Ji Chenjiao instructed Xi Wan to come immediately to collect samples. The room was filled with traces of Gan Pengfei’s life. If his DNA matched the one found under Tang Xiaofei’s fingernails, then the person who killed Tang Xiaofei was very likely him.

Xi Wan, an experienced forensic examiner, upon seeing the footprints, made a preliminary judgment—99% certain they were the footprints on the bridge. As for the DNA comparison, that would take more time.

Elsewhere, Li Binyin, who also lived on Xiyang Road, was nowhere to be found. His wife had just picked up their son from school and said Li Binyin had gone on a business trip with his boss and wouldn’t return until next week.

Li Binyin was a freight driver, out on the road twenty days a month. The last time the police found him for questioning was because he happened to be home resting.

Li Binyin answered a call; Liang Wenxian asked him to start a video call. He complied and had his boss and colleagues come in front of the camera to prove that he was indeed on a business trip.

“What happened?” Li Binyin asked.

Liang Wenxian said, “You know Tang Xiaofei, right? He’s dead too.”

Li Binyin seemed not to understand, then the video cut out. His voice began to tremble, “How… how could this be?”

Questioning over the phone was inconvenient. Li Binyin’s reaction clearly showed he was thinking of something. Once it was confirmed he was safe for the moment, Liang Wenxian told him to go to the local police station immediately, then report the situation to Ji Chenjiao. Using the authority of the Xirong City Homicide Team, they requested the local unit to properly arrange protection for Li Binyin.

The three others who had already left Xiyang Road were Zhu Ming, who died of cancer five years ago, and Kuang Feng and Cao Kexiong, both still missing.

The homicide team prepared to hold a meeting to sort out the case. Ji Chenjiao brought Ling Lie back as well. Ling Lie had many suspicious points and was not completely ruled out as a suspect, but was beyond the detention limit. He strongly wanted to clear his name. More importantly, Ji Chenjiao thought he might be useful, so he applied to Xie Qing for permission to let him participate in the investigation as a related party, with limited involvement.

“I’m not against the revenge theory,” An Xun displayed close-up photos of the victims’ necks on the projector screen, “but there are two killers. One strong enough to instantly snap Huang… Liu Yixiang’s neck is unlikely to need to repeatedly use a rope to strangle Tang Xiaofei.”

Xi Wan was still waiting for DNA comparison and was absent. Ji Chenjiao spoke for her: “Indeed, the killer of Tang Xiaofei can basically be confirmed as Gan Pengfei, but Huang Xuntong died at the hands of this group of workers. He was a participant, with no reason for revenge.”

Liang Wenxian said, “Could it be that the construction team wasn’t united? Maybe Gan Pengfei and Huang Xuntong were friends?”

After saying this, he shook his head. “This hypothesis is a bit far-fetched. Even if Huang Xuntong had friends in the team, he wouldn’t have become brothers with Liu Yixiang.”

At that moment, Xi Wan hurried in with the DNA and footprint comparison results. Both data matched the deduction. All the clues in the Tang Xiaofei case pointed to Gan Pengfei.

“But why did he do it?” Liang Wenxian asked. “Last time we questioned him, his reaction was similar to other residents. Why did he suddenly kill Tang Xiaofei?”

Ji Chenjiao said, “It was sudden. I went to his house today. He was standing on the bed frame, rummaging through some ropes. He took one piece, roughly threw back another without tidying up. This shows he was panicked and acted on impulse. He had no choice but to kill Tang Xiaofei.”

“He reacted similarly to other residents because at that time, he hadn’t yet understood what had actually happened.”

Xi Wan said, “Was he helping that avenger? What was his motive?”

The meeting room door wasn’t closed. Ling Lie knocked and everyone looked at him.

He said innocently, “Captain Ji, did you forget something?”

Ji Chenjiao: “?”

Ling Lie: “It’s past mealtime. Does the homicide team control what I eat?”

