40. The female corpse in red
Zhou Yun's face was almost transparent. She stood beside the corpse, her knuckles drained of color from clenching her fists so tightly.
"Zhou Qing's case was handled by my mentor, Chen Zhengbin, back then."
A sudden gust of wind arose, rattling the police tape. Zhou Yun looked up sharply, her eyes flashing with what seemed like icy shards.
"What did you say?"
Lin Long took out his phone and dialed Xiao Li, who was on duty in the technical department: "Retrieve the case file of the suicide at Hongshan Scenic Area ten years ago, number H-20130614, the deceased is Zhou Qing. Yes, I need it now. Also, send me all the backups of the scenic area's surveillance footage from that year, the on-site photos, the forensic report, and the interview records to my email."
Fang Chengjin said calmly, "The absence of signs of homicide does not mean that there was no homicide."
Lin Long was taken aback.
He used tweezers to pry open the edge of the wound, and under the cold light, a very thin pressure mark in the shape of a "U" was embedded under the skin.
Zhou Yun's shoulders trembled violently, tears welling up in her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.
Lin Long's pupils suddenly contracted.
Fang Cheng added in a low voice, "The murderer was familiar with the scenic area's surveillance wiring and had rehearsed it once ten years ago."
Zhou Yun suddenly spoke, her voice hoarse but resolute: "The suspect the police couldn't find ten years ago, I'm here to find him."
She suddenly stood up and looked at Fang Chengjin: "I believe that taste doesn't lie."
Fang Cheng lowered his eyes and, for the first time, patted her tense arm with extremely light force.
“Then let the flavors speak for themselves,” he said.
"H-20130614, officially restarted."
**
After descending the mountain, Lin Long and the others drove back to the police station in police cars. Fang Chengjin followed behind in his own car, while Zhou Yun sat in the passenger seat, her lips pressed tightly together, her face solemn.
After a long pause, Fang Cheng spoke cautiously: "You came to Hong Kong Island to investigate a case." His tone was precise.
Zhou Yun's eyes darted around, inadvertently revealing her emotions. After hesitating for a moment, knowing she couldn't deceive Fang Chengjin, she had no choice but to tell the truth, "Yes, my purpose in coming to Hong Kong Island is to investigate my sister's case. Pursuing a master's degree is one of the reasons. Back then, this case became an unsolved case. I tried many methods, but none of them worked. I thought your intuition could help me investigate the case."
After saying that, Zhou Yun took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry, Professor Fang."
Listening to this, it seems like they've used the equation carefully.
She didn't expect to confess so quickly.
Fang Chengjin did not respond. He rested his hands on the steering wheel, his gaze unfocused, and said nothing more.
A faint, lingering fragrance still wafted in the air, emanating from Zhou Yun, which soothed Fang Chengjin's nose.
It was as if the murky smell I had just caught had completely dissipated.
The car was eerily quiet.
Zhou Yun turned her head to look out the window, sunlight cutting across her face in lines of light and shadow. The words "I'm sorry, Professor Fang" hung between them like a stone, their breaths echoing in the air.
After a long silence, Fang Chengjin finally spoke, his voice low but firm.
"I saw the case file of your sister's case once three years ago when I was a guest lecturer at the police academy."
Zhou Yun suddenly turned her head.
"Don't be surprised yet." Fang Chengjin turned on the turn signal, and the car slid off the main road and onto a secluded viewing platform. He turned off the engine, pulled the handbrake, and continued, "I remember it because of the smell."
"odor?"
“So,” Fang Chengjin unbuckled his seatbelt, turned slightly to the side, and looked directly at her, “I knew three years ago that one day you would come looking for me.”
Zhou Yun's nose tingled, and her voice became hoarse: "Then why did you still accept me as a graduate student?"
1. Zhou Yun also serves as the project assistant;
2. Research direction: Preservation and tracing of human body odor in criminal cases;
3. During the study, all olfactory tests related to the Zhou Qing case were given the highest priority.
At the end, Fang Chengjin had already signed his name, his handwriting sharp and scalpel-like.
Zhou Yun froze, her eyes welling up with tears, but she stubbornly refused to blink: "What if what happened to my sister back then... really was just suicide?"
"Then let the scent tell you for yourself whether the last thing she smelled was despair."
After a three-second silence, Zhou Yun picked up the pen and signed her name in the "Party B" section. After finishing the last stroke, she took a deep breath, as if exhaling years of burdens.
Fang Cheng restarted the car. "Tomorrow morning," he said, turning on his lights and merging onto the main road, "I'm going to that heather slope from ten years ago. The smell of rain, heather, and old blood—if the murderer really did replicate the scene, there must still be traces of the 'rehearsal' there."
The car gradually picked up speed, and a sea breeze rushed in through the windows, carrying the dampness of earth and the saltiness of the distant sea. Fang Chengjin suddenly turned his head and added very softly:
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