Chapter 28: Part 1

“Was that a payment receipt you just took? Can I see it?” Jiang Xuzhou asked.

Ruan Mingxi was about to refuse, but Chu Liyang handed the slip over without any resistance.

“Here, the receipt is right here. That building is an old residential block, not very tall. Though they call it the third floor, its actual height is only a little higher than a second floor. He was lucky to land on the rain canopy, bounced once, and ended up with a bone crack. No fracture, no broken leg. He’s just being dramatic, insisting someone carry him.”

Chu Liyang’s merciless act of “selling him out” made Ruan Mingxi grit his molars tightly while lying on his back.

Jiang Xuzhou gave him a meaningful look. Ruan Mingxi quickly snapped back to himself, forcing a smile that was more mock than genuine.

That single look from Jiang Xuzhou sent a chill down Ruan Mingxi’s spine. Taking advantage of Jiang Xuzhou’s attention being on the hospital receipt, he poked Chu Liyang’s back.

“The organization is very disappointed in your behavior of handing over the slip without resistance.”

“Whether you’re disappointed or not has nothing to do with me.” Chu Liyang chuckled twice. “I gave the slip, so the unlucky one is you. But in front of Xiao Jiang, I earned a good impression. Sacrificing you alone is no loss.”

Ruan Mingxi’s eyes widened in anger. “Look at how petty you are.”

Chu Liyang immediately made his stance clear. “Hey, let me say this first. I’m not getting involved in the love‑hate drama between you two. If you end up making someone angry, don’t blame me for it.”

“Am I that kind of person?” Ruan Mingxi retorted.

Chu Liyang replied sincerely, “Yes, you are.”

After that, the two exchanged a glance, their expressions somewhat subtle.

Chu Liyang had just finished handling a case with the anti‑narcotics team. He wanted to share the good news with his unlucky brother Ruan Mingxi, but then heard that this guy had chased a suspect last night and even “jumped off a building.” Upon hearing the news, he rushed over without delay.

From the day he met Ruan Mingxi, he knew this guy had a childhood friend with whom he shared a very close bond. Saying that he treasured him in the palm of his hand would not be an exaggeration.

Ruan Mingxi, usually fearless and bold, only restrained himself somewhat in front of that person.

This time, after being injured, based on his usual habit of hiding serious injuries while exaggerating minor ones to seek comfort, he was definitely planning to keep it from Jiang Xuzhou.

Who would have thought—such bad luck. Just stepping out of the hospital doors and running right into him. Now there was no way to hide it, the truth was delivered straight to the door.

Jiang Xuzhou quickly finished reading and put the slip away. “Did you drive here?”

“No, we took a taxi.” Chu Liyang said. “Ying Shi drove them to the hospital, so he probably used the car. But since the suspect’s injuries haven’t been dealt with yet, they’re still upstairs, so the car isn’t convenient for them to move.”

Jiang Xuzhou took a deep breath. “I’ll bring the car over. You wait here for a moment.”

Chu Liyang immediately replied, “Alright.”

On the way back to the bureau, Ruan Mingxi tried several times to strike up conversation with Jiang Xuzhou. The other responded politely each time, but it was obvious that the “driver” was unhappy.

Compared to Ruan Mingxi, who kept poking and teasing Jiang Xuzhou, Chu Liyang was much more well‑behaved. He sat upright, silent, quietly watching the scenery outside the window.

Parking spaces at the bureau were limited. When they arrived earlier, only a cramped corner spot had been left.

Ruan Mingxi was just about to ask Chu Liyang to get out and help Jiang Xuzhou park, hoping to show some courtesy.

But before he could even speak, the car slid smoothly into the space.

Ruan Mingxi: “…”

Chu Liyang turned his head and saw his friend looking bewildered and not in the best condition, “Leg hurting?”

“When people are angry, their potential is limitless. Even driving skills improve.” Ruan Mingxi swallowed hard.

“Are you feverish?” Chu Liyang looked at him in confusion, studying his face. “Why are you talking nonsense?”

Ruan Mingxi took a deep breath, “You wouldn’t understand.”

Chu Liyang: “???”

The corner of Chu Liyang’s mouth twitched. Inside, he was completely speechless. A thousand thoughts ran through his head—he should never have come today. Wouldn’t staying home and sleeping have been better?

Jiang Xuzhou got out of the car, walked to the back seat, and opened the door on Ruan Mingxi’s side, “Should I carry you?”

Ruan Mingxi immediately refused, afraid that his weight might crush Jiang Xuzhou’s smaller frame.

