The filming set for Day and Night Soul Hunt was located in a deserted village in the suburbs, designed to reconstruct the original case from years ago to the greatest extent possible. However, as someone who was partially involved in the real-life counterpart, Mo Junyi couldn’t see any resemblance between the two at all after arriving at the scene.
Being a crime drama, most of the crew possessed at least some legal awareness; they hadn’t disturbed the immediate crime scene, but as for the rest, it was hard to say.
Blood was splattered in front of an abandoned, dilapidated building. The director and other staff members stood to the side, smoking incessantly.
Su Xingtong stood far away on the other side, accompanied only by an assistant and a young girl. He seemed to have just finished filming a scene in the water; he was wrapped in a large padded coat, but the shirt underneath was still dripping.
Mo Junyi led his team forward. Hearing their footsteps, Su Xingtong suddenly snapped out of his own world and instinctively looked over. When he saw that the arriving police officer was Mo Junyi, he was initially surprised. Then, the lingering fear finally bubbled to the surface. He pursed his lips, staring unblinkingly at Mo Junyi.
Whether it was a trick of the light or reality, his eyes looked somewhat helpless and aggrieved, like someone who had been frightened and finally saw a close person, longing for comfort.
Mo Junyi’s footsteps faltered slightly at the sight. He wanted to ask about Su Xingtong’s condition, but the priority was to cordon off the scene and investigate the cause of death. He nodded at Su Xingtong, offering a brief look of comfort, then raised his hand to signal his team. Liu Minghua immediately understood and began cordoning off the area.
Seeing this, the director threw away his cigarette butt and walked over. He familiarly pulled out a Chunghwa cigarette to offer to Mo Junyi, but Mo Junyi declined: “I don’t smoke.”
The director paused, then tucked the cigarette between his fingers with a normal expression. He asked in a leisurely tone, “May I ask for your surname, Officer?”
Mo Junyi had no time for pleasantries: “My surname is Mo. Please gather everyone in the crew; there are things I need to confirm with them.”
The director smiled and said, “Officer, this is just an accident. Is there a need for such a commotion? We still have work tomorrow…”
Mo Junyi interrupted: “We cannot draw conclusions without an investigation. It seems you are very certain about the nature of this event, Director?”
The director froze, finally realizing the newcomer wasn’t easy to deal with. He stared at Mo Junyi: “Officer, talk requires evidence. It’s no fun if you’re going to be like this.”
Mo Junyi nodded: “You’re right. We do need evidence. Right now, what we are doing is proving the innocence of everyone present. Don’t you agree?”
The director was left speechless for a moment before nodding: “Fair point.” He then turned and ordered someone to go to the lodgings to call the actors and their assistants over.
“Wait,” Mo Junyi stopped the person. “Liu Ye, go with him.”
A criminal police officer following Liu Minghua immediately handed his equipment to a colleague and jogged to catch up with the person leaving.
The director’s expression soured: “The Officer doesn’t trust me?”
Mo Junyi didn’t bother responding and walked toward Su Xingtong.
The young girl standing next to Su Xingtong was whispering something to the assistant, peeking at Mo Junyi with a lingering sense of shock. Seeing him actually coming over, her eyes widened.
Su Xingtong was sneezing inside his coat. Looking up to see Mo Junyi standing before him, he was startled, his eyes rounding slightly: “…Is there something you need to ask?”
Seeing that his clothes were still dripping, Mo Junyi replied, “Go back and change first. The questioning will be done collectively later.”
Su Xingtong sneezed and wrapped his coat tighter, feeling embarrassed: “Okay.”
The young girl beside him widened her eyes as if meeting Su Xingtong for the first time. Her voice still carried a tremor from the accident: “Since when did Teacher Su become… so gentle?”
Perhaps out of shock, she didn’t lower her voice. Both Mo Junyi and Su Xingtong heard her clearly.
Su Xingtong stiffened, turning to give the girl a pointed but not overly harsh glare: “Xiao Lan.”
The girl, Xiao Lan, acted like her tail had been stepped on, instantly standing up straight. “Teacher, shall we head back now?”
“Yes,” Su Xingtong nodded. “Don’t touch anything here.”
“Yes, yes, of course,” the girl chirped.
Watching Su Xingtong walk away with his two assistants, Mo Junyi withdrew his gaze. Liu Minghua had just finished cordoning off the area. Mo Junyi took a pair of gloves from her and entered the restricted zone with the forensic team.
The deceased had fallen from a height; the body was mangled beyond recognition. After a brief examination, the forensic doctor stated that the cause of death was tentatively confirmed as a fall. Other details, such as potential poisoning or sleeping pills, would require a detailed autopsy and analysis.
Mo Junyi nodded. This aligned with his guess; the problem likely didn’t lie within the victim himself.
