"That's unacceptable. What happens if there's an emergency? Manors are usually situated in remote areas." Qi Youxuan shook his head vigorously.

Xiao Yiqing replied in a cheerful tone, "We aren't staying in a manor! The whole top floor of Dynasty Hotel is our home so we have lots of empty rooms to offer, and the elevator can take us straight to our home without stopping at any floor too!"

​​

"..." Qi Youxuan could not argue with that.

Qi Youxuan's glare to Xiang Haorui conveyed the message: 'Can you please control your wife?'

Did Xiao Yiqing know destroying two lovers' fate to become husband and wife would end up in quicker death?

Xiang Haorui merely gave an innocent look of 'my wife's words are my command' to Qi Youxuan.

Wei Muran had no choice but to drag Qi Youxuan away and smile at Xiao Yiqing. "We'll stay at your place then."

Xiao Yiqing was exhilarated by this statement but Qi Youxuan's expression was contorted in disappointment. After that, he pulled Wei Muran's hand quickly and said, "I'll bring her for dinner first before sending her to Dynasty Hotel later."

"What are you talking about? Of course we'll have dinner together when you're here." Xiao Yiqing held onto Wei Muran's other arm and added, "Why do you not love your friends anymore? You used to be so cute when you were young!"

Qi Youxuan was reluctant to speak with Xiao Yiqing any further and merely glared at Xiang Haorui with resentment.

Xiang Haorui was forced to suggest, "Qingqing, why don't we invite Youxuan to stay at our place tonight as well? Four of us can gather together and have a chat later too."

Xiao Yiqing was actually aware of the source of Qi Youxuan's melancholy, so she quitted joking and fought the urge to smile while nodding her head. "Alright!"

Qi Youxuan sneered at Xiang Haorui and thought, 'You brat. Don't think I didn't realize that you're actually using this opportunity to infiltrate the enemy's…oh, sorry…father-in-law's base!'

Frankly, Qi Youxuan envied Xiang Haorui.

The Xiao family and the Xiang family had joked about the engagement between these two kids since they got along with each other so well during childhood. Thus, when the kids had grown up and actually started a relationship together, their families acknowledged them happily and satisfactorily instead of stopping them.

It was a far contrast to Qi Youxuan's situation, whose father-in-law guarded against him vigilantly like he was a thief. It was very depressing.

"Let's go for dinner. Police officers, come and join us too!" Xiao Yiqing chirped to both Jiang Yuecheng and Zhao Yiyang.

Qi Youxuan gritted his teeth very tightly.

"Stop it! I've already allowed you to stay at my place tonight. You've been dating Muran daily and now that you're in T City, can you at least allow us to meet just for a night? Judging by your constant refusal, do you actually have some ill intention in mind tonight?" complained Xiao Yiqing while she glared at Qi Youxuan.

"..." Qi Youxuan was at a loss for words.

If Qi Youxuan could go back in time, he definitely would not be acquainted with Xiao Yiqing.

Dejected and left with no choice, Qi Youxuan joined Xiao Yiqing and the rest—from the initial two-men group to a six-men group—for dinner in order to prove his innocence and kindness.

…

…

In Jinxiu Community appeared a gentleman in his late twenties with black-rimmed spectacles, a white formal shirt underneath a black suit, and a laptop bag worn on one side while the strap was looped over the opposite shoulder. He was walking toward the community entrance when he saw two aunties in their fifties walking toward him while pushing their shopping carts.

"Auntie Yang, Auntie Li, back from grocery shopping?" greeted the gentleman with a smile.

Home Love Property Agency Company situated in Jinxiu Community happened to be the gentleman's workplace. He would meet with these retired aunties constantly whenever he brought customers for site-viewing or strolling around the community to check for available properties for rental or sales purpose. Occasionally, he would join these aunties for chit chat and got ahold of gossip that were spread around this area.

Moreover, the gentleman gave a favorable impression to these aunties due to his honey-mouthed attitude and willingness to listen to them. Soon, he became integrated with them and there was rarely any retired auntie who did not recognize this gentleman.

"Yes, it's cheaper to buy ingredients when the night market is closing soon," replied Auntie Yang with a smile. "Getting off work so soon today?"

"No, I'm going to pick up a customer for site-viewing at Mountain View Community later before going home straight away," answered the gentleman.

"Off you go then. Oh, by the way, I've made baozi1 for dinner tonight. I'll give you a few tomorrow afternoon," said Auntie Li.

"Oh, good! I miss the baozi Auntie Li made. They're so delicious and incomparable to those baozi sold outside!" replied the gentleman.

