Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  The living room was very old.

  It was used as a store room rather than a living room.

  Apart from a shabby looking table and sofa, there was no other decent looking furniture.

  The wall was not painted, it was a cement wall covered with certificates that had long faded. It should belong to the son of the woman. When she did a rough estimate, there was actually slightly more than 30 of them.

  The writing on the certificates was faintly legible.

  His name was Feng Kui.

  It was a very mighty and powerful name. He must have been the hope of his parents. From all these awards, the young Feng Kui did not disappoint them. There were many awards with words like “Winning the First Place”. Unfortunately, under the dim light, the awards he received back then were now like a joke.

  Xiang Wan turned to another direction.

  On the other wall, there was an old-fashioned picture frame hanging on the wall.

  There were many pictures displayed inside it.

  Most were old pictures. There were even a few of them in black and white.

  The 80s, 90s, the 00s…… It spoke volumes of how times had changed.

  The only thing was, there wasn’t a complete family photo to be seen.

  Xiang Wan furrowed her eyebrows slightly.

  What kind of story had happened in this family?

  Xiang Wan walked slowly as she observed, various scenarios of 10,000 words had already formed in her mind when she noticed something in a pile of miscellaneous items situated in a corner of the room—it was a small piece of torn paper.

  It was quite small, smaller than her palm and it was stained.

  If it wasn’t for the fact that Xiang Wan was especially sensitive to things like this, she might not have noticed it.

  It was a pencil drawing of a game character with the sides torn off. Although the technique of drawing was rather poor, the character was recognisable. On that piece of paper, there were also a few words written in small handwriting on it.

  “My favorite Hua Ge.”


  Hua Ge?

  It was a popular role-playing game character.

  Xiang Wan had also played the game for a while.

  At that time, her favorite character in that game was also “Hua Ge”.

  At this moment, the piece of paper with “Hua Ge” drawn on, was lying on the ground, in the cold living room.

  As if it was saying something silently.

  Xiang Wan’s body gave a shiver, and saw the only window in the living room.

  She seemed to see a hand – a woman’s hand, fair and clean, holding a pencil and drawing the character that she liked. However, the next moment, the woman’s face stiffened and burst into tears, crying incessantly and saying “help”.……

  “What’s on your mind?”


  Bai Muchuan’s voice came from behind and almost made Xiang Wan jump in fright.

  “What are you doing?” she looked at him.

  Bai Muchuan furrowed his eyebrows and held her hand. “Are you cold?”


  “I’m fine, not too cold. I was thinking about something earlier and almost had a heart attack when you suddenly called me!”


  Indeed, Xiang Wan was a little cold.

  But it was not her body that was feeling cold. The cold feeling had come from the bottom of her heart.

  If there was no one else, she would rush into the arms of Bai Muchuan to keep herself warm, so that she would not be in the cold and strange atmosphere where a dead body was lying in a room not far away, and her thoughts running wild……

  “Still denying it!”


  Bai Muchuan grunted, then he removed the coat he was wearing.

  She had said that she was not cold, but her face had gone pale. How could she not feel cold?

  The people living in this area had no heater installed in their homes. And, of course, they did not have any air-conditioning in their homes either.

  The only heating equipment they had to survive winter was the old charcoal stove……

  The family had only one heater in the bedroom, and the living room was as cold as ice.

  Bai Muchuan covered Xiang Wan with his coat. “Just wear it!”


  Xiang Wan wanted to remove the coat. “I’m not cold. You should wear it instead……”


  “I’m warm and good, just wear it!”


  Bai Muchuan sounded a little stern with a commanding tone.

  Xiang Wan pressed her lips together for a second and did not reject his goodwill.

  “You didn’t look good. Didn’t sleep well last night?” Bai Muchuan scrutinized her face.

  “Mm.” Xiang Wan admitted that as she put on his coat properly and hugged herself with her arms to get more warmth. When she talked, her teeth were clenched together. “I haven’t been to a place like this for a long time so I feel a little uncomfortable.”


  “Do you want to rest inside the car?” Bai Muchuan looked towards outside.

  “No need.” Xiang Wan shook her head asked a question. “How’s the situation?”


  “They’re still collecting the traces and evidence. From the initial findings, the case is fairly simple, but……” He took a glance at Xiang Wan. “The fatal wound is at the back of the head, not the carotid……”


  Xiang Wan was surprised to hear that. “Did the perpetrator take the drug?”


  “According to her son,” said Bai Muchuan, “she should have taken the drug. But, we need to bring her back for a drug test……”


  Xiang Wan nodded her head after hearing that.

  Suddenly, she asked a question, “Bai Muchuan, do you play games?”


  “Mm?” Bai Muchuan was a little surprised at her strange question.

  “I’m asking you a question.” Xiang Wan’s attitude was very serious.

  Bai Muchuan looked at her deeply, nodding his head. “I did play before.”


  “Have you ever really liked or gotten attached to a male character inside the game?”


  “.……”


  What kind of question was that?

  Bai Muchuan showed a cold face.

  “Although I only play male characters, I won’t be attracted or get attached to them.”


  Xiang Wan smiled a little. “Yeah, I’m asking if you have ever really, really liked a male character a lot?……”


  “Of course not!” he said it in certainty.

  “Well,” said Xiang Wan, “I have a thought about this case.”


  “What is it?” Bai Muchuan looked at her deeply.

  “There’s more than meets the eye!” After Xiang Wan said so, she took a set of gloves from a police officer who was collecting evidence and traces. Then she squatted near the messy pile of items and tried to pick up the piece of torn paper……

  The floor of the house was rather damp. The piece of paper was stuck to the floor and looked dirty.

  Xiang Wan took some effort to pick it up nicely in one piece.

  Facing the light, she pointed at it to Bai Muchuan.

  “This should be drawn by a girl. Back then I really liked this game character, Hua Ge, as well……”


  Bai Muchuan turned his head for a look at her.

  “The son of the family, Feng Kui, doesn’t seem to be someone who would draw this. As for his parents, the possibility is even lower. From what Detective Ding told us earlier, this family only has a son and no daughters. They hardly get any visits from friends, neighbors and relatives. So, how in the world did this piece of paper get here?”


  This was a very minor detail and she happened to notice it.

  Bai Muchuan’s eyes seemed to indicate that he was thinking about this problem and looked at her seriously.

  “Do you think they could have picked it up from somewhere?”


  “They are not scavengers after all. I feel that the possibility of that happening is too low.”


  Xiang Wan paused for a while after replying. “Didn’t you say this before? Even if the possibility is only one in 10,000, we cannot give up. That is the spirit of a detective.”


  Bai Muchuan smiled in satisfaction. “You’ve made great progress!”


  “Thank you, Your Excellency!”


  Xiang Wan was of course, very glad to get praised.

  “I’m glad if I can be of help to Serious Crime Division One.”


  “Yeah, sometimes, small details like this can become important clues!”