“At the time I found it strange too — the Hu Zaiquan couple seemed to be fine at first and weren’t acting overly agitated, but then after stepping out to discuss it for a bit, they started strongly objecting. What exactly was the reason?” Bai Jin rubbed his chin.

“Think back carefully — was Old Hu there at the time?”

“She was.” Yan Qing said with certainty. “She was in the crowd of onlookers at the time. I remember because of her clothing.”

After all, a woman in a gray long robe was not a common sight.

“No wonder she recognized our identities — she was there at the scene all along.”

“Let’s go. We’ll pay a visit to Hu Sizhu’s home.”

Two white funeral couplets were posted at the entrance to Hu Sizhu’s home with mourning verses written on them. Two family members had died in the span of two days — the blow to this family was immense.

When Shi Ting entered, he saw Hu Zaiquan’s wife sitting under the corn bin, wiping her tears, clutching a piece of clothing.

“Sizhu, my son…” she wept.

No matter how many evil deeds Hu Sizhu had committed, to his parents, the pain of losing a child was beyond measure.

“Ma’am.” Shi Ting stepped inside.

When Hu’s wife saw the group, she quickly wiped away her tears and stood up anxiously. “Officers, have you found the killer who murdered my son?”

“Ma’am, please don’t get agitated. We have a question we’d like to ask you.”

Hu’s wife felt somewhat disappointed but still cooperated. “Ask away — whatever it is, go ahead.”

“On the day of the autopsy, did you see Old Hu?”

Hu’s wife’s lips moved, seeming to hesitate.

“Every question we ask is related to whether we can find the killer who murdered your son. You must answer honestly.”

Shi Ting’s words dispelled Hu’s wife’s doubts, and she nodded affirmatively. “I did. At the time my husband and I went outside to discuss things, Old Hu came over and said the autopsy would prevent Sizhu from being buried in peace — his soul wouldn’t be able to reincarnate. She told us to think it over carefully.”

“So you listened to her?”

“Old Hu is the well-known spirit medium hereabouts — no one disbelieves what she says.”

“Did you know that Old Hu has a daughter?”

“Yes.” Hu’s wife answered firmly. “Her daughter is called Xingzi. She’s fifteen or sixteen this year — she works away from home.”

“Did Hu Sizhu know Xingzi?”

“He knew her. They once worked at the same place. Sizhu used to pursue Xingzi, but she rejected him.”

After leaving Hu Sizhu’s home, Shi Ting said, “Bai Jin, go and ask Bamboo Pole about where Xingzi is now. Yan Qing and I will go back to the scene of the crime.”

“Got it.” Bai Jin couldn’t hide his excitement. “Old Hu appearing at the entrance to the abandoned mill that day was very suspicious. And just now telling us about the red rice — that could easily be a smokescreen. She must be hiding something from us.”

After the three agreed on a plan, they immediately split up and acted.

When Shi Ting and Yan Qing arrived at the scene of the crime, Shi Ting searched through the grass on all sides. Yan Qing knew he was looking for the scattered red rice.

“Look here — there are many bird tracks.” Shi Ting said. “The killer scattered a handful of red rice on the body, and two grains fell into the victim’s pocket. The rest must have been eaten by the birds.”

He rummaged through the soil for a while and finally made a discovery. “There are still some that slipped through the net.”

Shi Ting picked up a grain of rice with tweezers. In the sunlight it was brilliantly red.

This grain had been pressed into the soil and thus escaped the birds’ consumption.

“Whether it’s the red cloth strips or the red rice, these all have a connection to Old Hu. She is definitely tied to this case.”

“Could she be the killer?” Yan Qing asked.

“To know whether she’s the killer, we still need to find Xingzi.”

After placing the grain of rice in an evidence bag, Shi Ting looked up — and it seemed something caught the light and flashed at him.

“What is that?” Shi Ting walked quickly toward some grass nearby. At the edge of the grass was a small pile of bird droppings, and within that small mound of droppings was something glinting brightly.

He lifted it from the droppings with tweezers and held it up to the sunlight to examine.

“It looks like something from a piece of jewelry.” Yan Qing looked over curiously.

“This is an artificial diamond — cheap to produce, commonly used for decoration, such as on hair clips or brooches.”

Shi Ting checked through the bird droppings again and extracted half a grain of rice. Though somewhat faded in color, it was still not difficult to see that it was a grain of red rice.

“The red rice and the artificial diamond were swallowed by a bird together. The diamond, unable to be digested, was expelled along with a partially undigested grain of red rice. The droppings are fresh — they must have been expelled not long ago. It appears this artificial diamond must belong to the killer.”

“Excellent — as long as we identify a suspect, we can compare this artificial diamond with the suspect’s ornaments and use it as evidence.”

“It seems this trip was worthwhile.” Shi Ting stood up. “Let’s go. What remains is to find Xingzi.”

Just as the two of them came down from the hillside, Yan Qing suddenly felt a wave of discomfort.

She thought it was just her body feeling unwell and, not wanting to hold up Shi Ting’s investigation, endured it.

“Yan Qing, what’s wrong?” Shi Ting saw her brow furrowed tightly and quickly crouched down in front of her wheelchair.

“My stomach hurts.” At this point Yan Qing was already sweating from the pain. Seeing Shi Ting’s worried expression, she forced herself to reassure him, “It’s nothing. After I go back and rest a bit, it should be fine…”

Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly turned her head to one side and began vomiting in great heaves.

