Chapter 1

Daan Village was located northwest of Nancheng City, far from the downtown area. Nestled amidst picturesque mountains and clear waters, the village was known for its simple, honest folk.

Yet tonight, the usually tranquil little village was unusually lively. The piercing wail of police sirens cut through the night sky as a crowd gathered by the small stream at the eastern edge of the village. The flashing lights of police cars and ambulances were blinding in the darkness. The faint reflection from the police tape encircling the stream cast eerie shadows on the faces of the onlookers.

In earlier years, the village had been quite underdeveloped. However, in recent times, thanks to Nancheng City’s vigorous promotion of rural tourism and Daan Village’s reputation as a renowned grape-growing region, the area had gradually flourished.

Though Daan Village still maintained a rustic charm to cater to urban tourists, most villagers were actually rolling in wealth. They drove sedans in and out, appearing unremarkable at first glance, yet their assets could shock anyone who knew.

It was midsummer, not the peak season for grapes, but Daan Village’s pristine green mountains and clear waters still attracted many tourists seeking respite from the heat. After years of careful planning and development, the village’s tourism facilities were well-established and highly praised among visitors.

Cai Chengji stumbled along the slippery pebbles by the riverbank under the flickering police lights. The mountain air was chilly at night, and the wet stones near the water made walking treacherous.

“Damn it…” He sighed deeply after nearly tripping again. “They say only those who sinned in their past lives become criminal investigators in this one. Judging by our luck, we must’ve been notorious villains in our previous lives—not just regular cops, but Special Task Force detectives!”

Xiang Yang, standing beside him, noticed a few officers from the local police station a short distance away and gestured for the forensic team following behind to proceed first. Despite the poor visibility at night, they could still make out a figure lying half-submerged in the icy stream water.

They were detectives from the Special Task Force under Nancheng City’s Criminal Investigation Division, routinely handling major cases, often involving cross-provincial pursuits or joint operations. Both men were yawning incessantly—they had just been wrapping up paperwork for the recent June 13th knife homicide case in the office before rushing to Daan Village with dark circles under their eyes.

After exchanging greetings with the stationed officers, forensic examiner Zhang Qishan and two colleagues from Trace Evidence Identification moved forward to conduct a thorough examination. Cai Chengji crouched down for a closer look, catching only a glimpse of the victim’s pale, bluish-gray profile.

Amidst intermittent sobs, Cai Chengji asked an officer nearby, “Family of the deceased?” He jerked his chin toward the man outside the police tape, crying uncontrollably.

The officer glanced over and shook his head slightly. “The victim’s boyfriend. They came to Daan Village together for a vacation.”

Cai Chengji pondered this when Xiang Yang suddenly stiffened and exclaimed, “Captain Jiang?!”

“Captain Jiang!” Cai Chengji echoed, spotting the man pulling on gloves as he ducked under the police tape. Their movements synchronized perfectly as they hurried forward to greet him. “Captain Jiang, you’re back?!”

Jiang Li nodded slightly at the two men in greeting. The members of the Criminal Investigation Division were clearly surprised by his sudden appearance, and even Zhang Qishan raised an eyebrow in acknowledgment. Standing at around 1.85 meters tall, Jiang Li wore loose casual clothes, yet the muscles hidden beneath the fabric were still discernible. His mere presence exuded an overwhelming aura.

Cai Chengji and Xiang Yang now circled around Jiang Li like eager followers, taking turns summarizing the known details of the case. As Jiang Li frowned slightly, his sharp gaze scanning the surroundings, Cai Chengji lowered his voice and asked, “Captain Jiang, has that special operation you were transferred to… ended?”

As the youngest captain of the Criminal Investigation Division in Nan City—and even the entire province—Jiang Li had worked in criminal investigation since the start of his career. Over the years, he had participated in solving numerous major cases nationwide, earning commendations repeatedly. He was often seconded to high-priority temporary task forces established by higher-level public security departments. His colleagues in the Special Task Force were accustomed to his occasional disappearances, and since this operation wasn’t classified, everyone in the team knew about it.

“So? How did it go?” Xiang Yang chimed in excitedly. “It must’ve been a success, right? A joint military-police operation… that’s rare.” Though they had heard some rumors, they didn’t know the full picture. Still, given the scale of the operation and the involvement of both military and police, they assumed it must have been swiftly resolved.

At this, Jiang Li pressed his lips together, the crease between his brows deepening. Cai Chengji and Xiang Yang, recognizing the unspoken message in his expression, immediately fell silent. Having worked with him for years, they knew what that look meant. They exchanged a glance, stunned—just how formidable was this case that even the provincial department’s massive operation couldn’t crack it?

The three stood close to the police cars parked beyond the cordon, but none of them noticed the slender figure leaning against one of the vehicles stir slightly at Xiang Yang’s mention of “joint military-police operation.”

The movement made a faint sound, drawing Jiang Li’s attention. He turned toward the figure in the darkness and raised an eyebrow. “And she is…?”

Under the flickering blue and red lights, it was clear she was a woman. Though wrapped in a thin jacket, she wasn’t short—around 1.65 meters tall. Her delicate face had refined features, and her eyes gleamed brightly despite the dim lighting.

