Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

Xiao Wang protested, "Brother Liu, Brother Chen, you guys go ahead. I've already had breakfast and I just want to go home and sleep. I'll treat you next time."

He did eat breakfast, but he was extremely reluctant to drink soy milk.

How could they drink soy milk that looked like swill?

Xiao Wang expressed his confusion, perhaps because he is not a local.

I'd heard it was a big name before, so I tried it once, and it's still unforgettable.

When Da Liu and Xiao Chen saw that he wasn't going, they parted ways.

Xiao Wang headed towards his home, which was in Caixu Commune, quite far from Beijing. His work unit hadn't assigned him a house yet.

Therefore, he could only rent a house in the neighborhood office for the time being. The location was a bit remote, with a grove of trees next door, but the rent was cheap.

Xiao Wang was riding his bicycle home when a sudden breeze blew by, carrying a faint smell of blood.

"Where was the pig slaughtered?"

Xiao Wang swallowed hard, his mouth watering. Should he go take a look? Maybe he could get some meat to eat.

Thinking that Xiao Wang had already changed direction and headed towards the smell of blood, about five minutes later, the smell of blood became stronger and stronger.

Xiao Wang parked his bicycle by the roadside and saw smoke coming from the woods. Without guessing, he knew it was from a pig slaughtering and hair removal ceremony.

But as he walked into the woods and loudly announced that he wanted to exchange the meat, he cried out, "Everyone, I... Ahhhhhh!!!"

Xiao Wang was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground and vomited incessantly, bringing up his dinner from the previous night.

This isn't a pig slaughter; this is a murder scene.

The ground was littered with mangled limbs and pieces of flesh, which six wild dogs were gnawing on.

He covered his mouth tightly, suppressing the urge to vomit, and tremblingly reached for the baton at his waist.

"Stop! Don't move!"

Xiao Wang yelled at the stray dogs, but his voice was distorted with fear.

The stray dogs raised their heads warily, their green eyes fixed on Xiao Wang, and they growled in a low, threatening tone.

One of the largest black dogs had its front paw pressed against a limb that was not clearly visible.

Xiao Wang struggled to his feet, pulled out his baton, and reached for his waist with his other hand, only to realize that he had forgotten to bring his gun when he hurriedly left the police station.

Damn!

He retreated step by step, his eyes fixed on the stray dogs, until he reached the edge of the woods, then turned and stumbled toward his bicycle.

"I need to go back and report immediately..."

He muttered to himself, but suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Go back to the police station?

What will Captain Qin and Director Li think of him?

He wasn't stupid; he could see the deeper meaning in the looks Li and Qin Ming were giving him.

A hapless fellow who seems to attract trouble wherever he goes stumbles upon another murder case right after leaving.

After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Wang got on his bicycle, turned around, and sped towards the police station.

Human life is at stake; what do personal concerns matter?

Fifteen minutes later.

Xiao Wang rushed into the police station, panting, and bumped into Chief Li and Qin Ming, who were about to leave.

"Something's wrong! Something's wrong! Chief! Captain Qin! Something's wrong!!"

Xiao Wang, breathless, cried out, "The woods... that small grove of trees to the west... something happened!"

Director Li and Qin Ming exchanged a glance, both seeing seriousness in each other's eyes.

"Tell me slowly, what happened?" Qin Ming said in a deep voice.

Xiao Wang took a few deep breaths, trying to keep his voice steady: "On my way home, I smelled blood and thought someone was slaughtering a pig..."

As they walked into the woods, they saw wild dogs gnawing on...it was a pile of scraps of meat, not like an animal, but more like...

Director Li frowned: "The exact location?"

"It's not far from my rented house, about a kilometer to the west, in that poplar grove."

Xiao Wang swallowed hard. "I didn't dare to look closely, so I rushed back to report."

Qin Ming nodded and patted Xiao Wang on the shoulder: "You did the right thing. You don't look well. Go sit in the duty room for a while."

