Looking at dismemberment photos before bed is really not conducive to sleep.
In his dream, Ji Xun heard a “knock—knock—knock—” sound coming from within his own mind. The sound was like someone snapping their fingers against his skull, causing vibrations and echoes in his brain, leading to a cranial hemorrhage and death in his dream.
What a horror movie.
Ji Xun’s thoughts drifted aimlessly. He lay motionless, feeling the numbness of sleep paralysis in a half-awake state, silently counting. When the number in his mind reached 300, his numb little finger twitched inadvertently.
“…”
So the body paralysis wasn’t sleep paralysis, he had just slept on it wrong.
The “knock, knock, knock” in his head was apparently not an auditory hallucination either, but—someone was actually knocking on his door.
Ji Xun finally opened his eyes and glanced at the time: 7 AM. It was hard to tell which was more terrifying, having a nightmare or being woken up at this hour.
He had a good guess who was at the door. He struggled out of bed, quickly washed his face and rinsed his mouth in the bathroom, then opened the door.
Xia Youqing was standing outside, with two large bags at her feet. She had clearly been knocking for a while, now looking down at her phone while performing a mechanical, repetitive knocking motion. One knock missed, and her fingers almost hit Ji Xun.
“You’re here so early today, I guess…”
“Is Tang Jinglong really dead?” Xia Youqing cut straight to the chase. “Dismembered, with the body dumped on Wushan?”
Ji Xun grunted, bent down to pick up the two bags at Xia Youqing’s feet, and walked into the room, letting her in as well. “You reporters really have wide channels of information. The police only confirmed the identity via DNA match late last night, and you already know—by the way, what did you bring?”
“Breakfast, and fruit.”
“You’re too kind.”
“I’ve troubled you for so long, I should,” Xia Youqing said. “The news reporters got wasn’t this detailed, and besides, I’ve already resigned. I saw photos of police cars and cordons on Wushan in my social media feed, and someone vaguely mentioned the deceased’s surname was Tang, so I made a bold guess. Who killed Tang Jinglong, was it Zeng Peng?”
“Zeng Peng was just released from the detention center yesterday. Unless he has a shadow clone jutsu or can turn back time, he couldn’t have killed him.”
“Was it someone else? Was Tang Jinglong really the one who killed Lei Lei? Did that person kill him to avenge Lei Lei?” Xia Youqing asked again, hesitating.
“It’s hard to say, the police have just begun investigating. As for whether Tang Jinglong killed Xi Lei, my intuition tells me yes, but the evidence tells me no. Let’s trust the evidence for now.”
Ji Xun yawned, saw a cup of coffee in the bag, took it out for a sip to wake himself up, and reached for a breakfast bread. But before his fingers could touch the bread, Xia Youqing handed him a bottle of alcohol-based sanitizing gel. “Sanitize your hands.”
Ji Xun: “I’ve already washed my hands.”
Xia Youqing: “But there are still germs on the plastic bag.”
Ji Xun took the gel and rubbed his hands. “Since when did you become a neat freak?”
“It’s not me, it’s Lei Lei,” Xia Youqing smiled. “Lei Lei was very particular about her personal hygiene, she’d wash her hands eighteen times a day if she could, and she’d drag me to do it with her. When she was around, I was inconsistent and often forgot; now that she’s gone, I suddenly remember.”
Ji Xun’s hand-rubbing slowed. “Xi Lei had mysophobia? A severe case?”
“Quite severe,” Xia Youqing said. “Lei Lei’s skin wasn’t good either; she’d easily get red rashes if she touched something dirty.”
It was as if a small dark star fell into Ji Xun’s eyes. He tilted his head back, recalling for a moment, then said slowly, “That’s not right. If her skin problem was that severe, why didn’t we see any specific medications for it at her residence?”
“Because… Lei Lei paid great attention to daily cleanliness, and she believed her skin problem was an issue with her immune system. She generally preferred dietary therapy over medicine,” Xia Youqing thought for a moment and responded to each point. She didn’t know why Ji Xun was asking in such detail.
“What about disinfectant, then?” Ji Xun pressed on, determined to get to the bottom of it. “If she had mysophobia, why didn’t we even see floor or clothing disinfectant in her room?”
