[Starry Night Detective Agency · Afternoon]
A knock came at the door. Yin Wuwang frowned and set down his glass of water. They had only been in this world for two days and hadn't met anyone yet—who would be knocking? He turned toward the study; Xie Qingyan happened to be walking out. Their eyes met.
"I'll get it," Xie Qingyan said.
He walked to the door and opened it. Outside stood a man in a dark jacket, around fifty years old, with a burly build. His hair was streaked with gray, his brow deeply furrowed, and he had obvious dark circles under his eyes—clearly someone who hadn't slept well in days.
"Xinglan." The man spoke, his tone familiar.
Xie Qingyan paused briefly. Little Deer Assistant 9528's voice sounded in his mind: "The visitor is Lin Zhiyuan, captain of the Serious Crimes Unit, and the original character Shen Xinglan's former colleague. You two are close... um, should be close. That's what the character profile says." Xie Qingyan quickly gathered his thoughts. Since this was someone the original character knew, he had to pretend to recognize him.
"Captain Lin," he responded evenly, his tone neither too distant nor too familiar—just right.
Lin Zhiyuan walked in, his gaze sweeping across the living room. Spotting Yin Wuwang on the sofa, he said: "Wuye's here too? Perfect."
Yin Wuwang asked Little Deer Assistant: Who is this person?
Little Deer Assistant 9527 hurriedly prompted: "Lin Zhiyuan. He also knows Jiang Wuye and calls you Wuye. Your relationship... uh, hold on, let me check... seems pretty good?"
Yin Wuwang's expression didn't change. He nodded slightly. "Captain Lin."
Lin Zhiyuan noticed nothing amiss. He sat down on the sofa and let out a heavy sigh. "There's a case I'd like your help with. The Serious Crimes Unit has been swamped lately, and the Chief said to have you—our consultant—lend a hand." He paused. "But honestly, even if we weren't busy, I'd still want to talk to you about this one. Something just feels off."
Xie Qingyan sat down across from him, his expression calm. "What case?"
"Chen Wan, the manager of Loss Bar, was found dead in the alley behind the bar three days ago," Lin Zhiyuan said. "The medical examiner determined the cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation. There are clear ligature marks on the neck, plus blunt force trauma to the temple—he was hit with a bottle."
Yin Wuwang listened from the side. In his mind flashed the chaotic image of the victim from the television: one moment a gentle nice guy, the next a flirtatious player, then a devoted lover. So this was the case they were meant to solve. He glanced at Xie Qingyan and noticed a sharp glint in his eyes—Fuguang had clearly made the same connection.
"Any suspects?" Xie Qingyan asked.
"Yes," Lin Zhiyuan nodded. "Zhang Yunxiang. He turned himself in the day after the murder. Thirty-two years old, a self-media content creator. He said Chen Wan seduced his wife, and he acted impulsively."
"If there's a suspect and a motive," Yin Wuwang spoke up, "why does something feel off?"
Lin Zhiyuan looked up, rubbing his brow as he spoke: "The moment Zhang Yunxiang entered the interrogation room, before we even said anything, he volunteered: 'I beat Chen Wan to death.' You know how it is—people who kill someone and then willingly turn themselves in are rare. Most of them hold out to the end, denying everything they can."
Xie Qingyan's brow furrowed slightly. Indeed, even in the cultivation world where laws held no sway, those who killed rarely confessed willingly. And mortals, even when faced with irrefutable evidence, would instinctively deny and make excuses. He pondered silently—on the television, Zhang Yunxiang's character had been written with contradictions from the start. Now that this world was running on its own, Zhang Yunxiang's behavior seemed to reveal a certain incongruity, though he couldn't quite articulate what it was.
"But here's the thing..." Lin Zhiyuan continued. "He admits to hitting the victim, but denies strangling him."
"What do you mean?" Yin Wuwang asked.
