Solving the case: Combining the police dog's olfactory genes at the beginning

This person and the Crane Spring Villa he built are the most mysterious and central elements of the entire case.

Zhou Xiaobei used all his information channels and finally found out about a key figure—Su Qiao, Xie Junshan's personal secretary during his time at the Reincarnation Group.

According to investigations, after leaving the Reincarnation Group, Su Qiao entered another company with her outstanding abilities and appearance, and successfully attracted the attention of the company's chairman.

She eventually married into a wealthy family and became the wife of the president of a listed company. Now she lives a life of luxury, without having to work, and spends her days having afternoon tea and shopping with a group of wealthy women.

Luo Fei decided to contact Su Qiao immediately, as she was one of the few people known to have had close contact with Xie Junshan.

However, the contact process did not go smoothly.

After I identified myself and explained my purpose over the phone for the first time, Su Qiao was extremely arrogant and refused to meet me, citing reasons such as "not wanting to recall the past" and "not being able to answer questions."

"Brother Fei, this woman's status is different now. She's very arrogant and difficult to invite."

Zhou Xiaobei gave the report with a helpless expression.

Luo Fei's eyes turned cold, and he gave Chen Fan instructions.

“Call her husband’s company and tell them that our National Security Special Case Team is investigating a case that may involve commercial leaks and illegal business operations, and that we need Ms. Su Qiao’s assistance in understanding some information about her former employer. If she insists on not cooperating, we will not rule out conducting a formal investigation into her husband’s company.”

This trick really works.

Less than half an hour later, Su Qiao called back. Although her tone was still somewhat dissatisfied, she had clearly toned down her previous arrogance and expressed her willingness to cooperate. They arranged a time and place to meet—at the special task force's temporary command center.

In the afternoon, a luxury car pulled up downstairs, and Su Qiao, "accompanied" by Chen Fan, walked into the conference room.

She looked to be around thirty years old, very well-maintained, with exquisite makeup, expensive clothes, and a tall, graceful figure. In particular, her almond-shaped eyes had a captivating charm.

Although she maintained a calm demeanor on the surface, a hint of panic deep in her eyes betrayed her inner tension.

Luo Fei sat in the main seat, calmly observing one of the women who had once been closest to Xie Junshan.

After Su Qiao sat down, seemingly to ease the tension, she spoke first, her gaze falling on Luo Fei with a hint of scrutiny and surprise.

"I never expected the head of the National Security Special Case Unit to be so young?"

Luo Fei ignored her opinion and directly revealed his identity and purpose.

"I am Luo Fei, the director of the 18th Bureau of the State Security, in charge of investigating the series of disappearances related to Hequan Villa."

Ms. Su, the main reason I invited you here today is to ask you about your former employer, Xie Junshan, the chairman of the Reincarnation Group.

Upon hearing the name "Xie Junshan," Su Qiao's pupils contracted slightly. She picked up the water glass in front of her, took a small sip, and then slowly spoke.

"Xie Junshan... Director Luo, it's not that I'm making excuses, but I'm afraid no one can truly understand him."

He's the most...unconventional person I've ever met, very different from ordinary bosses, and even from everyone else.

"Oh? How is he unconventional? Tell me your impression of him, especially when you first met him three years ago."

Luo Fei guided the way.

Su Qiao was lost in her memories, a complex expression on her face, as if that experience had both brought her great rewards and made her feel uneasy.

"That was three years ago when I applied for the position of chairman's secretary at Reincarnation Group. The first interview went smoothly, and later I received a notice that Chairman Xie would personally conduct a second interview."

Su Qiao began to narrate, speaking slowly, as if she was still carefully choosing her words.

"I arrived at the top floor of the group headquarters, to his office, at the agreed time."

As soon as I pushed open the door... I was startled.

A hint of lingering fear flickered in her eyes.

"That doesn't look like the office of a modern corporation chairman at all! The decor... is very strange. It's entirely Chinese-style, but not in an elegant, ancient way. It's more like... more like..."

She tried hard to find the right words.

"It looks like an altar! Yes, it's an altar! A huge black and white carpet with a Bagua pattern is laid on the ground, and a bronze incense burner is placed directly opposite the door, with unburnt incense sticks stuck inside, and smoke swirling around it."

