POTL Chapter 7

When Yu Shi woke up again, she found herself completely immobilized, her entire body aching everywhere. Pressing down on her were not only chunks of concrete but also Xiang Ling, who lay motionless on top of her. She called out hoarsely a few times, but there was no response from the other person. A large slab of concrete still weighed heavily on her back.

Struggling to move her right hand, she checked Xiang Ling’s injuries. Everywhere her hand touched felt wet and sticky, reeking of blood. Just from touching Xiang Ling’s forehead, she could tell a significant amount of blood had been lost.

Yu Shi couldn’t even muster the energy to curse. She patted herself down, but her phone was nowhere to be found. She then turned to search Xiang Ling’s body. If she remembered correctly, Xiang Ling had kept her phone in her jacket pocket. Retrieving it from the pocket, she was relieved to find it still functional. With great difficulty, she used Xiang Ling’s fingerprint to unlock the phone. She had already dialed the police hotline but hesitated, deleting the number before calling Hu Kan’s number, which she still remembered.

Surprisingly, Hu Kan’s number was saved in Xiang Ling’s contacts, labeled as “Information Broker”. The phone rang only a few times before it was answered. Hu Kan’s voice came through: “Good evening, benefactor. I believe our accounts are settled.”

Panting heavily, Yu Shi said, “I don’t care what your relationship is with the phone’s owner. Get to the location I’m about to give you right now, or both of us are going to die.”

Before Hu Kan could ask any questions, Yu Shi gave the location and hung up. Seeing the remaining battery life on the phone, she immediately dialed Li Yu’s number and quickly explained the situation before the phone shut down on its own.

During the long wait, she repeatedly checked Xiang Ling’s injuries. The front of her own clothes was stained red with blood, though she couldn’t tell whose it was. One thing was clear: if they continued like this, neither of them would survive.

After what felt like an eternity, she could hear the sound of car engines approaching, followed by the voices of several people and Li Yu’s calls. Yu Shi reported her location in a hoarse voice. Upon hearing her, Li Yu immediately began clearing the concrete debris with Hu Kan and Da Gezi. As the sounds grew clearer, Yu Shi finally caught a whiff of fresh air.

Sweating profusely, Li Yu moved aside a large slab of concrete and finally saw his partner’s face, covered in dust, and lying there with another person on top of her. The other person’s face was covered in blood. It was unclear whether they were still alive.

“Be careful with the slab on her back…” Yu Shi instructed the three men as they moved the massive concrete block pressing down on them. She shielded the back of Xiang Ling’s head to prevent further injury.

With great effort, they moved the largest slab of concrete aside. Yu Shi carefully laid Xiang Ling on the ground and, with Li Yu’s help, sat up. From what she could feel, she wasn’t seriously injured, but she had no idea where Xiang Ling had been hit to remain unconscious. The three men helped the two injured into the back seat of the car and rushed them to the hospital.

“Why were the two of you buried there in the middle of the night?” Li Yu asked from the passenger seat while the tall man drove.

Yu Shi pressed her clothes against the bleeding wound on Xiang Ling’s head. Hearing Li Yu’s question, she replied without hesitation, “We came here to look at the stars, and the building just collapsed.”

“Captain Yu, you’re not thinking straight. How could you just wander into an abandoned building like that?”

Da Gezi had dropped his late-night snack and rushed over as soon as he received Li Yu’s call. But the idea that they were buried because they were stargazing was a reason he found hard to accept.

Almost dying because of stargazing. That would have been the dumbest way to go.

“Don’t tell anyone about what happened tonight.” That was precisely why she had called these three people. Because it couldn’t get out.

“If this spreads, you’ll lose all face at the police station, and it’ll damage our team’s reputation,” Da Gezi analyzed the stakes with chilling calmness.

Yu Shi rolled her eyes. “Good that you know.”

The three of them chatted idly, partly to ease the tension in the car. After all, there was still someone unconscious. And partly because the unconscious person’s breathing and heartbeat were stable, meaning she was likely out of danger.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Xiang Ling was carried on a stretcher straight to the operating room. Yu Shi told Da Gezi and Li Yu to go back and rest first. Hu Kan had already been sent by her earlier to deal with her car at the construction site.

