Ye Xuan nodded, then shook his head, responding, “It’s possible, but if the motive was robbery, why not just commit a theft? Why resort to murder?”
Ye Xuan turned his gaze back to the corner of the alley and said, “What we can confirm for now is that the victim and the perpetrator knew each other and were very close. Moreover, these two were quite adventurous—the torn clothes and stockings on the ground were likely ripped off during their intimate encounter. There are even faint handprints on the victim’s chest and buttocks.”
Lin Chengfeng discreetly glanced at Su Yan, Li Xiaoran, and the other female detectives beside him before clearing his throat and saying seriously, “That part might not need to be mentioned.”
After a moment of thought, Ye Xuan looked at Su Yan, who was crouched in the alley examining the body, and asked, “Forensic Examiner Su, what was the expression on the victim’s face?”
Su Yan was momentarily taken aback before standing up and replying, “The victim’s face bore a smile, but her eyes seemed somewhat bewildered. The corners of her mouth… also appeared to retain a faint smile.”
Ye Xuan frowned deeply, trying hard to recall the victim’s expression.
“The victim looked as if she was enjoying herself. It’s possible… she was beheaded by the perpetrator with a single slash during intercourse!”
Everyone stared at Ye Xuan in astonishment.
“This…”
“It’s too unbelievable, isn’t it?”
“Why would the perpetrator kill the victim under such circumstances?”
Ye Xuan continued, “The victim’s expression also carried a trace of fear, meaning she didn’t know she was going to die while lost in the throes of passion. But she… witnessed her own beheading with her own eyes!”
“Because the perpetrator acted so quickly, the victim had no time to react before her head was severed. The trace of fear in her expression only emerged due to delayed neural responses. What we can confirm now is that the person who was intimate with the victim must be the perpetrator!”
Upon hearing this, Su Yan suddenly understood, and her gaze toward Ye Xuan held a hint of admiration.
Ye Xuan picked up a flashlight and shone it around before asking, “Has the murder weapon been found?”
Li Xiaoran shook her head regretfully and replied, “We’ve searched the area several times but still haven’t found the weapon.”
Ye Xuan frowned, trying hard to recall the figure of the person in black from earlier.
It seems… I didn’t see any weapon on him. Could it have been placed on the footrest, and I just missed it?
Lin Chengfeng asked in confusion, “What’s wrong?”
Ye Xuan shook his head and responded, “I’m just a bit curious. Since there are no signs of the body being dragged, and the blood on the wall was splattered when the perpetrator beheaded the victim, it means the murder took place here. But why did the victim’s head end up outside, and with a distance of over ten meters, there isn’t a single drop of blood on the ground?”
“Could the perpetrator have placed the victim’s head in her bag?” Li Xiaoran suggested.
Ye Xuan thought for a moment before nodding and saying, “That seems very likely at this point. But if that’s the case, why would the perpetrator take the head out and leave it outside? Moreover, a bloodstained bag would be unsellable, which would rule out robbery as a motive.”
Everyone nodded gravely, agreeing with Ye Xuan’s reasoning.
A bag stained with blood—especially such a large amount—would be impossible to clean completely.
Lin Chengfeng looked at the crowd and said, “Take the body back, confirm the identity of the deceased as soon as possible, then seal off this area completely. Leave a few people here to patrol—no one is allowed in or out. We’ll come back to investigate tomorrow at daybreak.”
The crowd responded in unison, “Yes!”
Lin Chengfeng turned his gaze to Ye Xuan and said with a smile, “Let’s go, Detective Ye. Come back to the police station with us again.”
Ye Xuan helplessly looked up at the sky.
“Just end me already!”
After the crowd had been gone for quite some time, a dark shadow suddenly darted down from the wall at the deepest part of the alley. A figure slowly emerged from it and stopped at the corner tightly cordoned off by police tape!
And in his hand, he held a knife already stained red with blood!
Early the next morning, at the Municipal Public Security Bureau.
In the office of the Criminal Investigation Team Captain.
At this moment, Ye Xuan was lying on the office sofa, fast asleep and snoring thunderously.
Meanwhile, Lin Chengfeng was sitting at his desk reviewing documents, occasionally yawning.
Just then, the office door was suddenly knocked.
“Come in.”
Wu Gang pushed open the door and walked in with a file in hand.
“Captain Lin, through facial recognition technology, along with fingerprint and DNA comparisons, the identity of the deceased has been confirmed!”
Upon hearing this, Lin Chengfeng immediately looked up and hurriedly took the file to read.
“The deceased is Chen Shuting, 28 years old, a local, married and unemployed. Her husband is named Long Hao, 48 years old, also a local, and works as a manager at a foreign trade company. The deceased and her husband got married two years ago…”
After reading the file, Lin Chengfeng said, “Notify the deceased’s family, and have Xiaoran inquire about the relationship between the deceased and her husband.”
Wu Gang straightened his chest and responded loudly, “Yes!”
Hearing Wu Gang’s response from behind, Ye Xuan was startled, his whole body trembling as he fell to the floor.
“Who is it? What’s with the shouting so early in the morning!”
Seeing this, Wu Gang scratched his head apologetically and said, “Sorry about that, Brother Ye.”
Lin Chengfeng waved his hand at Wu Gang and said, “You can go now.”
“Yes!” With that, Wu Gang strode out of the office.
Lin Chengfeng turned his gaze to Ye Xuan on the floor and said with a smile, “Awake?”
Ye Xuan slowly stood up, holding his waist, and said helplessly, “Officer Lin, you really should replace this sofa. It’s so hard—my back hurts from sleeping on it.”
Lin Chengfeng rolled his eyes and said, “I thought you were sleeping quite soundly.”
Then, Lin Chengfeng stood up and handed Chen Shuting’s file to Ye Xuan.
“Here’s the identity information of the deceased. Take a look.”
Ye Xuan yawned, lazily took the file, and flipped through it.
“The deceased is 28, but her husband is 48. Officer Lin, do you think they could be happy with a 20-year age gap?”
Lin Chengfeng rubbed his temples helplessly and said slowly, “Is that what I asked you to look at?”
“There’s nothing much to see. Just get a general understanding. Do you think I can find clues just from identity information? I’m not a god.”
After scanning the information, Ye Xuan placed it on the table, stood up, and said, “Let’s go.”
Lin Chengfeng looked puzzled and asked, “Where to?”
“To have breakfast.”
“…”
At a breakfast shop not far from the Public Security Bureau.
After ordering breakfast, the two sat at a table and chairs near the entrance, waiting.
Ye Xuan looked at Lin Chengfeng and asked curiously, “Officer Lin, do you get any rewards after solving a case?”
“What do you want to do?”
“I’m just asking out of curiosity!”
Lin Chengfeng glanced at Ye Xuan and said slowly, “Yes, take the last case for example. If nothing goes wrong, it will be a collective commendation.”
Ye Xuan stroked his chin and then asked, “What about me?”