    "Well, that¡¯s a question for Mr. Huang," I chuckled.


    This man was very adept at training people and had contacts for locating ex-prisoners. I suspected he really ran a bodyguardpany that dealt in both legal and criminal businesses.


    This was definitely a job for Lao Yao!


    Over the next two days, we identified five or six victims with the help of various jurisdictions and DNA from the body parts. In Xiaotao¡¯s words, our current methods were considered making an outward appearance as opposed to substantial work, that is, investigative methods that led to arrests.


    Meanwhile, Lao Yao had his hands full with hacking into the internal personnel database of all the bodyguardpanies in Nanjiang City. He found arge number of non-resident extra personnel in a database titled ¡°Tieying Special Bodyguard Company,¡± headed by a man named Yang Xingdong.


    When we went to search thepany, we found that Yang Xingdong had absconded and transferred all his assets to Swiss banks. The employees were still unaware that thepany had be an empty shell and were working in an orderly manner.


    "As soon as there¡¯s a hint of trouble, he runs. If this coward is really the Crazy Six Tao Chef, I¡¯ll write my name the other way round!"


    "Leave the rest to me!¡± Xiaotao pped her hands. ¡°I¡¯ll inform the other jurisdictions. With our system for identifying all citizens, he won¡¯t be able to leave Nanjiang City."


    "By the way, what are you going to do with the wealthy folk who have been participating in this club?"


    Xiaotao sighed, "At most, cannibalism is considered the crime of desecrating corpses, and the punishment isn¡¯t heavy. Anyway, these people can afford bail so they¡¯ll probably escape punishment."


    "That¡¯s not the point,¡± I said. ¡°They can¡¯t ingest foreign proteins like us. Yang Xingdong¡¯s trick is actually rather ingenious, tempting others to embark on the road of evil. Who knows, perhaps Nanjiang City will have another cannibalistic madman in a few years."


    "Those people have to receive physical and mental therapy!" Speaking of this, she smiled sweetly, "The perks of our special team reallyes in handy! We don¡¯t need to go through the application process."


    Thus, Bingxin contacted medical experts for their help. In order to cooperate with the research, Xiaotao and I contributed blood samples and urine samples. Unfortunately, even the experts failed to crack this poison. From the tests, the drug acted directly on the nerves of the hypothmus that responded to taste. In martial arts novels, every poison had a cure but reality, that wasn¡¯t always so.


    An expert suggested I try blood dialysis, but I put off treatment for the time being due to fear of the pain. Going vegetarian for a few more days wasn¡¯t a problem at all.


    On a certain day when I was sorting out stock in the store, I received a call from Xiaotao. "Song Yang,e down to the station at once. A distinguished guest ims he can help us catch Yang Xingdong."


    "Which expert are we talking about?"


    Xiaotao grinned, "You¡¯ll never guess. Interpol!"

 Chapter 481

    <h4>Chapter 481</h4>


    I tore hell for leather to the station where the members of the special team had already gathered.


    In their midst was a middle-aged man wearing sses and a suit. Upon noticing me, his lips curled amiably as he reached out his hand, "I have heard a lot about you. I am Louis Liu, an agent with the FBI."


    From his bodynguage, I could tell he was Chinese American.


    "Hello, I¡¯m Song Yang, a small consultant with the bureau."


    "You don¡¯t have to be modest, Mr. Song,¡± he chuckled. ¡°I have heard all about the bloody haunted house and the case involving the celebrity."


    Almost unable to believe my ears, I wondered, how did my story spread abroad?


    Bingxin giggled, "It¡¯s all thanks to my dad and Uncle Cheng. There was a Sino-American police exchange. They took several of your cases as examples."


    "Great work! I have to say, they¡¯re both textbook criminal investigations!" Louis Liu flipped a thumbs up.


    Validation from an FBI agent had me grinning from ear to ear.


    I used to think FBI agents were all attractive and eye-catching like special agents, but Louis looked just like any ordinary white-cor worker. Taking his seat, Louis connected hisptop to the projector and began, "The suspect you¡¯re after is actually an international wanted criminal. This man has killed a Japanese woman in California.¡±


    Lao Yao rested his head on his hands, a lopsided grin rising to his lips. "He killed one person and he¡¯s an international wanted criminal? Why the special treatment?"


    "There¡¯s a saying in China that you shouldn¡¯t air your dirtyundry in public so I hope you can keep this confidential. He¡¯s involved in an illegal organization which is rted to the famous Darwin," exined Louis.


    While our brains stuttered to ept the news he dropped on us, Louis fiddled with hisptop and an insignia was projected onto the white screen¨Ca coat of arms with wild animals on the inside, a knife and a fork, as well as a line in English below.


    Among us, Lao Yao was most fluent in English because he often wrote software. "Cambridge Gourmet Club?¡± he tranted. ¡°What¡¯s that?"


    That was my reaction exactly. I assumed it was a transnational criminal organization, yet its name was so ordinary.


    "This organization can be traced back to 1828..."


    As we all knew, Darwin was a great biologist but he had a hidden identity¨Ca gourmet.


    When Darwin entered Cambridge in 1828, he joined a secret club, the gourmet club. The members were all aristocratic children. The club promoted the idea that everything in the world could be eaten, thus collecting rare animals from all over to taste them before they became extinct.


    In fact, they consumed all sorts of extinct animals. Once, they obtained an owl that reeked so bad no one dared to taste it, except for Darwin who ate with relish. He had an extraordinary understanding of eating and believed that taste was a part of all things. Therefore, eating any creature was pertinent to truly understand it.


    As a matter of fact, he personally tasted most of the animals which he wrote in his book. Darwin could be said to be an unprecedented gourmet, and because of his reputation, he was made a permanent honorary member of the club.


    This club had always existed. After World War II, the world began to step up on animal protection, rendering their practices a crime. Thus, the club moved underground and was divided into two branches, one in Ennd and the other brought by America by immigrants.


    Yang Xingdong secretly joined the club when studying in America. Having heard about China¡¯s rich cooking history of over 5,000 years, everyone weed the Chinese man. Additionally, many wild animals could be obtained in China.


    Yang Xingdong asionally brought pangolins, civets and other animals via certain channels to share with club members. The club had opened up a whole new world for him, but he was unsatisfied with eating only rare animals.


    ording to various clues pieced together by the FBI, Yang Xingdong was an indulgent student in his youth. He once hired a Japanese prostitute. It was unknown what transpired during the affair, but the two had an argument which ended with Yang Xingdong killing her in anger.


    A weekter, Yang Xingdong prepared a delicious meal for everyone at the club! The members had tasted all sorts of meat, but not this one. At the end of their meal, Yang Xingdong finally revealed they had consumed human flesh.


    To everyone¡¯s horror, Yang Xingdong loudly dered human flesh as the most delicious delicacy in the world and scoffed at the meat they usually ate. What he said was, ¡°Now that you¡¯ve tasted human flesh, you won¡¯t be able to go back to that rubbish you call food! Join me in pursuing the ultimate delicacy!¡±


    Even if they had eaten all sorts of rare animals, no one could ept such avant-garde ideas. Several members even threw up on the spot. Under pressure from his guilty conscience, a member eventually turned himself into the police. As a result, the club was disbanded.


    At the first signs of trouble, Yang Xingdong immediately fled back to China. This incident shocked the animal protection organizations and the FBI who immediately intervened in the investigation. These gourmets were sentenced for their crimes. The FBI contacted the Chinese police, hoping to arrest Yang Xingdong. Unfortunately, his whereabouts remained unknown until Louis came across the wanted notice issued by us. In order to cooperate with our investigation, he flew out to China first thing.


    Louis shook his head, "I never expected things to turn out like this. Yang Xingdong has really degenerated into a man-eating demon."


    "No wonder he worships Darwin. It¡¯s because of his background."


    Lao Yao bluntly interjected, "You won¡¯t help us by sharing stories. Show us some advanced equipment from the FBI!"


    If Louis were a handsome man, Lao Yao would certainly reign in that attitude.


    Louis smiled, "In fact, we¡¯re just ordinary agents, not as fascinating as what you see in Hollywood movies. But we have investigated Yang Xingdong for many years so I may have some information that can help you."


    The data projected on the white screen was all written in English. Louis exined that Yang Xingdong actually switched identities several times. He came from a middle-ss family but got rich quick and all of a sudden. We could begin by investigating the source of his funds and use the information the FBI had.


    "Alright, let¡¯s get to it then,¡± instructed Xiaotao. ¡°Bingxin, here¡¯s a task for you. Agent Liu hase all the way so you should take him out for a good meal. I¡¯ll reimburse youter."


    "Why me?¡± protested Bingxin. ¡°Is it because I¡¯m the only idle one in the team?"


    "As far as our current investigation is concerned, you are indeed!" admitted Xiaotao.


    As an American, Louis was very direct. Upon hearing Xiaotao¡¯s words, his eyes shone with excitement, "I have long heard about the famous Sichuan hotpot in China. I would like to try it if I can."


    Bingxin¡¯s expression did a 180 as she jumped up eagerly. "I love that! Chongqing Hotpot City serves a really delicious Sichuan hotpot! It¡¯s just across the station."


    Drooling with envy, Lao Yao raised his hand and asked, "Ma¡¯am, can I be given this glorious and arduous task?"


    "You¡¯re toote!" Xiaotao smirked.


    As a self-proimed foodie, Louis ecstatically debated which hotpot soup base was the best. As soon as Bingxin and Louis left the room, I voiced my doubts, "Is he really an FBI agent? All of a sudden, we have the FBI! Why do I feel like we¡¯re in a movie?"


    "He has the official documents and certificates. Don¡¯t worry, I even called to confirm his identity," assured Xiaotao.


    "Our first case and we¡¯re working with an international agent! But why didn¡¯t they send a handsome guy... "mented Lao Yao.

 Chapter 482

    <h4>Chapter 482</h4>


    Tracing capital flow was an extremely tedious task since a sum of money may pass through dozens of transactions in a year. Since this wasn¡¯t the sort of task I could help with, Xiaotao and Lao Yao turned to the rest of the force.


    With nothing to do, the three of us sat listlessly in the conference room. I yed with my cell phone while Song Xingchen hugged his sword as hezily looked out the window, appreciating the autumn scenery. As usual, Wang Yuanchao was drinking.


    He suddenly rolled up his sleeve and ced his arm on the table. "Come, let¡¯s have a match."


    Song Xingchen couldn¡¯t be bothered to spare him a nce.


    "Are the flowery fists and fancy footwork any use, or are you just a weak-limbed little boy?" goaded Wang Yuanchao.


    "Flowery fists?" Song Xingchen sneered, "You know nothing."


    "Then let¡¯s have a match!" Wang Yuanchao dared in a disy of valiance.


    Song Xingchen nced at me, to which I nodded, "As long as there are no hard feelings between the two of you."


    Arm on the table, Song Xingchen grasped Wang Yuanchao¡¯s hand. At the count of three, both men exerted strength at the same time. The veins on Wang Yuanchao¡¯s muscr arm bulged but Song Xingchen made it seem effortless.


    The two wrestled for five whole minutes when beads of sweat started to appear on Wang Yuanchao¡¯s forehead. The table below rattled. It was Song Xingchen¡¯s profound internal skills against Wang Yuanchao¡¯s brute force. Afraid they would get into trouble, I urged, "Alright, that¡¯s enough!"


    Both men turned a blind eye, gaze fixed on each other. To my surprise, there was vapor emitted from Song Xingchen¡¯s forehead; it turned out he was sweating.


    Crack! Right then, one of the legs broke so the oak table tilted to one side. They stood up at once, eyes still riveted on each other. Just when I thought they might break out in a fight, Wang Yuanchao smiled and bumped Song Xingchen on the shoulder, "You¡¯re good! I give up."


    "No, you¡¯re very strong. Right now, you¡¯re relying on pure brute force, but if you practice internal skills for a few years, I¡¯m afraid I would be no match for you!" Song Xingchen politely replied.


    Much to my relief, the match ended on an amicable note. Xiaotao returned, staring open-mouthed at the devastation before her. "All I did was leave for a few seconds and you¡¯ve managed to destroy the table. Wang Yuanchao, that¡¯ll be deducted from your sry."


    "Whatever!" Wang Yuanchao took a sip from his hip sk, eliciting yet another dirty look from Xiaotao.


    "Did you have anything?" I turned to Xiaotao.


    "A bunch of messy ounts but we managed to trace a sum of money back to its origin, and guess who it is? It¡¯s someone you know," hinted Xiaotao.


    "Your dad?" I looked up curiously.


    "Of course not! It¡¯s Mr. Mu."


    ording to Lao Yao¡¯s search, one of Mr. Mu¡¯spanies transferred arge sum of money to Yang Xingdong three years ago, which was rather odd since the two shouldn¡¯t have known each other at the time.


    No wonder Mr. Mu fled as soon as he heard about the incident. It turned out they had such a connection which I never expected.


    While Lao Yao continued to investigate Yang Xingdong¡¯s ounts, the rest of us would head to Mr. Mu¡¯s vi.


    "If I leave the two of you here, you might just tear down the office. You might as welle along with us!¡± Xiaotao said, turning to Wang Yuanchao and Song Xingchen.


    Thus, the four of us climbed into Xiaotao¡¯s car and headed out. We had three stops¨CMr. Mu¡¯spany, his current residence, and the home he shared with his ex-wife, Madam Li.


    Xiaotao consulted me on our first stop, so I said, "I¡¯m guessing he¡¯s stayed in that vi for the longest time. Let¡¯s head there first!"


    "You¡¯re not thinking about that young woman, are you?"ughed Xiaotao.


    Because the progress of our investigation had me in a good mood, I couldn¡¯t help myself from teasing, "Now that you mention it, I would like to see that flirtatious young woman again!" My little joketed me a yful punch on the chest.


    Half an hourter, we arrived at Mr. Mu¡¯s vi. ustomed to a life of debauchery, Mrs. Mu slept during the day and enjoyed herself at night. We stood at the door and rang the bell for a considerable amount of time before the young woman showed up, leaningnguidly against the door frame with an eyebrow arched. "Hey, it¡¯s you again, Officer Huang. Lao Mu hasn¡¯t been back yet."


    "No, we¡¯d like to search his residence. I hope you¡¯ll cooperate."


    Mrs. Mu weed us into her home, those amorous eyes sweeping over Wang Yuanchao and Song Xingchen. "I have to say, the police are all such fine specimens. Would you like something to drink?"


    "No thank you, we¡¯re on official duty."


    Song Xingchen and I searched the bedroom while Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao covered the study. Unfortunately, we found nothing even after looking through every nook and cranny. Xiaotao removed the books on the shelf and went through every single one but found no clues to prove their connection.


    Standing at the door with a ss of champagne in her hand, Mrs. Mu asked, "What are you looking for? Did Lao Mumit a crime?"


    "I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t disclose that," answered Xiaotao.


    "You guys are so boring. What¡¯s there to hide? Isn¡¯t it the same old stuff? I know exactly how the rich are. The old man started from scratch and his hands are definitely dirty," Mrs. Mu nonchntly remarked.


    "Do you know something?" I asked.


    Mrs. Mu shook her head, "I do, but I won¡¯t say it unless..." She shed Wang Yuanchao a devious smile, "This officer will apany me for a drink."


    "You¡¯ve picked the right man. Wang Yuanchao, take it easy," said Xiaotao.


    Mrs. Mu pulled out a bottle of brandy from her husband¡¯s private collection. ncing at the liquor cab, I was suddenly inspired. After a drink with Wang Yuanchao, she began, "Do you know why Lao Mu and his ex-wife separated?"


    "Isn¡¯t it because of you?" Xiaotao said.


    "No. In fact, his ex-wife went missing..."


    We were surprised to hear that when Mr. Mu came to Nanjiang City in the 1980s, he was a poor rural boy who waited at restaurants and washed toilets, before being hired by a real estatepany.


    His ex-wife was the boss¡¯ daughter, so it took all his efforts to pursue her. Later on, during the real estate business boom, Mr. Mu joined the ranks of the top one percent in Nanjiang City with the help of his shareholders and his father-inw, from whom he inheritedpany shares after his death.


    Despite the glory outside, he was now under the control of his ex-wife at home. Fearing he might fool around, she even sent detectives to follow him. Every day, she would check his urine samples to see if he was cheating.


    Day in, day out of this sort of life frustrated Mr. Mu. He repeatedly filed for divorce but was threatened by his ex-wife. If he wanted a divorce, he could forget about a single penny!


    Five years ago, Mr. Mu¡¯s wife suddenly disappeared. After two years of investigation, the police dered her dead. Thus, Mr. Mu inherited everything and walked away a new man. However, he always imed they were divorced and he married the current Mrs. Mu as a cover.


    Upon listening to her story, Xiaotao eximed, "That¡¯s what my dad said as well!"


    Mrs. Mu smiled, "The whole thing is suspicious. His ex-wife just disappeared into thin air."


    ¡°Well aren¡¯t you kind!" mocked Xiaotao.


    "Isn¡¯t it the duty of every citizen to report a crime?" sheughed.


    When Xiaotao told Mrs. Mu to leave the room, thetter dawdled, taking her sweet time chatting up Wang Yuanchao before walking away.


    In connection with the nature of this case, my heart sank, "Disappeared into thin air... Could his ex-wife have been..."


    Xiaotao nodded, "I think so! But we might not find any evidence."


    I approached Mr. Mu¡¯s private liquor cab and picked up the three bottles of liquor that he forbade others to touch. The bottle of Lafite felt a little off, as if there was something inside.


    Without the slightest hesitation, I smashed the bottle against the cold, hard floor. A tape sealed in a stic bag fell out of the bottle. "It seems he kept a souvenir!"

 Chapter 483

    <h4>Chapter 483</h4>


    We managed to find an old DVD yer in the house. As soon as we yed the tape, blurry silver lines shed across the screen and then a video popped out.


    The location of the video appeared to be a secret room. Mr. Mu was sitting on the couch. "Have you disposed of it?" he asked.


    "Don¡¯t worry,¡± assured another man. ¡°I called you here today to discuss it." Though the man didn¡¯t appear in the video, his voice was one I was familiar with. Song Xingchen and I exchanged a knowing look. "It¡¯s him!"


    This other man in the video was Yang Xingdong who called himself the Crazy Six Tao Chef.


    "The police are still investigating me. You¡¯d better clean it up or we¡¯ll both be implicated," came Mr. Mu¡¯s impatient reply.


    "Mr. Mu, in fact, I¡¯m not a professional killer..."


    "What?!"


    "I am an artist, a gourmet! Killing your wife is a job too crude for me! I called you here today in hopes that you would participate in a sacred ceremony, which will bring you back to life. I know you have been living in the shadow of that woman and you can¡¯t lift your head up high. She¡¯s part of your waking nightmares. Can you get rid of her simply by killing her? No, she¡¯ll only be a ghost that¡¯ll haunt you forever!"


    "What the hell are you trying to say?!" shouted Mr. Mu.


    "Please wait a moment."


    The sound of wheels turning reverberated around the room. At the sight of the huge steamer rack that was wheeled into the room, Mr. Mu shrank back in fear and asked, "What is this?"


    "Your nightmare."


    Yang Xingdong opened the steamer and there his ¡°nightmare¡± was, a fat middle-aged woman kneeling in the center, her fleshy body white and glistening under a gauze-like cloth.


    Outside the video, Xiaotao covered her mouth in disgust.


    Mr. Mu cried hysterically, "You¡¯re crazy! You¡¯re a fucking lunatic!"


    "Mr. Mu, I¡¯m trying to help you." Yang Xingdong sincerely urged, "To defeat your nightmare, you must absorb and assimte it till it bes part of you. This process is delicious and unforgettable. I fed her spices for seven days, soaked her entire body with the best wine, and then steamed her over a slow fire for two days and two nights. Every bone in her body is soft and chewy. This is my best work of art, and I¡¯m offering it to you."


    "You¡¯re crazy! You madman! Get the hell away from me!"


    Frenziedly grabbing the objects on the table, Mr. Mu threw them at Yang Xingdong.


    "Mr. Mu.¡± Yang Xingdong held his wrist and stared intently into his eyes. ¡°If you don¡¯t eat every single bit of this woman and the police find even a strand of hair, you¡¯re going to be arrested."


    Yang Xingdong pulled a piece of flesh from the woman, gulping it down as he sighed contentedly. "A taste that touches the soul!"


    "Why do you have to use such methods..." cried a shivering Mr. Mu.


    "I already told you, I am an artist. Since you¡¯ve hired me, I¡¯ll solve your problem with my own methods." Then, with his arm around Mr. Mu¡¯s back, he pointed to the corpse and persuaded, "Look, this tigress is still staring at you. You¡¯re so afraid of her you won¡¯t even look at her even after she¡¯s dead."


    "I-I..." Mr. Mu¡¯s forehead was soaked in cold sweat, his eyes suddenly shining, "I¡¯m not afraid of you!"


    Like a man who had lost his mind, he pounced on his ex-wife, crazily stuffing her flesh into his mouth as Yang Xingdong watched, throwing his head back in derangedughter.


    At this point, Xiaotao hit fast forward, quickly going through the rest of the video that was filled with horrifying pictures.


    After a long silence, I said, "This pervert practices what he preaches!"


    "But how did this video get to Mr. Mu?" asked Xiaotao.


    "I think he was ckmailed."


    So Mr. Mu first hired Yang Xingdong to murder his wife, but he never imagined such a turn of events. Yang Xingdong filmed him eating his wife and ckmailed him with the video afterwards.


    Mr. Mu had to pay through the nose, perhaps quite a few times till he finally purchased the video. Therge sum of money became Yang Xingdong¡¯s start-up capital for hispany.


    But why would Mr. Mu hold onto such incriminating evidence? Perhaps undergoing Yang Xingdong¡¯s baptism changed Mr. Mu from inside out. The process of eating his wife, bite by bite, was regarded as a ceremony for reinventing himself, and he was unwilling to destroy evidence of that.


    Tapping her hand on the remote control, Xiaotao sighed, "Looks like my dad has lost yet another friend."


    Mr. Mu was eventually arrested by the police trying to leave the country. Upon learning about this, Mr. Huang was deeply saddened, but even that couldn¡¯t swerve him from eagerly buying up Mr. Mu¡¯spany. The notions of these bigwig businessmen were beyond the reach of an ordinary man such as myself.


    "Let¡¯s try looking for more clues. The location of the video is probably a secret hiding ce, which may lead us to Yang Xingdong!"


    "You¡¯re right,¡± nodded Xiaotao. ¡°Get Wang Yuanchao in here!" Then, turning to Song Xingchen, she chuckled, "Hey handsome, will you please apany the youngdy?"


    Song Xingchen simply fiddled with the hilt of his Tang Sword, turning a deaf ear to Xiaotao¡¯s words.


    Well aware of Song Xingchen¡¯s nature, I told him to guard outside the study and prevent Mrs. Mu from peeping. When Wang Yuanchao returned, the three of us turned our attention to the video once more.


    "Stop!¡± eximed Wang Yuanchao as he pointed to a spot in the video. ¡°There¡¯s moss at the foot of the wall. It looks like a basement. There¡¯s ayer of white saline and alkaline. Wherever this is, the soil here is extremely alkaline."


    "The light shes every three seconds,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Is the voltage unstable?"


    "There must berge machines running nearby," surmised Wang Yuanchao. "Once every three seconds... What could that be?" Upon further contemtion, he ventured, "Could it be an automobile factory? As far as I recall, they haverge machines that have that frequency."


    "Let¡¯s check it out!" said Xiaotao.


    Ten minutes after a phone call to Lao Yao, he called back and reported, "There¡¯s an electroting factory in the northern outskirts which closed down five years ago. It¡¯s built on saline-alkali soil... It looks like someone has purchased thend."


    "Who is it?"


    "Mr. Mu!"


    "That must be it!¡± dered Xiaotao. ¡°Let¡¯s go!"


    Xiaotao ordered Bingxin to mobilize a team of officers while the four of us rushed to the old electroting factory. Outside the abandoned factory site, we joined forces with the rest of the team. Upon alighting the vehicle, Louis insisted on taking Yang Xingdong into his custody after the arrest.


    "No way,¡± refused Xiaotao. ¡°Yang Xingdong is a citizen of our country. He hasn¡¯t joined the United States and cannot be handed over to the American police."


    Louis merely shrugged, "Fine, I¡¯ll negotiate with your boss then!"


    "If I say no, that means no. The special team doesn¡¯t have a superior."


    As Louis angrily red at Xiaotao, Lao Yao gave a thumbs up. "You¡¯re a tough woman indeed!"


    We managed to obtain a blueprint of the electroting factory from the person in charge. There was a basement under the workshop. As soon as we entered the premises, an officer shouted, "Someone¡¯s there!"


    A glimpse at the fleeting figure was all I needed to recognize our man, Yang Xingdong. "Get him!" I ordered.


    Under siege by the police, the self-proimed gourmet lost all semnce of elegance as he fled in a hurry. We intercepted him in the workshop where Xiaotao fired her gun into the sky and yelled, "Yang Xingdong, you are surrounded. Surrender now!"

 Chapter 484

    <h4>Chapter 484</h4>


    A desperate Yang Xingdong screamed in panic, "Youymen will never understand."


    "Understand what? That eating human flesh is an elegant art?" I scoffed contemptuously.


    Yang Xingdong threw his head back inughter. "After tens of thousands of years of human evolution, human beings are the best ingredients in the world. This is what I, the Crazy Six Tao Chef, believe. One day, all mankind will ept the fact! My only sin is that I was born at the wrong time."


    "Crazy Six Tao Chef?¡± I stared at him in disgust. ¡°That¡¯s enough bragging!"


    "I am the Crazy Six Tao Chef! I am the Crazy Six Tao Chef!" With arms raised, Yang Xingdong shouted hysterically.


    "Why bother reasoning with him!"


    Xiaotao waved her hand,manding the team to slowly shrink the encirclement. Although the special team was given the authority to kill criminals on the spot, catching them alive was still the better option. As we slowly approached, Yang Xingdong realized it was the end of the road so he fell to his knees with his hands in the air.


    When Wang Yuanchao finally pped the handcuffs onto Yang Xingdong¡¯s wrists, Xiaotao dered, "It¡¯s over. Case closed! Let¡¯s all go for hotpot, my treat!"


    As we all cheered, a wisp of peculiar fragrance floated into my nose. Having smelt it as well, the others wondered out loud, "What is it?"


    "Hold your breath!" ordered Song Xingchen.


    As soon as the words left his lips, each and every officer fell to the ground like corpses, except for one man who stood unwavering¨Cit was Louis Liu. His lips were bent in a hair-raising smile as the strange fragrance floated from him.


    "Who the hell are you!" demanded Xiaotao.


    Song Xingchen pulled out his Tang Sword, but at this moment, twosers shot through the dust, locking onto Xiaotao and my head.


    "Don¡¯t move,¡± said Louis. ¡°I¡¯m not here for you, but if you try to stop me, my friend will shoot."


    Gritting his teeth, Song Xingchen stopped right in front of him.


    "Song Yang, my master has asked me to say hello to you!" Louis turned to me.


    "And who is he?"


    A card sliced through the air andnded in front of me. It was just like the one I found on Yang Xingdong¡¯s desk.


    "The Crazy Six Tao Chef!" announced Louis.


    "It¡¯s him! My idol!" Yang Xingdong shouted. "I knew he woulde to me. All I have done is to pay tribute to him. Hahahahaha, you¡¯ll never arrest me!"


    Louis slowly sauntered towards Yang Xingdong and gently patted him on the shoulder before abruptly sinking a dagger into his abdomen in a rude awakening.


    The rest of us watched in horror, while Yang Xingdong¡¯s expression was frozen in shock. Xiaotao roared for Song Xingchen to stop him, but thetter kept his sword sheathed, unwilling to interfere.


    In the face of my safety against the suspect¡¯s certain death, he would choose the former without any hesitation.


    "Why... why..." Yang Xingdong¡¯s widened eyes were brimming with tears.


    "Yang Xingdong, do you know what sins you¡¯vemitted?" Louis raised three fingers, "You have three charges against you! Firstly, you impersonated someone else and sneaked into the Six Tao banquet. Secondly, you stole the Unfettered Wine that¡¯s meant for the master¡¯s guests and used it tomit your meaningless crimes.


    Last but certainly not least, you impersonated the master and ruined his reputation."


    Yang Xingdong shivered, "Doesn¡¯t the Crazy Six Tao Chef approve of me?"


    "Your understanding of food is extremely vulgar. You¡¯re not worthy of entering the hall of gourmets. This is the master¡¯s evaluation of you!"


    Louis turned to me, a smile rising to his lips. "This must havee as a surprise. My master has always cherished his reputation. For fear that you might confuse this vulgar man for him, he sent me to clean up this mess. He also has something to say to you, Great Detective Song. The master appreciates your talent. If you don¡¯t die in the hands of the man who smells like copper, you¡¯ll be invited to attend the Six Tao Banquet on March 3rd of next year. Only those who are appreciated by the master will have the opportunity to attend. I hope you¡¯ll grace us with your presence."


    With one hand on his chest, Louis made a respectful salute, while his other hand remained tightly wrapped around the hilt of the dagger.


    The unexpected developments left me at a loss for words. Never in my wildest imaginations would I have anticipated a situation where a criminal sends one of hisckeys to clean up the mess left by his imposter.


    Louis returned his attention to Yang Xingdong, his expression taking on a gloomy undertone. "And as for you... Despite the fact that you¡¯re trash, you¡¯re not entirely useless. The master would like to taste a part of you."


    With that, Louis ruthlessly embedded the dagger into Yang Xingdong¡¯s abdomen and carved out a bloody liver that was still beating from within.


    "Thank you for the liver!"


    Throwing the dagger aside, Louis pulled out a piece of paper and carefully wrapped the liver. Before leaving, he tossed a small bottle in Song Xingchen¡¯s direction and instructed, "This is the antidote. Just give them a whiff of it."


    At this point, theser beam aimed at our heads disappeared.


    "Catch him!" ordered Xiaotao.


    "Nevermind!" I sighed helplessly. "Let him go. We¡¯ll have another chance in the future."


    A sudden burst ofughter reverberated around the room. Yang Xingdong, whose abdomen was cut open and internal organs exposed, stretched out his bloody hands and kneeled at Louis¡¯s feet. "Please let the Crazy Six Tao Chef know that it is my honor to be eaten by him. Hahaha, I will be integrated with the Crazy Chef. My humble self will live on eternally."


    Xiaotao and I nced at each other in consternation. I had nevere across such a fanatical admirer in my life.


    Although Yang Xingdong was sent to the hospital half an hourter, he soon died from ineffective treatment. Even in death, his lips remained frozen in a contented smile. This was a man so crazy that insanity had seeped into his bones.


    At about six in the evening, the members of the special team were gathered in the conference room, the air heavy with gloom. Although the events that transpired during the day put a damper on our enthusiasm, we weren¡¯t idle at all.


    The police put out an arrest warrant for Mr. Mu. Meanwhile, the driver who transported the bodies for the club was arrested and the identification of the victims was still ongoing. Additionally, Wang Yuanchao found the real Louis Liu bound in a room in an airport hotel.


    Louis was a Chinese-American who couldn¡¯t speak a lick of Chinese. After being rescued, the first words he uttered were, "What the fuck!" I had to admit, my impression of the FBI was greatly impacted.


    "Who would¡¯ve thought!" Xiaotao shook her head wryly. "The Dog Trainer, the Infernal Bone Trader, and now the Crazy Six Tao Chef. The big yers of the organization are being delivered to us like a gift pack!"


    "There may be another four. It seems these people have their own characteristics. When the man said, ¡®If I didn¡¯t die at the hands of the man who smells like copper,¡¯ he probably meant the Infernal Bone Trader. Looks like their division ofbor is very clear. At present, it¡¯s not the Crazy Six Tao Chef¡¯s turn to deal with us yet."


    ¡°Thinking of what we¡¯re about to face, I can¡¯t help but feel afraid!" Xiaotao¡¯s words had us staring in disbelief. How could our team leader voice such a dismaying thought?


    However, Xiaotao opened her sparkling eyes and clenched her fists, "But, at the same time, I¡¯m filled with energy. When I think of going up against such an opponent, my blood boils with excitement!"


    "Yes,¡± I nodded. ¡°No matter how they embellish themselves, they¡¯re just criminals who will end up being arrested by the police."


    Rising to her feet, Xiaotao held out a hand. The rest of us huddled together, folding our hands on top of hers. "We can do it!" she shouted.

 Chapter 485

    <h4>Chapter 485</h4>


    At the end of the Gourmet Club case, it took a week to deal with the aftermath. We finally confirmed thirteen victims, all of whom were young people. We couldn¡¯t bear to inform the victims¡¯ family members and only sent an official letter informing them of the ongoing investigation of their disappearance. Many called in, cursing and swearing at the police for being irresponsible. Hearing Xiaotao¡¯s constant apologies gripped the heart.


    Xiaotao and I were finally cured of our condition by a professor from the Chinese Academy of Sciences using blood serum therapy. The first thing we did was indulge in a feast of meat. The vegetarian life was truly excruciating!


    There was also the invitation letter by the Crazy Six Tao Chef. ording to theb analysis, there were certain electronicponents and a signal receiver within the card itself.


    The program was very simple, with only a few codes and no activation.


    I figured the card would send out a signal when the Six Tao Banquet began. Thus, I kept it with me the entire time.


    My thoughts flitted back to Yang Xingdong¨Cperverted by all standards, yet just a mediocre man before the eyes of the Crazy Six Tao Chef. What would his ¡°tao¡± be like? Just the thought of it made my skin crawl.


    In order to show his gratitude, Mr. Huang invited me out for lunch. Upon hearing of another meeting with Mr. Huang, naturally, I resisted.


    Xiaotao chuckled, "Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s just lunch, rx!"


    Our ¡°casual¡± lunch was held in the most luxurious hotel in Nanjiang City, the Star Era Grand Hotel. The way the minds of the wealthy worked was truly contrary to that of ordinary folk. A meal priced at ten thousand yuan was considered a casual lunch while serving up several stir-fried dishes at home was deemed a formal meeting.


    In order to please Mr. Huang, I did my homework in advance. Having heard about his fondness of chess, I purchased several books and brushed up my knowledge on the subject matter.


    Before our food was served, I yed against the old man in our private room while sipping on Longjing Tea. Amused with my two-out-of-three victory, Mr. Huangughed, "Amazing! Your superb chess strategies amaze me! Did you practice from a young age?"


    "Yes, Grandpa taught me,¡± I replied.


    "Come on, let¡¯s have another go!" Mr. Huang¡¯s eyes shed with an eager gleam.


    "Dad, I¡¯m starving!¡± grumbled Xiaotao. ¡°If you want to y, wait till we¡¯re done eating."


    "Xiaotao is right, let¡¯s eat first!"


    A whileter, all sorts of exquisite food were served, half of which I had never even heard of. In good humor, Mr. Huang seemed to have a lot to say so all I had to do was listen. Our lunch was fairly harmonious.


    Halfway through lunch, I had to use the restroom. As soon as I exited the restroom, I happened to bump into an acquaintance. Song Xingchen stood in the hallway with his Tang Sword in his arm.


    I walked up to him and said, "What are you doing here? You don¡¯t have to constantly protect me. It¡¯s just lunch."


    "Uh..." His eyes shed with an emotion I had never seen on him.


    "I¡¯m sorry, young master. I mentioned your lunch in a slip of the tongue."


    It wasn¡¯t a big deal. So what if he told others? Just as I was pondering his strange behavior, I noticed a woman approaching in a hurry. She wore a white double-breasted traditional pair of ck trousers and styled her hair up in a bun. Her air of dominance seemed to deter passing waiters who immediately got out of her way.


    I stared with eyes as big as saucers. Wasn¡¯t that Aunt Song? Not my paternal aunt, but Song Heting, my aunt from the Martial Songs.


    "Song Yang, did you miss me?"


    Song Heting leaned in for a hug which I had no chance of avoiding.


    "Song Yang-gege, Xingchen-gege," greeted Song Jie as she jumped out from behind Song Heting.


    "Aunt Song, Song Jie, what are you doing here?" I asked in amazement.


    "We nned to visit you,¡± answered Song Heting. ¡°Xingchen didn¡¯t even bother to inform us of the trouble you met on the road! I was sick with worry! I was afraid there¡¯d be more trouble on your side, so we came to visit you after briefing the family.¡±


    "Don¡¯t you have sses, Song Jie?"


    "Taking a few days off is fine,¡± Song Jie waved. ¡°After all, college isn¡¯t like high school."


    Arms akimbo, she quipped, "What¡¯s the matter, are we not wee?"


    "Of course you are!" My forehead dripped with cold sweat.


    Song Heting got straight to the point, "Xingchen said you were meeting your girlfriend¡¯s father. Why didn¡¯t you tell me about something this important? If you are alone, you¡¯ll be bullied. As your elder, I have to meet your future father-inw."


    My bitter smile seemed to match Song Xingchen¡¯s look of embarrassment. Although Song Xingchen was usually cool and calm, in front of Song Heting, his usual momentum was nowhere to be found.


    "Aunt Song, I¡¯m not a child. I won¡¯t be bullied so easily," I protested.


    "No, since we¡¯re here, I have to meet her parents! What if they¡¯re shady folk? How can I safely hand you over to this girl?" Song Heting persuaded.


    "Yeah, I¡¯d like to see what my sister-inw looks like," echoed Song Jie.


    I couldn¡¯t stop these two busybodies at all. Despite the fact our private room was on the sixteenth floor, they headed straight for the stairs.


    Perhaps these martial arts practitioners didn¡¯t like taking the elevator. By the time I arrived upstairs, the three were waiting for me outside the elevator.


    "What took you so long?"ined Song Jie.


    "Aunt Song, don¡¯t mess things up,¡± I warned.


    Song Heting arched an eyebrow, "Who do you think I am? A parent from old feudal society? Don¡¯t worry, if she¡¯s a good girl, I will definitely support the two of you!"


    We entered the private room with the loud racket announcing our arrival. The smile on Mr. Huang¡¯s face instantly solidified. Perhaps Song Heting¡¯s domineering aura gave the impression she was here with malicious intent.


    "This is..." Mr. Huang started politely.


    After I introduced them one by one, Mr. Huang stood up and held out his hand, "Hello, I am Xiaotao¡¯s father. I¡¯m a businessman."


    "I am Song Yang¡¯s aunt. I¡¯m a housewife!"


    Song Jie stared wide-eyed at Xiaotao, mumbling a low ¡¯wow¡¯ under her breath. "She¡¯s beautiful, just like a movie star!" whispered Song Jie.


    "Good-looking girls are all unreliable!" Song Heting shot daggers with her eyes.


    "What would you like to eat? Please, go and ahead and order whatever you like. It¡¯s my treat," Mr. Huang endeavored to defuse the situation.


    Song Heting turned a deaf ear. ¡°Stand up, youngdy!"


