With this one interrogation, a string of clues was uncovered. Ji Chenjiao and Huang Yi made a preliminary analysis, and Huang Yi led a team to first verify the parking times Liu Xuelin had mentioned and to find people who might have been on those three roads.

After Huang Yi left, Ji Chenjiao stood by the window. Outside, the greenery was lush, and the vitality of summer was sweeping through the city. But for some reason, his mood was heavy. He felt that it wasn’t just vitality that was sweeping through, but also something viscous and evil.

Ling Lie returned with a bag of iced water. Ji Chenjiao was so engrossed in thinking about the case that he “lived up to expectations” and got his face iced.

But surprisingly, he didn’t retaliate. “You’re just in time. Let’s go over the clues.”

The whiteboard was divided in two. On the left were written Tan Fabin, Bi Jiang, Shen Wei, Chen Xiangli, and Xiao Lu. On the right was Liu Xuelin. On the vertical line in the middle was written the victim, Mou Dianpei.

“Putting aside the fact that we are investigating the Feng’an County case, the only connection between these two cases is Mou Dianpei.” Ji Chenjiao’s pen pointed to the left side. “Key suspect.” Then he pointed to the right. “Victim. But just now, Liu Xuelin provided two clues: he pursued and harassed Chen Xiangli and was beaten up by Xiao Lu; Mou Dianpei often ate at Shen Wei’s shop and they had a good relationship. What do you think?”

Ling Lie chugged the iced water. “Shen Wei must have known which people the police investigated heavily back then. If he still suspects Mou Dianpei now, he shouldn’t be on good terms with him. Conversely, if Mou Dianpei is the killer, he should also deliberately avoid Shen Wei. Unless…”

Ling Lie held up two fingers. “First, Mou Dianpei was deliberately being provocative. Second, Shen Wei is his accomplice.”

Ji Chenjiao still believed that Shen Wei’s problem was that he knew something but was hiding it, not that he was related to Tan Fabin’s death, so he didn’t agree with Ling Lie’s second point.

“These people are all somewhat connected,” Ling Lie said, also walking to the whiteboard. “Only this Xiao Lu appears out of nowhere. Even if he is Shen Wei’s employee, it’s a bit strange for him to stand up for Chen Xiangli.”

Ji Chenjiao said, “I just discussed with Captain Huang that we’ll split up. We will verify the relationship between Mou Dianpei and Shen and Chen, as well as the issue between Liu Xuelin and Chen Xiangli, including Xiao Lu.”

Ling Lie slouched in his chair, propping his legs on the table. Ji Chenjiao patted him, telling him to behave.

“Aren’t you going to ask me where I went?” Ling Lie said with a grin.

Seeing his expression, Ji Chenjiao knew he had a clue to share. “You beg me.”

Ling Lie, for once, was at a loss. He tumbled out of his chair, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Ji Chenjiao, his face clearly saying: Ask me!

Ji Chenjiao deliberately teased him. “I’m not asking. I don’t want to hear it. You can just hold it in.”

Ling Lie was about to burst. He followed Ji Chenjiao wherever he went, even standing on his tiptoes to rest his chin on Ji Chenjiao’s shoulder.

Ji Chenjiao was speechless.

Ling Lie: “Captain Ji, are you really not asking? As a police officer, being so passive towards clues, how can you face the taxpayers’ money?”

Ji Chenjiao: “Even Captain Ji wants to be a lazy fish for an afternoon. Captain Ji is planning to take a nap. Leader of the Special Operations Team, please be quiet.”

Ling Lie fidgeted and squirmed, finally unable to hold it in any longer. “I’ll tell you even if you don’t ask! I went to see Liu Xuelin’s car!”

Ji Chenjiao knew he wouldn’t be able to hold it in for long. He went along with it. “Oh? What did you find?”

Ling Lie took out his phone and showed Ji Chenjiao a video he had taken. “This slope is where Liu Xuelin ditched his car and ran.”