"Hahaha, you're so sweet!" said the delighted Auntie Li. A woman at this age did not have much interest but she would surely like to be praised for her good cooking skill.

"Hey, I'm being sincere!" replied the smiling gentleman.

After bidding farewell with these two aunties, the gentleman finally left the community.

…

…

Qi Youxuan and Wei Muran went their separate ways with Jiang Yuecheng and Zhao Yiyang after dinner. Jiang Yuecheng and Zhao Yiyang returned to the hotel while Qi Youxuan brought Wei Muran to the Xiao family's home that was also in Dynasty Hotel.

Approximately four o'clock in the morning, Wei Muran received a phone call and Xiao Yiqing who was sleeping right beside her was awakened by the sudden ringtone too.

"Sorry, I'll go out and talk so you can sleep again," said Wei Muran.

Xiao Yiqing could not hear Wei Muran's words clearly due to a foggy brain and merely flipped over to continue her slumber.

Wei Muran, who was still wearing pajamas, walked toward the living room and turned on the lights before accepting the call.

The night was still young with the outside world etched in charcoal. The sudden bright light forced Wei Muran to squint until her pupils adapted to the brightness after a while.

"Sergeant Jiang, what happened?" asked Wei Muran directly after accepting the call. No one would make phone calls in the middle of the night unless it was an emergency.

"Yang Shaoqun called me just now saying that they found another female corpse at Mountain View Community, which is just nearby Jinxiu Community Cao Keya once lived. Yiyang and I are on our way now. You and Youxuan need to head there as soon as possible," said Jiang Yuecheng.

After Wei Muran hung up the phone call, she darted toward the opposite room and pressed the doorbell without noticing that she was merely wearing pajamas at the moment.

A sleepy voice emerged from within the room after a few moments. "I'm coming."

The door eventually opened after some time.

Wei Muran was taken by surprise and words failed to come out of her mouth.

Qi Youxuan's placket was basically wide open and revealed the chiselled chest within the bathrobe. Wei Muran assumed that he must be sleeping naked just now, and that was probably the reason why the cincture was tied hastily when he put on the bathrobe provided by the hotel before answering the door.

Fortunately, the bottom part was covered rather firmly and only a small portion of his legs was exposed. He was even wearing a pair of disposable slippers provided by the hotel.

This pretty boy who had just woke up was too attractive and gave Wei Muran quite a shock. She had completely forgotten about her main purpose of coming here and waking this dashing lad.

After Qi Youxuan rubbed the remainders of sleep from his face, he put on a sweet smile instantly before pulling Wei Muran into the room and further into his embrace. "Mumu, you actually miss me! Come, let me hug you and we'll sleep together later!"

"..." Wei Muran was left speechless.

Wei Muran finally regained her calm and tried to push Qi Youxuan away. Coincidentally, half of her palm was pressed against the bathrobe while the other half onto his smooth and firm chest.

The back of Wei Muran's head was clasped by Qi Youxuan and her cheek was pressed firmly on his chest that radiated intense heat onto her palm and face, and it caused her blush to burn throughout her entire body.

"Let me go and stop messing around. There's a new case." Wei Muran tried her best to lift her gaze.

Wei Muran's mind was currently in a whirl and gave Qi Youxuan the perfect opportunity to taste her scent. Thus, without further hesitation, Qi Youxuan cupped her cheek and planted fiery and passionate kisses on her lips that overwhelmed her logical thinking.

When Qi Youxuan finally wanted to listen about the new case, Wei Muran was unable to think straight and failed to muster a response.

A devilish grin formed on Qi Youxuan's face as he pulled Wei Muran into his embrace again for another round of kissing. "Do you want to tell me about the case? If not, we'll head back to sleep for a while. You'll sleep on the bed and I'll sleep with you."

"..." Wei Muran was dumbfounded.

Even in her blurry state of mind, Wei Muran was reluctant in causing Qi Youxuan pain and thus stomped on his foot rather gently.

Qi Youxuan released his grip in the end and combed Wei Muran's messed-up hair after his constant fondling before saying, "Head back to your room and get dressed first. You can start talking about the case on the road later."

After Qi Youxuan turned Wei Muran around and pushed her out of his room, he stood there and watched as she tottered back to her room safely before closing the door.

It was only until Wei Muran took off her pajamas when she realized that there were no undergarments covering her private parts. Qi Youxuan must have felt everything when he hugged her so firmly just now.

Wei Muran felt uncomfortable in that instant and was reluctant to face reality even after she got dressed. It was just her luck that a corpse was waiting for them.

