Proofreader:Sandra

Chapter 167

After the typhoon passed, Nansha Island was littered with fallen trees, scattered leaves, and various debris blown in by the wind.

By 10 a.m., communications on the island were finally restored, and mobile phone signals were back.

Song Wen was still uncertain about whom to inform about these matters when the police from Xinchuan arrived.

Due to the explosion and fire that occurred last night, the patrol officers on the nearby small island had reported the incident early on.

Among these officers was a leading officer surnamed Du, who had arrived from Xinchuan at 6 a.m. with a team of forensic experts and evidence collectors.

After arriving, Officer Du first went to the Happiness Inn, heading straight to see Wang Bo. Presenting his credentials, he said he was there to investigate last night’s incident and then asked, “Boss Wang, among your guests last night, was there someone named Song?”

Wang Bo, holding a broom, said, “Yes, there was such a person.”

Wang Bo was curious and wondered why this officer was looking for Song Wen. He thought perhaps the incident last night had something to do with him. Previously, Song Wen had requested a room without windows or clutter for the girl.

Seeing the people arriving, Song Wen walked outside the inn, with Lu Siyu following.

Wang Bo pointed at him and said, “That’s the one.”

Officer Du walked over with a bow and extended his hand to shake Song Wen’s, “Are you Captain Song from Nancheng? I received instructions from the provincial bureau to cooperate with your work. The typhoon was untimely, which is why we’re late.”

Song Wen replied, “That’s me.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Bo quickly lowered his head and continued sweeping the floor, feeling fortunate that his small inn had no illegal activities.

Officer Du then looked Song Wen up and down and said, “Captain Song is truly impressive for your age.” He had initially expected the team leader from Nancheng to be in his thirties or forties but was surprised by Song Wen’s youth. “We received information that you were investigating the case here. It’s fortunate you’re safe after last night’s explosion…”

Previously, Officer Du had received instructions to find Captain Song and confirm his safety. Hearing the urgency in the message, he had been worried something serious might have happened. Now that he saw Song Wen was safe and only had minor injuries, he felt relieved.

After exchanging pleasantries with Officer Du, Song Wen inferred that the provincial bureau was already aware of their arrival on the island.

While other officers were briefing Officer Du, Song Wen leaned over and quietly said to Lu Siyu, “It wasn’t me who revealed this…”

Lu Siyu nodded and said, “You should call Commissioner Gu later.”

Song Wen had been with him, and there had been no communication for a long time, so it wasn’t Song Wen who had leaked their whereabouts.

In fact, from the moment he saw Song Wen, he had a premonition that this information couldn’t be hidden. Even if Song Cheng outwardly seemed uninterested, he was Song Wen’s biological father, and wouldn’t allow Song Wen to risk himself. It’s possible that Commissioner Gu’s green light all the way was actually directed by Song Cheng. Realizing this, he felt a sense of relief.

Later, Song Wen discussed the cake shop incident with Officer Du.

Upon hearing that two people had died here, Officer Du sighed, “Ah, this morning, people on the nearby islands saw and filmed the explosion and flames here. It was like a beacon fire at night. We received information about the fire on the cliff, but due to the typhoon and distance, we couldn’t make it in time. The leaders were worried that it might be a guesthouse on fire, which would be a huge tragedy. Fortunately, it was just a cake shop…”

Song Wen said, “It was indeed quite dangerous when we were close to the fire.”

Officer Du put his hands on his hips and said, “We had encountered Yan Min before. Last time, when we investigated her husband’s suicide, she was very evasive, and despite our long investigation, we didn’t find any clues or evidence.” He thought for a moment and lowered his voice, “The islanders also said that there was something unsavory about this place. I feel that as criminal investigators, it’s not appropriate for us to interfere too much…”

Song Wen nodded, “There were indeed some unsavory prohibited items, and someone was causing trouble…” He then briefed Officer Du on the key points of the case and explained the situation of the explosion, finally handing over Li Ting’er and various pieces of evidence.

Officer Du, surprised that the real culprit and outcome were already delivered to him, thanked Song Wen, “I really didn’t expect this place was selling that. Thank you, Captain Song. If not for you, we would have spent much more effort investigating. Rest assured, we’ll handle the follow-up work.”

