The Yu Brothers’ Case Book

“Still so energetic? Even though he was just vomiting.”

The substitute forensic investigator standing outside the examination room shook his head when he heard the arguing in the distance.

“One of his most unique traits is his powerful recovery from anything.” Yan Si put on a coat and smiled as he said, “When I saw the photos just now, I noticed there were specks of blood in the eyes. She died from suffocation then?”

“Although not very obvious, there were faint bruises around the victim’s nose and mouth area. There were also signs of internal bleeding, so death by suffocation should be correct.” The other person in charge of the autopsy led the way into the room. Even after having been around for most of the day, he could not help but reflexively furrow his browns upon entering.

There was an extremely pungent stench, several times stronger than the reek of seafood.

“Isn’t this smell honestly too extreme?” The instant he stepped into the room, Yan Si instantly knew why Jiu Shen’s complexion had been so poor. Even Yan Si was slightly repulsed. It looked like he would not be able to remove the reek from his clothes in the wash again today.

“It’s my first time seeing this too. The corpse is extremely abnormal in itself.” His junior standing in for him went over to the examination table. “You’ll understand after taking a look yourself.”

Upon seeing the body, Yan Si completely knew what the other person was talking about.

He grabbed his junior brother’s notebook and flipped through it. According to the neighbours and Lai Chang An’s testimonies and related records, the estimated time of death should have been a month ago. Yet the corpse’s physical appearance contradicted this.

At the site of discovery, the discarded corpse had been perfectly normal. However, the moment it had been transferred over, it had started to emit a powerful stink. It wasn’t the type of odour caused by poison or drugs, but rather an inexplicable smell that was as if the body was emitting something like methane. The stench did not fade in the slightest from any collected samples even after multiple rinses.

“The marks I mentioned just now are over here.” Yan Si’s junior brother pointed at the woman’s mouth area while saying, “Based on the marks shown here, the assaulter was male. In addition, the area around the eyes was dug out after death. I believe a sharp object like a common small-sized chisel was used. The murderer very carefully kept the eyeballs intact, so they likely had some kind of knowledge of the human body. In addition, there were some signs of resistance on her body. Her limbs and neck all have bruises, so she must have fought back before dying.”

“Why bother making sure to keep them intact…” Usually, if one was going to dig out the eye sockets, that would include the eyeballs too. Yan Si could not quite understand the purpose behind the perpetrator doing this.

“I don’t know.” They had no way of guessing the murder’s intentions. The junior brother opened a video recording from some time ago. “While being sent here, she was constantly leaking dark fluids. When I opened her up, I discovered that her organs had all rotted already, and her flesh was almost completely decomposed. Aside from the outer skin that remained abnormally intact, there was nothing remaining inside…This really looks nothing like a month-old corpse.” Or rather, any normal corpse would not end up like this.

The strangest part was that the photos taken at the scene showed no signs of internal decay. Typically, if the inside of the body had decomposed to the point of there only being fluids remaining, the skin would stick to the bones. However, the body in the photos was extremely firm rather than deflated as it should have been.

No matter how one thought about it, this was truly a bizarre case.

As Yan Si stared at the dead body that barely had anything left inside it, he naturally understood his junior brother’s doubts. However, with everything that had happened the past few days, it did not seem possible to think in the usual ways of logic.

“I have no idea how to write an autopsy report for this.” Fortunately, the cause of death had at least been discernible. Everything else could only be written as the result of rapid bacteria growth or the specific environmental conditions…They would have to figure out a conclusion later after all the tests were complete.

Yan Si could not feel any flesh when he touched the calf, instantly feeling the bone instead. As a result, he gave up on the idea of cutting it. The state of the corpse was truly just that unusual.

“Oh, right, when the corpse arrived, it was pretty clean. Even the fingernails did not have anything under them. It was definitely cleaned, so there aren’t any useful clues that can be found…However, the fingernail has cracks, likely as a result of the struggling prior to death.”

“Understood.”