Left with no choice, Wei Muran summoned her courage and went out of her room. There Qi Youxuan was, leaning against the wall in a tidy outfit and looking lively without any sign of drowsiness at all. On the contrary, Wei Muran was so sleepy that she even covered her mouth and yawned. She was left to wonder if Qi Youxuan's brain was made with special constituents to get rid of the sleepiness so easily.

Naturally, Xiao Yiqing's slumber was disturbed since Wei Muran was awake, so she took the time to see Wei Muran out of the room and lent a car to Qi Youxuan who requested for it.

Wei Muran explained the situation while the duo were on their way toward the crime scene. However, she did not know much about this case since both Jiang Yuecheng and Zhao Yiyang were unsure about the details as well. All of them knew basically the same information and additional information might be obtained only after they reached the crime scene.

Eventually, the duo reached the crime scene without making any mistake after Wei Muran turned on the navigation system.

They passed Jinxiu Community during the journey and concluded that Mountain View Community was merely slightly larger than Jinxiu Community despite being in the same class.

After searching around the community based on the building number provided by Jiang Yuecheng on the phone, they located the building where the victim lived.

Three police cars were parked in front of the building's main entrance with police cordons around the block that was also under tight security by police officers in their tidy uniforms.

Wei Muran and Qi Youxuan exited the car and showed their identity cards to the police officer on guard. "Hello, we're from the Criminal Investigation Division from B City and are currently in collaboration with the Criminal Investigation Division from T City."

The police officer was aware of this and allowed them to enter the crime scene.

After realizing that the victim stayed on the fourth floor, Wei Muran figured that the number four1 really sounded inauspicious when combined with death, even though it was just a simple number at usual times.

The duo exited the elevator afterward. There was no need for them to inquire the victim's unit number since there were only three units on this floor and only the door to the left unit was opened with a police cordon in front of the entrance, which was also guarded by a police officer. Judging by the various conversations and noises, it must be crowded inside the unit.

The other two families on the same floor were disturbed by the hectic commotion outside their units. Geriatrics usually suffered from sleep problems such as light sleeps and frequent night awakenings, so an elderly lady opened the door slightly to identify the source of the commotion furtively.

The elderly lady overheard from the conversation vaguely that someone passed away in unit four-zero-one and told her family members anxiously. "Quick, come and have a look! Someone died in unit four-zero-one! Oh my God, that's so scary!"

The neighbor that lived in the middle unit poked his head out and overheard this statement. "There's only a young lady living in unit four-zero-one alone, right? What a pity. That's why it's not advisable to live alone in a house. It's very dangerous!"

"Who said she lived alone? Didn't a middle-aged man always come to visit her? He usually visits her at night two to three times a week before leaving the unit in the middle of the night. Don't you know about it?" asked the elderly lady from the right unit.

"No, I don't," answered the middle unit, "I didn't hear any noise."

The elderly lady tried to conceal the awkwardness and replied, "Hey, elderly people usually have less sleep and I can't fall asleep after hearing some disturbances."

The elderly lady once noticed inadvertently that a middle-aged man came to visit the unit on the left before leaving a few hours later and had overheard an argument between the man and the young lady at one time, and that peaked her curiosity. Since then, she paid a lot of attention to any sort of activity in the left unit to get rid of her boredom after retirement.

The elderly lady would surely peer through the security peephole in the door whenever she overheard any sound in the left unit, and even opened the door to eavesdrop when the man entered the house. She would also pay attention to the time when the man left the unit.

This was the exact reason why the unit in the middle knew nothing but the elderly lady knew it in detail.

Qi Youxuan and Wei Muran overheard the elderly lady's statement which surprised Wei Muran. Qi Youxuan merely turned around to glance at the elderly lady for a brief moment before entering the crime scene with Wei Muran.

The elderly lady's curiosity was diverted instantly and said to the man in the middle unit, "Hey, the young man who entered the crime scene just now is a cop too? He's so handsome. I need to ask if he has a girlfriend later. If not, I'll introduce my granddaughter to him."

"..." The man in the middle unit was at a loss for words.

He could no longer handle this elderly lady's powerful mental toughness.

Yang Shaoqun noticed the duo and led Qi Youxuan into the crime scene immediately—the toilet.

"She died the same way; pierced multiple times before her death with the piercing wounds almost the size of a barbeque skewer or knitting needle as Cao Keya did. Still, we're unsure if the weapon used is the same, and we need to wait for the Forensic Science Division to extract samples and identify the weapon. Other than that, there's an additional feature to this case. The victim's head was shaved this time."

