Chapter 176: Human Meat Noodles

Peng Sijue examined the knife, but he couldn’t determine if it was the murder weapon just by intuition. He handed it to the technicians to take back for analysis.

A technician remarked, “It looks like there’s something cooking in the kitchen.”

Everyone moved to the kitchen and opened the pot. Inside was a leftover batch of noodles, with a layer of congealed fat on top. Lin Qiupu poked it with chopsticks and said, “Shredded pork with preserved mustard greens in noodle soup.”

Peng Sijue seemed to have a thought. He took a cutting board and wiped it with an alcohol-soaked cotton swab, then placed it into a reagent box.

Staring at the chemical reaction in the box, Peng Sijue said, “There’s human blood on it. This pot likely contains human flesh, the missing piece from the victim’s body.”

Everyone stared at the pot, feeling a chill. The killer, after committing the murders, had apparently gotten hungry and casually cut a piece from the corpse to cook noodles.

Such an inhumane killer was rare in Lin Qiupu’s career. “Take it back for analysis.”

Outside, someone announced, “Chen’s here!” with an excited tone.

Lin Qiupu thought, Who’s the captain now? As he walked out, he saw Chen Shi bringing a little girl along, and Lin Qiupu was shocked. “No kids allowed in here, out, out!”

Chen Shi said, “Yueyue needs material for her winter break journal. I thought I’d bring her to see this.”

“You think this is an aquarium? Out, out!”

Chen Shi stuck his tongue out at Tao Yueyue, and Lin Dongxue said, “Yueyue, I’ll take you for a walk.”

Lin Qiupu instructed, “Check the surveillance footage while you’re at it.”

Tao Yueyue made a face at Lin Qiupu as she was pulled away, making him wonder if she was really Chen Shi’s biological child.

Lin Qiupu said to Chen Shi, “I know you’re capable…”

“Captain Lin, I’m not getting cocky. This is just a coincidence. Let’s handle this quickly; I need to get home to cook.”

“You call that not cocky? Anyway, you drove an old lady yesterday?”

“Yes, why?”

“She was looking for a relative named Wang Xifeng?”

Coming back to Hongfu Garden, Chen Shi thought it couldn’t be such a coincidence. Looking at the body on the ground, he asked, “Is that her?”

“Indeed.”

Peng Sijue said, “We found many fingerprints belonging to an elderly person here, along with something covered in these prints.” A technician brought out a sack from the kitchen cabinet, filled with dried bamboo shoots, preserved mustard greens, and black fungus. Thinking about the mustard greens used as a side dish for human flesh made many people feel nauseous.

Chen Shi sniffed the items, and Lin Qiupu asked, “What did you find?”

“This…” Chen Shi was shocked.

“What is it?”

“These bamboo shoots are great, smoked, pure and natural. Much better than what you get in supermarkets. If these aren’t needed as evidence, can I take them?”

Lin Qiupu showed an exasperated look, “Sure, take it all, especially the mustard greens. They must be delicious.” He felt a schadenfreude imagining Chen Shi losing his appetite once he learned about the meat in the pot.

Seeing the odd expressions around him, Chen Shi sensed something was off and dropped the matter. He stood up and said, “The old lady did bring this sack and mentioned these items to me.”

“When did the old lady arrive?”

“Around three in the afternoon. Her grandson was complaining about being hungry on the way, so I guess they ate here.” Chen Shi recounted everything he knew.

“How old was the child?”

“Probably not in school yet, about five or six.”

Peng Sijue said, “We found bloody fingerprints belonging to a child here. He might be connected to the killer or a witness.”

“Did the killer leave anything behind?”

“Semen, fingerprints, shoe prints, murder weapon… everything for a conviction.”

“This killer is quite generous. Let me take a look!”

Peng Sijue showed Chen Shi around the crime scene. When Chen Shi saw the “food” in the pot, he even sniffed it, “The shredded meat was stir-fried with ginger and cooking wine. The killer was exceptionally calm while making this noodle dish. He’s a completely inhumane person. He probably doesn’t have a craving for human flesh. He just had a young, healthy, fresh corpse lying around and no meat in the fridge, so he casually used a piece. To him, it’s no different from chicken or beef.”

“Don’t tell us conclusions we already know,” Lin Qiupu said.

“The killer is over 175 cm tall, weighs more than 160 pounds, has smooth skin, no beard, small eyes, wide-set. He’s a fugitive!”

“How do you know?”

“Simple deduction with some profiling knowledge. I cook myself, and from the garlic, ginger, and the large pot he used, I deduced he cooked a large pot of noodles just for a single late-night meal and almost finished it all. This suggests he’s likely overweight. Both victims were dressed simply and even provocatively, which means they welcomed the killer in late at night, indicating a relationship more than friends, possibly a lover. There were no signs of a struggle, and the fruit knife was the easiest weapon to grab, suggesting the murder was impulsive. They had intercourse before he had the urge to kill, indicating long-term sexual repression. His inability to interact with women might be due to external circumstances. He left his DNA and fingerprints without concern, indicating he’s a fugitive.”

Everyone looked at him with admiration. Lin Qiupu said, “He’s carrying a murder charge, so he doesn’t mind adding two more? Xiao Wang, who owns this apartment?”

“Wang Xifeng,” Officer Wang answered. “And her records don’t mention a husband.”

“Any siblings?”

“No. Her mother divorced twice, now deceased. Her biological father is also deceased. She has a stepfather.”

Chen Shi said, “Wang Xifeng didn’t seem to have a proper job. Most likely, the money for this apartment came from her lover. This place is clearly a hideout for the fugitive. The key to the case is why he suddenly killed his mistress.”

“Wait, Wang Xifeng was his mistress. What about Qiu Ping?”

“Maybe both were,” Chen Shi left the kitchen and headed to the bathroom, lifting the toilet lid.

The toilet was pitch black, with burnt items inside. This detail had been overlooked by the officers. Chen Shi took the rubber gloves handed to him by Peng Sijue and retrieved the fragments from the toilet, examining each piece.

“Rubber? Smells like… cosmetics… Is this lipstick? A brand name!”

“I get it!” Lin Qiupu hit his palm with his fist. “The man killed his mistress in a rage and burned all the cosmetics he bought for her… Why are you laughing? Am I wrong?”

Chen Shi chuckled, “Let’s not jump to conclusions. I’ll check the bedroom.”