Ji Chenjiao was stunned. “Sick?”

“Depression—does that count as a sickness?” Principal Guan’s voice held a tinge of regret. “Old Chen was such a cheerful person. Who would’ve thought he’d end up with something like that? It’s a real shame.”

Ji Chenjiao asked, “What caused it?”

Principal Guan replied, “Wasn’t it because the murderer was never caught?”

The investigation into Tang Hongting’s case had ceased after six months. Though many officers were unwilling to let it go, newer cases forced them to divert their attention. Life in Cangshui Town seemed to return to normal, but the atmosphere at Cangshui Middle School remained stifling. Stirred up by gossipmongers, Tang Hongting’s grandmother believed the school should bear responsibility for her death and demanded a hefty compensation.

She was an old woman, and neither the gatekeeper nor the teachers dared to confront her. Principal Chen was a refined, well-educated man, already burdened with guilt over Tang Hongting’s tragedy. He couldn’t bring himself to scold the elderly woman. Every time she came to the school to cause a scene, he would personally try to calm her down. Yet the old lady hurled abuse at him in front of everyone, humiliating him.

Among the townsfolk, some thought she was being unreasonable, while others pitied her. Over time, rumors spread throughout Cangshui Town, and criticism of Principal Chen mounted. At the following year’s parent-teacher meeting, some parents even proposed replacing him.

Principal Chen had lived an upright life, wholly devoted to education. Such a man couldn’t bear being maligned or slandered.

That year, he resigned from his post. Not long after, while out fishing in the countryside to find some peace, he accidentally fell into the water and drowned.

He had no children, and his wife had passed away even earlier. His funeral was arranged by the school. A few years later, Tang Hongting’s grandmother also passed away.

Ji Chenjiao leaned against the car, smoking in silence. He hadn’t expected the Tang Hongting case to spawn another tragedy. Now the clues seemed even more tangled.

Snuffing out his cigarette, Ji Chenjiao picked up his phone. With Li Aijie missing, her younger brother Li Aibing had become another person of interest.

In Xiarong City, Liang Wenxian arrived at a high-end residential community and rang the doorbell of one apartment. Ten minutes later, a man in thick-rimmed glasses and pajamas finally answered. He eyed Liang Wenxian warily. “Who are you?”

Liang Wenxian flashed his badge. A flicker of fear crossed Li Aibing’s eyes, though it was quickly hidden behind his glasses. He composed himself. “Police? What’s this about?”

Liang Wenxian asked, “Has Li Aijie come to see you recently?”

Li Aibing grew tense. “What happened to my sister?”

Liang Wenxian observed him for a moment, then tested, “Li Aijie may be involved in a murder case. She’s currently missing.”

Li Aibing froze, seemingly unable to process what he heard. Then he suddenly shouted, “What are you talking about? That’s impossible! She would never kill anyone!”

“Something about Li Aibing felt off,” Liang Wenxian said later at headquarters, making a call to Ji Chenjiao while filling his water bottle. “I told him both that Li Aijie is missing and that she may have killed someone—but he only reacted to the murder. It wasn’t until he calmed down that he asked about her disappearance. Also, Li Aibing is an online author—quite a famous one. He blew up last year and now lives in one of Xiarong’s best complexes.”

When Ling Lie showed up at Cangshui Police Station with a delivery of preserved pork claypot rice, Ji Chenjiao was standing in front of the whiteboard, arms folded, analyzing the newly drawn relationship map.

Tang Hongting was at the center, with three main branches extending outward: Liu Yuchun, Zhang Xuming, and Li Aijie. Liu Yuchun had smaller connections: her best friend Zhou Qingxia, her husband Wang Huiqiang, her daughter Wang Xiaowen, and Chunliu’s dance teammate Qiang Chunliu.

Li Aijie’s branch connected to her brother Li Aibing and also intersected with Zhang Xuming and Wang Xiaowen.

Another name appeared on a separate line: Ji Ke. There was no evidence tying him directly to the case, but he was like a visible shadow, looming over the entire web.

X’s were drawn over Liu Yuchun and Zhang Xuming’s names to indicate they were deceased. Their death dates—April 27th and April 25th—were written below. A question mark appeared next to Li Aijie’s name.