Once he confirmed that the inner organs of the body had not decomposed as a result of any corrosive chemicals, Yan Si decided to have his junior brother go figure out how to write the headache of a report. Yan Si made sure he got the general gist of the information he wanted, then retreated out of the room that was filled with a paralysing reek.

When he tossed his gloves away and walked out, he spotted Yu Yin and Jiu Shen discussing something in the hallway not too far away. The moment the two saw him, they instantly stopped.

“The smell’s atrocious, isn’t it?” Jiu Shen came over and spoke up first.

“It’s pretty suffocating. I never thought that humans could emit such an overly extreme stench like that.” Yan Si sniffed his sleeve, convinced that the smell had followed him out.

“Don’t bother, it’s definitely stuck to you. It’s still on my body too.” Jiu Shen scowled sullenly as he inwardly resolved to throw his clothes away the instant he returned home. There was no way this kind of thing could be washed away. If he had known ahead of time, he would have come wearing clothes from a “three-for-100 yuan” sale.

“I still have a new shirt in my locker. If brother Jiu Shen doesn’t want to reek on the way home, you can go to the breakroom to wash up and change clothes.” Yan Si was extremely used to having to change clothes [here], and he gave the other person the passcode to his locker. “Also, it wasn’t Lai Chang An that killed Liao Xue Yi. He might still be a suspect for partaking in the discarding of the body, but her death had no relation to him.”

Jiu Shen was stunned for a few seconds. “Hold on, on what basis?”

“Lai Chang An wouldn’t murder. He’s the type that would ensure his own hands stay clean. Back then on the rooftop, he had also made sure to keep himself out of the incident; the one that had acted had been Liao Xue Yi. I doubt the attacked and injured people at his workplaces these past few years were his doing either, but rather my junior sister’s.” Yan Si glanced at the adjacent Yu Yin, who was just as confused, and then calmly continued, “My junior sister was murdered by someone else. Why don’t we go and pay a visit to the suspect now?”

He began to walk away the moment he said these words. Yu Yin hurriedly chased after and asked, “What exactly happened?”

“My junior sister was strangled and fought back before her death. However, Senior Chang An’s hands do not have any wounds.” Yan Si had realised this after looking at the corpse. He quickened his pace as he added, “Yet in such circumstances, he still confessed to the murder. So the murderer is very likely someone he knows, and quite well at that.”

“Huh?”

“There’s only one person I’ve met recently that satisfies this condition.”

***

Zhao Jun Xi opened the door to see two people standing outside.

“My junior brother, you…?”

“Will you go turn yourself in to the authorities, or would you rather I have the police come over to handle things?” Yan Si coldly stated from where he stood next to the doorway.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Zhao Jun Xi replied after a brief pause, his face sporting its usual smile rather than any unusual expression. “My junior brother, I really was just planning on going over to De Cheng’s that day to eat. I have no idea how the gas explosion happened.”

“You know what I’m talking about.” Yan Si did not intend to waste time with this person, wanting to end things as swiftly as possible. He cocked his head to one side as he eyed the bandages wrapped around the other person’s hands. “I already know about Junior Xue Yi. If you don’t hand yourself over, I’ll just ask the police to inspect the injuries on your hands. Do you really believe you’ll be able to hide the truth?”

After hearing the conversation, Yu Yin secretly glanced at the other person’s hands as well from where he stood behind Yan Si. Actually, nothing could be seen from the bandages, so he was not sure how Yan Si was so certain.

Zhao Jun Xi stood still in silence for a long time before finally shifting his body to let them in. “Well, just come in first. I just happen to have the day off today. My wife and kid are both at work and school. Let’s chat a bit.”

Yan Si’s gaze probed Zhao Jun Xi for a moment before nodding and following the other inside.

Zhao Jun Xi led the two people to the living room and prepared some tea, bringing it out for the guests before taking a seat. “Did you guys tell anyone else you were coming here?”

