Muchuan and Xiang Wan

Cheng Zheng didn’t elaborate more but showed Bai Muchuan a few pictures.

The pictures were all taken during the autopsy. Under the pale white light, it was a test of one’s willpower.

Bai Muchuan furrowed his eyebrows as he looked through the pictures and glanced at Cheng Zheng with a perplexed look.

“I’d rather you tell me directly what the problem is than me making guesses.”

Cheng Zheng ignored the coldness in his gaze. “Obviously, I’d rather that you feel it yourself.”

“…”

It was not easy talking to this guy. Fortunately, Bai Muchuan was a patient person and had a good temper. His line of sight brushed past the brooding face of Cheng Zheng and started to look at the pictures carefully. The close-up pictures of the corpse were clear and showed what Cheng Zheng wanted him to see.

His eyebrows were crumpled together into a scrutinizing frown. About five to six minutes later, after he finished examining the pictures, he put them down. “So you’re trying to say that there’s something suspicious about the cause of death?”

Cheng Zheng replied, “What you say is akin to a sweeping statement.”

If he had no doubts about this case, there was no need for him to do this.

Bai Muchuan’s lips twitched. “Feng Yingjun told us that he hid at the eaves and when Xu Siqi entered the changing room, he followed and asked her to leave with him. But when she rejected him, he also went down to the pool secretly and suffocated her.”

As he said that, he took the pictures in his hand. “So what’s the problem with the cause of death?”

Cheng Zheng: “There’s no problem with the cause of death.”

Bai Muchuan: “…”

Goodness. So what exactly was the problem?

“Did Feng Yingjun tell you that the wound behind the ear to the neck was caused by him?” Cheng Zheng looked at him seriously. “Furthermore, it’s normal for a person to bring a knife since he had intentions to kill her. But don’t you think that it’s bizarre that he also brought along an iron ball and ropes?”

Bai Muchuan furrowed his eyebrows. “Feng Yingjun said that the previous tenant of the house he rented was a salesman who sells sports equipment to students, and had left some sports equipment behind when he moved away. Since Feng Yingjun wanted to kill Xu Siqi, this could only mean that he had been planning to kill her for a while…”

“Why the swimming pool?”

“He felt that it was safer when there are more people around. Killing another in the pool can also destroy the evidence he might have left.”

“Indeed, that is correct,” said Cheng Zheng, “however, after conducting the autopsy, I realized that the wound behind her ear was left after she was dead…”

Eh?

Bai Muchuan had thought that Cheng Zheng might tell him that Xu Siqi was dead and was then moved to the swimming pool. If that was the case, it would be strange as there were quite a lot of people at the pool, why didn’t anyone see Feng Yingjun moving the corpse then?

He didn’t expect that it would be something like this.

“This is strange,” commented Cheng Zheng, “Feng Yingjun suffocated Xu Siqi in the water and made sure she couldn’t float… Why did he leave a wound behind her ear? By doing so, it is easier for him to get exposed as the wound might bleed. From what I see, he didn’t look like someone who wanted to die.”

Bai Muchuan nodded his head. “You’ve got a point here. With regards to this problem, we have to look into it.”

After a momentary pause, he asked, “Is there anything else?”

Cheng Zheng shook his head. “Everything else is consistent with what he has confessed.”

Bai Muchuan got up from the chair. “Alright then, I shall make a move now.”

Cheng Zheng nodded his head and didn’t say anything more.

Bai Muchuan walked a few more steps and suddenly turned around. “You’ve worked hard, do go home early to rest.”

“Mm.” Cheng Zheng looked at his back view for a long time.

…

When Bai Muchuan got back to his office, he opened his email and saw Xiang Wan’s report.

After reading a few lines of the report, his eyebrows became closely knitted into a frown.

Xiang Wan’s analysis had something similar to Cheng Zheng’s finding.

She felt that all human behaviors follow a psychological track. Although Feng Yingjun’s motive and details were consistent with each other, there were still some doubts in the case.

Firstly, Feng Yingjun had never committed any crime before. Therefore, he wouldn’t be so meticulous as this was his first time killing someone. Why did he choose the swimming pool where there were so many people around? It was actually a high-risk spot.

Secondly, he had to carry the rope and the heavy iron ball with him and snuck into the swimming pool. Wouldn’t he find it a chore to do that? Normally, few crimes were actually committed in this manner. He could totally ask Xu Siqi to meet at an isolated place, finish her off then escape. This method was much easier than what he did.

