Su Hui felt like a traveler walking in the desert, with the sunlight glaring and dazzling his eyes.

He crouched down, opened his hand with five fingers, and grabbed a handful of sand before standing up again.

The sand grains were scorching under the sunlight. The tighter he tried to hold the sand in his palm, the faster it slipped through his fingers.

At first, the sand was yellowish-white, the color of ordinary sand. But as it slipped from his hand, it turned into gold, then purple, and finally green.

Su Hui spread out his palm, lowered his head, and saw that the sand had almost emptied. It gathered in a small pool of peacock blue color in his palm, with extremely fine and shimmering grains under the sunlight.

Beautiful, enticing…

Su Hui opened his eyes. He hadn’t worn his eye mask today, so the room remained dark. He turned over and inadvertently woke up Lu Junchi, who was sleeping next to him.

Since recovering from his injuries, Lu Junchi had moved in, claiming it was for the convenience of taking care of him. They were like ordinary cohabiting lovers.

Lu Junchi slept lightly. Whenever Su Hui woke up, whether from a nightmare, coughing, or turning over, he would notice.

Sometimes he would help cover Su Hui with the blanket or offer soothing words, patting him to sleep.

Normally, when someone is used to sleeping alone, having someone beside them would make it difficult to sleep. However, ever since Lu Junchi started sleeping next to Su Hui, he found himself sleeping more soundly.

His insomnia had improved significantly, and sometimes he would quickly fall back asleep after waking up in the middle of the night.

Seeing Su Hui open his eyes, Lu Junchi asked softly, “Had a nightmare?”

“No…” Su Hui hesitated for a moment. It wasn’t really a nightmare, just a very ordinary dream.

Lu Junchi pulled the blanket for him, and Su Hui fell into a deep sleep again. When he opened his eyes once more, a ray of sunlight was streaming through the gap in the curtains.

Everything was still blurry in front of him. Su Hui realized he was curled up, and his head had slipped off the pillow.

Then he lifted his head and saw Lu Junchi lying on his side, gazing at him gently.

Su Hui was startled and quickly turned around. His first instinct was to wipe the corner of his mouth and say, “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“It’s still early. I’ve already prepared everything, and seeing you asleep, I didn’t have the heart to wake you,” Lu Junchi said as he looked at the files summarized by Qiao Ze on his phone, keeping Su Hui company in bed.

Throughout last night, everyone had familiarized themselves with the details of the case. At 8:30 in the morning, they gathered and exchanged all the information once again.

Everyone was fully aware that the next few days would be a tough battle.

At 9 o’clock in the morning, Zhu Baiyi, the bomb disposal expert from the People’s Armed Police, arrived at the headquarters.

He provided professional guidance, teaching the officers from the Major Crimes Unit and the Special Case Unit how to quickly identify bombs and handle them.

To prevent further casualties, explosive-proof containers were placed in various public places in Huadu City.

The SWAT team also increased their manpower and were ready to be deployed at any time.

Zhu Baiyi also analyzed and explained the bombs used in the fine sand case. He created a slideshow illustrating their internal structure.

Some of the bombs had already exploded, leaving only fragments behind.

In this case, only three bombs had been successfully defused by the bomb disposal personnel.

After careful explanation, Zhu Baiyi concluded, “Although these bombs are homemade, they are incredibly sophisticated. There are traces of learning and references to certain foreign manufacturing methods. The difficulty of defusing them is moderate, requiring approximately ten minutes. From a design perspective, the maker is evolving, constantly modifying the product to enhance its lethality and stability.”

Lu Junchi asked, “Are there any distinctive features in the raw materials?”

He hoped that by tracing the materials, they could narrow down their search for the perpetrator.

Sometimes, the origin of a knife, a fiber material on a rope, or an uncommon nut could help them narrow down the possibilities.

Zhu Baiyi pondered for a moment and replied, “There might not be any distinctive features. Everything that can be found is the most common tools, and even some chemicals that might be difficult to purchase can still be obtained to some extent.”

The maker of these bombs was hiding among millions of people in Huadu City, and finding them wouldn’t be an easy task.

The explanation seemed to be sufficient, and Lu Junchi asked, “Professor Zhu, did you bring the sand with you?”

“I brought them,” Zhu Baiyi replied, opening his toolbox and placing a row of small bottles containing colored sand beside him.