“No.” Yan Si prevented Yu Yin from speaking, then slowly said, “I hope that Senior will go hand himself over first. In actuality, if the autopsy progresses further, it will be instantly found out that Senior Chang An is compensating for someone else’s crime. It’s just a matter of time.”

“But the police won’t necessarily come looking here.” Zhao Jun Xi propped his chin with his hand as he looked at the other person and unhurriedly asked, “Ah Si, Lai Chan An has already confessed to the crime, which means he’s willing to take it all. Why blow things up further? We were all fellow schoolmates, is there a need to look so deeply into it?”

“Standing from the position of a schoolmate, I think it’s necessary. Standing from the position of work, the fact that I didn’t bring the police over here basically counts as pretty good already.” Yan Si blankly stared back and said, “You’ve always kept in contact with Senior Chan An, haven’t you? Why reject claims of having a relationship with him back in school?”

“…Do you know what social influence in groups is?” Zhao Jun Xi took a long sip of his tea, the smile on his face still the same as before. “Small groups, no matter how outstanding they are, will always crowd others out. Anyone with an opposite idea will be rejected. As the groups grow more complex, this mentality also grows stronger. Wasn’t that precisely why Lai Chan An had gotten to the point where even the professors found him to be a pain? Although he was very arrogant, it was undeniable that possessed something. It was just that this became impossible to express after being crowded out.”

“So what?” Yan Si raised a brow at the senior he had known for a long time. “Because he had something, you decided to declare to everyone that you had cut off ties with him? Then, while cursing him like the others, you would act as a good person in private to take that something?” Why bother living in such an exhausting way?

“What otherwise?” Zhao Jun Xi shrugged with a smirk.

“Putting all that aside, why kill junior sister?”

“Why do you believe it was me?”

Yan Si did not respond to the other person’s question. Instead, he patted Yu Yin next to him. “Student that was ganged up on, take a good look behind him.”

“Behind…?” Yu Yin, who had not spoken this entire time, blankly glanced at the person’s back. At first, he did not understand what Yan Si was referring to. But the moment he spotted the shadow, he was stunned for a few seconds.

That woman was standing behind Zhao Jun Xi. Dark blood flowed unceasingly from the eyeballs in those dug out sockets that glared at the person still smiling.

Yu Yin would have never imagined that Yan SI would notice this first. The fact that a normal person had spotted this faster than him was extremely shocking.

“If you’re simply trying to scare me, it’s no use.” Zhao Jun Xi put his cup down, believing this conversation to be a joke. He casually glanced behind him and did not see anything there.

“You’ll know in a minute whether it’s scary or not.” Yan Si stood and tore off the bandages around his neck to clearly reveal the scarlet choke marks. “Our junior sister has always treated Senior Chang An as her most important person. That day on the rooftop, she had wanted to destroy everyone that had ever fought against Senior Chang An, including me. After all these years, the first one she came after was also me. But as long as I make her give up on the thought, she’ll quickly go looking for her second target…Just wait here and see.” As soon as finished speaking, he began to drag the university student with him towards the door.

“Wait!” Zhao Jun Xi hurriedly blocked the door. A fruit blade appeared in his hand, now pointed at the other two people. “Liao Xue Yi wanted to threaten me, and now you want to harm me too? Can you swear you won’t say anything after you leave here?”

“Sure.”

Perhaps because Yan Si’s tone was too laid-back, it wasn’t just Zhao Jun Xi that was shocked dumb at this. Yu Yin, who was behind, was also stunned, having no idea what was going on in Yan Si’s head. “It’s not like the rest is in my work scope anyways, so of course I can guarantee I won’t say anything. The one that’ll be speaking is you.”

“What do you mean—”

The sound of urgent knocking interrupted Zhao Jun Xi’s words.

“Police. Please open the door!”

“You!” Zhao Jun Xi’s expression shifted in fury. He hadn’t expected the other person’s claim to not have brought the police would be false. He glared at the person leisurely standing next to the doorway.

