Pristine Darkness

“There’s a sixth person in Yueying Animation Studio,” Bo Jinyan said .

The Cherokee was moving at a high speed on the road back to the police station . Bo Jinyan and Jian Yao’s expressions were equally grave .

Jian Yao said, “There were four areas of doubt at the scene .

Firstly, the layout and style of the studio was full of warmth, and very organised . It was aesthetically pleasing, meticulously done, and the individual style was evident . Definitely, when the studio was established, someone poured their heart and soul into designing it . However, when we visited the lodgings of the five of them and better understood their particular characteristics, not one of them had such habits or aesthetic sense .

Secondly, a person who has arranged and decorated the studio with such care would not have allowed it to fall into disarray . ”

Bo Jinyan interrupted to say, “Yes, just like you . If it had been you, even if the studio was about to be disbanded, you would never let it be lacking in aesthetics . ”

Jian Yao smiled slightly . “Thank you for your praise, Mr . Bo . Yes, it’s true . Right now, the studio has been left unattended, it is in disarray, and items are strewn all over the place . The actual scene right now, and the interior decor that was intended at the beginning, are totally incompatible . They are clearly two different styles . ”

“They concealed and stripped away the sixth person’s style,” Bo Jinyan said .

This perceptive statement tugged at Jian Yao’s heartstrings . She continued, “Thirdly, the photographs on the wall were all thrown away . This does not make sense . Even if the studio was about to disband, those were precious memories of something they once loved with a pa.s.sion; they would not have been willing to discard them so easily . This is completely consistent with human nature – they want to hide something . ”

“Fourthly,” said Bo Jinyan slowly, “the flowers in the flowerbed at the door, that have all been dug up, were not cheap, and they are the kind that have to be planted and tended to with care . It was ‘he’ who planted them . ”

Jian Yao remained silent for a while before asking, “Is ‘he’ the murderer?”

“We can’t draw that conclusion yet,” Bo Jinyan replied . “However, ‘he’ is at least a suspect . Even if they have been trying to hide all traces of him in the studio, the imprint of someone’s existence is not so easily erased . I believe Fang Qing and An Yan’s secondary investigation will soon verify the existence of this person . ”

“But . . . ” Jian Yao asked, “why would they rather put up with the risk of being suspected of murder than mention the existence of this person?”

“That’s right,” Bo Jinyan laughed mirthlessly, “why? What could be more serious than being suspected of murder?”

Jian Yao was shocked .

Bo Jinyan said, “If we can figure this out, I believe we will know who the murderer is . ”

They were still some distance away from the police station . Jian Yao looked down at her watch . They had both been awake for more than 30 hours .

“Are you tired?” she asked .

“Still ok . ”

Jian Yao laughed . “Yeah, when you’re in the midst of an investigation, you’re always exhilarated . When we get back to the station, try and s.n.a.t.c.h some time to take a nap . h.e.l.lo, you’ve got to love your body too, you know . ”

“Okay . ” He glanced at her, then thoughtfully pulled down the sun shade for her . “You sleep for a bit first . ”

Jian Yao did feel as if she was no longer able to fight off sleep . She made a sound of a.s.sent, shut her eyes, lowered the back of her seat and curled up . Very soon, the sound of her even breathing was heard .

Bo Jinyan watched her quietly for a while, then stole a look at his cellphone .

Because of the sudden occurrence of this cosplay murder case, Han Yumeng’s case had to be put on hold temporarily . However, Fu Ziyu had not called or texted him in the past two days .

Ziyu needed him now .

I should take greater care of Ziyu, he thought .

As well as . . .

He looked at the exhausted, sleeping woman by his side . Even her usually neatly arranged hair was in disorder, her small face was flushed, and her lips were lightly pursed . He could not stop himself from reaching out to caress her hair, smoothing it out .

The preparations were more or less done . When this case was over, he would surprise her with the most romantic wedding .

Thinking of this, Bo Jinyan laughed aloud .

——

Because of a lack of evidence, Jiang Xueran, Xu Sheng and Wen Xiaohua were released . Xu Sheng returned to the dormitory, Wen Xiaohua was taken away by his father, and Jiang Xueran went back to his rented apartment . However, the police department had arranged for several teams to watch them 24/7, both to observe their movements as well as for protection .

In addition, all three of their places of residence had been fitted with surveillance cameras . The surveillance cameras nearby were also centrally controlled . Xu Sheng and Wen Xiaohua did not make any objection, but Jiang Xueran was not satisfied with this turn of events, and asked the criminal investigator who had taken him home, “Why install surveillance cameras? Am I under suspicion?”

The criminal investigator replied, “Don’t think too much about it, it’s also for your protection . ”

Jiang Xueran snorted and slammed the door shut after he had gone in .

At first, everything was ok . The two criminal investigators on surveillance duty sitting in their car downstairs could clearly see everything within range on their monitor . Jiang Xueran was sitting on the sofa aimlessly watching television .

Suddenly, he got up, turned off the television, and walked towards the surveillance camera and audio device mounted on the table .

Suddenly, he got up, turned off the television, and walked towards the surveillance camera and audio device mounted on the table .

Then, something dropped down and the screen went dark; nothing could be seen clearly . They could only hear the sounds of Jiang Xueran moving around .

“F**k,” one criminal investigator cursed .

The other criminal investigator called him . “Xiao Jiang, what’s happened?”

Jiang Xueran calmly replied, “Officer, I don’t quite like the idea of someone watching my every movement, but I appreciate your kindness . Anyway, you can still hear me, right? I’m going to sleep now . ”

After saying this, he hung up .

