Song Yan frowned slightly but didn't say much. Instead, he stood up, looked in the direction of Jing Hong and asked, "Where is the body now?"
Jing Hong sipped her tea leisurely. Looking at Song Yan's cold expression, she said indifferently, "As for the body, the government said they'd wait for the investigators from the Investigation Department to examine it, so we didn't dare to move it. It's placed in the side room."
As she spoke, she also stood up, raised her hand to the people sitting there, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Gentlemen, please follow me."
For some reason, Song Yan always felt that Jing Hong was dangerous when facing her. Her words seemed to have hidden meanings, making it hard to figure out what she really meant.
But these were just his thoughts. Song Yan didn't say anything. He just stepped forward to follow Jing Hong.
Song Yan was used to such things, but Shen Huaian wasn't. He thought he'd just come to listen to the details of the case, but he didn't expect to have to see the body.
He hadn't seen many murder victims in his life. He felt a bit scared in this situation.
"If you're scared, you can go back," Song Yan whispered to Shen Huaian in a tone only they could hear. As friends for so many years, he knew that Shen Huaian was extremely afraid of such scenes.
Jing Hong turned her head and glanced at the two whispering. She covered her lips and smiled. Her voice was low, with a hint of charm. "Is Lord Shen scared? It's okay. Everyone has something they're afraid of. Jing Hong can understand."
...
Shen Huaian was really irritated.
Being mocked by a beauty was the most embarrassing thing in his life. Although he was really scared, he still said bravely, "It's not true. Let's go."
Song Yan was about to say something, but unexpectedly, Shen Huaian spoke first. He opened his mouth, but Shen Huaian grabbed his sleeve.
It was obvious that Shen Huaian was forcing himself. He was clearly scared to death, but still held on for the sake of face. There was no use in saying anything now, so Song Yan just let it be.
When they reached the opposite side room, they saw many people gathered at the door, including girls and guests. They were all peering inside.
It was probably because of the case that they were all curious and watching. Song Yan raised his hand, and the guards around stepped forward to block the crowd.
Even though a path was cleared, those people were still curiously peering in. Before the door of the side room was opened, Shen Huaian quietly moved to the back of the crowd.
"If Lord Shen is scared, you can hold onto Jing Hong's skirt," Jing Hong said with a charming smile as she patted Shen Huaian on the shoulder. She had noticed all his actions.
Shen Huaian didn't say anything. He just watched everything in front of him warily.
Song Yan was closest to the door. The smell of blood was so strong that he could smell it even standing at the door. He took out a handkerchief and covered his nose and mouth. The guards slowly opened the door.
As the door opened, he saw that the blood on the floor had coagulated. In the center of the side room, there was a body covered with a white cloth, but the blood had seeped through.
When the door was opened, the stench of decay became stronger. The on - looking crowd covered their noses and showed disgusted expressions on their faces.
Song Yan took a step forward. The coroner who accompanied them also arrived. The guards closed the door to block the curious onlookers. Then the coroner began to examine the body carefully.
When the white cloth was lifted, they saw the person lying on the ground. Her fair face was covered in blood. The fatal wound was that the artery in her neck had been cut by a knife.
The external injuries on her body were probably inflicted after her death. Although it seemed a bit similar to the modus operandi of the previous serial killer, it was actually different.
This killer seemed to be a novice. The way of killing was a bit inexperienced. It was possible that this person had learned from the previous serial killer.
When Song Yan was in the Investigation Department, he often encountered people who learned the killing methods of a certain killer. These people generally had some psychological problems.
This was also the most worrying problem when he was dealing with the serial case.
This killer was too unscrupulous. There would surely be followers. He didn't expect this day to come.
Song Yan slowly stood up, walked to the window and opened the closed window. Looking at the bustling street downstairs, the brothel was located in a busy area. If the killer had committed the crime, Cui Liu should have had the opportunity to shout for help.
Moreover...
He glanced at the broken mark on the window paper. There was also a blood - stained handprint on the window lattice. Although it had been cleaned, there were still some traces.
The killer must have been extremely panicked when dealing with the scene, but unfortunately it wasn't thorough enough. There were many clues left at the scene.
