The Sanshan County police investigation revealed that at one o’clock in the morning of that fateful day, Wei Zixuan’s grandmother had called her, complaining of chest pain. Wei Zixuan, who lived in the city, feared it might be a heart attack. She immediately called for an ambulance, then got on her electric scooter and headed back toward her family home in the western suburbs.
After she left the city, the final surveillance camera captured her at 1:20 a.m. Barring any surprises, she would have passed by the vegetable fields around 1:30.
As for Guo Zhengqi, he had spent the entire evening at the Qishi Town police station in Sanshan County, following up on a case. He had not been carrying a service weapon that night. It was not until one in the morning that he left the town and drove back toward his home in the city.
His dashcam footage showed that he passed the vegetable fields at 1:40 a.m., after which his vehicle stopped along the national highway beside the fields.
Wei Zixuan’s clothes had been torn during a struggle. There were countless bruises and cuts on her chest, slap marks on her face, and clear signs of sexual assault, though no semen was recovered. Her fatal injury was a severed carotid artery.
Guo Zhengqi had thirteen blade wounds across his body, but his fatal injury had been a gunshot wound to the chest. Therefore, the forensic report determined that Guo Zhengqi had first been wounded by a sharp weapon before being shot. The chop wounds on his body and those on Wei Zixuan were inflicted by the same person, using an axe.
The estimated times of death for both victims were very close.
Wei Zixuan worked as a kindergarten teacher and was well regarded by everyone around her. Because her return to the western suburbs had been a last-minute decision, Sanshan County police concluded that the killer had encountered her by chance and, on impulse, decided to assault her, dragging her from the roadside along the national highway into the reeds by the riverbank.
Guo Zhengqi likely heard or saw something as he passed by, got out of his car to intervene, and fought with the attacker. In the end, he was shot and killed.
Xia Ling frowned. “If the killer had a gun, why didn’t he use it on Officer Guo from the start?”
“At that hour,” Zhang Tianhua said, “it was the middle of the night. His gun wasn’t concealed. He was probably afraid the gunshot would draw attention.”
Ling Yue thought for a moment before adding, “Maybe he didn’t intend to kill Officer Guo at first. But Officer Guo fought him desperately to hold him there. He couldn’t overpower Officer Guo, so he had no choice but to shoot him. Once Officer Guo was dead, Wei Zixuan, as a witness, had to be silenced too. Killing her didn’t require the gun, so he used the axe.”
“Killing two people in one go,” Kong Qinmao said slowly. “That’s extremely brutal. Could this guy have committed other crimes before this?”
“Even if he did,” Zhang Tianhua replied, “we don’t have an identified suspect right now. There’s no way to trace him through existing records.”
“And we didn’t recover semen,” Xia Ling added, “or any other usable biological evidence. There are very few solid leads in this case,” she paused briefly before continuing. “Not long after the incident, there was a heavy rainstorm that destroyed a lot of traces at the scene. The only lead was a household security camera from a nearby farming family. It recorded someone who looked very much like a civilian called Liu Peng from Lingshan Village, appearing on the national highway near the scene about ten minutes before the crime. But Liu Peng has a solid alibi.”
Han Huaixiao spoke calmly. “As long as it’s a crime, it leaves traces. And now we have the Chen Zhengde lead. If we keep digging, useful clues will surface sooner or later.” With that, he looked around the room before continuing, “I’ll assign tasks. Qinmao, Ling Yue, Wen Yu. The three of you work together and continue tracking the suspect who shot Chen Zhengde and fled into the urban village. Those areas are crowded and chaotic, but be thorough. You must catch him. He’s the key to breaking this case.”
“Yes,” the three answered in unison.
“Xia Ling, Xia Hang,” Han Huaixiao continued, “you’ll keep following the Chen Zhengde line. See if you can find where his path intersected with the killer’s. The suspect’s vehicle showed up at the market at that hour, and Chen Zhengde got into it without hesitation. That means they knew each other, and not superficially.”
