Chapter 1

Li Ang rode his bicycle to the vicinity of the residential area, bought some common fruits, cigarettes, and alcohol at the store, and took the elevator to the twentieth floor where Wang Congshan's house was located.

Some time ago, an extremely vile case occurred in apartment 2084 of this building. Although the authorities sealed off most of the news, some rumors still spread.

The Wang Congshan family, who lived directly across from apartment 2084, were also affected to some extent.

Fortunately, Wang Fengnian was a very capable Yinshi police officer. Through years of exposure, Wang Congshan and her mother, Jiang Xinwan, were both quite strong and independent, and quickly emerged from their psychological shadows.

Li Ang stepped out of the elevator and into the corridor, somewhat surprised to find that apartment 2084 seemed to have new occupants.

The original non-slip mat at the entrance had been replaced with a new blue cotton one, and it clearly showed signs of frequent use, with a few strands of fine yellow dog hair mixed in.

The door lock had also been replaced with a more advanced model, which would take even Li Ang a few minutes to pick.

New occupants?

They dared to move in so soon after what happened, how brave!

Li Ang glanced around casually, feeling something was odd.

But this was normal. People were scrambling to buy villas where even more horrific cases had occurred, after all, they were cheap...

He didn't pay too much attention to his neighbor's apartment, turned around, and knocked on the Wang Congshan's door. "Uncle and Auntie, it's Li Ang."

Wang's mother's voice immediately rang out from inside the door, "Oh, it's Little Li. Congshan, go open the door."

"Okay."

Wang Congshan replied, and the sound of slippers echoed. She pulled open the security door for Li Ang, rolled her eyes when she saw the fruit in his hand, seemingly complaining that Li Ang was wasting money.

"Little Li's here?"

Officer Wang Fengnian, who was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed watching television, turned his head and smiled at Li Ang. "Come and sit down, watch some TV."

"Okay."

Li Ang readily sat down, watching Wang Congshan obediently make him a pot of tea, and inexplicably wanted to laugh.

The class monitor shot him a glare when Officer Wang wasn't looking, put down the tea, and went to the kitchen to help out at Jiang Xinwan's urging.

The television was originally playing a variety show that Wang Congshan liked to watch. After she left, Officer Wang casually picked up the remote control and changed the channel to a legal program, chatting with Li Ang while watching.

The chat was mostly about whether he was keeping up with his schoolwork, whether the physical education classes were too strenuous, what the teachers were like, and that young people shouldn't rush into relationships, and so on.

During the conversation, Officer Wang also subtly asked about the day he pretended to be Wei Linglan's boyfriend at Wang Congshan's request.

Li Ang pleaded ignorance, sticking to the xinao memories that the Special Affairs Bureau had implanted in everyone, insisting that he had been at Yong Yi Ting restaurant for several hours, and had been with Wei Linglan, Wang Congshan, and others the entire time.

Hearing Li Ang's answer, Officer Wang was vaguely disappointed, but still pretended to be nonchalant and continued to chat with Li Ang.

As they talked, the legal program on television began to discuss a case, about a rural woman whose husband was working away from home. She was found hanged on a pagoda tree at the village entrance, her clothes disheveled and torn, her head covered with a thick cloth.

"I encountered a similar case when I was younger."

Officer Wang, with his legs crossed, took a sip of tea and said casually, "Back then, my master led me to the scene.

Generally speaking, veteran masters would make the newcomers do the work, such as collecting the corpses.

One reason was to train the young people's courage,

And the other was to see the young people make fools of themselves."

Wang Fengnian glanced at the television, at the host who was slowly narrating the case, and said casually, "Once, my master asked me to take down a man who had been hanging from a fan in a rental house for who knows how long,

And they watched from the side.

The man's face was already purplish-blue, most of his tongue was hanging out, and his eyeballs were completely red.

I grabbed his feet and laboriously lifted him up,

And halfway up, I heard a very clear 'uh uh uh' gasp from the man's throat.

I was so scared that I immediately let go and took several steps back.

Do you know why that is?"

Li Ang shook his head, and Wang Fengnian said calmly, "Some corpses that have been hanged still have a breath of air in their stomachs when they die.

Because the throat is strangled, this breath can't go up or down,

When they are taken down, this breath will escape from the throat,

'Uh uh uh uh'

It sounds like a living person breathing."

"..."

Li Ang smacked his lips and scratched his head, "Uncle, is it appropriate for you to talk to me about this? I'm still a delicate flower in a greenhouse, what if I have nightmares after hearing this kind of obscure little life fact,

When I go home tonight?"

Wang Fengnian couldn't help but roll his eyes, "...You being a delicate flower is a joke."

Back then, when he saw Li Ang walk into the blood-soaked apartment 2084 without changing his expression, he knew that this kid wasn't normal.

Afterward, for the sake of his daughter's safety, he had specifically asked a colleague to collect some information about Li Ang.

Unfortunately, nothing abnormal was found. In addition, Wang Congshan had always been independent, intelligent, and very opinionated, so Wang Fengnian had not considered "splitting them up."

The cooking in the kitchen had entered the final stages, and Officer Wang looked at the woman with the strange death on television and asked casually, "How do you think she died? Suicide or homicide?"

"I can't see the crime scene photos, so it's not very clear."

Li Ang said, "But I think it's more likely to be homicide."

Wang Fengnian raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Why?"

"This is a woman whose husband is away from home, living with her in-laws in the countryside. According to the program's current introduction, her family doesn't seem to have any particular financial difficulties,

And if it was suicide due to poverty or illness, there would be no reason to run to the village entrance to hang herself in disheveled and torn clothes."

Li Ang said calmly, "The greatest possibility suggested by the state of undress, is that she suffered forced or semi-forced humiliation before her death.

If a humiliation incident occurred before death, and the suspect left afterward,

Then the traumatized victim is also very likely to take a shower first, or at least tidy herself up, before choosing to commit suicide.

Before committing suicide, those who commit suicide usually want to maintain a decent image before leaving the world.

After eliminating the above possibilities, the greatest remaining possibility,

Is that a humiliation incident occurred before death, and the suspect accidentally strangled the woman during the humiliation process. In order to escape responsibility, they carried the body to the tree at the village entrance, disguising it as suicide."

Officer Wang nodded in surprise, "Then why was her head covered with a cloth?"

Li Ang shrugged, and said calmly, "I can't be sure, but there is one possibility.

The murderer was very familiar with the deceased, even a close relationship where they saw each other every day.

When disguising the suicide scene, he covered the corpse's face with a cloth in order to avoid eye contact with the familiar corpse.

I've seen a report released by a crime research organization before, that 10% of humiliation cases involve offenders who know the victims.

In the process of solving this case, the authorities may be able to first investigate the deceased's acquaintances.

For example...her father-in-law...and mother-in-law...who live under the same roof..."