Chapter 17: Stiff Hot Pants

This small inn was housed in an old-fashioned building, its staircase still made of wood, so every step creaked beneath his feet. That creaking sound felt strangely familiar to him, as if he had visited here just last night.

But surveying the surroundings, he was certain this was his first time in the place. Why, then, did it all seem so reminiscent, so uncannily familiar?

Ascending the stairs, he saw the door to Room 203 was open. Two police officers stood at the entrance, nodding to him as he approached. Inside, several more officers were present. A middle-aged forensic doctor in a white coat had finished examining the scene and was now engrossed in writing the autopsy report.

Leading the team was a female officer, about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. Gou Liang instinctively glanced at her badge.

Special Cases Unit
Team Leader: Leng Xueqi

Leng Xueqi was tall, with fair skin and a bold shoulder-length haircut. Her features were refined; her gaze sharp and radiant. An air of aloofness surrounded her, her cold and striking visage exuding authority even in silence. Her uniform seemed tailored to her, accentuating her figure and lending her an aura of cool fierceness. Her taut legs radiated strength, certain to stir the hearts of any men present.

Leng Xueqi treated Gou Liang’s arrival as if he were air, lost in deep thought, not even sparing him a glance.

When Gou Liang’s eyes landed on the dead girl lying on the bed, he nearly cried out in shock, “The blonde girl in hot pants!”

The deceased on the bed was none other than the blonde girl in hot pants he’d seen outside the inn the previous night. Her clothing was unchanged, her eyes tightly shut, her face pale, yet a strange smile lingered on her lips.

Though Gou Liang managed not to cry out, his astonished expression did not escape Leng Xueqi’s notice. She cast him a cold, penetrating look, as if she could see straight through him.

“Do you know the victim?”

Gou Liang’s heart raced. He nodded, then quickly shook his head. “No, I don’t know her. She just looks a little familiar, like I’ve seen her somewhere before, but I can’t quite remember.”

“Did you see her last night?” Leng Xueqi asked offhandedly.

A buzzing filled Gou Liang’s mind. How was he supposed to answer? If he said no, he’d be lying; if he said yes, it was only in the Netherworld Space. What on earth was going on?

His existential doubt was overwhelming. His absent-mindedness and abnormal expression immediately caught Leng Xueqi’s attention.

“So you saw her last night?” Leng Xueqi pressed, giving him no time to think, stepping forward to interrogate him.

Gou Liang had never encountered such a formidable woman. Her clear, icy eyes were like a lie detector, making it impossible for him to deceive her.

At that moment, Gou Liang’s face turned ghastly pale, sweat beading on his forehead, lips trembling, his inner turmoil raging.

Now every officer in the room focused their attention on him, as if he were the killer.

Leng Xueqi stepped closer, locking eyes with Gou Liang. “Why aren’t you saying anything? Is there something you’re unwilling to tell?”

“I—I—I don’t know. No, I—I think I might have seen her last night, maybe, but I’m not sure.” Gou Liang’s face flushed and paled in turns. He couldn’t tell the truth, but he didn’t know how to lie either; he was nearly driven mad.

Leng Xueqi’s sharp gaze swept over him, searching for any sign of deceit. “How did you injure your hand? The skin is broken—it’s a fresh wound, likely from last night, isn’t it?” Her tone was now openly interrogative.

“I fell last night. Just tripped,” Gou Liang replied, making up a story—he certainly couldn’t admit he got it from punching Big Head.

But Leng Xueqi’s eyes grew even more severe, her expression steely.

“If you fell, you should have injured your palm. How could you hurt your knuckles? Those knuckles look like they landed on someone’s face, didn’t they?”

Gou Liang was, after all, a healer. Being mocked like this by Leng Xueqi, his little healer’s temper started to flare.

“So what if I fell? What does it matter? Are you suspecting me of being the killer? If you have evidence, then arrest me.”

Leng Xueqi was momentarily taken aback; she hadn’t expected Gou Liang to challenge her so directly. She glanced at his badge.

“Hao Dagen, let me remind you—you’re obliged to cooperate with us. If you conceal information, I can summon you by law.”

He had done nothing wrong, and was not afraid of ghosts knocking at his door. Since he hadn’t committed the murder, there was nothing to fear. He lifted the corner of his mouth, raised his brows, and stared back at Leng Xueqi with unwavering eyes.

“Go ahead, summon me. You can detain me right now if you like, but I don’t know anything. Now that I think of it, last night I saw her in a dream. If you don’t believe me, check the surveillance footage—see if I ever came here.”

Just then, a burly officer strode in and reported directly to Leng Xueqi.

“Captain Leng, we’ve reviewed the surrounding surveillance and identified the suspect as Gou Liang.”

Gou Liang’s mind buzzed—how had he become a suspect?

Leng Xueqi, upon hearing an identity had been found, frowned slightly and glanced at Gou Liang again.

It seemed she had already pegged Gou Liang as the killer, and the emergence of another suspect was unexpected.

The burly officer spoke as he opened his phone, playing a recorded surveillance clip.

The footage showed Gou Liang entering the inn alone around four in the morning. About ten minutes later, he hurriedly left, tracked by the cameras as he sprinted away.

To make matters worse, the footage even showed his altercation with Big Head.

Now Big Head entered and pointed at Gou Liang in the video. “Yes, that’s him. I was on duty last night and saw him running like crazy—I knew something was up. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch him, and he injured me!”

Gou Liang stared at his image on the screen, wide-eyed in disbelief. What on earth was happening?

Fortunately, he was wearing Hao Dagen’s body; otherwise, he would have been immediately treated as a suspect. He had indeed been at the scene, with ample opportunity to commit the crime.

The most frustrating part was that there was no surveillance in the inn’s corridors, so nothing showed he hadn’t entered the victim’s room.

The burly officer continued his report. “Strangely, though, we searched city-wide surveillance and couldn’t find where Gou Liang came from.”

Leng Xueqi asked calmly, “Did you find his address?”

“We did. He rented a small room in the urban village, but we searched and found nothing,” the officer replied.

The investigation was complete. Leng Xueqi, dissatisfied with Gou Liang’s lack of cooperation, gave him one last look.

“Wrap it up.” Leng Xueqi, full of doubts, led her team out of the room.

The forensic doctor shot Gou Liang an unfriendly glance, handed him a death certificate, and left.

Gou Liang glanced at the report. The deceased was named Huang Yuting, the owner of a small hair salon.

Reading the cause of death, he couldn’t help but gasp in shock.