“I really didn’t bring them. I can’t do anything if they follow me here themselves.” Yan Si shrugged. He truly had not lied; it was Jiu Shen that had followed them over and even called to bring others. It had nothing to do with Yan Si.

Of course, Yu Yin had known about this. He suddenly felt a bit of pity towards this senior. Believing Yan Si’s cursed words was the senior’s mistake from the beginning. It seemed like this senior did not know his junior as well as he thought…

Besides, with the guaranteed danger of walking straight up to the murderer’s door, not bringing backup would be something only a ghost would do…Actually, both backup and a ghost came.

Yu Yin glanced at the ghost still standing behind the person, and he couldn’t help but elbow Yan Si, who was still bickering with the other person.

Without Zhao Jun Xi knowing, pale fingers stretched out and slowly began to attach themselves to his neck that now had veins bulging from extreme anger. The fingers then slowly began to tighten their hold.

“Why are you always so annoying?” Completely oblivious to the unnatural situation, Zhao Jun Xi pointed the tip of the blade at the other person again after a few seconds pause. “It’s not just Lai Chang An. I’ve actually disliked you for a very long time now. While everyone else is working hard, why are you able to keep that personality of yours? While everyone else struggles to stabilize their job and household conditions, bearing the burden of earning money, why are you able to continue life without worries, yet eat and live well? You were the same even back in school, like you were always mocking others!”

“Yan-dàgē, were you that prodigal in university too?” Although Yu Yin had a general idea of Yan Si’s family background, he couldn’t help but shoot a look at Yan Si considering the person’s current lifestyle.

“It’s not like I took any money from my family. I earned everything myself. Since I already had my finances planned out, why not eat well?” His path was set already; he just spent a bit more when it came to his limited expenses. Yan Si did not care how others thought, it was not as if he was spending others’ money.

“Exactly how much did you earn to be called out as someone that ate and lived well?”

Yan Si raised his fingers. “If you add both temporary jobs together, a monthly income of 45000?” It had been difficult to persuade one of the companies to let him work flexibly as part-time. Although this did not include the other short-term side jobs he had occasionally done too.

“Go fucking kill yourself!” Yu Yin finally understood how Yan Si had irritated so many people. Yu Yin’s current salary wasn’t even half of that!

“Why don’t you curse my old roommate too? That bastard’s salary wasn’t any lower than mine! Plus, he still went out to buy video games!” Yan Si instantly shot back.

“I don’t want to have these bogus discussions with you guys.” Yu Yin could bet that his own father had never earned money like that as a student…Though, to be more accurate, his father had not been allowed to work part-time while at the police academy.

Just as Yan Si was about to continue arguing about this bogus topic, he suddenly pushed Yu Yin away. The fruit knife that struck empty air was retracted. Zhao Jun Xi, who had been completely ignored just now, was panting heavily, a malicious glare pointed at Yan Si. Fingerprint markings were already starting to appear on Zhao Jun Xi’s reddening neck. Despite being the target, he did not notice it was difficult to breathe, likely because he was concentrating on killing them, or perhaps because he simply believed the shortness of breath was a result of his own rising emotions.

“Hurry up and open the door!” The officers locked outside had raised their voices now, and the knocking grew louder as well.

As both sides were in a deadlock, Zhao Jun Xi suddenly made a strange noise. He finally realised something was wrong as he grabbed his own neck, his face flushing as he collapsed onto his knees.

Yu Yin watched the woman tightly grip the other person’s neck in strong hatred. It seemed like she would never let go, even if he died like this.

“Lend me the amulet.” Yan Si also knelt down, not turning his head as he stretched his hand out towards Yu Yin while watching the fingerprint markings deepen.

“Huh? You’re going to give it to him?!” Yu Yin’s eyes widened. He really did not want to make a mistake; if Fang Yi Xun found out, she would definitely complain.

“Just lend it to me first.”

Since Yan Si was so insistent, Yu Yin could only reluctantly hand the amulet over. The instant Yan Si placed it around Zhao Jun Xi’s neck, the unrelenting woman let out an ear-splitting shriek, vanishing without a trace.