Da Gezi left the hospital, but not before asking Yu Shi to update him on the surgery results as soon as possible.

Li Yu stayed behind, sitting on the bench with her. “Is there something going on between you two?”

No one would actually believe that a police officer and a journalist had gone to an abandoned building in the middle of the night just to stargaze. He and Da Gezi simply didn’t want to call them out on it.

Naturally, Yu Shi didn’t want anyone besides the two of them to know. She just said, “No, there isn’t.”

Li Yu nodded. His partner was keeping something from him, but he didn’t press further. “Do you want to get checked, too? See if you have a concussion or something?”

“That’s not necessary. I was the one being protected. I don’t feel uncomfortable anywhere, just a bit of pain in my foot.” Yu Shi looked at the dried blood on her hands. She should go wash up.

If that piece of cement that had pinned Xiang Ling had hit her instead, she might have really died on the spot.

“Take tomorrow off. I’ll keep an eye on things in the team,” Li Yu said, standing up to leave. Before going, he added, “You should go rest early, too.”

After seeing Li Yu off, Yu Shi headed to the restroom to clean the blood and dirt off herself. Just then, a nurse came out of the operating room and asked, “Can you provide contact information for the patient’s family?”

Yu Shi shook her head. “She doesn’t have any family. Is something wrong?”

The nurse explained patiently, “The surgery requires a blood transfusion, but the patient has a rare blood type—RH negative. Our hospital currently doesn’t have any stock of that type.”

Yu Shi suddenly understood. “I’m RH negative, too. Can I donate?”

The nurse sighed in relief. “Please come with me for a compatibility test. If it’s confirmed, you can donate.”

By the time Xiang Ling woke up, it was already morning. Sunlight streamed in through the window, warming her. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw someone slumped by the bedside, just like four years ago. She patted Yu Shi, who was fast asleep. The other woman finally opened her eyes.

Yu Shi notified the nurse. After a series of tests, the doctor said, “Stay in the hospital for a few more days of observation and undergo a few more checks. If everything’s fine, we’ll approve your discharge.”

After the doctor and nurse left, Yu Shi gave water to both Xiang Ling and herself. Xiang Ling asked, “Where’s my camera?”

Yu Shi took out the camera and showed it to her. “It’s broken.”

“What about the memory card?”

“Shattered.”

Xiang Ling held back her emotions, letting out only a heavy sigh. Then she asked, “What time is it now?”

Yu Shi glanced at her watch. “Eleven-thirty.”

Xiang Ling stared blankly at the ceiling. It was already too late. “The second hearing must have ended by now. Where’s my phone?”

Yu Shi handed her a meticulously cleaned phone. That morning, she had even used a public phone to call Li Yu, asking him to bring a charger over before work.

As soon as Xiang Ling turned on her phone, she received a message from Li Zhantang. It was a detailed bill for the car repairs. At the sight of the amount, her heart ached even more.

The criminal evidence was gone, and now she had to pay for the repairs. A double blow.

Seeing Xiang Ling’s expression darken after checking her phone, Yu Shi quickly asked, “Are you feeling unwell? Should I call a doctor?”

“No need. It’s just mental discomfort. I’ll get over it…”

Xiang Ling searched for news and, as expected, the boy had been acquitted due to insufficient evidence.

Evil prevails!

Reading the trial coverage by other reporters, she learned that the defense lawyer had attacked the police’s testimony by arguing that the night was too dark and the other witnesses’ views were too blurry. They could see only the car’s shape, not the driver’s face inside. Moreover, the defendant had always been an outstanding student with good conduct and a positive attitude in school. From every angle, he appeared to be a responsible, model student. Placing the charge of hit-and-run on him was unconvincing. Convicting him based on vague testimony could ruin this excellent young man’s life.

“The better a child seems, the more likely they are to do something bad…”

Listening to Xiang Ling’s muttering, Yu Shi knew these words carried a lot of her own emotions. She had also read the news earlier and could only say that the responsible police officers had not prepared sufficient evidence to nail the culprit, leaving a loophole for the lawyer to exploit.