The forensic and evidence teams began their work. The bodies of Yang Ling and Yan Min were first removed and laid out on the open ground in front of the cake shop, covered with white cloth. Officer Du looked at the bodies and frowned, “This small island really isn’t peaceful… In just one night, three people have died here…”

Song Wen, surprised by this statement, asked, “Three people? Did someone die from the typhoon down the mountain?”

Officer Du shook his head, “Not due to the typhoon. A woman was found hanged at home last night. It’s suspected to be a suicide.”

Hearing this, Lu Siyu, who had been silently standing behind Song Wen, suddenly spoke, “Is the incident location No. 27, Qingzhou Road?” He had a bad premonition.

Officer Du looked at them curiously, “Yes, how did you know? Due to limited manpower, I haven’t been there yet, only leaving one forensic expert to watch over. After the typhoon passed, the door was left open, and it was visible that the homeowner had hanged herself. Villagers reported it to the police…”

Before he could finish, Lu Siyu’s face turned pale. He quickly reviewed all the details from yesterday’s meeting in his mind.

He grabbed Song Wen and said, “We’ve been deceived! That woman… Li Mingmei is actually Wu Hongyou! That old woman had calluses on her hands from holding a pen, yet claimed she couldn’t read!”

Lu Siyu had just learned of Zhang Hongqiao’s death, which made him extremely distressed, and later, learning the truth about the 519 case, he overlooked some details…

“But the footage we found at that time was of a woman named Zhang Hongqiao, wasn’t it?” Song Wen was still trying to piece together the reasoning.

Lu Siyu explained, “The footage was from a year when Wu Hongyou might have sent her cousin…”

The fingerprint and video postcard were not from the same year. It’s likely that Wu Hongyou personally went to the post office in the first year, while Zhang Hongqiao went alone in the subsequent two years.

Wu Hongyou, using the alias Li Mingmei, was indeed the cousin, while the deceased Zhang Hongqiao was her distant cousin.

Their subjective assumption was that since Wu Hongyou’s name had “Hong” (虹) and Zhang Hongqiao’s name had “Hong” (红), it seemed more likely to be the same person.

On this desolate island, there was no way to verify identification, and they didn’t know whether the ID Li Mingmei showed them was real or fake.

Lu Siyu had seen Wu Hongyou a few times during his childhood. She was the woman who delivered food while he was kidnapped in the villa, appearing once a day. Whenever she arrived, the kidnappers would release them to eat before locking them up again.

In his memory, she was a charming woman, a venomous beauty—bold, brash, and sensual. Otherwise, nineteen years ago, she wouldn’t have become the mistress of that notorious bandit.

However, Lu Siyu found it hard to connect her to the elderly woman he saw before, who was thin, timid, like a withered flower or dry twig.

The stark contrast misled him.

But now, he realized that after nineteen years, Li Mingmei’s claims of Wu Hongyou suffering could have caused her to age dramatically due to intense remorse and fear.

Understanding the connections, Lu Siyu ran out directly.

Officer Du, sensing that there might be something suspicious about the woman’s death, asked Song Wen, “So, is there some insider information about the woman who hanged herself?”

Song Wen urgently said, “Let’s go check the scene first! I’ll explain it to you later.”

Officer Du sighed, “Captain Song, don’t be a stranger. Just let people know you’ve spoken to me.”

Song Wen thanked him and hurried to catch up with Lu Siyu.

Due to the typhoon last night, the road down the mountain was muddy, with fallen trees and broken branches everywhere.

Lu Siyu ran non-stop all the way to the bottom of the mountain, with Song Wen following shortly behind.

No. 27, Qingzhou Road was the address they had visited yesterday. The street outside the house had some added disarray but was otherwise unchanged from yesterday.

Lu Siyu ran straight to the door, breathing heavily. As expected, the door was ajar, just as Officer Du had said.

A police cordon had been set up outside the door, and through it, they could see Wu Hongyou’s body hanging and swaying slightly in the wind.

A forensic expert was standing under the body, seemingly contemplating how to bring it down.

Lu Siyu directly removed the police tape and walked inside.

“Hey, this is a crime scene…” The forensic expert tried to stop him, but Song Wen quickly followed, showing his police ID and said, “We’re from Nancheng City Bureau. I’m Captain Song Wen. We had informed Officer Du. This victim is related to a previous case of ours, so please hold off on moving the body for now.”

The forensic expert acknowledged and stepped back into the yard, allowing them to investigate first.