“Is that better?” Yan Si helped the other breathe while shooting a look at Yu Yin behind him

Recognising the chance, Yu Yin quickly opened the lock and the anti-theft chain on the front door. When he turned around, he caught sight of Zhao Jun Xi’s knife-gripping hand swiftly approach Yan Si. “Yan-dàgē!”

By the time Jiu Shen and the other officers charged in, all they saw was the blood-covered floor next to the door.

Yan Si had pressed Zhao Jun Xi against the floor and sat down on top of him. He tossed the fruit knife in the left hand and licked the cut wound from gripping the blade. “Senior, I have to confess, I actually wasn’t certain that our junior sister was murdered by you. I only knew that it definitely was not Senior Chang An. As for what’s underneath those bandages of yours, I honestly have no idea.” As he said this, he pulled the suppressed person’s bandage away, revealing dark scratches. “And logically speaking, month-old injuries should be pretty much healed by now, right? Why so anxious…Alright, I realise that the situation this time completely defies logic.”

Yu Yin let out sigh of relief from where he stood at the door. Only after the officers took over did he approach the injured person to press some tissues against the wound. “Yan-dàgē, your self-defense skills aren’t bad at all.” Although Yu Yin had known that Yan Si could fight, the suppression maneuver just now had truly been beautifully executed.

“…Boss always catches you to beat you. Similarly, I have to defend myself from being held down and beaten too.” Yan Si patted the boy’s shoulder and looked up to spot the prosecutor walking over. “Right?”

Li Zi Hong stepped through the entrance, slamming a fist directly down on the skull of the person grinning smugly.

***

“Zhao Jun Xi remained in contact with Lai Chang An after graduating.”

It was the next day. Yan Si sat in the break room of the police station, when Yu Xia, who was busy wrapping everything up, came in to toss the documents on the table. “It’s as you said before. The harmful disputes that occurred at Lai Chang An’s workplaces these past few years were all caused by Liao Xue Yi. The person than that fell down the stairs did not see if it was Lai Chang An that pushed him; all he felt was the force from behind, and by the time he came to, he saw Lai Chang An calling the ambulance for him. That was the only reason he thought it had been Lai Chang An’s doing.

“Because the sum of his debt and injury compensations were so great, he suddenly committed robbery a few years ago, randomly grabbing purses on the streets. Liao Xue Yi’s criminal record was for pretty much the same reason.”

Yu Xia had not slept at all the previous night. He chewed on some snacks as he flipped through the preliminary reports that he had stayed awake preparing as he said, “Later, Zhao Jun Xi lent them some money. However, the sum wasn’t exactly normal. I think Zhao Jun Xi was likely handing some task to them, since he gave them over a million yuan several times in succession without any receipts for loan. Apparently, Zhao Jun Xi hadn’t demanded repayment either. His neighbors also rarely saw him.”

Yan Si had gotten several stitches earlier. He pressed the bandage on his palm as he cocked his head thoughtfully. “What were the analytical results of the scratches on his hands?”

“Identical match to Liao Xue Yi’s fingernails. In addition, the marks on Liao Xue Yi’s face were matched to Zhao Jun Xi’s palms.” Yu Xia opened the packet of photos and knocked on the rush report. “We also found a chisel in his house. It’s currently being analysed. As long as we can confirm that the bloodstains belong to Liao Xue Yi, there’s no mistaking the conclusion.”

“Could you arrange for me to meet them both? It doesn’t need to be long.”

About half an hour later, Yan Si sat in a special, blocked-out room. Sitting on the opposite side of the table were the carried out Zhao Jun Xi and Lai Chang An. Yu Xia stood next to them, having asked the other officer to leave.

Yan Si propped his chin in his hands as he lazily studied his two seniors.

“We don’t have anything to say.” Lai Chang An looked away as he broke the silence first.

