Chapter 855: The Emergence of the Diagnosis Report

Startled by the shout, the man trembled and dropped the mop in his hand.

Entering the shop, Chen Shi saw shards of wine bottles and some bloodstains on the ground. The dim lights intensified the suspicious atmosphere of the cramped store. Chen Shi asked, “Are you the owner?”

“Yes, are you here to buy cigarettes or liquor?”

Xu Xiaodong showed his badge. The owner said, “Oh, the police. Did Li Sheng really get someone to kill him?”

“We’re investigating this matter. We heard he was here around eight o’clock.”

“No… no, why would he come here?”

“What’s with the blood on the floor?” Chen Shi recalled the wound on the back of the deceased’s hand.

“I accidentally broke a bottle of wine just now and cut my hand…”

“Let me see your hand.”

The owner broke out in a cold sweat, fumbling and rubbing his palms on his pants. Chen Shi stared into his eyes and asked again, “Did Li Sheng come here?”

“No… he didn’t come.”

Chen Shi glanced up. “You have surveillance cameras in the store. Let us see.”

“No, no, no.” The owner awkwardly admitted, “Alright, he did come. We… we had an argument. I was afraid you would suspect me. After all, he was killed right after leaving here. Nothing like this has ever happened on this street. I was scared too!”

“Lying will only make us more suspicious.”

The owner lowered his head in shame.

“We’ll check the surveillance footage,” Chen Shi said.

They reviewed the footage. Li Sheng indeed entered around eight o’clock, exchanged a few words with the owner, picked up a bottle of liquor from the shelf. The owner rushed out from behind the counter, grabbed his arm, and smashed it on the counter. The bottle fell to the floor, and Li Sheng walked away holding his injured hand.

“The footage doesn’t show ‘accidentally.’ It clearly shows you smashing his hand on the counter,” Chen Shi pointed out.

“Well, I was upset at the time too.”

Looking at the shattered Wuliangye on the ground, Chen Shi thought about the situation. “You should be thankful for this footage. Otherwise, with the victim’s injury, your fingerprints, and his blood in your store, it would be hard to explain.”

The owner sweated profusely, repeatedly saying, “Yes, I shouldn’t have been so impulsive.”

“It seems Li Sheng was quite domineering.”

“Yes, he was unreasonable, always causing trouble over small matters. I don’t want to deal with such a person.”

Glancing outside, Chen Shi asked, “The incident happened half an hour ago. Did you witness anything?”

The owner looked blankly outside and shook his head.

Finally, Chen Shi and Xu Xiaodong took away the store’s surveillance footage.

Peng Yue’s survey was finished, and Lin Dongxue also returned from Li Sheng’s home. Lin Dongxue said, “Xiaodong, you don’t need to worry about this case anymore. Your task force is busy. These days I’m relatively free, so I’ll handle this!”

“That’s great!” Xu Xiaodong cheered, realizing his excitement. “I mean, this arrangement makes sense.”

“Hurry home and accompany your mother.”

“I didn’t drive…”

“You’ll have to pay to ride with me,” Chen Shi said.

After dropping Xu Xiaodong off, they each went their separate ways. The next morning, Chen Shi arrived at the station and saw a group of police officers gathered outside the forensic lab. He heard Xu Xiaodong saying, “Xiao Li, don’t be sad. We’ll definitely find out.”

“What happened?” Chen Shi asked in surprise, wondering if he had missed something.

Lin Dongxue gestured him over to a nearby office and frowned, “I never expected such a coincidence! Do you know who the person who died last night was?”

From Lin Dongxue’s reaction, Chen Shi already guessed, but he still asked, “Who?”

“Xiao Li’s father! We found out when we checked Li Sheng’s household registration information this morning. Xiao Li confirmed the body. It was her own father. Her parents divorced when she was young, and although she was sentenced to live with her father, she hadn’t visited him since joining the police academy.”

Crying could be heard from the corridor. They looked in that direction, and Lin Dongxue sighed, “Many relatives have come to console her, but I don’t know what to say.”

“What about the forensic report?”

“As of now, there are only shoe prints, size 41, and no other traces. The cause of death was suffocation due to blood entering the windpipe, and we haven’t reviewed the surveillance yet.”

“This couldn’t be revenge against us, could it?”

“Let’s hope not!”

After everyone dispersed, Xiao Li approached Lao Zhang to request joining the task force to investigate her father’s death. Lin Dongxue came over and said, “Xiao Li, you can’t investigate your father’s death. Let me handle this case!”

“Dongxue is right. As a relative of the deceased, you need to avoid the investigation process,” Lao Zhang said. “Xiao Li, rest assured. With Dongxue’s ability, we’ll definitely find the culprit.”

Tears streamed down Xiao Li’s face. “He called me a few days ago, asking me to come back when I had time. I haven’t been home in seven years. I’ve been unfilial!”

Lin Dongxue patted her shoulder. “Don’t blame yourself too much. Would you like to take a day off to rest?”

Xiao Li shook her head, wiped her tears, and said, “No, I’ll continue with the investigation.”

Lin Dongxue accompanied her all the way to the parking lot, talking a lot on the way. She said, “Don’t blame yourself too much. If we’re talking about being unfilial, I splashed water on… the person who claimed to be my father a few days ago!”

“My father wasn’t a responsible father, but…” Xiao Li’s gaze suddenly focused.

Following her line of sight, Lin Dongxue saw a piece of paper stuck on the windshield of Xiao Li’s usual police car. Xiao Li reached out to take it, but Lin Dongxue stopped her, put on gloves, picked it up, and saw three words written on it — “Diagnosis Report.”