Lu Siyu stood under Wu Hongyou’s body, his heart racing, struggling to accept the reality.

He then looked up. The woman had been dead for some time, her eyes half-closed, face pale, and her expression twisted. She was hanging from a high beam, with only one shoe on her feet; the other shoe had fallen to the ground.

Below the body, there was a stool used for climbing, now toppled to the side, with footprints and signs of kicking on it. There were some damp spots on the floor indicating incontinence. Wu Hongyou’s fingers had some wounds, with bleeding fingertips and nails turned outward, clearly signs of struggle during the hanging.

Song Wen also looked up at Wu Hongyou’s body. Just yesterday afternoon, they had seen this woman and spoken to her.

Lu Siyu clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, his voice trembling, “If only I had discovered this sooner yesterday…”

Had he discovered it sooner, this sole witness might have been saved; it was his failure to see through the puzzle.

“With only her testimony, identifying someone seen only once in nineteen years isn’t sufficient, not to mention she didn’t know the identity of the White Whale…” Song Wen tried to comfort him, “That notebook is her testimony and the important piece of evidence. Now that she’s dead, discussing it further won’t help. It’s more important to find out the cause of her death.”

Lu Siyu finally looked up, trying to adjust his emotions, and gazed at Wu Hongyou’s body.

Song Wen asked Lu Siyu, “It looks like a suicide. Can you confirm it?”

Lu Siyu touched the body’s feet; they were already cold. He examined the corpse’s livor mortis and rigor mortis: “It strongly resembles a suicide. The time of death should be within the last night… about 12 hours ago.”

When the forensic expert arrived, the first steps included static and dynamic examinations. Routine checks such as livor mortis, rigor mortis, body temperature, corneal clouding, and postmortem reflexes are basic methods to determine the time and cause of death.

Although suicide by hanging is often disguised by perpetrators, genuine hanging suicides have unmistakable body features that are difficult to fake. Whether by strangulation or post-faint hanging, the characteristics of suicide are not easily mimicked.

Looking at the body before him, Lu Siyu’s preliminary conclusion was that the deceased had indeed committed suicide by hanging, with no signs of homicide.

However, the situation was too suspicious. Wu Hongyou had hidden herself as Li Mingmei for so many years and even deceived their inquiries. Why would she suddenly commit suicide? Was it out of guilt? Fear of being discovered, or was there something else?

Suddenly, Lu Siyu had a realization and turned to the forensic expert standing in the yard, “Did the person who reported the crime say that the door was half-open in the morning?”

“Yes, and the person who reported it didn’t dare to enter and called the police directly.” The forensic expert responded, “The door isn’t very sturdy. Could it have been blown open by the typhoon?”

Song Wen also figured out the reasoning and shook his head, “If it were blown open by the typhoon, the interior wouldn’t be so orderly, and there would be traces of the typhoon. The door was opened by someone.”

Wu Hongyou hanged herself last night, and after today’s typhoon, the door was left half-open. This couldn’t be a ghost; there was only one possibility… Someone else must have been in the house before and deliberately left the door open.

Lu Siyu looked around the house, which was as they had left it the night before but with some differences.

This crime scene was quite different from many others they had encountered.

Lu Siyu said tremulously, “Indeed, someone else came here yesterday besides us.”

Song Wen pondered, “We took the last boat yesterday. There were no other guests at the inn. How did this person get here? And where did they stay?”

Lu Siyu thought for a moment and said, “The boat yesterday might not have been exclusively for us. Do you remember the VIP restroom that was out of order? Also, there was a boat that hadn’t left after we disembarked…”

In retrospect, the boat was suspicious. All other boats had stopped operating. Why would this one have delivered them to Nansha Island?

Song Wen realized, “Are you suggesting that the boat was chartered by someone? And that person was in the VIP room, deliberately waiting for us to disembark and leave the dock before coming ashore and finding Wu Hongyou?”

Song Wen then said urgently, “If that’s the case, the person is likely still on the island. I’ll contact and stop everyone from leaving the island…”

Lu Siyu shook his head, “It’s too late.”

The fact that these police officers could come up meant that sea transport had resumed. If the person was so meticulous, and dared to leave the door wide open, it meant he wasn’t afraid of being seen and had already planned his escape.

Considering it further, there were the inexplicable damaged base stations since they arrived on the island…

All these details were connected.

