Chapter 19

Pei Qingyu, who had been watching his expression all along, breathed a sigh of relief. He softened his breathing, restrained his trembling, and pushed himself up against the wall before slowly walking over.

"Master, her pupils are dilated, and her consciousness is impaired. My preliminary assessment is that she may have neuropathic pain."

Su Xiaochen turned and saw Pei Qingyu, then hurriedly reached out to support him. Pei Qingyu really was having trouble standing. He shifted half his weight onto him while reaching up to flick his reddened eye.

"Stop crying. Your master is still alive." Pei Qingyu comforted him while examining the person. The young woman was disheveled and filthy, and looked only twenty or so. Her clothes were torn, and she had numerous cuts on her body. Pei Qingyu studied the direction of the cuts, and his heart sank slightly.

-From outside inward. There was a strong chance she had inflicted them herself.

"Insensitive to pain and external stimuli, with pronounced aggression," Pei Qingyu murmured. "What kind of poisoning is this...?"

The apartment was small, barely qualifying as a two-bedroom with a living room.

Xun Yin frowned as he walked toward the bedroom. A heavy smell of blood hit him. Someone was slumped beside the wardrobe. Xun Yin quickly checked; they were no longer breathing.

"Deputy Xun, there's a body in the kitchen too." Lin Shichu came over and glanced inside the bedroom, unable to bear the sight. "That makes three. The other one..."

"There's one in the kitchen." Wang Yu's voice came from nearby. Xun Yin and Lin Shichu exchanged a glance and hurried over. Standing beside the stove, Wang Yu turned and saw their expressions. He understood at once and said quietly, "That's all of them."

"Deputy Xun, we've recovered five usable fingerprints so far," Su Xiaochen said as he approached. "I checked all around and confirmed that only four people were present at the scene, two men and two women."

"Are there injuries on their bodies?" At some point, Pei Qingyu had also reached the doorway. Leaning against the frame, he asked quietly.

All three nodded. Each body had numerous scratches and cuts. Judging by the sole surviving young woman, there was a strong possibility that these were self-inflicted too.

Pei Qingyu murmured an acknowledgment, said nothing more, and silently approached the body in the kitchen. He surveyed the scene. Blood dotted the walls, and the person in the kitchen lay with half their body across the stove. One arm was charred black, seemingly burned by fire. Pei Qingyu checked the rectal temperature and frowned. "Time of death was roughly four hours ago, which means... not long before we arrived."

The atmosphere was somewhat oppressive. Pei Qingyu took a deep breath and slowly stood. Pain had been clamoring in his stomach all along, and the instant he straightened, his vision went dark. His heart sank slightly, but his expression betrayed nothing unusual. He started walking out, only to be abruptly pulled back.

"Captain, that's the doorframe." Xun Yin's low voice sounded beside his ear, carrying an involuntary tension. "Can you... not see clearly?"

"Ah." As that spell of darkness passed, little points of light began appearing in Pei Qingyu's vision. He rubbed his eyes and let Xun Yin lead him forward, saying quietly, "No, my blood sugar was just low, and my vision went dark for a moment. I can see clearly now."

"Mm." Xun Yin nodded, though it was unclear whether he believed him. He brought Pei Qingyu to the bedroom and said slowly, "There are large patches of blood on the bedroom walls, wardrobe, and glass. Our preliminary assessment is that the victim caused them by striking those surfaces. The blood on the glass that the neighbor saw when reporting this to the police was probably left that way..."

-He really didn't believe me.

Pei Qingyu sighed helplessly to himself. His vision had recovered by now, and he took Xun Yin's hand in turn, pulling him over to the victim. Pei Qingyu's hands spent their days beside the operating table; his wrists were slender, his joints distinct. Xun Yin's wrist was a size larger than his, and Pei Qingyu could not get his fingers around it. He paused for an instant, then suddenly slid his fingers down and clasped Xun Yin's palm instead.

Xun Yin froze for a moment, his ears instantly turning red. For a moment, he forgot what he had meant to say. Pei Qingyu, however, assumed he now believed that he could see clearly and thought nothing of it. Picking up where Xun Yin had left off, he said, "Yes, aggressive tendencies do seem to be a shared characteristic. But what exactly is it...?"

A bout of dry heaving abruptly cut off Pei Qingyu's voice. The pain in his stomach seemed to intensify suddenly, and waves of spasms instantly brought him out in a cold sweat. Pei Qingyu covered his mouth, struggling to suppress the discomfort in his stomach. Xun Yin hurriedly pulled him upright and reached for the stomach Pei Qingyu was pressing so tightly. It was cold and rigid, and seemed to still be spasming faintly. He reached out to rub it for him, but without warning, Pei Qingyu gave a muffled groan. His body shuddered, then went limp.

"Captain!" Startled, Xun Yin hurriedly gathered him into his arms. Pei Qingyu's eyes were half closed, and his head involuntarily buried itself against his chest. Only after a long while did he catch his breath. Bracing himself against Xun Yin's arm, he straightened and said hoarsely, "Could you be gentler? What the hell are you pressing so hard for?"

"Sorry, I..." Xun Yin was somewhat at a loss. Pei Qingyu suddenly smiled and said, "It's fine, I'm teasing you. It's my own fault. You can't rub away this kind of impact injury. Help me up. Let's check the bathroom."

Xun Yin nodded and drew him directly in front of himself, holding him in a completely protective posture. Dazed, Pei Qingyu paid no attention to it. He reached out and pushed open the bathroom door, only for a sudden wave of dizziness to hit him. Before he could say anything, he crumpled. At the same moment, Xun Yin slammed the bathroom door shut, swiftly caught him, and backed away.

"Don't go over there." Xun Yin caught Wang Yu, who was about to rush over.

"Seal off this bathroom and get an air extractor brought in. Wait until the air inside has been replaced and its composition tested before going in." Xun Yin held the unconscious man in his arms, his expression somewhat grave. "Unless something unexpected turns up, they may have mercury poisoning."

"Cough, cough, cough..."

A wave of nausea jolted Pei Qingyu awake. He propped himself halfway up and leaned over the side of the bed, dry heaving for a long time without bringing anything up. His body was still trembling slightly. He rubbed between his brows, thinking back for a long while before remembering how he had returned to Xun Yin's home.

"Captain, you're awake."

Pei Qingyu looked up. Xun Yin was pushing the door open and coming in. He felt the forehead of the still somewhat bewildered man on the bed and handed him a glass of milk. Pei Qingyu accepted it instinctively in his daze. Leaning against the headboard, he drank in small sips while looking up at him.

Xun Yin lowered his head too. Perhaps because he had just woken up, Pei Qingyu's eyes were a little moist, and his pupils looked larger than usual. A ring of milk clung around his mouth, making him look docile and innocent. Xun Yin said nothing either, silently waiting for him to finish before naturally taking the empty glass.