Yan Qing gently turned the cup in her hands, her voice clear and pleasant. “The male deceased had two entry wounds at the 3rd and 4th ribs on the right side of the chest. Two bullet fragments were also recovered from the body, but these two bullets only caused fractures of the 3rd and 4th ribs without damaging the internal organs — so the deceased died of hemorrhagic shock. The female deceased was struck at the right temple; the bullet passed through the skull and caused severe cranial brain injury.”

“Are you saying the female deceased’s wound was more severe than the male’s?”

Yan Qing nodded.

“I found no carbon deposits in the trachea or stomach of the male deceased, yet I found a small amount of carbon residue in the female deceased’s trachea. This indicates that when the vehicle began to burn, the female deceased was still in a terminal state, while the male deceased had already died. If the two had been attacked simultaneously, the more severely wounded person should have died first. Since the female deceased still had breath, there is only one explanation: the male deceased was attacked first, and after some time had passed, the female deceased was then attacked.”

A look of admiration appeared in Shi Ting’s eyes. His little wife always managed to surprise him.

“Bai Jin and I found the primary crime scene on the hillside. The tree bark has been sent for testing — it should be able to detect traces of urine. Combined with your autopsy report, I believe the scene unfolded like this.”

Shi Ting took two fountain pens and placed them on the desk. “After the male and female deceased walked out of the Qingyuan Villa Estate, the female deceased got into the car parked by the road first, while the male deceased suddenly felt the urge to urinate and went to relieve himself by the poplar trees. At that moment, the killer followed from behind and fired two shots into the male deceased’s back. The male deceased had not yet died at that point, so the killer dragged the body toward where the car was. During the dragging, the male deceased died.”

He moved one of the pens aside. “The killer then came to the front of the car and knocked on the window. When the female deceased rolled down the window, the killer shot her in the head at close range. After loading the male deceased into the back seat, the killer drove the car all the way to the bottom of the slope. Upon getting out, he moved the male deceased to the driver’s seat. To make positioning easier, the killer reclined both seat backs. He had originally intended to push the car down into the ravine at the bottom of the slope, but couldn’t manage it, and so set the car on fire instead.”

The two exchanged a glance. Both felt this reconstruction of the scene was already very close to the truth.

“Was the deceased really Xie Jun?” Yan Qing asked.

“I’ve already notified Director Xie — he should be arriving soon.”

As he spoke, Shi Ting stood up. “I’ll go check the bullets you extracted.”

A bullet could identify the firearm and confirm the murder weapon.

Yan Qing added, “Both of the killer’s shots were fired at close range — particularly evident on the female deceased. The entry wound on the female deceased’s head shows severe laceration. This is because the skull provides a hard backing; the high-pressure gas from the muzzle causes excessive stretching of the skin tissue. This is one of the classic characteristics of a close-range shot.”

She felt this would be useful to him.

Just as the two walked out of the office, an officer came striding over quickly. He saluted first. “Director, Director Xie is here.”

Shi Ting looked at Yan Qing. Yan Qing understood, and turned to go back into the forensic examination room.

Xie Zhiming was waiting in the main hall, with a woman and two young ladies beside him. The woman looked deeply anxious, constantly wringing the handkerchief in her hands.

Seeing Shi Ting come out, Xie Zhiming hurried to meet him. “Director Shi.”

Shi Ting said, “Director Xie, let’s speak over here.”

Xie Zhiming and Shi Ting stepped to one side. Shi Ting gave a brief account of the situation. “Director Xie, please don’t be too alarmed just yet — this is only our preliminary suspicion. Have you seen Xie Jun today?”

Xie Zhiming had already gone pale. His lips trembled slightly for a moment, and it took considerable effort before he finally managed to compose himself. “Please, Director Shi, take me to see the body.”

He turned back and said a few words to Madam Xie. She said anxiously, “I’m coming with you.”

“We’re going too.” The two young women who spoke were Xie Zhiming’s eldest and second daughters. Xie Jun was his youngest and only son.

Precisely because he was the youngest child and a son, Madam Xie had been excessively indulgent with Xie Jun. On top of that, Xie Zhiming had been too occupied with official affairs to pay any attention to the upbringing of his children. By the time he realized that Xie Jun had already developed the vile habits of a spoiled young wastrel, it was far too late to remedy.

“Come in with me and your mother. You two wait outside.” Xie Zhiming knew the bodies had been burned — the sight would be unbearable. He didn’t want his two daughters to see that.

Shi Ting led Xie Zhiming and his wife to the forensic examination room. Before they even arrived, they could already smell a sickeningly charred odor.

Madam Xie immediately felt her throat tighten, barely suppressing the urge to retch.

Shi Ting pushed open the door and gave Yan Qing a nod.

Yan Qing said, “Please prepare yourselves mentally — the bodies are quite severely damaged.”

Madam Xie instinctively gripped her husband’s hand upon hearing this.

