Yin Xi still had to give a formal statement and was taken downstairs by the female officer. Ling Lie also met up with Ji Chenjiao to exchange the clues they had gathered.

Ji Chenjiao said, “Although the wedding lasted until four in the morning, no one saw Lu Dongyue after two-thirty. At that time, the vast majority of guests hadn’t left; there were even more people than when we went back to our room yesterday.”

Ling Lie: “The people who finished the ‘Ten Thousand Ghosts Parade the Island’ all came?”

Ji Chenjiao nodded. “This is too difficult to verify. Everyone on the island is a potential suspect. At a little after one, Lu Dongyue told someone from Golden Oak that he wasn’t feeling well and wanted to rest, but the wedding ceremony wasn’t over yet. His supervisor told him to hold on a little longer. By two-thirty, the scenes requiring both the bride and groom to appear were over, and only then did Golden Oak let him go.”

Ling Lie: “He was alone?”

Ji Chenjiao: “That’s what the people I asked said. When he left the lobby, he even took a box of cake. The people from Golden Oak thought he must have gone back to his room, but I just went over with the crime scene investigator, and there were no signs of the room being occupied. The wedding had a lot of firecrackers and burned paper money, so Lu Dongyue’s shoes must have had some of this ash on them, but there was none on the room’s carpet. This means that after he left the wedding venue, he did not return to his room.”

“So he might have been killed after two-thirty? Lu Dongyue didn’t go back to his room. It’s very likely he had a prior arrangement with the killer and went to a place with no surveillance and no people on his own. After the killer killed him, they waited until the guests left after four o’clock before burying his head under the paper house?” Ling Lie thought of the chaotic scene of the wedding and frowned, a rare sight. “The killer completely hid themselves among the ‘demons and monsters’.”

Ji Chenjiao was also most worried about this point. “Let’s see if we can find more clues after finding the body. If Lu Dongyue left on his own, that at least means the killer knew Lu Dongyue. That paper house…”

Ling Lie: “It’s very similar to the Tan Fabin case, and there’s also Tan Fabin’s paper sculpture on the island. Do you think this is a coincidence or a connection?”

This was not a question that could be answered immediately. Ji Chenjiao said, “I can’t judge right now.”

Huang Yi was currently in a bit of a mess. There were still no leads in the Cao Xinxin case. Cao’s mother, Xu Ling, had been taken to the city bureau yesterday to go through the process of identifying the body and signing the papers. She had fainted from excessive grief after only a few words and had been sent to the hospital. She was still unable to undergo normal questioning.

Meanwhile, Xue Bin firmly denied killing Cao Xinxin and had his friend Wang Yingzhuo as an alibi. The technical investigation team had already checked his online records and bank statements and found no unusual activity. If he had hired a killer, it could only have been a face-to-face transaction. But since returning to the country, he had spent most of his time with Zeng Shu and Wang Yingzhuo, investigating the matter of Lu Feixiang being wrongly accused. There were no signs of him hiring a killer.

Last night, Huang Yi had just drawn up a list for checking Cao Xinxin’s social relationships, planning to start with his department and the community hospital where he worked. But today, a horrifying murder case had occurred on Fengchao Island.

More public security police and criminal police came to Fengchao Island. In the afternoon, even the special police came. The boats leaving the island were all sealed off at the pier, and all activities were halted. Huang Yi said to Ling Lie with embarrassment, “I’m so sorry. I wanted you guys to have a good time, but something like this happened. Ai!”

Ling Lie didn’t mind. Whether it was vacationing on the island or investigating a case, it was an experience for him. He took the opportunity to ask about the progress of the Cao Xinxin case.

Huang Yi’s face looked very bad. Ling Lie told Huang Yi what he had found out when he went to East Street yesterday. After hearing it, Huang Yi’s first reaction was: “Cao Xinxin was very cautious outside, but on the island, he really drew a lot of hatred.”

Ling Lie raised an eyebrow. “This is considered drawing hatred?”