Yang Shaoqun recalled the same thing Qi Youxuan had in mind. "She died exactly the same way as the novel described. In the novel, the third victim in the third case was killed just like the second victim with the addition of a shaved head."

No one would assume that the victim was bald since she was a young lady who took care of her image well. It was highly unlikely that she would shave her head. Moreover, the photographs at the house or in the victim's cell phone had indicated that the victim was a beautiful woman with long hair.

"There are wounds on the victim's head, presumably inflicted when the assailant was shaving the victim's head," Qi Youxuan described while examining the victim with narrowed eyes.

The colleagues working in the Forensic Science Division transferred the corpse from the cold water-filled bathtub very carefully to the stretcher before moving her to the living room.

Qi Youxuan pointed at the naked corpse and said, "There are ligature marks on her neck, arms, wrists, lower abdomen and ankles. The lateral sides of her neck show obvious bruising and there are scratch marks in between her clavicles. The rope was tied from behind her neck to the front crossing the clavicles, showing that the victim struggled fiercely before her death which led to injuries in those areas."

"The assailant killed Xiong Shishi directly before sinking her into the water for the first time. In the second case, the assailant pierced Cao Keya with needles multiple times before killing her and sinking her into the water. Following such abductive reasoning, this time the assailant tied the victim first and shaved her head which caused the victim to struggle fiercely and inflicted serious bruisings and scratch marks in the process. The assailant then pierced the victim with needles and made her suffocate before sinking her into the water in the end," proposed Qi Youxuan.

"What the f*ck! This murderer is trying something new and creative every single time!" exclaimed Zou Chengwei irritably.

Wei Muran walked around the house and added, "This house is quite small with one bedroom only, but the layout is good and designed delicately, so it doesn't feel narrow and crowded despite the small area. The living room is decently sized as well, so the price won't be cheap even in this small community. I've examined the area just now and there was no sign of struggle or fight from the door to the living room and bedroom. We can assume that either the assailant has a key or he's acquainted with the victim."

"According to the forensic pathologist, the time of death was between twelve to one o'clock at midnight. What sort of relation did the victim, a young lady living alone in this house, have with the assailant to grant him access without the slightest vigilance?" asked Wei Muran.

"Her lover?" answered Zou Chengwei under the impression that the victim must be a mistress without proper investigation.

"I'm more inclined toward the hypothesis that the assailant has the key," replied Wei Muran before turning around and glanced at Qi Youxuan after voicing out her opinion as usual.

Qi Youxuan nodded in response. "My previous analysis suggested that the assailant wasn't closely acquainted with the victims, and based on this victim's condition, I stand firm on my previous analysis."

"That auntie from the neighboring unit seems to know something," suggested Wei Muran.

Qi Youxuan nodded and the duo left the crime scene. Sure enough, the elderly lady still had the door opened to pry into the case instead of returning for her slumber.

The elderly lady remained in the same posture—with the door ajar which was just enough for her head to pass through—from the moment of the duo's arrival until this point of time.

Wei Muran actually sympathized with this elderly lady's back after bending for so long.

"Auntie, we're the police officers. We have some questions about your neighbor, Liu Peipei," greeted Wei Muran with a polite smile.

The elderly lady eyed both Qi Youxuan and Wei Muran up before letting her guard down. However, her first question took both of them by surprise. "Young man, do you have a girlfriend?"

"..." The dumbfounded Qi Youxuan was truly amazed about the emotional endurance these aunties possessed nowadays. "This lady next to me is my fiancée."

"Oh." Qi Youxuan's response dampened the elderly lady's enthusiasm but she opened the door nonetheless. She then peeked at the commotion opposite her and said, "Why don't you come in and have a seat? I'll make tea for both of you and we can have a chat after that. We got sunflower seeds here. Do you guys eat pistachio nuts?"

"..." Wei Muran was left speechless.

How much information did this elderly lady like to obtain from them?

"Auntie, your family members aren't awake yet at this hour, so we'll just ask some questions right here instead of troubling you further. Besides, we're still on duty and won't be able to stay for long too," Wei Muran spoke, gently turning down her offer.

"Oh." The elderly lady was disappointed and there was an obvious decrease in her enthusiasm at present. "What do you want to ask?"

"Do you know what Liu Peipei works as?" asked Wei Muran.

