"The Chai Qihong case is closed. When do you plan on investigating the other two murders?"

Liang Song asked casually as their shift ended.

"Do you really think I’m some kind of super detective?"

Zhao Lin let out a laugh. "The Chai Qihong case at least had a suspect. The killers in the other two cases left nothing behind but the bodies."

Liang Song realized that was true. "What if Sun Zhang uses this to give you trouble? We solved this case, but that bastard isn’t the least bit happy."

"Who cares about him!" Zhao Lin snorted.

According to his conscience and his sense of justice, he of course hoped to catch the killers, but he was also realistic about his own abilities.

To crack the Chai Qihong case, he had relied on his extraordinary hearing. To put it bluntly, it was cheating.

As for the other two cases, it had already been several months since they happened. To try and solve them now... in a word: difficult!

...

The next morning, at the constables’ "regular meeting" after morning roll call.

Head Constable Li Qiuyuan singled out Zhao Lin for praise, commending him for being young and promising and for handling matters effectively. He even joked, "Constable Zhao cracked a murder case right after taking his post. The rest of you will have to step up your game, or this newcomer will steal all the limelight."

Most of the constables’ faces showed expressions of disdain.

Some also muttered under their breath, "He just got lucky. Does he really think he’s all that?" "Exactly, even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes..."

Zhao Lin heard this but paid it no mind. ’Being a constable is just a temporary measure for me. I have no interest in all this scheming and infighting. No matter how well I do, the best I can hope for is County Captain.’

’My goal is to increase my strength as quickly as possible, kill all the bandits, and reunite with my family.’

’If possible, I want to pursue the pinnacle of the martial path and live a different kind of life.’

"This is bad! There was another rape-murder in the East District last night..."

A patrol officer burst in and announced breathlessly.

"Where in the East District?" Sun Zhang immediately interrupted him.

"Near the docks, on Huang Family Lane!" the patrol officer replied.

Everyone’s eyes fell on Zhao Lin in unison, and most of them held a look of schadenfreude.

Zhao Lin’s heart sank. ’How can there be another case right after I finished one?’

Sun Zhang turned his head and said, drawing out his words, "Constable Zhao, Huang Family Lane is in your jurisdiction, isn’t it?"

Zhao Lin stepped forward. "It is."

Sun Zhang’s lips curved into a smirk. "If I recall correctly, this is the fifth in a series of rape-murders this year. This is no longer an ordinary murder case. If the real killer isn’t found soon, I’m afraid the provincial government will be sending letters of inquiry."

"What do you propose we do?"

Everyone present knew that the first four rape-murders had occurred on Sun Zhang’s own watch, yet here he was, turning around and questioning Zhao Lin. The man had some nerve.

Liang Song couldn’t hold back any longer and roared angrily, "You motherfucker, you’re just bullying..."

"Constable Liang!"

Zhao Lin grabbed Liang Song, stopping him from saying more.

’I’ve already taken over the jurisdiction and the case files have been transferred. Arguing about this now is pointless and will only make people look down on me.’

He took a deep breath and said in a heavy voice, "I will begin the investigation at once and bring the killer to justice as soon as possible."

"Good!"

Sun Zhang clapped his hands. "I’ll give you seven days... no, five. If you don’t catch the killer, you can forget about being a constable!"

Zhao Lin pressed his lips together and said nothing.

Li Qiuyuan’s eyes darted between the two of them before he said slowly, "Constable Zhao, go and investigate the case for now. If you need manpower, report to me at any time."

He knew, of course, what game Sun Zhang was playing. However, several of the squad leaders under him came from famous martial arts dojos and prominent families in the county, and all of them had powerful backing.

Even as the Head Constable, Li Qiuyuan couldn’t touch them easily.

Although the Liuhe Sect was formidable, Zhao Lin was just a young man who had only recently started Bone Tempering. If someone had to be a scapegoat, he was a much more suitable choice than Sun Zhang, who had been around for years. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"Yes, Head Constable!"