A cold sensation started spreading from Lu Siyu’s back. Perhaps yesterday, he and Song Wen were under that person’s watch. He saw them arrive on the island, search for Wu Hongyou, and leave…

Lu Siyu then glanced at the nearby bed. When they arrived yesterday, the quilt had been rolled up, but now it looked like someone had slept in it. The cold feeling spread to his chest and abdomen, causing his teeth to start chattering, “Yesterday… that person might have had a meal with Wu Hongyou and then slept here…”

Song Wen turned to look and saw some leftovers in the kitchen, with clean dishes and cutlery obviously washed.

Then Song Wen examined the kettle, touched it, and found a cup on the bedside table. He bent down to examine it closely, “The person boiled water this morning; there’s still some water left, and it hasn’t completely cooled. There are no fingerprints on the cup.”

Lu Siyu felt a bit unsettled and frowned slightly upon hearing this. He said, “It should have been cleaned. The person might have tidied up the traces he left behind.”

Song Wen was puzzled, “If he cleaned up, why didn’t he just fold the quilt, close the door, and put away the cup? Instead, he left it all messily?”

Lu Siyu’s eyes moved slightly, and he spoke softly, “Probably… to let us find it.” It was a provocation, a display of power.

What kind of person was this?

Yesterday afternoon, he arrived on the island with the boat, hid himself, and waited for Lu Siyu and Song Wen to leave before entering this laundromat. He made Wu Hongyou prepare dinner that night, and then Wu Hongyou committed suicide.

On that stormy night, the person stayed with the corpse and slept in Wu Hongyou’s bed.

Early this morning, he got up, made himself a cup of hot water, cleaned up his traces, and left before anyone discovered him.

Words like crazy, perverted, and insane don’t fully describe him.

He was meticulous, ruthless, fearless, and arrogantly confident.

He was unafraid of death; he embodied death itself.

When he lay in bed, he might have looked at the corpse and felt satisfied, smug.

Lu Siyu had thought it all through and said, “Perhaps after Wu Hongyou spoke with this person, she chose to commit suicide…”

After examining the scene, he couldn’t find any signs of coercion or threats. The woman seemed to have willingly hanged herself from the beam.

Song Wen thought of a name, “Could it be the White Whale?”

Lu Siyu pursed his lips and nodded. He also thought of that person.

Only that man could instill such fear in Wu Hongyou.

Lu Siyu stepped back and sat on the wooden threshold at the door, looking at this perfectly executed murder scene. It was the White Whale’s style.

Without any bloodshed, with just a silver tongue, he made a woman who had evaded for nineteen years hang herself from a beam and end her own life.

Looking at the body hanging in the air, Lu Siyu felt frustrated. He had thought himself clever enough to see through the case’s truth, only to find out he had been manipulated like a pawn. The person behind this was his target, his enemy, yet this time they hadn’t met face to face. They had only exchanged a few moves from afar, and he had lost.

His opponent was so cold, so powerful.

Lu Siyu felt his blood boil, his unwillingness to accept the defeat rising. Then he noticed Song Wen, who was carefully inspecting the scene.

After sitting in silence for a while, Lu Siyu calmed himself, pressed his lips together, and restored his usual resolve. He stood up and began to search the scene meticulously.

His eyes were tearless, his heart full of rage. The game wasn’t over, and he couldn’t afford to lose, nor would he.

If his opponent was terrifying, then he would make himself even stronger, strong enough to stand before them.

If his opponent was meticulous, he had to find clues within that meticulousness.

The opponent had been here; there must be some evidence left behind.

The room was too messy and yet too clean…

Messy because it seemed to have traces scattered everywhere, and clean because there were no effective traces.

No fingerprints, footprints, bloodstains, or traces—nothing except for the half-open door and the clean dishes and cups seemed to prove that person had been here, that they had truly existed.

Lu Siyu patiently searched the entire room and finally found a hair in a hidden spot by the bedside.

He put on gloves and carefully picked up the hair. It was about seven centimeters long, light brown, with a follicle, as if it had fallen naturally.

Wu Hongyou’s hair was gray, coarse, and slightly curly, and this hair was different in texture, color, and length.

This was a man’s hair.

Lu Siyu took out an evidence bag and carefully placed the hair inside.

Now, it seemed they were a step closer to that man.