    "Why should I!" argued Xiaotao.


    Sizing her up, Song Heting said, "You¡¯ve got nice, big buttocks. You shouldn¡¯t have a problem giving birth."


    Spewing a mouthful of tea, Mr. Huang quickly wiped his mouth with a napkin. I was so embarrassed I wish I could disappear.


    Song Heting pulled up the chair across Mr. Huang and asked, "What does your daughter do?"


    "She¡¯s an officer ... What are you..."


    Song Heting gestured for Mr. Huang to keep his mouth shut. Suppressed by her domineering aura, Mr. Huang widened his eyes in utter disbelief.


    "Your job puts you in too much danger. I hope that you¡¯ll quit after getting married and concentrate on raising your children. It¡¯s bad enough that Song Yang risks his life. I won¡¯t agree to both husband and wife taking such risks."


    Xiaotao mmed her chopsticks against the table, "Who the hell are you to tell me what to do!"


    "Xiaotao!" Mr. Huang motioned for her to sit down.


    Despite assuring me she wasn¡¯t here to fight, we seemed to be on the brink of one.


    Leaning into her chair, Song Heting raised three fingers, "If you want to marry Song Yang, I have three requirements!"


    The absolute principle underlying the universe,bining within itself the principles of yin and yang and signifying the way, or code of behavior, that is in harmony with the natural order.

 Chapter 486

    <h4>Chapter 486</h4>


    "First of all!" Song Heting raised her index finger: "Get married as soon as possible. The Song family will handle the wedding. You can ask for as much of a bride price as you¡¯d like. The Song family has no problem with this."


    Xiaotao and Mr. Huang¡¯s expressions were frozen in shock while Song Xingchen looked away in shame.


    "Second!" Song Heting stared intently at us, "You must have a child within one year, and you must give birth to a boy within three. If you can¡¯t, you¡¯ll be divorced. You better start trying tonight."


    Xiaotao hammered the table in fury, "Women like you disgust me. You¡¯ve been oppressed all your life so you go out and ruin other women¡¯s lives. Is an indomitable police officer like me just a tool for giving birth in your eyes?"


    Song Heting smiled and turned to me, "Is she usually this bad-tempered?"


    Lost for words, I watched Xiaotao grab her coat and shout, "I¡¯m done with lunch. Please enjoy your meal!"


    "Mr. Huang, your daughter needs discipline!" Song Heting coldly harrumphed.


    An awkward smile rose to Mr. Huang¡¯s lips, forck of anything better to say.


    To my utter surprise, Song Heting picked up her teacup and threw it towards the entrance of the room. Thud! The teacup waspletely embedded in the oak door, only a few centimeters away from hitting Xiaotao, though I knew that it was impossible Song Heting would miss with her technique.


    Naturally, Xiaotao was scared silly. She stopped dead in her tracks, too afraid to make another move. I faintly shook my head to warn Xiaotao against meeting Song Heting head-on. This woman was a terrifying control freak!


    "Sit down!" barked Song Heting.


    At the sight of my desperate hints, Xiaotao returned to the dining table and sat back in her ce, the color drained from her face.


    Song Hetingnguidly stated the third condition, "Lastly, the wedding is to be held in the Song family manor. ording to our rules, the two of you will stay there once you¡¯re married. You¡¯re not allowed to work."


    At this point, I couldn¡¯t help protesting, "Aunt Song..."


    "Song Yang, ording to our agreement, you must train the next generation of the Song family heir."


    "I never agreed to such a thing!" I retorted.


    Mr. Huang interjected, "Um... can we discuss this? I have always respected Xiaotao¡¯s personal wishes. As a parent, we shouldn¡¯t force our children, don¡¯t you think?"


    "Let me ask you this. Which is more important, responsibility or individual desire?"


    "Well it depends on the circumstances," answered Mr. Huang.


    "You may not know this, but Song Yang has inherited the mantle of our ancestor Song Ci. He is now the only surviving descendant of the civil Songs. If anything happens to him, the Song family¡¯s unique coroner techniques will die with him. How will I face my ancestor? I don¡¯t like forcing anyone but I have made great concessions for the entire family. I hope that you¡¯ll ept these three conditions."


    "We¡¯ll have to negotiate the terms!" cried Mr. Huang.


    "I¡¯m not here to negotiate anything. There¡¯s no room for negotiation. Your answer is either yes or no! I¡¯m done here!" With that, Song Heting got up and left.


    After whispering an apology, Song Xingchen followed her out of the room.


    With the three of them gone, the room fell into an awkward silence.


    "Mr. Huang, her words do not represent my intention," I assured him.


    "I understand!" Mr. Huang wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead. "I can see that she¡¯s a strong woman. I respect that."


    Xiaotao keeled over with uncontrobleughter. "Never in a million years did I imagine such a dramatic thing to happen to me. What an eye-opener! Your aunt is special indeed!"


    "You don¡¯t even know what I experienced when I went back. She almost forced me to marry my cousin..."


    "Never mind all that. Let¡¯s eat," said Mr. Huang.


    "I¡¯ve lost my appetite!¡± dered Xiaotao. ¡°Let¡¯s get the waiter to pack up the food. I¡¯ll save it for supper!"


    When Mr. Huang called the waiter in to settle the bill, he was told Song Heting had already paid.


    Mr. Huang headed back home while Xiaotao and I took a stroll outside. Seeing how depressed she was, I asked if she wanted a drink. After purchasing two bottles of beer from the convenience store, we sat on the flower beds by the roadside and watched the traffic go by.


    "Don¡¯t worry," said Xiaotao. ¡°This incident hasn¡¯t made me think of you any less.¡±


    "Thank you!"


    "But her requests are unreasonable. I can¡¯t ept them." Xiaotao took a sip of her beer.


    "For her, family inheritance is more important than anything else," I sighed.


    "Well, if two people want to be together, sometimes they¡¯ll have to go through challenges."


    "And are we doing well?" Iughed.


    Xiaotao suddenly wrapped her arms around me and whispered, "Be honest with me. Do you want children?"


    "Not at the moment. I¡¯m still too young to be a father yet. Perhaps after thirty!"


    "The journey matters more than the destination, am I right?" she teased.


    My cheeks flushed with color as I plucked up the courage to say, "And when will we embark on this journey?"


    "Haha, you¡¯ve be so naughty," Poking my cheeks, she muttered under her breath, "If you¡¯re really serious..."


    "What?"


    By the time I responded, I found Xiaotao¡¯s face as red as an overripe tomato.


    Palming her warm cheeks, she dismissed, "I must be drunk! Well, I still have work to do."


    "You¡¯re not allowed to drive after drinking!" I chided.


    I managed to hail her a cab and watched as she climbed into the back seat. ¡°I¡¯ll see you tomorrow,¡± she waved. Even after she left, her words were still reying in my head. My young virgin heart pounded wildly. This was a step I would bravely take when the opportunity arose.


    When I returned to the store, Song Heting, Song Jie and Song Xingchen were waiting for me. Mother and daughter patrolled the store while an astonished Dali and Luo Youyou looked on.


    "Who¡¯s this gant woman? She¡¯s so domineering!"


    "A debt collector," I smiled bitterly.


    Upon noticing me, Song Heting nodded approvingly, "So this is what you¡¯re doing in the city. It¡¯s good to be self-reliant. Come, let¡¯s look for a teahouse."


    "Mom, we hardly ever visit the big city,¡± Song Jie pulled Song Heting¡¯s arm. ¡°I want to have ice cream at KFC."


    I assumed Song Heting would refuse, but to my surprise, she agreed without a second thought. ¡°Alright, Song Yang, you lead the way."


    After ordering some drinks, we sat at one of the tables. "Aunt Song,¡± I began. ¡°You almost ruined everything! Do you know what Xiaotao¡¯s father does?"


    "I do!" Song Heting sipped on her drink. "He¡¯s the richest man in Nanjiang City. Did you think I¡¯d go into a fight unprepared? What I said today was merely a show of strength. When you be his son-inw, you¡¯ll be subject to control. You don¡¯t have to abide by the terms I mentioned. It doesn¡¯t matter whether you have a Chinese or Western wedding. You can do whatever you want after marriage. I¡¯m not that conservative. But there is one thing..."


    "A son?"


    "And teach him all that you know.¡±


    Song Jie interjected, "I have to say, she¡¯s a beauty!"


    "She can¡¯tpare to me in my younger days,¡± Song Heting clucked her tongue. ¡°But she does have a nice figure. By the way, have you consummated the rtionship?"


    The subject of our conversation turned so abruptly that I couldn¡¯t help but spew my drink. Song Jie giggled.


    "We¡¯re all adults, what are you shy about?" Song Heting admonished.


    Wiping my lips with a paper napkin, I pleaded, "Aunt Song, can we avoid discussing such a private subject in a public space?"


    "So it seems you haven¡¯t."


    I noticed Song Heting¡¯s eyes were red as she observed my micro-expression with Cave Vision. At this point, I waspletely convinced of her abilities!


    "Hurry up, or I¡¯ll be forced to take drastic measures,¡± she urged.


    "Yes, of course!"


    "Hehe, you¡¯re blushing, you little virgin.¡± Song Jie seemed amused.


    Displeasure brewed within me. I never imagined Song Heting would interfere with my life once more. Who knew that her talons extended all the way to Nanjiang City! My rtionship with Xiaotao was developing smoothly, but with such great responsibility on my shoulders, my heart sank with unease.


    After a brief conversation, Song Heting revealed their intention to stay in Nanjiang City for a period of time, which I secretlymented. I proceeded to book a hotel room online.


    Before leaving for the hotel, we stopped by the store to pick up their luggage. Unexpectedly, Bingxin dropped by for a visit. At the sight of Song Heting, she greeted warmly, "Hello, are you Song Yang¡¯s..."


    Song Heting¡¯s eyes shed with an eager gleam as she gave Bingxin a once-over. "I¡¯m his aunt. And how do you know Song Yang?"


    "Oh, we¡¯re childhood friends and colleagues," Bingxin replied.


    "There are few girls who show such etiquette..."


    I knew she was up to her old tricks. And sure enough, she asked, "What does your father do?"

 Chapter 487

    <h4>Chapter 487</h4>


    Before Song Heting could investigate three generations of Bingxin¡¯s ancestors, I quickly dragged her away and sent both mother and daughter to the hotel. Song Jie said, "I slept on the ne earlier so I¡¯m not sleepy at all! I¡¯d like to explore the city nightlife with you."


    As she spoke, her eyes inadvertently flitted to Song Xingchen.


    Since thedy asked, I said, "Aunt Song, can I take Song Jie out for a bit?"


    "No drinking ande back early," instructed Song Heting.


    "Mom, you¡¯re the best!" beamed Song Jie as she wrapped her arms around Song Heting¡¯s neck and kissed her cheeks.


    As soon as we were out of the door, I handed Song Jie over to Song Xingchen. While the two spent time together, I headed back to the store. Bingxin was still there waiting for me. "What a dashing woman your aunt is!¡± sheughed. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you had such rtives."


    My head throbbed, "Her reign of terror has descended upon Nanjiang City."


    "Who¡¯s the lovely girl?" she asked curiously.


    "A distant cousin!"


    "Are you guys close?"


    "Don¡¯t even think about it. She likes Song Xingchen. The two grew up together."


    My words seemed to ay her worries. "But aren¡¯t they close rtives?!" eximed Bingxin.


    I did ask Song Xingchen about this matter. It turned out that they were distant rtives as well. Song Xingchen¡¯s parents were both martial arts masters who died during a mission so Song Heting raised him as a son. In theory, he could marry Song Jie, though I wasn¡¯t sure if Song Heting would approve.


    Over the next few days, I lived in constant unease. Both mother and daughter would visit when they weren¡¯t shopping. Upon discovering our pigsty-like apartment, Song Heting had us scrub every nook and cranny!


    At the sight of our takeout, Song Heting tossed them into the trash can without so much as a word, headed down to the supermarket to buy a bunch of groceries, and proceeded to personally cook us a meal.


    Song Heting¡¯s cooking was excellent, but eating at the same table was torture.


    In order to keep me away from my ¡®unhealthy¡¯ diet, she even taught Luo Youyou how to cook!


    The special team hadn¡¯t received any cases ofte, but ording to regtions, members had to show up in the office to deal with emergencies. Though I wasn¡¯t very happy to sit in an empty conference room, I took the initiative to apply for duty with Song Heting¡¯s arrival.


    One morning as Bingxin and I chatted in the conference room, Xiaotao suddenly walked in and interrupted, "Bingxin, do you like the Hanfu?"


    Bingxin¡¯s eyes shed with an eager gleam, "Do you mean Quju robes? I love them! When CCTV broadcasted the ancient poetry contestst year, there was a craze for Chinese cultural studies. I too purchased a Hanfu. My dad insisted it was bizarre and wouldn¡¯t let me wear it."


    "Well, you¡¯ll enjoy this then!"


    Xiaotao ced two photos on the table¨Cthe first showed two female corpses dressed in Hanfu and locked in an iron cage, one in red and the other in white. They were soaking wet, and their faces disfigured so the flesh had melted and blended into the blood.


    In the second photo, a man in Hanfu was hung from a tree with his hands tied, his stomach was cut open, and his bloody intestines were draped from his torso. Simrly, his face had been disfigured by some sort of chemical.


    At first nce, I got the feeling this wasn¡¯t an ordinary case. My blood boiled with excitement.


    Upon examining the photos, Bingxin arched her eyebrows, "Wow, they¡¯re wearing the Hanfu!"


    "Your point of focus is certainly unique!" I quipped. "I can¡¯t tell the cause of death based on these photos alone. Is there a Hanfu killer in Nanjiang City?" I turned to Xiaotao.


    "No, this was sent to us by the Jiangling City Bureau. Captain Xing handed them to me. I thought you might be interested in this case," Xiaotao exined.


    "Jiangling?" My grin stretched from one ear to the other. "So we¡¯re going out of the city to handle a case? Great, I finally have an excuse to hide from that woman!"


    "The ancient city of Jiangnan," Bingxin pped her hands in glee. "How interesting! I¡¯ll wear a Hanfu and a handheld fan while solving a murder. I¡¯m definitely going!"


    "Let¡¯s leave immediately!" chuckled Xiaotao.


    Afraid Song Heting might insist on personally protecting me, I discreetly sent a text message to Song Xingchen, instructing him to meet us after fetching my equipment.


    Half an hourter, the five of us headed to Jiangling City in two vehicles without Lao Yao.


    Jiangling City was located north of Nanjiang City, a three-hour drive away. Surrounded by two rivers, the city was known for its outstanding citizens and beautiful scenery that inspired countless poets throughout history. Along the way, Bingxin read aloud ancient poems describing Jiangling City. At the sight of the sign "Jiangling City wees you" on the expressway, she excitedly waved her hands in the air. "Ancient Jiangnan City, here wee!"


    Xiaotao yfully smacked her, "Do you think we¡¯re here to have fun? We have a case!"


    Along our journey, I busied myself with pursuing the thick files on the case. The murder happened around ten days ago and the first body was found in a park at about five in the afternoon. A group of tourists was visiting the park when a body dressed in Hanfu suddenly fell from a tree. The local police hit a roadblock in their investigation because the victim¡¯s face had been seriously damaged and the fingerprints on all ten fingers removed. It was impossible to determine his identity.


    The other two female bodies were found four days ago abandoned in ake within a university when the school was cleaning out the bottom of theke. The cage itself was terribly heavy. The victims were about twenty-eight years old and suffered the same disfigurement and missing fingerprints as the first victim.


    The most striking thing about the two cases was the Hanfu worn by the victims which had very exquisite workmanship and cost upwards of a thousand yuan. After inquiring about the city, the police centered on a small workshop that made and sold Hanfu. However, the owner, Ke Wenyuan, had disappeared and was wanted as a suspect at the moment.


    Upon entering the city, Bingxin said, "Should we drop by the station first?"


    "What do you think, Song Yang?" Xiaotao turned to me.


    A quick nce at my phone revealed it was already three in the afternoon. "It¡¯s a waste of time. Let¡¯s head directly to the crime scene."


    After entering the location on the navigation system, Xiaotao hit the steering wheel, "Let¡¯s go then!"


    We first headed to the park, a scenic spot¨Cthe official residence of a prime minister in the Ming Dynasty. Like the other tourists, we had to buy tickets to enter the park.


    "Wow, the peace and quiet inspire great creativity," gushed Bingxin.


    "How can it be so beautiful? It really deserves its reputation," echoed Xiaotao.


    The girls walked into a pavilion, stopping to take pictures. Reluctant to disturb them, I headed straight to the crime scene with Song Xingchen.


    Using the photos forparison, I soon located the tree. Due to heavy foot traffic and fear that the incident might have an impact on citizens, the police removed the cordon the next day. I looked up and noticed a broken branch that appeared to have been caused by the weight of the dead body.


    On theke beside the tree was a marble boat. A heaped arrangement of rock stones stood by theke and antique buildings visible between the leaves¨Ca breathtaking scene befitting paradise.


    "Is the killer trying to suggest something by hanging the corpse here?" I mused.

 Chapter 488

    <h4>Chapter 488</h4>


    Song Xingchen said, "Perhaps this location has some sort of special meaning to the victim and the murderer."


    "Let¡¯s move on to the next crime scene."


    When we rejoined the girls, Wang Yuanchao was taking photos of them with his cell phone, albeit rather reluctantly.


    Xiaotao and Bingxin were striking a pose in the pavilion when they noticed our presence. "You¡¯re done?" eximed Xiaotao.


    "Yes, let¡¯s move on to the next scene!" I replied.


    "Sorry, I got carried away by the excitement," Xiaotao smiled apologetically.


    Outside the park, Bingxin discovered a special service for renting ancient costumes so tourists could take photos of themselves in ancient robes in the park. Right then, two foreigners walked out dressed in robes. There was something discordant about their costumes, though I couldn¡¯t pinpoint what it was. Despite my inadequate knowledge about ancient costumes, I was well aware that the ancients were very particr about clothing¨Cspecific colors, styles and manner of dressing.


    I turned to Song Xingchen. "You know more about ancient culture than I do. What¡¯s wrong with these clothes?"


    "The one on the left is wearing a Xingfu, or ancient official¡¯s daily garment. It¡¯s considered rude to roll up the sleeves. The one on the right is wearing a Xiyi which is worn above the Qiuyi. It¡¯s not supposed to be worn on its own," exined Song Xingchen.


    "Wow, you seem to know a lot about this!"mended Bingxin.


    "When I was little, the martial arts books I read were all written and painted by the ancients, so I know a thing or two."


    I handed him the photo of the first victim. "Is there anything wrong with this?"


    Song Xingchen nced at it. "These are schrs from the Song and Yuan Dynasties. There¡¯s nothing wrong with it. This person should be very knowledgeable about ancient clothing."


    When I showed him the second photo, he said, "These two women¡¯s costumes are from the Han Dynasty. What they¡¯re wearing¨Ccyan and green¨Cwere mostly used by concubines."


    In ancient times, cyan and green were rtively cheap dyes, which were worn by low-ranking members of the family, while bright red and purple were used by masters and aristocrats.


    Besides clothing, the two female victims had their hair styled like the Han women on TV shows.


    "It seems the murderer is trying to convey something!"


    Bingxin pped her hands. "I got it! The murderer must be an old professor who has studied the Hanfu for many years. Displeased with the garbage the actors on TV wear, he kills to publicize the proper way of wearing the Hanfu."


    "You¡¯re so amazing, you can solve the case alone!" mocked Xiaotao.


    "Many murderers like to put their victims on disy. From a criminal psychology standpoint, there are three motives for disying the corpses. The first is to show off what they consider their aplishments, that is, to demonstrate how cruel and violent they are. They get off on fear."


    "The human skin kite falls under this category!" dered Xiaotao.


    "You¡¯re mistaken. The human skin kite is actually motivated by punishment. The murderer wants the world to know the victim¡¯s identity. The subtext is, look how miserably this bastard died! However, since these murders aren¡¯t gruesome and the murderer deliberately conceals the victims¡¯ identities, they don¡¯t belong to these two categories. Therefore, it falls under the third category¨Cmurder meant as a warning. The murderer designed an image to bring attention to his cause, educate and deter others. For example, the American movie ¡®Seven.¡¯ Although Bingxin was fooling around, her analysis on the motivation hit the bullseye."


    "You mean, the murderer wants to educate the public on how to wear the Hanfu?" Bingxin wondered out loud.


    "No, no, the motive is too trivial. Besides, wouldn¡¯t the murders be counterproductive then? Who would dare wear a Hanfu in the future?"


    "So, what is the murderer trying to express?" asked Xiaotao.


    "I¡¯m still uncertain!"


    An hourter, we arrived at the Jiangling Vocational and Technical College. The guard let us into the premises as soon as Xiaotao shed her badge.


    Four days after the bodies were found, theke had regained its usual tranquility. Just as I was meditating, a voice interrupted my thoughts. "I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯mte!"


    We were greeted by a grinning middle-aged man who turned out to be Captain Tang, the leader of the local police and also the person in charge of the case. After a brief phone call with Xiaotao, he came down to meet us.


    ording to the procedure, we should have visited the station and greeted Captain Tang, but given our authority as the special team, Captain Tang came to wee us instead.


    "Aren¡¯t you a little too dedicated? The first thing you do ise to the crime scene!¡± remarked Captain Tang. ¡°You must be tired. I have booked a hotel for you. I¡¯ll take you out for dinner once you¡¯re settled in."


    Xiaotao turned a meaningful gaze towards me, hinting that I should y the viin. After all, as a member of the public security bureau, there were certain pretences Xiaotao couldn¡¯t forego.


    "Captain Tang, you¡¯re being too polite!¡± I said. ¡°Forget about dinner. These murders have been characterized as part of a vicious serial killing. The murderer is very likely tomit another crime. We¡¯d like to solve the case as soon as possible."


    "You¡¯re the Great Detective Song Yang!¡± eximed Captain Tang. ¡°I¡¯ve heard a lot about you. Won¡¯t you do me a favor? It¡¯s a great honor to receive the special team at our bureau. Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t use public funds. It¡¯ll be from my own pocket."


    Switching the subject to the details of the case, I learned from Captain Tang specifics that were already reported in the case file.


    "By the way, we found some drag marks on Qiushi Road. Would you like to have a look?"


    "Where¡¯s this road?" I asked.


    "It¡¯s within the school premises,¡± exined Captain Tang. ¡°God knows who came up with these names. They all sound so poetic."


    "And what is this road called?" I asked curiously.


    "Chunshen Road!" replied Captain Tang.


    When I heard the name, I felt the gears in my mind spinning wildly. Pulling out the second photo, I carefully examined every inch of it with Cave Vision and soon found a sparrow engraved on the metal cage.


    "The brass bird locked up the two Qiaos!" I burst out.


    "What?" The others stared at me in bafflement.


    "This is what the murderer is trying to convey!¡± I cried. ¡°Chunshen Road, the sparrow on the metal cage, and the two girls in ancient costumes¨Cpiece those together and that¡¯s what you get!"


    "Was Xiao Qiao a concubine?"


    "Yes, Da Qiao was Sun Ce¡¯s concubine, while Xiao Qiao was Zhou Yu¡¯s."


    "They¡¯re so famous I assumed they were both official wives!" Bingxin uttered.


    "It¡¯s better to be a concubine! Which man has ever loved his official wife?" Then, turning to me, Xiaotao asked, "What about the first victim?"


    Having deciphered the pattern, I exined, "The clue from the first victim is the open gut and the old tree. The body was discovered at 5 in the afternoon. Isn¡¯t there a poem that matches this..."


    "On the withered vine entwined gnarled tree, the evening crowse roosting. The sun dips down in the western sky. Heart-torn, lovelorn, the wanderer at the ends of the earth a-roaming!" Xiaotao and Bingxin recited in unison.


    "That¡¯s amazing! You guys took no time at all to suss out the clues,¡± praised Captain Tang. ¡°We had seven days and we still came up with nothing."


    "But we need more information,¡± I sighed. ¡°Captain Tang, please lead the way. I¡¯d like to examine the bodies."


    Meaning fruits of autumn or the fall harvest. Metaphorically, it refers to a moral achievement or a virtuous person.


    Meaningte in spring.


    Excerpt from the poem called Red Cliff by Du Mu. The original line is ͭȸ´ºÉîËø¶þÇÇ (Tong qiao chun shen suo er qiao). If Wu and Shu hadn¡¯t been victorious in the Battle of Red Cliffs, the Sun and Zhou concubines would have been captured by Cao Cao and locked away in his pce.


    Sun Ce (175-200): general and major warlord of the Later Han Dynasty.


    Zhou Yu (175-210): famous general of the southern Wu kingdom and victor of the Battle of Red Cliffs


    Tian Jing Sha by Ma Zhiyuan. Adapted from Andrew W.F. Wong¡¯s trantion.

 Chapter 489

    <h4>Chapter 489</h4>


    An hourter, we arrived at the forensicboratory of the Jiangling City Bureau.


    Unsurprisingly, the bodies had already been dissected and bags of human organs were ced in front of us. I stared at them in a daze when I was interrupted by Captain Tang. "If you need anything, just let me know, Consultant Song."


    "You may not know this, but I don¡¯t perform internal autopsies."


    "You don¡¯t? Then how do you examine the... Oh, never mind. Don¡¯t you worry, the three bodies were dissected by senior coroners of the bureau. They won¡¯t make any mistakes. Here are the autopsy results."


    While Bingxin went through the results, I opened the body bags and uncovered the victims.


    From my observation of the anatomy, the first victim was a strong, 28-year-old man. The time of death was thirteen days ago. However, his body had been frozen, so the degree of decay was marginal. The cause of death was a blow to the back of the skull, which resulted in a star-shaped fracture with subcutaneous hemorrhage and bruising. The murder weapon was most likely a blunt object such as a wrench which caused a contrecoup injury on the other side of the skull. The killing blow caused a rupture of the arachnoid membrane and intracranial hemorrhage.


    Additionally, there were injuries on the body that were inflicted after death. The coroner concluded that these wounds were caused during the moving of the corpse.


    The presumed weapon used to slit the victim¡¯s abdomen was a pair of scissors. There were binding marks on the victim¡¯s wrist that were left after death, possibly due to being forcefully dragged by the murderer.


    There was another odd detail¨Cthe victim¡¯s head was shaved and a wig was glued to his head!


    After examining the body, I came to a simr conclusion as the coroner, though I noticed the slight peeling on the chest, abdomen and thigh, as if the skin had been torn off by force. Was it blunt force trauma? At the moment, I couldn¡¯t determine the exact cause.


    Female victim no. 1 was 27 years old, overweight, and had given birth. I found a mark on her middle finger left after wearing a ring for a long time, suggesting she was a married woman.


    The cause of death was a blow to the forehead. The murdererid a heavy hand on the victim so bone fragments copsed into the skull. She had been bludgeoned in the right temple, a move the murderer made to ensure she was dead.


    Like the male victim, female victim no.1 died thirteen days ago and had been frozen. In order to dress the body, the murderer applied a hot towel on her joints.


    However, there was no indication of the same treatment for the male victim which showed the murderer¡¯s inexperience at the time, causing damage to the articr cartge.


    There was also peeling on the back of female victim No.1, which the coroner hypothesized was left when her body had been dragged on the ground.


    Both victims¡¯ stomach contents consisted of a matching variety of foods, indicating they shared a meal before they were killed. They were most likely a couple!


    At this point, I motioned for Bingxin to stop. Afterparing the victims¡¯ thighs, I pulled out the Echolocation Rod and listened as I gently moved the joints. "The murderer has a freezer in his home. The peeling of the skin was not caused by dragging, but by forcefully separating the two bodies which were frozen together,¡± I analyzed. ¡°Since the bodies were curled up in the freezer, we can assume the freezer isn¡¯trge, probably simr to the ones you see in the convenience store.¡±


    "Your analysis makes a lot of sense!¡± Captain Tang ttered. ¡°This is negligence on our part. The two bodies were dissected by two different coroners so they weren¡¯t able to connect the dots."


    "This sort of freezer isn¡¯t generally used by the public. Could the murderer be operating a convenience store?"


    "I¡¯ve yet to determine that,¡± I admitted. ¡°Bingxin, I need your help."


    The point of my focus was the irregr abdominal wound on the male victim. Like the coroner, I believed the wound was caused by a pair of scissors.


    As usual, Bingxin and I wore rubber gloves. I instructed her to piece the top part of the skin with tweezers, while I handled the bottom part. Wounds were bound to split due to skin tension. When we reconstructed the wound, we found a piece of skin in the middle missing.


    Appalled, Captain Tang cried, "There¡¯s a piece missing? We didn¡¯t notice it at the time!"


    "Did the murderer remove a piece of skin as a souvenir?" suggested Bingxin.


    "Don¡¯t jump to conclusions yet!¡± I cautioned. ¡°I¡¯d like to take another look at the fatal wound."


    The fatal wound was caused by some sort of heavy object. I discovered almost imperceptible wounds in the left temple, with grains of sand under the skin and shallow geometric textures around the wound.


    After staring at the victim¡¯s left temple for a considerable amount of time, I said, "This was left by the murderer¡¯s shoe. The position of the wound suggests the victim was kicked after copsing to the ground."


    Captain Tang stared at the body open-mouthed. This was yet another clue ignored by a senior coroner!


    Aside from that, I found a hard, transparent article on the victim¡¯s shoulder. "Was this mentioned in the autopsy results?" I turned to Bingxin.


    "No!" she shook her head.


    Observing the object with Cave Vision, I stated, "Captain Tang, this is an important clue, yet it was overlooked."


    "What?" Captain Tang flushed with nervousness.


    "This is solidified glue with the murderer¡¯s fingerprints on it." ncing at the top of the deceased¡¯s head, I added, "It seems like the murderer got glue on his fingers while attaching the wig and absentmindedly wiped his fingers on the victim¡¯s shoulder."


    Captain Tang widened to the size of saucers. "Consultant Song, your powers of observation are amazing!"


    I told Bingxin to take a sample. Since the fingerprint was rather fuzzy, I wasn¡¯t certain if it would be of any use.


    My eyes roamed the victim¡¯s head that was covered with solidified glue and tiny, white cotton-like fibers. The murderer most likely dipped a cotton swab in glue and daubed it on the victim¡¯s head.


    Upon careful examination, I noticed the hair follicles protruded outwards, as if the victim¡¯s hair had been forcefully removed.


    "The victim¡¯s hair was pulled out," I surmised.


    ¡°The murderer seems to be filled with hatred for the victim, even torturing him after death!" noted Bingxin.


    I shook my head. "That¡¯s incorrect. From the direction of the protrusion of the hair follicle, the victim¡¯s hair doesn¡¯t appear to have been pulled out at once, but in clusters."


    "Clusters?" Xiaotao was puzzled. "Could it be hair extensions?"


    "Have you ever had hair extensions?" I asked.


    "No, but I¡¯ve watched the process. Hair is separated in sections fused to individual locks. If done properly, no one can tell if it¡¯s hair extensions."


    I couldn¡¯te up with any other probable exnations. "Looks like the murderer tried to install hair extensions but failed and ended up shaving all the victim¡¯s hair off and using a wig."


    "All that trouble!" blurted Xiaotao.


    Turning my attention to the victim¡¯s fingers, I found the fingerprints were removed with a sharp knife.


    The coroner concluded that the victim¡¯s face had been melted with hydrochloric acid. Whenparing the injuries on the victim¡¯s fingers and abdomen, the injuries on the abdomen were obviously older, marked by the curled edges. I deduced that the murderer kept the body for quite some time in order toplete his "work."


    The abdominal injury was caused by scissors, something easily found in every home. But the hydrochloric acid used to destroy the face as well as the knife used to remove the fingerprints could only be obtained with some amount of effort so the murderer went looking for the tools during thepletion of the "work!¡±

 Chapter 490

    <h4>Chapter 490</h4>


    Looking at the corpse, I could almost see the murderer hiding in a dark room, ying with the corpse. The murderer¡¯s characteristics gradually formed in my mind.


    "What kind of person do you think the murderer is?" I asked.


    At my sudden question, Bingxin paused for a moment and replied after further contemtion. "The murderer knows a lot about ancient costumes and has the money to spend on these things. I think he¡¯s quite rich! In order to achieve the desired results, he can persist for so long which tells me he¡¯s perseverant. On top of that, hisposure and patience suggest he hasmitted a crime before."


    "I¡¯m not sure if he has money, but this is most likely the murderer¡¯s first crime, evident by the indecision and capriciousness,¡± I analyzed.


    "What?"


    "Song Yang, stop teasing us. Just tell us your thoughts!¡± urged Xiaotao. ¡°It¡¯s too cold here.¡±


    I smiled, "The murderer first bludgeoned the victims to death and froze the two bodies for about two days. During this time, he came up with a n to deal with the bodies. In order to achieve his desired effect, he had to lengthen the dead man¡¯s hair, but because he failed at installing hair extensions, he gave up halfway, shaved the victim¡¯s hair and used a wig instead. The head injury was the first wound inflicted, followed by the one on the victim¡¯s abdomen. Where¡¯s the missing piece of skin and what was the murderer¡¯s purpose for removing it? Much like the disfigurement of the victim¡¯s face, I suspect the murderer is trying to hide something. Is there a unique characteristic on the victim¡¯s abdomen? Perhaps not. So the next reasonable exnation is to conceal the weapon he used. The murderer began opening the victim¡¯s abdominal cavity with a certain tool but was afraid this tool would expose himself. Thus, he cut off all the surrounding skin with scissors which shows hisck of confidence. He¡¯s definitely a first-time offender."


    "The wounds to the face and fingers were inflictedst. Once the murderer finished his masterpiece, he was afraid the victim¡¯s identity might expose him, so he destroyed his face and fingerprints. Judging from the age of the wound, it took him two days toplete his ¡®work.¡¯ The murderer is undoubtedly a rookie who¡¯s killed for the first time."


    After my lengthy analysis, the room fell into stunned silence.


    "So the victim and the murderer are acquaintances," mused Xiaotao.


    "Very likely!" I nodded.


    "Although this guy is unskilled, he¡¯s got the essentials covered. Cases where the victim¡¯s identity cannot be determined are usually the most difficult to solve. He may have learned from films and TV shows."


    I turned to Captain Tang. "What were the victim¡¯s stomach contents?"


    "Fish, shrimp, a variety of different foods,¡± he replied. ¡°This must be a rich couple!"


    "Hand me a detailed analysis!" I ordered.


    Captain Tang left for a moment and came back with a list. I noticed dozens of foods were found in the victims¡¯ stomach, though in small amounts. Fortunately, I had asked to see the list.


    "Captain Tang, you¡¯re mistaken. Even if the victims were wealthy, they wouldn¡¯t order such arge variety of foods for one meal."


    "Um...¡± Captain Tang scratched his face awkwardly.


    "They probably returned from dinner! These ingredients are diverse enough to make up a banquet."


    Realization was written all over their faces.


    Ashamed of their oversight, Captain Tang said, "Thank goodness for your careful observation..."


    "It¡¯s got nothing to do with being careful," I chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m speaking objectively.¡±


    "Alright, stop showing off,¡± huffed Xiaotao. ¡°So what if it was a banquet? Do you have any clues that will help solve the case?"


    "Yes, the male victim drove."


    ncing at the list, Xiaotao smiled, "I know! The female victim had alcohol in her stomach, but not the male victim. I¡¯ve caught up to your reasoning!"


    "Let¡¯s look at thest body. Bingxin, please read the results aloud!"


    Female victim no. 2 was twenty-eight years old and slim. The time of death was about ten days ago and the cause of death was judged to be asphyxiation caused by choking her throat, as evidenced by the strangtion marks on her neck. The slight dislocation of her spine indicated the murderer had choked her from behind.


    Female victim no.2 was also disfigured by hydrochloric acid, and her fingerprints were removed with a knife. Another important clue was therge amount of bleach in the vaginal canal, suspected to have been introduced after death. At the same time, semen was also found, but the DNA had been destroyed.


    As I listened to Bingxin read the report aloud, I pulled out my cell phone to check on something.


    "Song Yang-gege, are you listening?¡± Bingxin stomped her feet. ¡°Why are you ying with your cell phone?"


    "Sorry, I suddenly thought of something.¡± An awkward smile rose to my lips. ¡°Go on, I¡¯m listening!"


    "What did you think of?" Xiaotao asked.


    "I¡¯d like to keep this to myself for the moment. Song Xingchen, hand me my Autopsy Umbre."


    Xiaotao tutted in annoyance.


    Female victim no.2 could be said to have a perfect figure. The coroner concluded the victim had been raped, so there was one thing I had to confirm.


    While waiting for Song XIngchen, I picked up the victim¡¯s hand and sniffed her fingers. Unfortunately, it smelled of formalin.


    A whileter, Song Xingchen returned with the Autopsy Umbre. The Autopsy Umbre twirled under the ultraviolet light, revealing a shocking sight¨Ccountless handprints all over the corpse. Although the handprints were faint, it was clear the murderer had thoroughly run his hands all over the victim.


    There was even a tooth mark on her nipple which indicated the murderer had special feelings towards the victim. Perhaps he once had a crush on this woman.


    After a moment of speechlessness, I said, "The murderer already has a certain amount of experience. This time, he¡¯s done a clean job of dealing with the victim."


    "You¡¯re clearly ignoring the most important clue!" retorted Xiaotao.


    "Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll talk about the murderer¡¯s feelings for female victim no.2ter.¡± I shook my finger. ¡°Before that, I have a hypothesis to share... I suspect the three victims and the murderer were high school ssmates, and the murderer currently works as an educator. They attended a ss reunion on September 7th."


    "What?" The others shot a look of astonishment at me.


    With wide eyes, Xiaotao queried, "How did youe up with that?"


    I turned to Bingxin, "When did you graduate from high school?"


    "Sixteen. What about it?" replied Bingxin.


    "Ugh, you child prodigy!¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll ask someone else. Xiaotao, what about you?"


    "Eighteen! Most people graduate from high school at that age." My question seemed to set the gears in her head in motion. "You mean to say the three victims were celebrating the ten-year high school graduation anniversary, as suggested by their age?"


    I nodded, "That¡¯s just one aspect. It¡¯s too much of a coincidence that all three victims are 28 years old. The first thing thates to mind is ssmates. Additionally, September 7th, the night when the couple was murdered, was a weekend when they usually hold ss reunion dinners. Another important point to note is the deliberate disfigurement of the victims¡¯ faces. Obviously, the victims¡¯ identities would expose our murderer."


    "Then what about the murderer¡¯s upation?" Xiaotao asked curiously.


    "The date!" I smiled, "The murderer killed the second victim ten days ago. Coincidentally, so was the first victim. Look at the date!"


    "September 10th... That¡¯s Teacher¡¯s Day!" Xiaotao and Bingxin eximed in unison.


    "Yes, when the second corpse was dumped, it happened to be the weekend. The murderer only has free time on the weekends and Teacher¡¯s Day. He¡¯s either repeating his studies or he¡¯s an educator!" I dered.

