Zhang Yi'ang immediately rushed to the scene. Li Qian insisted on coming along. He thought to himself: taking her to the scene wouldn’t pose any danger, and if she got scared stiff by the corpse and left early, it would actually help him smoothly complete his political task. So he didn’t object.
The crime scene was a patch of green space by the river. The city was called Three Rivers Estuary, naturally crisscrossed with many waterways. Many of the inner riverbanks in the city had been developed into green parks, planted with flowers and trees.
This particular spot was densely wooded and usually not very crowded. Early that morning, an old man had come to the riverbank to fish in secret. By accident, he noticed a man lying nearby, covered in blood. The shock triggered a cardiovascular episode, and he was rushed to the hospital, nearly resulting in a second casualty.
A police cordon had already been set up on the bank. Officers who arrived earlier were guarding the scene. Dozens of meters beyond the cordon, a crowd of onlookers had gathered—at least a hundred people. That was typical of small cities—any bit of novelty would spread like wildfire, drawing everyone nearby as if no one had jobs to go to.
Ye Jian’s body remained in its original position, now surrounded by a temporary curtain to shield it from the prying eyes of the public.
Zhang Yi'ang led Li Qian inside by lifting the curtain. Inside, forensic technicians were conducting basic examinations and taking photographs. It was mid-October, the golden autumn season, and the weather was cool. Ye Jian was dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and casual pants. At a glance, his body was covered in wounds, and his clothes were soaked in so much blood they appeared dark red. Zhang Yi'ang glanced back at Li Qian, expecting her to be shaken, but instead, her eyes gleamed with sharp focus, as if honing a blade. He could only shake his head helplessly.
He stepped back outside the curtain, crossing his arms as he stood there, carefully observing the crowd gathered on the riverbank.
The riverbank sloped upward, placing the onlookers at a higher vantage point where they could clearly see every move the police made below. Of course, this also meant Zhang Yi'ang could scrutinize every expression among the spectators.
“Chief, what are you looking at?” Li Qian appeared beside him, noticing his solemn expression.
“You’ve studied criminal psychology, right?”
“Last year.”
“According to criminal psychology statistics, in outdoor homicide cases like this, there’s over a 50% chance the perpetrator will return to the scene within 48 hours to observe.”
Li Qian quietly corrected him: “The book said 24 hours.”
Zhang Yi'ang snorted. “Let me ask you this—if the probability is already 50% within 24 hours, wouldn’t it be even higher by 48 hours?”
“That logic isn’t wrong.”
Zhang Yi'ang nodded. “In any case, remember this: the perpetrator is very likely to return to the scene. He might even be hiding among this crowd right now!”
His gaze swept across the faces of every onlooker in the distance, lingering deliberately on those with shifty expressions. He was certain the culprit, burdened by guilt, wouldn’t dare meet a police officer’s eyes.
“Huh—” Sure enough, one person caught his attention.
The man appeared to be under fifty, dressed in a simple casual T-shirt. He stood behind an officer holding the cordon, one hand on his waist, the other pinching a cigarette butt. While the rest of the crowd craned their necks to get a better look, he seemed utterly indifferent.Zhang Yi'ang locked eyes with the man for a second before the latter quickly looked away, only to steal a few more glances at Zhang Yi'ang before whispering something to the officer securing the crime scene tape. A chill ran down Zhang Yi'ang's spine—this wasn't good. Was this guy snooping around for case details?
Following his gaze, Li Qian also noticed the man and couldn't help exclaiming softly, "Chief... I think this person—"
Zhang Yi'ang shushed her with a nod, then subtly gestured for Wang Ruijun to come over. He discreetly pointed at the man and said, "This guy looks extremely suspicious. Have someone investigate him discreetly—find out who he is. Remember, don't tip him off!"
"Uh... him? No need to investigate. That's Forensic Doctor Chen. He was called in from his vacation to take the body back for autopsy."
"Oh, the medical examiner." Zhang Yi'ang nodded, then suddenly turned and snapped, "Then why hasn't the body been moved yet? What are you waiting for? For the seventh-day memorial rites before performing the autopsy?"
"Right away, I'll get him!" Wang Ruijun responded promptly, rushing toward Forensic Doctor Chen while muttering under his breath, "Weren't you the one who said no one was allowed to touch anything at the scene until you arrived? Now you're blaming me?"
