Murder Case

Monday, clear skies.

In a place like Songhai, the morning commute is always a headache. Whether on the elevated highways or the surface streets, the traffic congestion is enough to make one's blood pressure skyrocket.

Average office workers take the subway, avoiding the frustration of traffic jams, but they must endure the ordeal of being squeezed from all sides.

In the morning sunlight, Zhang Yuanqing rode a shared bike through the bustling streets of Songhai with his backpack on, munching on a jianbing guozi.

He easily overtook one private car, business sedan, and bus after another, the youthful vigor of the young man flying along with his bangs.

Songhai University is five or six kilometers from his grandmother's house, a fifteen-minute bike ride, so he doesn't usually live on campus.

Because of his promotion to Night Wanderer, the bike that usually felt exhausting to pedal was pushed all the way to the university gate in one go; he pulled out his phone and saw it had only taken ten minutes.

If not for the sheer number of electric scooters in the bike lane, he could have been even faster.

Founded at the beginning of the last century, Songhai University is 120 years old and ranks among the top elite institutions in the country.

Beyond its high-quality faculty, the two greatest features of Songhai University are: the famous beauties are adept at finding good masters, and the brave are bold enough to fence.

His grandmother used to warn his aunt that a girl at school must know how to protect herself. Now that she is older, she warns her grandson that a boy at school must protect himself well.

His grandmother is very dissatisfied with the state of the world.

Entering the school gate and passing the main axis where the founder's statue stands, he slowly rode along the road lined with sycamore trees toward the teaching building.

The campus environment is elegant and quiet; students are either filming short videos, chatting on benches by the roadside, or hurrying to class with textbooks in their arms.

With its spacious, clean streets, manicured lawns, and aged dormitory buildings, a glance makes it feel more like a quiet, high-end residential complex than a school.

Zhang Yuanqing parked his bike outside the building, shouldered his bag, and entered the complex.

Arriving at the tiered classroom, Zhang Yuanqing scanned the room; students were scattered in twos and threes, and quite a few had skipped class.

He picked a seat at random, and just as he sat down, he heard two boys behind him whispering:

"I just saw Xu Yingying at the school gate; she's waiting for her sugar daddy again."

"Nonsense, how could my goddess be a kept woman?"

"It's true. Every Monday a man comes to pick her up in a luxury car worth hundreds of thousands. I saw it last Monday."

"Are you sure? Maybe it's a ride-hailing service."

"Would you kiss a ride-hailing driver?"

"Damn it. In middle school, girls liked the top students, but in college, they like rich men from the outside. When will average guys ever stand a chance?"

Xu Yingying is a classmate, very beautiful, and the class belle.

Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but turn around, teasing with a smile: "The wives on your hard drive can help you stand up."

The two boys didn't seem to expect Zhang Yuanqing to chime in and were stunned for a moment.

Zhang Yuanqing looked at them and said, "What's wrong?"

The male student named Li Lesheng let out a "ha": "Zhang Yuanqing, what good thing happened to you today? This isn't like you."

Zhang Yuanqing paused: "Why do you say that?"

Just as Li Lesheng was about to speak, the teacher in black-rimmed glasses walked in clutching books, and the chattering classroom immediately fell silent.

Kangyang District, Maile Hotel.

"Ding!"

On the 16th floor, the elevator doors slid open, and Li Dongze, dressed in a formal suit with a black vest and white shirt, stepped out of the cabin leaning on a cane.

His gaunt face was filled with gravity, with Guan Ya following behind him.

The guests on the entire floor had been cleared out, a police cordon had been set up at the entrance to the corridor from the elevator, and two officers stood guard by the tape.

Guan Ya stepped forward in her high heels and flashed her credentials.

The officers immediately cleared the way.

On the path to the room, several uniformed officers were busy, either taking photos or collecting fingerprints, hair, and other evidence.

Li Dongze bypassed them and entered the hotel room, immediately catching the scent of blood.