 Chapter 491

    <h4>Chapter 491</h4>


    At the end of my speech, Captain Tang seemed lost for words.


    "That¡¯s amazing!¡± he uttered. ¡°As expected of the Great Detective who¡¯s solved so many cases! You¡¯ve obtained so much information based on the bodies alone."


    "I thought I could keep up with your reasoning, but it looks like I¡¯m still a long way off," sighed Xiaotao.


    I turned to Captain Tang, "How many high schools are there in Jiangling City?"


    "Well, there are hundreds, not including the surrounding towns and counties," replied Captain Tang.


    It seemed the clue was still a bit slim. "Then let¡¯s use a two-pronged approach! We¡¯ll investigate which restaurant recently hosted ss reunion dinners. On the other hand, we¡¯ll also check the high schools in Jiangling City. The murderer is a male teacher, around 28 years old. He appears gentle, neat, introverted, has high self-esteem and lives alone. "


    Captain Tang nodded, "Alright! I¡¯ll mobilize the police force for the investigation."


    As soon as Captain Tang left, Xiaotao patted me on the shoulder, ¡°You¡¯ve made the Nanjiang mayor look good again!"


    "Who cares about that?¡± I smiled wryly. ¡°ording to the murderer¡¯s cycle, the next body will appear on the weekend, which is in three days."


    "Let¡¯s continue analyzing,¡± said Bingxin. ¡°Why did the murderer rape the dead victim?"


    Fixing my attention on the eviscerated victim, I said, "She might have been the object of the murderer¡¯s secret love in high school. For certain reasons, the murderer had to kill her, but he showed reluctance."


    "Had to kill her...¡± frowned Xiaotao. ¡°There must be a hidden motive.¡±


    "Could the murderer be a Chinese teacher? I doubt a science teacher coulde up with such poetic murders," mused Bingxin.


    "That may not be true! It took him three days to go from killing and disposing of the corpse. His cautiousness wouldn¡¯t allow such tant exposure of his profession. I think this might be rted to the motive."


    What was the rtionship between ancient poetry and murder? I didn¡¯t have a clue at the moment. Although it might sound pessimistic, I¡¯m afraid I might have to wait for the next body to appear.


    It was alreadyte by the time I was done examining the bodies. Bingxinined of hunger as soon as we exited the morgue.


    "I¡¯ve booked a hotel,¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°Let¡¯s get something to eat¡ªmy treat! We rarely visit Jiangling City, so we certainly can¡¯t miss out on Jiangling cuisine!"


    "Xiaotao-jiejie, you¡¯re so thoughtful!" beamed Bingxin.


    After a delicious meal, Xiaotao and Bingxin were enticed by the beautiful night scene in Jiangling City and proposed to go to a spa.


    Naturally, us three men couldn¡¯t go with them. We decided on a bathhouse where we could rewind, rx, and discuss the case.


    At around ten in the evening, we returned to the hotel to rest for the night.


    Early the next morning, during our buffet breakfast, Xiaotao asked what the n for the day was.


    "Although I¡¯m here to hide from my aunt, we have business to do. Let¡¯s visit the suspect¡¯s home!" I suggested.


    The suspect I was referring to was the owner of the Hanfu store Captain Tang had his eyes on. ording to my deductions, this man wasn¡¯t the murderer, but he was rted to the case.


    Xiaotao smiled, "I was just thinking the same thing. We¡¯ll have the opportunity to drop by Daming Temple as well!"


    "Perfect!" agreed Bingxin.


    The suspect¡¯s name was Ke Wenyuan. His store was located near Daming Temple, with a workshop in the back. He hired several tailors to create Hanfu, and was famous within the area.


    Ke Wenyuan was missing at present, but ording to people who knew him, this man held great respect for the traditional clothing of the Hans and loved dressing like them. He also wore his hair in a bun like the ancients, and was often mistaken for a Taoist priest.


    This man had a good temper and provided good service in his store. Whenever he came across a Hanfu enthusiast, he would immediately give them a discount. He once sponsored fifty sets of Hanfu for a traditional orchestra.


    We drove down to Daming Temple, a famous scenic spot in Jiangling City. Although it wasn¡¯t the peak tourist season, there were still many tourists about, including beautiful Jiangnan women...


    When I fixed my gaze on one of these women, Xiaotao pulled my ear and sneered, "Would you like to go and say hello?"


    "I¡¯m just looking at her outfit,¡± I argued. ¡°It would look ten times better on you."


    "You little sweet talker. I¡¯ll spare you this time,"ughed Xiaotao.


    "I saw several girls wearing Hanfu. It turns out the robes are so flowy and elegant!¡± gushed Bingxin. ¡°I¡¯ve decided to buy myself a set of Hanfu when we¡¯ve solved the case!"


    "Well, I think it¡¯s great. This sort of dress that doesn¡¯t cling to your body is the best for you," Xiaotao quipped.


    "Hmph!" pouted Bingxin.


    The five of us walking together drew numerous looks, especially Song Xingchen who had the girls screaming in delight, mistaking him for Zhang Yixing. Despite the attention and photo-taking, Song Xingchen was indifferent and apparently used to it.


    We soon arrived at the Hanfu store which was closed. Considering it was a tourist attraction, the police hadn¡¯t sealed off the premises.


    There was no way I could pick the lock in broad daylight with eyes all around. Thus, Xiaotao contacted thendlord who opened the door for us. As soon as we entered the store, we were greeted by a variety of Hanfu.


    "I¡¯ve just recalled an incident that happened a few years ago. When the country boycotted Japanese goods, several girls wore Hanfu in the streets which were mistaken for kimonos by a group of angry youths. They surrounded the girls and forced them to remove their clothes."


    "Those so-called activists who scorn traitors are usually mentally-retarded bastards who wreak havoc in the name of patriotism!¡± Bingxinmented. ¡°However, the situation has improved in recent years. More and more girls wear the Hanfu as a regr outfit. After all, the Hanfu is the most urate national costume whereas the cheongsam was handed down from Manchus."


    Iughed, "Don¡¯t rush to denounce anything! Chinese culture is all-inclusive. You can wear the cheongsam or the Hanfu. Back in the Tang Dynasty, girls could wear both the Hanfu and men¡¯s clothing. Their outfit exposed much cleavage! There were Chinese, Persians, Japanese and Africans on the street. Only a strong country would appeal to all civilizations. Currently, China is much more openpared to twenty years ago, and there are more and more foreigners in the country. This is proof that Papa Xi¡¯s Belt and the Road Initiative was sessful."


    "What you say is very reasonable...¡± nodded Xiaotao. ¡°But when you talk about girls showing their breasts, your eyes seem to shine really brightly!"


    "Really?¡± I panicked. ¡°I¡¯ve always been very objective."


    "Keep spinning your lies!" Xiaotaoughed.


    "Why do men like big breasts?¡± Bingxin spat her tongue. ¡°Didn¡¯t you get enough milk when you were young?"


    After a bit of gossiping, we began searching the house. I pulled out photos of evidence andpared them to the real items. From the details such as the cut and pattern, the Hanfu that appeared at the murder scene was certainly produced in this store, as confirmed by Captain Tang.


    The store¡¯s business license was disyed on the wall, with Ke Wenyuan¡¯s photo on the top. That face was ipatible with the murderer I had in mind.


    "When was Ke Wenyuan born?" I asked.


    "His personal information shows that he is 35 years old and unmarried," answered Xiaotao.


    Behind the storefront was a workshop that had been abruptly shut down, with unfinished clothes on the sewing machine. In fact, Captain Tang did a thorough job speaking to the employees so it was unnecessary and a waste of time for us to conduct further inquiries.


    Ke Wenyuan¡¯s bedroom was very messy, with numerous books about ancient costumes on the bookshelf, suggesting he spent a lot of thoughts on his business.


    There were many costume dolls disyed in a ss cab. But as I stared at them, I got the feeling that something was wrong!

 Chapter 492

    <h4>Chapter 492</h4>


    I removed the doll from the ss cab and studied it. The hair on the doll was ck and shiny. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that its thickness resembled human hair, and from the length and curvature, it almost appeared to be...


    I asked for Bingxin¡¯s opinion. After studying it for a considerable amount of time, she ventured, "Is this... pubic hair?"


    "What?" Xiaotao stared in consternation.


    "We¡¯ll have to test it to be certain."


    Eyes dancing across the dolls in the cab, I thought, That would be a shocking ¡°hobby.¡±


    The sound of cloth tearing suddenly reverberated around the room. I turned back to see Song Xingchen tearing the sheets with his bare hands. Xiaotao asked what he was doing but Song Xingchen speechlessly threw out the torn inner lining onto the bed. One look at the bed was like taking a bat to the head.


    The lining of the bed sheet was sewn together from women¡¯s underwear, the bright colors almost too dazzling for the eye. For a moment, we were lost for words.


    "I¡¯m afraid this man has a fetish,¡± I mused.


    ¡°Could this be why he fled?" Bingxin couldn¡¯t fight the smile that rose to her lips.


    "We can¡¯t jump to conclusions,¡± I said. ¡°By the way, Xiaotao, could you call those on duty in the store and warehouse? I¡¯d like to verify some information."


    While we waited, Wang Yuanchao shared his discovery¨Ca roll of negatives that had fallen under the table. It was rare to find anyone using old cameras these days.


    Unrolling the film, I looked at it under the light. The contents shocked me to my core. They were all photos of naked women.


    "Get someone to develop this!" I handed the negatives to Xiaotao.


    "We must be careful not to leak the photos since it may involve the privacy of others. I¡¯ll ask Captain Tang for helpter!"


    There was a knock on the door. A timid man walked in and asked us what we wanted.


    "What is your boss like?" I began.


    "He¡¯s very nice. Whenever our neighbors are in trouble, he¡¯ll be the first to help. He¡¯s usually very good to us and has never missed a sry. At the end of each year, he rewards us with a decent bonus as well. God knows who he offended. He just ran away all of a sudden!" sighed the shop assistant.


    "When did he disappear? What happened that day?" I asked.


    "September 11th!¡± the man recalled. ¡°On that day, a colleague showed him a post on Weibo about a body that was found somewhere. The boss paid our wages that afternoon and then disappeared. Later, the police came to the door inquiring about this and that. I think it had something to do with the clothes."


    "As far as you know, what are your boss¡¯s hobbies?" I added.


    ¡°None that I can think of. He¡¯s usually very busy with work. How would he have the time to... Oh, that¡¯s right, he¡¯s got a thing for lolis."


    "What?!¡±


    "No, no, don¡¯t get me wrong! I mean those inics. He likes watching anime with lolis. What did he say again? That¡¯s right, there are three things he likes about lolis¨Cthey¡¯re delicate, soft and easy to pin down!" The shop assistant awkwardly rubbed his head.


    "Thanks for answering my questions. By the way, we¡¯d like to confirm the inventory and check what¡¯s missing."


    "Okay!"


    The shop assistant opened the closet and removed the robes one by one as he checked the books. Finally, he reported seven missing Hanfu, two women¡¯s dresses and five men¡¯s robes. Xiaotao and I exchanged a look of consternation. Judging from this, the murderer had four more victims on his kill list.


    After the shop assistant left, Captain Tang called to inform us of a new discovery¨Cthe police found a restaurant that recently hosted a reunion dinner and a waiter might have witnessed something.


    Hanging up, Xiaotao turned to Bingxin, "Well, looks like our travel ns for today are ruined."


    Bingxin spread her hands, "Solving the casees first."


    At the restaurant, the reservation records showed that a man named Zhang Wei booked arge private room on September 7th and made arge banner with the words "10th Anniversary Reunion of ss of 16¡¯.¡± When asked what the man looked like, the waiter couldn¡¯t recall due to the sheer amount of customers he served every day. He only remembered that he looked ferocious, much like a member of the mafia, and had a scorpion tattooed on his arm.


    "One of the waiters also witnessed a dispute between a couple and a man in front of the parking garage after the banquet,¡± reported Captain Tang. ¡°We suspect they¡¯re the victims."


    "I¡¯d like to speak to the waiter," I said.


    During his shift, the waiter went out to dispose of the trash and chanced upon a couple quarreling with a man in sses. Behind them was a ck SUV and a bicycle. Perhaps the couple¡¯s car had identally hit the man¡¯s bicycle.


    Although the waiter couldn¡¯t remember the content of their quarrel, a particr sentence made a deep impression on him. The woman pointed at sses and ridiculed, "I hate teachers the most! You¡¯re all so poor but you think you¡¯re so great. It¡¯s fucking disgusting!"


    Then, the man pulled out a wad of cash from his car¨Calmost ten thousand yuan¨Cand tossed it to sses. "Fine, I¡¯ll pay for your medical expenses. Now get out of here, we still have business to do!"


    sses stared venomously as the two climbed into the car, rooted to the spot for a long time.


    This was a very important clue. Judging from the content of their conversation, the man in sses was probably the murderer, and this minor ident as well as the humiliation from his ssmates were very likely to be the trigger for the murders.


    However, due to the distance at the time, the waiter didn¡¯t get a good look at them. Captain Tang spoke to the rest of the waiters but none of them recalled having seen a humble-looking man in sses out of the numerous guests that day.


    After thanking the waiter, we left the restaurant. As I walked out the door, I noticed two waiters hanging rednterns painted with Chang¡¯e on the tree in front.


    "Mid-Autumn Festival is on the fifteenth of the eighth lunar month!" I remarked. "Is that today?"


    "Are you craving mooncakes?¡± Xiaotaoughed. ¡°It¡¯s tomorrow.¡±


    "Damn it, the murders just have to happen now! All units get three days off during the Mid-Autumn Festival. But the next body may appear any time from tonight to tomorrow night. The public holiday will definitely dy our investigation."


    Captain Tang nervously picked up his phone, "I¡¯ll send more officers to patrol the streets at once!"


    "ording to the murderer¡¯s pattern, he¡¯ll orchestrate something along the lines of an ancient poem. The body is likely to be abandoned in a certain scenic spot. Send the officers to monitor these scenic spots."


    "Are there any interesting attractions near the hotel?" asked Xiaotao.


    Captain Tang replied without a second thought. "Lotus Pond Park."


    "Alright then, we¡¯ll cover Lotus Pond Park so you don¡¯t have to send any officers there."


    When Captain Tang left, I turned to Xiaotao, "You¡¯re thinking of sightseeing, aren¡¯t you?"


    Xiaotao giggled, "There¡¯s nothing wrong with mixing business and pleasure. Do you have an opinion about that?"

 Chapter 493

    <h4>Chapter 493</h4>


    In the evening, Captain Tang reported little progress in the investigation. There were too many people named Zhang Wei who were twenty-eight this year. In Jiangling City alone, there were thousands who fit the criteria and had to be carefully screened.


    After dinner, we visited Lotus Pond Park. On the night before the Mid-Autumn Festival, there were many visitors in the park. By the road were vendors offering their wares. I heard there would be arge-scale 3D fountain show tonight¨CChang¡¯e Flies To The Moon.


    Bingxin eagerly bought a bunch of snacks while we strolled the park. "I really envy you,¡± sighed Xiaotao. ¡°You can eat all you want, yet you won¡¯t gain any weight. Everything I eat goes to my breasts and butt."


    ¡°Hmph, all you do is show off!¡± Bingxin made a face at Xiaotao. When she turned around, Wang Yuanchao and Song Xingchen had disappeared. I wasn¡¯t too worried about them. The two quiet men preferred spending their time away from all the bustle and excitement.


    Droves of tourists flooded the park. Bingxin held my hand for fear of losing me in the crowd. At the same time, my other hand was sped with Xiaotao¡¯s. Our odd trio attracted many curious looks from people trying to guess our rtionship.


    Xiaotao asked, "Do you regret not being born in ancient times? That way you can marry two wives?"


    "Oh, stop it, you know you¡¯re the only one in my heart. Besides, the ancients didn¡¯t practice polygamy. Strictly speaking, a man could only have one wife but many concubines. Additionally, there were many rules. The wife must have given birth to a child before a concubine is approved."


    Upon hearing the word ¡®concubine,¡¯ Bingxin protested, "What are you talking about? I¡¯m no concubine! I¡¯m Song Yang-gege¡¯s childhood sweetheart. Once you¡¯re married and have kids, you¡¯ll turn into an old, sallow-faced woman but a childhood sweetheart will always stay perfect in his memory."


    "Yeah, keep telling yourself that,¡± scoffed Xiaotao. ¡°Do you know what being a childhood sweetheart means? You¡¯ll never be ¡®promoted¡¯ to wife!"


    "Marriage is the tomb for love, the end of your feelings as you know it!" retorted Bingxin.


    "Oh, can¡¯t you two get along nicely? Is that so hard?" I grumbled.


    Hooking her arm with mine, Bingxin said, "Song Yang-gege, here¡¯s a serious question. If Xiaotao-jiejie and I were drowning, who would you save?"


    "Yes, I have long wanted to ask this question as well." Xiaotao pulled my arm.


    "Um..." Looking at their serious expressions, I knew I¡¯d be stepping into a minefield. I hesitated for a moment and somehow managed to dodge the bullet. "Look, there¡¯s a magic show in front. Let¡¯s go and have a look."


    "Don¡¯t change the subject!" shouted the girls.


    Although they argued incessantly, the girls were in agreement as soon as they got to ying together. There were quite a few interesting attractions in the park, such as shooting targets, w machines and fortune-telling. At around nine in the evening, Xiaotao said, "There¡¯s no word from Captain Tang. Looks like the murderer won¡¯t appear tonight."


    I nodded, "Shall we head back to the hotel then? I would love to take a shower. I¡¯m drenched in sweat!"


    "No, I want to watch the fountain show!" pouted Bingxin.


    "Well, since we¡¯re here, we might as well stay for the show!" agreed Xiaotao.


    We headed to the lotus pond to watch the 3D fountain show which was actually a CG animation prepared in advance projected onto the water curtain. The girls were absorbed in the dreamlike show as the water curtain danced to the lights.


    While watching the show, I couldn¡¯t help but share a little bit about the folklore. "In fact, the earliest version of the story ended with Chang ¡¯e turning into a toad after swallowing the elixir. The story was gradually beautified after the Han Dynasty."


    "Thanks for sharing that,¡± said Xiaotao. ¡°I¡¯ve learned something new today.¡±


    ¡°How unromantic,¡± chuckled Bingxin.


    Right then, a scream tore through the night. "Ahhh, there¡¯s a dead body!"


    The audience turned back to watch the excitement while we rushed towards the source of the screams. When we arrived, Wang Yuanchao and Song Xingchen were already there. Signs of inebriation colored Wang Yuanchao¡¯s face. It seemed he had gone elsewhere to drink.


    The body was tantly hung from a tree, dressed in a white Tang Dynasty costume with a Futou on his head, though the wing-like ps on the back were drooping downwards.


    The victim¡¯s right arm was raised, his hand tied to a ss with a metal wire. Its position happened to fall right between two streetmps, projecting two shadows on the ground.


    "Till, raising my cup, I asked the bright moon, to bring me my shadow and make us three," I recited.


    The entire scene vividly expressed the poem. The only fly in the ointment was the stic film wrapped around the corpse. If it was removed, the graceful attire could be better appreciated.


    shing her badge, Xiaotao shouted at the passers-by, "Police! Please move away from the crime scene!"


    I went around the back and found the body was tied to the canopy by two ropes. The murderer hung up the body in advance and cut one of the ropes so the body would be exposed.


    "The murderer hasn¡¯t gone far! Song Xingchen, Wang Yuanchao, look for him!" I ordered.


    Song Xingchen and Wang Yuanchao¡¯s men spread out in different directions. Meanwhile, Bingxin contacted the police. Due to the crowd, it wasn¡¯t convenient to lower the body at the moment. There was no way I could perform an autopsy in public.


    The three of us stood there, hindering curious onlookers from approaching. During this time, eager onlookers raised an onught of stupid questions.


    "Did this manmit suicide?"


    "Is this some sort of performance?"


    I gave noment at all.


    Five minutester, Song Xingchen returned and blurted a series of numbers as soon as he opened his mouth.


    "Is this the murderer¡¯s license te number?¡± I asked.


    "I¡¯m not sure. The van left the parking lot in a hurry so I noted the license te."


    "Good job!"


    When Captain Tang arrived, the officers sealed off the road, cordoned the area and dispersed the masses. Only then did we lower the body for the autopsy.


    "Oh no, a bunch of tourists took some photos. I don¡¯t know if we can keep things under wraps," said Xiaotao.


    "We¡¯ll use the authority of the special team and get Sina to these posts!"


    "I guess that¡¯s the best option," sighed Xiaotao.


    The victim was a male and under the age of thirty. Judging from the degree of muscle rigidity, the time of death was three days ago. The murderer had improved by leaps and bounds after the first two hands-on ¡°training" sessions.


    The clothes were new and covered with some sort powder, perhaps chalk dust.


    This confirmed my conjecture that the murderer was a teacher. The Mid-Autumn Festival holiday started the next day. The murderer seemed eager to dispose of the corpse and got to it immediately after ss. Bingxin was in charge of extracting the fingerprints from the victim¡¯s clothes. Instead of removing the robes entirely, we cut off parts of the cloth stained with chalk dust and ced them in evidence bags.


    After processing the clothes, Bingxin pointed, "Song Yang-gege, look!"


    A piece of skin had been gouged out of the victim¡¯s arm. The surrounding skin had turned pale and curled up around the wound, suggesting the victim had been scalded by hot water. The missing skin seemed to resemble some sort of pattern. I was suddenly reminded of the waiter¡¯s testimony.


    Turning to Captain Tang, I said, "There¡¯s no need to look for Zhang Wei. This is our guy!"


    Drinking Alone Under The Moon by Li Bai as tranted by Witter Bynner.

 Chapter 494

    <h4>Chapter 494</h4>


    My intuition told me that the victim was killed in a hurry because he might reveal the murderer¡¯s identity. Since the two were old ssmates, the murderer had no trouble at all approaching the victim.


    However, this was merely spection, so I kept it to myself.


    "Song Yang-gege, look at the victim¡¯s skin!" blurted Bingxin.


    There were tiny wounds all over the victim¡¯s skin that had turned white. I also caught a whiff of bleach. Upon further examination, I said, "The murderer scalded the victim with boiling water and scrubbed him clean with a steel mesh, making sure all his fingerprints were removed."


    "How can he do this to his own ssmate! He must be the devil!" cursed Bingxin.


    Like the previous victims, his face was disfigured by hydrochloric acid, and the fingerprints were sliced off. Picking up the victim¡¯s hand, I noticed newly-healed wounds on the knuckles and calluses on the outer part of the fingers.


    This man was either a boxer or fought frequently. He was definitely mixed up with the gangs.


    With Bingxin¡¯s help, I turned the body over. Upon removing the Futou, I found a depression in the back of the victim¡¯s head as well as blood-clotting. The bone fragments were shaped in a radial pattern, suggesting the victim suffered a blow from a blunt instrument from behind.


    Aside from that, there was no other obvious trauma. A fatal blow¨Cthe murderer¡¯s methods had matured from his previous murders!


    What was used to pose the corpse was plywood fixed to the shoulder de, firmly tied to the victim¡¯s arm with metal wires. The knotted part of the metal wire was twisted together using pincer pliers.


    Though the left side was carefully twisted, the right side seemed sloppy inparison, as if made by a different person.


    I picked up the stic film wrapped around the body and examined it. There was an oil stain that smelled of food. "The murderer had an extra helper this time, but the helper doesn¡¯t seem professional," I surmised.


    "Is it an aplice?" Xiaotao asked.


    "No, just someone to deal with the body! The victim is physically strong and often fights. If the murderer didn¡¯t sneak an attack from behind, I¡¯m afraid even two people wouldn¡¯t be his opponent."


    Right then, Captain Tang came running. "The vehicle that sped off belongs to Ke Wenyuan, the Hanfu store owner."


    "It¡¯s this guy!¡± eximed Xiaotao. ¡°So he¡¯s the helper."


    "The murderer must have something on Ke Wenyuan, forcing him to help," I deduced.


    "We have investigated all of Ke Wenyuan¡¯s acquaintances and there are no teachers in his circle."


    "So perhaps this man isn¡¯t his friend."


    Bingxin asked if I wanted to perform an autopsy, to which I shook my head. "The murderer is now an expert and has done a meticulous job. There¡¯s no need for an autopsy, but you can look for pathological changes on the victim¡¯s body and perhaps determine his identity through medical history."


    However, the possibility of this was small at best. After all, these young victims were unlikely to have had serious illnesses.


    After sending off the body, we returned to the hotel. On the way there, I purchased a map of Jiangling City and a marker pen.


    "Are you going to use the Divination Technique again?" asked Xiaotao.


    "I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t use it this time since the murderer disposes of the bodies with a purpose. But we can try other ways."


    Back to the hotel, I spread the map on the floor, marked the three dump sites, and circled each point, or the estimated radii of the murderer¡¯s activity. It was impossible to dump a body in the city on foot, so the murderer must have a car.


    The intersection of the three circles coincided with the southeast section of Guangling District.


    "Does the murderer live in this area?" queried Xiaotao.


    I shook my head, "My guess isn¡¯t necessarily urate. The first three bodies were dumped during public holidays. The murderer would have plenty of time and arger range of activity."


    "I believe in your intuition,¡± Xiaotao smiled. ¡°We can start from this area after the three-day holiday."


    By this point, it was already past eleven o¡¯clock. I was just about to head back to my room to rest when Xiaotao offered, "Won¡¯t you stay the night?"


    "But what if Bingxines backter?"


    "Don¡¯t worry, that annoying third wheel won¡¯t be back for a while."


    Bingxin had left for the station to conduct the autopsy. The thought of just the two of us in a hotel room had my ears flushed and throat dry with desire.


    Xiaotao jumped out of bed. "I¡¯ll take a shower. Wait for me."


    A few minutester came the sound of running water. I turned on the TV, trying to calm my pounding heart. The atmosphere in the hotel was more suggestive than at home. I pondered how to break the ice when Xiaotao returned.


    With how busy we both were, the notion of leisure time was wishful thinking. I had to seize every opportunity.


    Taking a few deep breaths, I gradually regainedposure. At this moment, the sounds from the bathroom came to an abrupt stop. Xiaotao walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, wet hair slightly curled and draped over her slender back. Her skin was still stained with moisture, cheeks red like apples. There was nothing more alluring than a beautiful woman after a shower.


    "Good boy, you didn¡¯t chicken out," chuckled Xiaotao.


    "A-am I such a coward?" I stammered in reply.


    Xiaotao climbed into the bed and patted the space next to her, "Come over here!"


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, I did as she asked. With her head on my chest, Xiaotao snuggled in my arms, grabbed the remote control from my hand, and carelessly changed the channel.


    "Your heart is beating so quickly," remarked Xiaotao.


    Only then did I notice she was listening to my heartbeat. However, I wasn¡¯t sure what to say. Looking up at me, she asked, "Why are you always so nervous when you¡¯re with me?"


    I was suddenly reminded of a phrase. "Because from the first time I saw you until now, you have always been a dazzling goddess in my eyes."


    "What a sweet talker!"


    She leaned in and stuck her lips to mine. As soon as I met her soft, flexible tongue, my body responded involuntarily. There were two different voices fighting fiercely in my head, and finally I was ovee by desire.


    I flipped her over, pinning her down on the bed. Xiaotao blushed with expectation and uneasiness, her mood mirroring my own.


    My hands held Xiaotao¡¯s shoulders, unmoving for about ten seconds. Although I had previously watched porn, I wasn¡¯t sure where to start.


    My brain went nk.


    "Idiot!" Xiaotaoughed.


    Should we forget it...


    The sentence danced around in my throat, but I fought the impulse to speak the words. This time, I had to stick it out till the end.


    Plucking up my courage, I reached for her towel. Xiaotao moved her legs uneasily, her smooth calves rubbing against my thigh, but there was no sign of resistance. The unique scent of her body tantalized the senses, making my blood boil, and my courage surged. I slowly peeled off the towel, exposing the soft, snow-like skin underneath.


    "Will it hurt?" Xiaotao asked in a low voice.


    "If it does, I¡¯ll stop!" At this point, I didn¡¯t even know what I was saying.


    "Silly!" giggled Xiaotao.


    Blood rushed all over my body, my cheeks boiling hot as impulse dominated me. I couldn¡¯t wait to remove my clothes and reveal my slender body. Xiaotao suddenly clutched at my chest and whispered, "Get the condom."


    "Okay!"


    I quickly got out of bed and pulled out a box of condoms, unpacked them, and held the slippery rubber. After living for twenty-four years, I still didn¡¯t know how to use it...

 Chapter 495

    <h4>Chapter 495</h4>


    I didn¡¯t know how to use it at all, much less Xiaotao. She grabbed the condom from my hand and studied it. "How did you put it on?"


    "How should I know?" I replied.


    "Don¡¯t you watch porn?" Xiaotao asked.


    "I do, but that part¡¯s always blurred out..."


    Xiaotao burst intoughter, "We¡¯ll take off your pants first. I¡¯ll help you put it on."


    I blushed, hands trembling as I unbuckled my belt. Xiaotao grabbed her cell phone from under the pillow. "I¡¯m turning my phone off so no one will disturb us."


    We turned off our phones together, burning the bridge, revelling in our own world. But at this moment, a knock sounded on the door. We held our breaths but nothing happened.


    "Could it be Bingxin?" I asked.


    With tacit understanding, we got dressed and tidied up the scene. When I opened the door, I found the hallway empty.


    The sudden interruption deted my hard-fought courage. Turning to Xiaotao, I said, ¡°I¡¯m going back to my room!"


    She leaned against the door and kissed me gently. "Good night!"


    "See you tomorrow."


    Wang Yuanchao and I shared a room while Song Xingchen slept alone. When I returned to my room, I found Bingxin sitting on the bed, eating grapes and watching TV.


    "Huh?" We looked at each other in surprise.


    "Uncle Wang, I¡¯m going back to my room." With that, Bingxin got up and left. As she walked past me, she smiled slyly. I was almost certain she was our mysterious knocker.


    Perhaps she assumed Xiaotao and I were in the throes of love-making and left wisely. Unfortunately, any desire I had waspletely dispelled by the knock on the door.


    Although Xiaotao and I failed to seal the deal, it seemed that we made Bingxin think otherwise. At breakfast the next morning, she nced at us with a mischievous glint in her eye.


    As soon as she got the chance, she asked, "How was it?"


    "I have no idea what you are talking about!" I retorted.


    "Hmph, you can pretend all you like, but I saw what was in the trash can," Bingxin pursed her lips.


    "What!"


    It turned out Bingxin found the opened condom Xiaotao threw away in a hurry. With such solid ¡°evidence,¡± it was hard to keep arguing.


    "Why don¡¯t I stay alone so the two of you don¡¯t have to keep sneaking around?" suggested Bingxin.


    I smiled bitterly, "Why are you so kind?"


    "Well it¡¯s because I¡¯m a good person of course!"ughed Bingxin.


    But even if I denied it, Bingxin wouldn¡¯t believe me.


    Since today was a public holiday, there was nothing much we could do. Captain Tang¡¯s investigation was still ongoing. The three of us simply treated it as a three-day holiday. I headed down to the bookstore to purchase some reading materials.


    On thest day of our three-day holiday, Xiaotao suddenly steered me to look at Weibo.


    At first, I assumed word got out about the incident in the park that night. But upon checking Weibo, Xiaotao had tagged me in a microblog that was forwarded numerous times, and the source was a Jiangling City forum.


    The blogger called ¡®I am a monkey¡¯ wrote: A teacher whose death we caused came back for revenge!


    It told a story that happened more than ten years ago. At the time, the poster was studying in a private middle school. The admission rate of this middle school was average, and students basically spent money to buy their high school diplomas, so one could imagine theck of discipline.


    The poster¡¯s ss teacher was a Chinese teacher named Xu. Once in ss, Mr. Xu caught two girls ying with their cell phones and he confiscated the phones on the spot, severely criticized them and asked their parents to pick up their cell phones.


    The girls were afraid of rming their parents. At this time, Boy C, who had a crush on Girl A, and Boy D, who had a crush on Girl B, volunteered to steal their cell phones from the teacher¡¯s office. Assuming the phones had been stolen, Mr. Xu purchased two cell phones matching the same models with his own sry. With the price at that time and Mr. Xu¡¯s meager sry, it was certainly not an easy feat!


    Mr. Xu visited Girl A¡¯s home in order to return her cell phone. As soon as both parties confirmed the situation, their little mischief-making was discovered. Mr. Xu flew into a rage at the ss and gave them a lengthy lecture. The two boys who stole the phones were also criticized in front of the entire school.


    What was originally a small matter was blown out of proportion after such a disturbance. Both boys had little interest in school and were fooling around outside. Boiling with anger, the boys thought of gathering a bunch of boys to beat up Mr. Xu.


    The boys¡¯ friend E said that if they were caught beating a teacher, they would be forced to drop out of school. Thus, it was better toe up with some other way to punish him, one that wouldn¡¯t vite the school rules but also quell their anger.


    Together with F and G, these five boys followed Mr. Xu every day after school and realized he had a daughter attending kindergarten. It was E who came up with the diabolical n.


    They were going to kidnap Mr. Xu¡¯s daughter to trick the man. The n was to take her out for some fun and frighten Mr. Xu.


    The n went very smoothly up until C recklessly made a phone call to Mr. Xu. With his voice muffled, he said, "Your daughter is in our hands. If you¡¯d like to see her again, put together one million yuan!"


    The five boys happily took the girl for a day out at the amusement park. When they sent her back to the neighborhood at nine that evening, they found several police vehicles parked at the door. It turned out Mr. Xu reported this as a kidnapping.


    The boys were scared silly! With theirck of legal awareness, they weren¡¯t sure how many years they would be sentenced to for the crime of kidnapping, but they knew they would definitely be incarcerated.


    At this time, the girl was in a hurry to go home and shouted, ¡®Daddy!¡¯ One of the five boys quickly covered her mouth and turned to the others. "We can¡¯t let her go back, or we¡¯ll be finished!"


    "What are we supposed to do then? We can¡¯t really kidnap her!" argued another.


    The boy replied, "If we tell the police it was merely a prank, would they believe us? Even if they do, we¡¯ll be forced to drop out of school!"


    During their quarrel, theirpanion found that the girl was struggling more and more violently. By the time the boy removed his hand, she had already stopped breathing.


    The boys were livid with fear. After a heated debate, they reached a consensus to keep this a secret.


    After all, they were inexperienced teenagers so the way they dealt with the body was bold and inconceivable. They buried the child under the sandpit in the school yground.


    Mr. Xu was absent for three days. When he returned, the students were surprised to find that his hair had turned grey.


    Wracked with guilt, some wavered and wanted to confess everything, but they were stopped by theirpanions. They vowed never to mention this matter and the names of the parties involved or their families would be cursed to death!


    After a month of suffering, summer vacation arrived and the boys were relieved to have escaped judgement. However, Mr. Xu never returned after vacation and the ss got a new ss teacher.


    Later on, after further inquiry, they learned that Mr. Xu and his wife argued all day long since their daughter¡¯s disappearance. His wife left home to be a nun while Mr. Xu drank all day long, and finally died from a fall down the stairs.

 Chapter 496

    <h4>Chapter 496</h4>


    A few days ago, during their ss reunion dinner, the five boys got together again after ten years and reminisced about the past, each with a different reaction. To the poster, the events of that year were like a thorn wedged in his heart. However, one of them went so far as to denigrate Mr. Xu as a worthless teacher who didn¡¯t deserve to live.


    Another man stood up and pped him, "Do you look down on teachers?!"


    The atmosphere at the reunion dinner turned heavy with tension and the dinner ended in tears. After that, the poster was busy with work and didn¡¯t contact them until he came across the death of one of his ssmates on Weibo. A search online revealed the previous cases as well. Hence, the poster was certain that the dead teacher had climbed out of the grave for revenge.


    Students of Mr. Xu would never forget his melodious voice as he recited ancient poems. He was always brimming with emotion, as if he had walked a mile in the poet¡¯s shoes.


    At the end of the microblog, the poster wrote: I¡¯m sorry Mr. Xu! Please forgive me!


    Upon reading the lengthy post, I sat in silence, digesting the story.


    "This microblog has been forwarded over 100,000 times,¡± sighed Xiaotao. ¡°Some are cursing at him while others sympathize andfort him."


    "Looks like the murderer is one of these five people. Is he going to kill himself then?" I wondered out loud.


    There were two women and five men¡¯s Hanfu missing, which suggested he had included himself.


    "Anyway, since this important clue has surfaced, we¡¯ll take a two-pronged approach. Look for the private school and the poster."


    "If we find him, problem solved!"


    Xiaotao nned to act with Wang Yuanchao while Bingxin, Song Xingchen and I worked together.


    Bingxin cleared her throat and pushed me towards Xiaotao, "You should go with Xiaotao-jiejie."


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a look of amusement. "Alright then, Song Yang and I will head to the private schools, while you guys contact the poster."


    "Get Lao Yao to assist you!" I added.


    After the three left, Xiaotao and I began searching for private schools in Jiangling City. There were dozens of them, and when asked, all of them denied the urrence of such an incident. They must have concealed all information about the matter.


    It was unrealistic to visit each school, so I suggested, "Check the enrollment rate!"


    Upon further investigation, there were three private schools with impressive enrollment rates. Thus, we immediately drove to the nearest one.


    On the way there, Xiaotao chuckled, "Bingxin kept me up all night talking."


    "What did you talk about?" I asked curiously.


    "This littledy was feeling lost, happy for you, yet a little jealous. I tried to enlighten her! I told her that even if we get married in the future, you can still be friends and hang out together. After all, we can talk about anything, even our feelings. I can¡¯t believe Iforted my love rival," remarked Xiaotao.


    In this regard, I too had nothing to say. Instead, I praised her, "Xiaotao, you¡¯re really broad-minded."


    "Well, I believe you!" Xiaotao smiled.


    We visited two schools and spoke to the principal, the director of the teaching department, and other staff. During this period, I yed a human lie detector using Cave Vision. Neither of these schools seemed to be the right one, leaving only Yingjie High School.


    Yingjie High School was pretty far from where we were. Just as we were ready to head over, I received a text message from Lao Yao. It was still rare of him to voluntarily send me one. There was a screenshot of the chat records between two ounts, ¡¯I am a monkey¡¯ and ¡¯Qingqing Zijin¡¯¡ª


    Qingqing Zijin: Monkey, I read your post. Did the dead teacher reallye back for revenge?


    I am a monkey: Yes, you, me, Da Zhuang, Xiao Fei and Wei-ge are all doomed!


    Qingqing Zijin: Don¡¯t be so pessimistic. By the way, are you free now? I¡¯d like to meet you and talk it over.


    I am a monkey: There¡¯s nothing to talk about. What shoulde wille eventually.


    Qingqing Zijin: Actually, I have a friend who¡¯s a policeman. He wants to know details of what happened back then. He hopes to speak to you.