Yu Shi glanced at the time. It was time to go home and clean herself up. The bloodstains on her clothes were too frightening. She asked for the passcode to Xiang Ling’s electronic lock, planning to bring some necessities for her hospital stay when she returned later.

After tidying herself up at home, Yu Shi took out a spare phone. Her original phone had been smashed by the concrete and was likely beyond repair. Thankfully, the SIM card was still intact.

On her way to Xiang Ling’s home, she was surprised to find that it wasn’t too far from her own place. It’s just a fifteen-minute drive. After parking in Xiang Ling’s designated spot, she took the elevator to the twelfth floor. As soon as she stepped out, she ran into someone familiar.

“Captain Hua?”

Hua Yicheng was equally surprised to see Yu Shi here. “Captain Yu, do you live here?”

“No, a friend of mine does. I’m here to get some things for her.” Yu Shi walked out of the elevator. Hua Yicheng was accompanied by Xiao Lang.

“What happened to you?” Hua Yicheng reached out and lightly touched the wound on Yu Shi’s face. Not just her face. Her exposed hands were also covered in scratches.

“Car accident.” Yu Shi changed the subject. “What are you doing here?”

Hua Yicheng shrugged. “Looking for someone. It’s a case we took on yesterday. The last person the deceased contacted lives here, but they’re not home right now.”

“Well, you go ahead with your work. I have things to do.” Yu Shi bid farewell and headed toward Xiang Ling’s door.

Hua Yicheng stood by the elevator, watching Yu Shi’s back as she walked deeper into the hallway. She stopped at the very door he had just knocked on, entered the passcode, and opened it. He quickly walked over and asked, “Captain Yu, the person I’m looking for is the owner of this apartment. Where is she now?”

Yu Shi widened her eyes in surprise at the coincidence and said, “She’s in the hospital because of a car accident.”

“You had a car accident, and so did she?” Hua Yicheng looked at her skeptically as he followed Yu Shi into the house. With just one glance, he could tell the place was nice.

“We were in the same accident, but she was much more seriously injured than me.” This was also Yu Shi’s first visit to Xiang Ling’s home in many years.

Upon entering, to the left was a simple kitchen, next to which stood a dining table. It was small enough to seat only six people. Beyond the dining table was a compact living room, furnished with a long sofa. In front of the sofa was a transparent coffee table, and facing it was a wall-mounted TV. The living room floor was sunken, one step lower than the rest of the house. Past the living room was an open space, with a desk placed by the window. On the desk were several books and a laptop. Sitting at the desk, one would face the floor-to-ceiling window sideways, beyond which lay a small balcony. The desk was flanked by walls, with black curtains hanging in front. Behind the curtains was the bathroom. This was the overall layout of the ground floor.

The bedroom was located on the upper level, accessible by stairs from the bathroom entrance. Upstairs was an open-plan bedroom, where the bed, wardrobe, and some simple furnishings were immediately visible. The entire space was situated above the kitchen and half of the living room.

“You can wait in the living room. Later, we’ll go to the hospital together.” Yu Shi left the two men in the living room and went upstairs to pack some clothes for Xiang Ling.

After gathering the clothes, she came downstairs carrying a small travel bag. Spotting the laptop on the desk, she thought Xiang Ling might need it and took it along. She also opened a drawer and found a bottle of medicine inside. She took that as well.

Xiang Ling was scrolling through her phone when the hospital room door was knocked on and opened. It was Yu Shi, who had returned two hours later, accompanied by two others. Xiang Ling immediately recognized one of them as the person she had met at the police station before.

“Captain Hua is investigating a case and said the deceased last contacted you. He wants to ask you a few questions.” Yu Shi placed the travel bag aside and added, “I originally told him you were in a car accident and not in good health.”

Upon hearing this, Xiang Ling understood Yu Shi’s implication and said, “It’s fine. You can ask now.”

Hua Yicheng didn’t hesitate and sat in the chair by the window, getting straight to the point. “You must know Yang San, right?”

As soon as Xiang Ling heard Yang San’s name, she knew something serious had happened. “She’s my colleague, but we’re not very close.”