Zhao Lin cupped one fist in the other hand and left with Liang Song, He Qingquan, Tao Erleng, and the patrol officer.

"That’s just outrageous!"

Leaving the yamen, Liang Song was still fuming.

Zhao Lin gave He Qingquan a look, signaling him to help calm Liang Song down, while he himself started recalling the case file on the serial rape-murders.

Starting from March of this year, a woman had been raped and murdered in the East District’s dock area every month, with four consecutive cases by June.

The killer struck at night, specifically targeting young women who were alone. His methods were brutal; after assaulting the victim, he would crush her throat, causing death.

The killer seemed to have some kind of perverse fetish, as he would always take the victim’s undergarments but leave her outer clothes redressed and untouched.

Because the modus operandi was the same, everyone in the yamen concluded it was the work of a single person and classified it as one case.

According to the medical examiner’s report, the victims all had bruises and fractures of varying severity.

This indicated that the killer had a violent temperament and great physical strength; he had almost certainly trained in martial arts.

The case caused a huge uproar in the East District, and no woman dared to go out after dusk.

The county imposed a month-long curfew and increased patrols, but they were still unable to find the killer.

Now it was September. The killer had laid low for three months, but he couldn’t resist committing the crime again!

Zhao Lin felt a growing sense of dread; this was a tricky situation. ’In an era without surveillance, fingerprint analysis, or other such methods, solving a case like this is incredibly difficult.’

The group arrived at Huang Family Lane. The scene was already cordoned off with barriers, with patrol officers standing guard outside and a large crowd of onlookers gathered around.

"Sigh, it was only quiet for two months..."

"It’s horrible. The Huang family’s daughter was so beautiful, and now she’s just gone."

"It’s all because the government is useless. We common folk can’t even live a peaceful life..."

Zhao Lin pushed through the crowd and saw a young woman of about eighteen or nineteen lying on the ground. Her features were fair, her eyes were shut tight, and her face was drained of all color. She had clearly been dead for some time.

"My poor, ill-fated daughter..."

An elderly couple was crying their hearts out beside the body, utterly devastated.

"Constable Zhao."

A patrol officer in his thirties saw Zhao Lin and walked over. "I am Wang Kui, the officer on duty last night."

Zhao Lin glanced at the middle-aged couple, then pulled Wang Kui aside and asked in a low voice, "Brother Wang, have you questioned them?"

Wang Kui nodded. "The deceased is named Huang Xiangqin. Those two are her parents."

"This morning, at the fifth watch, Mrs. Huang heard a noise in the outer room and asked, ’What are you doing?’"

"Huang Xiangqin said her stomach hurt and that she was going out to relieve herself. Mrs. Huang thought to herself that it was almost dawn, and she was too tired to say anything."

"But Mrs. Huang was worried about her daughter and couldn’t sleep soundly. After waiting for a while and seeing that her daughter hadn’t returned, she got up to look for her, only to find her dead at the mouth of the alley."

Zhao Lin thought for a moment and asked, "Why didn’t Huang Xiangqin relieve herself at home? Why did she have to go outside?"

In this era, feces was a valuable commodity. Almost every household in the countryside had a place to store it, and city dwellers kept chamber pots. There were even people who collected it in the mornings, giving rise to a profession called "night soil collector."

Wang Kui hadn’t expected Zhao Lin to be so meticulous. He explained, "Mr. and Mrs. Huang said their chamber pot was broken, so they’ve had to use the public latrine for the past two days."

He pointed to a spot not far away. "The privy is over there. It’s shared by several alleys."

Zhao Lin said, "Thanks," and crouched down beside the body.

The coroner had already arrived and was examining the body for injuries.

Zhao Lin didn’t disturb him. He waited until the coroner put away his tools and took out a brush and paper to start taking notes before asking, "How is it?"

The coroner sighed. "Same as the previous four times. She was choked to death, her throat crushed."

As he spoke, he picked up a wooden awl and gently lifted the victim’s collar, revealing a section of her collarbone marked with scratches. "Her undergarments are missing, too."