"No, Captain Qin, I'll go with you!"

Xiao Wang straightened his back. "I found the scene; I know the way."

Director Li hesitated for a moment and looked at Qin Ming.

Qin Ming pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Alright. By the way, didn't you leave with Da Liu and Xiao Chen?"

"They went to have soy milk and breakfast. I've already eaten," Xiao Wang replied.

Qin Ming turned to Director Li and said, "Old Li, notify the forensic doctor... never mind, I'm a forensic doctor too. Call a few more brothers, let's set off immediately."

"I'll arrange it right away."

A minute later, a Jeep roared out of the police station.

Inside the car, Qin Ming sat in the passenger seat, his brows furrowed.

"Xiao Wang, are you sure those are human remains?" Qin Ming asked.

Xiao Wang, sitting in the back seat, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "Yeah, there were lots of hands, legs, and Jia Dongxu's body that disappeared from the morgue..."

Director Li, who was driving, interjected, "That poplar grove is rarely visited. There are only a few scattered villagers nearby. If it's a place to dump a body, it's a secluded spot."

Qin Ming remained silent; the atmosphere inside the car was so heavy it seemed like water could be squeezed out of it.

"Old Qin," Director Li suddenly spoke up, guiding the conversation, "Do you think... this could be related to the Yan Jiefang brothers' case?"

Qin Ming turned his head, his gaze sharp: "Why do you think that?"

"Their lower bodies have not yet been found."

Director Li suddenly scratched his head, trying to brush it off, "What happened today was too strange. First, three bodies went missing from the morgue."

Then the Yan brothers' watermelons were found hanging on a tree, and now dismembered bodies have been discovered... These things happening one after another don't seem like coincidences.

Xiao Wang interjected, "Chief, Captain Qin, Yan Jiefang and Yan Jiekuang are not among the bodies..."

Director Li glanced at Xiao Wang in the rearview mirror: "No, it seems I guessed wrong."

As they spoke, the vehicle had already left the city, and the road became bumpy.

Xiao Wang pointed ahead: "It's just ahead. You'll see that grove of trees after you turn that corner."

The jeeps stopped one after another, and Xiao Wang jumped out first, pointing towards the woods: "It's inside, about a hundred meters away."

Qin Ming directed everyone: "Watch your step, and protect the scene."

The group carefully entered the woods.

The further you go in, the stronger the smell of blood becomes.

Qin Ming's brows furrowed more and more. This concentration of bloody smell meant it was no small matter, and it involved more than just one or two people.

"It's just ahead," Xiao Wang said in a low voice, pointing to an open space in front of him.

But the sight before them made everyone gasp in shock.

Dark red fragments were scattered on the open ground, and the soil was stained dark brown. The six stray dogs had long since disappeared, and only flies were buzzing around.

Qin Ming put on gloves and squatted down to observe carefully.

His face grew increasingly grim, his voice filled with suppressed anger, "At least three people's severed limbs."

Director Li walked up to him: "Can you determine the time of death?"

"It's been no more than three hours, and we still don't know who they are."

Qin Ming stood up and looked around.

Xiao Wang stood to the side, his face pale: "Captain Qin, should we seal off this area?"

Qin Ming pointed to the outer perimeter and said, "Take two men and guard the entrance. Don't let anyone in. Old Li, have someone investigate the identities of these three dead people."

He paused, then looked at Jia Dongxu's mangled corpse and said, "Collect their fragments."

Officer Li said fearfully, "Captain Qin, please don't make things difficult for us. It's all muddy. Why don't you do it?"

……

"Come on, bring on a few bits of tobacco crust. I'll tell Old Liu that I once bit a Japanese soldier."

Old Liu's house.

Yi Zhonghai grumbled defiantly; he was bleeding heavily again.

Old Liu scoffed, "Old Yi, don't brag. You'd better bear with it; it'll hurt a lot without anesthesia."

……