Huang Yi: “I’m also from a small place. Our village was poor, and there were very few ways out. I had good grades and got into the police academy. I originally thought I was bringing honor to my ancestors. It was only when I went back during the holidays that I found out many people in the village were speaking ill of me and even bullying my parents. Teacher Ling, you haven’t experienced this. Being hated by your fellow villagers is a terrible thing.”

Ling Lie asked, “And now? Are your parents still in the village?”

Huang Yi said angrily, “How could they be? The moment I got on my feet, I brought them to the city. I’m capable, I can’t let my parents suffer that kind of humiliation!”

Ling Lie pondered, “That’s right.”

Huang Yi was stunned. “What’s right?”

“Although Cao Xinxin couldn’t compare to his classmates, his job at the community hospital was relatively stable. After he graduates, he should be able to get a better job. He’s considered to have established himself in Fengshi, right?” Ling Lie said. “His father is already dead, and his only family is Xu Ling, who does odd jobs on the island and lives a hard life. Why didn’t he bring Xu Ling to the city? You said your upbringings are somewhat similar. Did he never think of bringing Xu Ling over?”

Huang Yi thought for a moment. “It’s hard to say. Xu Ling can’t be questioned right now. Maybe Cao Xinxin mentioned it, but Xu Ling didn’t agree?”

“What if that’s not the case? What was Cao Xinxin’s psychology?”

“Did Cao Xinxin have difficulties? Could Xu Ling not leave Fengchao Island?”

At this moment, Ji Chenjiao walked over. Ling Lie quickly said, “Captain Ji, I’m discussing the Cao Xinxin case with Captain Huang.”

Ji Chenjiao was a little baffled. Was this something that needed to be reported?

Ling Lie leaned into his ear. “It was Huang Yi who asked me. I didn’t take the initiative to meddle in their case.”

Ji Chenjiao: “…”

Huang Yi’s old face turned red. He and his wife had never whispered so intimately in public.

Ling Lie was still whispering to Ji Chenjiao. “Applying to you, I’m about to officially meddle now.”

Ji Chenjiao’s ear, tickled by the breath, felt hot. He looked back and saw Huang Yi giving them a thumbs up—you guys are this, I’ll learn from you and my wife next time.

Ji Chenjiao was speechless again.

After submitting his application, Ling Lie’s expression became serious. “Captain Huang, Captain Ji and I have discussed the Cao Xinxin case, and we think it’s highly likely he was silenced.”

Huang Yi’s eyes widened. “How did it get to being silenced?”

“Because the timing of his murder is very suspicious, right after he was noticed by the police because of Lu Feixiang’s case. If the police launched an investigation into him, they might have found something that certain people didn’t want exposed,” Ling Lie said. “This can be divided into two paths. One is that Cao Xinxin unknowingly had leverage over certain people. The other is that he was involved in certain things.”

“If it’s the latter, it can explain why his life in Fengshi was stable, but Xu Ling’s life on the island was relatively hard, yet he didn’t bring Xu Ling to his side. Because he couldn’t.”

“In addition, the person who committed the crime wanted to frame Xue Bin, which might reflect his hatred for Xue Bin. Because the reason Cao Xinxin was noticed by the police was because Xue Bin and Zeng Shu were investigating him. By getting rid of Cao Xinxin, if the police were a bit incompetent, they could also send Xue Bin to jail. Although Xue Bin and Zeng Shu had only investigated Cao Xinxin’s theft during his university years, if they continued to investigate, they might have also uncovered Cao Xinxin’s secret.”

Huang Yi said excitedly, “Then in your opinion, what kind of problem could Cao Xinxin be involved in?”

Ling Lie, however, shook his head honestly. “That I don’t know. But investigating along this line of thought might lead to a breakthrough.”

Huang Yi was both grateful and a little embarrassed. “Well, if you’re not in a hurry to leave, could you stay and help me think about this case?”

Ling Lie glanced at Ji Chenjiao. Ji Chenjiao said, “We should.”

