There were very few people in the villa area. Police caution tape had been pulled up outside the door, and several forensic police officers ca in and out taking photos and examining the scene.
Ji Feng greeted them and handed a pair of shoe covers to Jian Jing.
After gearing up, the two entered the scene and headed straight for the bedroom.
"At seven o'clock this morning, Liu Bao Feng's assistant ca to find her, but the nanny said she hadn't gotten up. So the two went to the bedroom to ask, and that's when they discovered her corpse. They imdiately called the police," Ji Feng briefed her. "The scene is very unique. Prepare yourself ntally."
Saying so, he pushed open the bedroom door.
Jian Jing's eyes imdiately fell upon Liu Bao Feng lying in the center of the bed.
She was already dead.
A beautiful dagger was stabbed right in the center of her chest, with a bow made of ribbon tied around its handle.
A pink and white polka dot bow.
At the sa ti, a book was placed upside down on Liu Bao Feng's abdon.
"Demon Doctor II".
Jian Jing looked at Ji Feng in disbelief and he nodded at her.
She sucked in a breath of cold air and walked over to pick it up.
Behind the lead letters "FIN", soone had drawn a little heart in red pen, just like the poster from the signing event.
Her mind buzzed chaotically, goosebumps rose all over, stretching her skin painfully. Her heart pounded erratically, torn between fear and excitent, unable to distinguish between the two.
After a long while, Jian Jing took a deep breath to calm herself down: "Have you found out anything yet?"
Ji Feng said, "The perpetrator was very experienced. They disabled the security system, sneaked into the bedroom, then delivered a fatal stab. They tidied up and erased all traces before leaving. Nothing was left behind except this."
When the police first arrived and saw the scene, they thought it was the work of a professional assassin. Only assassins could be so clean, without taking any valuables.
But when they saw the book, they knew sothing was off.
Assassins have no feelings for their victims. They only take lives and try their utmost to leave no clues behind. They would never make such a redundant move of leaving this book behind.
This was the killer's sense of ritual.
And this bit of ritual would often beco the downfall of such killers.
Ji Feng pointed at the dagger, "What's your take on this?"
"You think this was done for ?" Jian Jing answered his question with one of her own.
Ji Feng: "Obviously."
Jian Jing sighed, unable to refute it. After a long pause, she said, "A gift."
No need to think, no need to deduce. When she saw the bow on the dagger, the first thought that popped into her mind was - a gift.
A gift for her.
But the second thought was: How f*cking disgusting.
With that thought, her face revealed so repulsion. But Ji Feng was excited. He asked, "I thought the sa thing. But that's a bit strange. Who would take death as a gift? Is there so connection?"
Jian Jing said, "Have you read my new book?"
"No. What did you write?" He was puzzled.
"There's a case about a wife who uses a chanism to kill her cheating husband."
Ji Feng shrugged. "Sounds pretty cliche."
"Yes. And theoretically, unless you experienced the case at Yin Hui Villa with , you wouldn't be able to guess the real-life counterpart was Mrs. Qin. The ti, nas and content in the story are all fabricated," Jian Jing frowned, very bothered. "It's too bizarre."
Cri rates were sky high in this world. Wives killing husbands was an overused trope. And many details in the story were fabricated. The killer leaving a copy of Demon Doctor here could be coincidence. But would he connect it back to Jian Jing?
Unless he knew their relationship and was certain this "gift" would reach its intended recipient.
Ji Feng's spirit shook: "Who have you told about this?"
"You, Editor Kang, Screenwriter Xu, and Mrs. Qin herself." Jian Jing answered without thinking twice. "I wouldn't randomly tell people about sothing without evidence."
"If he's been watching you closely, looking into these things wouldn't be difficult. But the motive..." Ji Feng murmured. "Seems a bit strange."
If it was just an obsessed fan giving a gift, they'd usually choose a more direct approach to get it into the idol's hands. Letting the idol know of their existence was the goal of such fans.
But the scene only contained a book. If Ji Feng wasn't the one who ca, or if he didn't know about the signing event, would he have connected it back to Jian Jing?
Unless the killer knew of their relationship and was certain the "gift" would reach its intended owner.
Ji Feng was still pondering, but Jian Jing had already been drawn to the cri scene. Looking here and there, even lying on the floor to examine it. But there really were no discoveries.
"The killer really didn't leave any clues?" She asked, incredulous.
"So far, none," Ji Feng assessed. "This is the cleanest cri scene I've seen. On par with a professional assassin. He won't be easy to deal with."
Jian Jing thought silently.
"Ji Feng, are you done looking?" A fully equipped policewoman next to them asked. "I'm collecting evidence now."
Ji Feng stepped aside twice. "Go ahead."
The policewoman squeezed past him and carefully removed the dagger from the abdon, putting it in an evidence bag.
A flash of inspiration.
Jian Jing suddenly said, "Um, can I take a look at the murder weapon?"
The policewoman was sowhat guarded. "May I ask who you are?"
"The author of this book," Ji Feng helped put away the book neatly and casually said, "Let her see, it's fine."
Only then did the policewoman hand it over.
"Thanks."
Jian Jing carefully tore open the seal and leaned in for a sniff.
She couldn't make out much.
She turned on [Status Card - Five Senses] and selected the sense of sll.
The slls instantly grew stronger.
The most pungent were of course the bloody and tallic slls. They irritated her nasal cavity severely. But within these aggressive odors, a unique fragrance stubbornly persisted, releasing a subtle ssage.