“The deceased is male, approximately 25 years of age, 176 cm in height. Because the burning was quite severe, the surface of the body has little identifying information remaining. However, I found during examination that the deceased has two metal false teeth — the 2nd and 3rd molars of the upper jaw.” As she spoke, Yan Qing slowly lifted the white sheet covering the body.

A body burned to a deep charred black was revealed before everyone’s eyes. The body was utterly unrecognizable — like a strangely shaped lump of charcoal.

Madam Xie covered her mouth with her hand, instinctively taking two steps back.

Although the information Yan Qing had just described matched her son perfectly, deep down she simply could not bring herself to accept that the blackened, charred body before her was her most beloved youngest son.

“No — no, it’s not Junzi.” Madam Xie suddenly let out a sharp scream, and then her eyes rolled back and she collapsed.

Director Xie moved with swift reflexes, catching her in time.

Xie Zhiming, at this moment, had tears brimming in his eyes. The muscles of his face were trembling uncontrollably. No matter how hard he fought to suppress it, he could not contain his emotions which were on the verge of collapse.

Those around them helped support Madam Xie out to a bench in the hallway. Her two daughters immediately rushed over, and without needing to ask a single question — just from seeing the state their mother was in — what more was there left not to understand?

The two daughters flanked their mother, one on each side, and could not help but burst into sobbing grief.

Xie Zhiming watched the three of them weeping together. His legs suddenly gave way; only because Shi Ting caught him did he barely manage to stay upright. He reached out a hand and steadied himself against the nearby wall.

After a long while, he finally found a shred of reason amid the overwhelming pain, and turned to face Shi Ting. “Director Shi, how did my son die?”

“The forensic autopsy report confirms that Xie Jun was shot twice from behind, resulting in massive hemorrhage and death from shock.”

Xie Zhiming took a deep breath. The gaze he turned on Shi Ting was filled with raw grief, like a wounded beast. “Director Shi, the matter of Tai Shan before was an offense on my part. It is fortunate that you did not hold it against me. Now, I humbly implore you — please find the killer who murdered my son. The great debt I owe you, I will spend the rest of my life repaying.”

“You’re too kind, Director Xie.” Shi Ting said, “Hunting down the killer and giving the deceased justice — that is precisely the duty of our Military Police Directorate.”

The gratitude in Xie Zhiming’s gaze as he looked at Shi Ting was immense. In the Tai Shan affair, he had also been manipulated by others. He had originally assumed that upon Shi Ting’s return to Shun Cheng, he would go straight to the Marshal and report him severely. He never expected that Shi Ting not only did not file a complaint against him, but actually praised him before the Marshal as a man of integrity who was not afraid to stand against power.

Upon learning this, Xie Zhiming had thought to himself: this youngest son of the Marshal is absolutely no ordinary figure. It was entirely possible that one day he would stir up a great storm across the Bei Di or even throughout all of Xin Guo.

“I’m counting on you, Director Shi.” Xie Zhiming stood with his feet together, back ramrod straight, and bowed with the utmost reverence.

Shi Ting looked at the silver already threading his temples, and couldn’t help but feel a wave of sorrow. The grief of losing a son cut to the very core. Xie Zhiming was a man of upright character, and he should not have had to know the pain of a parent burying a child at this age.

“Director Xie, rest assured. I promise you — I will find the killer and bring him to justice.” Without realizing it, his tone carried a quiet, unshakable certainty.

Xie Zhiming still held his bow. Hearing Shi Ting’s words, a single tear slipped from the corner of his wrinkled eyes — like a pearl dropping onto a stone floor, shattering into countless fragments.

After seeing the Xie family off, Shi Ting returned to the forensic examination room. Yan Qing was sitting at the desk, writing something in a notebook.

“What you wanted is over there.” Yan Qing heard the sound of footsteps and knew it was him coming in. She pointed to one side with the pen in her hand.

Shi Ting pressed his lips together lightly and walked to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her.

“What’s wrong?” Yan Qing patted the hand resting on her chest.

Shi Ting said nothing, simply holding her.

Yan Qing could roughly guess what he was thinking — he had seen Xie Zhiming’s state and felt deeply moved.

Xie Zhiming was someone he had never even considered trying to win over, because his nature was such that no one could win him over.

It was said that once, when investigating a certain minister, he had brought a coffin along with him. In his eyes, his own life was of no great importance — what mattered was that the law must not descend into chaos.

A man like this, though he was despised and feared by most officials, was an irreplaceable pillar for the nation and its people. So seeing this man with his already-graying temples suffer the devastation of losing a son — how could Shi Ting not be moved?

Yan Qing gently rubbed against his hand and said softly to comfort him, “Director Xie is a man of integrity and clean hands. You will certainly give him justice — isn’t that right?”

“Yes.” He gave a low reply against the curve of her neck.

Yan Qing pinched his cheek. “All right then. Time to get back to work, Director Shi.”

Only then did Shi Ting reluctantly pull away from her soft warmth. When he rose, he had already restored the composed, serious expression of Director Shi.

He walked to the evidence table nearby, picked up the three bullets Yan Qing had already laid out, and held up the evidence bag to examine them carefully. A thoughtful expression crossed his face.