“Oh, her!” Cai Chengji craned his neck for a better look and shrugged. “You know how short-staffed we’ve been lately, Captain Jiang. After you were transferred two months ago, the city set up two useless task forces based on some directive from above and pulled two more people from us. Deputy Chief Xu was so desperate he nearly went bald—he even filed a request to transfer officers from local precincts, but the bureau chief rejected it. As a last resort, they assigned the new office intern to our Special Task Force…”

“An intern.” Jiang Li’s expression remained unreadable.

Xiang Yang quickly voiced his opinion: “Captain Jiang, Deputy Chief Xu is really out of line this time—sending us an intern who usually just handles reports. Our Special Task Force isn’t a place that needs reports all day long… Besides, having a delicate young woman mixing with a bunch of rough men all the time isn’t right. I heard she was in a pretty serious car accident recently and just returned to duty a couple of days ago.”

“Here to chat? Get to work!” Jiang Li snapped. “We’ll discuss other matters back at the city bureau.”

The other two naturally understood the implication—Captain Jiang clearly didn’t want this intern. And rightly so. The Special Task Force wasn’t like other departments; irregular hours were the norm. Going on field assignments and camping under bridges for days wasn’t unheard of. The conditions were tough—even strong young men might struggle, let alone a beauty-conscious young woman. The entire team was swamped, and no one had the patience to mentor an intern, male or female.

Cai Chengji and Xiang Yang responded in unison, though their expressions were vastly different. Cai Chengji shook his head regretfully. Known as the bureau’s perpetual bachelor, he barely saw any women due to his hectic workload. Just when a young woman had finally appeared in the office, she was about to be sent back before he could even get a proper look. The thought alone was disappointing.

After taking a couple of steps, Jiang Li suddenly stopped and asked, “Cai Bao, explain to me why a non-officer was at the crime scene?”

Cai Chengji froze, instinctively defending himself: “Captain Jiang… there’s no rule saying interns aren’t allowed at crime scenes…” Noticing Jiang Li’s darkening expression, he quickly straightened up and replied loudly, “When we got the call, there was only one manual transmission police car left in the yard. I asked in the office who could drive a manual van, and Su Yan said… she could.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li’s eye muscles twitched uncontrollably before he strode off toward the creek.

Xiang Yang and Cai Chengji exchanged glances and hurried to gather more details. If it had been just a single victim, the city bureau’s Special Task Force wouldn’t have bothered intervening. The problem was that this was the second body found in Da’an Village this month, prompting the district’s criminal investigation team to hand the case over to the city bureau.

Approaching the body, Jiang Li crouched down and carefully examined the surroundings. Forensic examiner Zhang Qishan, his round face wearing a faint smile, was nearly done with the preliminary examination. “I think you deserve a model worker award. Just this morning, I heard the higher-ups mention your return, and here you are, not even taking a day off before jumping back into duty?!”

“I got back to Nancheng yesterday and slept all day. Might as well stretch my legs here,” Jiang Li replied, standing up after his observations and rolling his neck slightly.

“The condition of this deceased individual shares similarities with the case previously discovered by the Xinghe District branch—for instance, both victims were in their twenties, female, with long hair…” Zhang Qishan paused here before continuing, “As for whether there are other commonalities, we’ll need to conduct further autopsies back at the station to confirm. From their identity backgrounds, the two victims don’t seem to overlap—one was a local villager, the other a tourist.”

Jiang Li nodded and expressed her thanks.

Zhang Qishan then gestured for someone to lift the corpse, half-submerged in the stream. Soon, the body was placed into a body bag, and the zipper was pulled shut. Due to the uneven terrain—rocky and slippery—two people carried the body bag toward the perimeter of the crime scene.

Suddenly, the person at the back slipped and fell unexpectedly. The person in front, equally unprepared, let out a sharp cry as the body bag tumbled down. In their panic, they failed to let go, causing the zipper to tear open slightly, revealing a faint outline of what lay inside.

The incident happened too quickly. Jiang Li and the others barely had time to glance up and grasp what had occurred. Cai Chengji couldn’t bear to watch and patted his head in dismay. The person had fallen not far from where Su Yan stood, and he could almost foresee the girl’s piercing scream in the next second—one that would surely shatter the heavens.

But the scene everyone anticipated never unfolded. The body bag didn’t hit the ground; instead, it was caught steadily by a pair of slender arms.

Su Yan pursed her lips and looked at the body bag in her arms. The deceased’s hair and one arm had slipped out of the bag due to the commotion, the icy-cold hand even resting near her shoulder. A slight turn of her head was enough to see it.

With a silent sigh, she slowly bent down and placed the corpse—which even two grown men had struggled to carry—onto the ground. Then, gripping the zipper of the body bag, she gave it a deft shake, neatly tucking the arm back inside. Afterward, she extended a hand toward the fallen man. “Are you alright?”

“…” Cai Chengji blinked and glanced at Xiang Yang, who was equally dumbfounded. After a long pause, he managed a muttered remark: “A prodigy…”

This one—what a shame if she didn’t join the criminal police force.