Everyone: “…”

“Oh right, I want to clarify, I’m not eavesdropping, but ears can’t be closed. I overheard a few sentences.” Ling Lie added, “Gan Pengfei’s motive is easy to understand…”

Ji Chenjiao immediately said, “Come in and speak.”

Ling Lie closed the door and leaned against it. “You all stand on the police’s perspective, thinking Liu Yixiang’s death is someone’s revenge for Huang Xuntong. But they don’t think that way.”

Shen Qi was confused, “Why not?”

“Because they know, no one can really be avenging Huang Xuntong. Who knows what happened back then? Huang Xuntong’s only friend was Liu Yixiang, but Liu Yixiang burned his body by his own hands. Then who else would want revenge?”

Ling Lie squinted, “There was simply no avenger. They share the biggest secret together. Once Liu Yixiang died, they only think someone wants to hide the secret forever.”

“How to hide it? Kill all who know!”

Lunch boxes were delivered, so the meeting was temporarily suspended. Ling Lie’s idea was extreme but not without reason. The homicide team needed time to digest it.

Ling Lie, who was in charge of flirting but not cleaning up, sat quietly in the corner, opening his lunch box. Just as he was about to start eating, he noticed everyone in the meeting room was watching him. Silence spoke volumes.

—How can you eat right now?

—Keep analyzing, I’m not done listening!

—Are you really just a drummer? I don’t believe it.

Ling Lie: “…”

Ji Chenjiao came over to Ling Lie’s table, holding an untouched lunch box in one hand, and knocked on the table edge with the other. “Come with me.”

Ling Lie then picked up his lunch box with both hands and followed Ji Chenjiao out of the meeting room.

At the end of the floor was a platform where detectives sometimes smoked. Someone thoughtfully added a table and seven or eight chairs. Ji Chenjiao put down the lunch box. “Eat.”

Night had already fallen, and outside the platform, lights gathered into a vast sea of light. Ling Lie was very pleased with today’s food. He first picked up a green vegetable and slurped it into his mouth like noodles, then took a bite of rice, followed by more vegetables.

Ji Chenjiao propped his cheek with his hand, watching Ling Lie eat.

Before, he hadn’t realized this person liked vegetables so much; he had thought Ling Lie only liked meat.

Ling Lie looked up, “Captain Ji, aren’t you eating?”

Ji Chenjiao then opened the lid of the boxed meal. “Thinking about the case.”

Ling Lie nodded and continued eating.

“How did you come up with the idea of silencing witnesses?” After a few bites, Ji Chenjiao suddenly asked.

Ling Lie: “Isn’t that pretty normal? A group of people did something bad together; secrets can’t be kept forever. To stay safe forever, you have to get rid of anyone who might reveal the secret.”

Ji Chenjiao was silent for a moment. “You remind me of someone.”

Ling Lie: “Hmm?”

“A friend who taught me a lot,” Ji Chenjiao chose his words carefully and corrected himself, “Sort of like a half-mentor. His ideas were always quite extreme, deviating from conventional thinking. At first listen, they seemed either fanciful or too cruel, but sometimes, his thoughts were the only correct solution.”

Ling Lie finished all the greens on his plate. “So you think I’m extreme?”

Ji Chenjiao raised an eyebrow. “Haven’t you noticed?”

“But isn’t the killer’s thinking way weirder than mine? If we don’t think like them, how can we solve the case?” Ling Lie said, “Like the case that happened in my place — the killer murdered Liu Yixiang, but why dress him in my clothes? Just to frame me? I still haven’t figured it out.”

Ji Chenjiao: “True. You and Ji Ke are the strangest participants in this whole series of cases.”

Ling Lie began eating the remaining braised pork and fish-flavored shredded pork. “I’m not strange, I’m just an ordinary person.”

Ji Chenjiao didn’t like tonghao greens and hadn’t touched any. Seeing Ling Lie liked greens, he asked, “Want some? I didn’t eat them.”

Ling Lie: “I’d be happier if you gave me the braised pork.”