Both of them nodded.
“Brother Hua,” Han Huaixiao went on, “you and I will make a trip to Sanshan County. We’ll probably be gone for a day or two. Do you have a change of clothes in the office? If so, we’ll head out now.”
Zhang Tianhua hesitated for a moment before replying, “I do.”
Xia Hang glanced at him. Before the meeting, he had overheard Zhang Tianhua’s wife calling to say that their daughter had suddenly developed a high fever, so he spoke up, “Captain Han, Brother Hua’s daughter is sick. Let me switch with him. I’ll go to Sanshan County with you.”
Han Huaixiao turned to Zhang Tianhua. He hadn’t known about this.
“It’s fine,” Zhang Tianhua said. “My wife’s with her.”
However, Han Huaixiao shook his head. “Switch with Xia Hang,” he ordered. “Xia Hang will come with me to Sanshan County. You and Xia Ling continue on Chen Zhengde. The case won’t run away. Go to the hospital later and check on Xixi. Also, tell Old He to wrap up his current work and try to get to Sanshan County as soon as he can.”
Zhang Tianhua’s daughter’s full name was Zhang Yunxi, nicknamed Xixi, and was the cherished mascot of the Major Crimes Unit. Zhang Tianhua looked at Xia Hang with genuine gratitude. Ever since his daughter was born, his colleagues had looked out for him in many ways. Business trips were exhausting and inconvenient, and Xia Hang had only just joined the team, yet he had taken the initiative to switch with him. It was not something Zhang Tianhua had expected.
Xia Hang smiled back at him, signaling that it was no trouble.
Because Han Huaixiao often worked overtime, he kept spare clothes and toiletries in his office, packed in a small travel bag he could grab and go. Xia Hang did not keep any spare clothes there, but he had no intention of going home to get them either. He didn’t own many outfits anyway, so he figured he could simply buy something in Sanshan County once they arrived.
It wasn’t until he saw Wen Yu watering the cactus on her desk that he suddenly remembered the two turtles at home. Since he didn’t know when he’d be back, he really should return once to leave them some extra turtle feed.
But Han Huaixiao was a man of action. When he said go, he meant immediately, and Xia Hang decided to let it go. He would see how things went. If he couldn’t return soon, he could always ask Su Cheng to help feed them.
Yet as the car moved on, the scenery outside the window grew increasingly familiar.
In the end, the vehicle turned into Huixian Residential Complex.
Han Huaixiao asked, “Which building?”
The fact that Han Huaixiao knew where he lived didn’t surprise Xia Hang. Han Huaixiao must have read his file. Not to mention that the last time they went to the hospital, he had also entered his home address into the navigation; therefore, he simply replied, “Building 4, Unit 1.”
Han Huaixiao drove the car over, but before getting out, Xia Hang hesitated. Since Captain Han had deliberately gone out of his way to bring him back to grab his things, would it be impolite to make him wait downstairs? Maybe he should at least invite him up… but Han Huaixiao probably wouldn’t want to be alone in a room with him anyway.
“Uh… do you want to come up with me?” Xia Hang finally asked.
Han Huaixiao hadn’t planned on going up. But Xia Hang’s tone was too casual, as if he were certain he wouldn’t accept, so Han Huaixiao no longer felt like letting him have it his way. With a swift movement, he unfastened his seat belt immediately and said, “Sure.”
Xia Hang hadn’t expected him to actually agree, but his first thought… was that the floor probably hadn’t been mopped since he moved in, so it was a bit dirty. He’d meant to hire a cleaner, but either he was busy or he forgot, and now it was too late.
Forget it.
Han Huaixiao already knew he wasn’t big on housework.
……………..
On the sixth floor, after opening the door, Xia Hang glanced down at the floor. It seemed fine, with no visible dust. Then, he quickly scanned the apartment, noticing that the sofa was a bit messy, with cushions scattered at odd angles. He went over to straighten them and said, “Have a seat. I’ll get you some water.”