“She probably just ran out. I went to the supermarket with her half a month ago and we bought those things, I can find the receipt for you. Besides, the house is small, and Lei Lei didn’t like to hoard things, she always preferred buying things fresh… Why, is this important?” Xia Youqing asked nervously.
The logic fell into place.
“Life is always full of coincidences, but not all coincidences are helpful for solving a case…” Ji Xun muttered to himself. “Xi Lei had mysophobia and was prone to red rashes from dirty things; the people in Xi Lei’s residential complex knew nothing about Tang Jinglong, and her reputation there was exceptionally good. Do you know what these two points add up to mean?”
The corner of Ji Xun’s mouth curled up.
“—It means Tang Jinglong almost never came to this complex, which means Xi Lei couldn’t meet Tang Jinglong in a hotel for their trysts; it’s very likely that their long-term meeting place was an apartment rented by Tang Jinglong.”
Xia Youqing was silent for a long time.
Her focus, for once, shifted from Xi Lei. She looked at the man before her, and through the haze of time, she vaguely saw the Ji Xun she had first known.
The man whose gaze was always bright, whose brow was always high, who never believed there was a problem he couldn’t solve.
Unfortunately, no one can escape time unscathed.
Ning City had a well-known residential complex called Lizhu Community. It was in a good location, had a quiet environment, and exceptionally strict security. Three shifts of security guards with six dogs patrolled the entire area 24/7. Entry was by card and facial recognition, preventing any outsiders from sneaking in to commit petty theft. With such excellent infrastructure, Lizhu Community was indeed famous in the real estate market. But for some better-informed individuals, none of the above mattered. The most important thing was—this was Ning City’s infamous “mistress community,” the top choice for any respectable boss in the city looking to set up a second home.
Ji Xun stood outside this community for about three minutes, which was enough time for him to survey it clearly:
One security guard stood watch outside the garage; two guards were on duty at the main entrance; the perimeter wall was topped with an electric fence; there were cameras at every corner of the wall; he had just heard a few barks, so the online rumor about guards with dogs must be true.
But that wasn’t important.
No residential complex could completely prevent outsiders from entering and exiting.
Ji Xun casually averted his gaze. He strolled along the streets surrounding the community at a leisurely pace. As he turned a corner, he discovered a new clue: a coffee shop.
The name of the coffee shop was “Across time,” and its logo was identical to the one on Tang Jinglong’s blue and white thermos.
To search far and wide for something, only to find it with no effort at all.
Ji Xun glanced through the glass window from the outside. There weren’t many people. He walked straight in and sat down.
A waiter approached. “Sir, what would you like to drink?”
“My friend is a regular here, Tang Jinglong. What does he usually drink?” Ji Xun appeared casual, but he was secretly observing the waiter’s expression. When he caught the look of realization on the other’s face, he was certain.
“Mr. Tang usually has a flat white.”
“Two flat whites.” Ji Xun casually flipped through the menu, then took out his phone and dialed the number labeled “Tang Jinglong.” A few moments later, he said to the phone, “Old Tang, I’m at the coffee shop you mentioned. You want me to go upstairs first? Yep, that’s right, I have the key. But you haven’t told me your apartment number yet—Hello? Hello?”
The call was disconnected.
In front of the waiter, Ji Xun dialed again. A busy signal.
“This guy, so forgetful,” Ji Xun muttered, closing the menu. “Just two flat whites.”
The barista made coffee behind the counter. Ji Xun continued to fiddle with his phone, timing it for when the waiter delivered the drinks to call again, this time on speakerphone. Of course, it was still a busy signal.
“Still can’t get through, busier than the mayor,” he hung up impatiently, took a couple of sips of coffee, and suddenly said to the waiter, “Old Tang is a VIP customer here, right? Do you know where he lives?”
“Well, the rules…” the waiter hesitated.
Ji Xun dangled the keys. “Forget the rules. I’ve got the keys right here. If it weren’t for the complex being so big and the security probably not recognizing Old Tang, and his phone being unreachable, I wouldn’t be asking you. Do me a favor, and I’ll have him buy a couple more coffees here later.”
The waiter didn’t sense anything was wrong, his tone relaxed, and he said, “Mr. Tang’s room is D-1808 in Lizhu Community.”
“Ha,” Ji Xun said in surprise. “You don’t even need to look at the VIP customer log?”