As Forensic Doctor Chen limped toward the body, Zhang Yi'ang frowned again. A disabled person? That couldn't be right. How understaffed was the Three Rivers Estuary investigative team? Even medical examiners were still police officers, and moving bodies was physically demanding work. How could they just settle for someone with a limp?
Wang Ruijun noticed his confusion and leaned in to explain, "Forensic Doctor Chen has a herniated lumbar disc. He's not actually disabled."
Zhang Yi'ang nodded, though he couldn't help but sigh inwardly. If the Three Rivers Estuary Criminal Police Brigade was this slapdash, solving cases here was bound to be an uphill battle.
Back at the police station, Zhang Yi'ang stood in front of the bulletin board, staring at the photos displayed—mostly official portraits of officers whose identities could be publicly disclosed. The first photo was of Ye Jian.
In the picture, he appeared to be around forty, with thick eyebrows, large eyes, a short and broad face, and a stern, unsmiling expression. Frankly, with that kind of intimidating look, he'd have made a perfect bandit leader in ancient times.
"Chief, how did you know something would happen to Ye Jian beforehand?" Li Qian's face was brimming with curiosity.
Zhang Yi'ang had no idea his words would prove prophetic. He could only brush it off: "I wouldn't say I knew beforehand. It was probably just my professional instinct from years in criminal investigation."
"Professional instinct," Li Qian repeated slowly, her gaze growing even more admiring. "So who do you think killed him?"
"That'll require further investigation."
"Could it have been Zhou Rong?"
"Zhou Rong..." Zhang Yi'ang pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "Unlikely. Ye Jian was the head of the Criminal Investigation Brigade. Killing him would be an extraordinarily serious homicide case—the police would spare no effort to solve it. I can't imagine Zhou Rong being that reckless. Besides, I heard he and Ye Jian always had a good relationship. But one thing's for sure—Ye Jian's death is definitely connected to my arrival here!"
"Why do you say that?"
"After I arrived in Three Rivers Estuary, I only spoke with him briefly on the first day. Starting the second day, he took sick leave—right up until now. I checked—he was always in good health before and rarely took leave. Then I show up, he takes leave, and now he's been killed. There's got to be a connection! Just wait—relevant clues will surface soon enough.""Chief, we've got a lead!" As if on cue, Wang Ruijun came running over, only to stop short upon arrival, his slightly plump face twisted with hesitation.
Zhang Yi'ang stared at him for a few seconds before asking, "What lead?"
Wang Ruijun hesitated before stammering, "The crime scene investigation found that Ye Jian wrote some words on a rock before he died... it looks... looks like a person's name."
"A person's name?" Zhang Yi'ang's eyes immediately lit up. "If Ye Jian wrote a name before dying, it must be the killer's! Can the handwriting be identified?"
"Though a bit scribbled... we can basically make it out."
"Who's the killer?" Zhang Yi'ang pressed urgently.
"It's..." Wang Ruijun faltered.
Zhang Yi'ang could tell from his expression there was more to it. Sternly, he said, "Don't you worry—my position is administratively elevated, backed by the Provincial Police Department. Here in Three Rivers Estuary, no matter who did it, I won't hesitate to investigate fully. Just tell me whose name Ye Jian wrote!"
"He... he wrote your name."
"Me—" Zhang Yi'ang swallowed hard, his voice turning icy. "Show me the photo!"
Wang Ruijun had no choice but to pull out his phone and open the photo sent from the scene. It showed a large rock by the riverbank, where Ye Jian had scratched a few characters with a small stone before dying.
Zhang Yi'ang frowned at the writing before turning back to the two of them. "The handwriting is so messy—you can actually tell it's my name?"
"Yes, we can," they answered in unison.
When a person is on the verge of death, their strength wanes, and the last words they scrawl are naturally hard to decipher. But the character "one" in the middle was unmistakable. Plugging in Zhang Yi'ang's name, it was instantly clear. The words written were indeed "Zhang Yi'ang," followed by an exclamation mark hammered out with Ye Jian's final ounce of strength.
A conspiracy—absolutely a conspiracy! Someone was trying to frame him!
Zhang Yi'ang was so furious he wanted to bludgeon the culprit right then and there.
Wang Ruijun awkwardly added, "Director Qi and the other bureau leaders... want to speak with you. And Li Qian too."
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