    I am a monkey: What? You went to the police?


    Qingqing Zijin: The police say the murders were caused by a man, not the revenge of a dead teacher. Don¡¯t worry! Can youe to the teahouse on 23 Jiankang Road? I¡¯m here with my friend. Hurry up!


    I am a monkey: I¡¯ll be right there.


    After reading the conversation, I eximed, "Oh no! The murderer read the microblog and sought out the poster. He¡¯s definitely nning to kill him!"


    I immediately phoned Lao Yao, "Where did you find this chat record?"


    With the urgent situation at hand, Lao Yao reined in his usual jokes and went straight to the point. "Well, Lao Wang asked me to check this ount so I hacked into the forum¡¯s database. This is an old ount and there was no real-name authentication when the user registered so I can¡¯t determine his identity. I identally stumbled upon this chat record half an hour ago. By the way, Lao Wang is rushing over there."


    "Thanks a lot!" I said.


    "I¡¯ll check the IP address. Well, I¡¯ll leave you to it!" replied Lao Yao.


    Upon hanging up, Xiaotao and I headed to this address at once. Xiaotao made a sharp turn on the road, vited four trafficws in one breath, and drove straight for Jiankang Road.


    Along the way, we were like cats on hot bricks. If we werete by even a second, another life would be lost.


    We arrived right as Wang Yuanchao and his party pulled up to the front of the teahouse. When asked if two men had previously entered, the waiter said no, but he reported witnessing a man being dragged into a van which immediately sped off. He was just hesitating whether or not to call the police when we showed up.


    After asking for directions, we quickly climbed into the car and chased after the van. At the same time, we contacted the traffic police to search for the van via traffic cameras. This vehicle most likely belonged to Ke Wenyuan.


    The traffic police found the suspect¡¯s vehicle without much effort since the van recklessly overtook other vehicles along the way and was captured by traffic cams several times. At an intersection came the sound of numerous collisions. Fortunately, Xiaotao skillfully made a sharp turn on the sidewalk, narrowly avoiding the serial collision in front of us.


    "What happened? How did these cars crash into each other?" Bingxin asked on the phone.


    "That¡¯s not important right now. First, find the suspect and let Captain Tang deal with this!"


    Traffic cameras showed that the van finally disappeared at an intersection on Liancheng North Road. We parked nearby and spread out searching while keeping in touch via cell phones.


    Webed the area for about fifteen minutes when Bingxin yelled through the phone, "I¡¯ve found something! I¡¯m in a machinery factory called East Energy."


    "Don¡¯t move, we¡¯ll be right there!"


    Bingxin sighed, "I¡¯m already at the scene, but the murderer hasmitted suicide!"

 Chapter 497

    <h4>Chapter 497</h4>


    When the rest of us arrived, we found a van crashed into a telephone pole, surrounded by a bunch of workers. Bingxin had taken out her ID to maintain order at the scene.


    Upon noticing us, Bingxin trotted over and said, "It was already like this when I got here. The workers said they heard the crash five minutes ago. The doorman also reported that the van forcibly entered the premises. Fortunately, there were no casualties."


    When I got around to the side of the vehicle, I found a man leaning out of the windshield, stuck between the van and the telephone pole. Judging from the impact, the van was speeding and the driver wasn¡¯t wearing a seat belt. No wonder Bingxin said hemitted suicide.


    Examining the bloody face, I took a considerable amount of time to identify the body. "No, he¡¯s not a murderer. He¡¯s Ke Wenyuan!"


    Right then, Xiaotao shouted, "Song Yang, look at the van."


    I looked inside from the window and found a wooden stick on the throttle, which suggested the driver had lost consciousness or died before the crash. The murderer must have jumped out of the vehicle and fled before elerating.


    I instructed Bingxin to stay and monitor the scene while I headed outside with the others. There was a green belt just outside the factory. Scanning the area with Cave Vision, I discovered deep footprints on the turf which led us to a tree with a sentence engraved on the trunk¡ª


    Don¡¯t look for me. Let me redeem my sins, and I will end myself!


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a look of consternation at the message left by the murderer. We continued to track the footprints until we came upon a small river in front. However, there were no footprints on the other side of the river indicating the murderer walked along the riverbank.


    Judging from the time, the murderer had only escaped for ten minutes, but it was enough to throw us off.


    "Damn it, we¡¯re another step behind!" cursed Xiaotao.


    "I can only say that the gods are on his side!"


    We returned to the crash site, where Bingxin and Iid the body t on the ground. After a quick examination, I confirmed the victim was undoubtedly Ke Wenyuan. From the blunt force trauma at the back of the victim¡¯s head, it matched the murderer¡¯s previous kills.


    We found a bottle of hydrochloric acid in the van as well as signs of acid corrosion within the vehicle.


    At this moment, Captain Tang called to report a corpse found at the intersection. ording to eyewitnesses, it was thrown from a moving van. The driver behind the van assumed it was a living person so he urgently gave way, resulting in a serial rear-end collision.


    "Let¡¯s head over!" I waved weakly.


    When we got there, the man¡¯s bodyy on the ground, his face destroyed by hydrochloric acid, giving off the odor of burning flesh. The victim was dressed in blue robes. I suspected this was "Monkey," the poster invited to the teahouse by the murderer. Only this time, the murder wasmitted in a hurry. Under the victim¡¯s blue robes were his own clothes, and his fingerprints remained intact.


    Noticing the wet handkerchief stuffed in the victim¡¯s cor, I understood at once. "Why should you linger at the fork of the road, wiping your eyes like a heartbroken child?"


    "Despite the critical situation, the murderer even thought about observing ancient poetry."


    "Perhaps this ceremony means a lot to him!"


    Now that traffic had yet to recover, it was naturally impossible to perform an autopsy on the road, so I ordered an officer to remove the body first. At this time, Lao Yao called, "Have you caught the bad guy?"


    "No, he got away!"


    "Is there another victim?"


    "Yes!" I sighed helplessly.


    "Are you in the car now?" he asked.


    "No, what¡¯s the matter?"


    "Um... The man¡¯s IP address is constantly moving, and at a considerable speed." Lao Yao tapped away at the keyboard.


    I quickly searched the victim¡¯s body and found his wallet and keys. The only thing missing was his cell phone; it had been removed by the murderer. The hope that was originally extinguished suddenly rekindled. "Send me the coordinates!" I instructed.


    We followed the IP address which was on the move until finally stopping at one position¨Ca lonely road. Upon searching the area, I found the discarded cell phone in a rainwater tank.


    "Another dead end!"mented Xiaotao.


    I looked up and saw a street sign that read: School ahead, please slow down. "Not exactly,¡± I smiled. ¡°This is where the murderer works. He¡¯s gone back to school."


    About 300 meters ahead was a high school. Since today was a public holiday, the school was empty. A PE teacher dressed in sportswear with a basketball in hand walked up to us and asked, "Who are you looking for?"


    I wasn¡¯t entirely sure who the murderer was, so I said, "May I speak to someone in charge of the school?"


    After making a phone call, the PE teacher directed us to the office building in the east. Upon seeing the person in charge, I shed my ID and roughly described the characteristics of the murderer, adding that the man was probably on campus.


    Upon further contemtion, the administrator ventured, "You must be talking about Mr. Jia from Year 2, ss 6. I¡¯ll take you to see him now."


    We walked to the staff dormitory and knocked on Mr. Jia¡¯s door. Unfortunately, there was no one home. Without wasting a second, I unlocked the door with my tools and entered the apartment. We were greeted by the sight of arge freezer. There were some chemical instruments on the table and a bunk bed against the wall. Although the lower bunk was neat, the upper bunk was filled with misceneous items. Aside from that, a ck Hanfu hung on the wall.


    The administrator smiled, "Unmarried male teachers are usually a little messy. By the way, why are you looking for him?"


    I pointed to the freezer and asked, "Why is there such a huge freezer here?"


    "This I don¡¯t know. The items in the room fall under the teacher¡¯s personal property. As long as they don¡¯t vite the school rules, we won¡¯t ask questions," exined the administrator.


    As I ced my hand on the freezer, uneasiness engulfed my heart. I slowly opened the top and a cold air chilled the room. A curled-up human body came into sight. The administrator screamed and stumbled backwards.


    The victim¡¯s face and fingers had all been treated. Because it was frozen, it was impossible to judge the time of death. "He moves faster than we thought. He¡¯s killed everyone on his list," I said.


    "How can a teacher do this...¡± Xiaotao clucked her tongue in disapproval. ¡°By the way, what does he teach?"


    "Chemistry!" replied the administrator. "Officers, what¡¯s the deal with this body?"


    Naturally, we couldn¡¯t answer his question but urged him to keep it a secret. I asked to see a photo of Mr. Jia, to which the administrator answered, "Wait a minute, I¡¯ll get his file."


    While waiting, Bingxin asked, "Should we examine the corpse?"


    I smiled bitterly, "He¡¯s frozen into a big lump of ice. I won¡¯t be able to examine the body. We¡¯lle back to itter!"


    An idea suddenly crossed my mind. I asked Captain Tang to send me a photo of Ke Wenyuan. After a while, the administrator returned with a group photo in his hand. "I¡¯m sorry, but the staff who has the key to the archives isn¡¯t here today. Here¡¯s a group photo of the faculty and staff."


    He pointed to one of the faces and said, "That¡¯s him!"


    As soon as we saw the man¡¯s face, we recognized him. I quickly swept my gaze across the bottom row, which were teachers dressed in sportswear. At first nce, the man we met earlier was a physical education teacher but he wasn¡¯t among them.


    The shock of being yed hit me like a bat to the head. I felt the urge to throw my head back in sarcasticughter.


    I truly underestimated the man. He was crafty andposed enough to slip away right under our noses!


    Farewell To Vice-Prefect Du Setting Out For His Official Post In Shu by Wang Bo.

 Chapter 498

    <h4>Chapter 498</h4>


    The others were also aware of this. Bingxin wondered out loud, "The PE teacher who just spoke to us is the murderer?"


    "Yes, it¡¯s him. We¡¯ve all been tricked!" Xiaotao huffed.


    Without saying a word, Song Xingchen rushed out of the door and jumped directly from the third floor, much to the administrator¡¯s surprise.


    Through the administrator, we learned some basic information about Mr. Jia. His full name was Jia Chong and he was 28 this year. A quiet man, he usually left ss with his textbook in hand and had no friends.


    Aside from that, the administrator didn¡¯t know anything else about Jia Chong. However, it didn¡¯t matter. We would pay a visit to the high school where he once studied.


    I pulled out a photo of Ke Wenyuan and asked, "Do you know this man?"


    "How would I be acquainted with such a man?" the administrator arched an eyebrow.


    "As expected of a teacher. You¡¯re terrible at lying! Just tell us the truth!"


    Scratching his cheek awkwardly, he truthfully exined that there were several bad students in school who prostituted themselves after mixing around with some punks. When the matter was revealed, the school exposed their patrons, and Ke Wenyuan was one of them.


    Because the spread of this matter would have a bad influence on the school and the children¡¯s future, the incident was downyed. For this reason, the school strengthened their management, putting an end to such incidents.


    "Sex with an underage constitutes imprisonment of more than three years and less than ten. The sentence is always heavy since this is no small crime. This school is amazing to have actually concealed such a major incident," mocked Xiaotao.


    "We¡¯re merely considering our children¡¯s future,¡± argued the administrator. ¡°Those girls are still young and were deceived by bad guys. How will they find a job and marry when they grow up?"


    "Alright, that¡¯s enough. It¡¯s been so hard on you!" Xiaotao sneered.


    Schools were a rtively enclosed ce, and teachers were conservative. Hence, such a ce easily hid sordid secrets and ugly business. Things like bullying and prostitution were only known to the public when the situation got out of hand.


    Xiaotao instructed Wang Yuanchao to stay and guard the scene until the police arrived. When we left, the administrator warned us against mentioning anything about today, for fear of affecting the school¡¯s enrollment rate.


    Song Xingchen hadn¡¯t yet returned. Meanwhile, the three of us headed to Yingjie Private High School. When we spoke to the person-in-charge, he denied everything just as I had expected, though I saw through the lies at a nce.


    What the previous school did was nothingpared with this one!


    About half a year after Mr. Xu¡¯s death, someone found the skeleton of a young girl fossilized under the sandpit. The school failed to associate this matter with Mr. Xu¡¯s daughter, and assumed that a murderer had dumped the body there.


    Afraid of affecting their reputation, the school came to a decision to secretly dispose of the body.


    If they had called the police at the time and discovered the young murderers, today¡¯s events might have been prevented. Today¡¯s serial killing case came into existence because of the small incident of removing their cell phones ten years ago, followed by a butterfly effect.


    I asked the administrator for a list of students in Mr. Xu¡¯s ss, and I found Jia Chong¡¯s name on it.


    When he was studying, his grades were among the best, especially in chemistry which he scored full marks every year. However, the identities of the other victims couldn¡¯t be determined and the teachers from that year had already left the school.


    Thus, we telephoned each student, one by one, till we identified all the victims.


    The two dead women were Chen Xiaoyan and Ge Qing while the four men were Hu Zhuangzhuang, Zhang Wei, Hou Shan and Qin Yu.


    Among them, Zhang Wei and Ge Qing were a couple, while Chen Xiaoyan was the girl Jia Chong had a crush on.


    After jotting down the names of the victims, Bingxin said, "Who was the real murderer of Mr. Xu¡¯s daughter that year? Will Jia Chong actually kill himself as promised?"


    "I don¡¯t know who the murderer is, but I¡¯m certain that Jia Chong won¡¯t kill himself. The murderer is a man with strong self-esteem. The real motive behind the murders isn¡¯t atonement, but the derision towards his profession shown by his ssmates! The reason why he wants to avenge Mr. Xu is merely to find a fig leaf for his dark heart. It¡¯s a form of self-deception, and the man fully believes in the lies he¡¯s created.


    "Additionally, he¡¯s definitely not a man with a sense of justice! Just think about it. As a teacher who educates young people, he uses the pervert who slept with his students instead of calling the police. Jia Chong easily located Ke Wenyuan at the beginning of the murders, indicating that they had always contacted each other in private. Perhaps he has extorted this person for a long time. Would such a person be a messenger of justice?"


    Right then, Xiaotao received a phone call. After a brief conversation, she turned to me with a conflicted look.


    When I asked what had happened, Xiaotao sighed, her lips rising in a smile. "Song Yang, you¡¯re usually spot on, but this time, it¡¯s your turn to take a hit. Song Xingchen just reported that the murderermitted suicide!"


    "That¡¯s impossible!" I stare wide-eyed.


    "It¡¯s a fact," said Xiaotao.


    Why did Song Xingchen contact Xiaotao instead of me? Was he also afraid of hurting my self-esteem?


    In truth, I wasn¡¯t at all bothered about that. I was certain in my behavioral analysis of the murderer. Like a stone, one¡¯s character was hard to change. "Jia Chong will nevermit suicide!" I insisted.


    "Let¡¯s look at the body first!" suggested Xiaotao.


    We arrived at Song Xingchen¡¯s location¨Ca residential area where he chased the murderer. After scanning the area, he discovered a door that smelled of blood and hacked the lock with his sword. A grisly scene greeted our eyes.


    A man¡¯s corpse with his back tied to a wooden board was kneeling on a straw mat, his face eroded by hydrochloric acid. He wore a ck robe with an imitation ancient sword in his hand and a soldier¡¯s helmet on the ground next to him.


    A closer look revealed an inscription on the ancient sword, which read, "Jade Dragon."


    I immediately understood the meaning the murderer wanted to convey¨Cto fulfill the sovereign¡¯s Golden Tower dream, Jade Dragon sword in hand, they battle to their deaths.


    There was no obvious trauma on the body, but a red spot left by an injection on the wrist. A syringe had been thrown on the ground beside the body, still containing some liquids. A beaker filled with hydrochloric acid had shattered on the ground so its contents spilled out, burning arge portion of the wooden floor.


    There was no trace of a scuffle at the scene. From all the signs, it seemed to be a suicide. The body also matched the murderer¡¯s figure.


    I couldn¡¯t help but apud. "Jade Dragon sword in hand, they battle to their deaths. What an incredible curtain call."


    "So you admit hemitted suicide?" asked Xiaotao.


    I shrugged, "I only believe what my eyes see. Let¡¯s conduct an autopsy first!"

 Chapter 499

    <h4>Chapter 499</h4>


    Before the police arrived, I roughly examined the body. Xiaotao learned from thendlord that Jia Chong had indeed rented the room.


    Because the Jiangling City police force was busy dealing with the suspect who fled in the morning, Captain Tang hadn¡¯t joined us yet.


    "This is bad. The murderer may take this opportunity to escape from Jiangling City,¡± I said to myself.


    "Isn¡¯t he right here? Two women and five men,¡± remarked Xiaotao.


    I waved my hand and said, "I can¡¯t exin it for the time being. Can you contact each district to watch the main traffic routes well so Jia Chong doesn¡¯t escape?" Seeing that she was still hesitating, I urged, "Just trust me this once!"


    "Alright then, I believe you!"


    Only by the time Xiaotao was done did Captain Tang arrive. I ordered the police to escort the body back to the station so we could conduct someb tests.


    Back to the city bureau, Bingxin bagged the drugs left by the murderer for testing.


    "By the way, check the corpse¡¯s blood sugar and liver."


    "Why are we testing them?" Bingxin wondered out loud.


    "Just test it. I¡¯ll exinter," I said.


    Captain Tang walked over. "Great Detective Song, the murderer killed himself. Can we consider the case closed?"


    I shook my head. "This isn¡¯t the murderer."


    "But didn¡¯t he leave a message on the tree iming he wanted to end everything on his own terms?" Captain Tang rubbed his head in puzzlement.


    I smiled, "And you believe him? The murderer thought of this trick from the start. This body disys a clear contradiction. If he wanted tomit suicide, what¡¯s the point in ruining his own face?"


    "Didn¡¯t you say that the murderer has a strong sense of ritual? Perhaps this is an indispensable link."


    I shook my head, "No matter how strong the ritual is to him, it can¡¯t be stronger than his desire to survive! It¡¯s precisely because every corpse was disfigured that we have formed such a mindset, which he can take advantage of to escape. The corpse¡¯s right hand was burned by hydrochloric acid. At first nce, it seems like he picked up the acid and sshed it onto my face. However, when I performed Organ Echolocation, I found the stomach empty, the liver showing signs of atrophy, and the kidneys inmed. This person was most likely imprisoned for many days to the point of extreme hunger, leaving him under the murderer¡¯s mercy. In addition to that, there¡¯s slight bruising on the body, and damage to the internal organs. He seemed to have been wrapped with a quilt and beaten. Such abuse indicates the murderer¡¯s hatred for him. Obviously, this man was also on his kill list."


    Captain Tang looked surprised. "If that¡¯s the case, isn¡¯t there an extra person?"


    "Can we examine the body that was found in Jia Chong¡¯s dormitory?"


    "Yes," nodded Captain Tang.


    "Then let¡¯s have a look!" I waved my hand.


    The frozen body was thawed in the forensicboratory and ced on the metal b. After a brief examination, I deduced that the victim was about thirty years old and the time of death was five days ago. The cause of death matched the murderer¡¯s usual MO. He pounded the victim¡¯s temple with a blunt object, killing him with one blow.


    I picked up the victim¡¯s palm and observed the damaged fingerprints. This was a strong palm with two longitudinal calluses. It suddenly urred to me that Jia Chong was wearing a PE teacher¡¯s clothes when he slipped away right under our noses.


    "Go back to the school and check if there¡¯s someone missing."


    "Can¡¯t you tell?" asked Captain Tang.


    "How can I identify the body if he¡¯s been disfigured?¡± I chuckled. ¡°I can give you a hint though. This man is probably a PE teacher and friends with Jia Chong."


    Right then, Bingxin entered the morgue. "The test results are out. The substance injected into the victim¡¯s bloodstream is sodium cyanide which was mixed with twenty percent ibuprofen, the mainponent of painkillers."


    A hint of excitement flickered across Captain Tang¡¯s face. "If it wasn¡¯t suicide, why did the murderer add painkillers to the drugs?"


    I sneered, "He left it for us on purpose. Don¡¯t forget that he¡¯s a chemistry teacher. What about the victim¡¯s liver and blood sugar?"


    "The blood sugar and liver indicators were extremely low, as if he had gone hungry for at least a week. He was basically in a semia state,¡± reported Bingxin.


    I uttered my thanks and left the rest to Captain Tang.


    Just as I suspected, one of the PE teachers named Zheng was missing from Jia Chong¡¯s school. ording to their colleagues, Mr. Zheng and Jia Chong often ate together. Since Mr. Zheng taught physical education and had a fair bit of leisure time, he was nning on operating a convenience store on campus. Thus, he borrowed a sum of money to buy arge freezer. However, the store would only be ready next year, so he temporarily left his freezer in Jia Chong¡¯s dormitory.


    By this point, the details of the case had be clear. identally discovering the corpse hidden in the freezer, Mr. Zheng was murdered by Jia Chong. Less emphasis was ced on physical education ss, so after the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, no one discovered the missing teacher.


    Coincidentally, Mr. Zheng was also twenty-eight years old. From that incident, Jia Chong hatched a crafty escape n.


    Through investigation, we learned the rtionship between Jia Chong and Ke Wenyuan. Ke Wenyuan was a lolicon fetishist. Even after the prostitution incident involving the female students, he still maintained a dubious rtionship with several girls, often spending money on panties and stockings worn by them as well as collecting their hair and naked photos.


    As one of the girls happened to be in Jia Chong¡¯s ss, he soon began extorting Ke Wenyuan for small amounts, ranging from several hundred to a thousand. Well aware of how disgraceful his hobbies were, Ke Wenyuan knew his good reputation would be sullied. Hence, he gnashed his teeth and did as Jia Chong ordered.


    It wasn¡¯t known how they contacted each other after the incident. Perhaps Jia Chong threatened him and approached him as an aplice.


    What shocked me most about the case was Jia Chong¡¯s finesse, despite being a rookie criminal. As books on criminal psychology suggested, some people were born with aggressive genes capable of making him apetitive champion or a vicious criminal.


    However, I suspected this wasn¡¯t Jia Chong¡¯s first run-in with thew. If my guess was right, he sessfully escaped legal sanction once in high school!


    Over the next few days, the police had their hands full with finding Jia Chong. After all, we were visitors from a different city so there wasn¡¯t much we could help with. However, I reminded Captain Tang to monitor the victims¡¯ homes.


    Sure enough, on the afternoon of September 30th, Jia Chong, who had his bank ounts frozen, was caught red-handed slipping into one of the victim¡¯s homes to search for food.


    Finally, I could meet Jia Chong in the interrogation room!

 Chapter 500

    <h4>Chapter 500</h4>


    Jia Chong and I sat face to face in the interrogation room. After a few days of running from thew, he looked haggard, his cheeks sunken. Still, he smiled at me and said, "I have to admit I admire you for forcing me to the point."


    I ced Jia Chong¡¯s lunch and water on the table and watched him hungrily gulp.


    "Let¡¯s talk,¡± I began. ¡°Why did you kill them?"


    "Atonement!" he replied.


    "For Mr. Xu?" I asked.


    "Looks like you know quite a fair bit. Yes, I did all this for him. When I was young and ignorant, I did a stupid thing with some friends. We didn¡¯t expect this thing would destroy Mr. Xu¡¯s family. I have been living in deep guilt for ten years! I thought my friends were the same. However, on the day of our ss reunion when Da Zhuang identally brought up this incident, the others merely shrugged it off and said Mr. Xu deserved it. At the time, I felt my blood boil within me, and the happy faces in the room suddenly looked hideous. How could these people forget their crime? So I decided to make them atone for their sins!" He raised his handcuffed hands. "At the same time, I am also atoning for mine!"


    "Why employ this method?" I patiently asked.


    "Because Mr. Xu taught us those poems, I will never forget the way he recited them as he walked. I used to be a confused teenager, but it was Mr. Xu who enlightened me. For me, he was both a good teacher and a friend. I want these sinners to die like these ancient poems," he replied, gnashing his teeth.


    "You used to have good grades!" I remarked.


    A faint smile rose to his lips, "Only in the first year of high school."


    "Later on, you were admitted to the Teachers College and became a teacher. If Mr. Xu¡¯s spirit knew, he would be so pleased!" At this moment, I switched the subject. "The first in your grade rode a broken bicycle to attend your ss reunion. But then you saw how sessful those former bad students were¨Cwell dressed, with their wives and children in hand, getting along with each other. Yet there you were sitting among them like an alien, unable to get on the same page because you¡¯ve always lived in the school¡¯s ivory tower. The only thing you could talk about was the past, so you mentioned the incident, hoping to suppress their arrogance. Unexpectedly, no one wants to face the past. After all, it¡¯s a blow to one¡¯s self-esteem. Hence, you masqueraded the jealousy in your heart with an armor of justice."


    "Nonsense! That¡¯s all nonsense!" Jia Chong pounded the metal chair with both hands.


    "But that wasn¡¯t enough,¡± I chuckled. ¡°When you left the reunion dinner, you were hit by a car. The driver rudely tossed you a sum of money for medical expenses, which became the fuse for the murders. To deceive yourself and fulfill your revenge, you didn¡¯t hesitate to kill your first love, despite the fact that she wasn¡¯t to me for the incident back then. Your targets were the couple who humiliated you but you couldn¡¯t acknowledge your wretched desires, so you convinced yourself it was revenge for Mr. Xu. In the end, you destroyed one happy family after another with your own hands. Are you satisfied?"


    Jia Chong shouted hysterically, "Fuck you! Everything I¡¯ve done has got nothing to do with myself! What do the police know? You¡¯re merely outsiders. Do you know how miserably Mr. Xu¡¯s daughter died?"


    "And who killed her?" I demanded.


    "Da Zhuang!"


    However, the guilt in his eyes betrayed him.


    "No, it was you!" I sneered.


    "N-nonsense!" Jia Chong¡¯s face contorted with ferocity, his eyes red as if they might pop out. "Do you have evidence?"


    "If you¡¯re not the murderer, why ask me if I have evidence?" I smiled triumphantly.


    "You¡¯re twisting my words!" Jia Chong shouted.


    "Of course I have proof! When I visited your high school, the person-in-charge said the girl¡¯s skeleton had been found six monthster. In fact, it takes three to four years for a body topletely dpose to the bone, and it would take longer in the dry environment of the sandpit. There¡¯s only one reason for that; someone secretly elerated the body¡¯s dposition. You scored full marks in chemistry throughout high school. It¡¯s very easy for you to prepare hydrochloric acid, which is what you did in this case. Over that summer vacation, you secretly ran to school and corroded the body with homemade hydrochloric acid because you killed her. That¡¯s why you feel the most guilty!"


    Jia Chong¡¯s eyes flickered, his head covered in cold sweat and hair sticking to his forehead as his lips turned pale.


    "That¡¯s just your conjecture."


    "Whether or not it¡¯s a conjecture doesn¡¯t matter, does it? Eight lives are enough for you to be sentenced to death. So what if you admit one more?" I pushed the food and water towards him. "Just admit it, you¡¯ll feel relieved."


    "I didn¡¯t kill her! I didn¡¯t kill her!" Jia Chong yelled as he thrashed about, rattling the metal chair that was fixed to the ground. The officers outside rushed in immediately to stabilize him.


    I quietly left the room and rejoined Xiaotao who had been watching the interrogation.


    "Why bother to tear off thest fig leaf?" she asked.


    "What I hate most are people whomit evil under the banner of justice. He murdered out of jealousy. I don¡¯t want such a scum to feel at ease before death. Murderers deserve the price of an uneasy conscience!"


    "I didn¡¯t think you were so wicked, but I like it!¡±ughed Xiaotao. ¡°My teacher once said that the police live to make the bad guys sleep uneasily and put the fear in anyone thinking ofmitting a crime."


    In the interrogation room, Jia Chong was still struggling and screaming hysterically, as if he hadpletely lost his mind.


    I didn¡¯t expect him to admit to the murder of Mr. Xu¡¯s daughter because doing so wouldpletely contradict his great cause of atonement, which he thought was noble.


    Self-esteem could push for progress, but distorted self-esteem could blind a person to reason and be a tool for self-deception.


    Our trip to Jiangling City came to an end. Captain Tang held a grand banquet for us that night, which happened to be my birthday. Although I kept that to myself, I received a birthday greeting from Dali and a gift from Bingxin the next morning.


    On the way to the banquet, I exchanged a meaningful look with Xiaotao. Although we had little to drink, we were intoxicated by something else other than the wine. The flush on Xiaotao¡¯s cheeks magnified her beautiful smile so I was drunk with emotion.


    Since that night, the unspoken understanding between us had improved. As soon as I caught an opportunity, I winked at her and we sneaked into the hotel together.


    After a few days of hard work, pent-up desire burned like firewood, no longer suppressible. Xiaotao and Ipleted a series of difficult actions¨Copening the door, turning on the light, taking off our shoes and coats, all while engaging in a fiery kiss. Tonight, I nned to realize an important achievement in my life, together with my most important person!


    Right then, Xiaotao looked down, having stepped on something. It was an envelope.


    When I picked it up, I noticed there was no postmark, indicating it had been slipped under the door. The envelope was thick, with a line of words written on it. Somehow, the handwriting reminded me of the treasured scrolls of calligraphy in Grandpa¡¯s study.


    It read: Song Yang, happy birthday!


    ncing at the bloody scimitar drawn on the back, my head buzzed. "It¡¯s him! It¡¯s the man who killed my grandfather."

 Chapter 501

    <h4>Chapter 501</h4>


    The envelope the de Master sent contained a murder case that happened twenty years ago recorded in detail!


    In Liangchuan, Gansu Province, a small county town in northwest China, nine brutal rape-murders ured in the 1990s. The victims were all young women aged twenty to thirty, their bodiespletely mutted¡ªnipples and skin torn off as well as genitals sliced off by sharp weapons. So far, the murderer remained on the loose.


    I previously heard about this unsolved case, but I didn¡¯t quite understand the de Master¡¯s purpose


    After perusing the files, I noticed two names on thest page¨CSun Tiger and Song Zhaolin, dated 2002. It turned out that Grandpa had personally investigated this case and it was one of his failures.


    There was nothing else in the envelope except for the file.


    I couldn¡¯t believe it¡ªI didn¡¯t want to. After carefully examining the envelope, I found a note written within: Song Yang, this case will exin why I had to kill your grandfather!


    It was like taking a bat to the head. Hatred, anger, confusion, and all sorts of emotions surged up within me. Fuming, I threw the files on the ground and shouted, "A reason for murdering Grandpa?!"


    "Why the sudden anger?" Xiaotao had previously looked over my shoulder at the files. It was only now that she noticed the words on the envelope. Arching an eyebrow, she said, "This guy¡¯s bold. It¡¯s clear he¡¯s trying to provoke you. Don¡¯t believe his nonsense."


    I picked up the file. "I¡¯d like to resume this investigation."


    "Song Yang, must you take it so seriously?¡± sighed Xiaotao. ¡°It¡¯s been almost 20 years. It¡¯s going to be difficult to find anything. You can¡¯t go all the way to the northwest just because of some envelope the de Master sent you!"


    "We are a special team, free from any agency," I replied.


    "I understand this, but can you really trust what this man says? What if it¡¯s a trap?"


    Upon further discussion, Xiaotao suggested I ask Sun Tiger. After all, he was one of the parties involved. Thus, I phoned him at once. As soon as the call connected, Sun Tiger¡¯s voice came from the other end of the line. ¡°Kiddo, I just received a call from the director of Jiangling City Bureau, informing me that you¡¯ve solved the case, winning us yet another victory!"


    "Thank you, Uncle Sun. I have something to ask you. Do you know Case GL75047?"


    At the mention of the case number, Sun Tiger showed quite a reaction. Taking a deep breath, he said, "How did you hear about this?" It seemed that he hadn¡¯t forgotten about the case.


    "I¡¯d like to keep this to myself. I just want to know why Grandpa failed at the time."


    "s... It¡¯s better if we speak in person. Why don¡¯t youe back?" Sun Tiger sighed.


    "Now?" I asked.


    "Is it convenient? I¡¯ll wait for you in my office," Sun Tiger replied.


    Upon hanging up, I repeated Sun Tiger¡¯s words to Xiaotao.


    "You¡¯re too impulsive. Can¡¯t you wait till tomorrow?"


    Right now, all I could think about was the case. "If I wait till tomorrow, I won¡¯t be able to sleep tonight," I anxiously cried.


    Xiaotao searched online and found a train leaving for Nanjiang County in half an hour. After booking two tickets, she left a note in the room, informing the others that we would be backter.


    As soon as we were seated on the train, Xiaotao asked, "Do you think the de Master was in the hotel?"


    By this point, I had regainedposure. "I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯m sure of one thing ¡ª he¡¯s let me off more than once, which suggests that he¡¯s never intended to take my life from the start. Although this man is a criminal, he has his own principles."


    I paused after saying that, contemting the words that the de Master left on the wall each time: "Jiangbei Daggers, protect the people, condemn the corrupt." He imed to only kill the guilty. Then, ording to his rationale, Grandpa must havemitted a heinous crime?


    The Dog Trainer previously hinted that someone in the Song family joined the Jiangbei Daggers. Could it be...


    I didn¡¯t dare descend into the rabbit hole, for fear of touching upon the truth that I shouldn¡¯t know. But at the same time, I had to know the truth, even if I ended up regretting my decision!


    Xiaotao and I had a rare moment to ourselves. The past couple of days left her exhausted. In the quiet carriage, Xiaotao leaned against me with soothing music ying in the background. I looked at our reflection in the window, wishing this moment couldst forever.


    Of course, this was an extravagant wish. An hourter, we returned to Nanjiang County and took a cab to the station. At this hour, the officers had already left work, and only Sun Tiger¡¯s office was still brightly lit.


    When we entered the room, Sun Tiger had on a coat as he was reviewing some documents. There was a cup of oolong tea on his desk and a lit cigarette in his hand.


    "If we snap a photo of the director hard at work, the other officers would be ashamed of themselves!" joked Xiaotao.


    Sun Tiger waved his hand with a smile, "Oh, I just like working in the evening. Close the door and take a seat!" As soon as we were seated, Sun Tiger¡¯s smile faded. "Kiddo, who told you about Case GL75047?"


    "That¡¯s not important!"


    "How can that be? Because the social impact of the case was too great at the time, the investigations were all conducted in secret. Only one written file was stored in the city bureau. The fact that you know the case number makes you a suspect of stealing state secrets," Sun Tiger warned.


    "Is that so?" I pulled out the file. "Is this it?"


    Sun Tiger was so shocked he couldn¡¯t speak, staring at me with eyes wide as saucers. "I swear I haven¡¯t been to the archives,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve been in Jiangling City the past few days. Would I have been able to steal this while I was away?"


    Flipping through the file, Sun Tiger nodded, "This is the one. It¡¯s recorder Xiao Wang¡¯s handwriting. I remember it clearly, especially since I took these photos. How did you get this?"


    Since I wanted information, I had toe clean about the envelope the de Master sent me. Upon listening to my story, a deep frown appeared on Sun Tiger¡¯s face. He stood up and paced back and forth. He looked at me, then sighed, "I was nning on taking this secret to the grave."


    "Why?" My heart sank.


    "Your grandfather solved countless crimes throughout his life. He¡¯s a legend in the public security system, but this case is his biggest failure! Halfway through the investigation, right when we locked in on a suspect, an ident happened. The room where we stored the evidence caught fire, so all the important material evidence was burned. The next day, your grandfather announced his withdrawal from the case and released the suspect. At the time, I was merely a small captain with little authority. Although I disagreed, your grandfather¡¯s stance on the matter was extremely firm, leaving me no room for rebuttal. I could only do as he said. As a result, this case has remained unsolved for twenty years, weighing heavily upon my heart."


    "Did someone cause the fire?" I asked.


    Sun Tiger¡¯s eyes dimmed, "Song Yang, my next words might be a let down to your grandfather, but I saw him light that fire in the evidence room with my own eyes!"

 Chapter 502

    <h4>Chapter 502</h4>


    I stood up excitedly. "That¡¯s impossible! Grandpa has fought evil all his life. How could he do such a thing? He must¡¯ve been coerced!"


    Sun Tiger motioned for me to sit down before turning to Xiaotao. "If Song Yang was threatened, could you sense it?"


    "I¡¯d be able to sense if something was off," Xiaotao nced at me.


    "Yes!" Sun Tiger continued, "Your grandfather and I were close. We were not only partners, but also close friends, friends who had experienced the most dangerous situations. If he was threatened, I would be able to sense it. There was nothing unusual about him before and after the case. But that night, he suddenly burned the evidence and ordered the release of the suspect! Since this incident, your grandfather rarely participated in solving crimes, only asionally pointing in the general direction as a consultant. It was as if we parted ways from then on. One year, I visited him for a drink. You were there, but you may not remember it since you were only five years old. Your grandfather was drunk and confessed he had done something that went against his conscience. And this thing kept him awake all those years. I believe I understood what he meant."


    Trembling, I clenched my fists. Grandpa had actually sheltered a criminal!


    Though I refused to believe it, Sun Tiger seemed certain. And after all these years, he had no reason to lie to me.


    After a long silence, I said, "Uncle Sun, I¡¯d like to reopen the investigation!"


    Sun Tiger picked up the cigarette on the table and found it burned to the butt. Lighting up another one, he replied, "The special team has the authority and I have no right to ask questions. However, this happened a long time ago, so the bodies and exhibits are all gone. The suspects may have even passed away. This could turn out to be a huge waste of time and effort."


    I bit my lip, "The de Master sent me the file to try to convince me that Grandpa wasn¡¯t as righteous as I thought, and thus deserved to die! How am I supposed to just ept this? I suspect there¡¯s more to this than what meets the eye. I really want to know if it¡¯s possible for a man to change so drastically overnight."


    "I won¡¯t stop you from investigating, but look before you leap,¡± advised Sun Tiger. ¡°Don¡¯t be blinded by your rtionship."


    I rose to my feet. "I¡¯ll go alone. The other members of the special team will stay in Nanjiang County to deal with any unforeseen situations."


    "Song Yang, what nonsense are you talking about?¡± Xiaotao interjected. ¡°You¡¯re the soul of the special team. We¡¯ll go together!"


    Sun Tiger sighed, well aware that he couldn¡¯t stop me. "Go then. I wish you luck.¡± He waved his hand. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll reim Zhaolin¡¯s innocence, because even I don¡¯t believe him."


    After saying our goodbyes to Sun Tiger, we stopped by the store to fetch my tools. I was afraid of bumping into Song Heting, so I sent Dali a text message, asking him to grab my tools and meet me near the store.


    A whileter, Dali came along, looking left and right in the dark. When I stopped him, he eximed, "Song Yang, you¡¯re finally back! Your aunt is killing me. I¡¯ve been under her supervision for the past two days, eating and sleeping on time, and getting lectured when I y video games. I even have to go shopping with her during the day. Why do I suddenly have another mother?"


