Her hand was small and soft. Even though he only held it lightly, it was like holding something delicate and tender — he couldn’t help but linger for a few extra seconds.

“Captain Shi.” Hulu suddenly pushed the door open and hurried in. “Someone’s filed a report.”

Although Shi Ting had quickly released Yan Qing’s hand, the scene had still been caught by Hulu. Hulu blinked, his heart a tempest of emotions, yet his expression remained perfectly calm.

“Captain Fan sent me to find you. Someone’s filed a report — he wants you to come take a look.”

“Got it.” Shi Ting handed the case files in his hands to Yan Qing. “These are files I just pulled from the records room. Take a look when you have time.”

“Thank you.” Yan Qing took them.

After Shi Ting left, Hulu sidled over with a gossip-hungry look on his face. “Master, things are moving pretty fast between you and Captain Shi, huh? Already holding hands?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.” Yan Qing shot him a glare. “He just came to ask about the Qian Hu Lou case.”

Mentioning Qian Hu Lou, Hulu’s expression also turned serious. “What does Captain Shi mean — does he want to keep investigating the Qian Hu Lou murder?”

“Right now, cold cases are being re-examined across the country. The Qian Hu Lou case was transferred from the Qian Hu branch to us here in Pujiang. Captain Shi probably came across it while reviewing the files and noticed it happened to be connected to me.”

“Master, it would actually be a good thing if Captain Shi gets involved. I believe that with his abilities, he’ll definitely track down the killer.”

Yan Qing said, “Unfortunately, things from twenty years ago — I can’t remember them anymore. Otherwise, I could at least provide some leads.”

“Master, don’t push yourself. It’s been twenty years. Some things should be let go. The killer might not even be alive anymore.”

“Hulu, do you think they got what they deserved?”

Hulu shook his head quickly. “Please don’t think that, Master. I absolutely don’t mean that. You’re my master, and all I want is for the killer who murdered your parents to face justice as soon as possible. As for what they were, I don’t care at all.”

Yan Qing smiled with gratitude. “Thank you, Hulu.”

Hulu scratched his hair, wanting to change the subject that had grown somewhat heavy. “Master, let’s go out and see what kind of case has been reported.”

“Cases are reported every day. What’s so special about that?”

“If it were an ordinary report, Captain Fan would handle it himself — why would he call Captain Shi over?”

Yan Qing chuckled. “Your deductive reasoning is getting sharper and sharper.”

“Of course it is. Look who my master is.”

“That knack for flattery definitely didn’t come from me.”

“That one I taught myself.”

Hulu’s words piqued Yan Qing’s curiosity, so she brought him along to the front reception area.

When the two arrived, a young couple was seated across from Shi Ting — the woman’s face was deathly pale, and the man was full of complaints.

“Teacher Yan’s here.” Old Fan spotted Yan Qing. “Teacher Yan, there might be something that needs your expertise.”

Yan Qing walked over. “Happy to help.”

After Yan Qing took a seat, the man said with a dejected air, “My wife and I just got married this past April. Before the wedding, we bought an apartment of over seventy square meters in the Jinxiu residential complex. We were living quite comfortably — but three days ago, the toilet in the bathroom just kept blocking up. We’d unclog it and it would block again shortly after. My wife said I didn’t know how to unclog it properly, so she hired a professional. When the professional took the toilet apart, he found that the drain was completely stuffed with something. When the worker cleared out whatever was inside, one piece fell on top of my foot.”

At this point in the story, the man visibly shuddered. “It was a piece of flesh.”

Yan Qing listened, her brow furrowing.

“My wife said it was probably someone dumping something and accidentally flushing meat down the toilet — she told me not to be alarmed. But I’m the curious type, so I rummaged through the debris a bit more, and ended up pulling out a piece of flesh with skin still attached. See — right here.”

As he spoke, the man produced a transparent sealed bag.

Shi Ting took it and examined it, then passed it to Yan Qing.

“This tissue has both skin and flesh, and there’s hair too.” Yan Qing studied it carefully for a moment. “From the appearance, it looks very much like it could be from an area of the arm or leg where body hair is dense. However, I’ll need to run further tests to give you an accurate answer.”

“Is it really human flesh?” The young couple immediately went white as sheets.

“Oh God, how could we be so unlucky? Can we even keep living in that apartment?”

While the couple sat in anxious dismay, Yan Qing had already taken the sealed bag back to the forensic examination room.

The result was just as everyone had anticipated — the tissue the young couple had brought in was indeed a part of the human body.

“Let’s go. We’ve got work to do.” Old Fan rolled up his sleeves. “Please, take us to your place.”

~

The couple led everyone to their residential complex. Along the way, both were consumed with worry about property values, deliberating over whether to move out, and wondering whether they should quietly sell the apartment at a loss without telling the realtor.

“How many floors does your building have?” Old Fan asked.

“Six floors, no elevator,” the husband said. “It’s an old building — six stories and no elevator. But the location is convenient, so the price isn’t low. It might even get demolished for redevelopment.”