“How could I let you do this kind of heavy work? Chu Liyang can handle it.”

Chu Liyang: “???”

Alright, fine. I’m just the rough guy who does the heavy lifting, huh.

Chu Liyang, though grumbling with his mouth, was straightforward in action. He immediately bent down and carried his friend on his back.

Looking at the two in front of him, Jiang Xuzhou’s eyes darkened considerably.

When the three entered the bureau, the team members saw Ruan Mingxi return and their eyes widened at once.

“Captain, why are you back? Didn’t the doctor forbid you from being discharged?” Zhang Shuang frowned, his expression serious.

“Don’t exaggerate. A bone crack isn’t a broken leg. The case isn’t solved yet, so what’s the point of resting?”

Ruan Mingxi switched into work mode in an instant. “What was the inspection result at Gao Hai’s house last night?”

Because there was too much information involved, everyone gathered in the meeting room.

“When we arrived at Gao Hai’s home, we found his house key lying by the door. Both the key and the doorknob had bloodstains. On the doorknob, we extracted half of a bloody palm print, with the lines clearly visible.”

Ren Xian displayed the photos taken during last night’s investigation at Gao Hai’s house. “Based on the sample extracted from the palm print, the DNA lab has already produced results. Compared with Gao Xiang’s sample, there is a familial relationship. This proves the bloody palm print was left by Gao Hai.”

“Stop the photo there. Go back.”

Ruan Mingxi noticed something unusual in the previous photo. Since it was inconvenient for him to stand up, he waved the laser pointer across the projection screen.

Ren Xian flipped the photo back, stopping at the one near the door. The beam of Ruan Mingxi’s laser pointer landed on the key lying on the ground. “There seems to be a black substance attached to the key. Is that a fingerprint?”

“Yes. But the finger parts of the body fragments we found were badly worn, so we couldn’t confirm the victim’s identity from the fingerprint traces.”

Ruan Mingxi understood, “Alright, continue.”

“In addition, we detected a large amount of blood in the kitchen, along with knives that had rolled edges. Gao Hai’s home is very likely the primary crime scene where he was killed.”

Ren Xian pulled up the kitchen photos taken during the investigation. The kitchen did not look as bloody or terrifying as one might imagine from a murder scene. Instead, it was cleaned very thoroughly. Even the knives with rolled edges were neatly arranged on the knife rack.

“The investigation team conducted benzidine tests at multiple suspicious spots in the kitchen. The results all showed a turquoise‑blue positive reaction, indicating the presence of blood.”

Ren Xian switched the image. The next photo of the kitchen appeared entirely blue in tone.

After detecting blood reactions, the investigators immediately carried out a detailed inspection of the kitchen area. From the photos, many clear traces of blood reactions could be seen.

Even though the room had been cleaned, evidence does not disappear so easily.

“In addition, we also found a victim’s body in Gao Hai’s home.”

When Ruan Mingxi arrived at the scene yesterday, he had not yet begun the recovery work on the body. His attention was immediately drawn to a suspicious person, and he chased after them right away.

Because of this, he was not clear about the details of the on‑site investigation.

The examination of the victim’s body fell under Lin Peixin’s area of expertise, so he naturally continued the report. “The victim’s body brought back yesterday from Gao Hai’s home had intact organs.”

At these words, Jiang Xuzhou, who had been lowering his head to jot down key information on his tablet, instantly looked up.

Previously, the police had already found four sets of dismembered victim organ tissues, which proved that there were four victims in the case.

Now, however, they had discovered a fifth body in Gao Hai’s home. The number of victims in the case had unexpectedly risen again.

Ruan Mingxi clearly had not anticipated this development either. His expression immediately darkened.

“The deceased, Liu Hui, 21 years old, was a clerk at Jin Xiangyu Jade Shop.”

Lin Peixin said, “When the victim was found, she was wearing slippers. Her clothing was intact, but there were clear signs of bone friction across multiple parts of the body. Preliminary examination showed multiple fractures.”

“What was the cause of death?” Ruan Mingxi asked.

“The victim’s head was deformed, with a comminuted skull fracture. There were visible cuts at the wrists and neck, exposing bone. Both carotid arteries in the neck were ruptured. When discovered, there were coagulated blood traces at the neck and wrists, but the wounds had been wiped, so little blood remained.”

Lin Peixin continued, “The comminuted skull fracture, ruptured carotid arteries, and bleeding from the wrist lacerations could each have caused death. All wounds showed vital reactions, meaning they were inflicted while the victim was alive. Since it is impossible to determine which specific injury caused death, the forensic department concluded the cause of death was a combined result.”