    I was tempted tough. Song Heting was truly a control freak, which was unfortunate for the free-spirited, undisciplined Dali.


    ¡°Dali, I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯ll be away for a while,¡± I said.


    "Where are you going?" he asked.


    "Liangchuan."


    "Why are you going so far away? You¡¯re not thinking of eloping with Xiaotao-jiejie, are you?"


    "If we were going to elope, Liangchuan would be thest destination on our list,¡± chuckled Xiaotao. ¡°We¡¯d have to go to the Maldives or Hawaii."


    "Ah, how I envy you guys!"


    "I¡¯m going to investigate a case. It¡¯s been hard on you. I¡¯ll make sure topensate you when I get back!" I promised.


    Dali looked like he was about to cry. "When will your aunt leave? When will my bitter dayse to an end?"


    "Isn¡¯t it good to work and rest on time?¡± Iforted. ¡°My aunt is a martial arts expert. If you have some time, you can ask her for pointers on fighting. Just think about it. Won¡¯t you look good in front of Luo Youyou the next time you bump into some gangsters?"


    Palming his forehead, Dali shouted, "Now that you mention it, your aunt kicked up a can and took down a thief from a distance of ten meters the other day. I was so shocked at the time. Your lovely cousin is strangely adept at martial arts as well. She taught Youyou a set of self-defense moves, so now Youyou practices them on me every night. Look at the bruises on my arm!"


    "Good luck with that!¡± I patted him on the shoulder. ¡°By the way, since I¡¯ve been out investigating for the past month, I haven¡¯t really looked after the store. You can keep my sry as part ofpensation for apanying my aunt."


    "Alright,e back as soon as you can and save me from my suffering!"


    Dali and I exchanged a hug that appeared as if this was ourst goodbye. Then, Xiaotao and I took the bullet train back to Jiangling City at eleven in the evening.


    Back at the hotel, Bingxin was watching TV. Upon noticing us, she made a face, "Do you have to sneak around? Just let me know and I¡¯ll give you the room."


    "What are you thinking?¡± Xiaotao rebuked. ¡°We just took a trip back to Nanjiang County."


    "What?"


    "I¡¯m going to get Song Xingchen and Wang Yuanchao. I have something to announce,¡± I said.


    When the five of us were gathered in the room, I pulled out the file, exining that I was going to Liangchuan to review an old case that might never be solved for personal reasons. I gave them the option of leaving with me or returning to Nanjiang County.


    Bingxin raised her hand, "I¡¯m going wherever Song Yang-gege goes!"


    Wang Yuanchao nodded, "I¡¯m fine with it!"


    Obviously, Song Xingchen wouldn¡¯t allow me so far out of his sight. Thus, he would join us as well.


    The next day, we left for Liangchuan by ne. It was my first time visiting a county so far north. When I looked around, all I saw was the cloudless blue sky. The dry air caused static electricity every time I touched something. Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t too cold.


    Stepping into the county was like taking a trip back to the 1990s. Liangchuan was rich with the local customs of northwest China.


    At Bingxin¡¯s suggestion, we had dinner at a Lanzhou noodle restaurant and tasted authentic Lanzhou noodles. After dinner, Xiaotao proposed, "Let¡¯s drop by the local bureau to greet them first! Since we¡¯re handling a case across provinces, we must show proper etiquette."


    When we arrived, we found the director who seemed stunned when we mentioned our purpose. He wasn¡¯t aware of the special team and wondered why we came all the way to participate in an old unsolved case.


    "Is it an order from the Ministry of Public Security?" the director scratched his head.


    "Do you know Song Zhaolin and Sun Tiger? They handled this case in the past. Sun Tiger is our director and Song Zhaolin is my grandfather."


    The director shook his head, "I¡¯ve only been in office for about ten years, and I¡¯ve never heard of those two people. However, if you¡¯re willing to take on this cold case, the bureau will certainly lend you our full assistance. This serial murder has been quite famous on the Inte recently. It¡¯s listed as the top ten unsolved cases after the founding of the People¡¯s Republic of China. Citizens oftene to inquire about it. Recently, a director and screenwriter from Golden Films visited and said that they were going to adapt it into a movie. Oh, yes, the two are still staying in the motel. Would you like to meet them?"


    "No. If it¡¯s alright, I¡¯d like to see the files first."

 Chapter 503

    <h4>Chapter 503</h4>


    "Sure thing!" The director took us to the archives to find the case files. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t as detailed as the one in my hand.


    In the copy the de Master sent me, the name of the suspect had been removed. However, judging by the length, the suspect had a three-character name. Arguably, as long as words were written on the paper, shallow traces would be left behind so the words could be reproduced by pencil shading. However, the person who destroyed the evidence was so careful he ironed every piece of paper, which reinforced my suspicions that Grandpa did it!


    Thest pages of the file in the county were missing, torn off as suggested by the jagged edges. The director wasn¡¯t clear about this.


    I nced at the officers involved in the case, memorizing the names before returning the file. The director offered to arrange amodations for us, and said his office was open to us if we needed any assistance. However, we were embarrassed to take him up on his offer and ended up looking for a hotel ourselves.


    When we arrived at the hotel, Bingxin immediately searched for all the local tourist attractions. I was suddenly ovee with dejection. After twenty years, here I was reopening the investigation. How and where would I start?


    "Don¡¯t overthink this,¡±forted Xiaotao. ¡°There are just some things you can¡¯t do. If we really hit a dead end, let¡¯s just enjoy ourselves for two days and then return to Nanjiang. Then again, perhaps the de Master orchestrated all of this."


    I shook my head, "I know that the word ¡¯justice¡¯ is a bit inappropriate for a criminal. Despite that, the man is a criminal with a sense of justice. He¡¯s not the sort of sinister antagonist like the Dog Trainer. I think there¡¯s something he wants me to know."


    "Shall we visit Lushou Mountain?¡± interrupted Bingxin. ¡°I heard the scenery is breathtaking!"


    "Not interested!" replied Xiaotao.


    Right then, the sound of sirens came from outside. Xiaotao arched an eyebrow, "Looks like there¡¯s a case. Would you like to take a look?"


    "Well, it¡¯s not like we¡¯re busy. Let¡¯s go!" I waved my hand.


    Thus, the three of us headed down to the station. It turned out there a suicide by jumping. The body fell from the sixteenth floor and was torn apart by the impact. Officers had to send the body to the coroner in body bags.


    The three of us strangers stood out in the crowd. Several officers stared curiously, wondering what our purpose was, so Xiaotao shed her ID.


    Then, a fat officer on his cell phone walked out. "What? You¡¯re ill? We¡¯ve got a case here... See if you can send me one of the students. It¡¯s a suicide, so shouldn¡¯t be difficult."


    "Hello, are there no coroners on duty?" Bingxin smiled politely.


    The fat officer asked warily, "And you are..."


    Bingxin showed her ID, "We are a special team from Nanjiang County. Song Yang and I are both coroners. If you need a hand, we can perform the autopsy."


    "Perfect! Thanks a lot! Come with me," the fat officer patted his thigh.


    "Smart little girl!" whispered Xiaotao.


    As the fat officer led us in, he said, "Our small county is only equipped with two coroners. One has gone to Lanzhou for a meeting while the other has just fallen ill. Oh, what a headache!"


    "Are two coroners enough?" I asked.


    "No, definitely not. Honestly speaking, the ratio of unnatural deaths is only 30%. We have no choice. The talents have all gone to big cities. Who would be willing toe to this small county all the way in the northwest?" sighed the fat officer.


    Bingxin grabbed two pairs of rubber gloves and handed one to me. After putting them on, I turned my attention to the dead body on the autopsy table. It was a woman about twenty-four years of age, her face made up into an alluring look. The bloody corpse had fractures in many areas, ribs copsed, and the forearms formed a false joint.


    In the face of such a frightening corpse, Bingxin¡¯s first sentence was, "Wow, a Chanel skirt!"


    "Forget about the skirt. Take some blood to test and see if she was drugged prior to death. Check for sedatives."


    "Alright. May I use theboratory next door?" Bingxin turned to the fat officer who repeatedly nodded, "Sure thing!"


    Using Organ Echolocation, I listened to the internal organs and found them all damaged, though within the normal range of falling to death. When listening, I noticed the deceased had thick body hair but arge part of the abdomen was bare. I felt it with my fingertips and leaned in to catch a whiff; the skin was newly-shaved and smelled like shaving cream.


    Then, separating the legs, I examined her genitals. The deceased seemed to have initial symptoms of gonorrhea, but didn¡¯t have sex before she died.


    Assuming I was a regr coroner, the fat officer asked in a low voice, "Officer, aren¡¯t you going to dissect the body? Is there any instrument missing?"


    "I never dissect bodies!" I replied.


    "How do you perform an autopsy then?" the fat officer wondered.


    Iughed but didn¡¯t answer. "Xiaotao, let some light in!"


    Xiaotao opened the shutters, letting the bright sunlight in. The effect of using the Autopsy Umbre was exceptional. In an instant, handprints and traces of violence appeared on the body under the Autopsy Umbre, mainly concentrated in the torso, which was enough to suggest that this was no ordinary suicide.


    Shocked, the fat officer gasped and asked timidly, "What instrument are you using? It¡¯s more effective than an ultraviolet spectrometer!"


    Handing the Autopsy Umbre to Xiaotao, I said, "As you can see, it¡¯s just an umbre!"


    "Are you really a coroner?" The fat officer looked at me strangely.


    I thought it better to exin, so as not to be misunderstood. Thus, I revealed to him that I was really a Traditional Coroner. My words seemed to shock the man into silence. Finally, some time after, he asked, "Um... I definitely don¡¯t mean any disrespect. I¡¯m just a little curious. Did the bureau approve the participation of a Traditional Coroner?"


    I smiled, "White cats and ck cats are both good cats as long as they catch the mice. Most of the technical means used in criminal investigation¨Cchemistry, pharmacology, medicine and forensics¨Care absorbed from other disciplines. As long as it solves the crime, it¡¯s useful. Additionally, I¡¯m a non-staff member, merely a consultant."


    The fat officer gave a long ¡®oh¡¯ and switched the subject back to the case.


    "The deceased was beaten before death,¡± I concluded. ¡°The traces are hidden because she was injured from the fall. Xiaotao, help me turn her over..."


    The fat officer immediately came to my assistance. Just lifting the body slightly had the body in this shape. Arge discement would certainly cause shifting of the internal organs. Coordinating with the fat officer, we supported the waist, while Xiaotao twirled the Autopsy Umbre on the back. As the umbre¡¯s shadow fell on the victim¡¯s lower back, two clear handprints left by an adult male appeared.


    "Amazing!¡± The fat officer eximed in admiration. ¡°As expected of an expert from the big city!"


    "The woman was obviously pushed,¡± I dered. ¡°Alright, you can put her down."


    "The victim¡¯s abdomen and chest were shaved. I found some broken hairs on the soles of her feet, which may be the victim¡¯s. At the time, the murderer most likely shoved her. I noticed almost imperceptible marks on the victim¡¯s wrists, as if she was bound with some sort of loose materials like silk... "


    ¡°Bondage?¡± Xiaotao asked.


    At the mention of bondage, I suddenly thought of listening to the victim¡¯s joints. The victim¡¯sst action certainly wasn¡¯t this, but if she was fixed in a certain position for a long time before death, the tendons and bones would have memory of that.


    Finally, I came to the conclusion that the victim had her limbs stretched before death, most likely tied to a big bed. Since the victim was dressed like a sex worker, she had probably been invited by a client for a session of bondage!


    However, her client¡¯s inclinations were rather odd. He started off by shaving the hair on her chest and abdomen, during which the victim broke free from and had an argument with the murderer.


    Did she identally fall from the sixteenth floor?


    No! Whether or not it was intentional would have to be ascertained from Bingxin¡¯sb results.


    1. Eg. Xiaotao has three characters, while Song Yang has two.

 Chapter 504

    <h4>Chapter 504</h4>


    After waiting for about half an hour, Bingxin came in scratching her, "Song Yang, I didn¡¯t find any anesthetics in her blood, but I did find alcohol."


    I looked at the body thoughtfully while Xiaotao asked, "Song Yang, why do you think the victim was drugged?"


    "To fake a suicide, the victim must lose the ability to resist, and narcotics are the best choice. Moreover, after our analysis, the victim had been shaved before death. If she was conscious at the time, why didn¡¯t she resist immediately? After all, her chest and abdomen were shaved."


    "Was she drunk on alcohol?" asked Xiaotao.


    "There wasn¡¯t that much alcohol in her blood, certainly not enough to render her immobile."


    "Alcohol!"


    I suddenly recalled that many anesthetics were used together with alcohol, and the victim might have been drugged.


    I proposed we dissect the body. All we had to do was examine the stomach and liver. An eager Bingxin removed the victim¡¯s stomach. As the fat officer watched on, he turned ashen and immediately reported an urgent errand he had to run, fleeing from the scene.


    Xiaotao shook her, "I¡¯ve certainly grown ustomed to this picture."


    Bingxin gently opened the stomach, revealing the stomach contents. Not all the food residue had to be tested since some of them could be identified by the naked eye¨Cshredded pork, celery, tomatoes, duck, andver. Xiaotao¡¯s cheeks twitched imperceptibly, but fortunately, there was no mention of avoiding any foods in the future.


    Bingxin swabbed up some whitish substance and ced it under the sunlight, " Is it yogurt?"


    I sniffed, "No, it¡¯s semen!"


    "I regret staying behind for the dissection,¡± interrupted Xiaotao. ¡°Next time you open the stomach, I¡¯m not watching."


    ¡°Xiaotao¡ªthis is important evidence, the murderer¡¯s DNA!" eximed Bingxin.


    I threw the cotton swab away and shook my head, "It¡¯s useless! It has been more than four hours since death. Coupled with the heat and humidity of the stomach, the DNA has been destroyed."


    Having said that, Bingxin still took some samples. Judging from the degree of digestion, the victim¡¯sst meal was six hours ago. It was likely that the two ate together, so we could inquire at restaurants near the crime scene. In addition, I caught a whiff of alcohol.


    Under careful inspection, I found traces of corrosion and bleeding in the stomach wall, which were rtively recent. It seemed like toxic substances were ingested in this meal.


    "Come on,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s use the elimination method to get a general idea of a poison. What substances can hurt the stomach wall?"


    Bingxin replied fluently as if answering a teacher¡¯s question, "Tetramethylenedisulfotetramine, phenol, corrosive alkali, formaldehyde, mercury, thallium, and cyanide!"


    "No, if the dose is enough to burn a hole in the stomach wall, this person would¡¯ve bled to death, so what you just said can be ruled out," I shook my head.


    Frowning, Bingxin turned to look at the victim¡¯s eyelids, "Did the victim really fall to her death?"


    "I¡¯m a hundred percent sure about that. She was poisoned, but she didn¡¯t die of poisoning. So I think the poison only hurt the stomach, but didn¡¯t act on the digestive system itself... I didn¡¯t find any signs of diarrhea," I replied.


    With her head tilted to one side and brows wrinkled, Bingxin proposed we continue with dissecting the liver.


    In fact, my understanding of poisons was basic at best. I was hoping our discussion would inspire Bingxin with the answer.


    Upon dissecting the liver, we noticed patches on the liver at once. "I think I know what it is,¡± shouted Bingxin. ¡°I¡¯ll test it right away!"


    She left after taking some samples. The fat officer entered the morgue smelling of smoke. "Have youe to a conclusion?" he asked.


    "Almost, let¡¯s head out first!"


    Before leaving, I covered the victim with a white cloth and burned some joss paper. Outside of the morgue, I briefly exined our findings to point him to a general direction for the investigation. As for the test, Bingxin required some time.


    The fat officer left us with words of gratitude and his contact information, saying we could contact him if necessary.


    Since we couldn¡¯t leave Bingxin here alone, Xiaotao and I headed to theboratory. After fiddling with some bottles and cans, Bingxin suddenly yelled, "Sure enough!"


    Testing wouldn¡¯t take long if we had the right direction. "What is it?" I asked.


    "Chlorpromazine hydrochloride!" Bingxin replied.


    "Oh! A sedative used to treat vomiting."


    "Yes!"


    "Why didn¡¯t you find it before?"


    Bingxin exined that the murderer had actually made a mistake. Chlorpromazine could kill once it reached a certain dose, but it had to be injected intravenously. However, the murderer mixed it into the victim¡¯s food. As a result, the medicine entered the intestinal tract and burned the stomach wall, while the liver dissolved the rest. Hence, the victim didn¡¯t die, but fell into aa.


    My eyes lit up, "The murderer originally thought that the victim was dead and began shaving her hair, never expecting the victim would regain consciousness halfway. The two had an altercation and the murderer pushed her down off building."


    Tapping her chin, Xiaotao said, "Looks like the murderer isn¡¯t adept with drugs. So what was his original n? Collect human body hair to create a writing brush?"


    I shrugged, "Let¡¯s leave that for the fat officer!"


    "How rude of you!¡±ughed Xiaotao.¡±He has a name."


    "What¡¯s hisst name?"


    Xiaotao¡¯s face sank, "I can¡¯t recall!"


    Bingxin wrote down theb results and ced them next to the body. The three of us left the station, only to find that it was getting dark.


    Perhaps I enjoyed staying busy. With this new case, I felt very much at ease. In the evening, we decided upon dinner at the roadside stall. Without Sun Tiger watching her every move, Bingxin ordered up a feast¨Cypot frogs, sea cucumber with pickled peppers, stir-fried snails, duck¡¯s blood and beef tripe in spicy soup, and other foods that her father usually forbade.


    "Miss Sun, take it easy, will you?¡± Xiaotao chided. ¡°Are you trying to get a stomachache?"


    "Other people get to eat this all the time, but not me!¡± Bingxin mumbled with her mouth full. ¡°It¡¯s delicious! How can there be something so yummy?"


    Song Xingchen had a cup of jasmine milk tea in his hand, while Wang Yuanchao sipped on arge ss of draft beer. Courtesy had no ce here. We were having dinner like any other family.


    As night fell, the small county towncked the brilliance of thousands of lights in Nanjiang City, but it had a clear, starry sky. Looking up, Xiaotao smiled, "Living in a small town like this when you¡¯re older isn¡¯t so bad."


    "If you live here, you¡¯ll be bored to death. You might as well stay here for a while and nevere back," Bingxin retorted.


    "What about the case?" chuckled Xiaotao.


    I thought to myself while Bingxin patted me on the shoulder, "I believe that with Song Yang-gege¡¯s Conan-like senses, clues wille knocking on the door!"


    "Nonsense,¡± Iughed. ¡°What you mean is, wherever I go, someone dies! For the peace of the human world, I shall banish myself to an uninhabited ind."


    Right then, someone shouted, "Murder!"

 Chapter 505

    <h4>Chapter 505</h4>


    Bingxin and Xiaotao looked at me with amusement in their eyes. In the face of such a coincidence, I was rendered speechless. Spreading my hands, I said, "Let¡¯s go and have a look at who¡¯s died because of me."


    Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t actually a murder, just two men quarreling. One was a gangster with tattoo-covered arms, while the other was an intellectual in sses. Just as the big gangster stretched out his fist, the man in sses stuffed his cor into the other man¡¯s hand and shouted, "Murder! He¡¯s trying to kill me!"


    Although we weren¡¯t with the local police, we couldn¡¯t just pretend to look the other way. As soon as Xiaotao pulled out her ID, the big guy immediately did a 180. Smiling, he said, "Hey, a police officer! Look, I ordered a stir-fried sea hare, but this idiot here... I mean, this gentleman snatched it from me. He ims he ordered first and wants me to wait twenty minutes!¡±


    sses argued tit-for-tat, insisting that he ordered first.


    Watching the two argue on and on made my head throb. Xiaotao wasn¡¯t in the mood to deal with such trifles either. Waving her hand, she chided, "Move on! Whoever¡¯s eaten this should settle the bill."


    The big guy cursed at his rotten luck and walked off. Just as we were about to continue with dinner, sses came up and pointed to me excitedly. "I saw you this afternoon!"


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a look of confusion. The only ce we stopped by in the afternoon was the station. Who was this man?


    To our surprise, he even called us by our names and showed special respect for me, as if he knew about my work. I cut straight to the point, "What do you do?"


    "Oh, sorry, I was so excited to meet the Great Detective Song that I forgot to introduce myself." sses pulled out his business card which read: famous screenwriter Wu Yang.


    Scratching my head, I wondered at the word ¡®famous.¡¯ I had never heard of this man!


    "Isn¡¯t he the screenwriter who¡¯se to collect information?" interjected Bingxin.


    "Oh, it¡¯s him!" eximed Xiaotao.


    With a smile, Wu Yang folded his hands, "Yes, I¡¯m here about the serial murder case from twenty years ago. Gathering information has gone rather smoothly. Ah, it really is a privilege for me to meet the legends of the public security system here. I must buy you dinner tonight!"


    I politely declined. After all, in my opinion, screenwriters were no different from journalists¨Cmegaphones on legs. While I hinted at Song Xingchen with my eyes, Xiaotao gestured to Wang Yuanchao, motioning for us to withdraw at once. Bingxin moved faster than anyone else, having asked the stall owner for takeout boxes to pack up the untouched food.


    To our surprise, Wu Yang beat us to it. When we called for the bill, the stall owner said, "That gentleman settled your bill."


    We turned around to see Wu Yang cupping his fist and grinning from ear to ear, his porcin veneers shining like tinum gold. At the same table was a fat man wearing sunsses, probably the director he came with.


    Rolling her eyes, Xiaotao grumbled, "Oh no, I bet he¡¯ll cling onto us till he gets information! Attention boys and girls, don¡¯t reveal our hotel or room number! Especially..."


    "I know, I won¡¯t go out drinking at night!" Wang Yuanchao took a sip out of his silver sk.


    Back at the hotel, Song Xingchen meditated in silence, while Wang Yuanchao amused himself with alcohol and cigarettes. Meanwhile, Xiaotao pampered her skin with a hydrating mask, lying down on the bed with her eyes closed. I read a book, sometimes pacing back and forth as I pondered. Bingxin was the only ¡®normal¡¯ person among us, ying with her cell phone while she listened to music.


    I was chatting with Xiaotao and Bingxin in our room when a knock sounded on the door. The voice of the man we hoped to avoid interrupted the peace, "Detective Song, Captain Huang, excuse me. I¡¯m Screenwriter Wu. Director Zhang is with me."


    Xiaotao suddenly sat up, twisting her face into a grimace as her eyes turned about the room, silently mouthing usatory words directed at the rest of us.


    I whispered, "There are only three or four decent hotels in this county town. All he has to do is ask around. After all, he¡¯s a screenwriter, so he must have his methods with collecting intelligence."


    Xiaotao pounded her head in distress, "He must be here for information. How annoying!"


    Outside the room, Wu Yang was still yapping away. Since we couldn¡¯t pretend we weren¡¯t here, I had no choice but to open the door. Wu Yang stood there with an annoying smile on his face, followed by a deadpan fat man who imed to be Director Zhang. The man nodded ceremoniously, the sunsses on his face resembling a part of his body¡ªalways on.


    "Yo, Detective Song, taking a break? Why don¡¯t you turn on the TV? Beijing Satellite TV is broadcasting a war drama of the Republic of China that I participated in!"


    "Bingxin, turn on the TV and turn up the volume!" Xiaotao snapped.


    Wu Yang smiled, "Don¡¯t! Captain Huang, you¡¯re a funny one. We¡¯re just here to visit you, and also to ask a few questions."


    "Just spit it out," I sighed.


    "You have half an hour!" added Xiaotao.


    Wu Yang eagerly rubbed his hands, but Director Zhang never spoke. Seating himself on the couch, he lit a cigarette and began smoking in silence. I thought to myself, Are all artistic people so unconventional?


    Sure enough, Wu Yang hade to collect materials for his show. Although he had seen the file from twenty years ago, many details of the investigation had been left out. Since the director of the Liangchen Bureau was too busy to see to him, he decided to try his luck with us.


    In fact, Wu Yang¡¯s professionalism was quite admirable, far superior to those writers who made up stories with their eyes closed. Thus, I exercised my patience and sat down to answer his questions.


    "I heard that an officer was injured in public, yet he received no pension and fell to a miserable end. What happened?" Wu Yang began.


    "What?" I asked in surprise.


    Wu Yang lowered his voice, "If I say something unpleasant, will the authorities detain me?"


    "Oh great screenwriter, just speak your mind! Interfering with an officer injured in the line of duty and embezzling his pension is a crime. Who¡¯s going to risk going to jail for such a small amount?"


    When I asked for the officer¡¯s name, he reported the name ¡®Nie Yalong,¡¯ an officer involved in the investigation. However, the file mentioned nothing about his injury. It seemed this matter required further investigation.


    "Detective Song, there¡¯s one thing I don¡¯t understand,¡± Wu Yang continued. ¡°Why did they release the suspect? Is there more to this than what meets the eye?"


    "Oh, don¡¯t be such a cynic. How can there..." I paused abruptly, suddenly recalling that there was no mention of the suspect in the archives of the bureau. What I had in hand was the most detailed version.


    My pupils darkened as I stared into Wu Yang¡¯s eyes, "How did you know there was a suspect at the time?"


    Wu Yang faltered, "The injured officer mentioned it when I visited him."


    "What did he say? Did he mention the suspect¡¯s name?"


    "It was Song... Zh-Zhaolin, if I¡¯m not mistaken."


    "What?" I stood up.

 Chapter 506

    <h4>Chapter 506</h4>


    From Wu Yang¡¯s expression, he wasn¡¯t lying, but how could that be true? If my grandfather was a suspect, Sun Tiger wouldn¡¯t have kept it from me. Additionally, the murders happened before they came to investigate.


    In any case, my grandfather couldn¡¯t be a criminal!


    Upon noticing my fierce reaction, Wu Yang arched an eyebrow, "What¡¯s the matter, Detective Song? Do you know this man?"


    I didn¡¯t know how to answer his question. Noment was tantamount to admitting I did. Fortunately, Xiaotao interrupted, "What exactly did the wounded officer say?"


    After further contemtion, Wu Yang replied, "I¡¯ll hack Song Zhaolin to pieces!"


    "What?!"


    In response to our shocked looks, Wu Yang shrugged, "Those were his own words, so I assumed this Song Zhaolin was the suspect. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can speak to him yourself. I¡¯ll give you his home address!" He tore off a piece of paper from his cigarette pack and wrote down the address.


    As I held onto this piece of paper, countless thoughts raced through my head. Did Grandpa really do something he shouldn¡¯t have?


    ncing at the clock on the wall, Wu Yang said, "Ah, it¡¯s nine. I shan¡¯t disturb you any longer. I¡¯ll head back." With that, he left with the fat director, who remained silent the entire time.


    I had ns to meet the fat officer early the next morning. Since there was nothing on the agenda, we rested early.


    About five in the morning, a shrill siren broke the silence. A whileter, Xiaotao called, "The fat officer just phoned me to ask if we could drop by the station."


    "Let¡¯s go!" I nodded.


    Faced with a snoring Wang Yuanchao, I decided not to wake him up. Just as I walked out of the room, I bumped into Song Xingchen who was dressed neatly.


    "You don¡¯t have toe. We¡¯re going to examine a corpse."


    Song Xingchen shook his head and seemed bored.


    As soon as we arrived at the station, the fat officer sighed with relief: "Thank goodness you¡¯re here! Pleasee with me."


    The victim was an unidentified female, about thirty years old. The body was discovered by a hostel staff in the morning. Pieces of skin had been sliced off from her body, including skin from her thighs, abdomen, back, nipples, and genitals. I counted more than thirty cuts in total. The cause of death was a knife to the neck.


    At the sight of the body, Bingxin covered her mouth in horror. Xiaotao and I failed to hide our shock as well. Quickly wearing rubber gloves, I examined the victim¡¯s genitals and concluded, "It¡¯s a rape-murder!"


    "Exactly the same as the case that happened twenty years ago!" Xiaotao added.


    Turning to the fat officer, I asked if there had been simr cases prior to our arrival.


    When he shook his head, my heart sank. I feared our arrival had lured the murderer out of hiding. In that case, we were responsible for this woman¡¯s death.


    It seemed Bingxin was absolutely right about my Conan-like senses. I shouldn¡¯t have disturbed this peaceful town.


    Bingxin seemed to see through my thoughts. "Song Yang¡ªdon¡¯t think about it,¡± sheforted. ¡°Let¡¯s perform the autopsy first. It may not be the same murderer."


    Judging from the degree of rigor mortis and Tardieu spots on the victim, the time of death was about ten hours ago. I carefully checked for necrosis of the missing skin and listened to the internal organs with the Echolocation Rod before narrowing down the time of death to eight hours ago.


    It suddenly urred to me that exactly eight hours ago, we were talking to Wu Yang in our hotel room.


    Pulling out a small bottle, I smeared its contents on the edges of the wound with a cotton swab. The substance quickly bubbled up. "The wound shows vital reactions, indicating that the skin was removed antemortem. From the edges of the wound, the weapon appears to be a sharp de, perhaps a scalpel... There are no binding marks on the victim¡¯s wrists and ankles."


    "The victim must¡¯ve been sedated! I¡¯ll test for it!" Bingxin interjected.


    She collected a tube of blood and brought it to the room next door for testing. "Wait,¡± I stopped her. ¡°Let me take a swab of her vagina first.¡±


    In fact, the chance of finding any semen was very slim. These days, even the most uneducated, inexperienced criminals knew they couldn¡¯t leave DNA behind. I noticed a little bit of blood aside from vaginal secretions and lubricant.


    The dark blood seemed to havee from the vagina. There was an almost imperceptible scar on the victim¡¯s abdomen, suggesting she had given birth before. However, prolonged periods of going without sex could cause bleeding.


    Judging by the smell, it was indeed human blood. In order to confirm how the victim was injured, I took a pair of tweezers and separated her vagina. I immediately noticed something inside covered in vaginal discharge that couldn¡¯t be removed. "Looks like it¡¯s an animal of some sort!" I reported.


    "Mouse or eel?" Bingxin covered her mouth in disgust. "What a pervert!"


    After grabbing a dtor and the longest tweezers in theboratory, it took me a considerable amount of time to remove the animal¡ªa gecko. It was most likely inserted into the vagina while still alive and injured the vaginal walls during its struggle.


    Bingxin trembled as she looked on, while the fat officer turned to ask, "Does this gecko have any special meaning?"


    "I don¡¯t know," I shrugged.


    While Bingxin tested the blood, I continued with the autopsy. From the direction of the cuts, the murderer was right-handed, with a firm grip and strong hands.


    If the murderer was still alive, he must be in his forties or fifties. As long as he was healthy,mitting the crime was entirely possible. But as I continued examining the body, there was a sense of disobedience.


    "No, it¡¯s not him!" I shouted.


    "What do you mean?¡± asked Xiaotao. ¡°Is it a copycat?"


    To that, I was nomittal. I asked the fat officer for an ultravioletmp before using the Autopsy Umbre. Several handprints appeared on the victim, especially around the hips¨Ca pair ofrge handprints, which seemed to have been left during the rape.


    Since Xiaotao had also read the case files, I asked her if she had discovered anything wrong, to which she replied, "Do you mean to say the murderer is too calm?"


    "That¡¯s right!"


    The murderer from twenty years ago was the typical impassioned murderer. During the rape and murders, he would constantly bite the victim¡¯s body. Later on, he began slicing the victim¡¯s skin for fear of leaving teeth marks behind. Over time, he formed the MO.


    Since our current murderer didn¡¯t know the details, he drugged the victim first, sliced her skin, and then carried out the rape in a calm and collected manner. It was as if he was going through a fixed process, and he didn¡¯t seem to enjoy himself.


    From the gecko stuffed into the victim¡¯s vagina, not only was the murderer imitating, but he also wanted to convey something!


    Just as I was pondering the case, something tiny jumped out from the victim¡¯s genitals. It was smaller than a sesame seed. I trapped the little thing in a test tube on top of the victim¡¯s thigh. When Xiaotao and Bingxin asked me what I had caught, I told them to take a look.


    There was a louse trapped in the test tube.


    Slightly different from ordinary lice, this little thing was called pubic lice, a parasite found in pubic hair. It usually spread through sexual contact or infected through unsanitary bedding, such as sleeping naked in an unclean motel.


    Separating the victim¡¯s pubic hair with the tweezers, I found many of these parasites at the root of her pubic hair. I removed several of them as evidence.


    "Song Yang, what¡¯s that?" Xiaotao pointed to an area.


    Under the umbre¡¯s shadow was a small cluster of marks on the skin. After careful observation, I found that simr marks could be found around the wound. Removing my gloves, I pulled at my own skin and released, leaving a simr mark.


    "Looks like this was left by pulling the skin around the wound with the murderer¡¯s fingers,¡± I said.


    "The murderer pulled the victim¡¯s skin from both sides with his hands? If he only had two hands, how on earth did he cut her at the same time?" Xiaotao gestured with her hands.


    "You¡¯re right!¡± I shouted excitedly. ¡°The murderer may have an assistant... No, it¡¯s two peoplemitting the crime together!"

 Chapter 507

    <h4>Chapter 507</h4>


    In order to confirm my spections, I carefully examined the body and found two sets of handprints on the victim. There was an extremely heavy set of handprints on the victim¡¯s shoulders. From the direction of the force, it seemed that one person else held the victim down while the other raped the victim.


    Rape-murders that weren¡¯t aimed at retaliation often included a strong sense of privacy. Generally speaking, the murderer wouldn¡¯t share the process with others. However, there were clearly two perpetrators in this case.


    Could it be someone was deliberately copycatting the case from twenty years ago? On the other hand, we couldn¡¯t rule out the possibility of a simple rape-murder either.


    Right then, Bingxin entered the room. "Song Yang-gege, I¡¯ve tested the victim¡¯s blood and found trace amounts of chlorpromazine hydrochloride."


    "So quick this time?" I asked in surprise.


    Bingxin smiled, "Well, since I detected this sedative in thest victim, the sample was still stored in theboratory. I thought I might as wellpare them. It was a shot in the dark and I got lucky."


    Her words reminded me that the same drug was found in thest victim, suggesting the possibility that the two murders weremitted by the same person.


    Right now, I wanted to ascertain if the murderer injected the drug or had the victim ingest it. If it were thetter, concentrated amounts could be found in the stomach.


    "Check the stomach contents at once!" I ordered.


    Bingxin picked up the scalpel, ready to dissect. But before that, I felt the scar on the victim¡¯s abdomen and asked her if it was left by a cesarean section. She thought it was likely.


    From the mnin secretion around the scar, the surgery happened five or six years ago, indicating that the victim had a five or six-year-old. Then, I motioned for Bingxin to begin.


    We found food residue in the victim¡¯s stomach, which wasn¡¯t of great significance except to further corroborate the time of death. Bingxin took samples of the gastric acid to be tested.


    There was no need for further examination of the body, so I burned a few joss papers for the victim.


    "How did the investigation of thest case go?" I asked, turning to the fat officer.


    "The victim¡¯s name is Xiao Feng. She worked in a club and part-timed as a prostitute, asionally having sex with a few regr customers. We visited the restaurants around the crime scene and found a Sichuan restaurant where Xiao Feng wasst seen with a man in a mask and sunsses. The waiter couldn¡¯t describe his face, but he was 1.75 meters tall and had a medium build. We¡¯ve ced him as a suspect and we¡¯re currently checking surveince cameras around the area."


    My intuition told me this case was rted to the one from twenty years ago. I was just about to put forward a suggestion for a cooperative investigation when I noticed the meaningful look Xiaotao cast my way.


    "I didn¡¯t formally introduce myselfst time. I¡¯m Huang Xiaotao and he¡¯s Song Yang. We belong to the special team from Nanjiang City and are an independent criminal organization under the Ministry of Public Security! The purpose of our trip is to investigate the serial murders that urred in Liangchuan twenty years ago. The two recent murders seem to be rted to that case. If you don¡¯t mind, I hope we can work together. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll still receive due credit afterwards."


    The fat officer broke into a shy smile. "Never mind about credit! I can tell you¡¯re distinguished people. If you solve the case, it¡¯ll bring peace to Liangchuan. That way, I won¡¯t be letting down the badge I wear so proudly! Just tell me what you need, and I¡¯ll give you my full support."


    "Song Yang, you¡¯re up!" Xiaotao turned to me.


    I nodded, "Officer, first gather your men so I can assign them their tasks."


    "Alright, I¡¯ll make a phone call."


    When the fat officer stepped out of the room, Bingxin returned a momentter. More chlorpromazine hydrochloride was detected in the victim¡¯s stomach. It seemed the murderer prepared quite a fair bit of sedatives, something we could look into.


    "This small county has been peaceful for twenty years, but as soon as we arrived, this copycat murder happens. Could the murders be caused by our presence?" Xiaotao wondered out loud.


    "I don¡¯t think so. When the first murder urred, we had just arrived. I think the de Master reminded us at this point in time because he knew something!" I said.


    "Then why didn¡¯t he stop this from happening?! What a pity these two girls died!" Bingxin retorted.


    Xiaotao sneered, "He¡¯s just a sadistic murderer who ims to be the embodiment of justice. He¡¯s no hero, so why should he bother stopping a murder?"


    It suddenly urred to me; why didn¡¯t the de Master stop the murders? Perhaps he thought the two victims deserved to die!


    A thought crossed my mind. "Have they identified the second victim?" I asked.


    "Check with the fat officer," replied Xiaotao.


    It was only 6:30 in the morning and the rest of the officers had yet to arrive. Thus, Xiaotao proposed we go out for breakfast. Meanwhile, I asked Bingxin topare the two victims¡¯ DNA.


    "Do you suspect they¡¯re rted by blood?" asked Bingxin.


    "It¡¯s just a conjecture. Thanks for the hard work. I¡¯ll buy you breakfast."


    "You¡¯re wee!" smiled Bingxin.


    Life in the small county town moved at a snail¡¯s pace. At nine o¡¯clock, when the officers finally arrived, we held a case discussion so the two sides could exchange information. I tasked the officers with investigating several clues¨Cdetailed information about the two victims, surveince videos and eyewitnesses that might¡¯ve existed when the crime urred, discarded weapons that might be around the crime scene, the source of the murder¡¯s chlorpromazine hydrochloride, and the people involved in the serial killings twenty years ago.


    After the meeting, Wang Yuanchao decided to investigate the victims while I headed out to meet the wounded officer, Nie Yalong!


    Just as I was about to leave, the fat officer caught up, holding an empty medicine bottle in a bag, exining that it was evidence found in thest murder.


    I examined the bottle in consternation. Thebel read, ¡®tetanus immunoglobulin,¡¯ which was amon tetanus vine on the market. When I asked the fat officer where he found it, he said the bottle was found in the victim¡¯s handbag left in the room.


