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Yang Wenqing recalled the monitoring report Forensic Examiner Ding had provided. It mentioned the deceased's despair and regret before his death. Looking at the weeping woman before him now, he understood something of the deceased's state of mind.

In that mere instant of imagination, his consciousness was stirred by negative emotions, and a dark barrier rose within his Spirit Sea. Startled, Yang Wenqing immediately cleared away those emotions and focused his entire mind on the case itself.

The woman's heart-rending cries gradually turned into powerless sobs in the sea breeze. In the end, only her shoulders trembled faintly as she slumped to the ground, as though every last bit of strength had been drained from her.

Meanwhile, Wu Yan had invited the young man and woman out of the courtyard and was taking their statements beneath a banyan tree outside.

Only after the woman's fiercest flood of emotion had passed did Yang Wenqing approach again. This time, he did not use a talisman. Instead, he sent a thread of gentle spiritual power through his fingertips and lightly touched the center of her back, helping her gather her scattered mind.

Yan Kuan crouched down, untied the waterskin from his waist, and handed it to her. "Sister-in-law, have some water. Take a moment."

His voice was deep and steady, carrying a strength that inspired trust. "This isn't the time to just cry. We need to drag out the beast who harmed Brother Dayong, make him pay with his life, and let Brother Dayong leave this world knowing the truth."

The woman mechanically took the waterskin without drinking. She merely clutched it tightly. The cool touch seemed to clear her head somewhat, and she raised her tear-blurred eyes to look at Yan Kuan.

"Think carefully..." Yan Kuan guided her, his tone neither hurried nor slow. "Someone must have introduced Brother Dayong to this job. Who approached him? What was his name? Where can we find him?"

The woman searched her memory blankly. "It was a foreman. Everyone called him Old Man. He hung around the docks, introducing people to odd jobs and taking on some shady work too..."

Her words came to an abrupt halt.

"Old Man?" Yan Kuan's brow furrowed slightly. As captain of the Port District security patrol, he had never even heard of this nickname. He exchanged a glance with Yang Wenqing, then asked, "What is his real name? Where does he usually operate?"

"I don't know his real name. I only know everyone calls him Old Man." The woman tried hard to remember. "He usually watched people unload cargo around No. 3 Pier. Sometimes he drank at the food stalls nearby..."

Yan Kuan pressed on. "Did you notice anything strange about Old Man around the time Brother Dayong got into trouble? Or did Brother Dayong ever mention who exactly this job was for?"

The woman shook her head in confusion. "Dayong kept his mouth shut. But it seemed that several days ago, I heard Ergou next door say he saw Old Man talking to several unfamiliar people at the docks. They were dressed quite respectably, not like people from around here. After that, Old Man was hardly seen again..."

He had disappeared?

Yang Wenqing's gaze sharpened.

"Captain Yan, investigate this Old Man immediately!" Yang Wenqing made the decision without hesitation. "Find out his full identity, address, and the last time and place he was seen. Focus on screening his social connections. See who he has been in close contact with recently, especially those unfamiliar faces who looked 'quite respectable.'"

"Understood!"

Yan Kuan immediately rose to his feet and activated the Communication Formation in the badge on his chest to call for reinforcements. He spoke with the woman a while longer, and after confirming there were no more useful clues, he and Yang Wenqing left the courtyard one after the other.

When Wu Yan saw Yang Wenqing emerge in the distance, he sternly told the young man, "Until this case is over, we may come back at any time. Don't try to disappear on me, understand?"

He said this because he wanted the young man to stop pressuring his mother.

Yan Kuan watched the young man return to the courtyard. As they were about to leave the yard, the woman headed toward the center of the village, and the young man actually followed her there, utterly unaware that he should go back and comfort his mother.

After leaving Seaside Village, Yang Wenqing and Wu Yan, led by Yan Kuan, headed straight for the small food stalls near No. 3 Pier.

These stalls were where dockworkers rested, drank, and exchanged information. The two men showed their credentials and questioned them one by one about Old Man.

Before long, a slightly blurry black-and-white photograph was placed in Yang Wenqing's hands. The Old Man in the photograph was indeed as described: thin and withered, with the shrewd cunning of a petty trader in the corners of his eyes. He was the most common sort of person found scraping along at the bottom of the docks.

At the same time, Yan Kuan quickly found Old Man's registration information through the Port Security Office system: his real name was Zhao Laoshuan, fifty-two years old, unmarried, and living in a chaotic, crowded shantytown on the edge of the dock district.

However, when Yang Wenqing and Yan Kuan arrived at Zhao Laoshuan's residence with their men, they found the door of the low shack locked. Looking through the window, they could see only a few battered pieces of furniture covered in a thin layer of dust. Clearly, no one had returned for many days.

When they questioned the neighbors, the responses were much the same as what Chen Dayong's wife had said. No one had seen Zhao Laoshuan for roughly seven or eight days.

"Investigate his connections. Find out who he has been in contact with recently!" Yang Wenqing ordered.

Yan Kuan's men immediately sprang into action, examining Zhao Laoshuan's social network. To their surprise, the investigation uncovered a gang engaged in small-scale contraband smuggling at the port. Yan Kuan was greatly invigorated and immediately threw most of his energy into this sudden smuggling case. After all, this was merit that could be seen and grasped.

Yang Wenqing, meanwhile, took Wu Yan with him and continued doggedly pursuing the trail of Old Man, Zhao Laoshuan.

Over the next half month, Yang Wenqing practically lived in the Port District.

He visited everyone who might have had anything to do with Zhao Laoshuan, from other foremen and food-stall owners to distant cousins.

At the same time, he carefully studied the case files on the smuggling gang that had been uncovered, trying to find a deeper connection between Zhao Laoshuan and the gang, or some trace of those "respectable unfamiliar faces."

But the results were disappointing.

Although Zhao Laoshuan occasionally acted as a go-between for that smuggling gang, he had only been a peripheral figure, earning a little money. As for those respectable people, there was not a single valuable clue.

Zhao Laoshuan was like a drop of water melting into the sea, vanishing completely.

Likewise, there was no news at all from the lead involving the search for eyewitnesses.

The case seemed to have entered a dead end. Put plainly, the trail had gone cold. At that moment, Yang Wenqing recalled the things Xiao Liang had warned him about.

On the sixteenth day after the case file was opened, Deputy Director Gao summoned Yang Wenqing to his office through the Major Crimes Unit's internal Communication Formation. Contrary to Yang Wenqing's expectations, his attitude remained amiable.

"It is already very good that this case has progressed this far. Preserve the existing clues, issue a wanted notice for the fugitive Zhao Laoshuan, and then close the case like this."

Deputy Director Gao instead began consoling Yang Wenqing. "The county bureau has plenty of cases like this. This world holds many things that even the Commissioner-General cannot investigate. Don't take it too much to heart."

At this point, he lowered his voice. "Even if someone becomes a monster through ritual sacrifice, that may not necessarily be a bad thing. After all, every part of that monster's body is rare cultivation material, especially for gathering spiritual energy."

After saying that, he laughed heartily. Then he stood and called to Yang Wenqing, "The director wants to see you. He may be somewhat difficult to talk to. If he scolds you, just listen. Don't take it too much to heart."

Yang Wenqing looked up at Deputy Director Gao. Clearly, he had not expected this outcome.