After entering the restaurant, Song Yan sat at the table, not knowing where to start explaining this matter. He was even a bit absent - minded when ordering food.
"Master Ye, is the injury on your wrist better?" Song Yan broke the silence himself as the atmosphere was extremely awkward with neither of them speaking.
Ye Zhiqiu took a sip of the tea in his cup and replied indifferently, "Such a minor injury has long since healed."
"Haha, right, right." Hearing Ye Zhiqiu's words, Song Yan suddenly felt that his question was extremely stupid. He had witnessed Ye Zhiqiu come back from the dead with his own eyes, yet he still asked such a redundant question.
This question didn't ease the awkward atmosphere between them much.
By the time all the dishes were served, Song Yan still couldn't say what had been weighing on his mind.
Ye Zhiqiu wasn't a talkative person during meals, and Song Yan knew this well. This lunch was especially torturous for him.
But what was the use? Since it was his invitation, he had to finish the meal no matter how hard it was.
After the meal, Song Yan and Ye Zhiqiu walked side - by - side on the streets of Yuling. After walking for about half an hour, Song Yan felt that he couldn't keep silent any longer. So he reached out and grabbed Ye Zhiqiu's wrist.
"I have something to say about A Qing." Song Yan blurted out this sentence, mustering up his courage.
Ye Zhiqiu's expression remained unchanged. He quietly pulled his wrist out of Song Yan's hand and said, "Please speak, Director Song."
"A Qing died in the prison of the Investigation Department early this morning." Song Yan said this and then paused before adding, "The killing method was probably the same as that of the serial killer before. He must have known what A Qing told us. This time, he was sending a warning."
After hearing this, Ye Zhiqiu's expression didn't change at all. Instead, he seemed to have already known this would happen. "The killer helped A Qing because he wanted a scapegoat. Now that he knows A Qing might expose his whereabouts, he naturally couldn't let her live."
"I knew this from the very beginning." Ye Zhiqiu's voice was soft, but there was a touch of desolation in his tone.
Indeed, Ye Zhiqiu had been eager to find the killer. Finally, they had a clue, but now it was gone. This feeling of being passive was really unpleasant.
"Did you come to me specifically today just to tell me this?" Ye Zhiqiu's voice brought Song Yan back to reality. When he regained his senses, he saw that Ye Zhiqiu had walked quite far.
He quickened his steps to catch up and said, "This matter will be announced tomorrow. I thought you didn't like the Investigation Department. It wouldn't be good to make you go there for nothing, so I told you today."
"Okay." Ye Zhiqiu didn't say anything more. He just replied indifferently.
"Don't you think you're a bit too aloof, Master Ye?" Song Yan had struggled for a long time to say this. But no matter what he said to Ye Zhiqiu, the latter always seemed to have the same expression.
Unable to hold back, Song Yan blurted out this sentence.
Ye Zhiqiu didn't stop walking. He neither admitted nor denied the meaning in Song Yan's words. "Okay."
This short word made Song Yan feel that his words had fallen on deaf ears.
It was like punching cotton. This feeling was really bad.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but in the end, he didn't say a word.
This conversation with Ye Zhiqiu was still not very pleasant. When Song Yan returned to the Investigation Department, he didn't have the mood to think about Ye Zhiqiu anymore.
Now his attention was all on finding the killer. The department drafted an announcement and posted it on the bulletin board in Yuling, briefly explaining A Qing's death.
After that, although the case in Yuling was supposed to be solved, the number of people from the Investigation Department and the government guarding the streets didn't decrease. The common people were starting to talk about it.
But because of the emperor's order, no one dared to say anything openly.
In the month after A Qing's death, no more cases occurred in Yuling. Song Yan watched the jasmine in the courtyard gradually wither and sighed softly.
It had already come to autumn...
The fact that there were no more cases in Yuling didn't ease Song Yan's concerns. Instead, he felt more uneasy. He didn't know what the killer was up to.
Staying quiet for so long, it was unlikely that the killer would simply give up.
The previous cases had caused such a stir. It was impossible for the killer to become obedient just because a scapegoat had died for him.
Something didn't seem right.
Song Yan was looking at the case files. During this period, he had been trying to find the similarities between the cases. Apart from the same killing method, there didn't seem to be any other similarities.
The victims had no connection with each other. It seemed to be completely random. The only pattern was that the killer would commit a crime every seven days, and he would take turns on the four streets in the east, west, south, and north.
It seemed that there was no pattern to follow, but there also seemed to be some connection.
"Director, Young Master Shen is here."
Just when Song Yan was still confused about this matter, Mo Xu's voice brought him back to reality. He rubbed his temples after hearing this.
