“This is my uncle’s brother-in-law,” Yan Qing said. She had not expected that the person Wen Xu had been searching for all night would turn up here — and in such a bleak state. “His name is Mo Xiangrong. He has a black mole at the corner of his mouth.”

Director Li looked closely, and indeed, the deceased had a very prominent black mole at the corner of his mouth.

Mo Xiangrong lay with nothing on his body, naked, curled up on the ice.

“Has the forensic examination revealed anything?” Shi Ting asked.

The forensic officer nearby quickly replied, “There are no visible injuries on the body surface. Death appears to have been caused by freezing.”

Yan Qing looked at Mo Xiangrong’s body, then suddenly spoke up. “When you arrived, did you find any of Mo Xiangrong’s clothing nearby?”

Director Li shook his head. “No. According to the person who reported it, he only saw someone lying naked here. There were no items of clothing in the vicinity.”

Yan Qing nodded and said nothing more.

Director Li said, “The temperature near the shore can reach minus twenty degrees Celsius. At that temperature, unclothed and exposed, freezing to death is a matter of minutes.”

“Yan Qing’s question just now is the key point,” Shi Ting said, straightening up. “If the deceased committed suicide — deliberately walking out onto the ice to die — then where did his clothes go? Director Li, please have your people search the surrounding area and the shore carefully to see if the deceased’s clothing can be found.”

“Understood.” Director Li nodded immediately.

At this point, the forensic officer walked over to Yan Qing and said quietly, “Miss Yan, do you also believe the deceased died of freezing?”

Yan Qing smiled. “What makes the forensic officer say that?”

“The deceased is unclothed — I believe this is paradoxical undressing.” The forensic officer had studied medicine abroad and had returned to work in a hospital, but later fell out with a superior and quit in a fit of frustration. At the time the branch bureau had just been established, and Director Li had been searching for talented personnel, so he had been brought on board. The forensic officer was diligent and had taught himself a great deal of forensics-related knowledge. Over the past few years his standing in the branch bureau had been well regarded.

The forensic officer, assuming Yan Qing was unfamiliar with the phenomenon, explained: “When the human body is in a low-temperature environment, the thermoregulatory function becomes paralyzed, causing hallucinations of warmth. This is why people who freeze to death remove their clothing rather than adding more layers.”

Yan Qing nodded. “I too initially thought it was paradoxical undressing — which is why I asked Director Li whether the deceased’s clothing had been found nearby.”

“Yes — that is also what puzzles me. Where did the deceased’s clothing go? Logically, it should be near the body.”

Yan Qing said, “Forensic officer, we must not let prior assumptions cloud our judgment. The specific cause of death still needs to be confirmed through autopsy before any conclusion can be drawn. Would you agree?”

“Miss Yan is right.” The forensic officer also felt he had been too hasty just now — jumping to a conclusion about the cause of death based only on the environment in which the deceased was found and some uncertain signs was a reckless move. If the judgment proved wrong, it would mislead the investigation and cause the detectives to take many wrong turns.

“By the way — has the body temperature been taken?”

The forensic officer said, “It has, but the time of death estimated from the body temperature and the time estimated from the rigor mortis are inconsistent — and the discrepancy is substantial.”

“The body doesn’t lie. If the figures obtained from both methods differ significantly, there is something abnormal going on.”

He could not help but study this Miss Yan in secret — she was so young, yet possessed a composure entirely inconsistent with her age. Still, he had some reservations about her abilities, feeling that such a young woman must lack experience and was likely speaking mostly in theory.

“Seventh Brother, there are tire tracks here,” Bai Jin called out from some distance away.

Shi Ting walked over to find him crouched on the ground, pointing at two fresh sets of tire marks on the coarse sandy surface. “The tire tread pattern on these should be from an imported Leifu automobile. This vehicle drove to the shore and stopped here for a time. Seventh Brother — look, there are oil stains here.”

“Oil stains?”

Bai Jin smiled slightly. “This is a Leifu automobile with an oil leak.”

“The direction in which the vehicle stopped aligns with the location of the body. It appears Mo Xiangrong did not walk onto the ice on his own.”

“Let’s bring the body back first,” Shi Ting said, having walked a full circuit of the area.

With the identity of the deceased established, the next steps would follow naturally — first confirm whether it was suicide or homicide, then proceed with the investigation from there.

