Case Investigation

The second after catching sight of Lin Wanru's corpse, a man and a woman in officer uniforms blocked Shen Xing's line of sight.

"Excuse me, a homicide just occurred here. Please leave." The male officer spoke, his voice calm.

Shen Xing froze for a moment, suppressing the surging emotions within him, and pointed upstairs: "Officer, I live here. I reside on the fourth floor."

The male officer nodded and stepped aside: "Go on up. Don't wander around the building for now. We will seal off this unit and the surrounding area after we finish processing the scene, but it won't affect the daily lives of the residents."

Shen Xing nodded, his face showing concern as he asked: "Officer, what about the child, Feifei?"

The male officer replied: "Feifei is safe now, don't worry. Go home first; we may take your statement in a while."

Shen Xing said nothing more and quickened his pace toward the fourth floor.

His gaze had already shifted away from Lin Wanru's corpse, for in the brief moment he had spent speaking with the officers, a forensic investigator had already covered the body with a white sheet.

Two other officers were stringing up yellow caution tape outside the door, while another was photographing the scene, the flash going off intermittently.

These officers all appeared silent, going about the scene processing in an orderly fashion.

Shen Xing's heart hammered against his ribs; after pulling his gaze away, he hurried toward the fourth floor.

Once inside, he immediately shut the door and habitually checked that the lock was engaged.

He let out a soft breath; although the room wasn't particularly dark, he still switched on the lights.

The ample light provided a sliver of comfort to Shen Xing's heart at this moment.

He set down his bag, flipped the switch on the water dispenser, and as soon as the red light indicating the water was heating turned off, he poured himself a cup of hot water and placed it on the table.

Watching the steam rise in wisps from the cup, Shen Xing's heart slowly regained its calm, yet that red eye belonging to Lin Wanru seemed to have been branded into his mind the moment he walked up the stairs, impossible to erase.

He never would have imagined that just yesterday he had seen this woman drunk, leaving her daughter alone outside their door—who would have thought she would be dead today!

Lin Wanru was in her early thirties, though she kept herself well-maintained and was usually quite particular about her attire.

Considering the gruesome state of the woman's death, the possibility of homicide or accidental death was high, and that red eyeball from earlier was clearly the result of massive hemorrhaging.

Although someone had died downstairs, Shen Xing possessed a high psychological threshold; even when facing Hong Bin, he had been able to resist and knock the man to the ground instantly, rather than reacting with the reflexive fear common to most people.

Of course, he had his flaws, such as his occasional uncontrollable obsessive behaviors.

After finishing the hot water, Shen Xing realized he hadn't eaten anything yet.

He had intended to order takeout, but fearing the delivery driver might come upstairs and stumble upon the scene below, or interfere with the officers' work, he abandoned the idea and ducked into his cramped little kitchen to boil a bowl of noodles.

He added some scallions and crispy pork bits he'd bought earlier to the boiled noodles, along with a dash of lard; there was no fresh minced meat, but after stirring, it smelled incredibly fragrant.

However, affected by that bloodshot eyeball from earlier, Shen Xing had no appetite. He forced the noodles down purely to fill his stomach, then washed the dishes and arranged them neatly according to his own habitual order before turning to enter the bedroom.

Throughout this process, he kept listening for any movement downstairs.

But it remained quiet; if one were to stay inside without stepping out, they would never know that someone had died a tragic death in the building and that the place was crawling with officers processing the scene.

Sitting at his carving workbench by the bed, Shen Xing tried hard to forget what he had just seen, but after much effort, he found it futile; the visual impact of the scene had been too strong, causing that blood-red Blood Pupil belonging to Lin Wanru to keep surfacing in his mind.

He had originally intended to continue staring at the half-finished Wooden Carving of Hong Bin, but his thoughts were too turbulent, so he decided to finish the Buddha sculpture he had brought home instead; the process of working with his hands and brain would be a great way to divert his attention.

The small Buddha was already showing its general outline: a round head, wide robes, a potbelly, hands resting properly above the abdomen in a flower-pinching gesture, and a string of large prayer beads hanging around its neck.

The Buddha was crafted from ebony, pitch-black throughout.

Ebony, also known as "sunken wood," has historically been used as a ward against evil, whether in handicrafts, Buddha statues, or protective pendants.

That was why Shen Xing usually used ebony when carving these types of Buddha statues; it helped increase sales slightly.

The Wooden Carvings and pendants in his shop that sold best were also those carved from ebony.

After studying the Buddha for a long while, the image of the Blood Pupil in his mind began to fade; he didn't notice that his attention had been successfully diverted.

He picked up a 0.4cm arc carving knife from his side and carefully traced the robes under the Buddha's right armpit. Every stroke was precise and steady, making the drape of the robes look more natural.

About an hour later, the figure in his hands had become much more refined; the Buddha's body looked rounder, and the delicate facial features emerged, solemn and dignified, steady and imposing.

Just as Shen Xing was about to take a sip of water and continue working, a knock came from the living room door.

He set down his tools and looked up at the time—it was already nine in the evening. Guessing who might be outside, he got up to open the door.

Sure enough, the two officers, a man and a woman, were standing there; Shen Xing had a vague memory of seeing them on the third floor earlier.

"Hello, is your name Shen Xing?" The female officer was pretty with delicate features and a slim build. She asked without looking up, flipping through the residential registration log in her hand.

"Yes, that's me." Shen Xing nodded.

He was still wearing cloth gloves; because carving required frequent use of a knife, he usually wore a pair of gloves while working to protect his skin from abrasion and calluses.

"You are..." The male officer pointed at his hands, his nose twitching slightly as if sniffing the air in the room.

"Oh, I was working." Shen Xing took off his gloves and explained as he invited the two officers inside.

The male officer nodded slightly; he could smell it now—the room seemed to be filled with the scent of wood.

He glanced toward the bedroom door and saw the workbench used for carving. The male officer didn't go in, but instead sat on the living room sofa and said: "Sorry to bother you. We're just doing a brief inquiry and registration."

"Understood."

Shen Xing didn't pour tea for the two officers, as it was clear they would be visiting other neighbors and couldn't stay long.

Besides, his hands were a bit dirty at the moment; if he went to wash them before brewing tea, he might delay the officer's questioning.

"You saw it yourself just now—a homicide occurred right downstairs," the male officer said.

Shen Xing nodded and asked the question he cared about most: "I see. Can I know if it was an accidental death or a murder?"

The female officer paused slightly before saying, "We cannot draw a conclusion at this time. Do you know this woman named Lin Wanru?"

"I do, but she is rarely home. I'm actually much closer with her daughter, Feifei," Shen Xing answered honestly.