Chapter 137 - 135: There Was a Third Person at the Scene

Chapter 137: Chapter 135: There Was a Third Person at the Scene

At the end of the hallway, the setting sun shone through the window and onto the floor, but it failed to dispel the gloom that hung in the corridor.

Qi Feng and the other officers were questioning students from the surrounding dorm rooms.

"May I have your name, please?" Su Miaoyi, who was responsible for taking notes, asked Shen Shilan.

Shen Shilan kept her eyes on her. "Shen Shilan. I’m Wen Zouyu and Guan Yang’s graduate advisor."

Su Miaoyi wrote down her name.

"When was the last time you saw them?" Su Miaoyi asked.

Shen Shilan thought for a moment. "Three days ago, in the morning. Two days ago, they both sent me their research papers."

As she spoke, she took out her phone and pulled up her chat history with the two of them.

They had indeed messaged her two days ago.

One in the morning, one in the afternoon.

"How did they get along usually?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

"I’d say they got along quite well. Lately, whenever they came to see me, it was always the two of them together," Shen Shilan said.

"Were they competing over any projects recently?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

"I’m only advising these two graduate students, and the resources I provide are distributed quite fairly. There might have been some competition, but I don’t think it would have escalated to this extent," Shen Shilan said.

Su Miaoyi took notes.

Zhuang Yanzheng asked again, "Aunt Shen, how much do you know about their social circles? Anyone who comes to mind, please tell us."

Shen Shilan glanced at Su Miaoyi, then thought for a moment and said, "Wen Zouyu has a girlfriend from the medical school. I’m not sure of her name. I’ve never met her, just heard about her."

"As you know, we advisors like to play matchmaker for our students when we have the time. So I’m pretty familiar with their love lives. Guan Yang is single. As for the rest, I don’t know much."

"Have you noticed anything unusual about the two of them recently?" Su Miaoyi asked.

Shen Shilan looked at her and shook her head. "I didn’t notice anything."

Su Miaoyi nodded.

Seeing that they had pretty much covered everything, Zhuang Yanzheng prepared to head to the medical school to question Wen Zouyu’s girlfriend. "Aunt Shen, if anything else comes up..."

"Contact me anytime," Shen Shilan said.

Afterward, Zhuang Yanzheng and Su Miaoyi went to the medical school.

After asking around, they learned that Wen Zouyu’s girlfriend was named Lu Qiaoqiao.

She was the girl from the group photo in the dorm room.

However, they didn’t get to see her.

Her advisor said she had a family emergency and had taken two weeks of leave. She hadn’t returned yet.

Her family was from Jiangcheng.

Zhuang Yanzheng checked her leave information; there were still three days left.

Then Zhuang Yanzheng and Su Miaoyi questioned Lu Qiaoqiao’s fellow students and advisor to get some information about her.

They returned to the municipal bureau.

Su Miaoyi’s first stop was the autopsy room with Yan Cheng.

Yan Cheng performed the autopsy, while Su Miaoyi and his assistant assisted him.

Su Miaoyi tried to discern something from the wounds, but she couldn’t see anything.

"Based on the livor mortis, the body was moved during the fixation period," Yan Cheng said. "The wound on Wen Zouyu’s back is centered over his heart. There wasn’t much bleeding, and with no clear vital reaction, it’s a post-mortem wound."

"Time of death was about nineteen hours ago." Through the autopsy, Yan Cheng had determined a more precise time of death.

"A third person was present," Su Miaoyi said.

Yan Cheng nodded. "For the abdominal wounds on both Wen Zouyu and Guan Yang, two of the stabs pierced their livers. The killer was very precise. It doesn’t seem like the liver was hit by accident; it seems intentional. Furthermore, the locations of the abdominal wounds on both bodies are very similar, except for the extra one on Wen Zouyu."

This was what he had been hesitant to say at the scene.

"A medical student?" Su Miaoyi asked.