“Notify the family to come identify the body as well,” Shi Ting said, turning to Yan Qing. “Will you go back to the Wen household first, or come to the bureau with us?”

Yan Qing said, “I should go back to Uncle’s place first. Something this serious — I’m afraid they won’t be able to take it well.”

Shi Ting acknowledged this and pushed her wheelchair forward. “Then I’ll have someone take you back first.”

When Yan Qing returned to the Wen household, Wen Yan and Wen Xu were sitting in the sitting room talking.

Wen Xu had still sent people searching for Mo Xiangrong’s whereabouts. In truth, what he cared about was not Mo Xiangrong himself, but the missing cigars and pipe tobacco.

Mo Xiangrong had always been dissolute and disreputable. It was only out of consideration for Mo Yunhua that Wen Xu had grudgingly taken him in under the household roof.

Mo Yunhua not only had a certain measure of beauty but had also given Wen Xu a son. And she was usually soft-spoken and pitifully gentle. Over Mo Xiangrong’s various misdeeds, Wen Xu had mostly turned a blind eye.

In the past six months, Mo Xiangrong had been gambling more and more recklessly. Not daring to ask Wen Xu for money, he could only go to Mo Yunhua. Mo Yunhua had sold off her own gold and silver jewelry to pay his debts, but still he went on without end. Eventually Mo Yunhua had nothing more to give, and so he had set his sights on Wen Xu’s collection — until the scheme came to light.

“Qingqing?” Wen Yan saw Yan Qing come in and rose to meet her. “Why are you back so soon? Weren’t you going to a case?”

Yan Qing glanced at Wen Xu, then looked around the hall and saw no sign of Mo Yunhua. “Where is Auntie?”

“Resting in her room,” Wen Yan said with a disdainful huff. “If you ask me, she’s going to be driven to her death by that brother of hers sooner or later.”

Mo Yunhua had indeed been upset quite badly by Mo Xiangrong, and the scolding from Master Wen on top of it had suddenly brought on one of her headaches — she was lying in her room resting.

“Uncle,” Yan Qing said. “I have something to tell you.”

Seeing the serious look on Yan Qing’s face, Wen Xu’s heart tightened. “Is there news of that scoundrel Mo Xiangrong? You needn’t spare your auntie’s feelings — just tell me where he is right now. I’ll go deal with him.”

Yan Qing let out a soft sigh. “Mo Xiangrong has indeed been found.”

“That wretch.” Wen Xu rolled up his sleeve. “I’ll go find him now.”

Wen Yan quickly stepped in to hold back the furious Wen Xu. “Father, what’s the rush — now that he’s been found, you think he’s going to run again? Calm down and let Qingqing finish speaking.”

Only then did Wen Xu breathe out and compose himself somewhat. “Qingqing, where is Mo Xiangrong?”

“At the Military Police Division branch bureau.”

“What’s that wretch done now — I won’t bail him out this time. Let that wretch rot in jail.”

“Mo Xiangrong is dead!” Yan Qing said, watching Wen Xu’s expression carefully.

Wen Xu had said it out of anger — he had not expected Mo Xiangrong to actually be dead. For a moment he stared blankly at Yan Qing, utterly stunned.

“Dead?” Wen Yan could not believe it either. “What happened?”

“Just now, a body was discovered on the ice. Shi Ting and I went to take a look — it was Mo Xiangrong.”

“And his things…?”

“The body has already been taken to the branch bureau. They had intended to send someone over to notify your family to come identify the body — I thought I’d come tell you first.”

Wen Xu cast a worried glance toward the back of the house. “Let’s go over there first. For now, don’t let Yunhua know — her health is fragile, and I fear she can’t withstand the shock all at once.”

When the group arrived at the branch bureau, Mo Xiangrong’s body had already been carried into the examination room. He lay on a white sheet, naked, with only his head and feet showing.

Wen Xu walked close and let out a long, heavy sigh. “It’s him.”

Though he had no fondness for this brother-in-law, this was still a human life — and Mo Yunhua’s only living relative. Out of consideration for his own wife, he could not bring himself to feel nothing at Mo Xiangrong’s passing.

“How did he die?” Wen Xu said, suppressing the turmoil of emotions inside him and forcing himself to ask.