Hua Yicheng continued, “She was found dead in her home yesterday. We checked the call records, and her last call was to you.”

Xiang Ling listened, picked up her phone from the table, and checked the call log. There was no record of a call from Yang San. She handed the phone to Hua Yicheng and said, “I didn’t receive any call. When was it made?”

Hua Yicheng glanced at his notebook and replied, “Around five in the afternoon on Monday.”

Xiang Ling furrowed her brows and remained silent for a moment before asking, “How did she die?”

Yu Shi chimed in on her own, “Stabbed in the abdomen with a sharp object, she died from excessive blood loss. The place was turned upside down, and everything of value was gone. The initial judgment is that it was a home invasion robbery, and the homeowner was killed after being discovered.” She had asked about these details before coming.

Hua Yicheng opened his mouth, about to say something. But Xiang Ling spoke first, “I won’t write a report about it. I’m on leave right now.”

“So, when exactly did the victim die?” Yu Shi unscrewed the cap of her mineral water bottle and took several large gulps.

“Monday evening, around seven o’clock, four days ago.” Hua Yicheng closed his notebook. He had only come for a routine inquiry.

“She called me around five, and died around seven. That’s quite a long gap. It’s definitely not a distress call.”

Xiang Ling and Yang San had barely spoken more than a few words to each other. From the moment Xiang Ling joined the newspaper, she sensed that Yang San was somewhat reclusive. Their relationship was less like that of colleagues and more like that of rivals. Before Xiang Ling joined the Wuyang Newspaper, Yang San had been the most popular reporter there. After Xiang Ling joined, their popularity became evenly matched, leading to mutual avoidance and little interaction. Each worked independently without crossing paths.

Neither of them was a traditional reporter who clocked in and out on a fixed schedule. They conducted their own investigations. Whenever they had news, they would write their reports and submit them to the newspaper for publication. The newspaper was merely a platform for them to publish their work. Their salaries were calculated based on readership, popularity, and workload. They weren’t obligated to publish exclusively with Wuyang Newspaper, but they had grown accustomed to using it, and concentrating on a single platform helped them build their reputations more effectively.

Hua Yicheng didn’t have much else to ask. As Xiang Ling had pointed out, if Yang San’s last call had been a cry for help, calling the police would have been far more useful than contacting a colleague she barely knew. Moreover, the two-hour gap between the call and the time of death was simply too long.

Xiang Ling watched as Hua Yicheng left with Xiao Liang before calling Jiang Xue to ask about Yang San. Jiang Xue had just met with several detectives and had only then learned of Yang San’s death. Remembering that Xiang Ling had previously asked if she had been in contact with Yang San, Jiang Xue inquired about the reason. Xiang Ling explained that Yang San had been missing for several days without informing anyone of her whereabouts. After asking a few more questions, Xiang Ling hung up.

“Hua Yicheng might not look particularly reliable on the surface, but he’s competent. That robber will be caught,” Yu Shi said, sitting in a chair and offering a few words of comfort.

Xiang Ling replied, “I’m not worried about that at all. I’m just puzzled about why she called me. Even though we both had each other’s numbers saved, we never once contacted each other.”

“Just like the two of us…” Yu Shi blurted out, then froze at her own words.

“Our relationship is a bit better than that,” Xiang Ling said, brushing it off. Her mind felt muddled again, unable to focus. Probably still reeling from being hit last night.

Yu Shi changed the subject. “I just found out you have a rare blood type. You were low on blood yesterday, and I was the one who donated to you.”

“How is it that this rare blood type doesn’t seem rare at all among us…”

Xiang Ling couldn’t help but complain. Including herself, she now knew three people with the same blood type.

“You were low on blood and still wanted to work alone. If something happened, there’d be no saving you.” If they hadn’t been together yesterday, buried under the rubble, they wouldn’t have had anyone to rely on.

Xiang Ling retorted defiantly, “I’ve never seen someone with a rare blood type become a detective either.”

Yu Shi felt a lump in her throat. “Since neither of us is doing anything particularly safe, we should take better care of ourselves. Next time, don’t do something so dangerous.” She was referring to Xiang Ling blocking the cement last night.

