Huang Zhong and the others had only run a few steps when they suddenly realized Bai Haili couldn’t possibly have died of natural causes. Their faces turned ashen as they turned back and said, “Whoever murdered Commissioner Bai must still be on the premises. This place must be sealed off immediately — no one is to leave without authorization.”

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then Editor Guan burst out scolding, “Look at us — do any of us look like murderers? Just tie us all up, why don’t you.”

Many voices rose indignantly. “We were all in the hall when the power went out just now — who knows how far it is to the washroom? In such a short time, who would’ve had the chance to sneak off in the dark and kill your Commissioner Bai? If even we can be suspected, doesn’t that mean every single person in your police department is a suspect too?”

The discussion grew louder and louder, verging on uproar. Seeing the situation spinning out of control, Huang Zhong’s bluster deflated at once. They had no leader among them to begin with, let alone any learning — when it came to a battle of words, how could they possibly be a match for these people? His mouth opened and closed, but not a single word came out. In the end, exchanging unwilling glances, they drew their pistols and ran off toward the back.

After they left, everyone discussed the matter for a while, and once they realized the dead man was the notorious villain Bai Haili, the mood gradually shifted from shock to calm — though out of propriety and humanitarian restraint, no one let their satisfaction show openly on their faces.

With such an incident occurring at what should have been a pleasant tea party, the women, out of fear, began taking their leave one after another. Duan Mingyi had no choice but to see them off one by one. He Ningzheng, worried the place wasn’t safe, simply insisted everyone leave at once.

But while the others were easily persuaded, the students simply couldn’t contain their curiosity, crowding together toward the washroom at the back of the corridor. Once at the door, torn between wanting a glimpse of Bai Haili’s corpse and being too frightened to go in, they pressed and jostled, all blocking the corridor.

The hall suddenly grew very empty. Taking advantage of the chaos, Hongdou said to He Yunqin, “I didn’t hear the front door open or close during the blackout. If the murderer’s already left, should we go check the back door?”

He Yunqin had exactly this in mind. Bai Haili’s death was both expected and unexpected. From the planning stage to infiltrating the venue, from cutting the power to slipping away in the chaos — the murderer knew how to seize the moment and also anticipated everyone’s reactions. Whoever had killed Bai Haili, whatever background they came from, this person was clearly no ordinary criminal, not to be underestimated.

The blackout was no coincidence — that person clearly meant to leave under cover of darkness. One minute truly wasn’t enough time for the murderer to leave through the front door, so if they wanted to find any trace the murderer had left, the back door was the only option.

But in a mansion like this, there couldn’t be just one back exit. Besides the small banquet hall, there was also a hidden door beside the kitchen, used mostly by servants precisely because it was more concealed. And the small banquet hall was too far from the fuse box — nowhere near enough time to reach it after cutting the power and flee. So the murderer had most likely left through the hidden kitchen door.

Everyone in the house had scattered elsewhere; the passage in front of the kitchen was silent. Because of the earlier entertaining of guests, the floor was covered in grease stains and sugar marks, a complete mess. He Yunqin led Hongdou to the back door and took out a pocket flashlight to light the way. After searching for a while, he indeed found a line of footprints on the greasy, glistening floor — clearer than the other prints because they’d been made recently.

This line of footprints emerged from the other side, followed the path to the steps, then opened the back door and vanished into the garden lawn.

The two followed the footprints back a stretch and found a hidden room inside — Hongdou guessed it was the fuse room where the power had been cut. She hurried to go check, but He Yunqin stopped her.

He turned back to look at the opposing set of footprints and, having no measuring tape on him, roughly measured them with his hand instead.

Hongdou also tilted her head, estimating the size. Once He Yunqin finished measuring, the two of them exchanged a slightly startled look. “Size 39?”

After all, the dead man was the police commissioner — the police department and related government offices would take action at once. And with the house having just experienced a strange power outage, even Huang Zhong and his lackeys, however dim-witted, would surely go check the fuse room after examining Bai Haili’s body.