Huang Yi let out a sigh of relief. “Where are you staying? I’ll go renew your room fee right now!”

At first, neither Ji Chenjiao nor Ling Lie reacted. After a while, Ling Lie finally let out an “ah.” Ji Chenjiao: “What’s wrong now?”

Ling Lie: “Will Huang Yi find out we’re staying in a deluxe king-size bed room?”

Ji Chenjiao: “…”

Nonghai Hotel, as the crime scene, had currently stopped check-ins and had become the police’s temporary office. Many rooms were being used to temporarily restrict the movement of relevant personnel. It was only when Huang Yi went to the front desk that he was told that police personnel did not need to renew their fees. He swore he had not deliberately inquired about what room Ji Chenjiao and Ling Lie were staying in; it was the front desk staff who had said “deluxe king-size bed room.”

Huang Yi turned around, a large “Well, I’ll be damned!” floating in his mind.

Later that evening, all of Golden Oak’s employees were brought under control. The planning details and the method of “inviting” guests they confessed were consistent with what Ling Lie had learned from Yin Xi. This wedding had no real guests from the beginning to the end; it was a fake farce.

But when checking the statement list, Ji Chenjiao found that the eloquent Weng Keqiu from the deck was not there. It seemed that no one had seen him since the morning.

Ling Lie made a video call to Shen Wei. Shen Wei was currently being held at the detention center. It took Ling Lie some effort to make this call.

Shen Wei: “Is there something?”

Ling Lie: “Did you know that your elder brother is regarded as the patriarch of the funeral business on Fengchao Island?”

Shen Wei was clearly stunned by this question. He stared at Ling Lie on the screen and didn’t react for a long time.

Ling Lie described in detail the scene he had seen at the “Ten Thousand Ghosts Parade” and added, “The people on the island seem to respect Tan Fabin’s craftsmanship and status, but they don’t seem to respect him as a person.” Otherwise, they wouldn’t have made such an ugly and strange dead man’s face to parade through the streets.

“You’ve been investigating for seventeen years, you should know about this, right?”

Shen Wei gradually calmed down from his shock but still didn’t speak. He lowered his head, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. After a while, he finally spoke. “I didn’t know. I thought no one remembered him anymore. I’ve never attended the events on the island either. Knowing that he hasn’t been forgotten, I can rest assured.”

The call didn’t last long. Ling Lie looked at the screen that had already gone dark and suddenly muttered to himself, “You knew. Why did you lie?”

Ji Chenjiao noticed that whenever Ling Lie had a problem he couldn’t figure out, he loved to spin in his chair. Could spinning his head until he was dizzy really produce a flash of inspiration? He had heard from the detachment members that Ling Lie had requested a room to make a call to the detention center. He went to look, and the call had already ended. Ling Lie was curled up in a chair, spinning like a possessed top.

Ji Chenjiao: “…”

He walked over and held the back of the chair. The sound of the spinning chair stopped, and he could hear Ling Lie muttering.

Ji Chenjiao: “Learned a new spell? Let me learn it too?”

Ling Lie looked up at Ji Chenjiao, his eyes dizzy, looking like a fool—in Ji Chenjiao’s words.

After a while, Ling Lie’s eyes focused. “You’re being passive-aggressive with me again.”

Ji Chenjiao couldn’t resist and ruffled Ling Lie’s hair. “Haven’t you been passive-aggressive with me enough? What are you muttering about?”

Ling Lie jumped off the spinning chair, unable to find his shoes, and started looking everywhere. “Hey, where are my shoes?”

This was a small management office in the hotel, only a few square meters. Ji Chenjiao looked and thought, Ling Lie really was a talent. Sitting at the computer desk, one shoe had flown to the window, the other to the bathroom door.

He kicked the shoes back to Ling Lie and teased, “You like spinning so much, should I install a carousel for you later?”

He was just teasing Ling Lie, but Ling Lie was greatly surprised. “Really? What kind of overbearing CEO idea is this?”