Shi Ting quickly rose and patted her back. After quite a while, she finally stopped vomiting, her face having turned a deathly pale.

“This won’t do — it looks serious. We’re heading back to Shun Cheng right now.” Shi Ting was both tense and heartbroken. “We leave now.”

“But the case isn’t solved yet.” Yan Qing panted weakly, with barely enough energy to speak.

“The case will be solved, but right now we’re going to the hospital.” Shi Ting reached out and tested her forehead. “You have a fever.”

“But…”

“Listen to me.” Shi Ting cupped her pale little face in his hands, his tone brooking no argument. “We have to go back now — your constitution is already weak and we can’t afford to delay.”

Yan Qing gave a small nod. “I’ll do as you say.”

When Shi Ting returned to the village committee, Bai Jin happened to be walking out. He took one look at Yan Qing, half-reclined in the wheelchair, and exclaimed in alarm, “Sister-in-law, what happened?”

“She’s sick. We’re heading back to Shun Cheng now.”

“Alright, let me wrap things up here and we’ll leave right away.”

Bamboo Pole accompanied the group all the way to the entrance of the village and, worried they might be anxious, promised, “I’ll definitely find Xingzi. Once I find her, I’ll call you.”

“Have the family come collect Hu Sizhu’s body.” Shi Ting said. “It will start to decompose if left too long.”

“Understood.” Bamboo Pole nodded firmly. “Don’t worry.”

“Thank you.”

After thanking Bamboo Pole, the group got in the car. At this point Yan Qing’s condition was still poor — high fever that wouldn’t break, continuous nausea.

Bai Jin drove at full speed, and after glancing back several times he couldn’t help asking, “Seventh Brother, what’s wrong with Sister-in-law? She was fine this morning — how can she suddenly be so sick, and so severely?”

“I’m not sick.” Though Yan Qing’s whole body was weak, her mind was clear. “I was poisoned.”

“Poisoned?” Not only Bai Jin, but even Shi Ting was greatly startled.

However, he quickly put it together. “Was it at Old Hu’s place?”

Yan Qing weakly nodded. “Getting sick requires a gradual process — it couldn’t appear so violently with no warning signs. Combined with my symptoms, the toxin should be plant-based.”

Shi Ting held her tightly, with one hand feeding her several sips of hot water. “Don’t speak now — rest a while.”

Yan Qing lay against his chest. Because of the fever, her lips had a thin layer of dry skin, yet she still spoke in a feeble voice, “Old Hu put poison in those three cups of tea.”

“But Seventh Brother and I also drank from those cups.” Bai Jin was puzzled.

Shi Ting answered for Yan Qing. “At the time Old Hu placed those three cups of tea on the table one by one, based on where each of us was standing. Yan Qing’s position happened to be where she could pick up her particular cup.”

“Old Hu deliberately poisoned Sister-in-law?”

“Of the three of us, Yan Qing is a woman and uses a wheelchair. In Old Hu’s eyes, she would naturally be the weakest physically. By poisoning Yan Qing, Old Hu intended to force us back to Shun Cheng when the poison took effect.”

“She was trying to stop us from investigating the case?” Bai Jin thought of that eerie Old Hu and couldn’t help breaking into a cold sweat. “It seems she really is connected to Hu Sizhu’s death. Even if she isn’t the killer, there’s a great deal linking her to the killer. When she told us the person who requested red rice was male, it was likely a red herring to mislead us.”

Without a doubt, Old Hu was the prime suspect — but now they had no time to deal with her. Getting Yan Qing to the hospital was the most urgent matter.

“Seventh Brother, don’t worry too much. Old Hu only wanted to drive us away — she wouldn’t poison Sister-in-law to death. Otherwise we’d have to go back and settle accounts with her.”

Yan Qing lay against Shi Ting’s chest and also offered reassurance. “That Old Hu didn’t intend to kill me. Based on my experience, the dosage she used was not heavy — she even kept it within a safe range. If it’s a plant-based toxin, a small dose won’t affect one’s health.”

“Mm.” Shi Ting held her tightly, and gently kissed her on the forehead, softly reassuring her. “I also won’t let anything happen to you.”

Yan Qing managed to squeeze out a faint smile. Pressed against her cheek, his chest was solid and warm, yet his heartbeat was racing. She knew he was worried — this worry warmed her heart and made her feel secure.

She couldn’t help tightening her arms around his waist and closed her eyes in peace.

The car sped all the way and finally arrived at Shun Cheng First Hospital as dusk fell.

Bai Jin jumped out of the car and opened the rear door. Shi Ting carried Yan Qing and ran all the way to the emergency room.

Yan Qing was quickly wheeled into the emergency treatment room. The white doors shut, separating the two of them in the corridor outside.

“Seventh Brother, don’t worry — Sister-in-law will be fine. She’s a forensic pathologist; she knows toxins better than anyone.”

“I know.” Shi Ting understood clearly that Yan Qing would be all right, but the worry was an uncontrollable feeling that came from deep within.

“Go and notify her father. On your way, have him bring some food — Yan Qing hasn’t eaten all day.”

“Got it.” Bai Jin accepted the order. “I’ll be right back.”

After Bai Jin left, Shi Ting sat on the long bench across from the emergency room, staring at the door in deep thought.

Solving cases was work that could cost one’s life at any moment. He began to wonder whether he had been right or wrong to let her step into this field.