The old man spoke up at this point: "He's my only son. He's been slow-witted since childhood, but he's strong and can do manual labor. His mother is in poor health, bedridden all year round. Our family's financial situation isn't good, and we rely entirely on this butcher shop to get by. When his mother and I pass away, I don't know what will become of this boy... I hope the government can help us..."
After saying this, he wiped away a tear. Deng Yao growled in a muffled voice, "I'm not stupid!"
You Mingxu now identified that the foul smell was coming from Deng Yao. Her expression remained unchanged, while Yin Feng's eyes were wide open, like a fighting cock about to suffocate.
Deng Yao lifted his head and saw You Mingxu. His dark, cold eyes fixed on her for a moment. You Mingxu could sense a strong, aggressive aura from him—the kind that belonged to a male, even a dull-witted one. She met his gaze steadily, and after a few seconds, he lowered his head on his own.
You Mingxu asked, "Where were you last night?"
Deng Yao replied, "At home! Sleeping!"
Old Man Deng, standing nearby, said, "Our A-Yao hardly ever goes out. All he knows how to do is work all day long."
"What time did you go to sleep?"
"Nine or ten o'clock."
"Have you seen any suspicious people recently? We're hunting for a fugitive who's fled here from out of town."
"No!"
...
"Do you have a car at home?"
Old Man Deng answered first, "No car. How could we afford one?"
"Then how do you manage your business?"
His reply was identical to Zhao Dawei's: "When we need to use a vehicle, we ask a neighbor who has one for help, or we hire a van from the market."
After the questioning, You Mingxu wanted to take their fingerprints. Both Deng father and son were taken aback. Deng Yao glanced at his father and suddenly exclaimed, "I'm not a criminal! I haven't committed any crime. Why do you need my fingerprints?"
You Mingxu said calmly, "It's standard procedure. We've already taken fingerprints from several of your neighbors on this street. We hope you'll cooperate." At the same time, she pulled out several other fingerprint bags from her pouch and shook them.
Yin Feng muttered, "Yeah, hurry up and cooperate. If you don't, we'll have to take you back to the station. Don't you want to let people sleep?"
...
After leaving Deng Yao's room, Old Man Deng silently followed them. You Mingxu noticed a larger room next door, dark and unlit, and asked, "What's that room for?"
Old Man Deng replied, "For slaughtering pigs. It doesn't smell good."
You Mingxu: "Can I take a look?"
Old Man Deng fell silent for a moment.
Yin Feng said, "What if the fugitive is hiding somewhere? We're just concerned for your safety."
Old Man Deng walked over, opened the door, and turned on the light. The two of them saw that it was indeed a room used for slaughter. Knives were neatly arranged on the ground, and a row of meat hung from the beams. It was kept very clean, with no residual blood on the floor. However, there was a dry, bloody smell that had accumulated over many years.
The two of them looked around but still found nothing unusual.
—
Carrying three intact fingerprints and one blurry fingerprint, they returned to the police station. It was already 2 a.m.
You Mingxu called the forensics team and asked them to run a comparison overnight. She then checked in with Xu Mengshan, who was still searching on the front lines. Xu Mengshan's voice sounded flat over the phone: "No progress."
After hanging up, You Mingxu stood in the corridor outside the forensics lab and smoked a cigarette to stay alert.All the way tracking, she deliberately ignored certain emotions, even maintaining her usual banter and smiles with Yin Feng. But once back at the police station, inquiring about the case progress inevitably brought up Fan Jia's name again. How could her heart possibly remain calm?
Fan Jia wasn't exactly her confidante; their relationship wasn't even as close as with Xu Mengshan, since the seasoned Xu Mengshan shared more temperamental compatibility with You Mingxu. Fan Jia was like everyone's little sister—a girl who'd just graduated a year or two ago, always trailing behind the two of them, full of energetic chatter and exceptionally diligent.
Fan Jia's parents still didn't know what had happened to her, believing she was away on a mission. She heard they only had this one daughter... Suddenly, You Mingxu's finger was stung by cigarette ash. She trembled, looking down at the falling ash, with only one thought in her heart: No matter what, it shouldn't have been Fan Jia.
She was still a passionate young girl who'd never even apprehended a major criminal herself. The young girl still wanted to be a people's police officer her whole life, fighting evil and punishing wrongdoers forever.
It should have been them—the fierce, experienced detectives—standing in front to shield her. Yet she stepped forward willingly as bait, uncovering the deeply hidden criminal group within the Gold Splitting Treasure Company.
That young girl's life should have been much longer.
"Sister You is my idol."
"Our Sister You is the prettiest, most badass policewoman on this street!"
"Someday I want to be like Sister You and catch a big bad guy with my own hands!"
...
You Mingxu only felt her nose sting, thinking, What kind of idol am I? I can't even find Fan Jia. The image of Fan Jia being struck down by a heavy hammer flashed through her mind again, making her chest feel heavier and more suffocated. Some things were too painful to dwell on deeply. Her expression grew increasingly cold, leaving only one firm conviction in her mind:
She would never lose a comrade.
Never.
Because they were the people's police.
"A Xu, guess if I can walk on this railing?" a voice sounded beside her.
You Mingxu ignored him.
The restless figure promptly climbed onto the corridor railing. The railing's upper edge was only about ten centimeters wide, and they were three stories up. Yin Feng took a deep breath, extended his arms horizontally, and began walking step by step.
You Mingxu looked up, feeling a nerve twitch in her forehead again: "Get down!"
Yin Feng said, "If I make it to the other end, will you smile?"
You Mingxu remained silent.
He looked down at her, not realizing that this momentary distraction made his legs wobble. You Mingxu was so frightened her whole body jolted. She rushed forward and tightly grabbed his legs.
But the guy stood perfectly steady, showing no signs of falling. They stared at each other for a few seconds, one high, one low, before she released him and said, "Get the hell down."
Yin Feng jumped down, brushed off his hands, and grinned at her. Like a smug teenager, yet with a teasing glint that only a young man would have.
For some reason, You Mingxu's heart tightened again, quite annoyed, though the previous oppression and discomfort seemed to have eased considerably. She cursed lightly, "Bastard! If you pull this again, get lost back to your own place."
He leaned in and said, "But I am living in my own place now."
You Mingxu pressed his head down, roughly ruffled his hair to vent her emotions, then turned and walked away. Yin Feng watched her noticeably lighter steps and followed with a smile.
—
The fingerprint comparison results came out quickly.
Three didn't match, one fingerprint was invalid and couldn't be compared.The sky was still dark, with a long time remaining until dawn.
You Mingxu held the forensic report and sat in the police car with Yin Feng.
These four suspects had been directly selected from the vast sea of humanity based on the profiling sketches provided by Yin Feng and Professor Fan Shuhua. It was a purely criminal psychology approach, bypassing logical reasoning and evidence tracing. In fact, the police had not obtained any valuable evidence.
You Mingxu was uncertain whether the killer was among these four individuals, and even if the killer was among them, she couldn’t be sure whether he was the one who had attacked and taken Fan Jia. However, they had no other leads and could only grasp at straws. Moreover, a detective’s intuition told her that someone among these four was hiding a secret!
They couldn’t secure additional police support either, as they couldn’t redirect the main investigative force based solely on Yin Feng’s sketches.
But now, three had been ruled out. Only Fu Wenxiu remained.
How could they determine whether Fu Wenxiu was the person they were looking for?
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