The slope was just to the west of the funeral home, a road with heavy traffic. If Liu Xuelin wanted to ditch the car, any place far from the funeral home would have been better than this.

Ji Chenjiao said, “According to his own statement, his mind was in a mess at the time. After dumping the body, he felt that disaster was imminent and the police would definitely suspect him, so he decided to lay low.”

Ling Lie said, “He always uses a messy mind to explain his actions—found the body, was terrified, his mind got messy so he dumped it on the roadside; after dumping the body, his mind got messy again, so he abandoned the car and ran. He can’t find any other reason.”

Ji Chenjiao said, “Any other reason would seem logically flawed. Is he faking it?”

Ling Lie played another video. “This is the inside of the Jinbei van. See, isn’t it clean?”

Ji Chenjiao nodded. Although the Jinbei van, like many cargo vans, had its seats removed, it wasn’t as dirty as most of them. Because it was used to transport bodies, there was a certain level of care. It was clear that Liu Xuelin paid attention to cleanliness; there was even a large bottle of disinfectant in the car.

“The trace evidence examiner said they didn’t find any fingerprints or footprints other than Liu Xuelin’s in the car.” Ling Lie made a motion of lifting a body into the car. “The body would definitely be escorted by family members. They don’t need to get in the car. Liu Xuelin is alone in the car; he can lift one end and place the body inside. The absence of other people’s footprints doesn’t necessarily mean anything. But…”

Ling Lie paused. “The car has slots to secure the bodies. It’s obvious at a glance how many are there. As a ‘Golden Impermanence’ who is used to this work, he didn’t notice an extra body at all?”

Ji Chenjiao: “So this is the other possibility you were thinking of—Liu Xuelin is the killer, and he framed himself to mislead the police?”

“Because once you believe he was framed, you naturally rule him out. But one can also frame oneself.” Ling Lie lazily propped up his cheek. “If Huang Yi’s side doesn’t find anyone else who could have killed Mou Dianpei, we’ll have to remind him not to fall for Liu Xuelin’s trap.”

At this moment, the setting sun cast layers of golden light through the window, enveloping Ling Lie. Ji Chenjiao watched him, suddenly feeling that it wasn’t the sunset adorning him, but him making the sunset dazzling.

When did this person start to become more and more sharp-edged? When he admitted he was a member of the Special Operations Team? Earlier, when he was assisting the Serious Crime Squad with cases? Or even earlier… Ji Chenjiao inexplicably thought of the scene under the flowering trees in spring, at Miaoshan Park, where Ling Lie tilted his head at him in the sunset.

As his thoughts drifted, Ling Lie had already leaned in. “Xiao Ji, daydreaming on the job again.”

Ji Chenjiao cleared his throat and pushed away Ling Lie’s ever-approaching face.

They went their separate ways.

Guangqing Second Alley, Bianjun Middle Road Sixth Village, and Cao’erjiakou were all in the southwest of Feng City, forming an obtuse triangle around the Third Hospital. This was an older neighborhood with deep alleys, and the buildings in Bianjun Middle Road Sixth Village and Cao’erjiakou had no elevators.

Huang Yi led a team to check the sites. The road in Guangqing Second Alley was relatively wide, and the place where Liu Xuelin parked was within the surveillance coverage. He had indeed parked his car there from 1:50 AM to 2:05 AM. After getting out of the car, he and the family members moved the body into the car together.

Huang Yi asked, “This road is so wide, why didn’t you drive in?”

Liu Xuelin said, “It’s a custom for funerals. When someone in the family passes away, the body is displayed near the home for two days. On the third day at dawn, a bowl is smashed, and the body is sent to the funeral home for cremation. The stretch from the display to the hearse needs to be carried by the family. And many residents are unwilling to have a hearse drive into their alley.”

The surveillance in Guangqing Second Alley was complete, so the killer didn’t tamper with the car here. Huang Yi went to the other two locations.