The scent of flowers.
Lily flowers.
Wtf?
Jian Jing resealed the bag and returned it, her facial expression very strange.
Ji Feng's eyes imdiately locked onto her, full of anticipation. "Did you find sothing?"
"No!" Jian Jing suppressed the urge to confess. With so many people around, it wasn't suitable to discuss secrets. "I'll go take a look elsewhere."
Ji Feng fixed his gaze on her. "Ms. Jian, wait for . I'm coming too."
The remaining policewoman held onto the evidence bag, hesitating for a bit before opening it to take a sniff too.
She couldn't sll anything abnormal.
This Ji Feng guy must have tricked them.
Serves him right.
*
In the backyard, Jian Jing gazed at the villa, extrely puzzled.
Liu Bao Feng was a master architect. This villa was clearly personally redesigned by her. Even if not as eccentric as Yin Hui Villa, security would certainly be stringent for a private residence like this.
Yet the killer managed to sneak in without alerting anyone and murdered the owner.
Soone so "aweso", why would they target her?
Thinking of Jiang Bai Yan, his fans at most left threatening bloody words. But hers was clearly a deranged killer.
Jian Jing thought of that lily scent again.
She couldn't confirm if this floral scent was related to the flowers she left yesterday. But such a coincidence still drew her attention.
Had he been watching her all this while?
Why?
Was it because she had inadvertently made enemies by solving cases recently? Or was it due to problems left behind by the original "Jian Jing"?
If the forr, currently the only one at large was Qi Tian.
But the scene had no occult vibes at all, unlike his magic practices. Also, he had shown up at the book signing event before the haunted house show.
The more she thought about it, the more it seed tied to the original Jian Jing.
Kang Mu Cheng also seed to be in the know.
Could it be that the original "Jian Jing" had encountered sothing special before, provoking a pervert? Giving gifts and flowers, could it be a suitor?
Oh, not admirers then, but man-eaters.
"Figured anything out?" Ji Feng had accompanied her standing in the cold wind for a while and couldn't help urging her.
Jian Jing: "He might be watching ."
Ji Feng: "Tell sothing I don't know."
She asked: "Could the people around be in trouble?"
Ji Feng: "Like who?"
Jian Jing opened her mouth, then suddenly fell silent.
What other people around her were there? Her parents were dead, no siblings or children. Currently the ones closest to her were her boss, classmates, and the man before her who shared her hobby of solving mysteries.
"Nevermind, it's nothing." Her unease vanished into thin air.
Ji Feng was silent. He only just realized he had asked quite a hurtful question earlier. But overcompensating would be awkward. He could only say, "Pay attention to your own safety. He's after you."
Jian Jing knew that, yet she no longer felt as anxious as before.
She was different now.
In the past, she would have been afraid in the face of such a hidden peeper, not knowing when she might be bitten. However, after experiencing so many cases, what she had gained was not just skills and abilities, but more importantly, confidence.
Perhaps the opponent's abilities were far superior to hers, but she could grow! Helping Jiang BaiYan let her know that there was no need to anxiously wait for tasks to be assigned. By doing more acts of justice, she could accumulate courage and contribution points to draw cards and arm herself.
The system had given her room for growth. With a clear goal in mind, unknown threats could no longer hinder her. On the contrary, this would give her the motivation to strive harder.
"I'm not afraid, just a little worried, but no one needs to worry. What do I have to be afraid of?" Jian Jing said this, but suddenly saw Ji Feng reveal a thoughtful expression.
She asked: "What's wrong?"
"Why did you think of 'fear'?" he said. "The gift was to please you, right?"
Jian Jing wondered: "What normal person would be happy with a gift like this?"
"That's right," Ji Feng rubbed his hands and lowered his voice. "That's exactly it. He didn't give you this 'gift' to make you happy, but to frighten you."
"Ah?"
"This gift should be looked at in two parts. First, it fulfilled your regret. You were a little unsatisfied that Liu Bao Feng was murdered but did not receive punishnt. He helped you resolve the 'problem', which was to please you." Ji Feng's train of thought beca clearer as he slowly said, "But at the sa ti, he was also threatening you, showing off his power to you."
Jian Jing cald down and reviewed the details of when she first saw the "gift".
She had to admit: "That's true, but why would he want to frighten ?"
"That I don't know," Ji Feng glanced at her and probed further, "Why not go ask your General Kang?"
Jian Jing stopped in her tracks and retorted: "Do you think this person is very dangerous?"
"Of course," he answered matter-of-factly.
"Can I handle him?"
He was frank: "No."
"General Kang thinks the sa way. He's a very difficult person to convince. If he feels this poses a danger to , he definitely won't tell ," Jian Jing said.
More importantly, she couldn't find any clues in her mories. She couldn't confirm if it was due to incomplete inherited mories, or if "Jian Jing" herself also didn't know about this matter.
If it was the forr, rashly asking questions ran the risk of arousing Kang MuCheng's suspicions. How would she explain her mory loss then?
It would be better to wait until there were more clues and she could infer seventy to eighty percent of the truth before trying to draw information from him.
Before Ji Feng could find more reasons, Jian Jing changed the subject: "What do you think, since he found Liu Bao Feng, is it possible he'll go look for Qi Tian next?"
Ji Feng sucked in a breath of cold air and choked back all the words he was about to say: "Teacher Jian, aren't you being a bit..."
"Hmm?"
"Shaless?"
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