In the corner of the whiteboard was another name: Chen Bian’an (Principal Chen).

Ji Chenjiao continued to ponder. What role did Li Aijie play in all this? At her home, Chen Jing had found four pairs of old sneakers and running shoes. The wear patterns matched the walking style seen in the crime scene footprints.

Her computer had search history related to murder, allergies, and cake recipes. Her kitchen had a jar of peanut butter, mostly used up. Lab tests showed it matched the contents of Zhang Xuming’s stomach.

She was a very likely suspect. But she was now missing.

Zhang Xuming died before Liu Yuchun. Since the killer differed in each case, Liu Yuchun couldn’t have been killed by Li Aijie. Yet during the investigation of Liu Yuchun’s case, Li Aijie had surfaced as a reporter, leaking chats that made Wang Xiaowen seem like the murderer—misleading the police. Was she covering for someone else?

But Shen Qi and the technical division found no evidence of contact between her and any other suspects. Nothing on her computer or cloud storage. Unless it was all on her phone.

Most crucially—was there any link between Tang Hongting’s death and Li Aijie? The two were similar: introverted and low-profile. But Li Aijie’s grades were average—barely good enough for a second-tier college. Tang Hongting had been Cangshui Middle’s top student.

Ji Chenjiao’s eyes fell on Principal Chen’s name. He picked up the marker and drew a dotted line connecting him to Tang Hongting. Her death had triggered the turning point in his life. Then he connected Principal Chen and Li Aijie with another dotted line. He had helped the Li siblings when they were young and orphaned. To them, he was one of the few who’d ever shown care.

Ji Chenjiao suddenly wondered: Could Li Aijie be avenging not Tang Hongting, but Principal Chen?

But then—why wait twelve years?

He resumed writing on the whiteboard, noting the dates key individuals left Cangshui. The Li siblings had left just after New Year’s, without even completing withdrawal formalities. At that time, Tang Hongting’s grandmother hadn’t even come to the school to demand compensation yet.

That didn’t add up.

Li Aijie’s departure date from Cangshui was suspicious. She seemed more like Zhang Xuming, trying to flee after Tang Hongting’s death. Her actions from twelve years ago were more closely tied to Tang Hongting than to Principal Chen.

Life had improved for the Lis. Li Aibing had become a celebrity overnight and bought both of them apartments. Why would Li Aijie throw away that hard-earned peace now? She must have had no choice… Was someone coercing her?

Was that person also the one who killed Liu Yuchun? Could they be the real mastermind?

The more Ji Chenjiao thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Li Aijie had left behind too many clues—footprints, search history, surveillance footage. Her lack of counter-surveillance and poor planning suggested she was being used. Even leaking Wang Xiaowen’s chat logs might have been a diversion—for someone else.

Yet that someone had left no trace.

Ling Lie began eating his claypot rice. Ji Chenjiao finally noticed the smell and glanced at Ling Lie’s food delivery uniform. “You delivered takeout to yourself?”

Ling Lie pushed another box toward him. “Come on, star courier’s personal recommendation.”

“Star courier?”

“That’s me.”

“…”

After a few bites, Ji Chenjiao asked, “You didn’t just come to deliver food, did you?”

He remembered Ling Lie once saying that being a truck driver was the easiest way to blend into a city. Same with being a delivery guy. Their paths had crossed because Ling Lie had been wandering the streets late at night and lacked an alibi—making him a suspect.

Ling Lie put down his chopsticks and took out his phone. “Here, check out these scenic photos I took.”

Ji Chenjiao had long gotten used to Ling Lie’s unpredictable antics. So-called “scenery photos” were never just that. He walked over, but as he took the phone, it slipped from his hand and hit the floor, screen cracking.

The “star courier” looked devastated. “My phone! My only valuable phone!”

Ji Chenjiao was speechless. How much could an old man’s smartphone be worth? But seeing Ling Lie’s mournful gaze, he felt a twinge of guilt—it was his fault the phone got smashed.