“Oh, I don’t have much. I just have one question that I felt would be annoying if I didn’t ask.” Yan Si played with the pen in his hand as he smiled at his seniors. “The one that implemented the diethyl ether that day on the rooftop was Senior Zhao, right?”

Lai Chang An started, and turned to look at the person next to him.

“I just always found it odd. If it had been Senior Chang An, it wouldn’t have made sense for him to let his junior sister attack everyone and call the ambulance as well. Superfluous, really. So I figured that the person who helped our junior sister that day was probably Senior Zhao. You wanted me to help you downstairs first so that you could pretend you were uninvolved, then you followed up afterwards…Or did Senior Zhang An have no idea what our junior sister wanted to do?” Yan Si paused, but without any intention of letting them interrupt, he went ahead and continued, “When I thought about it later, I realised that this might actually be possible. Senior Chang An probably just wanted to teach us a little lesson; if I had to guess, something like scribbling on us after we were all dead drunk, or calling the RA and professors to shout at us. But when he turned back, he instead saw the big mess that our junior sister had made. The fact that Senior Zhao had even brought in diethyl ether and a knife was unfathomable, so Senior Chang An rushed to call the ambulance after junior sister attacked. That was also why Senior Zhang arrived so quickly – you were obviously following behind me. Of course, this is all just my personal conjecture.”

Lai Chang An’s expression finally darkened when he heard Yan Si’s words, and he turned to ask Zhao Jun Xi,” What exactly were you doing with Xue Yi? Why were you so nonchalant about lending her money?”

“The money that junior sister Xue Yi received from Senior Zhao was probably for the incident back then. After all, the school only expelled you and junior sister, Senior Chang An. Senior Zhao was perfectly fine.” Yan Si smirked, and continued without caring about the lack of response, “Being kicked out wouldn’t have sounded very good. After all, Senior Zhao has a job, a wife, and a kid.”

Lai Chang An suddenly stood up. Yu Xia quickly strode over to push him back into his seat.

“He’s the one that wanted to take the responsibility himself. What else was I supposed to?” After a brief pause, Zhao Jun Xi, who had originally kept his head turned away, suddenly shifted his gaze back with a smile that did not reach his eyes pointed straight at Yan Si. “He and Liao Xue Yi wanted to play the role of tragic heroes, wanted the whole world to have wronged them. What could I do about that? When the professors questioned me, I just said I didn’t know anything, since I was also drunk, and all I saw by the time I went back up was Liao Xue Yi attacking people with a knife…She even declared herself that she was upholding her justice, so it naturally had nothing to do with me. Then Lai Chang An felt that everything had happened because of him, so he wanted to take responsibility. In that case, why not let the two of them bear that burden? There was no reason for me to be kicked out from school as well.”

“That means the party was actually planned by you and Senior Chang An together then. I always thought it was odd how the other seniors were so willing to go despite being at odds with Senior Chang An. I’m guessing you were the one who invited half of them, while junior sister invited the rest, saying that everyone was going,” Yan Si casually stated as he glanced at Lai Chang An, who was fiercely glaring at Zhao Jun Xi.

Zhao Jun Xi leaned back and kicked his feet up. “That’s right. Lai Chang An complained to me that you were all crowding him out, to the point where even the professors were all affected by you insignificant people. Of course, I replied by suggesting you guys get taught a little lesson. Liao Xue Yi got heated in the head; privately believing that Lai Chang An’s disciplinary methods were nothing and believing that everyone else should just completely disappear instead. The knife was something she prepared herself, it had no relation to me. The plan was to say that you had all gang raped her after getting drunk, and the severe emotional trauma forced her to grab the fruit knife being used at the barbeque party to attack you all. What do you think?”

“Sounds pretty good, actually. Plus, since everyone was dead drunk, they didn’t have the ability to resist. A single girl was enough. But you didn’t expect for me to have not only stayed sober, but to also run back up, which is why you decided to help out.” Yan Si crossed his arms. “You also didn’t think Senior Chang An would recklessly call the ambulance, which was how you two’s plans were broken. That’s also why you ended up tossing the mess onto those two to clean up themselves.”