Ji Chenjiao: “…” Fake.

Ling Lie put on his shoes. Ji Chenjiao asked, “Did you have something to discuss with the detention center?”

“Didn’t we see Tan Fabin’s paper sculpture? Tan Fabin is regarded as the patriarch of the funeral business here. People respect him, but not completely. Do you think Shen Wei knew?”

Ji Chenjiao thought for a moment. “He should know. For seventeen years, he has revolved around his brother. Any little movement would be a clue, and he would definitely investigate.”

Ling Lie nodded. “I think so too. Even if he has never been to Fengchao Island, the ‘Ten Thousand Ghosts Parade the Island’ event is so grand. He’s in Fengshi, so it would be easy for him to see pictures of Tan Fabin taken by others. If I were him, I would definitely go to the island to find out—who is still remembering my brother, and making my brother look so ‘underworld-like’? But he hasn’t been to Fengchao Island at all these years.”

“I showed him the photo. He only glanced at it once and then didn’t look again. Maybe he also felt uncomfortable, but he wasn’t angry. His emotions were very stable. This feeling is like, he has seen it long ago, has been angry, and doesn’t care anymore. I asked him again what he felt about Tan Fabin being regarded as a patriarch. He said he was very happy that someone still remembered Tan Fabin.”

Ji Chenjiao frowned. “He’s being perfunctory. Those are not his true feelings. He wants to distance himself from the affairs of Fengchao Island.”

Ling Lie had just put on his shoes and wanted to curl up in the spinning chair again, but was pulled off by Ji Chenjiao.

Ji Chenjiao said with a blank face, “Can’t you think if you don’t spin?”

Of course, Ling Lie could. It was just that certain small animals liked to find some fun for themselves. “What’s his motive? He has already admitted to inducing Lu Feixiang to commit a crime and has also achieved his goal of exposing the crimes of Fu Shunan and Chen Xiangli. Why must he hide the fact that he knew Tan Fabin was being worshipped as a patriarch by the people on the island?”

Ji Chenjiao walked to the window. This room faced the main road of West Street. It was already evening. A day ago, this street was crowded with joyful tourists, waiting for the madness after nightfall.

Although there were still tourists on the street now, they were not in costume. There were more public security officers. Some props were randomly thrown on the ground, with torn wreaths and soul banners everywhere. It was a bit uncomfortable to look at for too long.

Ji Chenjiao said, “Maybe he’s afraid of this island and consciously avoids it.”

Ling Lie: “What’s there to be afraid of on this island? He grew up in a funeral workshop. Ghosts and deities can’t scare him at all. Unless…”

“Hmm?”

“Unless there’s a secret on this island that we don’t know about.”

Ji Chenjiao suddenly thought of the missing Weng Keqiu, that strange young man in a white shirt who had told some other people on the deck that there was a secret on the island.

Ling Lie: “Weng Keqiu? That person is a bit interesting. He pretended to be Lu Dongyue’s distant relative, but he’s different from the others who blended into the wedding. Others were interested in the ‘underworld’ wedding itself, but he seemed to be interested in Lu Dongyue.”

Ji Chenjiao: “I’ll go check on this person again.”

The detachment had already completed the registration of half the people on the island, but Weng Keqiu was not among them. Either he was in the other half, or he was deliberately avoiding the screening. Ji Chenjiao thought it was the latter, because according to Weng Keqiu’s personality, he should have come to Nonghai Hotel to inquire after learning of the incident, and such people were the first to be questioned.

Huang Yi assigned a team of officers to Ji Chenjiao to go door-to-door at the hotels to ask if there was a guest named Weng Keqiu. Ji Chenjiao was a little worried that Weng Keqiu was using a fake name. In that case, they would have to rely on surveillance to identify him, which would take twice as much time.

But surprisingly, he hadn’t used a fake name. The place he was staying at was just about a hundred meters from Nonghai, a small guesthouse courtyard.

