The midsummer days slipped away one after another.

Life at Wangyue Mountain Residential Complex, where the horrific murder had taken place, returned to its bustling noise the very next day. People rushed about their business – going to work, picking up children, running their shops… At first, some people would stop to look at the police tape cordoning off the area below the crime scene building. Later, everyone simply ignored it. By the third day, someone had torn down the police tape because it was in the way.

Some residents of the building hadn’t dared to return home lately. After all, it was too “ominous.” Journalists still occasionally came by to take photos and file reports. The lights in Room 301 remained dark from then on.

After the incident, the police had visited the victim’s family several times. Xie Huifang’s younger sister, Xie Huifen, was staying at a friend’s house with her husband. They were waiting for the murderer to be caught, but if there was no arrest in the next few days, they couldn’t wait any longer – they needed to return to their jobs in another city. Life had to go on, after all.

Their son, Li Biran, stayed home for a few days before returning to school. At first, some classmates came to comfort and question him. When Li Biran told them everything, almost the entire class listened intently, whispering in astonishment. Wherever Li Biran went to school, people would stare at him. But this attention only lasted a few days, and then no one stayed around him anymore. He silently attended classes, ate, and slept. When teachers asked if he was okay, he’d say, “I’m fine, I’m doing well.”

Two more days passed – the fifth day after the crime.

The criminal police had been working almost without rest, investigating every known burglar and ex-convict in the area. They also delved deeper into Xie Huifang’s relationships. Yet they still found nothing.

They couldn’t identify any suspects. No one in her circle had both the motive and opportunity to commit the crime. None of the potential criminals matched the conditions of the case.

The killer was meticulous, planned carefully, reacted quickly, and showed some awareness of criminal investigation procedures. The method was brutal and inhuman. They wore size 39 shoes and carried a backpack (for the bloody clothes). The murder weapon was a common watermelon knife, still not found.

Because of the high flow of people and vehicles in the complex and outdated surveillance equipment, no other clues could be found. But what frustrated the police most was that in most cases, suspects and victims usually had some connection. In this case, they hadn’t found even the slightest link between the killer and the victim.

…

That day, Ding Xiongwei went to a meeting at the city bureau and was severely reprimanded by his superiors. When he returned to the precinct, he immediately gave his team a harsh lecture. But everyone felt frustrated – they were all worked to exhaustion. Fan Jia asked listlessly, “Captain Ding, what do we do now? We’ve ruled out someone she knew, and we’ve found nothing about career criminals. What direction should we investigate next?”

Ding Xiongwei pondered for a moment and said, “Everyone go home and rest today, think about how to proceed. Meeting first thing tomorrow morning.”

As they were dispersing, Xu Mengshan suddenly said, “Could it be a random attack by a stranger?”

Fan Jia’s eyes widened: “A psychopath killer?”

You Mingxu scoffed, “There aren’t that many psychopaths around. You think everyone’s Gu Tiancheng?”

Despite her words, after gathering her things, You Mingxu looked out the window. Dusk had fallen, and the city’s lights were just coming on, making everything look eerily quiet, peaceful, and distant. The killer might be sitting comfortably in some corner of the city, having successfully severed all connections to the case. You Mingxu couldn’t shake the feeling that this case held deeper secrets that had escaped their notice, perhaps right under their noses. But the gathering darkness temporarily shrouded everything, leaving those pursuing the truth feeling frustrated and angry.

It was after nine when You Mingxu got home.

The living room was dark, with only a silhouette sitting on the sofa, the TV light flickering. You Mingxu turned on the lights to find Yin Feng immediately standing up. She ignored him and walked straight toward the bedroom.

But just as she passed the sofa, she heard him say, “Ah Xu lost the bet.”

You Mingxu shot him a sideways glance. Today he wore a soft yellow T-shirt and loose shorts, which made his fair skin look even more luminescent. His eyes curved with mischief. To You Mingxu, he looked almost deliciously young.

You Mingxu: “Says who?”

Yin Feng answered, “I’ve been following the case these past few days, and there’s been no progress. Besides, your expression when you walked in just now said it all.”

