Ning City’s flower and bird market was in the old district, a three-story building on a piece of land the size of a soccer field. The first floor sold flowers, birds, insects, and fish; the second floor sold cats, dogs, and rabbits; and the third floor was a gathering place for small crafts made of glass, resin, and wood.
Despite its lack of fancy decoration, the market was bustling with people and crowded with shops. When Ji Xun found Destiny Florist, he discovered it was a flower shop located in the center of the market.
A bit strange.
Even if the killer lived nearby, they were just buying a bouquet of flowers. Why not buy from the shops closer to the entrance, instead of this one, located right in the middle, away from both the front and back?
He kept the question to himself and arrived at Destiny Florist.
A row of bouquets identical to the one at the crime scene was displayed on the shop’s table. The flower shop wasn’t busy, and an employee came forward to greet him.
“Hello sir, what can I get for you?”
Ji Xun took out his phone, pulled up Tang Jinglong’s photo, and asked the employee, “Do you recognize this person?”
The employee’s mouth opened slightly, her eyebrows and the corners of her eyes lifting in a surprised expression. Then her gaze shifted, and she pointed behind him, “This person… is that the person behind you?”
Ji Xun turned around.
Tang Jinglong, his arm in a sling, was standing in a bird shop diagonally opposite the flower shop!
In that moment, the surprise in Ji Xun’s heart was difficult to describe with words.
No way, this actually works.
He didn’t have much hope for this clue when he came, just barely patching up loose ends and picking up scraps—a blind guess.
Ji Xun watched for the time being.
The aisle separated him from Tang Jinglong, and the stream of people was constant. Tang Jinglong was unaware that someone in a flower shop across the way was staring at him. He held his injured arm and paced back and forth restlessly in front of the bird shop, occasionally bending down to pretend to look at the birds. People passed by him one after another, and Tang Jinglong would glance at his phone from time to time… Suddenly, his restlessness vanished. He stopped pacing, put away his phone, and started walking towards the exit of the flower and bird market.
Ji Xun did not follow.
He watched Tang Jinglong’s relaxed back, a feeling dawning on him: the purpose of his coming here immediately after his arm was broken had been achieved.
So what was Tang Jinglong’s purpose in coming here?
The conflict between Zeng Peng and Tang Jinglong couldn’t directly prove Tang Jinglong was the killer, but it did reveal one thing: at the first moment of being injured, Tang Jinglong did not dare to call the police.
This proved that some things made him feel guilty.
Ji Xun went to the bird shop where Tang Jinglong had been. Just as he entered, a colorful parrot hanging under the eaves cooed twice and started its sales pitch:
“Java sparrow in the left cage, 30 each. Hwamei in the right cage, 50 each. For 30 you can’t go wrong, for 50 you can’t be duped. The sparrow is pretty, the thrush is sweet, one pretty and one sweet brings you wealth!”
Ji Xun reached out to play with the parrot. The parrot wasn’t afraid of people at all and pecked his finger twice with a very light force, not enough to cause pain.
“What kind of bird are you looking to buy?” The shop owner walked over. He was an old man with a bird on his shoulder. It was hard to tell the species, but it was clearly very close to the old man, occasionally patting his cheek with its feathered wings.
The old man looked him over and recommended, “New to this, are you? Newcomers should get something cheap and easy to raise. Java sparrows are a good choice.”
Ji Xun had originally wanted to ask the old man about Tang Jinglong, but the term “Java sparrow” sparked an idea.
“I have a friend who bought a bird from you, and now there’s a problem with the bird…”
As he spoke about the bird’s problem, he carefully described Xi Lei’s appearance.
The old man was a bit confused at first, but then it dawned on him.
“Oh, it’s Xiao Lei. The bird was fine when she passed by here a while ago. She even asked me for a lot of bird-raising tips. How did the bird get sick so quickly?” the old man mused. “It sounds like the bird is depressed, but it could also be due to insufficient nutrition in its daily food, causing the bird to become listless.”
The old man knew Xi Lei. Xi Lei had bought her bird here and was a regular customer.
Besides this, Ji Xun didn’t get any more information from the old man, which also meant there were more mysteries yet to be solved.
Why did Tang Jinglong have to come here right after getting injured?
What did Tang Jinglong get here that made him leave with such a relaxed stride?
As Ji Xun was thinking, the old man had already taken out two bags of bird feed from a cabinet. “This bag is for you. Take it back and feed the bird. Observe it for a while, and if there are still problems, bring the bird over for me to have a look.”
Ji Xun took it. “How much?”
“10 for one bag, 20 for two. Do you know how to feed them?”
Ji Xun actually didn’t. “How do I feed it?”
The old man took an opened bag of bird feed from the table, sprinkled some in his palm, then opened the cage door and whistled to the Java sparrows inside.
A scene that amazed Ji Xun occurred. The previously scattered sparrows flapped their wings and lined up neatly. Like a military parade, they flew a full circle inside the cage before landing one by one in the old man’s palm, lowering their heads to eat. After eating, they flapped their wings and interacted affectionately with the old man for a moment before flying back into the cage.