    "The bottle is empty,¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°Did the murderer inject the vine into the victim¡¯s bloodstream?"


    The first victim, Xiao Feng, had been pushed from a height and killed. Since her entire body was battered and bloody. I couldn¡¯t say for certain if she had been injected, but I was sure she didn¡¯t have tetanus. If she had been injured by rusty metal, the wound would¡¯ve been extremely conspicuous.


    "Let¡¯s just test for it,¡± suggested Bingxin. ¡°I saved several blood samples from thest victim."


    When we arrived at theboratory, the DNA sequencer was still running. Bingxin pulled out the marked blood samples from the refrigerator. In less than fifteen minutes, we got the results. "There are no traces of tetanus vine in the victim¡¯s blood!" reported Bingxin.


    "Are you sure?" asked Xiaotao.


    "I did three separate tests, and the results were all negative, negative."


    Fiddling with the small bottle in my hand, I contemted the implication of such a medicine bottle in the victim¡¯s bag. "Is the murderer trying to convey a message like the gecko?"


    "The two have nothing inmon,¡± Xiaotao massaged her temples. ¡°Don¡¯t overthink this. If every clue was meaningful, then solving the case would be as easy as pie..."


    "You¡¯re right!" I smiled.

 Chapter 508

    <h4>Chapter 508</h4>


    Bingxin stayed behind to test the DNA while Xiaotao, Song Xingchen, and I headed to the nursing home.


    Nie Yalong¡¯s personnel file was found in the bureau. It turned out that he was severely burned in the fire and could no longer walk. Later on, he suffered from severe depression and attempted suicide several times. He was currently living in a nursing home.


    The word "fire" shocked me to the core. Was this the fire where Grandpa destroyed the evidence? If this was the case, no wonder Nie Yalong resented Grandpa so much.


    We took a cab to the nursing home and headed to Nie Yalong¡¯s room. At the door, a loud crash sounded and an old man yelled, "Get out!"


    Another voice rang, "Dad, anyway, your house will be mine sooner orter. Why are you so stubborn?"


    "Get out!" the old man yelled once more.


    A vulgar man in a suit and tie walked out of the room. Upon noticing us, he asked, "Who are you looking for?"


    "We¡¯re with the police. We¡¯re here to speak to Nie Yalong."


    "Oh, that¡¯s the old bastard inside." The man motioned towards the room with his chin, then walked away. His flippant tone disgusted me.


    When we entered the room, we were greeted by broken cups and bowls, porridge spilled all over the floor, and an old man with an intravenous drip on his hand sitting in a wheelchair, huffing and puffing in anger.


    I noticed a burn mark on his neck and on the back of his hand. The old man stared at us warily, while Xiaotao began, "Officer Nie?"


    "It¡¯s been a long time since I was that!" The old man waved his hand, "What do you want to know? Ask your questions and get the hell out of here!¡±


    Xiaotao and I exchanged a thoughtful look. It seemed this wasn¡¯t the right time to ask our questions. Thus, we helped the old man clean up the ce so his mood took a turn for the better. A whileter, he extended two fingers and asked me for a cigarette. Unfortunately, I had none.


    Then, the old man told Song Xingchen to close the door and asked me to look under the bed.


    Below his bed were a bunch of hidden items¨Ccigarettes, lighters, photos of his wife, change, and an old notebook. I picked up the notebook, pursuing its contents. What I saw was a newspaper clipping¨CNanjiang City Police Cracks The 411 Case. There was a photo of a young Sun Tiger and several officers involved in solving the case. In the corner was a man whose face was circled in red. That was a face I was very familiar with: it was Grandpa!


    I flipped through the file which was filled with cases that Grandpa participated in. Of course, this was only one-tenth of all the cases Grandpa ever cracked, but it took a lot of energy to collect them all. If nothing else, it was difficult to purchase newspapers from Nanjiang City in a small county town like Liancheng.


    "What are you looking at? Where¡¯s my cigarette?" barked the old man.


    Startled, I scrambled to ce the file back and pulled out a cigarette for the old man. Inhaling deeply, the old man blew a mouthful of smoke towards the ceiling, his eyes filled with intoxication. "Are you here for that case?"


    "How do you know? Did a screenwritere to see you two days ago?" I asked.


    "What screenwriter? I don¡¯t know anything about that."


    From his reaction, he wasn¡¯t lying. Xiaotao lowered her voice, "Parkinson¡¯s!" It suddenly dawned upon me that the man had dementia.


    Cutting to the chase, I said, "Do you remember who the suspect was?"


    "Of course, how could I forget!" The old man gnashed his teeth, "Song Zhaolin!"


    Clearly, the old man had gotten his facts confused, having integrated Grandpa and the suspect into one person. Judging by the anger he disyed upon mentioning Grandpa¡¯s name, he must hate him very much.


    As far as the old man recalled, ¡°Song Zhaolin¡± was a self-employed boss who sold music. Twenty years ago, a vicious serial rape-murder broke the peace of the small county town! The murderer seemed particrly fond of girls in red, and several of the victims either wore red dresses or scarves.


    The old man and his partner, Officer Xiao, were in charge of the case. Just when they werepletely helpless, two experts came from Nanjiang City, one surnamed Sun, and the other he couldn¡¯t remember. They had extraordinary abilities, sessfully finding new clues by re-examining the dissected bodies.


    After the sixth murder, the police locked in on the suspect, ¡°Song Zhaolin.¡± He matched all the characteristics of the murderer, but there was no evidence. Then, the seventh murder urred and the victim was an eighteen-year-old student from nursing school. Her body had been so disfigured it was hard to imagine what sort of horrible beast could do such a thing.


    Officer Xiao was furious. He vowed to pry the truth from ¡°Song Zhaolin¡¯s¡± lips. Thus, he resorted to violence during the investigation. Nie Yalong tried his best to pull him away. Although the scene was very chaotic at the time, ¡°Song Zhaolin¡¯s¡± ferocious gaze and threatening words remained in his mind. "You¡¯ll pay for this!"


    Soon, they learned what the price was. The eighth victim turned out to be the wife of the police officer who led the investigation team. It was exactly the same MO, so there was no doubt who the murderer was.


    Then, three dayster, another body was discovered¨COfficer Xiao¡¯s wife. The murderer began to kill the officers¡¯ loved ones, frightening several officers so much they proposed to quit the task force. At that point, the case was at a standstill!


    Officers Nie and Xiao¡¯s intuition told them that the murderer was ¡°Song Zhaolin.¡± They reinvestigated the crime scene, spared no brick or tile, even sneaking into ¡°Song Zhaolin¡¯s¡± backyard in the middle of the night. Finally, they caught a break in the case with two key pieces of evidence, which even the experts from Nanjiang City never found.


    One was a pair ¡°Song Zhaolin¡¯s shoes¡± with flesh and blood on the soles. Additionally, found on the wall of the sixth crime scene was a gecko trampled to death. The lines of the sole were visible on the gecko¡¯s body. Although it was a little fuzzy, a DNA test would clear things up.


    Because there was no such technology in the county at the time, this test was handed over to the experts from Nanjiang City.


    The second piece of evidence was a dent in the palm of the seventh victim, which resembled the shape of a nail. At the time, they spected that the victim had picked up a nail from the ground and stabbed the murderer during a struggle. Of course, this nail wasn¡¯t found at the crime scene.


    However, they found evidence that ¡°Song Zhaolin¡± had been given a tetanus shot in a small clinic after the incident. ording to the doctor¡¯s recollection, the wound that was located on his arm seemed to have been caused by a nail. It was unlikely for anyone to be pierced so deeply by a nail in this position.


    These two pieces of hard evidence were enough to convict ¡°Song Zhaolin.¡± But what they never expected was that a fire that would flush all their efforts down the drain.

 Chapter 509

    <h4>Chapter 509</h4>


    Xiaotao and I stared at the old man, never imagining that the tetanus shot and gecko had such meaning. Even I hadn¡¯t seen these two pieces of key evidence in any versions of the file. How could the murderer know?


    "Officer Nie, who else have you told these things?"


    Interrupted mid-conversation, the old man looked very impatient. "I¡¯ve never told anyone,¡± he frowned. ¡°Although I¡¯m not wearing a police uniform now, I¡¯m still a policeman in my heart. I would never tell these secrets to an outsider."


    "But since we entered the room, you haven¡¯t asked us for our identification!" Song Xingchen hit the nail on the head.


    The old man paused, suddenly bursting into a temper and chasing us out the room. It was no wonder people say one behaves more and more like a child towards the end of one¡¯s life, throwing a tantrum over the slightest issue. I coaxed the old man while Xiaotao went out to get a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes.


    As soon as heid eyes on the cigarettes, the old man delightedly lit one on the spot and continued with his story on cloud nine.


    On the night of the fire, he, Officer Xiao, and Officer Sun from Nanjiang City were drinking. Officer Sun had rented a separate space because the other expert had a strange temper and required absolute silence during the autopsy process. Thus, the evidence was also stored there.


    The three people were in a good mood that day since ¡°Song Zhaolin¡± was about to be convicted, and the good people of Liangchuan City would no longer have cause for panic. All of a sudden, someone yelled fire! They turned to look, only to discover that it was the evidence room.


    They immediately rushed over and found that Song Zhaolin had set the ce on fire. Officer Sun grabbed Song Zhaolin by the shoulder and demanded why.


    Afraid that the evidence would be destroyed, Officer Nie rushed in to save them. Unfortunately, he was hit by a burning beam. After being rescued, he found himself burned beyond recognition and could no longer walk.


    What was even more depressing was the fact that a few dayster, all charges against "Song Zhaolin" were dropped. The man was no longer considered a criminal suspect. However, Officer Xiao insisted on returning justice to the dead girls and was suspended.


    Because ¡°Song Zhaolin¡± was cleared of suspicion, Nie Yalong¡¯s injury wasn¡¯t deemed work-rted, so he couldn¡¯t receive his pension. Although his colleagues donated a sum of money for the injury, it would¡¯ve taken 500,000 yuan for him to stand up again, which he couldn¡¯t afford!


    Thus, the case faded just like that. After the experts from Nanjiang City left, Officer Xiao shouted, "How unfair the heavens are!" three times in front of his fiancee¡¯s grave beforemitting suicide.


    The news of his death deeply affected Nie Yalong, on top of the fact that he had be a cripple. He could only live on meager social relief funds, subsisting on tobo to escape from reality.


    And ¡°Song Zhaolin¡± who was still atrge was put under the spotlight in the newspapers, receiving much glory for his crimes. Every time he thought about it, the old man hated it to the bone.


    At this point, the old man clenched his fist and pounded his wheelchair. Afraid that he would hurt himself, we quickly stopped him. "It was Song Zhaolin who killed my partner and ruined my life. Even after I¡¯m dead, I¡¯m going after him!" he gritted his teeth.


    Hearing such anger directed at Grandpa left a bitter taste in my mouth. He hated Grandpa so much that in his chaotic memory, the suspect had be Grandpa.


    Although I didn¡¯t want to reopen the old man¡¯s wounds, I had to correct his memory. "Who was the other expert from Nanjiang City?"


    The old man shook his head, so I asked, "Was it Song?"


    "I don¡¯t know, I can¡¯t remember."


    "What were the characteristics of ¡®Song Zhaolin¡¯? Does he still live here now?"


    The old man frowned as he muddled up the suspect¡¯s characteristics. One moment he was tall, the other short; he had dead fish eyes and tiny eyes like mung beans...


    Xiaotao sighed, "There¡¯s no point asking him. Those with dementia have confused memories. They can¡¯t tell who¡¯s who."


    Still unwilling, I handed the pack of Zhonghua to him and said, "Thank you, old man. Take this, it¡¯s for you. Shall I put it under your bed?"


    "Hide it. Don¡¯t let the nurse find it!" he waved his hand.


    After hiding the cigarettes, I quietly stole his notebook, tucking it under my arm. Xiaotao looked on with a knowing smile.


    Upon leaving the room, I turned to Song Xingchen, "When Grandpa died, he didn¡¯t leave anything behind. At the time, I was too young to check his ounts. Could you get my aunt to check his transactions before his death?"


    "Yes... but are you sure about this?"


    If Song Heting knew about this matter, she would certainly intervene. "Just make up something. Tell her one of the police foundations wants to verify it."


    Song Xingchen shook his head, "This won¡¯t fool her. I might as welle clean!"


    "Alright then," I nodded.


    "Why the sudden interest in his transactions?" asked Xiaotao.


    I sighed, "I don¡¯t believe Grandpa was such a cold-blooded man. Confirming this would make me feel better."


    "I know you don¡¯t want to hear this but no one is perfect,¡± Xiaotao patted me on the shoulder. ¡°No one can go the entirety of their life making zero mistakes so you don¡¯t have to feel too upset about this."


    Outside the building, a man walked up to me and smiled, "You¡¯re done with your questions? It didn¡¯t go well, did it? My dad¡¯s all confused now.¡±


    The man was Nie Yalong¡¯s son who had previously left a terrible impression. Additionally, I was too upset to y nice. "What can I do for you?" I asked.


    Rubbing his hands, he broke into a wide grin. "To tell you the truth, I have an important piece of information here. If you¡¯re willing to pay a thousand yuan..."


    "You¡¯re talking about intelligence fees to an officer of thew?" Xiaotao raised her voice.


    "Hey prettydy, don¡¯t give me that crap,¡± he snorted. ¡°My dad has been an officer all his life, so I¡¯m not aplete idiot. I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re investigating, but it¡¯s got nothing to do with my dad or me. I have no obligation to provide information for free."


    "And what information could be worth a thousand yuan?"


    He licked his lips, "My dad has been very popr these past few days. He has met three people. Would you like to know who they are?"


    I didn¡¯t need to be a rocket scientist to guess that. Two of them were the screenwriter and directors. Who was the other? It didn¡¯t really matter.


    "Sorry, I don¡¯t want to know,¡± I smiled. ¡°Keep it to yourself. Maybe you can sell this piece of information at a higher price in the future!"


    Just as we were leaving, the man panicked and stretched out his hand to stop us. "Don¡¯t leave! No one else cares about this information! My dad met Song Zhaolin two days ago!"


    "What?!"

 Chapter 510

    <h4>Chapter 510</h4>


    Upon hearing this, I restrained the urge to charge up to him and grab him by the cor. Activating Cave Vision, I stared into his eyes, "Are you telling the truth?"


    "It¡¯s true! I heard my dad yelling in the room two days ago, ¡®Song Zhaolin, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡¯ I don¡¯t know if you noticed a broken window earlier. My dad did that the other day. He has a bad temper and argues all the time, but I have never seen him so angry."


    To my surprise, what he said turned out to be true.


    "What does this Song Zhaolin look like?" I continued.


    He described a vigorous old man in his seventies or eighties, with silver hair, a goatee, and a solid wooden cane in his hand. However, this alone wasn¡¯t enough to convince me.


    To my utter surprise, he mentioned an important feature of my grandfather¡¯s, that is, a faint Mongolian spot in the lower position of his right cheek.


    Too shocked for words, I turned to Song Xingchen and Xiaotao who were just as surprised as I was.


    "What did Song Zhaolin and your father talk about?" asked Xiaotao.


    "Officer!" The man squeezed out a sly smile. "I¡¯ve already revealed too much. If I say more, how will I make any money? A thousand yuan and I¡¯ll tell you everything they said."


    "Since your father hates Song Zhaolin so much, how could he have sat down and chatted with him?" I argued.


    His cheeks suddenly turned red as tiny beads of sweat trickled down his skin. "My dad kicked him away at first, and then they sat together and spoke for a bit. I heard everything!"


    How could such an obvious lie deceive me? I smiled, "I¡¯m sorry, we don¡¯t need this information. We¡¯re leaving!"


    "Don¡¯t! Can¡¯t we discuss this? How about eight hundred? Seven fifty?"


    He chased after us, but upon seeing our tant disregard, he lost his temper. Standing on the steps, he cursed, "Fuck you, I hope you all get knocked by a..."


    His voice came to an abrupt stop. I looked up to see that Song Xingchen had his Tang Sword unsheathed and against the man¡¯s neck. "What were you going to say?" threatened Song Xingchen.


    With a look of embarrassment on his face, the man pped himself heavily and cried, "My mistake! I¡¯m sorry!"


    "What a detestable man!" sneered Xiaotao.


    When we left the nursing home, I was still thinking of his words. It was impossible for Grandpa to havee back from the dead. Someone must be pretending to be him. I felt a nudge from Xiaotao and she pointed to the front. "Look, there¡¯s a surveince camera in front of that supermarket."


    The camera was facing the gates of the nursing home. If Grandpa had been here, he would have been caught on camera. Thus, we spoke to the shopkeeper and asked to see the surveince video over the past few days.


    The shopkeeper pulled up the surveince video from two days ago on hisputer. My heart pounded like a beating drum. Even though I knew it wasn¡¯t true, how could I remain calm at the sight of my ¡°resurrected¡± grandfather?


    Sensing my nervousness, Xiaotao ced her hand over my clenched fist.


    Suddenly, the video deviated from the main entrance of the nursing home. At the same time, the picture shook and recovered after a while. When I rewound the video, I noticed how quickly the camera had moved, suggesting it hadn¡¯t been rotated by hand, but was struck by something.


    When the shopkeeper asked the shop assistant what had happened, the man exined that the camera was somehow tilted. He only snapped it back in ce after noticing it.


    The video was restored after six in the evening, but the visitor we were looking for wasn¡¯t caught on camera. That is to say, the man entered the nursing home during that period, so it was likely that he rotated the camera.


    Song Xingchen walked out of the store without so much as a word, looked up, and stared at the camera. I noticed a small dent on the side. Narrowing his eyes, Song Xingchen said, "He used a stone."


    "A stone? With that much strength, the man must¡¯ve had training! " I conjectured.


    Song Xingchen nodded. "If he¡¯s worked with hidden weapons, this sort of thing would be child¡¯s y."


    "So powerful? Is he a great martial artist?" eximed Xiaotao. In fact, she was still unaware of Song Xingchen¡¯s abilities. Attacking with hidden weapons was one of the basic skills of the martial Songs. It was nothing special.


    Could the person who turned the camera be the man posing as Grandpa?


    At the moment, my head was filled with doubts. I couldn¡¯t understand his motives for doing so.


    "Is it possible that he killed those two victims?" asked Xiaotao.


    "What could he be nning? I can only think of one possibility, that is, he was involved in the murders that happened twenty years ago! But why kill these two women..."


    Xiaotaoforted, "It¡¯s no use thinking now. We need to know more about the victims first."


    Right then, I received a call from Bingxin about the DNAparison results. The two victims had a 98% match, undoubtedly proving kinship within three generations.


    "Song Yang-gege, how did you guess that the two victims were rted by blood?" asked Bingxin.


    "It¡¯s hard to exin over the phone. We¡¯ll talk about this when I get back!"


    "Yes, Uncle Wang has just returned. He¡¯s found the victims¡¯ identities."


    "Is he with you?"


    Bingxin handed the phone over to Wang Yuanchao who reported that the second victim, named Ma Li, was a divorced saleswoman whose child had been awarded to her spouse. Hence, she lived alone.


    "Thanks, Uncle Wang! Could you help me check one other thing? Bingxin has proved that the two victims are rted by blood. I want a list of all their rtives, including those who have passed away. The more detailed the better."


    "Alright, I¡¯ll get to it." Wang Yuanchao hung up the call.


    "Do you suspect that the murderer is among their rtives?" wondered Xiaotao.


    "Yes, these don¡¯t look like random murders. The two clues left on the victim directly point to the murders that happened twenty years ago. I think the motive is revenge."


    "I believe so as well. But even if the suspect is found, your grandfather destroyed all the evidence and the bodies have long dposed. What can the police use to convict the murderer?"


    Her question stumped me. After a brief moment of silence, Song Xingchen said, "Young Master, as long as you identify the man, you don¡¯t need evidence. I¡¯ll punish him myself!"


    I shook my head. "No, I won¡¯t do anything illegal. What¡¯s the difference between that and the de Master who prides himself on justice? I will try my best to seek out the truth. Even if I fail, I must know why Grandpa covered up for the suspect!"


    "Stop frowning,¡± Xiaotao chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s already noon. Instead of waiting around, let¡¯s get something to eat first! What would you like?"

 Chapter 511

    <h4>Chapter 511</h4>


    We found a restaurant to have lunch. As soon as I was seated, I looked at the notebook I had stolen from Nie Yalong. More than half of it contained newspaper clippings about Grandpa. Of course, Grandpa was just a low-key consultant so the protagonist in these reports was Sun Tiger. It seemed Sun Tiger had a good time in the 1990s, like a star in the field ofw enforcement.


    Raising her ss, Xiaotao said, "Every generation has its giants. It used to be Sun Tiger and your grandfather¡¯s era, and now it¡¯s ours."


    Upon noticing my silence, Xiaotao pinched my face, squeezing out a smile. "Song Yang, you¡¯ve been sullen ever since we arrived. Are you still the Song Yang I know?"


    "I¡¯m sorry!" I rubbed my face, "I won¡¯t put on a bitter expression anymore. Aspensation, here¡¯s a smile for you."


    Perhaps due to the fact I had worries on my mind, my smile was somewhat ugly to look at since I was holding something in my heart, and I couldn¡¯t look good. Xiaotao chuckled in amusement.


    Upon second thought, what was I doing upset and questioning myself? Did I trust my grandfather? Of course. I believed he was an upright and just man who would never betray his own principles even if his life was at stake. Thus, he must have had a reason for doing this; perhaps he waspelled.


    I continued to peruse his notebook. Apart from the newspaper clippings, there were a number of diary entries Nie Yalong wrote after his retirement. Most of them wereints that denounced the darkness of the world and the absence of justice.


    In fact, I could empathize with his feelings. With his point of view and experiences, he must be quite desperate.


    One page read: ¡°That man just came back as if nothing happened. But he forgot one thing. Behind those dead girls are their broken families. They will never spare him!¡±


    The entry was clearly about the suspect. "Yes, this time, the murderer must be one of the victim¡¯s family members," I mused.


    "The murderer wasn¡¯t punished by thew, so they took matters into their own hands?" remarked Xiaotao.


    There was another entry in the back: ¡°I heard some good news this morning. He got what he deserved. He deserves it! Although the child¡¯s life is ruined, and although I¡¯m a father, I can¡¯t help but say that he deserves it. This is the curse he inflicted upon his family. His children and grandchildren won¡¯t have any peace. I only hate that I can¡¯t stand up to avenge Lao Xiao myself!¡±


    Reading this brought a chill up my spine. Hatred only bred more hatred.


    After dinner, we returned to the station. Throughout the afternoon, I waited anxiously till around five in the evening when the fat officer walked in with his team and reported having found some information. The fat officer moved theputer and projector to the conference room. It turned out they found a video from a cafe near the second crime scene. The victim was sitting at the same table with a man. Unfortunately, the video was taken from the man¡¯s back. Though the victim¡¯s face was clear, the man never showed his face.


    Halfway through the meal, the man emptied a bottle of liquid into the victim¡¯s coffee cup. When they settled the bill, the man¡¯s face was faintly visible from the side, though still unclear. Perhaps we could process his face through technical means.


    The man must have added sedatives into the victim¡¯s cup. I recalled finding cake, coffee, and fruit in the victim¡¯s stomach. The degree of digestion suggested they had been ingested less than two hours before death, indicating that this video was taken shortly before that.


    The fat officer reported that the victim had been divorced for almost two years, and friends around her had been trying to introduce her to the right man. It seemed the murderer was pretending to be a blind date!


    Additionally, a bundle of ropes and a knife were found in a trash can near the scene. The blood on the ropes and knife was still being tested, and the source of sedatives hadn¡¯t been determined yet. Over thest month, no one in the entire county had purchased chlorpromazine hydrochloride inrge quantities.


    Right then, Wang Yuanchao returned in his usual style, without a word of greeting and got straight to the point, "I found it."


    "Let¡¯s hear it!"


    Dragging a whiteboard over, Wang Yuangchao took out a small notebook filled with notes, and drew a tree diagram of arge family, marking the names and upations of each member, including two dead, who were originally aunt and nephew. Among these people, I noticed a man named Ma Sanyou who sold electrical appliances. Wang Yuanchao wrote "missing" in brackets after the name.


    "Do you have any photos of Ma Sanyou?" I asked.


    Wang Yuanchao turned to the fat officer who said, "I¡¯ll get someone to search for them."


    "Thank you," I nodded.


    When Wang Yuanchao was done with all the writing, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if thisrge family had been cursed. Ma Sanyou himself disappeared. His father died in a car ident and his mother died of cancer. His ex-wife was pushed down the stairs at work and broke her leg. His eldest son was killed by a truck during a trip to purchase goods while his second son was paralyzed after being stabbed in the kidney at school. His younger brother was beaten into a vegetative state during a fight in the vegetable market. One of his nephewsmitted suicide, and his niece Xiao Feng and sister Ma Li were murdered.


    Xiaotao covered her mouth in shock, "What a terrible end to the entire family!"


    I noticed several older officers had ugly expressions stered on their faces. "You must know something after working here for so many years. Even if you don¡¯t know, you probably heard some rumors. Please share what you know!"


    "Consultant Song,¡± said an older officer. ¡°Since you have discovered this, then we won¡¯t hide it from you. Ma Sanyou was a key suspect in the serial murder case that happened twenty years ago."


    I pointed to the whiteboard, "So, he escaped thew, but his entire family suffered retaliation?"


    Several old officers spoke noisily. In fact, they all knew that every time such a thing happened to the Ma family, the entire town would be apuding in glee. Their investigations would go nowhere because everyone spontaneously shielded the perpetrators.


    Ma Sanyou¡¯s rtives had no way to live in town. They couldn¡¯t find a job, couldn¡¯t rent a house, and couldn¡¯t go to school. Everywhere they went, they ran into a wall, and so they had to try to make a living elsewhere. Otherwise, why would Xiao Feng be a prostitute?


    With the passage of time, people gradually forgot about this matter. However, what they didn¡¯t expect was that even after twenty years, there were still people who were retaliating against Ma Sanyou¡¯s rtives.


    "Does Ma Sanyou have any living rtives? I mean, any potential victims?" I asked.


    "He doesn¡¯t have any rtives in the county,¡± replied Wang Yuanchao.


    Xiaotao shook her head and sighed, "This is a real destruction of an entire family. How tragic! If he knew this would happen, perhaps he wouldn¡¯t havemitted all those crimes."


    "But Ma Sanyou is only a suspect,¡± I argued. ¡°We can¡¯t be sure he was the murderer."

 Chapter 512

    <h4>Chapter 512</h4>


    As soon as the words left my lips, an officer stood up and mmed the table, "Why isn¡¯t he the murderer? When the murders happened, I was a rookie officer at the time, but I witnessed everything. My two predecessors finally found hard evidence. If the bastard expert hadn¡¯t been bribed and burned the evidence, Ma Sanyou would¡¯ve been sentenced to death... By the way, the expert who burned the evidence was also surnamed Song. Does he have anything to do with you, Consultant Song?"


    Xiaotao tugged my sleeve and whispered, "Don¡¯t say anything!"


    "The bastard you mentioned is my grandfather!" I stood up and replied unabashedly.


    There was an uproar in the conference room, where dozens of officers cursed at Grandpa, voicing their suspicions that the special team hade here to clean up after Grandpa.


    "You say that my grandfather was bribed. Do you have any evidence?" I retorted.


    "It¡¯s just a guess. Why would he cover up for the murderer otherwise?" argued the officer.


    Everyone was staring at me, and I knew that as soon as I announced my identity, anything I say would be misconstrued as whitewashing Grandpa. Fortunately, the fat officer stood up and calmed the room, urging us to focus on solving the case first.


    Then, an officer walked in and said he had found some files regarding Ma Sanyou. In the 1980s, Ma Sanyou ran a music shop in the county town, and his business was booming. Ma Sanyou was both honest and straightforward, but he was extremely ugly. Up until the age of twenty-seven, he had never been in a rtionship. Later on, he met a pretty girl who was a migrant worker. Her friends imed Ma Sanyou had a lot of money. The rtionship quickly developed to the point of marriage, but he never imagined she would disappear with 150,000 yuan of his savings. It turned out she was a swindler.


    Affected by this, Ma Sanyou was devastated. ording to a friend of his, Ma Sanyou often visited prostitutes and eventually contracted an unspeakable disease.


    At the age of thirty-five, Ma Sanyou was introduced to his wife. Because it was a blind marriage, life after the wedding wasn¡¯t smooth, with small quarrels every three days and major arguments every five days. After a few years of living this way, his wife left their two children behind, ran away with another man, and gave birth to a child outside the marriage. A few yearster, she officially divorced Ma Sanyou.


    After experiencing all sorts of storms, Ma Sanyou became taciturn, drank all day long, and could barely manage the store. His two children would often go hungry.


    Apparently, Ma Sanyou had a bad habit of throwing garbage secretly in the middle of the night. Once, driven by curiosity, his neighbor opened his garbage and found a cat tortured to death. It seemed it wasn¡¯t the first time he had done such a thing.


    After reading the file, the officers spoke in session, saying that it wasn¡¯t at all surprising that such a man wouldmit crimes. Even I was convinced.


    But there was another voice in my heart that said otherwise. Only if everyone assumed he was a criminal would his previous life seem to foreshadow the crimes.


    ¡°What do you think, Consultant Song?" asked the fat officer.


    "I¡¯ve not formed an opinion. I¡¯d like to see him with my own eyes before I draw any conclusions," I replied.


    The fat officer shook his head, "After the ninth murder, Ma Sanyou disappeared, and there has never been a simr case in the county."


    "Let me see his picture!"


    The officer handed me the file. When I saw the photo of Ma Sanyou, I paused. Why did I feel a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu? That was one ugly face¨Chis chin so wide it could cover the sky. In the 19th century, criminologists put forward criminal anthropology. Through the statistics of arge number of criminals¡¯ bones, it was found that people with a wide chin, sharp head, prominent eyes, and thick body hair were more likely to be criminals.


    ording to the theory of criminal anthropology, civilization and order were born only after human beings evolved to a certain extent, and people with such atavism possessed anti-social and inhuman genes, so they were more likely tomit crimes.


    However, criminal anthropology remained a hypothesis which wasn¡¯t scientifically proven yet.


    Xiaotao stared at the photo, "What an unpleasant face. Song Yang, what¡¯s the matter?"


    "Nothing, I was thinking about something," I brushed her off.


    Although Xiaotao didn¡¯t take it seriously, Song Xingchen gave me a meaningful look. At this moment, I broke out in cold sweat as I recalled exactly where I had seen him.


    When I was very young, Grandpa met this man at home. Because I was too little, I couldn¡¯t remember what they said but I could recall how haggard the man looked. He was dressed in rags like a tramp, and Grandpa seemed to have given him some money.


    As I recall, that happened in 1997, which was exactly one year after the ninth murder.


    What a terrible thing! Was it true Grandpa helped him get away with it and even provided him material assistance? But why? Why did Grandpa go against his own principles?


    cing the file down, I asked, "Where did Ma Sanyou live previously? I¡¯d like to take a look."


    An old officer seemed to recall Ma Sanyou¡¯s previous ce of residence, but since it was gettingte, he said he would take us there tomorrow.


    After the meeting, I asked for a copy of the surveince video and sent it to the Nanjiang City Bureau once we returned to the hotel. I got the Material Evidence Appraisal Center to help identify the suspect in the picture. As I sat alone at night, my heart churned with various thoughts. Xiaotao gentlyforted me with a few kind words, but I just smiled and said nothing.


    Right then, Song Xingchen walked into the room and said, "May I use yourputer? Your grandfather¡¯s fund flow has been investigated."


    Song Xingchen sat in front of theputer, operating somewhat poorly. He logged into his email address and found a new email titled "Little Brat,¡± which had been sent by Song Heting. There was a detailed list of bank ie and expenditures from 1997 till the day Grandpa died. I noticed an inflow and outflow of several huge sums of money along thest few lines.


    "What¡¯s all this?" I asked.


    "This ount belongs to Aunt Song. It looks like your grandfather owed some money, and my aunt paid off the debt for him."


    "Owed money?" I was rather surprised. As far as I knew, Grandpa nevercked money. I learned from Sun Tiger that Grandpa received a special allowance from the city bureau and provincial government which added up to tens of thousands every month. Additionally, he had his own pension.


    He had little expenses; even the cigarettes he smoked and the tea he drank were very cheap. How could he owe money?


    ncing further down, Grandpa remitted money to two ounts every month until a month before his death. One was Shen Lijuan, who received 3,000 yuan a month, while the other was Nie Yalong, who received 6,000 yuan a month.


    "Grandpa has been helping Nie Yalong all this time! But why didn¡¯t he mention it?" I cried.


    From the records, in 1996, Grandpa remitted Nie Yalong a huge sum of 500,000 yuan. At the time, this wasn¡¯t a small sum. As I recalled, Nie Yalong mentioned needing exactly 500,000 yuan to cure his disability. It seemed this money was for his leg.


    "Didn¡¯t Nie Yalong receive the money?¡± Xiaotao wondered. ¡°Oh, I see. His son stole the money!"

 Chapter 513

    <h4>Chapter 513</h4>


    Pounding the table angrily, I shouted, "The bastard! He should be shot!"


    Xiaotao said, "This is a serious crime of illegal possession if Nie Yalong decides to sue his son."


    "He¡¯s not going to sue his own flesh and blood! Oh, how can there be such a wicked bastard? Who¡¯s the other person who was given mary assistance? There¡¯s an address here so he must be rted to the case... But I don¡¯t recall such a man among Ma Sanyou¡¯s rtives."


    "The victim¡¯s family?" Xiaotao interjected.


    I nodded in agreement as the suspicions in my heart solidified. Grandpa, whom I had always taken as an example, actually had such a secret. He would rather be in debt to pay for these two people. Did that mean he was guilty?


    "I don¡¯t want to think about this anymore!¡± I stood up, ¡°My head¡¯s starting to hurt¡ªI¡¯m going to take a shower!"


    When I returned to my room, Wang Yuanchao was still out. With the rush of hot water, I began sorting out my thoughts. The entire case resembled a huge iron block¨Cdifficult to break down. At the moment, we had no breakthroughs. Grandpa¡¯s stain seemed impossible to wash away. I almost felt like giving up.


    When I came out of the shower, I turned on the TV and flipped through channels. There was a gentle knock on the door. As soon as I heard it, I knew it was Bingxin so I quickly got dressed. Smiling, she stood there with some fruits and snacks she had purchased. "Are you hungry?"


    "Eating sote at night? Aren¡¯t you afraid of gaining weight?" I teased.


    "Hey, doesn¡¯t Xiaotao-jiejie alwaysment on how thin I am?" She stuck her head into the room. "Uncle Wang isn¡¯t here?"


    "God knows where he¡¯s off drinking."


    "I¡¯ll call Xiaotao-jiejie and Xingchen-gege, so we can all eat together," she said.


    I knew she was trying to avoid suspicion. After all, a man and a woman in the same room might evoke doubts. Ever since I established my rtionship with Xiaotao, Bingxin paid great attention to this aspect and tried not to cause any misunderstandings.


    I was truly grateful for such a girlfriend and childhood friend. Xiaotao and I might asionally have a few conflicts, but we never quarreled due to a misunderstanding.


    Since Song Xingchen wasn¡¯t interested in joining us, Bingxin pulled Xiaotao over. There we sat, snacking as we watched TV. Unfortunately, there was nothing engaging ying.


    pping her hands, Bingxin suggested, "Let¡¯s y a game to test our rapport. One person will ask questions, while the other two answer at the same time and see if you think differently."


    Xiaotao nodded, "Alright, who¡¯s going first?"


    Bingxin and I pointed to each other, "Him!" "Her!"


    "You two seem to have a good rapport,¡±ughed Xiaotao. ¡°Then I shall ask the questions first!" Upon further contemtion, she began, "If the world ends tomorrow, how will you spend it?"


    Bingxin waved her hand, "This won¡¯t work. You have to ask yes or no questions."


    "Alright, I¡¯ll switch to something else." Xiaotao pondered for a moment, "If there¡¯s a button that can instantly destroy all the bad guys in the world, would you press it?"


    "No!" "Yes!"


    Bingxin and I answered at the same time. She looked at me in surprise, "I thought you would say yes!"


    "The concept of bad people is very vague. People with bad thoughts, bad behaviors, people who do minor bad things andmit major crimes...¡± I exined. ¡°Everyone has done bad things. It¡¯s just a question of how much. Does that make everyone a bad person then? When this button is pressed, 99% of the poption will disappear instantly. Even if I was given such power, I can¡¯t shoulder the responsibility, so I wouldn¡¯t press it. I believe that thew can regte the world. Violence isn¡¯t the way."


    Bingxin stared at me with eyes wide open. "Your mind is tooplicated to consider so all this at once."


    I scratched my head and smiled. In fact, this was a question I often thought about. "What about you?" I turned to Xiaotao.


    "I won¡¯t, for the same reason as you,¡± she replied. ¡°I can¡¯t bear the responsibility of so many lives."


    Next up, it was my turn to ask the question. Mulling it over, I asked, "Who¡¯s more handsome, Daniel Wu or me?"


    The two answered in unison, "Daniel Wu!"


    Heartbroken, I held my forehead, "Damn, you both answered without thinking. I¡¯m inconsble!"


    "Do you even have to think about something that obvious?¡± chuckled Bingxin. ¡°But I do think you¡¯re cuter than him! Anyway, it¡¯s my turn."


    As I noticed Bingxin¡¯s gaze wandering, I immediately knew she was up to no good. Coughing, she asked solemnly, "Have you two slept together?"


    "No!" "Yes!"


    I nced at Xiaotao in consternation. How could we have inconsistent answers? Perhaps Xiaotao thought it was difficult to exin ourselves and simply admitted to it. Anyway, with our current rtionship, no one would believe we hadn¡¯t done the deed.


    "Yes or no?" Bingxin anxiously demanded.


    "Yes." I decided to go along with Xiaotao.


    However, she answered, "No!"


    Both of us had decided to go along with the other, a clear indication of our extraordinary rapport.


    Bingxin giggled, "Shouldn¡¯t you at least n to corroborate your answers in advance?"


    "What¡¯s going on in that head of yours all day?" Like a hungry tiger pouncing on a sheep, Xiaotao jumped onto Bingxin and started tickling her. Bingxin¡¯s uncontrobleughter filled the room.


    When the two finally stopped, Bingxin persisted, "Song Yang-gege, have you two slept together? Tell the truth!"


    How could I answer such a question? "You set this whole thing up just to ask about this, am I right?"


    "It¡¯s only because I care about you," insisted Bingxin.


    I smiled helplessly, "Even if I said no, you won¡¯t believe me. Just think of this as Schrodinger¡¯s cat, both yes and no."


    "How was it? Was it just as pleasurable as they say in the books? Did you feel like you were floating on a cloud?" gushed Bingxin.