Ji Chenjiao found the pork too greasy; he could give it, but when his chopsticks touched it, he said, “Aren’t you the one who likes greens? You ate them all as soon as you came.”

Ling Lie: “That’s because I want to save the tasty stuff for last.”

Ji Chenjiao: “…” Alright then.

The meeting continued. Although Ling Lie’s current official status was “related party,” he wasn’t allowed to attend the briefing.

“Bro, I think what that guy said makes sense,” Shen Qi said. Although annoyed by Ling Lie, once they calmed down, since the revenge angle didn’t work, silencing witnesses became the only explanation.

“Our people have already gone to pick up Li Binyin; he’ll be back tomorrow. We’ll interrogate him and find out what really happened fifteen years ago,” Liang Wenxian said. “Kong Feng and Cao Kexiong haven’t been found yet. Xiao Shen, you’ll have to work hard again tonight.”

Shen Qi patted his chest. “No problem.”

Liang Wenxian turned to Ji Chenjiao: “Captain Ji, about Gan Pengfei…”

Ji Chenjiao: “Prepare for both possibilities. Li Binyin isn’t in Xiayang; Kong Feng and Cao Kexiong haven’t been back to Xiayang for a long time. Gan Pengfei is unlikely to kill them immediately. He’s probably hiding. His life pattern centers in the North City; hiding elsewhere would be inconvenient. Notify the police stations in North City to increase search efforts. But there’s also the possibility that he’s already dead.”

The meeting room fell silent for a moment. Liang Wenxian said, “Killed by the same person who murdered Liu Yixiang?”

“Yes. The killer of Liu Yixiang planned carefully and acted skillfully. Gan Pengfei acted hastily and reluctantly,” Ji Chenjiao said. At this moment, two figures appeared in his mind: one blurry and faceless — Yan Xi; the other clear and within reach — Ling Lie.

They overlapped, murmuring low, coaxing words.

Psychological deduction was always Yan Xi’s specialty. When Ning Xiechen had many cases, he had few chances to personally guide Ji Chenjiao, so he let the informant Yan Xi mentor him.

Since Yan Xi and Ning Xiechen disappeared, Ji Chenjiao had been assigned special mixed tasks, and he hadn’t recalled that approach for a long time.

Ling Lie’s presence helped him regain that feeling.

He was not the detective solving puzzles but the killer setting riddles.

“Gan Pengfei’s hasty action was probably because Liu Yixiang died. He thought someone among them wanted to silence others, and next might be him. Also, he lived in constant fear, stirred by the killer’s provocations. He might think Tang Xiaofei was the killer or just want Tang Xiaofei permanently quiet. In any case, Tang Xiaofei was on Xiayang Road and the easiest target.”

“He killed Tang Xiaofei with a single hemp rope. Obviously, Tang Xiaofei followed him to the bridge willingly. Gan Pengfei may have tricked him, saying, ‘Let’s discuss Liu Yixiang’s matter.’ That it was so easily resolved shows Tang Xiaofei was not Liu Yixiang’s killer and Gan Pengfei was already exposed to the first killer’s sight.”

Liang Wenxian said, “So the second possibility is that Gan Pengfei has already been killed?”

Ji Chenjiao nodded, “From tomorrow, no, starting tonight, notify everyone to increase search efforts in garbage dumps, parks, construction sites, etc. By the way, Liang Wenxian, has Ji Zhan’s family been searched?”

Liang Wenxian: “Ji Ke died three years ago; Ji Zhan has no connection to the case. Without a search warrant, we can’t enter.”

Ji Chenjiao: “No problem, I’ll find a way.”

The meeting ended. Shen Qi planned to stay at the Major Crimes Unit tonight. Ji Chenjiao saw Ling Lie at the stairs.

Ling Lie leaned heavily to the right, his right leg stretched out sideways. Ji Chenjiao thought he suddenly had some awkward problem but saw Ling Lie stretch out a hand, make a big heart shape over his head.

Ji Chenjiao: “………………”