Ling Lie wiped away imaginary tears. “Hey, phones are lifelines for us delivery guys. What’ll I do without it, huh? Cough cough—and the Major Crimes Unit doesn’t even pay us informants. Says we’re just temps…”

Ji Chenjiao was left speechless by him. “I spared your life, isn’t that enough? Use this phone for now. Once the case is solved, I’ll buy you a new one!”

Ling Lie immediately perked up. “Thank you, male Bodhisattva! May you have blessings as vast as the East Sea and longevity like the Southern Mountains!”

Ji Chenjiao snatched the phone and looked at the photos Ling Lie had taken.

The pixels were mediocre, and the phone had a cracked screen. There were dozens of poorly composed, aesthetically terrible photos—pictures of buildings commonly seen around Cangshui Town.

They all had one characteristic—they were tiled with ceramic tiles.

Suddenly, Ji Chenjiao understood what Ling Lie was trying to convey. “Ji Ke, the tile factory?”

The tile factory had already closed down ten years ago. Production and sales records were all lost. The homicide team could only verify Ji Ke’s past tile sales by checking his work diary and visiting old workers.

But it was impossible to verify every transaction. What was certain was that about ten businesses in Cangshui Town had ordered tiles from Ji Ke eighteen years ago.

Yet, in the photos Ling Lie took, the use of tiles from the factory extended far beyond those ten businesses!

“This one is a spicy hotpot shop at the entrance of Cangshui Middle School. And this one, the flower bed at Cangshui Middle School,” Ling Lie raised his eyebrows. “My landlord’s father also did business with the school.”

Ji Chenjiao stood up abruptly. What did this new clue mean? Or was it meaningless?

Cangshui Middle School had purchased tiles from Ji Ke eighteen years ago—six years before Tang Hongting was murdered. The cooperation with the school must have been a big order, but why didn’t Ji Ke record it in his work diary? Who at the school had he dealt with?

“Phone, phone!” Ling Lie grabbed Ji Chenjiao’s hand. “Why are you holding it so tight? It’s already cracked. It might break for real!”

Ji Chenjiao gave the phone back. “I said I’ll buy you a new one when we get back!”

Ling Lie blinked and whispered, “Ji Tiantian, you’re really easy to trick.”

The newly earned nickname “Ji Tiantian” made Ji Chenjiao speechless.

He had no time to joke with him now and immediately called Liang Wenxian and Chen Jing to start a video meeting.

Ji Chenjiao said, “Brother Liang, I’m heading to Cangshui Middle School to verify the tile situation. You try to check that transaction on your side. Normally, Ji Ke shouldn’t have missed recording this order. Maybe he has some connection with Principal Chen.”

“Got it. I’ll start checking now,” Liang Wenxian replied. “Is this Principal Chen the same age as Ji Ke?”

“Yes, they might know each other.”

Ji Chenjiao shared the thoughts he’d been having recently. “We discussed whether the killer’s motive was to silence someone or revenge. If it was silencing, the killer likely acted alone. Revenge could involve two people. Li Aijie was an accomplice but now missing. Maybe she was silenced after finishing her part.”

Chen Jing, who had been following the investigation, said, “If there were more people involved in Tang Hongting’s death twelve years ago, it’s likely others left Cangshui Town around the same time. There may be more victims.”

Ji Chenjiao said, “Besides the tiles, I want to find out what kind of people the Li siblings were in school and who left Cangshui Town within half a year, no—a year after Tang Hongting’s death.”

Liang Wenxian: “Alright, I’ll send some people to reinforce on my end. Leave this side to me and Captain Chen.”

“Good. Split up and take action.”

Once again at Cangshui Middle School, Ji Chenjiao took a deep breath. Principal Guan seemed used to dealing with police and had already organized the class information of Li Aijie.

Xi Wan had arrived in Cangshui Town. Ji Chenjiao sent her and Shen Qi to the household registration office to verify one by one, while he talked to Principal Guan about the renovation eighteen years ago.

Cangshui Middle School had a history of over fifty years. By then, many parts of the campus were very old and needed renovation. During summer vacation, Principal Chen gathered teachers to discuss renovation, but no matter how they calculated, the money was insufficient.

“Don’t laugh, but our school is really poor. The town can’t allocate more funds, so we had to find a way ourselves,” Principal Guan said with a helpless smile recalling the past.

