Chapter 700: Return My Husband

After receiving the call, Lin Qiupu hurried back. Lin Dongxue was talking to the landlord, who was terrified upon hearing that a dead body had been found in his property and was willing to fully cooperate with the police investigation.

The landlord provided a rental agreement and a copy of the tenant’s ID, clearly showing the name Lan Xiao, a fierce-looking man from Fengqi City.

Coincidentally, Xin Bai was also from Fengqi. That night, he had told Chen Shi that Lan Xiao was modeled after a school bully who tormented him as a child. It turned out even the name was the same.

“Is this the person who rented the house?” Lin Dongxue asked.

“No, it wasn’t him.”

Lin Dongxue showed a photo of Xin Bai, and the landlord nodded repeatedly, “Yes, it looks like him.”

“When did he rent it?”

“Last winter, he rented it for two years.”

“And you rented it to him without verifying his identity?”

“The man said he was renting it for a friend who had just been transferred here for work and didn’t have time to handle it himself. His accent was also from Fengqi, so I rented it to him. Besides, the house had been vacant for six months with no takers. This man rented it for two years and paid up front without hesitation. I didn’t look into it further. I didn’t know he was a bad guy. What bad luck! By the way, will my house be affected?”

Lin Qiupu said, “Be more careful when renting out in the future. At least verify the identity of the person signing the lease. Otherwise, you’ll be held responsible if something goes wrong.”

“Yes, yes, I will!” The landlord, frightened, broke into a cold sweat.

Lin Qiupu shared his findings with them. Lin Dongxue said, “How come all criminals nowadays know hacking techniques? I don’t understand anything about these botnets and Trojan horses.”

“There are plenty of online tutorials; it’s easy to learn. Even crime dramas can become ‘textbooks’ for criminals. It’s too easy to learn bad things.”

Chen Shi briefly thought of “Black Sugar,” a group of young people happily sharing the world’s forbidden knowledge.

“All signs point to the existence of a second person,” Lin Qiupu admitted.

“But Xin Bai is still a major breakthrough. I’m even considering the possibility that he may have committed crimes under duress,” Chen Shi said, each seeming to compromise a bit.

“Haha, you two finally reached a consensus… Where’s Captain Peng?”

Noticing they’d been standing downstairs for too long, they went upstairs. Inside, forensic officers were collecting fingerprints, and Peng Siyue was staring blankly at the body in the bathroom. Chen Shi asked, “What’s wrong? Is the deceased an old classmate of yours?”

“Your words are so ‘pleasant’!” Lin Qiupu frowned. He noticed Chen Shi’s unusual attitude around Peng Siyue, feeling a twinge of jealousy.

Peng Siyue gave Chen Shi a glare and said, “I can’t determine the cause of death.”

The body had been turned over, revealing a knife wound on the abdomen, oozing pus due to decay. The blood vessels on the deceased’s stomach appeared blue with a tinge of yellow.

“This stab seems to be above the stomach; wouldn’t that be non-fatal?” Lin Dongxue asked.

“It can still be fatal, just very slowly. Stomach acid can enter the abdominal cavity, corroding the organs and causing internal bleeding, much like Japanese seppuku, a slow and painful death,” Chen Shi explained.

“Stop showing off your knowledge,” Peng Siyue said. “This stab only opened the abdomen; the internal organs are intact. I don’t understand the significance of the killer’s actions. Also, notice the color of the blood vessels; decayed blood turns blue, but there’s a hint of yellow here. I suspect poisoning. We need further analysis.”

“Xiao Zhang!” Peng Siyue called.

A young officer approached, holding an evidence bag containing a ring. “This was found under the sofa. It has blood traces and clearly doesn’t belong to the deceased.”

The three looked at the deceased’s carrot-like thick fingers. Chen Shi said, “More than one person died here.”

They decided to wrap up. Back at the station, there was a commotion at the door. A woman insisted on seeing Xin Bai. Lin Qiupu asked, “Who are you to him?”

“I’m Zhang Zhenlei’s wife.”

Zhang Zhenlei? Lin Qiupu was momentarily stunned, recalling that it was the real name of the vlogger Lao B.

The woman, still tear-stained, said, “You called me to identify a body. I heard you arrested that writer, and I want to see him.”

“Let’s talk elsewhere.”

In a meeting room, Lin Qiupu poured her some water. Once she calmed down, she began to cry again, still immersed in the pain of losing her husband.

“My husband had been making videos online these past two years. He didn’t do much else, just loved reading novels and critiquing them. Last week, he made a video about ‘Abyss Detective.’ After posting it, he stayed up all night reading comments and bullet screens. Suddenly, he said he had to go out. I asked where he was going so late, and he said he just remembered something, that Xin Bai might be imprisoned. I told him to call the police if he wasn’t sure. Someone in the bullet screen had joked, ‘Maybe the writer really was kidnapped and put a cry for help in his work.’ The more he thought about it, the more he believed it. But he wasn’t sure and wanted to check it out. If true, it would definitely make headlines and cause a sensation.

“I didn’t think much of it, just told him to be careful. The writer was in his friend list; they all lived in Long’an and had interacted before. Last year, he’d been chatting with Xin Bai, planning this video. But then he didn’t come back, and I got a call. When I saw him, he was already… I just want to see Xin Bai, not to take revenge, but to know what happened. Otherwise, I can’t find peace!”

Of course, suspects couldn’t be seen just like that, but the woman’s heartfelt plea was almost begging. Chen Shi suggested, “Maybe she could see him through the detention room window.”

“Alright,” Lin Qiupu said, “But don’t expect too much. His mental state is completely off; he probably won’t tell you anything. We’re still investigating the case!”

“Thank you! Thank you!” The woman tearfully expressed her gratitude.

They took her to the detention room, where Xin Bai was sitting cross-legged on the floor, drawing a watch on his wrist with a pen, enjoying himself. Seeing this, Lin Qiupu shouted, “Hey, why does the suspect have a pen?”

The duty officer rushed over and opened the detention room door. Xin Bai refused to give up the pen, shouting, “Let me finish! Just need to add the second hand…”

In the chaos, the woman slipped into the detention room and unexpectedly grabbed Xin Bai by the eyes, screaming, “Give me back my husband! Give me back my husband!”