[Headless female corpse]
Following them into the public toilet, Lu Ting’an realized that the passersby outside had actually been quite restrained. Zhou Wanxi’s death was beyond tragic; compared to the glamour of her daily life, her body had been handled in a manner that was utterly haphazard and undignified.
Pingnan Ridge was on the fringes of Hong Kong. Most of its streets were old, narrow, and chaotic. The floor of the public restroom was caked in thick, black filth, and the stench was overpowering.
Zhou Wanxi’s corpse had been dumped in the second stall of the men’s room. Propped against the wall, her legs were splayed wide, stretching her cheongsam tight. Her knees were bent at an unnatural angle, which ironically kept her sitting quite steadily; she hadn’t slumped in any direction even after all this time, but sat facing the stall door head-on.
The most horrific part was from the shoulders up. Her head and neck had been completely severed. The cut was clean, yet the surrounding flesh was a mangled mess, exposing the stark white of her cervical vertebrae.
Fu Yirong looked away, unable to bear the sight. “Who could be so inhuman? No matter how deep the grudge, there’s no need to do this to a person…”
He was a regular at the Baihui Club, and Zhou Wanxi was a high-profile star there; he saw her on stage every time he visited. While they had no personal connection, seeing her die such a miserable death filled him with regret.
Gu Yingzhou’s indifferent gaze swept over every corner of the scene. He then slipped on shoe covers, stepped into the stall, and carefully avoided the body as he crouched down. “When will the medical examiner and the forensic team arrive?”
“I only notified them before we left,” Fu Yirong said. “It’ll take a while.”
Since they dealt with the forensic team constantly, they had picked up a bit of their trade. Fu Yirong began searching for overlooked clues, but as he turned his head, he saw Lu Ting’an standing far back, brow furrowed as he gingerly covered his nose.
Cursing him internally for being “useless,” Fu Yirong’s temper flared. “Since Young Master Lu is so terrified, why did you bother coming in here just to get in the way?”
Lu Ting’an kept his head turned, not even bothering to spare Fu Yirong a glance. “You should probably deal with the physical evidence in front of you first.”
“What evid—” Before Fu Yirong could finish, he saw two piles of excrement sitting quietly by his feet, a burnt, sickly yellow.
It was… shit.
“Who’s this uncultured?! You’re already in a public toilet—can’t you use the damn pit?!”
Standing at the furthest possible point from the mess, Lu Ting’an said pointedly, “Is this how ‘unrigorous’ you are when solving cases, Officer Fu? How do you know this wasn’t left by the killer to mask the traces of their crime?”
Fu Yirong’s expression stiffened. He actually began to hesitate. As a Major Crimes officer, he couldn’t ignore any potentially useful lead. But this… this was shit…
Just as he was pondering how to collect a sample, a thin, scrawny man in his thirties shuffled over, trembling.
“Officer! I’m not the killer!” The man wasn’t tall. Having been brought inside, he kept his head bowed low, terrified of catching another glimpse of the corpse.
Fu Yirong’s eyes were sharp. “Who are you?”
“I’m the one who reported it,” the man said.
“Your accent doesn’t sound like a local’s.”
Under that interrogation-like stare, the man’s legs went weak, and he spilled everything immediately. “I came to Hong Kong five years ago to make a living. I opened a bookstore at the corner ahead on Pingnan Street. You can go ask around, Officer—everyone in this neighborhood knows me.”
“Usually, I open at eight in the morning, but today I woke up too early with nothing to do, so I came to the shop at seven. My stomach is a bit sensitive; whenever I drink milk, things get… uneasy. Officer, I really just came to use the bathroom. Who would’ve thought that as soon as I pulled the door open, I’d see something so terrifying…” The man grew more embarrassed as he spoke. “I’m not uncultured, Officer, and I’m definitely not the killer.”
The crowd near the restroom heard this and began to mock him.
“Ah Wu’s courage is still as small as ever. Doesn’t match his name at all, does it?” [1] Wu often implies martial or brave jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1641486_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1641486_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.
“Anyone would be scared seeing a body first thing in the morning. Ah Wu wouldn’t even dare kill a chicken, let alone a person.”
“He was so scared of the dead body he literally shit himself.”