Some parts of the teaching building were already dangerous buildings, so the money had to focus on those. Besides that, teachers wanted the campus to look cheerful to students. At that time, colorful tiles were very popular. Principal Chen and some grade heads went to the city to ‘learn from experience’ and wanted to tile the school.

But the budget was tight. Colored tiles were expensive, even at wholesale prices, the school couldn’t afford it.

“In the end, Principal Chen found a friend at a tile factory who gave us the tiles at cost price. Oh, what a kind person.”

Ji Chenjiao asked, “Who was this friend from the tile factory? Do you remember?”

Principal Guan thought for a long time. “Principal Chen said his name was Old Ji, or Xiao Ji. He shares your surname.”

It was Ji Ke! Ji Chenjiao asked again, “Principal Chen said Old Ji was his friend? How did they know each other?”

“They said they studied together? I don’t remember clearly. Principal Chen graduated from Xiayong Normal School. Many teachers at our school also came from Xiayong Normal, including me. But those who graduated from normal schools back then mostly became teachers. I don’t know why Old Ji sold tiles instead.”

“Anything else you remember about Old Ji?”

Principal Guan thought again. “He looked a bit like Principal Chen. We even asked Principal Chen if Old Ji was a relative.”

“Looked like?”

Ji Chenjiao had seen photos of Principal Chen and Ji Ke. Apart from face shape, they looked quite different. Ji Ke was ordinary-looking, Principal Chen somewhat ugly, especially with uneven skin, but had a gentle and kind gaze.

Principal Guan sighed. “Principal Chen wasn’t very lucky in life. One year after the renovation, he fell seriously ill, and was given the wrong medicine at the hospital, which caused large-scale skin ulcers, like burns. Although treated with effort later, he never recovered his appearance. But everyone knew he was a good principal and teacher, so no one avoided him because of it.”

Ji Chenjiao found a photo of Principal Chen before his illness and, comparing carefully, there was indeed a slight resemblance.

But photos are static; people are living. When two living people stand before you, judging resemblance is not just about face shape and features, but also a crucial element—temperament.

There was some resemblance between Principal Chen and Ji Ke. Principal Chen was disfigured a year and a half after renovation. What did this mean?

Had Ji Ke replaced Principal Chen? Like how Liu Yixiang replaced Huang Xuntong?

No. Ji Chenjiao shook his head, suppressing such illogical speculation. Principal Chen worked at Cangshui Middle School for decades. If he had been replaced, the faculty would have noticed.

If there was no replacement, could this lead be irrelevant?

Back at the police station, Ji Chenjiao called Ji Zhan.

When asked where Ji Ke studied, Ji Zhan said, “Xiayong Normal School, but my dad’s situation was special—he didn’t graduate.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I guess he did something wrong. Back then, few could attend college. I asked him why he didn’t become a teacher but went into the factory instead. He only said he couldn’t be a teacher.”

Ji Zhan sounded uneasy. “Officer Ji, what have you found out? My son’s acting strange now. Please give us the truth!”

Ji Chenjiao asked casually, “How exactly is Ji Xing acting strange?”

“He’s distracted. Yesterday he went to do an on-site repair for a client and got into a minor car accident, luckily nothing serious. His company told him to take a break.”

After some comforting, Ji Chenjiao hung up and called Liang Wenxian. “Brother Liang, something needs checking. Ji Ke probably studied at Xiayong Normal School but didn’t graduate. I want to find out why.”

On the other side, Xi Wan found Bi Xiao, a classmate who used to live in the same building as Li Aijie.

After graduating from high school, Bi Xiao, like most students from Cangshui Middle School, didn’t go to college. Instead, through connections, he got a job at a beef processing factory — though not the same one Liu Yuchun worked at back then. Cangshui Town had many beef processing factories; Liu Yuchun worked at the largest one.

“Li Xinbei? I remember her,” Bi Xiao said enthusiastically as he came out of the workshop without even taking off his work cap. “Where is she working now?”

Xi Wan felt she had found the right person; someone with this kind of personality would easily open up.