Xiang Lingyi thought that if she refused any further, the situation would become awkward, so she said, “I told you, I’ll repay you for saving my life.” And just yesterday, she had indeed repaid it.

“You repaid it, but now I owe you again,” Yu Shi said irritably.

If they were to count carefully, she had actually been saved twice yesterday.

“You don’t have to repay it. Even if I hadn’t pulled you, you wouldn’t have died from that fall.”

“I’ll find a way to repay you.”

Their conversation ended there. Later, Yu Shi stayed a little longer before saying she needed to go home and rest. She hadn’t slept properly all night and wanted to catch up on some sleep.

After Yu Shi left, Xiang Lingyi checked her phone and found a new audio recording that had just been received. When she wasn’t actively monitoring, her phone automatically saved any recordings that weren’t listened to. She opened it. Upon hearing the content, she couldn’t help but feel a bit flustered.

It seemed like all the worst things were happening today.

She quickly called Yu Shi. Under normal circumstances, she could handle such troubles on her own, but now, with one foot in a cast and injuries all over her body, with only her face relatively unscathed, even getting out of bed and walking a few steps was difficult. Asking Yu Shi for help was a last resort.

The call was answered almost immediately. She said, “There’s something urgent I need to ask of you.”

On the other end, Yu Shi had just arrived at the parking lot and hadn’t even unlocked her car yet. “Go on.”

“Can you go retrieve the listening device under the seat of Li Zhantang’s car? It seems he has a habit of regularly checking his vehicle.”

Xiang Lingyi rubbed her forehead. If the listening device were discovered, it would be much harder to investigate him in the future.

“When?” Yu Shi got into her car and started the engine.

“In half an hour.”

After that, Xiang Lingyi kept listening to the activity on her phone. She wasn’t entirely sure what method Yu Shi used, but what relieved her was hearing the other person say, “I got it back.” After that, the listening device fell silent.

A few days later, thanks to Xiang Lingyi’s persistence, she was able to walk again, though she needed crutches. At first, her whole body ached with every step. But after walking a few times, the pain became more manageable.

That morning, after the doctor completed the routine checkup and gave a few instructions, Xiang Lingyi was cleared for discharge. Yu Shi mentioned that she had no cases at the moment and would take time off to pick her up and take her home.

After completing the discharge procedures, Yu Shi sat in the car and told Xiang Lingyi, “Yang San’s killer has been found.”

During her time in the hospital, Xiang Lingyi hadn’t done much else but follow this case closely. She knew that Hua Yicheng’s team had already identified a suspect from surveillance footage days earlier and had released a sketch and the suspect’s identity. It was only a matter of time before the suspect was caught.

“He committed suicide out of guilt,” Yu Shi added. Xiang Lingyi’s eyes widened in shock. She stared at Yu Shi with a puzzled expression. Yu Shi continued, “His body was found this morning. He hanged himself in an old warehouse and left a suicide note.”

“Just because there’s a suicide note doesn’t necessarily mean it was really suicide, right?” That was Xiang Lingyi’s first thought. She always maintained a skeptical attitude toward everything.

“So they’re comparing handwriting. There were no other clues at the scene. He must have been hiding there ever since he was wanted. Yang San’s missing valuables were found with him.” Yu Shi turned on the signal light and rounded the corner, saying, “If nothing unexpected happens with Hua Yicheng, we should be able to wrap up these two cases soon.”

Xiang Ling gazed at the scenery rapidly receding outside the window and abruptly asked, “Can you take me to Yang San’s home?”

Yu Shi responded indifferently. She changed direction and drove toward Yang San’s residence.

Yang San’s home was located in a five-story rectangular apartment building, with ten units per floor. The parking lot was outdoors. From its direction, one could see that Yang San’s apartment was on the third floor. The door was closed, and police caution tape was still pasted outside, not yet removed.

Yu Shi accompanied Xiang Ling to the floor where Yang San’s home was situated. Although the door was shut, it wasn’t locked. After all, aside from the investigators, no one would willingly enter a house where someone had died.