His gaze swept across the hotel suite; two corpses covered by white sheets lay on the bed, the pristine linens stained with large patches of dark red blood.

Li Dongze extended his cane and lifted the white sheet to reveal a man and a woman lying on the bed, naked.

He was silent for a moment, his voice low: "It is indeed Zhao Yingjun."

Guan Ya carefully inspected every corner of the room, wisps of white mist spilling from her pupils. After a long while, she said:

"There are no signs of a struggle in the room, and no signs of tampering. There are only two condoms in the trash can, but three are missing from the box."

Having said this, she looked at the female victim with a hint of pity.

Li Dongze covered the bodies back up and said in a deep voice:

"Guan Ya, stay here and assist the officers in collecting fingerprints and hair, and pull the surveillance footage. I need to contact Centurion Fu and the other captains; we may need to hold a meeting."

Guan Ya nodded slightly: "I will sync the scene details and personnel files to your phone shortly."

Zhao Yingjun was a consultant for the Xiangshui Road Police Station, a member of the White Tiger Corps, and a Level 2 Scout.

A Five Elements Alliance member has been killed; this is a major incident.

Second floor of the villa, small conference room.

The conference room is decorated with exquisite luxury, the floor covered in plush wool carpeting, with a solid wood conference table placed in the center.

On the table sit fine fruit platters, translucent slices of ham, expensive imported red wine, boxes of cigars, and delicate desserts.

At the end of the conference table, a white projection screen hangs, playing surveillance footage from a hotel.

In the video, a man wearing a duckbill cap and a mask walks from the direction of the elevator, reaches the guest room door, takes out a key card to open it, and enters the room.

Forty minutes later, the man walks out of the room, hands in his pockets, head bowed as he leaves.

The video ends. Li Dongze presses the pause button, looks at the team leaders around the table, and says:

"We received a report from the hotel this morning. When a housekeeper went to clean the room, she couldn't get an answer, so she entered to check and found that both victims had been murdered. Before Zhao Junying died, he had been tortured; his body was covered in knife wounds, and there were signs that his hands and feet had been bound, but the fatal wound was a sharp object piercing his heart.

"The female victim, named Liu Xiao'e, was also killed by a sharp object piercing her heart, but she had not been tortured. Based on the missing condom at the scene, we suspect she was violated by the killer before her death.

"Additionally, the Public Security Bureau checked both of their phones and confirmed that Liu Xiao'e was Zhao Junying's mistress.

"We pulled surveillance from other hotel entrances and exits and did not find how the killer left; he must have special means to avoid surveillance. Our preliminary speculation is that the killer is a Spirit Realm Walker."

There are six people sitting around the table.

At the head is a young man in a white suit, possessing the aloofness and nobility of a scion from a prestigious family. He wears a stylish short ponytail, and his facial features are as if carved, handsome to the point of being blinding.

The first seat on the left is empty; that is Li Dongze's seat.

On the right is a woman holding an orange cat, dressed in a cheongsam with ink-wash painting patterns. The plumpness and allure of a mature woman are fully on display. Her well-maintained, beautiful face is tight and fair, wearing light makeup, her temperament quiet and elegant.

Beside her is a middle-aged man wearing a miner's helmet and work clothes, his dark skin revealing the weathering of a laborer.

Opposite her is a gym coach in a tight-fitting suit, his thick upper arms comparable to a woman's waist. His brows and eyes are sharp, and a sense of volatility emanates from his every glance.

The last person is a woman of twenty-seven or twenty-eight, wearing a white racing suit, tight leather pants, and black wavy hair. With a heart-shaped face, she is both cool and handsome.

These five are the team leaders of the Kangyang District Spirit Realm Walker squad; a few others are absent for various reasons.

The young master in the white suit looks around, his dark brown eyes as calm as a lake, and says indifferently:

"Everyone, what are your thoughts? Team Leader Green Vine, you go first."