The workshop supervisor didn’t dare neglect the police and gave Bi Xiao an early day off. Bi Xiao then walked around the factory with Xi Wan.

“Li Xinbei didn’t have many friends in class; that’s just how she was,” Bi Xiao said. “We were neighbors, so sometimes we walked home together. But I couldn’t hang out with her too often because my friends said she was involved with some people outside school, and if I got dragged into it, it wouldn’t be good.”

Xi Wan asked, “People outside school?”

“Just those who run with the wrong crowd. Our town used to be chaotic, and someone like her without parents was the easiest target. She only had a younger brother, so no one to protect her.”

“Do you remember anything about her suddenly dropping out?” Xi Wan asked again.

Bi Xiao thought for a moment. “Yeah, we even talked about taking graduation photos together. I told her graduation photos last a lifetime and she should dress up nicely. She didn’t say anything. I asked what was wrong. She said she was ‘rustic’ and didn’t have pretty clothes. I teased her and said it was fine as long as she tied her hair nicely, and I lent her a hair accessory.”

Bi Xiao frowned, “But then she just left suddenly. It didn’t make sense — things were clearly getting better.”

Xi Wan stopped walking. “Getting better?”

“Yeah,” Bi Xiao said, “The people outside school kept bothering her, but wasn’t there a big incident back then? The police cracked down hard, no one bothered her anymore. I remember she was very excited telling me no one would bully her again because her brother could protect her. If I were her, I’d have waited until after graduation to leave.”

Xi Wan said, “Did she tell you more about her brother?”

Bi Xiao: “A lot. She said he was smart, cute, and good to her. She was a total little brother’s keeper.”

“Because her brother could protect her,” Ji Chenjiao pondered over this sentence repeatedly. The objective fact back then was that the troublemakers dared not cause any more problems, yet Li Aijie credited her safety to her brother’s protection.

Later, something must have happened that made the siblings quit school and leave.

When Li Aibing was in the first year of high school, Ji Chenjiao quickly found some of Li Aibing’s junior and senior classmates.

Their deepest impression of Li Aibing was that he protected his sister. Sometimes boys in class joked about female classmates or teased senior schoolgirls without mercy. Li Aibing was quiet, never joining class activities, but if he heard anyone talking about his sister, he would walk over and stare at the speaker with an expressionless but very grim look.

“He had such a sinister and ominous look in his eyes. We were young and foolish; we even fought with him. Later, it just wasn’t worth it, so everyone tacitly agreed not to mention his sister anymore.”

Ji Chenjiao recalled the name change. “Did you all know Li Xinbei was his sister?”

“Yeah. But I don’t think they were biological siblings — more like cousins or something. His sister’s name sounded much fancier, like someone from the city…”

Xi Wan and Shen Qi were still checking who had left Cangshui Town. Ji Chenjiao said, “I have to go back to Xiarong and meet Li Aibing in person.”

He felt he was about to touch the truth. Li Aijie was similar to Tang Hongting in that she cared deeply for Li Aibing and was willing to change his name. Li Aibing also cared for his sister. Tang Hongting’s death ended Li Aijie’s predicament, but the Li siblings fled like Zhang Xuming…

Xiarong City.

The famous author Feng Zhong Tang Ping had rarely posted a leave notice — citing an urgent family matter with an indefinite return. Readers erupted: some comforted him, but most thought he had made enough money and was just stalling, criticizing him fiercely.

Li Aibing closed his computer and said to Ji Chenjiao, “My sister is missing. If you can’t find her, you’re treating her like a suspect? My sister didn’t kill anyone and couldn’t have killed anyone. Please find her soon.”

Li Aibing’s calmness surprised Ji Chenjiao somewhat. Usually family members would be anxious and their worry obvious. But he… if Ji Chenjiao hadn’t already known how close the siblings were, he might have suspected Li Aibing was the other culprit — the planner who had not revealed any information to the police.

“This is why I came to talk with you — to understand her better and find her sooner,” Ji Chenjiao showed a slight rogue grin. “There’s one thing I want you to explain. Why did you and Li Aijie leave Cangshui Town twelve years ago?”

__

Author’s Note:
Ling Lie’s achievement today: reserved a new phone.