You Mingxu gave him another glance and sat down on the sofa. Yin Feng immediately sat next to her, his warm leg almost touching her jeans. You Mingxu said irritably, “Move over.”

He shifted away slightly, very slowly.

You Mingxu sighed inwardly and said, “You’re right. We found nothing on the robbery angle. Now the case is like falling into an ice hole at night – pitch black all around.”

Yin Feng’s mind worked in mysterious ways. After thinking for a moment, he asked, “Ah Xu, have you ever fallen into an ice hole? I haven’t. Is it very cold and exciting?”

You Mingxu: “…”

She took out a cigarette and lit it, smoking slowly.

In his memory, Yin Feng had seen her smoke back in Tibet. It had been a long time since then. Was she worried again?

Under the soft light, the woman wore a simple ponytail, but her face still held that cool, proud beauty. With the cigarette between her fingers, slowly exhaling white smoke, her eyes sparkled like stars.

Yin Feng stared at her for a while until You Mingxu noticed and suddenly smiled, blowing smoke in his face. As the tobacco scent hit his nose, Yin Feng should have coughed, but looking at her smile through the smoke, he suddenly smiled foolishly too.

So he simply pressed his hands against the seat beneath him, closed his eyes, lifted his face, and gently inhaled the smoke’s scent. However much she exhaled, he eagerly breathed in.

You Mingxu thought he looked exactly like a puppy. She stubbed out her cigarette, pushed his head down, and scolded, “What are you doing breathing secondhand smoke? Don’t pick up bad habits!”

Yin Feng opened his eyes wide and said, “The officials can set fires, but the common people can’t light lamps?”

You Mingxu glanced at him sideways: “Oh, using idioms now, are we?” Actually, the phrase had just popped into Yin Feng’s head, and strangely, as soon as he said it, he seemed to remember its meaning, so he smiled slightly: “Looks like I’ve gotten a bit smarter.”

You Mingxu couldn’t help but laugh, quietly observing his clear eyes, and said, “You’re right, I admit defeat. Maybe you… Let’s go for a walk and talk about the case.”

The night was deep when they reached the river embankment. There weren’t many people around now, the lights were sparse, but traffic continued to flow. The river surface reflected scattered light.

You Mingxu remained silent for a long while, lost in thought. Yin Feng played by himself, trying to step on shadows, giggling when he stepped on You Mingxu’s head shadow. When he stepped on her waist or chest shadow, he would quickly glance up at her, pretending nothing had happened.

After a while, You Mingxu spoke: “We’ve ruled out robbery as a motive. But the revenge killing you suggested can also be ruled out. So, what do you think is the likelihood of a stranger committing the crime? And what about the possibility of a psychopath killer?”

Isn’t that what Sherlock Holmes said? When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

Yin Feng thought for a moment and said, “Actually, from what we’ve seen, his behaviors don’t match the typical patterns of a psychopath. He has organizational abilities, but looking at the body, there was no torture process, no obvious marking behavior. It was almost just random slashing. This means that after careful selection and meticulous planning, he killed randomly. If it was a psychopath killer, then this killer has no ambition. What does he want? Through this killing process, he didn’t achieve any obvious pleasure or ritual satisfaction.

Of course, I’m not saying that ritual is necessary for a serial killer. But look at Gu Tiancheng, a self-made, self-cultivated psychopath, who would talk to his victims, date them, torture them, drain their blood… So I don’t think we have clear behavioral evidence to conclude this was a random attack by a psychopathic killer.”

His voice was crystal clear, his eyes bright. Though he was talking about murder and corpses, he spoke as casually as if discussing what he wanted to eat.

These words came from that old man inside him, You Mingxu thought.

“But…” she said, “if it’s not robbery, passion, and we can’t find a revenge motive. What possibility is there besides a stranger attack?”

Yin Feng pressed a finger to his lips, looked at the sky for a while, then showed a proud smile and said, “There’s one behavior that revealed something, something very strong. Have you thought of it, Ah Xu?”