Why would Shen Huaian come to the Investigation Department at this time?
No, didn't he say before that he was extremely busy, and the Investigation Department was far and out - of - the - way? It would take him a long time to come here, so he would never come even if he was forced?
There must be something going on for him to come all the way here.
Song Yan put away all the documents on the table, stood up, and walked out of the inner cabinet. He whispered to Mo Xu, "Okay, I see."
Then he walked towards the meeting room. When he got there, he saw Shen Huaian sitting on a wooden chair, looking extremely restless. As soon as Shen Huaian heard the sound, he immediately turned around and looked at Song Yan.
"Director Song, I've finally waited for you!"
Saying this, he excitedly stood up and walked towards Song Yan, opening his arms as if to give him a hug. But Song Yan mercilessly turned around, leaving him hanging in the air.
Song Yan ignored Shen Huaian, who looked extremely pitiful at the moment. He walked directly into the meeting room, poured himself a cup of tea, and slowly took a sip. Looking at Shen Huaian, who was standing in front of him with a dejected expression, he raised his eyebrows and said, "I wonder who said before that they would never come to the Investigation Department even if they were forced?"
Hearing this, Shen Huaian knew that Song Yan was teasing him. He rubbed his hands awkwardly and said, "It's just that something unexpected happened..."
"What on earth is it that made you come to the Investigation Department in person?" Song Yan stopped teasing him. He put down the tea in his hand and spoke to Shen Huaian.
Hearing this, Shen Huaian walked up to him and told him what had happened not long ago.
Today, he was preparing for the opening of his shop on the street. When he passed by the Qin Tower, he saw a woman standing by the railing. Her dress was as red as fire, and she was playing the guqin.
The wind blew up a corner of her veil, revealing her face for a moment. This scene happened to be seen by Shen Huaian. He instantly fell in love. At that moment, he felt that he had met the love of his life.
"Okay, okay. Stop talking nonsense. I don't have time to listen to your story of love at first sight." Song Yan felt something was wrong as he listened. Shen Huaian had been rambling on about how beautiful the girl he saw was, and he hadn't even gotten to the point.
So he quickly interrupted him, lest Shen Huaian go on and on.
Shen Huaian's face, which had been lost in memories, instantly fell. He hadn't even had the chance to describe how heavenly the girl he saw was, yet he was so mercilessly interrupted.
"I've never praised someone like this before. If you had seen her, you would have thought she was like a celestial being..."
Shen Huaian made his last - ditch effort, but Song Yan had no more patience to listen. He had known Shen Huaian for many years and knew that half of what he said was exaggerated.
So he tapped on the table and said coldly, "Okay, stop talking. You didn't come to the Investigation Department today just to tell me about this beautiful girl you saw, right?"
Shen Huaian scratched his neck and didn't deny Song Yan's words. "Well... there's more to it."
"..."
Song Yan thought it was a sign of his good temper that he hadn't punched Shen Huaian yet.
"Okay, I'm busy. Don't come to me in the future." Song Yan stood up, silently mourning the time he had wasted just now, and was about to leave.
This made Shen Huaian panic. He quickly stepped forward and blocked Song Yan. His expression was no longer the same as before. Instead, he looked serious.
"I didn't come to you just to talk about this. I heard that there's an intelligence agency in Yuling. You can get clues about anything there. I thought you've been busy with that case recently. So I went to look for that intelligence agency. Maybe I could find some clues."
Shen Huaian said this with a smile on his face, looking very proud. Hearing this, Song Yan stopped. Looking at Shen Huaian's expression, he asked, "Did you find it?"
This question hit the nail on the head. Shen Huaian's proud smile instantly froze. He turned around and took a sip of the tea in his cup. He said dejectedly, "I got the news that the intelligence agency is inside the Qin Tower, but I couldn't find it."
"So you came just to tell me about the beautiful girl you saw?" Song Yan thought he was a fool for believing Shen Huaian just now. He had wasted his precious time listening to nonsense again.
Hearing this, Shen Huaian waved his hand seriously and said, "Well, you can't say that. At least I brought you a glimmer of hope."
"..."
Song Yan didn't want to say anything more. Just then, the government officials suddenly arrived.
"Greetings, Director Song." The constable bowed to Song Yan and spoke neither arrogantly nor humbly.
Every time he saw the constable from the government, Song Yan would feel a headache. It always meant that there was another tough case for the Investigation Department to solve.
"Just say it. What case happened today?" Song Yan didn't bother with the formalities and just asked.
"There's been a murder at the Qin Tower. My superior thinks this case has some similarities with the previous ones."