    "Get your head out of the gutter! I think you should be a paparazzi instead!" Xiaotao pounced on Bingxin once more, pinning her down. The two girls fought in bed, without their coats on, a picture that was so stimting I couldn¡¯t help but blush. No wonder so many men were obsessed with women wrestling each other.


    A whileter, Xiaotao asked, "Why hasn¡¯t Wang Yuanchao returned yet? What time is it?"


    "What does Uncle Wang do in the bar every night? Just drinking? Could he be picking up hot chicks?" Bingxin spected.


    "Who knows? This single 40-year-old man might have a stern face, but perhaps he¡¯s passionate deep down." Xiaotao¡¯s eyes gleamed, "Why don¡¯t we sneak a peek at Wang Yuanchao¡¯s private life!"


    "Yes! I¡¯ve always been very curious!" Bingxin pped with glee.


    I watched helplessly as the two gossiped and put on their coats. There was no way I could let two girls go out thiste at night without a man to apany them.


    Twenty minutester, we set out from the hotel. Wang Yuanchao was most likely in a bar nearby.


    The streets were filled with entertainment¨Crestaurants, mahjong parlors, foot reflexology centers, and so on. Just as we were looking for the bar, we suddenly heard a scream from the second floor, "Murder!"


    I nced at Bingxin, then muttered to myself, "Do I really have Conan senses?"

 Chapter 514

    <h4>Chapter 514</h4>


    "It¡¯s not necessarily murder,¡± remarked Xiaotao. ¡°It may be the same thing as what happenedst time. Just people fighting and yelling nonsense.¡±


    Despite that, we couldn¡¯t ignore it, could we? We arrived on the second floor of the foot reflexology center, where a crowd of people surrounded a private room. Xiaotao shed her badge so these onlookers would step aside.


    "Officer, the man¡¯s death has nothing to do with me!" said one woman.


    Xiaotao waved her hand, "Let¡¯s have a look first!"


    When we entered the private room, we found a man slumped over the sofa, his head tilted aside, his feet still soaking in a wooden bucket filled with hot water. Between his fingers was a lit cigarette.


    A closer look revealed this man was Nie Yalong¡¯s son.


    His pupils were rapidly dting, his face flushed and the blood vessels in his neck bursting. Driven by an ominous feeling, I attached my ear to his chest. As I expected, his heart had been removed.


    This incredible technique was undoubtedly the de Master¡¯s work.


    Removing the cigarette from the victim¡¯s hand, I put it out in the ashtray. A wisp of smoke floated towards the wall, and a faint reflection appeared.


    "Close the door!" I ordered.


    Xiaotao closed the door, leaving only three of us in the room. I had a piece of moxa in my pocket used to remove the smell off my clothes after an autopsy. cing it in the ashtray, I lit the moxa and smoked the wall.


    A line of words appeared: Jiangbei Daggers, Protect The People, Condemn The Corrupt!


    There were more words written below, which read: Song Yang, you already know the truth, but you still don¡¯t want to believe your grandfather is guilty.


    These words were visible for a few seconds before slowly disappearing, yet they lingered in my heart. A chill crept up my back.


    "Why did he kill this man?" asked Bingxin.


    "The de Master must know that he privately appropriated the money," Xiaotao pointed out.


    "Isn¡¯t he a little too well-informed? We just found out! Could it be..."


    The three of us exchanged a look of rm. The de Master was either watching or eavesdropping on us.


    ¡°Get the police to deal with this. I¡¯ll stay here and guard the crime scene. You should return to the hotel and search for cameras, bugs and the like in the rooms," instructed Xiaotao.


    She called Wang Yuanchao over immediately while Bingxin and I left for the hotel. As soon as I returned, I phoned Song Xingchen. In a matter of seconds, he appeared in the corridor.


    "Don¡¯t turn on the lights. Search the rooms. There may be surveince equipment," I exined.


    Song Xingchen searched his room, while I searched mine. However, we both found nothing so we moved on to the girls¡¯ room. Since it was almost pitch-ck, I told Bingxin to stand at the door.


    After searching for a while, I finally found a bug under the couch which I ced in an evidence bag. Song Xingchen and Bingxin entered the room as soon as I turned on the lights. When I shared my findings, Bingxin suggested, "Let¡¯s check the hotel¡¯s cameras."


    ¡°Alright,¡± I nodded.


    We pulled up the surveince videos in the security room, checking for unannounced visitors during the time we were away, but no one had entered or exited the room.


    Right then, I received a call from Xiaotao. "Song Yang, there¡¯s a camera just across the murder scene. Wang Yuanchao and I are watching the surveince video at the moment."


    "We¡¯re checking the hotel surveince as well."


    She chuckled, "Looks like we¡¯re on the same page. Unfortunately, the camera didn¡¯t catch anything. At the time of the incident, that is, half an hour ago, the camera was suddenly turned. When I checked it earlier, I noticed an indentation much like the camera in front of the nursing home."


    "So you¡¯re saying..."


    "Yes!" Xiaotao eximed before I could finish my sentence.


    It seemed that the man Nie Yalong regarded as my grandfather was the de Master in disguise. The man was just like a ghost, leaving no trace wherever he went.


    As I contemted, my finger remained on the fast forward button. There were no signs of tampering on the hotel¡¯s surveince. The camera faced the entire corridor, so if someone did enter our room, they would¡¯ve been caught on camera.


    I suddenly had an epiphany, "Who else has been in our room besides us?"


    "Housekeeping... and the screenwriter and director!" eximed Xiaotao.


    "That¡¯s right!¡± I shouted. ¡°The couch where the bug was discovered was the exact spot the director was sitting on. Wait a moment while I investigate the two."


    A quick search on the Inte revealed zero information about them. I couldn¡¯t be certain if the film and televisionpany were too obscure or didn¡¯t exist at all.


    At present, there was a quicker way to confirm. "Let¡¯s go to their motel and find out in person."


    "Alright, the police have arrived,¡± reported Xiaotao. ¡°Wang Yuanchao and I will head there immediately!"


    The three of us arrived first. While waiting, Song Xingchen picked up a small stone from the flower bed and tossed it so the camera on the telephone pole next to him shifted slightly.


    It turned out he was experimenting. Song Xingchen shook his head and sighed, "It¡¯s really a challenge! Whoever did this is stronger than I am."


    "Why didn¡¯t he just break the camera? Isn¡¯t that easier? Or is he just showing off?" asked Bingxin.


    "He would¡¯ve exposed himself if it was broken,¡± I chuckled. ¡°He doesn¡¯t want to reveal his whereabouts."


    Everything about the de Master was an unsolved mystery. I turned to Song Xingchen, "Are there any martial arts techniques or weapons that can remove a heart without damaging the skin?"


    "As far as I know, no,¡± refuted Song Xingchen.


    Right about then, Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao arrived. We walked into the motel together and inquired at the front desk. Unfortunately, we were informed that the two men had left today. ncing at each other in shock, I asked, "Did they use their ID cards? What¡¯s the name they registered with?"


    After searching for a considerable amount of time, the receptionist showed us their names¨Cone was Xiao Gang and the other Xiao Lie. Indeed, they had lied about their identities.


    "Xiao?" Realization dawned upon me. "They¡¯re descendants of Officer Xiao, here for revenge!"


    Xiaotao gritted her teeth, "How daring of them to actually deceive us! We can¡¯t let them leave. We must head to the railway station at once and stop them!"


    Outside the motel, we immediately hailed two cabs. On the way there, Bingxin pointed out, "It doesn¡¯t make sense! When the second victim was murdered, they happened to be in our room. They have perfect alibis."


    I was also mulling over the same problem, though, at present, I didn¡¯t have the answer. However, I was certain this was no coincidence¡ªit was a deliberate attempt to cover up their crime. In fact, manipting the time of death wasn¡¯t difficult. It could be achieved by manipting the temperature, bacteria and preservatives. There was definitely trickery involved.


    "Let¡¯s round them up first. We can take another look at the crime scene afterwards," I said.

 Chapter 515

    <h4>Chapter 515</h4>


    When we arrived at the railway station, the train to Lanzhou was just about to leave. There was no time for questions so we shed our IDs and immediately rushed out onto the tform and spread out in search.


    Since there were few people on the tform, I entered the carriage until the train attendant said the train was about to leave and urged me off.


    As I watched the train leave, I felt disheartened. But that quickly changed when I heard Wang Yuanchao¡¯s voice from behind. "Stop moving!" I turned around to see the two men handcuffed.


    The screenwriter smiled, "Detective Song, what¡¯s wrong? Why are you arresting us?"


    "What do you think, Xiao Gang, Xiao Lie?!" I sneered.


    As soon as they heard their real names, the men immediately panicked, though they refused to admit to anything. "Detective Song, what are you talking about? I don¡¯t understand," the screenwriter smiled sarcastically.


    Startling the man, I stared at him with Cave Vision. "What¡¯s the use in pretending at this point?"


    Finally, he seemed to budge. "Well, I admit that we aren¡¯t from a film and televisionpany, and our documents are forged. I am Xiao Gang, the son of Officer Xiao, and this is my cousin Xiao Lie."


    "With your acting skills, you can be an actor. Go on then, why all this pretense?" I asked.


    After Officer Xiaomitted suicide, his uncle from Lanzhou adopted him. Officer Xiao¡¯s death was a great blow to the entire family. For him personally, his childhood was filled with loneliness and sadness at the loss of his father.


    This whole time, his uncle had lied to him, iming that his father was a martyr. He didn¡¯t learn the truth until he grew up. His father was no martyr, but a coward whomitted suicide, while his mother had been brutally raped and murdered, a case which was never solved.


    Xiao Gang fell into depression and lost confidence in public security and society. His cousin who worked in the media learned through certain channels that the case wasn¡¯t without a suspect, but the man was released.


    Unable to ept the fact, Xiao Gang decided to take revenge with his own hands and give the murderer a tit for tat. After more than a year¡¯s preparation, he and his cousin came here disguised as employees from the film and televisionpany. They were granted ess to the case files under the pretext of gathering materials, found Officer Xiao¡¯s partner, Officer Nie, and inquired about the suspect¡¯s name.


    Unfortunately, the suspect had disappeared, so they left in despair.


    Upon hearing their story, I snorted, "No, you did quite a few things before you left!"


    Xiao Gang shook his head, grinning, "Detective Song, don¡¯t lie to me. After all, I am the son of an officer. I wouldn¡¯t do anything illegal."


    "Did I say it was something illegal?" I retorted.


    Beads of cold sweat dotted Xiao Gang¡¯s forehead as his breathing sped up. "This is a legal society!¡± he yelled. ¡°What charges are there against me? Show me the evidence! You have no right to restrain our personal freedom."


    "Well, excuse me!" Xiaotao said, "We¡¯re the special team that works directly under the Ministry of Public Security. We have the right to detain and interrogate criminal suspects."


    "What criminal suspect!" Xiao Gang strained his neck, "What crimes have wemitted? Let¡¯s hear it."


    I had expected his reaction, but from his expression, he was lying. At this moment, I noticed Xiao Lie make an indecent move, scratching his crotch from time to time.


    A thought suddenly struck me. I never expected the evidence to be in front of me. "Take them away first!" I waved.


    When they were taken away, Xiao Gang was still violently protesting. There were staff members on the tform staring at us so I said, "The more you shout, the more attention you attract. There will be more people as we leave the station. You might as well save yourself some dignity."


    Xiao Gang behaved at once. We decided to divide our forces; Wang Yuanchao and Bingxin would escort the men to the station while the three of us headed to the scene. Just before I left, I whispered to Bingxin, "When you get to the station, make them change their underwear!"


    "Huh?" Bingxin¡¯s dull eyes suddenly brightened, "Haha, I got it!"


    cing my index finger on my lip, I reminded, "Don¡¯t say anything for the time being. We¡¯ll give them a blow."


    Xiaotao, Song Xingchen and I headed to the scene of the second murder: a small motel. There was still a seal on the door which we bypassed. There were almost no clues left on the scene. The bloody bed had been removed and the footprints on the ground extracted.


    I sniffed the air, "The room was air-conditioned, and the temperature was quite low. Look at the water droplets in the corner."


    Xiaotao smiled, "Using air conditioning to manipte the time of death isn¡¯t anything new."


    "The question is, how did they do it? They were with us at the time." I voiced my doubts.


    Song Xingchen interjected, "The de Master assisted them!"


    I nodded thoughtfully for a moment. "The two sides are mutually beneficial. They ced the bug while the de Master killed the victim. This makes sense, but the logic isn¡¯t perfect."


    "You¡¯re such a perfectionist!" cried Xiaotao.


    "No, the de Master is the perfectionist. Killing in such a clumsy way, and an innocent person at that. Is that something he would do? I don¡¯t think so."


    When we left the room, I found no surveince cameras in the motel. We spoke to the manager, showed him photos of the two suspects and asked if he had seen them.


    Unfortunately, the manager couldn¡¯t recall. Then, I asked if anything out of the ordinary happenedst night.


    "Out of the ordinary?" Upon further reflection, the manager said, "Oh, yes, the electricity stopped for a whilest night. The fuse burned out. It was fine after we changed the fuse. I mentioned this to the police in the morning."


    "Are you still using those old-fashioned fuses? Did the police check the circuit box?"


    "They looked at it but found nothing," replied the manager.


    "Could you please show it to us?"


    We opened the circuit box to have a look. There were no signs of tampering, though I couldn¡¯t see clearly so I asked the manager to turn off his shlight. He looked at us as if we were weirdos.


    Song Xingchen and I began observing the circuit box with Cave Vision. I found a scorch mark under the fuse and some sort of reflecting substance around it, as if it were coated with something.


    Reaching out to pull the switch, I leaned in for a whiff. It smelled like chemicals, some sort of cosmetics. I asked Xiaotao for her opinion. Upon sniffing, she looked incredulous. "That¡¯s impossible!"


    "What is it?" I asked.


    "Why does it smell like nail polish to me? It¡¯s impossible!" eximed Xiaotao.


    I turned to the manager, "How did the fuse blow? Was the voltage too high or had the fuse aged?"


    "It probably blew because of how old it is," the manager seemed unclear.


    I smiled, knowing exactly how the suspects did it. It was a very clever technique indeed.

 Chapter 516

    <h4>Chapter 516</h4>


    After thanking the manager, Xiaotao, Song Xingchen and I left the motel house.


    "Why the suspense? How did they do it?" Xiaotao asked impatiently.


    "I¡¯m just afraid others might hear us. It¡¯s quite simple actually. They painted ayer of nail polish on the fuse."


    "Nail polish?" Xiaotao looked confused.


    If the voltage was too high, the fuse would burn when it reached the melting point, which was about 500 degrees. The suspects coated the fuse with transparent nail polish. Since the melting point of nail polish was only 300 degrees, when the voltage reached a certain level, it burned up, so the capacitor was burned out, and so did the fuse. Butymen wouldn¡¯t be able to tell.


    The victim was murdered before nine o¡¯clock. The murderers ced her in the room, turned the air-conditioning to the maximum, and tampered with the fuse before leaving. At nine, the fuse blew and was reced by the staff. Since the air conditioner was controlled by the remote, it remained off even after the electricity returned. The room temperature rose back to normal, dying the time of death and creating an alibi for them.


    "Thank goodness you¡¯ve seen through such clever means...¡± gasped Xiaotao. ¡°But this isn¡¯t direct evidence."


    "The direct evidence is on them,¡± I smiled. ¡°Bingxin may have obtained it by now. Let¡¯s go and expose them!"


    When we arrived at the station, it was already noon. The fat officer stood at the entrance, yawning. Upon noticing us, he gave a thumbs-up, "Consultant Song, you¡¯re amazing. You¡¯ve caught the criminals in one night."


    I waved my hand, "It¡¯s pure luck. By the way, where are they?"


    "They¡¯ve been feigning ignorance and won¡¯t admit to anything, iming they don¡¯t know what they¡¯vemitted."


    Right then, Bingxin walked in.


    ¡°Have they changed out of their underwear?"


    "Yes, I¡¯m testing now!" replied Bingxin.


    "What?!¡± blurted the fat officer. I invited him to theboratory with us.


    On the table was a row of test tubes that contained several bugs. Realization dawned upon Xiaotao. "Didn¡¯t we find this on the victim?"


    "Yes, it¡¯s the pubic lice from the victim! I noticed earlier that every so often Xiao Lie would scratch his crotch, so I spected that he¡¯s probably infected with the parasite. As long as we can prove that the lice on his body and the victim are ¡®rted,¡¯ we can prove that he raped the victim. He won¡¯t be able to escape the crime ofmitting murder."


    Xiaotao smiled, "I never imagined the humble louse would be our breakthrough!"


    For the time being, we didn¡¯t intend to enter the interrogation room until Bingxin obtained theb results. The fat officer sent officers to dy them. Meanwhile, Xiaotao pulled out her cell phone and ordered barbecue. In our state of nervousness, we didn¡¯t mind eating barbecue next to Bingxin who was testing their underwear.


    After finishing three grilled mutton and a sheep kidney skewer, I reached out for a roasted bun and found Xiaotao staring at me, grinning from ear to ear.


    "What are you looking at? Do I have sauce on my face?" I asked.


    "No, you¡¯re in a much better mood now," Xiaotao took a bite of her saury. "I¡¯vee to realize that your whole mental state changes as soon as you solve a case.¡±


    Xiaotao was right. Although I was depressed earlier, I felt much better now. For me, the sense of aplishment in solving crimes was just as euphoric as smoking for smokers and drinking for alcoholics.


    "Will you continue to investigate the murders that happened twenty years ago after we solve the case?" asked Xiaotao.


    I said, "Why do you think the Xiao brothers imitated the murders?"


    "Why?" Xiaotao put down her grilled fish.


    "My intuition tells me they¡¯re trying to lure the real murderer out. The most intolerable thing for any criminal, especially one who has be an urban legend, is poor imitation of his crimes!" I said, narrowing my eyes.


    "Are you nning on staying here to wait and see what happens? But I don¡¯t think Ma Sanyou is still alive," replied Xiaotao.


    I shook my head, "I have absolutely no intention of whitewashing my grandfather¡¯s mistakes, but whether Ma Sanyou is a criminal or not is still a question mark until I personally confirm it. Once I figure this out, then our trip is over. I won¡¯t struggle over the matter anymore, regardless of whether or not we catch the real murderer!"


    ¡°Alright then, we should set a deadline. We can¡¯t stay in this small county indefinitely."


    After further contemtion, I suggested, "What about three days?"


    I directed the question to the others as well. Everyone had no problem with the deadline.


    After indulging in barbecue, Bingxin shouted, "The results are out! The pubic lice found on Xiao Lie and the ones from the victim have a DNA match of 99.9%, indicating they were born from the same batch of eggs."


    I stood up at once, "Let¡¯s go and interrogate those two bastards who think they can y God!"


    Xiaotao and I entered the interrogation room to examine Xiao Gang first. As soon as we were seated, I cut straight to the chase and mentioned the lice and nail polish we found. In front of irond evidence, Xiao Gang finally removed his pretense. "They deserve it!" he yelled.


    "Who do you think you are, a judge? Whether Ma Sanyou is really the murderer is still unknown. Even if he is, why do you harm his loved ones?"


    "Then who should I seek revenge for the pain of losing my parents? For twenty years, has anyone stood up and imed justice? You, Song Yang, are the least qualified to sit here and judge me. I know that the corrupt man who abused thew was your grandfather!"


    "Shut up!" I warned.


    Xiao Gang assumed I was guilty and continued pushing his luck. Shaking his handcuffs, he went on and on about social injustice and police corruption. When my patience finally ran out, I used the Eyes of Yama, which sent Xiao Gang screaming in horror.


    Afraid that I would drive him crazy, Xiaotao held my hand. About ten secondster, I stopped. Xiao Gang looked as if he had been soaked in water. "W-what did you do to me?" he shivered.


    I rubbed my sore temples, "Would you like to try it again?"


    "Twenty years have passed and not only has the world failed to improve, but it has also regressed,¡± he gritted his teeth. ¡°Justice, fairness and conscience have long ceased to exist in this dark era, and it¡¯s all caused by you policemen."


    I held up three fingers, "First of all, my grandfather and I aren¡¯t policemen. So don¡¯t use us as representatives of the police. Ourck of morality is a personal matter and has nothing to do with the police. Secondly, whether I am an officer or not, a murderer like you has no ce in educating me. Andstly, I¡¯m not here for a doctrine ss. Keep rambling on and you can try the thirty-second torture session."


    Xiao Gang finally quieted down and looked at me in fear.


    "Nowe clean and tell us what happened!" I mmed the table.

 Chapter 517

    <h4>Chapter 517</h4>


    Xiao Gang exined that the murders had been nned from the start. The sedative they used was obtained from a rtive who was a doctor. Theycked experience since it was their first timemitting murder, and both of them were very nervous. At the time, Xiao Lie was on guard duty outside, while Xiao Gang carried out the n inside.


    Because the sedative didn¡¯t achieve the expected effect, the victim regained consciousness when he was shaving her. She got into a scuffle with Xiao Gang and ran to the balcony to call for help. Left with no better option, Xiao Gang pushed her down, cleaned up the scene and fled with Xiao Lie!


    Two people were extremely frightened at the time. When the police found the body, they used their identities as screenwriter and director to enter the city bureau and inquire about the investigation when they happened to notice us.


    Upon learning that we were experts from Nanjiang City, they were even more afraid, but Xiao Gang came up with a bold n¨Cusing us to create alibis for them!


    After sharing his idea with Xiao Lie, the two ¡®bumped¡¯ into us that night, then rushed off to kill the second victim, altered the time of death by tampering with the fuse, and dropped by for a chat.


    In the process of killing the second victim, Xiao Gang had originally nned to put on a condom to rape her, but he was too nervous to get an erection, so Xiao Lie helped him.


    Xiao Gang admitted he was the one who solely deceived and killed the victim¡ªXiao Lie merely helped.


    "It was all me. I¡¯ve confessed, so please let my cousin go now," Xiao Gang spread his hand.


    As I pondered his words, I noticed several obvious loopholes. "Whye to Liangchuan now? Is it really just a coincidence? Besides, when you first killed, you were in such a panic but in less than ten hours, your second kill was done so professionally. How could that have been achieved without the help of external forces?" I sneered.


    Xiao Gang shrugged, "I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about!"


    "A man in a mask helped you paint nail polish on the fuse. This brilliant idea wasn¡¯t yours, but his. It was also his idea to use us as your alibis. In return, you put this in our room for him."


    I pulled out the bug we found in our room.


    As soon as he caught sight of the bug, Xiao Gang was all nerves. But he soon regainedposure, smiling once more, "I don¡¯t know you were talking about... Ahh!¡±


    This time, I used the Eyes of Yama for only five seconds but Xiao Gang was already sweating like a pig. "Won¡¯t youe clean?" I demanded.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t have any help," he insisted.


    I couldn¡¯t help but wonder why he would admit to the murder charge, but not this. While observing his expression, I asked, "He won¡¯t let you talk, will he? Did he threaten you?"


    "No! I said no!"


    "No what? He didn¡¯t threaten you? Didn¡¯t you just say you didn¡¯t have help?" I questioned.


    Panicking, Xiao Gang fumbled, "I don¡¯t know anything. Stop asking. I said stop!"


    It appeared he was bent on keeping mum about the matter. Xiaotao and I exchanged a meaningful look. She gestured to the one-way mirror, indicating that the officers should escort Xiao Gang away first.


    "The de Master must have secretly given him pointers, but he¡¯s not allowed to speak about it," I analyzed.


    "Why?" asked Xiaotao.


    "Perhaps in the de Master¡¯s opinion, the view of the knife god, although these two women were rtives of the suspect, they weren¡¯t worthy of a personal attempt, which would vite his creed of killing only the wicked. Thus, he instructed the two men to do it instead. The de Master probably noticed them after the first murder, so the second murder was done professionally."


    "Even criminals have their own code of conduct," sighed Xiaotao.


    We proceeded to interrogate Xiao Lie, whose confession roughly corroborated Xiao Gang¡¯s, though there were slight discrepancies in the details. Xiao Lie also didn¡¯t mention the help that the de Master secretly provided.


    After the interrogation, I asked an officer to extract their fingerprints from the cups they used. We confirmed that the fingerprints on the bug belonged to Xiao Lie afterparing them. Their cooperative rtionship with the de Master was obvious.


    It was already three in the morning by the time we left the bureau and Bingxin was exhausted. Before leaving, I asked the fat officer to investigate a man named Shen Lijuan. That night, I slept the best ever since we arrived in Liangchuan.


    At nine the next morning, the fat officer called and asked if we wanted to visit Ma Sanyou¡¯s home, to which I agreed of course. He asked us to wait while he sent someone to pick us up.


    Since this wasn¡¯t a formal investigation, only Xiaotao and I took the trip. After a while, an officer pulled up in front of the hotel and drove us to an oldmercial street. Pointing to a closed store, he said, "This is where Ma Sanyou used to work."


    After jotting down the address, I asked, "Has no one rented the ce for the past twenty years?"


    "This street originally fared poorly, and on top of that, the locals came to know about the murders. Who would dare rent the store of a murderer?"


    Then, the officer drove to an adjacent street and entered a neighborhood with uniform red-bricked, tube-shaped ts. The streets were lined with ne trees. It felt as if we had stepped into the 1980s and 1990s of Nanjiang City that no longer existed.


    Ma Sanyou¡¯s home was located on the first floor¨CUnit 4. Before we entered his t, I noticed burnt marks on the door frame. On the wall were words written in red paint: What goes aroundes around. The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine.


    When we knocked on the door, a middle-ageddy with a baby next door asked, "Who are you looking for?"


    "We are the police here to investigate something. Does anyone live here?"


    "Oh, you¡¯re policemen!" the woman eximed. "Is the man next door a criminal? I¡¯ve long thought of him as strange. He rarely shows up and even if we bump into each other asionally, he doesn¡¯t say hello. Look at what¡¯s written on the wall. He¡¯s definitely not a good man. Around a month ago, someone threw a burning bottle at his house in the middle of the night, scaring the daylights out of me. Fortunately, it was put out in time! s, it¡¯s really scary to live near to someone like him. If he¡¯s a criminal, you should arrest him at once. God knows if someone decides to take revenge on him and inadvertently harms us instead!"


    From the woman¡¯s ent, she was clearly not a local.


    At this moment, the door behind us opened, and the woman quickly entered her home with her child in her arms, as if she had seen a ghost.


    We turned around to see a pale face behind the security door. The man was about thirty with unnaturally pale skin, and he had long hair that covered his eyes. He exuded a gloomy aura.


    "Who are you looking for?" he asked coldly.


    "Are you the son of Ma Sanyou, Ma Qiaojun?" said the officer.


    "Haven¡¯t you done enough? My fathermitted those crimes. What does it have to do with me? For twenty years, all you do is harass us? You police are a bunch of pigs!"


    With that, he mmed the door shut, the sound reverberating through the corridor.

 Chapter 518

    <h4>Chapter 518</h4>


    The officer exined that this young man was Ma Sanyou¡¯s second son who was stabbed in the kidney at school.


    His attitude was quite in line with my expectations. His whole life was destroyed because of his father¡¯s suspicions, and then his father went missing. As a result, he had to suffer scorn, condemnation, exclusion and hurt on his father¡¯s behalf. How could he remain unaffected?


    In fact, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if such a man embarked on the road of crime one day.


    Man was a social creature by nature and crime extreme antisocial behavior, contrary to nature. If a person was excluded by society for a long time, he was probably one step away from crime!


    The officer was about to knock on the door again, but I sighed, "Don¡¯t bother. He won¡¯t open it."


    "Looks like we won¡¯t be able to investigate anything. Perhaps we should return to the station first."


    I smiled bitterly, "What can we do if we go back? You leave first. We¡¯ll wait for him to leave his t."


    Naturally, the officer was reluctant to leave us here, but I felt bad making him wait with us. Fifteen minutester, Xiaotao suddenly grabbed my hand and said coyly, "Honey, when we return to Nanjiang City, let¡¯s take our wedding photos!"


    It took me a moment to react. In the presence of outsiders, my face turned red. "It¡¯s too soon!"


    "I¡¯ve always dreamed of wearing a white wedding dress since I was a child. You must fulfill my wish. We¡¯re always so busy, so we have to get it done as soon as we have time.¡±


    I scratched my head, "Alright then."


    The officer looked a little embarrassed. "Um, I just remembered I have some other things to deal with."


    "Go on then, don¡¯t wait for us."


    After repeatedly conveying niceties, he finally walked off. Only when Xiaotao burst outughing did I realize she had deliberately mentioned wedding photos to get rid of the other party.


    "So you didn¡¯t mean it?" I asked.


    Xiaotao arched an eyebrow, "Are you boys all so resistant to taking wedding photos?"


    "Um..." I wasn¡¯t sure what to say, but I certainly had no interest in that.


    Smiling, Xiaotao patted me on the back, "Look how scared you are! I¡¯m not interested in that either. I prefer my police uniform to a wedding dress. Besides, you haven¡¯t even proposed to me yet. There¡¯s no sense in shooting wedding photos."


    I thought to myself, A marriage proposal requires preparation, doesn¡¯t it? Anyway, isn¡¯t it a bit too soon?


    Right then, there was movement in the corridor, and a man well-dressed in a suit walked past, hisbed hair, shiny and glistening. His face was angr, not handsome, but clean-looking with white gloves and a walking cane.


    I assumed he was headed upstairs so I made way. Unexpectedly, he stopped in front of us and looked at me, "Young man, is this t vacant?"


    "Are you looking for the upant? He¡¯s inside," I pointed to the door behind me.


    "Why don¡¯t you go in... Oh, I see, you¡¯ve been shut out. I forgot to introduce yourself, I¡¯m Mr. Ma¡¯s psychiatrist." He pulled out his business card and handed it over. It read: Tang Zixin, chief psychologist at Xinle Psychological Rehabilitation Center.


    We introduced ourselves out of politeness, but I was ovee with curiosity. Ma Qiaojun looked average in terms of socioeconomic status. He couldn¡¯t even rent his own home and still lived in his father¡¯s old residence. When I first opened the door, I caught a glimpse of the mess inside the t. How could he afford a psychologist?


    Besides, therapy was very expensive, usually priced at 150 to 500 an hour. And it seemed strange that the psychologist made house calls.


    "Did he personally hire you?" I asked.


    Tang Zixin smiled, "No, the situation is a bitplicated."


    There was a real estatepany looking to buy this piece ofnd, but unfortunately, Ma Qiaojun wasn¡¯t willing to sell, regardless of how high the price was. He rejected any form of negotiation and refused to move out, causing thepany¡¯s thirty-million-dor project to be dyed, making five-figure losses every day.


    However, Tang Zixin and the CEO of thepany were friends. When the CEO spoke about the situation, he mentioned that the owner of the t was the son of the murder case suspect. Tang Zixin analyzed that he might suffer from a serious delusional disorder and volunteered to help Ma Qiaojun on his road to recovery.


    Although the psychological consultation was utilitarian in nature, Tang Zixin conducted each session with seriousness. He wanted to cure Ma Qiaojun¡¯s delusional disorder so that he could return to society.


    Having learned about such an inside story, I asked, "How¡¯s it going then?"


    "In fact, this is my third visit,¡± he smiled. ¡°He now regards me as a friend and is willing to talk. This is already great progress."


    "Doctor, can I ask you for a favor?" said Xiaotao.


    As a psychologist, Tang Zixin guessed correctly at once. "You want to investigate his father through me? I¡¯m afraid that won¡¯t work. He¡¯s finally opened his heart to me. If he knows that he¡¯s being used, he¡¯ll never trust anyone again."


    "We don¡¯t have to investigate anything. We just want to meet him," I replied.


    Tang Zixin seemed to be in an awkward position. "Our talks are very private. If there¡¯s someone else next to him, he¡¯ll feel very ufortable."


    Just as we were about to give up, Tang Zixin offered, "How about this? I¡¯ll beat around the bush and ask about his father. I can record our conversation but I have one request."


    "Keep it a secret!" I nodded, "We understand. We¡¯ll delete it immediately after listening."


    Tang Zixin smiled, shing his white teeth before asking what questions we had. In fact, I wasn¡¯t concerned about his father¡¯s whereabouts, but wanted to know what sort of image he had of his father. Although memories were subjective, as Ma Sanyou¡¯s son, he probably knew him best.


    In his eyes, was Ma Sanyou really a cold-blooded murderer?


    Tang Zixin revealed a look of surprise. "Aren¡¯t you here to catch Ma Sanyou?"


    "We¡¯re reinvestigating the case. Whether Ma Sanyou is a suspect or not, I¡¯d like to draw my own conclusions."


    After exchanging our contact information and expressing our gratitude, Xiaotao and I left.


    "This doctor seems like a good man," she remarked.


    "He has received good education, doesn¡¯t smoke, doesn¡¯t drink, has self-restraint, tolerance, and keeps his emotions to himself. This sort of person either has very lofty ideals or is a big hypocrite."


    "There you go again with your behavioral analysis. Which one do you think he is?"


    Iughed, "It¡¯s not good to jump to conclusions or talk about people behind their backs. But if I had to choose, I prefer the former."

 Chapter 519

    <h4>Chapter 519</h4>


    That night, we received an email from the psychologist. It contained all the recordings of his afternoon conversation with Ma Qiaojun, whichsted for two hours.


    Xiaotao and I listened carefully. They started off by speaking about some daily matters, while the middle of their conversation was rted to his illness. Tang Zixin eased Ma Qiaojun into recalling his childhood trauma. When he was a child, Ma Qiaojun¡¯s ssmates at school would point at his nose and call him the son of a murderer. Despite the bullying, his teachers turned a blind eye. Going to school every day was no less painful than descending to hell!


    Once, when he couldn¡¯t stand it any longer, he beat up one of his bullies. In the end, the gang retaliated and stabbed him in the abdomen. Unaware of the severity of their attack and the consequences, they sneered at him, iming he was pretending. At the time, the pain was so agonizing that Ma Qiaojun desperately begged them to call an ambnce.


    Even after being sent to the hospital for emergency treatment, one of his kidneys had been ruined.


    Through the school¡¯s mediation, the bully¡¯s familypensated his medical expenses. However, his bully felt no guilt and behaved like a hero instead, frequently boasting about his deeds in school!


    At this point, Ma Qiaojun sobbed bitterly, "Ever since then, I can no longer trust anyone. I feel as if everyone is out to hurt me! I often wish I could die, but I¡¯m afraid and unwilling. Why should I spend such a life? Why should I pay my sins for others? I want to retaliate against society and get my revenge!"


    Ma Qiaojun¡¯s voice was close to breaking. His gloomyughter evoked goosebumps.


    Tang Zixin tried to enlighten him. Since he had spent his whole childhood paying off his father¡¯s debts, why should he give up his future? That was his own life.


    Then he gave some practical suggestions, proposing Ma Qiaojun leave this ce, change jobs and bury the past.


    "Others are hell. This is a fact we can¡¯t change. Although it¡¯s cruel, you have to learn to face it, just like sailors who face the dangers of the sea before learning how to protect themselves. Don¡¯t you think so?"


    Tang Zixin¡¯s maic voice had Ma Qiaojun in agreement. Then changing the subject, Tang Zixin asked him to talk about his father.


    After a moment of silence, Ma Qiaojun began.


    His father was a loser who suffered at the hands of women his entire life. Every time a beautiful woman came to purchase something from his store, he would blush and not know what to do. In front of women, he was a timid softie! Therefore, Ma Qiaojun didn¡¯t believe his father could rape and kill because the man trembled with nervousness as soon as he saw a woman. How could he have seeded?


    In fact, the tension he felt was precisely due to desire. Ma Sanyou was an ugly, introverted man who had never been favored by the opposite sex throughout his life. From this point of view, he certainly had motives.


    Tang Zixin continued, "After he left, did he fulfill his responsibilities as a father? Did he regrly send you living expenses?"


    "No. But he left an inheritance that was enough for us to live and study."


    "Inheritance? You mean he¡¯s no longer alive?"


    "I don¡¯t know, but I think he¡¯s dead. Anyway, I never want to see him again!"


    After a brief talk, Tang Zixin suddenly said time was up. It was only then that Xiaotao and I realized we had listened motionlessly for two hours. Turning off the recording, I said, "The man¡¯s worth investigating!"


    Xiaotao smiled, "Do you think Ma Sanyou is the murderer?"


    I shook my head, "I still believe we shouldn¡¯t have any preconceptions. But I¡¯m now thinking in a different direction, that is, what role did Ma Sanyou y in the murders twenty years ago?"


    "He¡¯s either a suspect or a victim. What else could it be?"


    I didn¡¯t say a word. In fact, I had a vague spection. However, it was too bold to share for the time being.


    Without further dy, I immediately contacted the fat officer and asked for all information pertaining to Ma Sanyou. From the fat officer¡¯s tone, I could tell he was displeased. After all, he had just solved a case, so he probably didn¡¯t want to put energy into an old one.


    "By the way there are a total of five Shen Lijuans in Liangchuan. Come down tomorrow..."


    "Send it to me now!" I said.


    "But I¡¯m not in the station now..."


    "It¡¯s alright, I can wait! I apologize for the trouble."


    After I hung up, I noticed that Xiaotao had been eavesdropping. Sheughed, "Can¡¯t you tell? The fat officer just broke a big case and obviously doesn¡¯t want to work overtime."


    "Of course I know, but I¡¯ve got a three-day deadline as per our agreement. I won¡¯t waste time on hypocritical favors. It¡¯s only eight in the evening. There¡¯s so much we can do."


    "It looks like you won¡¯t stop until you discover the truth! Fortunately, I¡¯m also a workaholic, otherwise I wouldn¡¯t be able to stand you," teased Xiaotao.


    Forty minutester, the fat police officer sent over the information. Five Shen Lijuans, all between the ages of twenty to fifty.


    "What sort of girl would the person Grandpa helped for twenty years be?"


    "The victim¡¯s family?" Xiaotao answered without a second thought.


    Pulling out the file from my bag, I flipped through it. Of the nine victims, four were married. Excluding Officer Xiao¡¯s wife, the husbands of the other three weren¡¯t mentioned.


    Thus, I could onlypare the photos of the victims with Shen Lijuan, but they didn¡¯t look alike, which baffled me.


    "There are only five of them anyway and the county town isn¡¯trge. We¡¯ll look for them one by one."


    "Perfect!" I nced at the screen and thought that the youngest two should be given priority since they were most likely to be the victim¡¯s children.


    Although their phone numbers were included in the file, I decided speaking to them in person woulde across as more sincere. After all, it was a painful memory for them.


    As soon as she heard that we were going out, Bingxin wanted toe along. We headed to the nearest location first. This Shen Lijuan was still at school and lived with her parents. When I saw the mother who came to open the door, I knew I had the wrong person. After making up some sort of excuse, I left without further ado.


    The second Shen Lijuan worked as awork manager in an inte cafe. When I euphemistically expressed my intention and asked her if she was the victim¡¯s rtive, the girl stared wide-eyed and yelled, "You lunatic!"