The walls around the room were covered with ancient-looking brocade paintings with strange patterns. Instead of depicting landscapes, flowers, and birds, they showed distorted runes and incomprehensible deities.

The room was dimly lit, with only a few dim palace lanterns. Stepping inside, I felt a chill and a general discomfort.

"I waited inside for about half an hour. The longer I stayed, the more oppressed I felt and the more uneasy I felt. Just as I was wondering whether I should leave, Xie Junshan came in."

Su Qiao paused, a strange expression appearing on her face.

"He...he came in wearing a blue Taoist robe."

"Taoist robe?"

Chen Xuanran couldn't help but confirm from the side.

"Yes, it's the kind of robe that Taoist priests wear, a long robe with wide sleeves, and their hair is tied up in a bun."

Su Qiao nodded affirmatively.

"To be honest, I was really stunned at the time."

Xie Junshan was not yet forty years old at the time, very young, and a recognized academic star, a graduate of Tsinghua University and Harvard University, who had successfully started a business in Silicon Valley and was worth billions of dollars… It's hard to associate such a person with a Taoist robe.

"He noticed my surprise and smiled gently, explaining that he was a devout Taoist and that he was used to dressing like this at the company, so I didn't need to be surprised."

Su Qiao continued.

"He spoke in a very gentle tone, without any airs, and asked me some routine questions."

Then he told me directly that I was hired with a monthly salary of 100,000 yuan, and that he would basically meet all my requests as long as they weren't unreasonable.

"A monthly salary of 100,000 was indeed an astronomical sum for a secretary position three years ago."

Su Qiao admitted.

"So, even though I felt that he and his office were weird, I still accepted the job."

Luo Fei pressed for an answer.

"During your work period, what do you think is the biggest difference between him and the average boss?"

Su Qiao thought for a moment and said with certainty.

"He's not a womanizer. I can be 100% sure of that. Given my appearance, I've inevitably encountered some harassing hints from bosses or clients in my previous and subsequent jobs, but with Xie Junshan, it's never happened."

The way he looked at me was no different from how he would look at a piece of furniture or a document.

He seemed...uninterested in women, or even in the desires that ordinary people should have.

She furrowed her brows slightly, as if trying to recall more details.

"I worked as his secretary for about six months. Apart from necessary work instructions, he hardly had any other communication with me."

I helped him with his schedule, handled his emails, and got involved in some of his core business, but I always felt I couldn't see what he truly cared about. Making money?
He didn't seem too concerned about the Samsara Group's profits. Power?
He also rarely participated in business social events or political-business collusion.

He spent most of his time either in his altar-like office, doing who-knows-what, or at Crane Spring Manor…yes, he went to Crane Spring Manor frequently, back when it wasn't fully completed yet.”

Su Qiao concluded.

"So, Director Luo, you asked me what kind of person Xie Junshan is. I can only say that he is an oddball, a very capable and very rich person, but whose thoughts and behaviors are completely different from ordinary people. I don't even know what he is really interested in."

Su Qiao's description paints a clearer yet more eerie picture of Xie Junshan, this mysterious figure.

Luo Fei naturally wouldn't overlook any details, and he continued to press for answers.

"Ms. Su, besides the office layout and his habit of wearing Taoist robes, are there any other things about Xie Junshan that you find particularly strange or memorable?"

Su Qiao frowned her delicate eyebrows, thought carefully for a moment, and then said.

"He is very reclusive and almost never attends any business social events or private gatherings. He dislikes interacting with people."

While not exactly harsh towards his subordinates, he had extremely high expectations of them, and his eyes always carried a... well, how to put it? Not arrogance, but a kind of indifference and haughtiness as if looking at ants, which made people very uncomfortable.

She changed the subject, a hint of confusion on her face.

"But this same person, I have seen him behave with unusual respect in front of a young girl, even to the point of being... extremely respectful, with a kind of cautious fawning."

"Oh? What kind of girl?"

Luo Fei's eyes narrowed, and he immediately grasped this crucial information.

"The girl was very young, probably in her early twenties. She always wore a mask when she came, so you couldn't see her whole face, but her eyebrows and eyes were very delicate, and she had a very special temperament, like...an ethereal feeling."

Su Qiao recalled.