The two criminal investigators could not really say much . After all, if one wanted to install a surveillance camera and an audio device in someone’s home, even if it was in the name of ‘a.s.sisting investigation’ and ‘protection’, one still had to have the consent of that person . If people were unwilling, there was nothing one could do .

So, the two criminal investigators had to perk up their ears and listen . Fortunately, everything seemed normal . The sound of splashing came from the bathroom, as well as that of Jiang Xueran walking around and closing the door . He was probably going to his bedroom to sleep .

The two of them also took turns to sleep in the car .

Before daybreak, Fang Qing arrived to take his shift . He asked them, “Any cause for alarm?” They told him, “Nothing . Just that this rascal has blocked the surveillance camera . ”

Fang Qing glanced at the monitor and swore . “So troublesome; this is not good!” He immediately called Jiang Xueran, but the joker refused to pick up . Fang Qing relentlessly continued to call him and finally got through . However, Jiang Xueran said, with conviction, “You are violating my privacy! Officer, I thought I was just a.s.sisting the investigation, and wasn’t a suspect! You can’t treat me this way! If you carry on this way I will call the newspaper to complain!” Saying so, he hung up .

“What the f**k!” swore Fang Qing . However, there was no other way .

There was no sound from the monitor . It seemed that Jiang Xueran slept like a log .

In the middle of the night, after 2 a . m .

The other criminal investigator was asleep . Fang Qing, with headphones on, was gazing at the clear, starry sky, thinking about the case, thinking about Jin Xiaozhe .

Suddenly, he heard a very faint sound over the headphones .

It sounded like gasping, someone was gasping .

“Oh . . . . ah –”

Shocked, Fang Qing immediately shook his partner awake .

Shocked, Fang Qing immediately shook his partner awake .

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling shriek came over the monitor . It was Jiang Xueran . And then a second shriek, a third, and a fourth . . . he kept shrieking, as if experiencing some terrible pain .

Fang Qing threw down the headphones and bolted out of the car .

Fang Qing was moving so quickly that his partner could not keep up with him . With one leap, he jumped over the fence; with a few quick steps, he had crossed the path and headed upstairs . He took each flight of steps in a single bound and arrived at Jiang Xueran’s floor in a flash .

As he ran, he thought: Something’s not right . Jiang Xueran’s door is locked . If someone had forcibly broken in, we would definitely have heard the sound .

That person had the keys .

It was a long corridor . As he came out at one end, he saw that Jiang Xueran’s door was open, and a figure at the distant end of the corridor disappeared in a blink .

It was a man .

Fang Qing shot a look through the door and saw that the floor was covered in blood . A body lay motionless . He clenched his jaw and ran after the vanished figure like a shot arrow .

When the other criminal investigator reached Jiang Xueran’s door, he suffered a violent shock .

Never had he imagined that he would witness such a murder scene .

The apartment was very neat, and there were no traces of a fight . Jiang Xueran’s eyes were open in a glare, and he was wearing a white, delicate traditional costume . A wig of long, crow-black hair was on his head . He was even wearing makeup; his eyebrows were delicately drawn, and his lips were bright red . A small red birthmark was between his eyebrows, and his features had been rendered somewhat androgynous .

The criminal investigator was used to seeing his customary cold and arrogant look, and his cosplay persona was an elegant n.o.ble from ancient times . Him being dressed in this way now was just indescribably weird .

Moreover, a dagger was stuck right in the middle of his chest . Fresh blood had stained the snow-white clothes a deep red, and there were other stab wounds on his body . He had obviously been stabbed repeatedly .

The criminal investigator rushed up and checked Jiang Xueran’s pulse and breathing . Nothing .

As he surveyed the scene before him, he felt chilled to the bone: the murder had occurred just three or four minutes ago . This traditional costume, the wig, the makeup, all of this must have been put on before death . Did the murderer do this to Jiang Xueran while he was fast asleep? Or had Jiang Xueran done it himself?

Crazy, it’s all crazy .

——

Fang Qing was in hot pursuit .

——

Fang Qing was in hot pursuit .

The night was deathly quiet, and there was no one on the road, not even a car driving by . The suspect was wearing a cap and carrying a big bag, running like a bat out of h.e.l.l into the distance .

Fang Qing desperately chased after the suspect .

Gradually, the distance between them shortened . Fang Qing was close enough to make out the figure, and his heart lurched .

“Stop where you are! Police!” Fang Qing hollered .

The suspect was cool-headed as well as determined . He made a sudden turn and dashed behind a building . There were lights in that area, as well as the sound of quite a few voices . Fang Qing’s gut instinct told him that this was no good, and he sped up . As he reached the start of the road, a totally different scene opened up in front of his eyes . It was a midnight snack food stall, and there were lots of customers drinking beer and eating roast meat . There were people everywhere . Fang Qing cursed softly and his eyes gleamed . He swept a glance over the crowd; surely the suspect could not have run far away .

He looked all around, but did not see the suspect’s figure .

At this moment, Fang Qing noticed a public restroom to the right of the road’s end . It was pitch black, and no one was going in or out . Fang Qing’s heart jumped and he ran into the men’s restroom .

No one .

He examined every stall . Empty .

Fang Qing turned around and walked to the door of the ladies’ restroom . He yelled, “Is there anyone inside the ladies’ restroom?”

No one responded .

He rushed in .

Also empty .

Fang Qing stood at the door of the public restroom and looked out . There were Beijing bigshots who had shrugged off their coats to eat roast meat, there were busy stall a.s.sistants, both in front and at the back, but there was no sign of the suspect .

Fang Qing refused to give up, and ran forward for a stretch . Still no sign . That person had really vanished without a trace .

He stood panting in the gathering darkness and swore fiercely . “F**k!”