Bianjun Middle Road Sixth Village and Cao’erjiakou were far from the city center, but the housing density was very high. The alleys were very deep, and it was easy to walk into a dead end by mistake. Surveillance showed that Liu Xuelin had indeed driven there, but the places where he parked were not covered by surveillance. He was also away from the car for a long time, about a quarter of an hour each time. The killer had ample time to throw Mou Dianpei into the car. And the lighting in these two places was very dim, with almost no one passing by in the early morning. During the day, however, it was bustling with people and traffic, and any traces would have been destroyed long ago.

After checking, Bianjun Middle Road Sixth Village and Cao’erjiakou were the only two places where the body could have been dumped.

Just then, the forensics department sent an unexpected clue—although Mou Dianpei was strangled, he had already been continuously ingesting high doses of paraquat before his death. His internal organs had suffered irreversible damage, and it was likely he was already sick at the time of death.

In the interrogation room, Liu Xuelin showed a look of utter shock. “What? Paraquat? Mou Dianpei took paraquat? That wasn’t me! I absolutely did not drug him! It must, it must have been someone else who drugged him!”

“Ha, hahaha, I told you that guy’s character was bad. He offended a lot of people. It’s perfectly normal for someone to hate him! Captain Huang, can I be released? Huh? I’m really not the killer! See, so many people wanted to kill him. They even drugged him and threw him in my car. What a damn wicked thing to do!”

The appearance of paraquat was a major clue. Huang Yi was conducting the interrogation, but Ji Chenjiao and Ling Lie were both watching the monitor. Liu Xuelin kept emphasizing that he absolutely did not administer the drug. If they didn’t believe him, they could search his house, check all his purchase records. If they found even a shred of information related to paraquat, he would be struck by lightning and die a horrible death, and he wouldn’t make a peep if they “knocked his sand pot” (a local slang for execution) right away.

Huang Yi’s ears hurt from his shouting. He also felt that given his attitude and state, he really didn’t seem like the type to administer drugs. But he still immediately arranged for team members to check if he had purchased the drug.

Ling Lie sat in a swivel chair, holding an ice cream tub in one hand and digging with a stainless steel spoon in the other—the small plastic spoon that came with it wasn’t enough for him and broke on the first try. This stainless steel spoon was actually bought by Ji Chenjiao for his meals, but was forcibly requisitioned by Ling Lie in the name of the leader.

Watching him dig into the ice cream, Ji Chenjiao felt like he was watching a student from a certain excavator academy. If you gave him a helmet, he could go to a construction site and start digging.

“Liu Xuelin’s reaction is not right.” Ling Lie’s excavator-digging didn’t stop him from watching the monitor. “I believe he really didn’t administer the drug, but his reaction is overly excited, like that whatchamacallit…” Having eaten too much ice cream, Ling Lie’s tongue was a bit numb from the cold.

Ji Chenjiao said, “He’s rejoicing that someone drugged Mou Dianpei.”

Liu Xuelin’s reaction was indeed intriguing, especially compared to his earlier repeated claims of a hot-headed panic when he found the extra body, leading him to dump it and abandon his car. The fact that Mou had been drugged seemed to be a huge, unexpected joy for him. The excitement he had just shown was not because he had finally cleared his name, but because he had found a scapegoat.

“Drugging and strangling are not mutually exclusive. I’m now starting to think that the possibility of Liu Xuelin being the killer has increased,” Ji Chenjiao said. “But Captain Huang’s difficulty in solving the case has also increased. At least two parties wanted to kill Mou Dianpei and have already taken action. Paraquat is not an instant poison. Suspect A had already poisoned Mou Dianpei before Suspect B made a move.”

Ling Lie drank some warm water to straighten out his tongue. “Looking at the lab data, it may have been repeated poisoning. Even if Suspect B hadn’t acted, Mou Dianpei was about to die anyway.”

On the monitor, the interrogation was about to end. After a period of excitement, Liu Xuelin’s shoulders were now slumped, his head bowed, the emotional drop-off very obvious. When Huang Yi questioned him, he seemed to be in a daze, mumbling incoherently.