In the past, Ah Wu hated being mocked, but in this situation, the people laughing at him became his lifeline.
Back in the stall, Gu Yingzhou had already stood up and was pulling off his gloves.
He wasn’t a medical examiner, so he hadn’t touched the body much, but based on the lividity and the degree of rigor mortis, he could determine some useful information.
“Based on the shifting of the lividity, the time of death is at least ten hours ago. The rigor mortis in the muscles and joints confirms this; the body is fully stiff and hasn’t reached the stage where rigor begins to fade.” Gu Yingzhou looked at Fu Yirong. “This isn’t the primary crime scene. The body was likely moved here late last night. The head was removed because the killer feared the victim’s identity would be discovered too quickly.”
The killer had simply forgotten that Zhou Wanxi was a Hong Kong celebrity; even without a face, she was easily recognizable.
Fu Yirong rubbed his chin in thought. “So you’re saying decapitation wasn’t the cause of death?”
Gu Yingzhou glanced around but didn’t explain further. He simply waved him off. “To transport a complete corpse to a public toilet, the killer must live nearby and have a vehicle for dumping the body. Yirong, go ask if anyone saw any suspicious people or vehicles entering or leaving this street after nightfall.”
Fu Yirong quickly complied. Before leaving the restroom, he noticed Lu Ting’an looking at him and shot back a fierce glare.
Lu Ting’an swept a cool gaze over him, internally critiquing him as “incompetent.”
‘This guy is supposed to be a member of Major Crimes Unit 1? He’s followed Gu Yingzhou through all sorts of cases, yet he can’t even see the most basic clues?’
If Zhou Wanxi had died from decapitation, there would be massive spray patterns of blood at the primary crime scene and all over her body. When the carotid artery is severed, the blood flow is no different from a wide-open faucet; it gets everywhere.
As things stood, only the area of her dress from the chest up was soaked a dark crimson; the rest of her body was free of major bloodstains aside from a few stray droplets. This made it clear she had been decapitated post-mortem. More specifically, the head was likely severed at least two hours after death, which explained why the blood volume was even lower than usual.
Fu Yirong couldn’t even figure that much out—no wonder Lu Ting’an looked down on him.
Naturally, Fu Yirong failed to glean any information.
Most of the residents in Pingnan Ridge were the elderly or the impoverished. They possessed an innate fear of the police and avoided speaking to officers as much as possible, terrified of inviting trouble. Furthermore, the area was economically backward and lacked any semblance of a nightlife; after ten o’clock, you wouldn’t even see a dog on the streets.
With no useful leads from the locals, the Major Crimes Unit had no choice but to shift their focus to the Baihui Club. Zhou Wanxi spent most of her time working there; no one knew her background or her “close male friends” better than the people at the club.
Gu Yingzhou wasted no more time. “Seal the scene. No unauthorized entry. Notify the Forensic Department to conduct an autopsy immediately.”
Two officers squeezed through the crowd at the entrance just in time to hear Gu Yingzhou’s command. They snapped to attention and responded with a grave, “Yes, Sir!” Seeing Gu Yingzhou’s cold, stern expression, the officers couldn’t help but marvel inwardly: Captain Gu is as decisive and efficient as ever.
The trio left quickly. Once the police car had completely vanished down the street, the crowd dispersed in a swarm. Faintly, a few snatches of conversation drifted off in the wind…
“Hey? Old Wu, didn’t you say you saw someone loitering around here last night? Why didn’t you say anything when the Officer asked?”
The man called Old Wu chuckled awkwardly, brushing it off. “I just saw an old man, that’s all. It’s normal for a trash collector to be loitering nearby. Don’t go talking nonsense where an Officer might hear; I was dead drunk last night, maybe I just saw things.”
Everyone living around here were neighbors who saw each other every day; they knew what kind of person Old Wu was. A middle-aged man with no great ambitions, his only daily thought was how to sneak out for a few drinks behind his wife’s back. Once he had a few, he loved to tell tall tales.
Pingnan Ridge saw plenty of petty thefts, but a homicide was a first in years. Who knew if Old Wu was just making up “eyewitness evidence” to feel important? Consequently, the group mocked him for a few moments and didn’t take a word he said to heart.