The initial sand was yellow, appearing like ordinary grains of sand. In subsequent instances, the sand changed colors. The last bottle was the most recent discovery, containing peacock blue sand.

As Su Hui looked at the sand, he suddenly recalled his dream from the previous night.

Perhaps he had been reading too many case files, which caused the sand to infiltrate his dreams.

Among those bottles, three of them had slightly more sand. Those were taken from unexploded bombs by the police.

The remaining bottles contained noticeably less sand, some with impurities, and others contaminated due to explosions and fire, making it difficult to determine their original colors.

Lu Junchi asked, “Can we extract any clues from this sand?”

Zhu Baiyi frowned and replied, “Our chemistry laboratory has analyzed this sand, but we haven’t found anything significant. It’s just ordinary colored sand that can be bought in the market. It’s challenging to determine their origin…”

The members of the Major Crimes Unit felt disheartened upon hearing this. Zhu Baiyi’s explanation had been practical and provided them with methods to handle the crisis. However, even the expert stated that there were no means to gather leads for further investigation. How could they approach the suspect based on the existing clues?

Lu Junchi thanked Zhu Baiyi and then escorted him out.

Qiao Ze expressed some concerns, “Captain Lu, what do we do next?”

Lu Junchi reassured his subordinates, saying, “Don’t worry, I’ve made some arrangements…”

Just as they were discussing this, they noticed an elderly person standing outside the door.

Lu Junchi quickly turned around, went out, and welcomed the elderly person inside.

Su Hui raised his head and saw a tall and thin elderly man wearing glasses.

He remembered that Lu Junchi had mentioned in the morning about bringing in an outside expert.

Su Hui was curious and wondered what kind of expert the person in front of him could be.

After bringing the person inside, Lu Junchi introduced him to the members of the Major Crimes Unit, saying, “This is Teacher Jiang Fan, a renowned sand bottle artist in Huadu.”

Qiao Ze’s eyes lit up as if he saw a glimmer of hope for solving the case. He asked, “Teacher Jiang, can you tell where this sand comes from?”

Jiang Fan adjusted his glasses and replied, “We need to take a closer look to find out.”

Lu Junchi pointed to the small bottles of sand and said, “Teacher Jiang, it’s these.”

After reviewing the information on the sand explosion case, Lu Junchi immediately thought that the colored sand resembled the kind used for sand bottle art.

He searched and found a large sand bottle art forum in Huadu, where he discovered some information.

It was then that Lu Junchi realized that sand bottle art wasn’t just for children; there were many enthusiasts in the city as well.

It was a niche art form, and among these enthusiasts, some were young, while others were older, making a living through sand bottle art.

Jiang Fan was one of the most experienced sand bottle artists among them.

He had achieved a senior rank on the forum and would often give advice to young people in the community. Many youngsters actively sought his opinion, and Jiang Fan was always generous with his guidance.

“For this sand, you used Yandu’s red sand. It doesn’t look vibrant enough; you could try using Ancheng’s sand instead, it might yield better results.”

“If you mix 10% gold sand into the white sand, it will enhance the shine of this artwork.”

“That black sand is too hazy and not transparent enough…”

As Lu Junchi observed their conversation, he recalled a saying: “A grain of sand can be a whole world, a flower can be a paradise.”

He had done thorough research and could confirm that Jiang Fan possessed extensive knowledge about sand.

He had studied the origins, colors, and even the coarseness of the sand grains. Jiang Fan could effortlessly identify various types of sand.

Lu Junchi contacted Jiang Fan and explained the details of the sand case. Jiang Fan immediately expressed his willingness to provide assistance without charge.

He couldn’t tolerate someone using his beloved art form to commit murder.

Previously, Lu Junchi had specifically asked Zhu Baiyi to bring the sand to allow Jiang Fan to identify it.

At this moment, Jiang Fan lowered his head, his expression serious, as he examined the sand.

He picked up each bottle and studied it for a while.