In forensic medicine, a combined cause of death refers to situations where two or more factors could each independently cause the victim’s death, but it is impossible to determine which specific one was the decisive cause. This situation is classified as a combined cause of death.

Jiang Xuzhou silently recorded the information on his tablet, extending the notes as the details became clearer.

As the situation was explained bit by bit, the information on Jiang Xuzhou’s tablet grew increasingly specific.

Lin Peixin said, “At present, the autopsy laboratory results have not been fully completed. For now, this is all the information we have.”

Ruan Mingxi asked, “Since Gao Hai’s home contained a fifth victim, and the kitchen had been cleaned, the structure of the house is such that after entering the front door, one passes through the hallway to reach the living room. To get to the kitchen, one must go through the living room.”

“The on‑site investigation of the living room found no signs of struggle. This suggests that the victim and the killer were likely acquainted, meaning it was probably committed by someone familiar.”

Ruan Mingxi quickly organized the information, then looked at the others, “Do you have any further thoughts on this?”

Ren Xian proposed, “How thorough has the social relationship background check been for the fifth victim, Liu Hui? Since she appeared in Gao Hai’s home, she must have had some connection to him. For someone to be trusted enough to have a house key, we should investigate Gao Xiang carefully.”

At this moment, Jiang Xuzhou raised a different opinion.

“Liu Hui may not necessarily have had social ties with Gao Hai. It’s possible she was connected to the person who knew him and had the key to his home.”

Jiang Xuzhou’s sudden remark caught everyone off guard. Ruan Mingxi was briefly stunned, then came back to his senses, noticing the dense notes written across Jiang Xuzhou’s tablet.

From his angle, he couldn’t make out exactly what was written, but with so much information being analyzed, there was a strong possibility that Jiang Xuzhou could construct a suspect profile.

“Why do you say that?” Ruan Mingxi was eager to know the result of his profiling.

“Go back to the photo showing the victim’s neck and wrist incisions.” Jiang Xuzhou instructed.

Upon hearing this, Ren Xian immediately switched the image.

“Based on the earlier photo of the knives, all the knives on the rack had rolled edges. A rolled‑edge knife would create flaps of skin when cutting. But the wounds on the victim’s neck and wrists were very clean. These could not have been made by ordinary kitchen knives.”

Jiang Xuzhou then looked at Lin Peixin. “To create such clean incisions, a dissection scalpel could do it, or the surgical scalpel used by a surgeon.”

Lin Peixin, being a forensic doctor, was far more sensitive to the details of incisions than the investigators.

“Yes. I already mentioned earlier that the cut surfaces of the body fragments were very smooth. The killer must be very familiar with human anatomy.”

Ruan Mingxi frowned slightly. Gao Hai’s social connections were simple, and the people he interacted with most were from the hospital.

If the killer was familiar with human anatomy, then doctors in the hospital all fit that description. Were they supposed to investigate every single doctor?

If that were the case, the workload would be enormous.

Jiang Xuzhou continued, “There’s another point. The autopsy revealed that the victim’s blood content was unusually low.”

Lin Peixin nodded, “Correct. Liu Hui lost a large amount of blood, enough to reach a fatal level. That’s why the conclusion was given as a combined cause of death.”

“But the on‑site investigation team didn’t find large amounts of blood at the scene, did they?”

Ren Xian was stunned for a moment, then quickly responded, “No.”

“The missing blood from the victim’s body was most likely not washed away. It was taken away by the killer.”

It had to be said—Jiang Xuzhou’s conclusion was completely unexpected.

“Liu Hui’s blood type is AB, Rh‑negative. Not only hers, but the other four victims also share this blood type.”

As soon as these words fell, Zhang Shuang was the first to raise a different voice. “That’s not right. We investigated Liu Hui’s records—her blood type isn’t that.”

Hearing this, Ruan Mingxi finally understood the core of Jiang Xuzhou’s profiling.

“Has all of Liu Hui’s information been fully checked? Did she ever undergo a hematopoietic stem cell transplant surgery at the hospital?” Jiang Xuzhou pressed further.

Zhang Shuang froze for a moment. “No, we haven’t.”

From the time they returned from the crime scene to the information investigation, the time left for them was too short. Finding so many key details in such a short span had already been the result of working overtime.

Ruan Mingxi spoke at the right moment, “Send someone to investigate at the hospital. The killer is familiar with human anatomy. If Liu Hui had surgery, the connection could very likely be inside the hospital.”