"That’s a valid line of inquiry," Yan Cheng said.

"Xingrou and I found traces of washed-away blood in their dorm room sink," Su Miaoyi said. "It’s very likely the killer washed the blood off their hands before leaving."

"Xingrou also thought she smelled a faint scent of hydrogen peroxide, but she wasn’t completely sure," Su Miaoyi added. "I didn’t smell it."

"Are you saying they used hydrogen peroxide to clean the bloodstains? To evade the luminol reaction?" Yan Cheng asked.

The blue light reagent for latent blood is based on a luminol formula, enhanced with patented additives and special processing.

The blue light reagent for latent blood has a very high detection sensitivity.

Su Miaoyi nodded. "There were traces of blood that had been washed away in the sink, as well as marks from it being wiped."

"Judging from the wounds, neither Wen Zouyu nor Guan Yang put up a fight," Yan Cheng said.

"Were they unconscious?" Su Miaoyi asked.

"Very likely," Yan Cheng said. "We’ll have to wait for the lab results."

It was already very late when they left the autopsy room.

The cafeteria was already closed.

Su Miaoyi and the others had to settle for instant noodles.

Zhuang Yanzheng, Qi Feng, and Chu Xingrou had been at the police station meeting with the victims’ families, investigating, making inquiries, and conducting interviews, and had been busy this whole time as well.

The group sat in a row, eating instant noodles and going over the case.

"Lu Qiaoqiao’s father passed away, so she took leave to go back to Jiangcheng," Zhuang Yanzheng said. "But her family there said she left home five days ago."

"In Jinghai?" Su Miaoyi asked.

"We haven’t tracked her down yet," Zhuang Yanzheng said. "No record of flights, high-speed rail, or regular trains, and no credit card activity. We don’t know where she’s gone for now. Her phone is off. We’re still trying to make contact."

"We’ve checked all the stores around the school; none of them sell a fruit knife matching the murder weapon," Chu Xingrou said. "We’re still tracing the source."

The discussion reached a dead end.

The group suddenly fell silent.

After a moment, Qi Feng said, "The beef flavor is way better. This one’s no good."

"If it’s no good, give it to me," Zhuang Yanzheng said.

Qi Feng lifted his noodle cup and shoveled the rest into his mouth, even slurping down all the broth. "All gone."

Zhuang Yanzheng glanced at him. "Real classy."

"Look who’s talking," Yan Cheng said.

Su Miaoyi looked at Zhuang Yanzheng, who had also practically finished his in just a few mouthfuls.

She sped up as well. After finishing, she suddenly asked, "That Professor Shen Shilan, do you know her well?"

Zhuang Yanzheng looked at her, paused, and said, "She’s Shen Yanzhou’s aunt."

"Oh," Su Miaoyi nodded. "Now that you mention it, Shen Yanzhou does resemble her a bit around the eyes."

"A nephew takes after his aunt," Zhuang Yanzheng said.

Su Miaoyi nodded again, then gasped as if she had suddenly remembered something. "Shen Yanzhou’s aunt... doesn’t that make her Minister Qin’s... wife?!"

Zhuang Yanzheng was startled by her.

Everyone looked at her.

"No wonder she has such an extraordinary presence. How could she be Shen Yanzhou’s aunt? I’d believe she was his older sister," Su Miaoyi said suddenly. "So young and beautiful, so elegant and poised—she’s practically a masterpiece from the goddess Nuwa!"

Zhuang Yanzheng looked at her. "Who’s all that flattery for?"

"I’m just practicing," Su Miaoyi said. "Once I get the hang of it, it’ll just roll off the tongue the next time I see her."

"And then she’ll take one look at a sweet-talker like you, figure you’re not the type to get things done, and want nothing to do with you."

Su Miaoyi looked at him. "...Just stop talking. You’re so harsh."

"Now you’re giving orders to your captain, are you?" Zhuang Yanzheng said, standing up. "Alright, we’ve eaten. Back to work."

...