He led Liu Minghua and two other officers up a simple temporary scaffolding. The frame was made of stainless steel; as the four of them climbed, it vibrated noticeably. Liu Minghua knelt down and squeezed the steel: “The weight-bearing capacity is terrible. Does this crew not value actors’ lives at all?”
Mo Junyi didn’t respond but looked into the distance. Liu Minghua followed his gaze and saw another frame nearby. From its appearance, it served the same purpose as the one they were on, but it was much wider, taller, and visibly sturdier.
Mo Junyi patted an officer who had followed him up: “Go down and ask about that.” The officer nodded and climbed down.
Mo Junyi led the remaining two to the broken wire.
“Chief, there’s rust here,” Liu Minghua pointed at the break in the wire. “Wait… there seems to be something else on it.”
Mo Junyi pulled her back with a frown. The coating at the break had completely peeled off, revealing reddish iron filings from corrosion. It looked like a genuine accident, but surrounding the iron filings were tiny white bubbles, nearly invisible to the naked eye.
Mo Junyi took a brush and a sampling tube from an officer. When he dipped the brush into the white bubbles, he noticed moisture around them.
After securing the sample, Mo Junyi looked down: “Liu Minghua, go down and check the ground.”
Liu Minghua nodded and climbed down. Standing at the corresponding spot, she suddenly said, “There’s this white powder on the ground too.”
Mo Junyi frowned, meticulously reviewing the situation on the scaffolding. After ensuring no details were missed, he descended to the ground.
“Here, look.” Liu Minghua handed him the sample.
Mo Junyi took it and held it up to the light. An officer couldn’t help but speculate: “Team Mo, this couldn’t be… drugs, right?”
Mo Junyi hadn’t worked in narcotics, but his uncle was a veteran anti-drug officer of thirty years, so he knew a bit about these things.
“No,” Mo Junyi shook his head. “This looks more like… flour, or some other industrial powder.”
Liu Minghua stood with her arms crossed: “Well, we can’t taste it. Send it back for analysis; no use overthinking it now.”
Mo Junyi nodded but added his analysis: “These should be industrial products used to catalyze steel corrosion. Possibly chalk.”
“Chalk?” Liu Minghua frowned. “Chalk can accelerate corrosion?”
Mo Junyi glanced at her: “What was your physics score in the college entrance exam?”
Liu Minghua replied dryly, “240 on the science comprehensive, but still a distance away from a ‘beast’ like you who got 280.”
Mo Junyi didn’t acknowledge the joke: “Be careful during the screening later.”
Liu Minghua’s expression turned serious: “Understood.”
Mo Junyi and his team waited at the scene for a while. Su Xingtong had already changed and come back out before the other actors arrived belatedly. Each of them wore a look of reluctance. If the director hadn’t been standing there, someone probably would have started complaining already.
Su Xingtong had changed into a knit sweater, and his aura seemed even softer.
Behind him followed an actor with a baby face who was slightly shorter than him. That person walked over with an impatient look and immediately ran to the director, shouting in an aggressive tone, “Why call us out in the middle of the night? It’s different when the big star almost has an accident; us ‘nobodies’ are just here to play backup for him.”
Mo Junyi’s brow furrowed, but before he could speak, he heard Su Xingtong let out a cold laugh: “If you know you’re a nobody, keep your mouth shut.”
Mo Junyi turned to look at Su Xingtong, a hint of surprise in his eyes. Seeing Mo Junyi looking over, Su Xingtong immediately retracted his cold laugh, coughed, and turned his head, closing his mouth and reverting to his previous cold and fragile appearance.
Actually, his behavior just now was more in line with the impression he left on Mo Junyi during their first meeting—glamorous with a hint of arrogance, someone who wouldn’t just swallow an insult. But since Mo Junyi had accompanied him home once, Su Xingtong was like a shellfish with its shell pried open, unable to stop himself from showing his soft interior.
The star named Bai Yuan clearly argued with Su Xingtong often. Seeing Su Xingtong’s face go cold, Bai Yuan immediately raised his voice: “I’m a nobody?! Then what are you?! Who are you putting on this show for? Everyone knows you were supposed to be on the wire tonight, but the person was suddenly changed at the last second. Hmph, it’s hard to say if there isn’t something fishy going on. The police aren’t stupid; I suggest you confess honestly.”
The police officers, who were being used as leverage by him for no reason, all frowned. Most criminal police officers preferred not to deal with people from the entertainment industry unless necessary.
Mo Junyi swept a cold glance over Bai Yuan: “As for whether there’s anything fishy, I will naturally ask later.”
Bai Yuan stiffened under his gaze. Before he could recover, Mo Junyi said coldly, “Take them away and question them separately.”