In the kitchen, he picked up the kettle, but it felt light. Xia Hang only managed to pour half a cup before opening the fridge.
Of course, there was nothing to drink inside…
Embarrassed, he carried the half cup back out.
“Sorry, this is all that’s left.”
Han Huaixiao hadn’t sat down, simply standing in the living room. The layout of Xia Hang’s apartment was simple, and one glance was enough to take in almost the entire place. The kitchen had all the basic utensils, but it was obvious they hadn’t been used. It seemed that after all those years abroad, even being stuck eating food he didn’t like wasn’t enough to teach Xia Hang how to cook.
The bedroom door was open. The quilt on the bed looked folded, yet not really, as none of the four corners lined up. The wardrobe door was open, and inside it was completely empty.
Only two sets of clothes hung drying on the balcony.
Noticing his gaze, Xia Hang explained, “The wardrobe’s new. It smells a bit, so I’m airing it out…”
But as a well-known elite detective within the system, Han Huaixiao was adept at peeling back layers of details and uncovering the truth. There was no need for deeper probing. At a glance, he could see that Xia Hang was as perfunctory in daily life as ever, his material desires close to zero.
A place to live: enough to count as habitable.
Food: enough to fill his stomach.
Money: enough not to borrow.
Xia Hang was unaware of his thoughts. Afraid of keeping him waiting, he quickly changed the water in the turtle basin and added some feed, saying, “I’ll be quick.”
While Xia Hang packed his two outfits and toiletries, Han Huaixiao walked over to the balcony. He looked down at the turtles in the basin, only to see that both lay motionless in the water. He bent a finger and tapped the side of the basin, and the two turtles shifted slightly before going still again. Their lethargic appearance was exactly like Xia Hang when he had nothing to do.
Han Huaixiao found it amusing, and the corner of his mouth lifted faintly.
Behind him, Xia Hang came over carrying a paper bag. “I’m done.”
Seeing that he’d only packed a couple of short-sleeved shirts, Han Huaixiao reminded him, “Sanshan County has a lot of mountains. It gets cool in the mornings and evenings.”
With that, Xia Hang was forced to add his only long-sleeved shirt, a blue-and-white pinstriped one. Han Huaixiao noticed his habits hadn’t changed, and neither had his taste. Clearly, Xia Hang still favored light, clean-looking clothes.
Slightly amused, Han Huaixiao pointed at the turtle basin, mentioning, “It’s too shallow. They could crawl out, and we don’t know when we’ll be back. If you don’t want to come home to two dead turtles, you’d better leave them with the security office and have the guards watch them.”
However, Xia Hang had only just moved in and wasn’t familiar with the guards, so he didn’t want to owe strangers favors. “I’ll tell a friend,” he answered. “When he has time, he’ll help me buy a deeper basin and bring it over.”
Hearing that, Han Huaixiao’s brows knit almost imperceptibly. Xia Hang looked gentle and easygoing, but he was actually hard to truly get close to. He hadn’t been in Lang City that long, yet he already had friends, so…
What kind of person was it?!
Unperturbed, Xia Hang lowered his head and sent Su Cheng a message. But seeing that Han Huaixiao was still standing there, he looked up at him in confusion.
Without a word, Han Huaixiao turned and walked out.
Downstairs, just as they reached the car, Han Huaixiao tossed the keys to Xia Hang, ordering him: “You drive.”
As Xia Hang got into the car, he saw Han Huaixiao pull open the rear door. His movement paused for a split second.
Once inside, Han Huaixiao immediately picked up the files from the back seat. With documents in one hand and a pen in the other, he read and wrote, slipping into his own world. Before they entered the highway, Xia Hang waited for a moment when he paused his pen and reminded him, “You haven’t fastened your seat belt.”
Han Huaixiao glanced at him, reached over with one hand, and pulled the seat belt into place.
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