At the mention of demolition, the young couple began discussing whether they should just hold on and wait until the redevelopment before moving out.

“Which floor are you on?”

“Third floor.”

“This flesh came down from an upper unit’s drain, so it can only have come from floors four through six.” Old Fan asked, “Have you heard of any other unit having a blockage these past few days?”

“No — only ours was blocked.” The husband shook his head. “I asked the neighbors on the first and second floors — they both said their drains were fine. It seems the material got stuck in our drain pipe and didn’t fall any further down.”

“Do you know the people living above you?”

“The unit above us — a woman lives there, looks to be in her mid-twenties, doesn’t talk much, but she smiles and nods when we pass in the hallway.”

“She lives alone?”

“We’ve only ever seen her. Whether anyone else lives with her, we don’t know.”

“What about the fifth and sixth floors?”

“Fifth floor has a family of three. Sixth floor has a middle-aged couple — they sell meat at the market outside the complex.”

At the words “sell meat,” everyone’s nerves tightened in unison.

“Captain Shi, what do you think we should do next?” Old Fan asked.

Shi Ting said, “First, investigate all three households. If we find anything suspicious, we’ll look further into it.”

“Yes, sir.”

The group first went to the young couple’s home. It was a warmly decorated little apartment, but the moment they stepped inside, a nauseating smell hit them.

Yan Qing’s nose was sharp — she immediately caught the scent of a decomposing body.

“You all go and take apart the drain. See if there’s anything else inside.” Old Fan directed his officers to dismantle the drain pipes, while Shi Ting walked around the room.

“Let’s go check the fourth floor.” Shi Ting called Xiao Bai along.

The two went up to the fourth floor. Xiao Bai knocked on the door, but there was no response.

“Captain Shi, seems like no one’s home.”

“Let’s go up to the fifth floor.”

The fifth-floor door hadn’t been knocked on for long before a voice called from inside, “Who is it?”

“Police.” Xiao Bai held up his badge outside. It seemed the person looked through the peephole, because the door opened.

A woman in her mid-forties stood there, wearing a spaghetti-strap nightgown. Seeing Xiao Bai and Shi Ting standing outside, she immediately grabbed a jacket from a nearby chair and put it on.

“Hello.” Xiao Bai showed his badge again. “We’re from the Pujiang Branch Criminal Investigation Team. Please cooperate with our inquiry.”

“Come in.” The woman asked with some nervousness, “Criminal Investigation? Has my husband done something wrong?”

“It’s a routine inquiry — there’s no need to be nervous.” Xiao Bai said, “How many people live here?”

“Three — my husband, and my son.”

Shi Ting swept a glance around the living room. On the wall above the sofa hung a wedding photo; given how long ago it must have been taken, the outfits the bride and groom were wearing had clearly gone out of style.

The room was fairly tidy, only there were too many things — clutter piled up everywhere.

“Is your husband home?”

“My husband is at work. He gets off at six and is home by seven.” The woman was still somewhat nervous. “Officer, my husband may have a bit of a temper, but he wouldn’t hurt anyone. You must have made some mistake.”

“How did you know this was about hurting someone?”

“Aren’t you Criminal Investigation? Don’t you handle major cases?”

“I told you there’s no need to be nervous.” Xiao Bai said patiently, “And your son?”

“He’s in high school — the school requires students to board. He comes home once a week.”

Shi Ting said, “May we take a look at the bathroom?”

“Of course.” The woman was cooperative. “It’s a bit messy — please don’t mind.”

The bathroom had freshly laundered clothes hanging up, and in addition to a hand basin and a washing machine, there were many large plastic water buckets stacked up.

“What are all these buckets for?” Xiao Bai pointed at the several buckets lined up on the floor, each about half the height of a person.

“My husband loves keeping fish. There’s a large fish tank at home — these are for changing the water in the tank.”

Xiao Bai recalled that there was indeed a large fish tank in the living room, so he nodded.

“Has your drain been blocked at all recently?”

The woman shook her head. “No. Even though this complex isn’t new, the drainage system is actually quite decent. I’ve lived here for sixteen years and the drain has never once been blocked.”

Shi Ting looked around the bathroom and then said to the woman, “Thank you for your cooperation. If needed, we’ll come back again.”

“Officer, my husband really wouldn’t do anything bad.” The woman still believed it was her husband who had gotten into trouble.

“Ma’am, nobody said your husband did anything wrong. Go ahead and finish your laundry.” Xiao Bai pointed at the basin on the floor. “We won’t take up any more of your time.”

“Good, good.” The woman finally relaxed.

After the two stepped out, Xiao Bai asked, “Captain Shi, is it their unit?”

Shi Ting didn’t answer, but instead turned the question back. “In your opinion, if someone were going to murder and dismember a body inside a home, where would be the most convenient place?”

“The bathroom,” Xiao Bai answered immediately. “There’s a water source in the bathroom, and the floor and walls are easy to clean.”

“Do you think her bathroom is convenient?”

Xiao Bai suddenly understood. “It really isn’t.”