“See, he’s realized it.” Ling Lie leaned his hands on the table with the monitor, his face almost touching the screen. “Suspect B is regretting his impatience—if he hadn’t been in a hurry to act, the person who should die would have died anyway, and his own hands wouldn’t have been stained with blood.”

Ji Chenjiao’s peripheral vision caught the tub of ice cream that had been dug into pits and craters. It was his spoon that was the most pitiful. Ling Lie had stopped eating. He picked up the spoon, preparing to wash and put it away, and also find a fridge for the ice cream.

Ling Lie turned his head and happened to see Ji Chenjiao with the spoon. “Eek! Xiao Ji!”

Ji Chenjiao was already used to this sarcastic tone. Just as he was about to explain he was taking the spoon to wash it, Ling Lie ran over, snatched the tub and spoon together, and said earnestly, “If you wanted to eat, you should have said so earlier. Would I be stingy with this one bite? The leader will personally dig it for you. Ah—”

A large spoonful of ice cream was thrust towards his mouth. Ji Chenjiao’s eyelid twitched.

He, was going to use Ling Lie’s saliva-covered spoon, to eat, ice cream?

Ling Lie: “Ah—”

“…”

“Ah—hurry up, it’s going to melt! It’s your own spoon!”

Ji Chenjiao thought, he has a good point, this is my spoon after all.

Ji Chenjiao ate the ice cream. Just then, Huang Yi burst into the Special Operations Team’s temporary office, shocked on the spot. “You, you… wait a minute, I’m going to get an ice cream too. It’s too hot today!”

Ji Chenjiao was speechless.

The cold and cloyingly sweet taste melted in his mouth, but Ji Chenjiao felt his ears burning uncomfortably. The one surnamed Ling really had bad taste. When other people ate ice cream, it was either vanilla or chocolate, always one flavor. What was this that Ling was eating? Ji Chenjiao looked at the packaging: Mixed Fruit! This was truly the tackiest combination, colorful, a bit of everything, the food coloring mixed together looked like a rainbow.

Ji Chenjiao thought, next time we buy ice cream, I won’t let this thing choose.

Ling Lie was still reasoning, “For the same price, you can get twelve flavors with this one.”

“…” You still have the nerve to ‘oh’ me!

“Be considerate,” Ling Lie patted Ji Chenjiao’s shoulder. “I’ve never had it before.”

Ji Chenjiao’s gaze paused.

Ling Lie took the ice cream to find a fridge. He, however, watched Ling Lie’s back, his thoughts drifting far away, thinking of a woman he had met while investigating the Liu Yixiang case, Shao Ling.

Shao Ling looked boisterous. At the Serious Crime Squad, a female officer gave her a can of Wang Zai milk. She drank it very carefully because she had never had it as a child, so she showed a childishness and happiness that was different from the wrinkles on her face and her shabby appearance.

Ling Lie… is like that too, isn’t he?

The days of wandering the streets go without saying. After being adopted by a wealthy family, life should have been good, but Ling Lie didn’t seem to have received any warmth. In the following ten years, he lived on the edge of a knife, walking between darkness and light.

It could be said that Ling Lie had never lived a normal person’s life.

That’s why Ling Lie was so fascinated by the hustle and bustle of city life, so envious of people living trivial lives. That’s why some of Ling Lie’s preferences were tacky and unrefined.

Only those who easily possessed things would condescendingly judge what was stylish and what was too tacky. Ling Lie had never possessed them, so even greasy, saucy meat buns and rainbow-like mixed-fruit ice cream were treasures in his eyes.

Ji Chenjiao gently clenched his fist. Next time, next time if Ling Lie wants to buy mixed-fruit ice cream, he’ll reluctantly go along with it.

Huang Yi came back after finishing his ice cream and slapped a folder on the table. “Come, come, let’s talk about the case!”

