Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

"Old Zhang! Old Liu!"

Xiao Wang paused for a moment and turned around. "Quick... quick, go back to the police station and call Chief Li for backup."

Zhang Defu and Liu Jianshe didn't look much better either.

Zhang Defu's flashlight fell to the ground with a thud, the beam of light rolling twice on the ground and illuminating a splatter of blood.

He bent down to pick it up, his hands trembling so badly that he had to try twice before he finally managed to pick it up. He never imagined that what he thought was a hallucination was actually real.

If only I had come then...

Has everything changed? And will all three of them not die?

"This...this..."

Liu Jianshe's tongue seemed to be tied in knots. "These are...the three Yan brothers?"

No one answered him.

The three stumbled out of the alley, the beams of their flashlights drawing messy arcs in the night.

Xiao Wang's legs were going weak, and running felt like walking on cotton, but he dared not stop or look back, he just kept running forward.

The lights of the police station came closer and brighter in view.

Xiao Wang practically crashed in, his shoulder slamming against the doorframe with a dull thud, but he paid no heed to the pain, shouting hoarsely into the depths of the corridor:

"Chief Li! Something terrible has happened! Another person has died!"

This shout alerted the entire police station.

Zhang Defu and Liu Jianshe rushed in, panting heavily, their faces covered in cold sweat.

Xiao Zhou, who had just locked Qin Huairu and the others in the small dark room, poked his head out, looking completely bewildered: "What happened? Who died?"

"Stop asking! Quickly call for help!"

Liu Jianshe's voice was hoarse. "There are three corpses in the alley ahead. Their bodies are still warm. Hurry up!"

Xiao Zhou's face changed instantly. Without saying a word, he rushed into an office next to the interrogation room and banged on the door.

"Old Li! Old Zhao! Get up!"

Inside the small, dark room.

Sha Zhu was still talking to Qin Huairu when he heard the commotion outside and shouted through the door:

"What's going on outside? Did they catch some bad guys again?"

...

The police station was bustling with activity.

Director Li strode out of his office, his coat only showing one sleeve. "What's the panic?"

He shouted sharply, and the corridor fell silent instantly. "Xiao Wang, what's going on? Explain yourself!"

Xiao Wang took a deep breath, trying to make his voice sound steady, but he just couldn't.

"Chief Li, three bodies were found in the alley leading to Nanluoguxiang. The manner of their deaths was... extremely cruel."

All three people's watermelons were chopped off, and there was blood everywhere.

Upon hearing this, Director Li's pupils contracted sharply. Something terrible had happened. He didn't say anything, but simply took the cigarette butt out of his mouth.

"Listen up, everyone. Two people will stay and guard the suspect in the interrogation room. The rest of you, come with me."

Bring all your flashlights, cameras, and surveying tools.

Upon arrival at the scene, no one is allowed to act alone, no one is allowed to disturb the scene, and all discoveries must be recorded accurately.

"Do you understand?"

"clear!"

The crowd responded in unison.

In less than two minutes, the group rushed out of the police station.

A dozen flashlights surged toward the alley.

The commotion woke up the nearby residents, and lights came on in several homes as curious, uneasy faces peeked out.

Director Li walked at the front, taking long and fast strides, while Xiao Wang behind him almost had to jog to keep up.

The moment we stepped into the alley, everyone fell silent.

The scene was horrific; it was clearly a revenge killing.

The three brothers died in the same way.

Chief Li stood in the middle of the alley, the beam of his flashlight slowly sweeping across each corpse, the muscles at the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

"This is not..."

"Aren't these Yan Jiecheng, Yan Jiefang, and Yan Jiekuang?"

Who among the residents near Hongxing Courtyard doesn't know the three Yan brothers?

Yan Jiecheng found a temporary job at the neighborhood office and got married last week.

"How could they have died in the alley?"

Director Li asked in anger and bewilderment, but who knew?

All the police officers gave him a look as if he were an idiot. If they had known, he would be close to receiving a second-class merit award.

But they dared not say it aloud; Director Li must have lost his mind from anxiety.

What are these three young men doing here in the middle of the night?

The Hongxing Police Station is just ahead. Should I go find the police?

Why call the police?

Has something happened again at the No. 95 courtyard house?

Why did they die on the way to the police station?

Who is the killer?

How did the killer do it?

Three grown men, their gruesome deaths must have made quite a commotion, so why didn't anyone nearby hear it?

A series of questions swirled in everyone's mind, but no one could answer them.

Director Li crouched down and aimed his flashlight at Yan Jiecheng's body, which was closest to the alley entrance.

The body was lying in a peculiar position, with its two legs one in front of the other and its arms still swinging forward.

It's like someone is running at full speed when their head suddenly hits the ground, and their body is propelled forward two more steps due to inertia before finally collapsing.

Director Li extended his white-gloved hand and gently pressed the muscles on the corpse's arm.

"Rigoletto has just begun to form; the time of death is no more than one hour."

Chief Li stood up and shone his flashlight on Yan Jiekuang again. The body was curled up against the wall, with unnatural indentations at the knees of his legs.

"His kneecap was smashed. The murderer first crippled his legs so he couldn't run away, and then beheaded him."

Xiao Wang was taking notes beside him, his hand trembling slightly as he wrote on the notepad: "The third deceased, Yan Jiekuang, approximately twelve years old. Comminuted fractures of both knees, injuries sustained before death. Cause of death: decapitation."

Director Li continued walking forward until he reached Yan Jiefang's body, which was in the most gruesome state.

"The killer has a tendency to torture his victims, or rather, the killer enjoys the process."

"The identities of the three Yan brothers have been basically confirmed. Now I'm giving you a task: take two people to the courtyard house at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang."

Notify their families, and then ask them why they were out so late at night.

Xiao Wang's heart sank.

Notifying the family members is the most difficult task of all.

They have to face the grief of parents who have lost their child, and the heart-wrenching pain of orphans and widows.

To utter such feeble words as "We are investigating" in the face of those heartbroken gazes.

But he didn't hesitate; he simply nodded solemnly: "Yes."

"Old Zhang, Little Zhao, you two go with Little Wang."

After Director Li finished counting the people, he turned to the others and said, "The rest of the people will be divided into two groups."

One team carried the body back to the police station's backyard, covered it with a white sheet, and waited for the forensic doctor to conduct a detailed examination.

The other group stayed here to carefully examine the crime scene. Every footprint, every drop of blood, every trace—they had to find it all.

Don't overlook any clues, understand?

"clear!"

Xiao Wang led Zhang Defu and Zhao Jianguo toward Nanluoguxiang. None of the three spoke, each lost in their own thoughts.

It's only a ten-minute walk.

But those ten minutes felt like an eternity to Xiao Wang.

He didn't know how to start the conversation.

He imagined Yan Bugui and Yang Ruihua's faces, and their expressions upon hearing the news.

The elderly couple raised their three sons to adulthood, and they were all gone overnight.

Just thinking about this kind of pain makes my chest feel tight.

"Little...Little Wang,"

Zhang Defu said somewhat nervously, "What I just heard... what I just heard really was their shouting. If it were then..."

Xiao Wang did not answer.

The answer is no longer important.

Everyone is dead.

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