Thirdly, she also mentioned the scar behind the ear. She felt that what was written on the statement was not enough to understand what was the wound about. Was the wound inflicted before or after her death? This would have a great impact on the conclusion of the case.

Bai Muchuan then messaged Xiang Wan about Cheng Zheng’s autopsy results.

“What do you think?”

Although Xiang Wan was writing her chapter, she was online.

She had been waiting for Bai Muchuan’s opinion about her report but she received a question instead. That baffled her a little.

“Wait a while.” About two to three minutes later, she gave Bai Muchuan a conclusion. “Is there a possibility that there’s more than one murderer in Xu Siqi’s case?”

“You’re saying that…” Bai Muchuan contemplated for a moment. “Besides Feng Yingjun, there might be another one?”

“The first possibility is that Feng Yingjun was used by another and became the scapegoat without realizing. The other possibility is that there’s another murderer who inflicted that wound after Xu Siqi died…”

“What’s the motive of making that wound?” Bai Muchuan continued to ask.

Xiang Wan also offered him two possibilities.

“The first is that the second murderer could be worried that she might be alive so that was to make sure that she was dead as a doornail. However, I feel that this possibility should be quite low. The second is… allow me to make a wild guess. Could it be that the murderer wanted to destroy something behind her ear? For instance, there could be some evidence behind her ear or the murderer might be making a symbol?”

That was indeed a wild guess.

Bai Muchuan gave it a thought. “I’m going to interrogate Feng Yingjun again. Wait for my news.”

“Okay, I’ll continue to write my chapter.”

After ending the conversation, Xiang Wan pondered for a moment and realized that she couldn’t write her story anymore.

Xu Siqi’s case was not considered a major one. At the moment, it was not the most bizarre case that she had encountered. Yet, there was a feeling, a strange one to be exact… Like everything was all nice and calm, when suddenly, as she got closer to the truth, closer to finding out who was the second murderer – she felt the kind of chill and fear that came from the heart.

If Feng Yingjun was not the only murderer… Why did the second murderer want to kill Xu Siqi?

She was just a young woman who had a simple background and wanted to become a celebrity. If she didn’t happen to be working for Xie Wanwan as her assistant and chose the influential businessman, Zhang Houfa, as her sugar daddy so he could make her into a celebrity, this woman’s life was as ordinary as she could be.

Every action has its cause.

What was the reason for killing her?

Did she happen to stumble upon someone’s secret? Like what Bai Muchuan had first analyzed, that she might have come in contact with Zhang Houfa’s secret? Or someone else plotted for her to find out about Zhang Houfa’s secret, she could have been successful or failed, so she had to be silenced?

Xiang Wan’s brain couldn’t stop thinking about multiple possibilities in a short time.

Her thoughts were so active that she was confused.

Holding her head with her hands, she closed her eyes.

She wanted to be quiet for a moment but her mind seemed to have gotten into a mess as she couldn’t stop thinking about the case.

Forget it! She huffed to calm herself down so she could write her chapter…

Not long after, there were some quick footsteps approaching the direction of her office.

Surprised, she stopped what she was doing right as the door opened.

Bai Muchuan was the one who came into the office. His gaze was doting and deep. “Why are you still writing?”

Xiang Wan nodded her head. Anticipation filled her gaze. “Anything new from Feng Yingjun?”

Bai Muchuan sat down before her. “The knife belonged to him. He brought it along with him but he wasn’t sure if he’s the one who created that wound. After he suffocated Xu Siqi, he left the knife in the swimming pool. The Forensics Team has also confirmed that the wound was made using that very knife…”

Xiang Wan felt puzzled to hear that. “Why is he not sure?”

Bai Muchuan: “He explained that he was too flustered. Initially, he used that knife to make sure that Xu Siqi wouldn’t retaliate. When he suffocated her, she struggled—which is why he is not sure if the knife had caused a wound on her.”

Xiang Wan’s eyes lit up. “We got the answer already! Cheng Zheng said that the wound was formed after her death. Feng Yingjun threw the knife after he got her. If the wound was made when she was struggling, the results provided by the Forensic Team would have been different. Hence, there is only one conclusion—”

Bai Muchuan nodded his head as Xiang Wan declared with her eyes sparkling bright, “Unless there’s a problem with Cheng Zheng’s report, there really is another murderer.”