"The fatal wound of the deceased was the knife wound on the neck. There were many external injuries on her body that were inflicted later. There was a cut on her chest, but the killer didn't have enough strength. Unlike in the previous cases, the heart wasn't cut open," the coroner concluded after examining the body for a while. He covered the body with the white cloth again and took off his gloves for the autopsy. "It can basically be determined that it was a copycat killer."
Shen Huaian didn't even dare to look forward. He hid behind and stared at the decorations in the room, determined not to look at the body in the middle. The air in this place was extremely unpleasant. Just hearing the coroner's words, he could already imagine the scene in his mind.
He held back the urge to vomit, only hoping that Song Yan could leave this place quickly.
Song Yan paused, looked carefully at the window for a while, and then slowly turned around after hearing the coroner's summary. He asked the trembling madam standing at the back, "When the incident happened, was there any commotion in the brothel? Were there any people next to this side room? Do you still remember the appearance of that strange guest?"
Song Yan asked a series of questions all at once, which made the trembling madam even more confused about which one to answer first. She was so anxious that she was sweating.
"Sir... please ask slowly," the madam said, wiping the sweat constantly flowing down her forehead. She was still a bit flustered and couldn't answer any of his questions.
"The madam was too shocked this morning. Even if she answers now, it will be in a mess. Let me answer instead," Jing Hong said, coming to the madam's rescue.
Song Yan listened to her calm words. Although there was a veil on her face, there was no trace of emotion in her eyes.
Could this person's words really be trusted?
"Miss Jing Hong is really well - informed. You were still playing the zither in the attic this morning, but you've already learned all about what happened during the incident so quickly," Song Yan said with a faint smile. Although his face was smiling, his words seemed to have hidden meanings.
Jing Hong lowered her head and smiled softly. Her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly. She naturally understood the meaning behind his words. She wasn't a fool.
This Director Song was clearly showing his distrust of her.
"The brothel is only this big. With people coming and going, I hear more news than others. As soon as this incident happened, the girls in the brothel were all talking about it. I'm just telling you everything I heard truthfully. It's reasonable for you to be suspicious, sir. If you don't believe me, I won't say anything," she said in a softer and softer voice. In the end, her voice was a bit downcast, looking a bit sad.
Since Jing Hong had said so, Song Yan didn't know what else to say. This situation made him a bit embarrassed, as if he was bullying her.
"Alright, please tell me everything you know one by one," Song Yan said, looking at her pretending to cry.
Jing Hong wiped the non - existent tears from the corner of her eyes and then slowly began to answer his questions.
"I was playing the zither in the attic when the incident happened. Many people should have seen that at that time. And there was indeed something going on in the brothel."
When Cui Liu and that strange guest entered the side room, someone in the brothel heard a scream, but then it stopped. Someone was scared and went to knock on the side room doors one by one to find out where the sound came from.
When they reached Cui Liu's side room, there was suddenly a theft in the brothel. The hall was in a complete mess. Everyone wanted to catch the thief.
Unfortunately, the thief managed to escape.
Fortunately, no one lost anything important, so this matter was just let go. But the person who was in the same room as Cui Liu took the opportunity to escape.
"Yes, he even ran away without paying," the madam said angrily at this point.
Maybe her sudden words made everyone's eyes fall on her. The madam also felt that what she had just said was a bit inappropriate.
There was a dead person in her brothel, but she was only thinking about money.
She immediately reacted and said awkwardly, "No, it's just that this person is too excessive. He actually did such a cruel thing."
Song Yan didn't care about her words. He shifted his gaze back to Jing Hong. "Were there any other people next to this side room?"
Jing Hong looked at the bright red nail polish on her hand. Hearing this, she lowered her head and recalled carefully. "There were so many people coming and going this morning. It's really hard to say exactly who was next door at that time."
"Do you still remember what that person looked like?"
"How can I be sure about someone's appearance? I wasn't inside at that time. I only heard about this person from the girls in the brothel. Some said he was fat, some said he was thin. I still can't confirm what he really looked like."
Jing Hong withdrew her hand and said this in a flat tone, showing no emotion. It was as if she was just stating a fact.
But there wasn't a single useful piece of information in what she said. Forget it.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Jing Hong. Please go back and rest first. I'll send someone to take over the rest of the matter," Song Yan said calmly as he walked to Shen Huaian's side.
Shen Huaian finally felt relieved when he heard that it was over.
Jing Hong gracefully bowed in Song Yan's direction. "You're too kind, Lord Song."