Ji Chenjiao said, “How’s the investigation in Bianjun Middle Road Sixth Village and Cao’erjiakou going?”

“No results!” Huang Yi said. “First, there are no witnesses. Second, there are no useful traces at the scene. We’ve contacted both families. The situation is similar. Liu Xuelin parked the car, ran to where the funeral shed was set up, and carried the body over with the family. Bianjun Middle Road Sixth Village is a winding path, but Cao’erjiakou is a straight line. That is to say, from the position of the funeral shed, you can see his car. The family members said they didn’t see any suspicious people near the car.”

“I asked them if they noticed how many bodies were inside when they brought the body to the Jinbei van. They all shook their heads, saying who would dare to look inside.” Huang Yi frowned. “I think we can rule out Cao’erjiakou. Only Bianjun Middle Road is a possibility. If we can’t find a suspect soon, I’m really going to suspect Liu Xuelin directed this whole thing himself!”

Ling Lie blinked. “You’re only just starting to suspect?”

Huang Yi: “Huh?”

Ji Chenjiao coughed. “Speak properly.”

Ling Lie and Huang Yi went to the whiteboard, and he explained his and Ji Chenjiao’s thoughts. Huang Yi slapped his forehead. “That bastard played me! Fine, I’ll change the direction of the investigation right now!”

“Captain Huang, I have an idea,” Ji Chenjiao said. “Last time when I interrogated Liu Xuelin, I felt his expression was a bit off when he mentioned the chain funeral company ‘Gui Yong Tang’ snatching their business from individual proprietors. I think we can investigate ‘Gui Yong Tang’; there might be a clue.”

Huang Yi punched Ji Chenjiao’s shoulder. “Thank you!”

After Huang Yi left, Ji Chenjiao said, “Let’s go too.”

During the day, the “Golden Impermanences” were either catching up on sleep or staking out near various hospitals. The car was parked in Yide Alley where Mou Dianpei rented a place. It was full of old buildings without elevators, with high foot traffic, and many patients’ families rented apartments together. Mou Dianpei lived on the second floor of a six-story old building. The corridor smelled of dead rats.

Ling Lie banged on the iron door loudly. Ji Chenjiao was a little surprised. “A little lighter.”

Ling Lie: “Lighter won’t get them out, believe it?”

No movement from inside. Instead, a shirtless burly man from next door came out. “Are you looking for Qingzi?”

Ling Lie: “Ah, police.”

The burly man was stunned for a moment and muttered, “Investigating Old Mou again, huh?” He also started banging on the door, his voice extra loud: “Qingzi, stop sleeping, the police are here again!”

Finally, footsteps were heard from inside. The door opened a crack, and a thin man looked out with wary and somewhat timid eyes. “I, didn’t I answer all your questions last time?”

Ji Chenjiao blocked the door. “We’d like to know a few other things.”

Qingzi had no choice but to open the door completely. Ling Lie looked at the burly man. “Brother, what do you do for a living?”

The burly man: “Please don’t, you’re the police. I’m like them, also in the white affairs business.”

Ling Lie invited him in as if it were his own home. “Well, if you’re free, shall we chat together?”

The three of them went into the room together. The burly man said his surname was Li and that he had been in this line of work longer than Mou Dianpei and the others. He had accumulated some connections, and life was okay.

Qingzi was only in his twenties, his head constantly bowed, a little reserved. Mou Dianpei was the sub-landlord of this house. Qingzi had just come to the city from the countryside this year. The rent was six hundred a month, and he had rented for a year. After Mou Dianpei’s death, he originally wanted to move out, but he had just paid Mou Dianpei three months’ rent, and the main landlord wouldn’t refund the money. Moving out would be a loss, so he had to endure his fear and stay.

As soon as the case happened, the police had come to collect Mou Dianpei’s DNA and had also questioned Qingzi, basically to understand Mou Dianpei’s living situation and social circle. Ji Chenjiao’s first few questions were repetitive, and Qingzi’s answers were consistent with the records.