“No need,” the waiter smiled shyly. “Actually, Mr. Tang has helped me before. He was here having coffee with someone else, and I was stressed because my mom was hospitalized and there were no beds. I accidentally spilled coffee on Mr. Tang while serving him. Not only did he not blame me, but he also asked the person with him to help solve my mother’s hospitalization problem. I’ve always wanted to thank Mr. Tang, but he hasn’t been here recently… Sir, when you see Mr. Tang later, could you pass on my thanks for me?”
“Of course,” Ji Xun asked as if by chance, “By the way, which hospital was your mom admitted to?”
“The Third Hospital.”
The Third Hospital was only two streets away from Ji Xun’s home; someone who could solve a hospital admission problem would most likely be a doctor at that hospital.
Tang Jinglong might have been having coffee here with a doctor from the Third Hospital last time.
Ji Xun secretly noted this down. It might be useful later.
The cold January wind began to blow, kicking up dust and stones. If you worked outdoors against the wind for more than two hours, no matter how thick the moisturizer you applied before going out, it would be useless. Your face was guaranteed to be red and your skin chapped.
Huo Ranyin had just walked out of a laundry shop called “Excellence Laundry.”
The victim’s identity was confirmed last night, and today, as per routine, they went to notify the family and conduct a preliminary investigation of the deceased’s residence. Tang Jinglong and Rao Fangjie’s home was in a high-end villa complex in Ning City, with two large stone elephants in front of the gate. The lady of the house sat in this magnificent home, watching the police come and go, displaying a kind of vacant numbness.
This inquiry confirmed what the police had previously learned. Rao Fangjie knew nothing of Tang Jinglong’s movements, only providing the last time she saw him, around 6 PM on January 19th, when Tang Jinglong went out for dinner.
As for where he went for dinner, what his subsequent plans were, or when he would return home, she didn’t ask at all.
Huo Ranyin walked around the house and saw an unfinished flower stand under the floor-to-ceiling window. The stand was half-installed, painted blue and white, with lively flower and grass patterns carved into the corners. It was perhaps the most vibrant object in this empty, splendid house.
“Did you hire a carpenter to build this stand? Why isn’t it finished?” Huo Ranyin asked.
“He’s been busy with something the past two days, hasn’t come over,” Rao Fangjie sat on the sofa with her arms crossed, her legs crossed, lost in a kind of trance. She didn’t seem particularly sad, and her replies were coherent.
“Are you familiar with this person?”
“Reasonably so. Tang Jinglong was very familiar with him. He’s always done the woodwork for our family,” Rao Fangjie said. “I think a few years ago he was sick, and Tang Jinglong helped him out. So he’s always done furniture and decorations for our family at a cheap price. Anyway, he can do any woodworking job, he’s an honest man, and his skills are decent, so I couldn’t be bothered to find someone else.”
“What’s his name?”
“I never asked for his full name. I’ve always called him Old Lu, Lu as in ‘land’.”
When the police entered Tang Jinglong’s study and bedroom, interesting things appeared. Tang Jinglong’s study was equipped with a camera, the computer’s browser was in incognito mode, and the hard drive was formatted every two weeks. It was unbelievably clean, without even any pornography.
According to Rao Fangjie, these were all Tang Jinglong’s habits.
Very suspicious habits.
Putting aside the cleaned computer, the camera in the study was quite intriguing—in a room of about 15 square meters, two cameras were installed. One was aimed directly at the computer screen, and the other was aimed at the bookshelf.
But the surveillance areas of these two cameras overlapped significantly. In other words, installing just one camera aimed at the computer screen would cover most of the study.
So the camera aimed at the bookshelf seemed redundant. Focusing on this redundancy, Huo Ranyin arranged a thorough search and subsequently discovered a safe hidden in the bookshelf.
Rao Fangjie was completely unaware of this safe.
After the police spent a great deal of effort opening the safe, they found that in the two-tiered safe, the upper layer contained boxes of business cards, indicating Tang Jinglong had recorded his entire network here; the lower layer was a crafted wooden boat. The boat was exquisitely made, and on its deck, they found a string of copper coins threaded with red rope. These were not ancient coins but privately minted, with “Smooth Sailing” engraved on one side and “Calm Winds and Waves” on the other.
Apart from the obviously important but temporarily inscrutable wooden boat and the string of coins on it, there was another discovery from this visit.