"He says he was already on his way home that night, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he got. So he turned back to the alley behind the bar, planning to confront Chen Wan and warn him. When he saw Chen Wan come out the back door, they got into an argument. Chen Wan shoved him down, and when Zhang Yunxiang got up, he grabbed an empty bottle and smashed it over Chen Wan's head. After Chen Wan collapsed and stopped moving, Zhang Yunxiang thought he was dead. Panicked, he ran." Lin Zhiyuan paused. "He insists he only hit the man. He absolutely did not strangle Chen Wan's neck."
Xie Qingyan and Yin Wuwang exchanged a glance.
"But the cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation," Xie Qingyan said.
"Exactly. That's the problem." Lin Zhiyuan sighed. "The ligature marks on the neck are clearly visible. The medical examiner says that was the fatal injury. But when we asked Zhang Yunxiang what he used to strangle the victim, he said it really wasn't him, he doesn't know, and he didn't bring any rope or anything like that to the bar. We couldn't find the murder weapon at the scene either."
Yin Wuwang raised an eyebrow. "So he thought he beat the man to death, but the actual cause of death was strangulation—and he denies ever strangling anyone?"
"Correct." Lin Zhiyuan nodded. "Since he was willing to turn himself in, there's no reason for him to lie about the method of killing. But if he's telling the truth—" He slapped his thigh. "—then who strangled Chen Wan?"
The room fell silent for a moment. Xie Qingyan's fingers tapped unconsciously against his knee—a habit when he was thinking. Yin Wuwang watched him, knowing that Fuguang was mentally organizing all this information, comparing every detail Lin Zhiyuan had shared against the "original story" they'd seen on television.
"There's one more thing," Lin Zhiyuan added. "Zhang Yunxiang says someone told him his wife was having an affair with Chen Wan."
"Who told him?"
"He can't say for sure." Lin Zhiyuan frowned. "Only that it was a woman with a pleasant voice, and she told him at the bar. But what the woman looked like, what her name was—he was drunk at the time and can't remember. We asked the bar staff and other patrons, but no one recalls seeing any woman speak to him."
Something stirred in Yin Wuwang's mind. An informant who appeared out of nowhere and then vanished into thin air? Either Zhang Yunxiang was lying, or that woman had deliberately concealed her presence. Either way, this case wasn't as simple as it appeared on the surface.
"Zhang Yunxiang's wife, Su Xiaoqing, hired a lawyer," Lin Zhiyuan said. "She insists on uncovering the truth. She says Zhang Yunxiang's personality makes him incapable of murder—there must be something more to this. The Chief also feels the case isn't straightforward. Xinglan, you're the Serious Crimes Unit's special consultant. This kind of case is your forte. Please, help us out."
Xie Qingyan was silent for a moment, then turned to look at Yin Wuwang. Yin Wuwang read the meaning in his gaze—Do you have any other questions? He thought for a moment, then shook his head slightly. Captain Lin had covered everything worth asking; the rest they would have to investigate themselves.
Xie Qingyan turned back and nodded at Lin Zhiyuan. "Leave the case files. We'll take a look."
"Wonderful." Lin Zhiyuan looked relieved. He pulled a stack of documents from his bag and set them on the coffee table. "Contact me anytime if you need anything." He stood up. "I should go—there's still work at the station."
Xie Qingyan rose to see him out. At the door, Lin Zhiyuan suddenly turned back to look at him. "Xinglan... about what happened back then. Does it still bother you?"
Xie Qingyan paused briefly. Back then? Little Deer Assistant 9528's voice chimed in: "Uh... I think he's referring to why Shen Xinglan resigned—a case that made him lose faith in the system. I don't know the specifics; the author didn't write the details..."
Xie Qingyan smiled faintly. "It's all in the past."
Lin Zhiyuan nodded, as if something had been lifted from his shoulders. "That's good." He pushed open the door and left.
[End of V2_Chapter 10]
Next: The world rewrote the plot to make it logical. So who's the real killer?