…
The police car pulled onto the main road, finally leaving the cramped alleys far behind.
Lu Ting’an leaned against the window, looking out for a moment before suddenly speaking up. “Could you pull over at the next intersection? I’m getting out.”
Fu Yirong rolled his eyes. “You think you’re in a taxi?” He paused, then asked, “Which department did you join in the station?”
“Logistics.”
Fu Yirong gave a non-committal “oh” and floored the accelerator.
The Logistics Department of the Major Crimes Unit usually had nothing to do, aside from occasionally distributing office supplies or managing the fleet of official vehicles. Besides, one didn’t need a brain to know that there was no way Lu Ting’an would actually do any “boots-on-the-ground” labor. Since he was only going back to the station to be a mascot, he might as well follow them to the Baihui Club.
“When necessary, logistics personnel must follow the arrangements of the Major Crimes Unit,” Fu Yirong said. “Young Master Lu, you’re a regular at the Baihui Club. Which of the girls there isn’t familiar with you? Who knows, maybe if you go and sweet-talk them, the killer will just turn himself in.”
Lu Ting’an propped his chin on his hand and looked in the rearview mirror, meeting Fu Yirong’s mocking gaze exactly as expected.
Fu Yirong might be slow on the uptake, but he was certainly a pro at being passive-aggressive.
“Are you suggesting the killer is one of the girls from the club?” Lu Ting’an countered.
Fu Yirong replied, “It’s very possible. The autopsy hasn’t been done yet and the leads are unclear. Anyone could be the killer, male or female.”
Lu Ting’an let out a cold laugh. “There is a ninety percent chance the killer is a man.”
Fu Yirong’s hand slipped on the steering wheel, nearly brushing the car against the roadside guardrail. He slammed on the brakes. Once the car was steady, he turned around and stared at Lu Ting’an with an interrogating gaze. “Why are you so certain?”
Gu Yingzhou, sitting beside him, also turned his head without saying a word. He wasn’t the type to explode at the slightest provocation, nor was he like Fu Yirong, who easily let personal emotions bleed into his work. Regarding Lu Ting’an—this man who had once “coveted” him—he hadn’t gone out of his way to be hostile; he had simply ignored him from the start.
But now, the look he gave Lu Ting’an was heavy with meaning.
Lu Ting’an wasn’t the type to “return grievance with kindness.” From the moment Fu Yirong began targeting him this morning, it was destined that the two wouldn’t have a pleasant conversation. However, he was faced with a murder case, and Zhou Wanxi was the woman who had appeared in his dream. She had been so real last night, yet now…
After a few seconds, Lu Ting’an temporarily set aside his grudge with Fu Yirong.
“Zhou Wanxi wasn’t short for a woman, and she wasn’t skin and bones. Even without a head, she wouldn’t be light. If the killer were a woman, how could she have the strength to dump the body so effortlessly? Aside from the stall itself, there were almost no bloodstains left by Zhou Wanxi in the restroom.” The killer was not only cruel but also extremely calm.
Fu Yirong argued, “Women can be strong too. Pingnan Ridge has no shortage of women who do heavy labor.”
Lu Ting’an looked up unhurriedly. “Does what you’re saying now contradict your earlier claim that ‘a girl from the Baihui Club is the killer’?” The dancers and singers of the club were all delicate and fragile. Forget moving a corpse—they’d probably struggle to carry a bucket of water.
Fu Yirong felt a bit embarrassed. He stiffened his neck and stubbornly insisted, “Even so, you can’t be sure the killer is a man.”
Lu Ting’an’s long lashes lowered slightly, and his fingers, resting on his knees, curled up instinctively. He couldn’t help but recall the gruesome sight at the dump site: Zhou Wanxi’s contorted legs, her bunched-up, wrinkled cheongsam… everything screamed of the killer’s perversion.
Lu Ting’an’s face turned icy, and his voice tightened. “The killer violated Zhou Wanxi after she was dead. You tell me—is he a man?”
Fu Yirong: “…”
His pupils shrank. Like a duck being squeezed by the neck, he suddenly couldn’t utter a single word.
As for Gu Yingzhou, his expression became exceptionally grim and serious.
References[+]