There's something going on in Chapter 86!

Exclamations of praise and satisfied sighs rose and fell.

"Unbelievable! Two yuan for this quality soup? Am I dreaming?"

"Is this matsutake mushroom real? It tastes so authentic!"

"Young lady, your cooking skills are amazing!"

While enjoying the unexpectedly delicious soup, these enthusiastic passersby, or perhaps won over by the food, started chatting with Su Xiaonuan all at once.

Seeing her cute appearance, short stature, and tender face, many people automatically imagined a tragic story of "coming from a poor family and having no choice but to set up a stall to supplement her family's income."

"Young lady, is your family... facing some difficulties?" An older woman looked at her with pity in her eyes. "Otherwise, why would you come here to set up a stall? It must be so tough for you!"

"Yes, it's tough to make money these days, especially for a girl like you. Don't worry, come here more often, and we aunties will patronize your business!"

"Tell us if you have any difficulties, and we'll definitely help if we can!"

At first, Su Xiaonuan felt warmed by their concern, but as she listened, she found that their tone was getting more and more off track, and they started to collectively comfort her, the "poor little thing," which made her both laugh and cry.

She wanted to explain that she just liked cooking and that setting up a stall was a hobby, but looking at everyone's firm yet pitying eyes, she figured they wouldn't believe her even if she explained, and would instead think she was just putting on a brave face.

She could only maintain her obedient smile and vaguely replied, "Thank you for your concern, Uncle and Aunt. I'm fine, I'm fine..."

Zhao Liyue, who was standing by and on guard, saw everything.

After confirming that there were no safety threats around, she looked at Su Xiaonuan's embarrassed appearance, who was speechless, helpless, and forced to keep smiling. Even her usually cold and stern lips couldn't help but curl up into a tiny arc.

She quickly and naturally turned her face away, pretending to look at the distant woods. The expression that seemed like a sly smile on her lips flashed by so quickly that it was almost impossible to catch.

On Su Xiaonuan's side, the delicious taste of the clear soup was like the best advertisement, attracting passersby.

Although the overall foot traffic is not large, almost everyone attracted by the aroma can't help but buy a bowl.

The task of preparing fifty bowls has been steadily progressing thanks to this positive word-of-mouth effect.

Meanwhile, the inkstone, nestled in the corner of the stall and carefully placed in a soft cat carrier by Su Xiaonuan, remained quietly in place. Only its golden pupils would occasionally sweep sharply in a certain direction, or its ears would twitch slightly, as if it were capturing information in the air that ordinary people could not perceive.

During her busy moments, Su Xiaonuan would always glance at it subconsciously, secretly hoping that this little guy sent by the system might actually bring her some unexpected clues in this perplexing series of cases.

The last bowl of clear and delicious Matsutake mushroom soup was served. Su Xiaonuan took the two coins from the customer who was still not satisfied. Listening to the pleasant system notification in her mind, "Daily task completed, 450 merit points gained, current total merit points: 4770," a satisfied and happy smile involuntarily appeared on her face.

She was packing her things to go home when the inkstone, which had been sitting quietly on the small table, suddenly moved.

Instead of scratching restlessly, the little guy nimbly jumped down, took a few steps to Su Xiaonuan's feet, raised its fluffy little face, and stared intently at Su Xiaonuan with its bright golden cat eyes.

It didn't make any sharp, urgent cries, but instead meowed softly, with a strange, captivating rhythm, as if it were telling a story. The tip of its little tail would occasionally and deliberately sway gently towards the core area of ​​Snow Lake Park.

There seemed to be some kind of invisible connection between Su Xiaonuan and it. Almost instinctively, she immediately understood the inkstone's intention—it had discovered something! And it was related to the full moon murder case!

Without hesitation, she immediately hung the "Temporarily Closed" sign in the most conspicuous position on her stall.

Then she hugged the inkstone to her chest and quickly said to the kind-hearted middle-aged woman next to her who kept praising her soup, "Auntie, could you please watch the car for me for a moment? I have something urgent to attend to, but I'll be right back!"

The older woman readily agreed: "Okay, sure! You go ahead and do your work, I'll watch the car for you!"

"Sister Yue!" Su Xiaonuan turned around and called out to Zhao Liyue, who was cautiously observing her surroundings, her tone urgent and demanding, "Come with me!"

Although Zhao Liyue was puzzled, she noticed the unusual behavior of the black cat in Su Xiaonuan's arms and the mixture of tension and certainty on Su Xiaonuan's face. Without asking any further questions, she immediately followed.

As an experienced police officer, she knew that certain seemingly illogical intuitions or clues could often be the key to solving a case.

Holding the inkstone, Su Xiaonuan had a clear goal: to walk quickly toward the center of Xuehu Park, toward the crime scene that was still cordoned off by yellow police tape!

As it approached the edge of the warning line, Yantai became increasingly restless, struggling gently in Su Xiaonuan's arms, letting out low, urging whimpers.

Su Xiaonuan understood and bent down to put it on the ground.

The moment its feet touched the ground, Yantai immediately lowered its head, its small, moist nose almost touching the ground, and began to sniff incessantly and rapidly. Its focused appearance was exactly like that of a professional trace expert at work.

It would pause from time to time, its pink nose twitching slightly, as if trying to distinguish some complex combination of smells and eliminate the mixed odors left behind by the numerous police officers, forensic doctors, and onlookers at the scene.

At times, they would speed up, moving along a seemingly random path that didn't lead to the center where the body was found, but instead circled around, as if tracking an extremely faint, unique "scent thread" that was almost completely covered by the footprints of the passing investigators.

Zhao Liyue followed behind, watching the stray black cat that Su Xiaonuan had just picked up yesterday now displaying such astonishing, almost psychic behavior. Her heart skipped a beat, and an absurd yet undeniable thought flashed through her mind like lightning—

Could this cat really detect the killer's unique scent traces, which even police dogs and sophisticated instruments might miss?!

This idea surprised even herself. Her eyes were filled with disbelief as she looked at Su Xiaonuan and Yantai, and she even paused involuntarily.

She recalled Su Xiaonuan's various "coincidental" involvements in cases, providing crucial clues, and even subduing suspects with her bare hands...

Those events that were attributed to "luck" or "keen intuition," when strung together at this moment, all seem to point to some deeper possibility.

Could it be that all of this is not a coincidence?