"Ah, I know this one. She's a white-collar worker at Xi… some branch office called Xijian Corporation in T City, situated in Haier Street. That was what she told me last time, but my daughter said it's not a branch office but just a small office rented in an office building called Argentum One in Haier Street. Xiao Liu receives a small paycheck every month but she did find herself a rich old man. My daughter also heard that normal designers get better paycheck at Xiao Liu's office but she isn't a designer. If I'm not mistaken, she's just a normal clerk in her office who earns roughly two thousand Yuan a month."

The elderly lady pouted and added, "Even though the housing area we're living in isn't really a top-notch community, each household price isn't exactly cheap either. I've asked the agency company several times, and let's not focus on the sales part—the rental fee for a housing unit is around three thousand Yuan a month. She's just a clerk who earns two thousand Yuan a month. How can she rent a unit in this area when she has a thousand Yuan deficit? Even if her housing layout is smaller, she still needs to pay two thousand three hundred Yuan as rental fee. Does that mean she only pays for the rental fee without eating, drinking or entertainment?"

The elderly lady then continued disdainfully, "I was suspicious until I saw a man enter her house one day. Tut-tut, he looked almost the same age as my husband; around fifty to sixty years old. He arrived at eight o'clock and left at approximately eleven o'clock at night. What do you think he was doing at that period of time?"

"He might be Liu Peipei's father," suggested Wei Muran.

"Impossible. Her family lives elsewhere and she came to this city alone. I recognized her parents when they came to visit her that one time. Besides, I've seen that man kissing Xiao Liu! Tut-tut, her mentality must be very strong to be able to enjoy kissing a man old enough to be her father. I even used this issue to warn my granddaughter not to perform such wretched and immoral matters since it would bring embarrassment to the family," replied the elderly lady.

The elderly lady then added, "That man returned again the night before yesterday, and they started arguing rather loudly a few moments later."

The corners of Wei Muran's lips twitched uncontrollably. "You heard them while your neighbor in the middle heard nothing. You have excellent hearing."

Embarrassment gnawed at the elderly lady. "That's because I'm healthy."

It was actually curiosity which fuelled the elderly lady's courage to place her ear against the door to eavesdrop on the argument.

"What did you hear about their argument?" asked Wei Muran.

"Something about divorce, responsibility, and a baby, but I couldn't hear them clearly to be honest. The man's voice was soft so I wasn't sure what he replied, but Liu Peipei's yell was quite loud though."

The elderly lady then leaned closer to Wei Muran and whispered, "I made my own assumption after returning home. I'm guessing that Liu Peipei conceived a child and tried to threaten the man to divorce and marry her instead, but I'm not sure if she really was pregnant at that time."

"Auntie, you've… provided a lot of useful information for us," replied the surprised Wei Muran.

The elderly lady covered her smile and said, "Haha, it's my responsibility to aid in police officers' investigation."

"Oh, by the way, what's your name?" asked the smiling Wei Muran.

"My surname is Zhou. Zhou Pinghui," emphasized Zhou Pinghui.

"Please let us know if you have any new information," said Wei Muran.

"Of course, I will!" Zhou Pinghui was especially enthusiastic in her response.

…

…

They returned to the police department afterward to wait for the forensic report. Doctor Guo—a decorous male forensic pathologist in his forties who wore spectacles and appeared more experienced than Bai Mo—came over personally with the forensic report a few moments later.

"We've found something. The samples on the victim's piercing wounds contained DNA from the previous victim Cao Keya, which indicates that the weapon used in these two cases were the same without any proper cleaning. That was the reason why Cao Keya's blood still remained on the needle tip," explained Doctor Guo.

"Judging from the previous murder methods, the assailant wasn't really a careless man," replied Zhang Shanfei.

Qi Youxuan nodded in response. "That's right, the assailant did it on purpose. The assailant didn't leave any of his DNA on the weapon except for Cao Keya's DNA on the needle tip. He detested any woman who became a mistress just like Cao Keya and assumed that the blood flowing through these women's veins were filthy. This explains why the assailant wanted to mix Cao Keya and Liu Peipei's blood, so that their blood could stain each other's souls."

Baozi (Chinese: 包子), or bao, is a type of filled bun or bread-like (i.e. made with yeast) dumpling in various Chinese cuisines. There are many variations in fillings (meat or vegetarian) and preparations (usually steamed). In its bun-like aspect it is very similar to the traditional Chinese mantou.The number 4 (四, pinyin: sì; Cantonese Yale: sei) is considered an unlucky number in Chinese because it is nearly homophonous to the word "death" (死 pinyin: sǐ; Cantonese Yale: séi). Thus, some buildings in East Asia omit floors and room numbers containing 4, similar to the Western practice of some buildings not having a 13th floor because 13 is considered unlucky.