The beautiful woman in the cheongsam knits her delicate brows: "An ordinary Spirit Realm Walker wouldn't dare kill our official personnel. Could this be the work of an Evil Profession Spirit Realm Walker?"

Li Dongze replies: "We are still vetting Zhao Junying's recent interpersonal connections."

If this were the work of an Evil Profession Spirit Realm Walker, the severity of the incident would escalate to a new level.

The Fire Master Big Muscle Tyrant raises his eyebrows, his anger flaring, "Evil Profession? Those stinking rats in the gutter, daring to kill a member of my Five Elements Alliance—I will definitely make him pay the price."

The others look grave. White Dragon, wearing the racing suit, muses:

"What is Zhao Junying's combat capability?"

Li Dongze looks toward Fu Qingyang.

Fu Qingyang says: "He has a defensive item."

Hearing this, White Dragon's expression turns solemn, "Although a Level 2 Scout isn't skilled in combat, with a defensive item, it wouldn't be easy to kill him, especially without alerting the guests in the neighboring rooms. Based on this, we can make a preliminary judgment on the killer's strength."

Tang Guoqiang, the construction company boss wearing the miner's helmet, says in a deep voice:

"Very strong."

Big Muscle Tyrant snorts coldly, repeating his previous words: "So what if he's strong? Daring to kill a member of my Five Elements Alliance, no matter how strong he is, he must die."

White Dragon silently holds his forehead, thinking to himself whether they could kick the idiot from the Red Fire Gang out during meetings.

Li Dongze says: "According to our investigation, Zhao Junying had many mistresses, and he particularly liked keeping female college students. We are currently vetting his mistresses one by one."

Big Muscle Tyrant frowns: "Why?"

"The hotels where Zhao Junying met his mistresses were not fixed, yet the killer was able to find the hotel address and lock onto the room number, which indicates he had a certain understanding of Zhao Junying's movements. Either it was someone he knew, or it was the result of long-term tracking," Li Dongze says:

"The person who knows you best is always the woman by your side. We might be able to obtain some clues from Zhao Junying's mistresses."

The team leaders nod with grave expressions.

Li Dongze continues:

"Zhao Junying was tortured and abused before he died. Everyone, imagine, what was the killer interrogating him about? What did he find out? Regardless of whether the killer is seeking revenge or is of an Evil Profession, this is an issue we must treat with caution."

The team leaders present look slightly changed.

Evil Professions and Orderly Professions have always been at odds, hunting and tracking each other.

What would interest an Evil Profession is, of course, information about official Spirit Realm Walkers, or even their hiding spots.

And if the killer is not of an Evil Profession, for a powerful Spirit Realm Walker to risk offending an official organization to sneak into a hotel, interrogate, and kill, the truth behind it might be even more complex.

Green Vine says in a deep voice: "We must ferret out the killer as soon as possible."

Hearing this, Big Muscle Tyrant looks left and right and says: "Why isn't Yuan Ting here? Let him devour Zhao Junying's spirit body to obtain his memories. Then we'd know who the killer is."

The importance of a Night Wanderer capable of controlling spirit bodies is instantly highlighted.

Fu Qingyang shakes his head and says:

"Yesterday, the Taiyi Sect summoned all official Night Wanderers to the capital for a meeting; Yuan Ting is not in Songhai."

His expression remained calm from start to finish, as if he wouldn't panic even if the sky were falling.

Summoned to the capital? The hearts of the several captains sank; if Yuan Ting was away, then the Night Wanderers from the other major districts must be gone as well.

Wasn't this too much of a coincidence? The killer didn't strike early or late, but chose the exact moment when the Night Wanderers were collectively in the capital.

Big Muscle Tyrant roared, "What is the Taiyi Sect doing? Why hold a meeting now of all times? We should have cultivated our own Night Wanderers long ago."

Li Dongze said helplessly:

"You've got the cause and effect backward; it is the killer who chose this timing. Forget it, that's not important. Everyone need not worry, we have our own Night Wanderers."