The interior had been roughly cleaned by professionals. There were no bloodstains, and everything had been tidied up. Apart from the taped outline on the floor marking the position and posture of the body, there was no indication that a murder had taken place here.

“After the scene is unsealed, the family can come to sort through the belongings.”

Yu Shi had seen the crime scene photos. She’d glimpsed them while visiting Hua Yicheng’s team. She knew where the blood should have been and where the murder weapon had landed. After carefully reminding Xiang Ling, she wandered around on her own.

Xiang Ling moved about the room, her gaze settling on a small study. The desk was cluttered with various items—a computer, books, pens, small decorative pieces—somewhat reminiscent of her own desk. She pulled out the chair and sat down. Under the desk were three drawers, which had been forcibly broken into and were now empty.

After inspecting the drawers, she turned her attention to the items on the desk. In the upper right corner stood a small photo frame. The photo was still inside, but the protective glass was shattered. It was a class photo, with roughly thirty people in it. Yang San sat right in the center, smiling brightly like everyone else.

In this photo, Yang San looked younger than she does now. Xiang Ling remembered that during her conversation with Jiang Xue, the latter had mentioned that Yang San used to be a high school teacher. She hadn’t asked exactly how long, but knew it wasn’t long before she resigned and switched careers to become a journalist. The photo was of Yang San with her students. Xiang Ling took out her phone, snapped a picture of the photo, and then examined the other items. Directly in front of the desk was a bare wall.

For a moment, she mistakenly thought she was in her own home because her desk there also faced a wall. The difference was that she had installed black curtains on her wall. As soon as she entered, she felt the study’s layout was unusual. The desk, bookshelf—everything was arranged on the right side, leaving the left side completely empty, just a wall.

Leaning on her crutch, she walked toward the bare wall. As she approached, she noticed, under the interplay of light and shadow, a very subtle color difference on the wall. Not just a color difference, but also tiny holes.

Yu Shi waited outside. Seeing that Xiang Ling had been in the study for a while without coming out, she went to check. After Xiang Ling asked her to examine the wall as well, she confirmed she wasn’t seeing things. There was indeed a subtle color difference on the wall.

Xiang Ling peeled off a small piece of adhesive-like substance from the wall and said, “Something was definitely stuck here before, and for quite some time. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a color difference.”

“This room has no windows and no sunlight, so the color difference isn’t very noticeable. It would have taken longer to form.”

Yu Shi roughly measured the lighter-colored area. She made a quick comparison and concluded that large sheets of paper and photos had likely been posted there before.

“What was posted, and why was it removed…” This was Xiang Ling’s murmur to herself.

She knew, of course, that she couldn’t label the case as suspicious based solely on this and demand the police continue investigating. It was entirely possible that Yang San had removed it herself. What had been posted might have been just a simple painting or something trivial.

What puzzled her was simply that phone call.

Or perhaps the call was also just an accidental dial. Except that the day it was made and the day of the death were the same, with only a two-hour gap between them. That was too much of a coincidence.

Limping, she returned to the desk, turned on the computer, and glanced at the browsing history. It was empty. She checked various drives, but the computer was as clean as if it had just been bought, with nothing on it.

“Too clean.” Whether the contents had been deleted by Yang San herself or not, she found it highly suspicious.

“Should you check if there are any hidden compartments or secret rooms in this house?”

Yu Shi crossed her arms. As a police officer, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Yang San had been up to something secretive.

“With my leg like this, I’d appreciate it if you could handle it.” Accepting Yu Shi’s offer without hesitation, Xiang Ling turned to inspect other areas.

Xiang Ling looked at the nearby bookshelf, packed with books neatly arranged by genre: novels, celebrity autobiographies, encyclopedias, textbooks, law, religion, and some foreign-language books. Within each category, the books were further sorted by height.

This arrangement seemed perfectly normal. If there was something concealed on this bookshelf, it would undoubtedly be among the many books. She had initially planned to pull out and flip through each one, but then she noticed a book sandwiched among others on the top shelf.