Having found no other clues, He Yunqin thought it unwise to linger and soon returned to the hall. Bai Haili’s body had already been carried out, covered with a sheet — cause of death was a severed major blood vessel, cut by some sort of dagger or sharp blade, killed in a single stroke. Because Bai Haili’s head had been submerged in the toilet bowl, the blood hadn’t spread far across the floor. The murderer was clearly experienced; no traceable clues had been left at the scene at all.

The onlooking students were all thoroughly frightened. He Yunqin, wanting to help his elder brother manage the aftermath, went into the hall and, feigning nonchalance, saw the remaining guests off.

Hongdou found Gu Yun and Yuyuan in the crowd and led them out.

The Pan family car was indeed waiting outside. Her aunt and the Pan family’s driver had been dozing for a long while and had just woken up, seeing everyone come out of the mansion and unsure what had happened. Just as she was puzzling over it, Hongdou brought Yuyuan to the car and said, “Aunt.”

Her aunt was startled and hurriedly pushed the door open to get out. “What happened?”

Yuyuan said irritably, “Someone died.”

Her aunt was too shocked to speak for a moment. “Who — who died?”

“Commissioner Bai,” Yuyuan said coldly.

Her aunt’s face went white in an instant. “What?”

At this point the He family car had already pulled up nearby. Hongdou hurriedly said to her aunt, “Yuyuan is frightened. This isn’t a place to linger — Aunt, please take Yuyuan home first.”

After seeing her aunt and Yuyuan off, Hongdou asked the He family driver to take Gu Yun home as well. Just then, an old, half-worn sedan sped over and stopped nearby. Wang Bide, inside the car, waved at He Yunqin. “Yunqin.”

There had been so many at the banquet, and Bai Haili was no obscure figure — after the incident, as everyone left, news of his murder had likely already spread across the Shanghai Bund. Wang Bide, always well-connected with news sources, must have rushed over the moment he heard.

The moment Gu Yun saw the Detective had arrived, she immediately gave up on the idea of going home, saying to Hongdou, “I’ll help the Detective organize the files. I’ll have my family send a car for me later tonight.”

Hongdou couldn’t think of a reason to refuse, so she pulled Gu Yun along and got into the car.

He Yunqin looked at Hongdou through the mirror. “Not going back to the He mansion tonight — shall we go over there instead?”

Hongdou of course knew this meant the residence from before. With so much having happened today, if there were matters to discuss, that place would naturally be quieter than the He mansion.

He Yunqin added, “There are still quite a few things to discuss.”

Hongdou met his gaze and nodded, saying in a calm tone, “All right.”

Only then did He Yunqin start the car and drive to that residence from before.

Before long, Wang Bide also drove over, and the moment he entered, handed He Yunqin a still-warm newspaper he’d bought on the way. “Truly satisfying — the paper says Bai Haili was hunted down by an enemy seeking revenge.”

He Yunqin took the newspaper and examined it closely.

Hongdou invited Wang Bide and Gu Yun to sit, served tea, and, noting the time, asked Detective Wang and Gu Yun for their preference: “Would you like lotus-leaf congee, or eel noodles?”

Detective Wang and Gu Yun both said, “Congee.” Hongdou instructed a servant to prepare lotus-leaf congee, planning to serve it later as a late-night snack once everyone grew hungry.

He Yunqin handed the newspaper back to Wang Bide, had someone light the stove for Hongdou to keep warm, then said to Wang Bide, “Bai Haili’s death is very strange.”

Hongdou finished attending to everything and sat down beside He Yunqin, taking the newspaper from Gu Yun’s hand to look at. Sure enough, prominently displayed was the news of Bai Haili’s death.

The group sat gathered around the stove; outside, the night wind blew, but inside the room was warm and cozy. Though they were also discussing a murderer, unlike that time with Mr. Yan, no one’s face showed the slightest trace of gloom.

Hongdou found it strange herself — whether it was because the dead man was Bai Haili, or because tonight she got to stay peacefully with He Yunqin at this place again, either way her mood was thoroughly pleasant.