“Once, when that girl came to see Chairman Xie, I was a little busy and was a bit slow in receiving her, and my attitude might not have been particularly enthusiastic. When Chairman Xie found out, he actually flew into a rage at me. That was the first and only time I ever saw him get so angry.”

He warned me very sternly that if this lady came again, I must notify him immediately and receive her with the highest level of hospitality, without the slightest negligence.

“There were some rumors circulating in the company at the time,” Su Qiao said in a low voice.

"They say that girl might be the daughter of a reclusive powerful family, and that Chairman Xie's later success was all thanks to the support of the forces behind her, which is why Chairman Xie is so respectful to her."

A mysterious young girl who commands utmost respect even from the arrogant Xie Junshan?

This is undoubtedly an extremely important new clue!
Su Qiao also emphasized one point.

"My impression of Xie Junshan is that he is completely obsessed with his Taoist and metaphysical theories. He is a talented man with extremely high intelligence and ability, but he is truly indifferent to matters of love and sex. He has no interest in women or men at all."

His world seemed to consist only of the things he pursued.

This contradicts the nanny's earlier statement that "Mr. Xie sometimes brings young women home." Did the nanny misjudge? Or was she lying? Or is Xie Junshan's behavior inherently ambivalent?
After seeing off Su Qiao, who had her own thoughts, Luo Fei immediately convened a meeting with all the team members.

He relayed the information he had obtained from Su Qiao, emphasizing Xie Junshan's strange office, his Taoist robe attire, his obsession with Taoist practices, his indifferent desires, and especially the mysterious girl who commanded his utmost respect.

The team members found it unbelievable.

"He's rich and talented, but he doesn't like beautiful women, doesn't enjoy life, and spends all his time studying metaphysics and Taoism."
This person is so weird!

Wu Peixiong scratched his head, indicating that he couldn't understand.

"And he also built that eerie Crane Spring Manor... I always felt that there must be a very surprising purpose behind all that he did."

Chen Fan's expression was solemn.

Luo Fei quickly made arrangements.

"Chen Fan, you and Bingyan are in a group. Focus your investigation on the mysterious girl that Su Qiao mentioned, the one Xie Junshan treated with such utmost respect! Find a way to find out her identity!"
Xiao Bei, continue to dig deep into all the secrets of the Reincarnation Group and its real estate company, including the flow of funds, equity structure, and reasons for deregistration. Don't let any clue slip by!

The others continue their investigation around Hequan Villa and the missing persons, expanding the search area!

With the tasks assigned, everyone got busy.

However, no one expected that such shocking bad news would come so quickly!

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Luo Fei was awakened by a series of urgent knocks on the door and Wang Feifei's panicked voice.

"Brother Fei! Brother Fei! Wake up! Something terrible has happened! The woman Chen Fan brought back yesterday... that Su Qiao... she's dead!"

Luo Fei was instantly wide awake, abruptly sitting up in bed, a cold glint flashing in his eyes!
He immediately put on his clothes and, as he walked out, used his walkie-talkie to notify all his team members.

"Emergency assembly! Depart immediately!"

The entire special task force rushed to Su Qiao's suburban villa as quickly as possible.

Although Su Qiao is nominally the wife of the chairman of a listed company, she has not officially married or lived with him. She lives with a nanny in this quiet but relatively remote villa.

At this time, the area around the villa had already been cordoned off by local police who had arrived after receiving the initial report.

Chen Fan was communicating with the local police chief at the entrance when he saw Luo Fei. He immediately came up to him with a grim expression.

"Brother Fei, our people have brought the situation under control. They've secured it and are waiting for you to arrive."

When was the time of death approximately discovered?

As Luo Fei put on his gloves and shoe covers, he asked in a deep voice.

A local criminal investigation captain quickly answered.

"Reporting to Director Luo, it was around six o'clock this morning. According to the nanny, she got up to make breakfast as usual, and around seven o'clock she went to knock on Ms. Su's door to call her to eat. After knocking for a long time without any response, she felt something was wrong, so she used the spare key to open the door, and found... found that she was already gone."

Luo Fei nodded and stepped into the villa.

On the sofa in the living room on the first floor sat a simply dressed woman in her fifties, Su Qiao's nanny. Her face was deathly pale, and she was trembling uncontrollably, clearly terrified. (End of Chapter)