Chapter 106 - 105: The Bizarre Crime Scene (First Update)

Chapter 106: Chapter 105: The Bizarre Crime Scene (First Update)

The previously cozy and comfortable bedroom was now in shambles, with bloodstains everywhere—on the walls, the floor, and various pieces of furniture. It looked like the room had just been ransacked.

At the bedroom door, several pale-faced people were gathered. Upon seeing Xiao Yi and his group, a tall, sturdy man in dark blue clothes was taken aback, quickly stepping forward and asking, "May I ask who you all are..."

Xiao Yi raised the token in his hand, displaying it in front of him, and said in a deep voice, "My name is Xiao, I work at the Ministry of Justice. I was staying at the inn just ahead."

The man’s mouth opened slightly in surprise, but as he realized who he was speaking to, he took a step back and bowed deeply to Xiao Yi, "So it’s you, Lord Xiao, truly my apologies. I am merely a commoner, the owner of Xinghua Inn—surname Wei, given name Dadong. It’s fortunate that Lord Xiao is here; my wife was cruelly murdered by some villain. Please, Lord Xiao, help me find the bastard who killed her..."

As he spoke, his voice gained a slight choke, and his face was filled with sadness.

Nearby, Xu Jing regarded him calmly, observing that the man seemed about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a square face, thick lips, and round eyes. His skin was slightly dark. Though not handsome, he appeared earnest.

At that moment, his eyes were reddened, with tears welling up noticeably, and he seemed genuinely distressed.

Xiao Yi looked at him and asked, "Have you reported this to the authorities?"

The man replied, "After discovering something had happened to Wan, I immediately sent someone to report it."

Xiao Yi nodded and asked again, "After discovering your wife’s condition, who else has been in this room?"

"The first person to discover something had happened to Wan was her maid—Xinghua. At that time, I was discussing repairs with the foreman in the building next to our house. Upon hearing Xinghua scream, I hurried over and found the room in chaos, and Wan had already stopped breathing...

Besides myself, Nianxia, who had just returned, also entered the room. Nianxia is Wan’s other personal maid."

As he spoke, he gestured toward the two young maids beside him. They appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. One wore an apricot-colored waist-length ruqun, while the other wore a more brightly colored peach red waist-length ruqun, both with reddened eyes. The maid in the apricot ruqun was still wiping tears, sobbing intermittently, muttering, "Madam, my poor madam..."

Both had their hair styled in a single snail bun; the apricot-clad girl had a simple wooden hairpin, while the maid in peach red had a silver-gilt butterfly hairpin inlaid with pearls.

Such a hairpin was not something a maid could afford.

Xiao Yi cast a quick glance over the two maids before withdrawing his gaze, saying in an even tone, "I’ll go in first to check it out; later, I’ll continue questioning you all about the details."

Saying this, he turned to Xu Jing, who was hopping over on one foot, furrowing his brow slightly, and said, "If you want to enter, I’ll support you."

Walking on one foot was inconvenient, often requiring something nearby to stabilize oneself. However, the room was full of evidence, and they had to avoid stepping on bloodstains, making it exceptionally difficult to find something to hold onto.

From the doorway, only the small entrance hall could be seen, with the sleeping area on the left. Since it was blocked by a curtain, only a faint outline of a dressing table could be seen, not even the deceased.

Xu Jing had already focused all attention on the murder case, nodding at his words, "Alright, thank you, Vice Minister Xiao."

Since he had already revealed his identity as someone from the Ministry of Justice, Xu Jing directly used his former title.

Wei Dadong glanced at Xu Jing in surprise, "Lord Xiao, this is..."

On the way over, Xu Jing had already donned a veil, obscuring his features but not diminishing the surprise he elicited, being a woman who should not have appeared at a murder scene.

Xiao Yi, used to the routine, easily extended his hand to support Xu Jing’s right hand. In the face of everyone’s surprise, he simply stated, "She’s here to assist in solving the case."

Having said this, despite their bewilderment at how this woman would assist in solving the case, none could argue with Xiao Yi’s words.

Thus, Xiao Yi carefully supported Xu Jing into the bedroom. It wasn’t until they entered that the full brutality of the murderer became apparent.

Amid the overwhelming scent of blood, patches of disorderly bloodstains were scattered across the floor, leaving Xu Jing and Xiao Yi with nowhere to step.

They cautiously advanced, meticulously surveying every detail of the room as they went.

Suddenly, Xu Jing’s voice came softly, "Vice Minister Xiao, the bloodstains on the ground appear to be smear-like."

Xiao Yi was slightly taken aback, turning to look at her, eyes deepened, "Smear-like bloodstains?"

Xu Jing thought for a moment and said, "At crime scenes, there are often many bloodstains; you must have noticed during previous investigations that bloodstains form differently under different circumstances.

The blood on the ground now is a typical smear-like bloodstain, meaning someone wiped, touched, or smeared something with blood on it across another surface, creating those stains."

Xiao Yi immediately understood, looking down at the scattered yet densely packed blood on the floor.

Even at first glance, he had sensed something off about the bloodstains, saying, "So you mean the blood on the ground was deliberately made by someone?"

Xu Jing calmly replied, "Unless the murderer had some perverse hobby or had the energy to drag the blood-covered victim around, it must have been deliberately made."

Xiao Yi nodded, looking at the other objects in the small hall, such as the blood on the walls or table, "Those bloodstains also resemble the smear-like ones you described."

Xu Jing slightly furrowed her brow, still puzzled about the person’s intentions behind these actions, unable to confirm if the murderer was responsible, "Let’s keep moving."

The bedroom was not large, with a small hall in the middle. The sleeping area was on the left, and a study to the right.

Though both the small hall and study were messy and full of blood, the amount spoke for itself; the crime scene was on the sleeping side.

Just reaching the edge of the sleeping area, both couldn’t help but harden their expressions.

Their eyes first fell upon an intricately carved canopy bed, behind which was a dressing table against the left wall, covered in women’s cosmetics, with a delicate three-layer jewelry box on the top right corner.

A long couch was placed against the right wall, beneath an open window.

Blood was everywhere: on the canopy bed, the dressing table, and the couch, more concentrated and heavy than in the outer hall.

On the canopy bed lay a quietly rested young woman, dressed in an orange floral-patterned top and a pink floral-patterned ruqun.

The woman’s long, flowing hair spread out, a charming, delicate face turned upward, with already applied makeup. Her brows were perfectly drawn, eyes wide open in shock as though bewildered by her sudden end.

It seemed she was killed halfway through her morning routine.

Bloodstains were most extensive on the dressing table and the canopy bed. Beside the dressing table, a large splatter of blood stained the wall, a ghastly, horrifying sight.

Xu Jing couldn’t help but frown slightly.

Something about this crime scene felt terribly wrong, very wrong indeed.