The guesthouse’s check-in system had Weng Keqiu’s identity information registered: twenty-six years old, from Huangming City.

Huangming City was a small city in the southeast. Ji Chenjiao opened the map and found that Huangming City and Yin Xi’s hometown, Linyun City, were next to each other, with high economic interaction.

Lu Dongyue and Yin Xi had a fake marriage. Now Lu Dongyue was dead, the strangely behaved Weng Keqiu was missing, and Yin Xi and Weng Keqiu were basically from the same place. Could there be some connection between Yin and Weng?

At this moment, Huang Yi called. “Captain Ji, do you have time to meet? We’ve found some background information on Lu Dongyue.”

Late at night, the island’s only police station was crowded with public security officers, special police, and criminal police from the city. Some of the criminal police were holding a meeting in a conference room. A photo of Lu Dongyue before his death was displayed on the projector.

“Lu Dongyue came to Fengshi two years ago and learned a very authentic Fengshi accent. He told everyone he was from a rural area around Fengshi, with a middle school education, and had come to the city to work and make a living. But we found that his middle school diploma is fake, and he is not from around here. His hometown is in Huangming City in the southeast.”

Hearing this, Ji Chenjiao’s pupils deepened.

“Our people haven’t arrived there yet, but we asked our brother unit in Huangming City to check. Lu Dongyue attended the best university in Huangming City, Huangming University of Engineering. His family is very ordinary. His parents were both workers. His mother has passed away, and his father is still alive. But for some reason, he doesn’t seem to have returned home these years. We checked his communication and bank records, and he has had no contact with his father.”

Huang Yi frowned. “Since Lu Dongyue has a university degree and studied engineering, why did he leave his hometown and come to Fengshi to play the fool? I’ve heard of forging a university diploma, but I’ve never heard of forging a middle school diploma.”

Ling Lie: “Leaving one’s hometown? People who have committed a crime love to leave their hometown.”

The conference room fell silent. Huang Yi said, “Could it be that this Lu Dongyue has a case against him in Huangming City? And the Huangming City police haven’t found out?”

Ji Chenjiao: “It could also be that he’s hiding from an enemy. I have a point to raise—Weng Keqiu, whom I’ve been looking for, is from Huangming City, just like Lu Dongyue. Also, Yin Xi is from the city right next to them. Under the twin-city economic model, they can be considered to be from the same city.”

Huang Yi’s face became even more grim. He wished he could go to Huangming City himself immediately. After much thought, he had his deputy take a few people to set off overnight to Huangming City to find out the backgrounds of Weng and Lu.

Ling Lie said, “I want to talk to the people from Golden Oak.”

Huang Yi looked at the time, somewhat troubled. “How about you read the transcript?”

After the detachment arrived on Fengchao Island, the first people they controlled were from Golden Oak. They had all given their statements. It was too late now. It wasn’t that he couldn’t let Ling Lie see them, but Golden Oak was a marketing company. When it came to hype and playing word games, the police were no match for them. If they later made an issue of “the city bureau’s late-night interrogation, not letting witnesses rest,” the police would face another public opinion crisis.

Ling Lie readily agreed. “Tomorrow morning is fine too.”

After the meeting, the team members dispersed. Huang Yi stayed behind to have a video call with his partner who was staying in Fengshi.

The two cases of Cao Xinxin and Lu Dongyue had him truly stretched thin. He had been busy all day and only now had time to ask about the Cao Xinxin case. He had gotten a line of thought from Ling Lie during the day, to investigate the possibility of Cao Xinxin’s illegal and criminal activities. He had assigned it to his partner. In half a day, they hadn’t found any important clues, but his partner said he had gone to see Xu Ling at night.

Ji Chenjiao and Ling Lie had already reached the door. Ling Lie was halfway through a yawn when he suddenly pulled Ji Chenjiao, and the two returned to Huang Yi’s side.

Huang Yi quickly asked, “What did she say?”

His partner had dark circles under his eyes and was also extremely tired. “This mother is very different from what I imagined.”