 Chapter 520

    <h4>Chapter 520</h4>


    Xiaotao mmed the table, "Watch your mouth! Why are girls so rude nowadays?"


    ring at her eyes, Shen Lijuan replied, "If someone suddenly came up to you and asked if your family is dead, would you be polite, Aunty?!"


    "What do you mean by Aunty!¡±


    Just as they were about to start arguing, Bingxin politely interjected, "Jiejie, have you been mistaken for someone else before?"


    In fact, Bingxin was actually older than her. However, Shen Lijuan¡¯s attitude immediately eased up. "Well, I went to the bank once to deposit money and the staff handed me a remittance slip with my name on it, so I spent it. There was 4,000 yuan!"


    "What happened then?" I asked.


    "Later on, a middle-aged woman found me and exined that I got it wrong. But I already spent the money and could only return 3,000 yuan to her."


    "How old was that woman? What did she look like?" As I spoke, I pulled out the file of the 38-year-old Shen Lijuan.


    "Yes, that¡¯s her!" she nodded.


    After leaving the Inte cafe, Xiaotao said, "The woman we are looking for is 38 years old. Twenty years ago, she was 18 years old. She¡¯s not the victim¡¯s family."


    "I¡¯m afraid she was the tenth victim!"


    "This is a great discovery!¡± eximed Bingxin. ¡°Shall we visit her now? It¡¯s almost ten o¡¯clock."


    "It¡¯s not toote. Let¡¯s go!"


    When we arrived at Shen Lijuan¡¯s address, we were greeted by a pregnant woman with a big belly. She was the person in the photo. Upon seeing Xiaotao¡¯s ID, Shen Lijuan looked surprised. "What are you here for?"


    "My name is Song Yang,¡± I tentatively began. ¡°I am Song Zhaolin¡¯s grandson."


    She was suddenly overjoyed and weed us in. "So you¡¯re my benefactor¡¯s grandson. Pleasee in! Sweetheart, we have guests."


    It turned out that her husband was also home. The three of us exchanged a meaningful look, unsure if it was alright to speak about her past.


    "I know what you¡¯re here to inquire about. It¡¯s alright, I¡¯m no longer afraid of it. My husband knows everything," assured Shen Lijuan.


    "Thank you," I nodded.


    "No, I want to thank your grandfather. He saved me!"


    Shen Lijuan exined that she was friends with the seventh victim. When they were walking home that fateful night, a cyclist rushed towards them and sprinkled a handful of powder in their faces.


    Next thing they knew, they woke up in a dim, basement-like ce. There were cockroaches and mice crawling in the corners. Their hands and feet were bound, mouths stuffed with cloth. Naturally, the girls were frightened.


    They sat in the dark for an unknown period of time when someone entered the room. When the door was opened, she noticed it was dark outside.


    The man walked over, removed the cloth from her friend¡¯s mouth and tried to kiss her. When her friend screamed for help, he pped her and knocked her to the ground, kicked and beat her over and over, before violently tearing off her skirt and raping her. Her friend struggled desperately as the man bit her shoulders and chest bloody.


    At this point, Shen Lijuan¡¯s eyes filled up with tears. The influence of that nightmarish still haunted her till this day.


    After raping her, the man grabbed her friend¡¯s neck till she was blue in the face, eyes bulging and tongue sticking out. She stared straight at Shen Lijuan, as if calling for help, but she could do nothing.


    Then, the man dragged her body away, and the room fell into darkness once more.


    Shen Lijuan sat in the dark, weeping. Her first thought was to find something tomit suicide, but her hands and feet were too tightly bound. In the dark, a mouse licked the blood on the ground, brushing against her legs and feet, but she felt nothing. All she could think of was the torture she was about to experience.


    Finally, in the midst of crying, she fell asleep. In her dreams, she had been saved but when she woke up, she found that the ground was still cold and her hands numb from being bound, so she burst into tears once more.


    It had been a whole day since she ate, drank, or used the restroom. At this point, she was extremely weak.


    An unknown period of time passed before the door opened once more. It was still dark out. As the man approached, Shen Lijuan screamed with fear. Whisking her away, he pped her and warned her not to scream. Frightened, she had no choice but to obey.


    The man removed the saliva-soaked cloth from her mouth, opened a lunchbox, and began roughly feeding her. Then, filling up an enamel jar with water from a rusty faucet, he force-fed her while rubbing her legs with his big, rough hands, all the whileughing strangely.


    Unexpectedly, the man left without raping her, which only prolonged her fear and suffering.


    Every second of being imprisoned felt infinitely long. Shen Lijuan cried so much her eyes were swollen and her body feverish from theck of water. On the third day, when the man entered the room once more, Shen Lijuan was already burning up. The man threw cold water on her face and pped her several times. However, Shen Lijuan was unconscious. Later, when she regained consciousness, she felt as if she had been torn apart and found blood between her legs, only to realize that she had lost her virginity.


    After the fever, the man no longer bound her hands and feet, but chained her neck with a dog leash. He visited her every night, gave her food and water, and sometimes raped her. Shen Lijuan didn¡¯t dare to resist.


    She fantasized about being killed or saved by the police countless times. Day and night she experienced indescribable suffering over and over again until¨C


    "One day, the murderer let me go!" said Shen Lijuan.


    "What?" I was shocked at such a development.


    "He came in as usual, unlocked the chain, and put a bag over my head. I thought he was finally going to kill me and begged for mercy, but he just pushed me roughly upstairs. We went out the door and got into a car. I smelled smoke in the car and heard someone talking. Then suddenly the door opened. Next thing I knew, I was pushed out and helped up. That¡¯s when I saw your grandfather!"


    The three of us were too shocked to speak. "You mean the murderer directly brought you out and drove you to hand you over to my grandfather?"


    "Yes!"


    "What happened after that?"


    "At the time, Uncle Song put me up in a motel. I had serious psychological problems and didn¡¯t say a word for three days, but he didn¡¯t ask me anything. Later on, he said he was a policeman and showed me a photo, asking me to identify if that was the man who kidnapped me," Shen Lijuan recalled.


    "You have seen the murderer¡¯s face. Do you still remember what he looks like?" asked Xiaotao.


    Shen Lijuan shook her head, "No, it¡¯s very fuzzy and the basement was dim. I can¡¯t remember clearly."


    I pulled up Ma Sanyou¡¯s photo on my cell phone and showed it to her. "Is this the man my grandfather showed you?" I asked.


    "Yes!" she nodded.


    "And what was your answer?"


    Shen Lijuan bit her lips, "I said yes, but... I lied!"

 Chapter 521

    <h4>Chapter 521</h4>


    "You lied? What do you mean?" I asked.


    Shen Lijuan frowned, "When I looked at this photo at the time, I thought it was him, so I said yes. But I just suddenly realized that it doesn¡¯t appear so."


    "So is that yes or no?"


    "I don¡¯t know!"


    "You clearly saw him..." Xiaotao stood up excitedly, but I motioned for her not to interrupt.


    "I¡¯m sorry,¡± Shen Lijuan bowed her head.


    When I asked her what happened after that, she exined that my grandfather wanted to send her home a few dayster. He warned her against telling anyone what happened for fear she would never be at peace for the rest of her life.


    Naturally, she wouldn¡¯t dream of mentioning her experience to anyone. My grandfather then took her to the hospital for an examination. During that time, in the 1990s, a middle-aged man in his fifties taking a young woman for a physical examination certainly attracted a lot of contempt and suspicion, but Grandpa didn¡¯t care.


    Fortunately, she wasn¡¯t pregnant nor did she have any venereal diseases.


    Grandpa sent her home and made up a bunch of lies, saying that Shen Lijuan was previously kidnapped. She was reluctant to part with such a kind man because he didn¡¯t look down on her at all. Additionally, she had a very strict family.


    When she returned home, she suffered discrimination and criticism from her family for a period of time. They looked at her differently, as if it was her fault for being kidnapped and raped! Whenever her father got drunk, he insinuated she was a whore nobody wanted who had no self-respect. Shen Lijuan felt as if he had twisted a knife into her heart each time.


    The incident itself and her family¡¯s attitude left her with severe psychological trauma. She couldn¡¯t go to school at all, and eventually dropped out.


    In the second year after that, her father died in a drunk driving ident and her mother remarried. Finding her stepfather rather strange, Shen Lijuan couldn¡¯t stay any longer so she went out and looked for work.


    During that difficult period, she suddenly recalled Grandpa¡¯s phone call after he left. He told her she could contact him if she needed help.


    Thinking she would give it a shot, she called Grandpa. After hearing about her predicament, Grandpa immediately remitted a sum of money to her every month for ten years. The money helped her through the most difficult times so she could finally build a life for herself.


    Therefore, Grandpa was just like a beacon in her life, no less than her God.


    Teary-eyed, Shen Lijuan turned to me, "By the way, how is your grandfather doing?"


    "He¡¯s well,¡± I lied. ¡°He¡¯s now retired at home, listens to opera and gardens. He¡¯s always been strong and healthy.¡±


    "I¡¯m so relieved to hear that. I finally managed to save some money over the past two years. I¡¯ve always wanted to pay your grandfather back as soon as I¡¯m able to. I¡¯ll hand you part of it first."


    "No, no, in fact, we¡¯re doing quite well,¡± I refused. ¡°Now that you¡¯re pregnant, you need the money, so keep it! When I return, I¡¯ll tell Grandpa that you¡¯re doing well. He¡¯ll be happy to hear that."


    Shen Lijuan smiled and stopped insisting.


    "By the way, where was your school located?¡± I asked. ¡°Do you remember where you were kidnapped?"


    She asked her husband for a map to show it to me. The school where she went to school was Liangchuan No.3 Middle School, and the ce she was kidnapped was a small road behind the school. On the left of the road was the back wall of the school and on the right was a string of stores. There was a store selling spicy soup at the intersection. At the time, the whole street was dark except for that store, which left a strong impression on her.


    ¡°May I have this map?" I asked.


    "Sure thing!"


    We didn¡¯t have any other questions so we said our goodbyes and left. As soon as we exited Shen Lijuan¡¯s home, Bingxin smiled, "I didn¡¯t think you told white lies."


    "I just think it¡¯s too much trouble," I said.


    Xiaotao sighed, "You¡¯re obviously being kind but unwilling to admit it."


    "I¡¯m hungry, let¡¯s find a ce to eat supper!"


    We soon arrived at a street filled with restaurants and food stalls. As we passed one of them, Bingxin refused to walk on, her eyes hooked onto the piles of spicy crayfish. She insisted on eating here. Thus, we found a table and ordered crayfish, barbecue, edamame and iced mung bean soup.


    While I marked the map, Bingxin asked, "Why can¡¯t she remember the murderer¡¯s appearance?"


    "Because memory is subjective and can be tampered with,¡± I exined. ¡°She was in a situation of extreme fear, so it¡¯s normal to not remember the murderer¡¯s appearance."


    "Then why did she identify Ma Sanyou as the murderer?" Bingxin seemed puzzled.


    "Because Ma Sanyou looks like him!"


    "Looks like him?!¡± Bingxin and Xiaotao stared in shock.


    Pulling out my cell phone, I pointed to photos of a young Ma Sanyou, "Look at his pot-like face. He¡¯s ugly and fierce. In Shen Lijuan¡¯s subjective consciousness, that¡¯s what the murderer looked like. We rece our memory with what we see in front of us. This is known as memory contamination. Unfortunately, Ma Sanyou¡¯s ugly face has hurt him. The police and people around him think he¡¯s a murderer because of that."


    "You mean, he¡¯s not the murderer?" asked Xiaotao.


    "Absolutely not!" I affirmed.


    "That can¡¯t be! How do you exin the evidence found by Officers Xiao and Nie?"


    "The two evidence resemble nails, firmly riveting our reasoning to determine that Ma Sanyou is a criminal. Let¡¯s put aside those two pieces of evidence and scrutinize the case from other angles." I spread out the map in my hand, marking the location of each corpse one by one, and then marked two points. "This is Ma Sanyou¡¯s home and this is his store. I don¡¯t need divination to tell me it¡¯s inconsistent with geographical profiling.¡±


    "Yes, why don¡¯t you use divination?" wondered Xiaotao.


    I shook my head bitterly, "The murders happened too long ago so it may not be urate. But I will give it a tryter on."


    "Is it just the geographical profile that appears off?"


    "There¡¯s one more thing. If you paid attention to Shen Lijuan¡¯s narrative earlier, you¡¯ll notice that every time the murdereres to see her, it¡¯s after dark. However, Ma Sanyou is self-employed and has as much free time as he pleases. So the murderer either goes to work or school. Hence, his time is rtively fixed."


    "Then why didn¡¯t the murderer kill Shen Lijuan?¡± Bingxin interjected. ¡°Was he in love with and couldn¡¯t bear to kill her?"


    "No, ording to his abnormal logic, only when he falls in love with a woman would he be cruel. From a utilitarian point of view, it¡¯s definitely safer for Shen Lijuan to die rather than live. However, the murderer didn¡¯t kill her because there was a bigger drawback preventing him from doing so."


    "What is it?" the two asked in unison.


    My fingernded on the map, right where Shen Lijuan had been kidnapped. "Because if Shen Lijuan dies, he will be exposed!"

 Chapter 522: The Deal

    <h4>Chapter 522: The Deal</h4>


    After a moment¡¯s contemtion, Xiaotao said, "You mean the murderer lives near her school?"


    I nodded, "Looks like you understand what I mean! Only the seventh victim was murdered because if two people died at the same time, that means something else entirely. If she was murdered alone, she could¡¯ve been kidnapped anywhere, but if two of them were murdered at the same time, it was equivalent to announcing to the police that the murderer travelled on that road. The murderer might have been someone who lived nearby or passed that road every day."


    "Then why didn''t he kidnap only one of them?" asked Bingxin.


    "I think it was an ident that Shen Lijuan went home with the seventh victim. It disrupted the murderer¡¯s original n. Hence, he was forced to kidnap the two together," I replied.


    "Do you think the murderer has a car?" asked Xiaotao.


    That was an important question. If he didn¡¯t, then the murderer lived nearby, so two girls could¡¯ve been carried back on foot.


    "You forget that she said she was driven away in a car?" Bingxin interjected.


    I shook my head, "That car might not have belonged to the murderer. We¡¯ll confirm the details with Shen Lijuanter on!"


    Bingxin smiled, "She¡¯s pregnant. How can you keep ripping off her scars?¡±


    "You''re right. I¡¯m rather embarrassed to keep bringing that up. Let''s analyze the murders, put together the questions we want to ask, and then look for her."


    Right then, our food arrived. As we dug in, Xiaotao said, "Why did the murderer hand over Shen Lijuan to your grandfather? Don''t you find that strange?"


    "Yes!¡± Bngxin agreed. ¡°Could it be your grandfather knew the murderer but deliberately concealed that?"


    I mused, "The answer is two words... Jiangbei Daggers!"


    "What?!¡± The girls stared agape.


    "ording to Shen Lijuan''s description, she was put into a car, then pushed to the ground, and helped up by Grandpa. I think a middleman intervened and made some sort of deal with Grandpa. Don¡¯t forget, Grandpa wasn¡¯t someone to be trifled with. If there was someone who could force him into viting his principles, the Jiangbei Daggers immediatelye to mind."


    "What sort of deal could it have been?" Bingxin stared at me unblinkingly.


    "My guess is, they had Grandpa stop the investigation. I don¡¯t know if you noticed, but after he saved Shen Lijuan, the murders never urred again. It has been calm for the past twenty years. Did the murderer suddenly gain a conscience? No! There must be a strong external force that¡¯s stopping him!"


    "So that was the deal!" eximed Xiaotao.


    "If I had been in Grandpa¡¯s ce, I too would have taken the deal since it meant no more murders and releasing a surviving victim. There¡¯s nothing greater than life¨Cthat¡¯s what Grandpa used to say. This sentence has been deeply seared in my heart. In Grandpa¡¯s opinion, saving a good man far outweighs punishing a bad one."


    For a considerable amount of time, the table fell silent as we stopped eating entirely.


    "Then what about Ma Sanyou?" asked Bingxin.


    "Ma Sanyou¡­ If the organization had really intervened, then ording to their usual style, they would have prepared a scapegoat to free a criminal. Ma Sanyou may be that scapegoat. He¡¯s ugly, fierce, and is bad with women. He¡¯s the perfect candidate. Have you noticed? Nie Yalong said that the experts hadn¡¯t discovered the two key clues before. At that time, Grandpa had cooperated with Sun Tiger for more than ten years. His methods and experience were far superior to mine. Would he have missed such obvious clues on the sole? There¡¯s only one exnation then. The so-called key evidence was fabricated by the organization. They did such a thorough job that the evidence was convincing."


    Xiaotao snapped her fingers, "I see! Your grandfather had little choice. He was the only one who knew Ma Sanyou was innocent but he couldn''t tell anyone. He didn¡¯t want to see the innocent Ma Sanyou sentenced to death. When everyone decided that Ma Sanyou was the suspect, he was forced to burn the evidence room."


    When I thought of the dilemma Grandpa had faced, my heart was tinged with sadness.


    In my eyes, he was a strong, fearless, upright man. But when facing the organization, he was also weak, helpless, andpromising. In order to protect an innocent girl, he could only sacrifice his reputation.


    Although Ma Sanyou was saved, his suspicion dragged his entire family into dire straits. If Grandpa knew, he would¡¯ve been sad.


    As these thoughts ran through my head, I felt myself tearing up. Fighting back the tears, I joked, "The crayfish is too spicy. I can¡¯t eat it."


    The two looked at me strangely when Xiaotao suddenlyughed, "Yes, it''s too spicy. We¡¯ll take it back for Wang Yuanchao to eat. It''s gettingte, we should rest!"


    That night, I tossed and turned. But with my inner troubles solved, I felt much better.


    The next morning, I slept until nine, opened my eyes and saw Xiaotao''s smiling face. The room was filled with warm sunshine. I looked up in surprise.


    "You can stop looking. I drove Wang Yuanchao out of the room,"ughed Xiaotao.


    "You got me! I thought the hotel provided this special service!"


    Xiaotao stuffed her cold hand into the quilt, making me jump up.


    "Mister, would you like the special service?" she teased.


    My wicked thoughts which had been suppressed for several days suddenly sprang up once more. Leaning in, I kissed Xiaotao on the lips.


    "Brush your teeth first!" she frowned.


    Cheeks turning crimson, I ran to the bathroom, brushed my teeth and washed my face. When I returned, I found Xiaotao standing by my bed, dressed neatly.


    "Idiot, won¡¯t you hurry up?" she urged.


    "Oh!"


    I reached out to unbutton her coat, my heart pounding in my ears. After removing her coat, I tried to pick her up. Her body was lighter than I expected, so I carried her princess style..


    Xiaotao screamed andughed as she yfully pounded my chest. "Meanie!"


    "Well, I won¡¯t be courteous then?"


    "Who¡¯s being courteous with you!"


    cing her on the bed, I hugged her sweet-scented body. The feeling was surreal. I couldn''t help kissing her lips again. "Seeing your face as soon as I open my eyes every morning must be the best thing in the world!"


    Xiaotao smiled, "I can''t believe such romantic words left your lips."


    "I¡¯m being honest!"


    At that exact moment, my love for Xiaotao was too much to describe in words. We stared at each other quietly. Only those who had experienced love would understand this sort of tenderness. In my eyes, she was simply the most perfect existence, much like a work of art. I felt content just quietly appreciating her beauty.


    Xiaotao''s cheeks were as red as the peach blossoms in April. cing her palm on my chest, she whispered, "Although listening to your romantic talk intoxicates me, if you don''t hurry, this precious opportunity might slip away again!"

 Chapter 523: The Murderer Reappears

    <h4>Chapter 523: The Murderer Reappears</h4>


    As soon as I turned over, I pinned Xiaotao under my body, "I don''t believe we would be that unlucky. We¡¯re now in a small county town in the northwest. Would the murderer who¡¯s been dormant for twenty years startmitting crimes again?"


    Xiaotao turned over, reversed our positions and ced her finger against my lips. "That may not be true. You shouldn¡¯t speak about certain things!"


    I pulled out my cell phone and ced it on the bed. "Look, it''s so quiet at the moment, just like a cat. It¡¯s not going to disturb its owner!"


    Xiaotao poked my forehead with her finger, "Are you going to get down to business? You¡¯re going to regret it when Wang Yuanchao returns."


    When the phone suddenly rang, my heart sank. "It can''t be." It turned out to be an annoying salesman. The man went on and on about a sales promotion, so I couldn''t get a word in.


    Smiling mischievously, Xiaotao suddenly moaned. The person on the other end of the phone paused and asked, "Sir, are you busy right now?"


    I lowered my voice, "Yes, you¡¯re interrupting me."


    "Oh, I¡¯m sorry!"


    Upon hanging up, Xiaotao and Iughed. Just as we were about to proceed, the cell phone rang. Xiaotao and I exchanged a look of consternation. Pulling out her cell phone from her pocket, she put it next to her ear.


    There was pin-drop silence in the room so I could hear the fat officer¡¯s voice from the other end of the line. He reported that a dead woman had been found in a school yground. Since it was difficult to exin over the phone, he hoped we could drop by.


    Xiaotao immediately agreed. The ambiguous atmosphere in the room was swept away and we switched back to work instantly.


    After getting dressed, we left the hotel, hailed a cab and informed Song Xingchen, Bingxin and Wang Yuanchao on our way there. I thought the address that the fat officer sent was rather familiar. It turned out to be Liangchuan No.3 Middle School.


    When I arrived at the scene, there were already many officers in the yground. Fortunately, this was the weekend so there were no students around.


    The fat officer led us past the cordon. When I saw the sandals on the dead woman''s feet, I was shocked. These were the exact ones Shen Lijuan wore. I immediately lifted the white sheet covering the dead woman. Although it wasn¡¯t Shen Lijuan, I gasped.


    The victim was a young woman in her early twenties. Her head swollen ck and blue, a clear sign she had been strangled. There were bright red wounds all over her naked body¨Cher chest, neck, and waist had missing skin.


    I slowly lifted the sheet and found that some flesh had been cut off from her legs. There was blood seeping between her legs and ayer of lubricating oil that had solidified.


    For a moment, I couldn¡¯t speak, though inside, I kept repeating, It¡¯s impossible. Impossible!


    The MO was exactly the same as the murders that happened twenty years ago. Was he back again?


    "Consultant Song! Consultant Song!"


    I realized the fat officer was calling me.


    "Do you think this is the work of a copycat, or did Ma Sanyou do this?" he asked.


    I shook my head, "Bring me a pair of rubber gloves!"


    Right then, Bingxin and the others arrived. I asked Bingxin for help with the autopsy. The victim was about twenty-three years old, and the time of death was eight hours ago. The cause of death was strangtion. There was a brown scar on her throat and areas of subcutaneous bleeding around the scar. The cartge in her throat had been broken.


    Upon listening with the Echolocation Rod, I found her lungs contracted, which was consistent with the characteristics of suffocation. The victim¡¯s spleen and liver showed signs of bleeding, which seemed to have been impacted by external force. Additionally, I heard noise that indicated spinal damage so I asked Bingxin to turn the body upside down. Only then did we notice that arge piece of skin was missing from the middle of the victim¡¯s back. It was shaped like a shoe, and the exposed flesh and blood was stained with grass and dust.


    I felt her back with my fingers and found signs of a spinal fracture. The murderer most likely stepped on the victim¡¯s back, then strangled her with a weapon such as nylon rope. The victim couldn¡¯t resist or scratch the murderer.


    Listening carefully, I also noticed signs of dislocation in the seventh vertebrae. I mused, "There are two points of attack."


    "What does this mean?" Bingxin asked.


    "It means that the murderer paused during the murder."


    Bingxin pointed to the edge of the missing skin, "Should we check if it was removed antemortem or postmortem?"


    I shook my head, "No need, it¡¯s definitely postmortem. The murderer had the habit of removing all the skin parts that he left marks on." Running my fingers over the edge of the wound, I said, "The cut is neat and clean, so it was done in one go. From the angle, it appears that the murderer is left-handed?"


    I widened my eyes in shock.


    "Song Yang-gege, what¡¯s wrong?" cried Bingxin.


    "The murderer on file was right-handed!" interjected Xiaotao.


    "Yes, all nine murders weremitted by a right-handed man,¡± I said. ¡°This is strange."


    "It looks like a copycat. I can''t understand why people worship criminals,¡± Bingxin puzzled.


    I waved my hand, "Let¡¯s not rush to conclusions. We¡¯ll look elsewhere."


    The dominant hand was an important clue, but after 20 years, the murderer could havepletely changed that.


    At the moment, my thoughts were contradictory. I hoped it was the same murderer because I wanted to bring him to justice. But at the same time, if it was really him, Grandpa¡¯s concessions would be meaningless!


    More importantly, if he was arrested, news of Grandpa¡¯s deals with criminals would be made public.


    I cast aside these thoughts and continued with the autopsy.


    I observed the edge of the wound with Cave Vision. Judging from the incision pattern and the shape of the wound, the weapon was a wide-base dagger more than a foot long.


    Before turning the body over, I asked Bingxin to extract the stones, sand grains and grass from the victim¡¯s back. This was the basis for judging whether this was the murder or dump site. Additionally, I made her take some blood samples.


    For a while, I stared at the victim¡¯s face. At the moment of death, her face was frozen in extreme panic and despair. I picked up her hand and found soil under her fingernails which seemed to be caused by an intense struggle.


    The scene yed in my head. Like a predator, the seasoned murderer approached silently from behind, ced a rope around the victim¡¯s neck, stomped on her back, and knocked her down to the ground, strangling her till she suffocated to death.


    The scene made me shudder. Murder was an extremely antisocial behavior that went against one¡¯s instincts, unlike other skills which could be repeatedly practiced and tempered.


    This was definitely not the first crime for a murderer with such skill andposure.


    Xiaotao suddenly pointed to the victim''s ear. Her earring was missing on one side and showed obvious signs of having been pulled off. I removed the other earring and ced it in an evidence bag.


    "Could it be him?" Xiaotao asked.


    I gulped, unaware of how to answer.

 Chapter 524: Triple Divination Technique

    <h4>Chapter 524: Triple Divination Technique</h4>


    Right then, the fat officer ran up to us and reported having found the victim¡¯s clothes¨Ca red dress in the grass nearby which also matched the murderer¡¯s MO. I got Bingxin to check for fingerprints.


    Continuing with the autopsy, I noticed the victim¡¯s underwear had been pulled down to the knees. The inner vaginal walls turned outwards, suggesting she had been raped for quite some time after death. The human body didn¡¯t recover after death.


    "Twenty years ago, the murderer raped and then killed."


    I nodded, "Yes, the order is very important. Most people don''t have the hobby of raping corpses, especially since the sphincter rxes after death. Both urine and feces will flow out."


    This corpse showed simr characteristics. Diluted feces and urine permeated into the grass beneath, giving off a stench that was enough to make an ordinary man impotent. There were copious amounts of lubricant left in the victim¡¯s vagina.


    This was yet another clue that confused me. Was it really him?


    I asked Xiaotao to hand me the Autopsy Umbre. Twirling it, I examined the victim¡¯s body. The murderer was quite experienced indeed, leaving few fingerprints on the victim. There were dense fingerprints around her lower body which should have been left when the murderer raped her.


    I noticed an indentation on the inner right thigh, which was much heavier than other parts. Additionally, there was a noticeable scratch on the victim¡¯s left ankle which indicated that the murderer''s hand was very slender. It seemed the murderer wasn¡¯t engaged in manualbor. This clue was consistent with the murderer from twenty years ago.


    I couldn¡¯t imagine what sort of position the murderer used, so I put that aside for the time being.


    Using tweezers to separate the victim¡¯s genitals, I found dark brown liquid mixed with blood. The victim was most likely a virgin. I examined the inner walls with Cave Vision and found it damaged in many areas, especially the right side. The murderer acted quite roughly and was extremely gifted in that area.


    Frowning, I stared at the victim¡¯s mangled genitals. Bingxin came over and asked me if I wanted to test for semen. Although I thought it quite impossible, I asked her to take samples.


    "Have you tested the sand on the victim¡¯s body?"


    Bingxin spit her tongue, "I can''t test that here. I took some samples forparison back at the station."


    It was then that I realized we were in a small county town in northwest China, without a convenient mobile trace detector.


    After the technical team took photos, the fat officer ced the victim into a body bag, and our work here was done.


    "We found a cell phone on the victim and confirmed her identity through her cell phone number," reported the fat officer.


    The victim was a college student travelling from out of town, here to see a boy she met online. Unfortunately, the friendship failed to take off outside of the screen. ording to the other party, she returned to the hotel by herself after dinner at eight o''clockst night and hadn''t been in touch since.


    The fat officer had yet to inform the young man of her death.


    "Where¡¯s the hotel?" I asked.


    "Just around the corner!" he replied.


    "Let¡¯s have a look!"


    As we walked to the hotel, I asked the fat officer how Ma Qiaojun was doing. The fat officer exined that the man had little contact with people and hardly ever worked. Hence, there was little information about him.


    I noticed the words ''hardly ever worked.¡¯


    In the conversation with the psychologist, Ma Qiaojun had also mentioned his father¡¯s inheritance. I suddenly recalled the fact that Ma Sanyou''s mother died of cancer. Thebination of these factors made me more convinced that the organization had secretly manipted the case back then.


    Ma Sanyou probably sold himself to raise money for his mother''s medical treatment.


    Upon noticing my silence, the fat officer said, "Are you suspicious of this boy?"


    "No, no! Please refrain from drawing any preconceived conclusions."


    Another officer muttered, "Fish begins to stink at the head. Like father, like son."


    Although I really wished I could reveal that Ma Sanyou never murdered anyone, I knew better than to do so. I understood how Grandpa must have felt back then. Keeping this secret for twenty years must have been painful.


    When we arrived at the victim¡¯s room, I found an open suitcase lying by the bed with a bunch of untidy clothes. There was a kettle on the TV cab with a burned bottom.


    The victim¡¯s shoes were ced on the ground, while she wore a pair of stic sandals when she left the room.


    She could¡¯ve gone down to buy a bottle of water since the kettle was broken, but she never returned. What happened after that? Did she bump into the murderer and was tricked onto campus? It seemed unlikely. It waste at night and she was out alone. She couldn¡¯t be that careless about her own safety, could she? Perhaps she walked around the school and was kidnapped by the murderer who happened to pass by.


    Coincidentally, this was the exact spot where Shen Lijuan was kidnapped. Assuming the murderer was the same man, he probably lived here or used to live here.


    I turned to Xiaotao, "Let¡¯s head back to the station first!"


    On the way there, I purchased two maps of Liangchuan County. When we arrived at the station, the fat officer asked if I wanted to hold a case discussion but I said no. I needed time to think.


    When the five of us entered the conference room, several officers were puzzled and whispered amongst themselves. "Are they hiding important clues from us? These experts are really narrow minded!"


    In truth, I had no important clues. My n was to carry out a divination. I wasn¡¯t in the mood to exin, so I asked that they leave first.


    I spread two maps on the table and marked the location of the corpse.


    "Why do you need two this time?" asked Xiaotao.


    "This one is used for the nine murders that year, while this one is marked with the current case. I¡¯m hoping topare them to see if the murderer is the same man," I exined.


    ¡°Can you do that with divination?" said Xiaotao.


    "After 20 years, the murderer might¡¯ve moved, so it¡¯s not necessarily urate and can only be used as a reference."


    Lighting up incense, I began the Triple Divination Technique. With my consciousness immersed, the streets, intersections and signs on the map emerged one by one, turning into 3D images around me. This sort of visual experience was produced due to my proficiency with divination.


    As my consciousness shuttled through the abstract symbols, I felt carefree and my mind was unleashed. When Xiaotao stopped me, I couldn¡¯t help but want more.


    I nced at the two maps. Because of iplete information, the first map was scribbled with arge area, about three blocks, marked. On the second map, arge area had also been marked. There was an intersection between the two areas¨Cthe road behind the school.


    "It looks like the murderer is rted to this school."


    I bit my finger, "No, this is only based on the assumption that we¡¯re looking at the same murderer. There are many doubtful points in this case that are inconsistent with the murders that happened twenty years ago, so it may not be urate."


    "I believe in your intuition!" smiled Xiaotao.

 Chapter 525: Twenty Years Of Suffering

    <h4>Chapter 525: Twenty Years Of Suffering</h4>


    We held a case discussion, during which Bingxin concluded that the school yground was the crime scene byparing the sand found on the corpse with the sand on the scene.


    Several officers spoke to witnesses at the scene. It was veryte at the time, so there was no one on the road. The school used to employ a gatekeeper who reportedly left due to urgent matters at the time. My guess was that he was a habitual loafer on the job.


    During the meeting, I heard the name Ma Sanyoue up constantly. Many thought we should keep an eye on Ma Qiaojun. I had nothing to say about that since I nned to solve the case with just the five of us.


    I ask the fat officer for a favor. I needed a list of all the residents on that street over the past 20 years, especially those who lived on the first floor and had basements.


    After the meeting, I briefly exined the situation to our team members. Turning to Song Xingchen, I said, "Xingchen, I have an important task for you. I hope you can protect Shen Lijuan."


    Song Xingchen arched an eyebrow, "My duty is to..."


    "No one will hurt me here,¡± I interjected. ¡°Besides, Wang Yuanchao and Xiaotao can protect me. If... if this crime was reallymitted by the same murderer, then Shen Lijuan will be a great threat to him! Since Shen Lijuan never contacted the police, the murderer is very likely to target her."


    While Song Xingchen pondered, a familiar voice suddenly sounded from outside the door. "Leave the task of protecting her to us!"


    We turned around to see Song Heting and Song Jie standing there. I stared in astonishment as an officer grabbed Song Heting''s shoulder and shouted, "Who are you? How dare you enter without so much as exnation! Get out!"


    Song Heting nced at the officer¡¯s hand and with a shake of her shoulder, she tossed the officer aside.


    "Police attack!"


    As soon as the officer yelled, his colleagues in the corridor were alerted. Several of them even pulled out their guns. I rushed outside and exined, "It¡¯s a misunderstanding! These two assist the team.¡±


    The officers stared in astonishment before dispersing.


    After that episode, Song Jie jumped up like a rabbit, grabbed Song Xingchen''s hand and smiled, "Gege, are you surprised?"


    Although Song Xingchen merely smiled, his emotions were hard to conceal.


    "Aunt Song, why are you here?" I asked.


    "Can''t Ie? Or are you deliberately avoiding me?" she sneered.


    After receiving the email that day, Song Heting was worried about us because Grandpa once mentioned this unsolved case. Afraid that something would happen to us, she rushed down to Liangchen with Song Jie.


    After asking Song Jie to shut the door, I proceeded, "Aunt Song, what did Grandpa tell you? Is this case rted to the organization?"


    "Yes, it was their people who secretly manipted the case. The murderer hired one of the leaders in the organization to clean up after him."


    Watching as Bingxin moved the chairs, Song Heting revealed a look of appreciation. She sat down and began her story.


    In fact, she didn''t learn about it until four years ago, that is, six months before Grandpa was killed. Because of the money he gave Nie Yalong and Shen Lijuan, Grandpa was unable to repay his debts and didn''t want any outsiders finding out. His only option was to ask the martial Songs for help.


    Song Heting promised to settle the debt for him, but on the condition that he exined the situation. Back then, Grandpa had found enough clues to narrow the scope of suspects to less than five people. The real murderer was one of these men. However, the murderer obtained help from the Jiangbei Daggers who organized the destruction of evidence and bought witnesses for him, washing him clean of his crimes.


    This wasn¡¯t Grandpa¡¯s first sh with the organization. Only this time, the man he was dealing with was rather skillful in both making and spending money. Yes, this man was the Infernal Bone Trader!


    The Infernal Bone Trader cleaned up after the real murderer and bought a scapegoat to take all the charges. Of course, Grandpa knew but had no way of convincing others. Besides, the Infernal Bone Trader had something on Grandpa, though he didn''t say exactly what it was.


    At around this point, the eighth and ninth murders happened one after another, and the victims were family members of the police. Many officers withdrew from the investigation out of fear, and the task force faced an unprecedented crisis.


    Grandpa tried every means possible to prevent scapegoats from being convicted and collected criminal evidence of the real murderer. He wasn¡¯t going to throw in the towel.


    Unexpectedly, the Infernal Bone Trader suggested a deal at this point. If Grandpa stopped the investigation, he would release a living victim and guarantee that the murderer would nevermit another crime. If Grandpa refused, then his client would continue tomit crime without a care. Perhaps one day Grandpa would solve the case, but it would cost many innocent lives.


    After a long internal struggle, Grandpa finally agreed to his deal. In order to save two innocent lives, he paid the price of his guilt and twenty years of suffering from his conscience!


    At the end of her story, Song Heting sighed.


    "The murderer promised never tomit crimes again. If he reallymitted this murder then that¡¯s equivalent to breaking their agreement¡­¡± I analyzed. ¡°Aunt Song, who is the real murderer?"


    Song Heting shook her head, "Your grandfather never told me. Although he hated the organization more than anyone else, he never broke his promise. But he did reveal one thing..."


    "What is it?"


    "He mentioned that hiring the Infernal Bone Trader came at a terrible cost. Only drug lords, mafia bosses and big warlords in the Middle East and Africa worth over 100 million could afford him. But twenty years ago, he actually helped this man for free," Song Heting replied.


    "Free?" My eyes widened.


    "Only after your grandfather was killed did I understand that this was the Infernal Bone Trader¡¯s n. He forced your grandfather into carrying an indelible stain his entire life till he eventually died to the hands of the de Master."


    Of course, this was merely Song Heting''s conjecture. Perhaps there were other more profound reasons behind this. I was filled with countless thoughts that made my heart turbulent.


    Xiaotao ced aforting hand on my shoulder and patted lightly.


    "I have repeatedly forbidden you to risk your life,¡± Song Heting began. ¡°Why do you have to investigate this case? One wrong move and you¡¯ll involve a huge enemy."


    I smiled bitterly, "It wasn¡¯t my idea. The de Master sent me the file!"


    When I exined the ins and outs of the matter, Song Heting looked rather surprised. Gritting her teeth, she muttered under her breath, "That persistent old bastard!"


    "Do you know him?" I asked keenly.


    "No, of course not!"


    I activated Cave Vision as soon as Song Heting answered. I wasn¡¯t sure if she was too good at acting or if she was telling the truth. Her microexpressions seemed genuine.


    <strong>Announcement:</strong>


    Regrettably, this will be the final chapter for Netherworld Investigator. Although we''ve kept it going for this long, sadly it hasn''t experienced the poprity necessary to cover the costs of its trantion to any significant degree. As such, we''re left with the unfortunate situation of needing to ce the novel on indefinite hiatus. Thank you for following it until now, we hope you''ll consider reading some of the other novels we have avable!


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    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!