Zhang Shuang nodded. “Yes. I’ll check immediately after the meeting.”

Ruan Mingxi looked at Jiang Xuzhou, “Given the current situation, can we attempt a preliminary profile?”

Jiang Xuzhou gave a short affirmative reply.

“I want to hear your profiling result now.” Ruan Mingxi said.

Sensing the eyes of everyone in the meeting room fixed on him, Jiang Xuzhou suddenly felt immense pressure.

He took a deep breath, met Ruan Mingxi’s encouraging gaze, and his unease was instantly calmed.

“The dismemberment site was at Gao Hai’s home. Neither the entryway nor the living room showed signs of struggle. When Liu Hui died, she was still wearing home slippers. This indicates that when she entered Gao Hai’s house, she was extremely relaxed.”

If it had been someone she didn’t know, forcibly bringing her into the house, her first reaction upon being attacked would have been to struggle for survival.

“But Liu Hui showed no signs of resistance. This means she trusted the killer deeply.”

Jiang Xuzhou spoke in a low voice. “Second point: Liu Hui’s head had multiple blunt‑force injuries. The killer clearly intended to kill. After the attack, she did not resist. Most likely, after the first strike, Liu Hui never expected the person to harm her. The heavy blow immediately deprived her of the ability to fight back. There was a clear disparity in strength between the killer and Liu Hui.”

“Without needing restraints, the killer could easily overpower her. The killer is male.”

On his tablet, Jiang Xuzhou circled several more points of information. “The wounds on Liu Hui’s head formed a circular injury pattern, consistent with a tool‑inflicted wound. Lin Ke should have analyzed the wound already—this part is likely more within your expertise.”

The topic was passed to Lin Peixin, who quickly followed up. “The wounds do indeed match tool‑inflicted injuries. After comparing the wound marks, the murder weapon was confirmed to be a claw hammer.”

Ren Xian’s eyes lit up instantly, “Among the items we brought back yesterday, there was a claw hammer.”

Ruan Mingxi’s gaze shifted slightly as he silently noted, “Were fingerprints extracted from the claw hammer?”

Ren Xian replied, “No. Bloodstains were found on the hammer, but no fingerprints were detected on the handle. The killer must have worn gloves while using the tool to commit the crime.”

“Based on the position and direction of the wounds, the killer attacked Liu Hui from behind. Judging by the angle, the killer was about twenty centimeters taller than the victim. That angle would have been the most effective point of force.”

Lin Peixin looked at Jiang Xuzhou with great appreciation. The wound positions and force points had been data Jiang Xuzhou helped him organize yesterday.

He hadn’t expected Jiang Xuzhou to learn so quickly. The learning ability of a top student was truly impressive.

At this moment, he truly understood what Wei Wenshan meant about the feeling of teaching a student—having a student who grasps things instantly really gives a strong sense of accomplishment.

From this, Jiang Xuzhou reached his third profiling point: The killer’s height is between 179 and 182 centimeters.

While they were recording information, Jiang Xuzhou suddenly put forward an even bolder conclusion

“The killer’s family has a relative with porphyria, and that relative is already deceased.”

Ruan Mingxi frowned, “How did you arrive at that conclusion?”

Given their relationship, Ruan Mingxi was willing to trust Jiang Xuzhou unconditionally. But now they were handling a case, and everything had to be backed by evidence.

Jiang Xuzhou’s fourth profiling point was far too bold. Based on the current evidence, there was no indication pointing to this.

If Jiang Xuzhou could not produce proof, they could not accept this conclusion. To close the case, they needed a complete chain of evidence before identifying the killer.

“Patients with porphyria are sensitive to light. When their skin is exposed, it ulcerates, reddens, and develops blisters. But none of the body fragments found, nor the fifth victim Liu Hui, showed such symptoms. They cannot be porphyria patients.”

Jiang Xuzhou spoke calmly. “There is no porphyria, yet the house contained large amounts of porphyria medication. Most likely, the killer fears the disease. He once personally witnessed a blood relative suffer and die painfully from it, which left him with a deep fear of porphyria.”

“Fear of disease, fear of death—he wanted to save himself. The method he thought of was to give porphyria medication to people with the same blood type as himself, then take their blood for backup.”

When his words fell, the room fell into dead silence.

Jiang Xuzhou scanned their expressions one by one, noting the “hard to accept” reactions in their eyes.

Finally, his gaze stopped on Ruan Mingxi.