The old man was quite proud, emphasizing, “The birds here are all well-trained and very friendly with people. So when you usually feed the bird, you should also get closer to it, taking care of both its physical and mental health!”
After leaving the bird shop, Ji Xun didn’t leave immediately. He returned to the flower shop.
The bird shop just now made him realize this area might have been Xi Lei’s regular haunt. So this time, he changed his question. He pulled up Xi Lei’s photo and asked the employee, “Do you know this woman?”
The employee glanced at Ji Xun’s phone and recognition dawned. “That’s Xiao Lei, right?”
“Did she come here often?”
“She came often, always with Xiao Xi before. They were regular customers.”
“Xiao Xi?” Ji Xun mulled over this new name.
“She and Xiao Lei were best friends. When she was pregnant, Xiao Lei was always taking care of her. They would come to buy flowers every week. But she’s really young; she recovered so well after having two children in a row. The last time I saw her, she had permed her hair, wore new clothes, was glowing and full of energy. She waved goodbye to me, saying she was moving to a new home.” The employee was a young girl herself, and her memory of this was particularly strong, her envy overflowing in her words.
After leaving the flower and bird market, Ji Xun got into his car. He didn’t rush home but went to Xia Youqing’s place.
He came to see the birdcage and the Java sparrow inside that were at Xia Youqing’s house.
It was a two-story cage, with many things hanging inside: a bird’s nest, a ladder, and a swing. Even on the inner wall of the cage, there was a row of rainbow-colored, leaf-like cloth decorations. The overall look was like a small villa for a bird.
The cage and its decorations were very new.
Because this cage was bought on January 9th, when Xia Youqing and Xi Lei were out for a walk together.
Ji Xun tore open the bird feed and poured it onto his hand.
“As everyone knows, birds from the same cage will more or less carry some old habits. And customers who buy birds from a breeder have a high chance of following the breeder’s techniques to raise the birds.”
Xia Youqing cast a confused glance at him.
Ji Xun didn’t explain. He whistled at the Java sparrow.
The sparrow, which had its head buried under its wing, pulled its head out.
It tilted its head, its beady black eyes seeming to look at Ji Xun with confusion.
Just when Ji Xun thought it wouldn’t react, it suddenly flapped its wings, flew to the top of the cage, plucked a hanging leaf, and then swooped down to Ji Xun’s palm. It placed the leaf in his palm, pecked at the food in his hand, and then flew up to affectionately chirp and brush against Ji Xun’s cheek.
After the entire series of actions was complete, the little bird took the leaf back and returned to the cage.
After a long moment, Ji Xun said with admiration, “Xi Lei was indeed very meticulous in raising her bird. The police checked the bird’s nest, the swing, the cage latch, and even the bird itself. But I think, as long as no one opens the cage to feed it, they would never notice a small decorative leaf hanging on the cage, right?”
When Huo Ranyin pushed open the door to the Second Detachment’s office, he thought he had walked into the wrong place.
A folding chair in the corner of the office was wide open. Someone was lying on it with a book covering their face.
Tan Mingjiu was eagerly hovering by the chair, saying to the person on it, “What do you think of my proposal just now? Write me into your book. Doesn’t the detective need a sidekick? I can be the idiot police officer standing next to Xing Yishan. The smartest thing I say in the whole book is ‘I believe in the detective,’ and the rest of the time I just applaud wildly when the detective solves the case. This life of solving cases without any effort is just too wonderful.”
He took another step forward. This time, the book covering the face slipped a little. Ji Xun’s face was half-revealed, with dark circles under his eyes that could get him a job as a national treasure. He also saw the cover of the book.
“Poison Fruit 1: The Serpent of Lust and Love”, Author: Ji Xun
There was also a book sash, with a conspicuous advertisement written in large red letters:
A story of entangled love and desire, a brilliant game of murder, and a beautiful and heart-wrenching motive.
Open the first page of this book, and you have already stepped into this meticulously woven trap!
He sneered at the exaggerated advertisement, while thinking: What is Ji Xun doing here?
“You don’t mind not being handsome?” Ji Xun said to Tan Mingjiu.
“What’s the use of being handsome? A bonus is what’s practical. Anyway, I’ve never seen a detective in a detective novel get a bonus from the police department. They’re always so aloof. In the end, doesn’t that bonus fall into the hands of an idiot detective like me?” Tan Mingjiu was full of hope.
“You’re hinting at me, aren’t you?” Ji Xun said irritably.
“Not at all, how could that be called a hint?” Tan Mingjiu said directly. “Everyone knows you haven’t reached that level of aloofness yet.”
Ji Xun didn’t want to talk to Tan Mingjiu anymore. He pushed away Tan Mingjiu’s large head and turned to Huo Ranyin, saying as if reading his mind, “Two clues. One is the flower shop. The other is this.”
Ji Xun raised his hand. Pinched between his fingertips was a transparent plastic-sealed bag. Inside the bag was a string of colored leaves.
“Consider it an apology for the Tang Jinglong incident.”
Huo Ranyin met Ji Xun’s gaze. In just an instant, the other’s eyes slid away.
He saw on this person’s face the same carelessness, the same weariness, the same avoidance of the police and the police station.
Only this apology was surprising.