It was an English-language religious book titled Genesis, mixed in with other religious texts. That wasn’t what made it stand out, though. What caught her eye was that it disrupted the height order. It was slightly taller than the surrounding shorter books.

She reached out and pulled the book from the shelf, examining it closely. It was quite new, with few signs of being read. She flipped through it briefly but found nothing hidden inside. Then, she began turning the pages one by one, not to read the content but to see if Yang San had left any notes in the book.

It didn’t take long. In Chapter 2, she found a folded corner of a page, indicating Yang San had marked this spot. She carefully read Chapter 2, which told the story of the Garden of Eden. Had Yang San simply marked it to continue reading later, or did this story hold some other meaning?

“Xiang Ling, I found something.” Yu Shi’s voice came from outside. Xiang Ling took the book and walked out.

Yu Shi was sitting on the living room sofa, with a sealed bag on the table.

“Where did you find it?” Xiang Ling sat down beside Yu Shi, placing Genesis next to her.

Yu Shi began opening the sealed bag as she spoke, “Under the mattress in the bedroom.”

Opening the sealed bag revealed a folder inside. Yu Shi began flipping through its contents, which contained several documents. The first was a printed news report about a female student who had jumped to her death. According to the detailed account, the student had suddenly opened a classroom window during a lesson and leaped out headfirst, dying instantly.

Xiang Ling suddenly remembered something. She took out her phone and found the group photo she had just taken earlier. Comparing it to the student’s appearance, she spotted her at the far right of the photo. “The one who committed suicide was Yang San’s student.”

“Keep reading,” Yu Shi urged, turning the page. What followed was the student’s suicide note.

“This world is too filthy. No one can save me.”

The two exchanged glances, speechless. These two short sentences were the entirety of the note.

Further on were some investigative materials from the police. The student’s family reported that the child had been rebellious, often returning home late. Her whereabouts during her outings were unknown. Her parents, who worked long hours, rarely supervised her, and the child seldom communicated with them. However, the school reported no signs of bullying or isolation. Everything seemed normal. No one had expected her to suddenly take her own life, leaving both her parents and classmates in shock.

On the last page of the folder was a QR code, seemingly drawn by Yang San herself. Xiang Ling scanned it with her phone, but it displayed “Page Not Found”. Though the scan yielded no results, she still took a screenshot of the webpage. The seemingly random URL might prove useful later.

Yu Shi asked, “Are you going to investigate?”

“Obviously,” Xiang Ling replied, taking the folder. “She’s been a journalist for at least three years now. If she’s been investigating this since she started, and after all this time she still hasn’t found anything—and then suddenly gets killed in a home invasion robbery—don’t you think that’s a bit suspicious?”

To be killed in a home invasion robbery was one thing, but for the perpetrator to leave a suicide note and take their own life out of guilt, it all seemed highly questionable.

“She left nothing behind. If you investigate the way she did, you might not find anything even in another three years.” A case that could take three years to investigate was undoubtedly no small matter.

Journalists and detectives each had their advantages. Detectives had to follow regulations. Anything obtained outside the rules was inadmissible. But their status allowed them to gather many useful leads.

In contrast, journalists weren’t bound by the same rules. Even if they obtained information by trespassing or breaking into places, as long as they weren’t caught, it was fair game. However, their investigations were also limited, as the public had no obligation to provide information to journalists.

“If we find something, that’s great. If not, then so be it. I just want to know why she called me.” Xiang Ling paused, lowering her voice. “Besides, that girl must have gone through something to write a suicide note like that.”

After a moment of contemplation, Yu Shi said, “The detective in charge of the female student’s case should still be reachable. And Yang San’s autopsy report, I know the medical examiner.” The implication was clear: she could help.

“Alright then. It’s not like I can sneak into the police station or the morgue to steal documents anyway, so I’ll leave it to you.” With a pat on Yu Shi’s shoulder, Xiang Ling took the folder and the book, preparing to leave.

“This is the first time you’ve openly accepted my help.” Yu Shi took the extra items from the other’s hand and handed her the crutch.

“Just this matter with Yang San. The rest I’ll handle myself.”

That’s what she said, but in truth, Yu Shi had already intervened quite a bit.

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