Huo Ranyin found a laundry shop receipt in a suit hanging in Tang Jinglong’s closet—it was for the very laundry shop he was now walking out of.
It wasn’t strange to take expensive clothes to be dry-cleaned. What was strange was that this laundry shop was neither near Tang Jinglong’s workplace, Fufen Pharmaceuticals, nor near Rao Fangjie’s workplace, Sunshine Hospital, nor was it near their villa.
This Excellence Laundry shop was located in an area completely unrelated to Tang Jinglong and Rao Fangjie’s work and life.
Why would Tang Jinglong dry-clean his clothes at such an inconvenient laundry shop?
This was precisely the reason Huo Ranyin was here.
“Tang Jinglong came here quite often. In the last six months, the shop staff saw him once every ten to fifteen days. It’s preliminarily confirmed that this area is another one of Tang Jinglong’s living circles… What are you looking at?” Huo Ranyin asked Tan Mingjiu. Since arriving here, Tan Mingjiu had been looking left and right, unable to focus on his work.
“Looking for Ji Xun,” Tan Mingjiu said, only realizing after he spoke that Huo Ranyin’s expression was inscrutable.
“Is Ji Xun coming?” Huo Ranyin asked.
“He didn’t say. He most likely won’t come, but I suspect he will,” Tan Mingjiu said, his eyes vacant. “It was always like this in the past. Every time Ji Xun finished his own work, he loved to sneak over to the area others were responsible for and start messing… helping, and then we’d get messed with… helped. And in the end, he’d run his mouth, saying it was—”
“Common sense?”
“Damn, yes! That’s exactly what he’d say!” Tan Mingjiu slapped his thigh. “‘Common sense, common sense,’ as if besides him, no one else in the bureau has common sense? Every time everyone saw him say that word so nonchalantly, the frustration, don’t even get me started!”
Huo Ranyin had a faint, unreadable smile.
“What common sense, it’s all wild guesses! He guesses the result first and then works backward to deduce the process!” Tan Mingjiu said indignantly. “I’ve even overheard his conversations with Captain Yuan. He only tells Captain Yuan the absolute truth!”
That wasn’t necessarily true. Didn’t Ji Xun also admit to him that it was a riddle game? If one were to judge closeness based on that, he felt that Ji Xun and Yuan Yue weren’t that intimate after all. Huo Ranyin was unconvinced.
“Every time he started his wild guessing, he’d make a bet with Captain Yuan. If he guessed right, Captain Yuan would write his reports. If he guessed wrong, he’d write Captain Yuan’s reports. He has dog-shit luck, right nine times out of ten, so Captain Yuan diligently wrote his reports every day, tch!”
These words were filled with the deep envy, jealousy, and hatred of a police officer who had no one to write his reports for him towards a former colleague who could leisurely go about his work.
“So you’re suspecting now…”
“I suspect he’s about to come and make another wild guess. I’ve been seeing his elusive face so much lately, my PTSD of his wild guesses is about to relapse…”
“Another community,” Huo Ranyin stopped. Ahead of him, the four large characters of Lizhu Community were written in a flowing script. He directly took out Tang Jinglong’s photo and went to question the security guard.
“Do you recognize this person?”
Lizhu Community truly lived up to its high-end reputation, with one elevator per household and only two households on the same floor.
Ji Xun paced lightly in the corridor for a moment, reached out to knock on the door, and after confirming there was no response from inside 1808, he took out his tools.
He had been lying when he chatted with the coffee shop waitress. Of course, he didn’t have the key to this place, but a key wasn’t the only thing that could open a lock.
In a few quick moves, he picked the lock. He pushed the door open, and the first thing that entered his eyes was a thin layer of dust on the floor.
There was dust, but not a lot.
The room had been vacant for a period of time, not too long, not too short.
Ji Xun entered the room, gently closed the door, and continued to observe:
The doors and windows were closed. There were small items on the table. There was bedding in the bedroom, but the wardrobe… was empty. This gave him a hypothesis. He turned around and pressed the light switch.
A soft “click,” but the light didn’t turn on.
The hypothesis became a certainty. Just as he was about to continue, another “click” sounded, this time from outside. The main door of the apartment was opened, and voices followed:
“Officers, this is the room Mr. Tang Jinglong previously rented…”