On the day of the crime, Mou Dianpei was supposed to pick up three bodies, but in the evening, he suddenly felt unwell, weak all over. He returned to his rented room and, seeing that Qingzi hadn’t left yet, said he wanted to pass the job to Qingzi.

Qingzi was still a novice in this line of work. Moreover, he was introverted and didn’t get along well, so he wasn’t very good at finding his own work. Most of the time, he relied on others to give him some work. Of course, he couldn’t keep all the money from these jobs; he had to let the person who gave him the work take a cut.

He was used to working for others and would take any job given to him.

“Qingzi, brother is not feeling well today, probably has a cold and fever. There are three people to pick up here. If you’re free, go run it.” Mou Dianpei sat on the bamboo sofa, panting, his hand constantly pounding his chest, his face looking terrible. “I won’t ask for much, we’ll split it fifty-fifty.”

Qingzi was very hesitant. Fifty-fifty was too much. When he took jobs from others, it was always seventy-thirty in his favor, or at worst, sixty-forty. Only a stingy person like Mou Dianpei, who held onto work tightly, would offer a fifty-fifty price.

If it were someone else, he would have refused immediately, but sharing a roof with Mou Dianpei, he was worried that if he didn’t help, Mou Dianpei would make things difficult for him.

“How about I take six, Brother Mou?” he bargained tentatively. “I’ve really never taken a five-five split.”

“Hey, you money-grubber!” Mou Dianpei was clearly not happy and didn’t speak for a long while.

Qingzi actually relaxed a bit. He would rather not earn this money. But after he finished making and eating his noodles, just as he was about to leave, Mou Dianpei dragged his feet to block him, his face ashen like a dead person’s, his voice like a broken gong. “Six it is then. Remember to buy me a pack of cigarettes when you come back tomorrow morning.”

Qingzi took the order slip. Mou Dianpei swayed back to the bamboo sofa. He was a little worried. “Brother Mou, why don’t you go to the hospital and get checked out?”

Mou Dianpei waved his hand. “What’s there to see? I can’t afford it.”

Qingzi drove all night and didn’t get home until nine in the morning. The door was unlocked, and Mou Dianpei’s room door was closed. He was exhausted and didn’t notice whether Mou Dianpei was home or not. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, until the police came to the door.

“That’s how it was,” Qingzi said in a low voice. “Who he offended, I really don’t know. If the contract wasn’t for a year, and I couldn’t get my deposit back for breaking the lease early, I would have been out of here long ago.”

Ji Chenjiao asked, “You didn’t get along well?”

Qingzi didn’t speak. Brother Li next to him said, “Old Mou is stingy and likes to show off. His hands aren’t very clean, right Qingzi?”

“Ah, yes.”

Brother Li was very worldly. “The police are asking you, just be frank!”

Ji Chenjiao said, “From what you’re saying, that was the first time Mou Dianpei gave you work? You live together, but he never gave you work before?”

Hearing this, Brother Li couldn’t help but laugh.

Qingzi said, “The work is all his. Unless he’s sick like that day and can’t do it, he would never give it out.”

Ji Chenjiao: “What other frictions did you have?”

Qingzi looked at Brother Li. Brother Li said, “Kid, why are you looking at me? Can I make the decision for you?”

Qingzi said, “I cook all my three meals at home to save money. We’re just housemates, not living together, so food and daily necessities are separate. But he often steals my things. I mentioned it, and he called me stingy and even said he has a friend who knows the law, and that living together means you can share food.”

Ji Chenjiao raised an eyebrow. “A friend who knows the law? Who?”

The municipal bureau had previously checked Mou Dianpei’s communication records, and it didn’t seem like anyone was a lawyer or corporate counsel.

Qingzi shook his head. “He didn’t say a name, just that it was someone from his hometown.”

Someone from his hometown, so also from Feng’an County? And knows the law? Ji Chenjiao was about to jot it down but couldn’t find his notebook. He turned his head and saw Ling Lie was drawing in his notebook.