Zheng Baigang, hearing Zhu Baiyi’s previous statement that the sand was nothing special, became somewhat skeptical about the sand bottle art expert. He muttered quietly, “They’re making such a fuss… about sand, without even labeling them…”

Qu Ming glared at him, afraid that Jiang Fan might overhear, and gritted his teeth as he reminded him, “You don’t understand, kid. Those who specialize in a trade are the true experts…”

Jiang Fan seemed to have heard their whispering and squinted his eyes, saying, “I’ve been creating sand art for over forty years. Do you think there’s any type of sand I haven’t touched? These colored sands may look similar in color, with red being red and yellow being yellow, but the brightness, depth of color, and the coarseness of the sand grains are completely different.”

After Jiang Fan finished speaking, he observed the bottles, opened each cap, smelled them, and then took out a bit of sand. He rubbed it between his fingertips and even put some sand grains into his mouth, tasting them.

“Oh my! Teacher Jiang, that’s not clean…” Xia Mingxi’s face changed. After all, it was collected from the explosion site, and who knows what might be mixed in it.

She quickly poured a glass of water, intending for Jiang Fan to rinse his mouth.

But Jiang Fan didn’t mind at all. “Over the years, I’ve eaten plenty of sand, and different sands from different places and dyes have different flavors…”

As he spoke, he poured out a bit more sand, sniffed it with his nose, and then began to mutter to himself.

This person seemed eccentric, and the members of the Major Crimes Unit watched him, uncertain about what the outcome would be.

After a while, Jiang Fan looked up. “These sands are produced in the neighboring counties near Huadu. Among them, the peacock blue color is the most distinctive. There are some imitations in the market, but they don’t have the same beautiful color as this brand. I can give you a contact, and you can verify with the manufacturer and inquire about their distribution channels.”

After speaking, Jiang Fan checked his phone and swiftly scribbled down a series of complex numbers.

Lu Junchi thanked him profusely.

However, Jiang Fan said that in the hands of good people, this sand can become artwork, but in the hands of bad people, it becomes materials for making bombs. He simply couldn’t tolerate it. If there’s anything else they need help with, they can freely approach him.

After Jiang Fan left, the members of the Major Crimes Unit exchanged glances. Machines couldn’t differentiate or determine the source of the sand, yet this old man could determine it just by looking, smelling, and even tasting?

This screening method sounded incredibly mysterious.

Zheng Baigang still had some doubts. “Is this person reliable?”

Qiao Ze said, “I think he should be quite accurate. I noticed some colors in the gaps between his fingers, probably residue from years of handling sand. This person seems to have some genuine skills.”

In Qiao Ze’s opinion, Jiang Fan was like a monk sweeping the floor. Although he appeared to be doing something simple, he had been dedicated to his field for decades, making him the most professional in his domain.

Two years ago, Su Hui had collaborated with the former captain of the criminal investigation team to investigate the sand case. However, at that time, Captain Chang didn’t find any leads from the colored sand.

Su Hui felt that Lu Junchi’s approach was correct, and this might be a direction that could lead to a quick resolution of the case.

Qu Ming said, “Regardless, this time we’ve finally made some substantial progress…”

Lu Junchi sent the person back and said to Qiao Ze, “Qiao Ze, verify with the factory as soon as possible!”

With a sigh, Qiao Ze made a phone call to confirm and sent pictures of the sand.

After a while, he exclaimed with joy, “The factory confirmed that it should be their sand, and this peacock blue color is their exclusive new shade developed just this year. Other companies don’t have such delicacy and beauty. Because this color is in high demand, they haven’t sold it retail and only supplied it to a few fixed buyers, no more than ten!”

Upon hearing this, Zheng Bai became excited. “So that old man really is a hidden master…”

With the scope greatly narrowed down, as long as they continued to investigate in the right direction, they would surely find the source of the sand and determine the whereabouts of the suspect.

Author’s note:

 “One sand, one world; one flower, one paradise.” Quoted from Buddhist scriptures.

In addition, there are sayings such as “One flower, one world; one leaf, one bodhi(enlightment).”

Various interpretations like “One sand, one Pure Land” exist, but here, only the Buddhist scriptures are referenced.

TN: “One sand, one world; one flower, one paradise” is a phrase derived from Buddhist scriptures. It expresses the idea that even the smallest grain of sand or the tiniest flower contains an entire world of its own. It signifies the interconnectedness and vastness of existence, suggesting that within the smallest elements, there is immense beauty, significance, and potential. This phrase encourages contemplation of the profound nature of the universe and the infinite possibilities contained within every minute aspect of life.