Ling Lie interjected, “She refused to say anything?”

His partner was stunned for a moment. “Teacher Ling and Captain Ji are here too. It’s like this, when we sent Xu Ling to the hospital, we thought she had fainted from excessive grief. After all, she and Cao Xinxin depended on each other. Now that her only relative is gone, it’s understandable to be extremely sad. The doctor also advised us so, so when she woke up later, we didn’t go to question her right away. Today, I felt we couldn’t delay any longer and had to ask what needed to be asked. But when I saw her, I felt something was wrong.”

His partner looked confused, trying to articulate his feelings. “Brother Yi knows, I’ve come into contact with many victims’ families. Their most common reaction is extreme sadness and extreme agitation. After a period of time, calmness takes over, and they will ask us to be sure to catch the killer. But Xu Ling is not like that. I see she’s much calmer now, but when I asked her about Cao Xinxin, especially his work after graduating from university, she refused to say anything. This is too strange. We need as many clues as possible to solve the case. It’s like she doesn’t want us to solve the case.”

Ling Lie nudged Huang Yi with his elbow. “Does this mean that Xu Ling also knows her son is not right? Or is she herself not right, so Cao Xinxin is dead, and she can’t let the police find the truth?”

Huang Yi suddenly got goosebumps, feeling that the entire Fengchao Island was in a black fog. The black fog spread to Fengshi, enveloping Cao Xinxin, Xue Bin, Lu Feixiang, Shen Wei, and the others.

These cases were intertwined and far more complex than any murder case that had occurred in Fengshi in the past.

Ji Chenjiao pulled Ling Lie behind him. Ling Lie stumbled, calling out “oh oh oh.” Ji Chenjiao, after all, was the captain of a major city’s serious crime squad and had rich experience in dealing with these giant web-like cases. He said to Huang Yi, “Captain Huang, you can’t panic. When you first get a case, the clues are messy. Investigate them one by one, eliminate what needs to be eliminated, and push forward what needs to be pushed forward. The truth will naturally emerge.”

Huang Yi slapped himself hard on the face, startling Ling Lie, who said in a low voice, “You can hit anything but your own face.”

“Captain Ji, I’m going back to Fengshi tomorrow. I’ll leave the island to you for the time being,” Huang Yi said.

Ji Chenjiao nodded. “Keep in touch.”

It had been a tough day. It was past midnight when Ji Chenjiao and Ling Lie returned to the hotel. There were still people out on the streets for the “little ghosts parade,” with the reason that since the police wouldn’t let them go back, they couldn’t be denied their fun. In the spirit of police-citizen harmony, the public security officers did not disperse them, but just worked hard to maintain order.

Ling Lie floated out of the bathroom like a ghost, looking like he was about to hang onto Ji Chenjiao. Ji Chenjiao immediately dodged, but his face was still slapped by Ling Lie’s two palms.

Ji Chenjiao angrily pushed him away. “Did you take the wrong medicine in the shower?”

Ling Lie fell on the quilt in a star shape and held up his hands. “Isn’t this a ritual for you captains?”

Ji Chenjiao: “What ritual? Getting your face touched by a ghost?”

Ling Lie: “It seems you’re not as motivated as Huang Yi.”

“???”

“The case has been investigated for a whole day with no progress, and he even slapped himself. I’m helping you slap yourself too.”

Ji Chenjiao thought about it. That wasn’t Huang Yi slapping himself; it was clearly because he was too sleepy and was trying to wake himself up! This one surnamed Ling was just being mischievous!

Fearing a counterattack, Ling Lie rolled into the quilt and wrapped himself up. Ji Chenjiao found it amusing. So he knew he was in the wrong. Was he really going to fight with Ling Lie?

The mission for tomorrow was heavy. Ji Chenjiao lay down to sleep. It was fine that the quilt was taken away; he could do without it in this weather. But Ling Lie rolled over and propped up his face. “Xiao Ji, let’s chat.”