“Yep. Actually, now that I think back, I was truly too naïve back then. I thought that those plans would be covert enough. Yet in reality, if they really had been killed, the police probably would’ve figured everything out from the crime scene.” Zhao Jun Xi slightly narrowed his eyes at Yu Xia, who had let his grip [on Lai Chang An] go. “I hadn’t imagined that Liao Xue Yi would keep bugging me afterwards because of that incident. She would always visit for no reason, asking for money or forcing me to help Lai Chang An find some ridiculous job. It got so annoying that I decided to go over to their place one day and lay all my cards on the table. Then I ended up fighting with Liao Xue Yi. She wanted to run away and beg for help, but Lai Chang An just sat there, watching on the sidelines, hah.”

Yan Si shot a glance at Lai Chang An as he rubbed the bandages on his arms. “The death occurred on the third floor, right?” He had pondered over this for a long time, believing there had to be a reason for her to have been hanging upside down. Perhaps that junior sister had just wanted to return home.

“Yeah, that woman screamed and ran upstairs, thinking someone would help him. It just so happened that the resident on the third floor hadn’t locked his door. I caught her there and killed her on the spot. Lai Chang An also stood next to me, watching it all.” Zhao Jun Xi’s expression did not change from its usual smile as he described, “All I felt was anger whenever I saw her. She was clearly psychotic. I grabbed a chisel from somewhere random and dug out her face. Aren’t those damned eyes of her attractive? They always showed her arrogance, so I decided she could continue looking that way even after dying!”

Compared to Zhao Jun Xi, who was growing more and more emotional, Lai Chang An did not express any anger. He simply remained in his seat.

“Senior Chang An, can you answer the question I asked you before?” Yan Si turned his gaze and stated, “You know who murdered the beverage supplier, don’t you? You were on the third floor at the time, and you knew him.” That was why he had been pulled into the second floor that day.

Lai Chang An met Yan Si’s eyes and slowly nodded. “After we had all cooled down, we turned around and discovered that the university student living on the third floor had at some point returned. He was just standing at the doorway watching us kill someone. Then he said…that he could pretend he hadn’t seen anything, since we were all the same. Then he opened his room to show us…a dead girl inside…”

“Hold on!” Yu Xia suddenly interrupted and grabbed Lai Chang An. “Be more specific. What dead girl?”

“A-a girl around fifteen or sixteen years old. Her appearance was already unrecognizable, and she didn’t have any fingers.” Lai Chang An’s eyes widened in fright from Yu Xia’s actions.

“Boss, did you see anything when you searched the place yesterday?” After capturing Zhao Jun Xi yesterday, he had voiced his conjecture to everyone else, including the fact that Lai Chang An had been hiding on the third floor. Thus, Li Zi Hong and Yu Xia had searched the third floor [of that complex] on their way.

“Nothing at all. That person called Su Zhang had already disappeared. There was no money in the house, so he probably ran away already.” Yu Xia dropped his hold with a cold snort. “We only found a bag of bloody clothes.” As if the resident had long anticipated they would go there, the house had been cleaned exceptionally well, so they had been unable to find any useful clues. Yu Xia guessed that perhaps the culprit did not actually live there, and the place had just been a false lodging.

Yan Si nodded before looking back at the freed Lai Chang An. “Then you guys reached a mutual understanding. After Su Zhang killed the beverage supplier that day, he fled straight through Senior Chang An’s home on the second floor, leaving behind the footprints as he returned to the third floor.”

Lai Chang An nodded, unexpectedly cooperative. “I helped him clean the blood on the window frame…He seemed to have wrapped plastic bags around his feet after stepping on some blood at the scene. As soon as he entered, he tossed the bags at my place for me to clean up…I felt something was amiss when he invited you up there that day…That’s basically everything…”

“Alright, I understand.” Yan Si stood and stretched a bit. Then, he walked up to Zhao Jun Xi to remove the amulet on his b