The room was on the third floor. When Xia Hang and Han Huaixiao opened the door and stepped inside, they were greeted by the stale smell of a room that hadn’t been cleaned properly in a long time. Han Huaixiao reached out and checked the bedsheets and duvet cover. Thankfully, they were clean. What he… Continue reading

After dinner, Liu Zhibin invited them to stay the night, saying, “The mountain roads aren’t easy to drive at night. Director Fang, why don’t the three of you sleep here?” Fang Dewei had been drinking and was a little slow to react. Instinctively, he looked toward Han Huaixiao. That single glance would make any onlooker think… Continue reading

At Liu Peng’s gate, Xia Hang knocked on the open wooden door panel. “Hello?” Liu Peng was cooking in the yard. The smoke they’d seen earlier was rising from a portable iron stove. Several pieces of firewood were stuffed into the stove’s belly, with a lidded iron pot set on top. From the smell, it… Continue reading

The people of Lingshan Village were used to eating after dark. In summer, night fell late, so many households hadn’t started cooking yet. When they arrived at the village head’s home, Liu Zhibin was mixing chicken feed and feeding the chickens. Xia Hang noticed that the feed contained rice bran, chopped sweet potatoes, and freshly… Continue reading

Han Huaixiao paused mid-motion as he flicked ash from his cigarette. Once he understood what Xia Hang was referring to, he replied simply, “Yes.” Xia Hang looked at him. “Why?” Han Huaixiao turned his head to meet his gaze, asking, “You didn’t want it deleted?” “No,” Xia Hang said. “I did want it deleted. Thank you.” Han… Continue reading

Xia Hang focused on sorting through what felt wrong, not paying attention to his footing. Just as he was about to step on a jagged shard of broken glass, Han Huaixiao, who was in the middle of talking with Tang Gaoxiong, didn’t even turn his head, yet reached out in time and grabbed Xia Hang… Continue reading

When they arrived at the forensic lab, the medical examiner handed them masks before they went in. Xia Hang took one and put it on. Han Huaixiao took two, then passed one to him. Xia Hang glanced at it, accepted it, and also secured the second one properly. He had already examined the crime scene… Continue reading

The drive from Lang City to Sanshan County took about three hours. For the first half, Xia Hang gripped the steering wheel, eyes fixed on the road ahead, fully focused. But when they reached a service area midway through the trip, Han Huaixiao, who hadn’t spoken the entire time, suddenly said, “Pull over at the… Continue reading

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… Continue reading

Xia Hang looked at Wen Yu’s computer screen, where a video was playing: footage of him stepping on car roofs amid rushing traffic, leaping across lanes to save someone from a burning car. Judging by the image quality, it appeared to have been copied from a dashcam and uploaded online by one of the drivers,… Continue reading