Stepdaughter of a wealthy family? The little darling of a Beijing tycoon

Shen Jingshu casually took out her phone and dialed Li Hanting's number.

The night was deep, but the police station office was still brightly lit. Li Hanting was engrossed in processing a backlog of cases, the blue light from the screen highlighting his cold and serious expression. Seeing the caller ID labeled "Little Sister," his tense brows softened instantly, and he quickly swiped to answer, his voice low and warm: "Hello, Jing Shu? What brings you to call me today?"

"Big Brother." Shen Jingshu's voice came through the receiver clearly, her tone serious. "I'm at this star-rated hotel in Beijing. There's a murder case here that hasn't been solved for half a month. Could you please arrange for someone to come over?"

"A murder case?"

Li Hanting's gaze suddenly sharpened, all his relaxation vanishing instantly. He abruptly rose from the leather seat, his aura instantly turning cold and sharp. He knew his younger sister's abilities well; she would never speak carelessly without reason. If she mentioned a murder case, it was always true.

Are you still at the scene?

"I'm still on the eighth floor of the hotel."

"Stay put and don't wander off. Protect yourself. I'll arrange for the criminal investigation team to head over there immediately." Li Hanting spoke quickly and decisively, without the slightest hesitation.

"Um."

After a brief reply, Shen Jingshu hung up the phone.

She turned to look at Liu Yiyi, who was still standing beside her, and said calmly, "The police will be here soon, but you are filled with resentment and have too much yin energy. Staying in the mortal world for too long will easily cause you to collide with the living, disrupt the energy field at the scene, and also damage your own soul."

As she spoke, she raised her hand and held out a warm and translucent white jade spirit bottle, the mouth of which shimmered with a faint spiritual light: "You should first take refuge inside the bottle for now. Once the case is completely closed and the murderer is brought to justice, I will send you on your journey to reincarnation."

Liu Yiyi looked up in a daze, first glancing at Shen Jingshu, who had a calm expression and a kind heart, and then turning her head to look at Luo Yurou, the century-old ghost who stood quietly to the side with a solemn aura.

She was initially filled with trepidation and fear after being brought here by Luo Yurou, but throughout the entire process, the two of them did not mistreat her in the slightest. On the contrary, they always considered her grievances.

The bitterness of enduring half a month of loneliness and having nowhere to turn for help has all turned into warmth at this moment.

Without the slightest hesitation, she curtsied and thanked him, saying, "Thank you, Master."

As soon as she finished speaking, her red-clad figure flickered and transformed into a wisp of faint yin energy, obediently entering the jade bottle.

Shen Jingshu tightened the bottle cap, put the jade bottle back into her bag, and looked up towards the elevator entrance.

Shen Jingshu put away the jade bottle and went downstairs alone to find Xiao Gao in the lobby, informing him of the truth in advance.

Only now did Xiao Gao finally realize the truth.

It turns out that the strange rashes, the crying in the middle of the night, and the rumors of a ghost on the eighth floor that had plagued the hotel for the past two weeks were not ordinary supernatural occurrences, but rather a buried case of wrongful murder.

Upon learning the truth, she felt a chill run down her spine, both shocked and terrified.

To avoid panic among employees and riots among customers caused by a large number of police officers suddenly entering the premises, Xiao Gao immediately notified all on-duty employees in advance, urging them to cooperate with the police, remain calm, and refrain from making any casual comments or gathering to cause a disturbance.

Everything was arranged, and less than half an hour later, the sound of orderly and hurried footsteps came from the hotel's main entrance.

A team of fully equipped criminal investigation officers quickly entered the hotel lobby, their demeanor solemn and their discipline strict. Leading them, Chen Wei, dressed in dark plainclothes, stood tall and sharp-eyed, instantly locking onto Shen Jingshu in the crowd.

He strode forward and nodded in greeting: "Miss Shen."

"Captain Chen." Shen Jingshu nodded calmly.

After a brief greeting, Chen Wei turned to Xiao Gao, who looked nervous beside him, and asked in a deep voice, "Are you the lobby manager of this hotel?"

"Yes, it's me!" Xiao Gao quickly replied.

"Take us up to the eighth floor, and then to the rooftop."

"Okay! This way, please!"

Xiao Gao didn't dare to delay and immediately led the way, taking a group of police officers upstairs quickly.

The group first inspected room 806, which was rumored to be the most haunted. The room was clean and tidy, with good air circulation, and there was no feeling of coldness or oppression.

Before Shen Jingshu went downstairs, she had already raised her hand to dispel the remaining Yin energy and resentment on the entire floor. Now the room's energy field is peaceful and normal, with only a trace of almost imperceptible residual energy remaining, which does not affect people's living at all.

After a quick check, everyone headed straight for the rooftop.

Xiao Gao took out the spare key and clicked open the iron gate to the rooftop.

The night wind howled in, and the rooftop was empty, desolate, and bitterly cold. Police officers quickly set up a cordon and sealed off the entire area.

Following Shen Jingshu's previous directions, the group pried open the ventilation duct interlayer.

In an instant, a strong, pungent, putrid stench hit me, assaulting my nostrils.

Deep within the interlayer, lay a stiff and decomposed female corpse—Liu Yiyi, who had died unjustly. After half a month in a confined, sweltering environment, the body had extensively decomposed, a horrifying sight.

Forensic pathologist Yan Min immediately put on gloves and a mask, picked up her examination toolbox, and stepped forward. She squatted down to carefully examine the condition of the body, the marks of injury, and the signs of death. She collected evidence, took photos, and secured physical evidence at the scene, proceeding with the autopsy work in an orderly manner.

The remaining team members had clear roles: some were responsible for sealing off the scene and collecting fingerprints on the rooftop; some retrieved all the hotel's surveillance footage from the past two weeks; and others took Xiao Gao aside to take a detailed statement, asking about recent hotel anomalies, guest feedback, and the details of the strange incidents on the eighth floor.

Chen Wei stood beside Shen Jingshu and carefully recorded the key clues.

Shen Jingshu spoke concisely and logically, explaining the whole story of the hotel haunting, the vengeful spirit's obsession, the victim's wrongful death, and the complete case of the murderer Lin Hao's greed for wealth, which led him to silence witnesses and hide the body.

Although the process was bizarre, the combination of the real corpse on the rooftop, the traces at the scene, and the strange events at the hotel made all the clues fit together perfectly.

The truth of the case has become completely clear.

The victim has been identified as Liu Yiyi, and the cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation. The suspect has been identified as her boyfriend, Lin Hao.

Chen Wei's expression immediately darkened, and he issued the arrest order on the spot: "Open a case immediately, identify the suspect Lin Hao, his address, and whereabouts. All personnel are mobilized to carry out the arrest!"

All inquiries, evidence collection, and on-site investigations were carried out smoothly and successfully.

The interrogation process was over, and the night was already deep. Shen Jingshu glanced at the time and decided to leave first to rush back to her school dormitory.

She briefly said goodbye to Chen Wei, explaining that she had to leave first and that she didn't need to be present to follow up on the case's progress. Chen Wei was very polite, thanking her repeatedly for the crucial clues she had provided in solving the case.

Seeing this, Xiao Gao quickly stepped forward and called out to her, his expression respectful and earnest: "Master, please wait a moment! You haven't received your payment yet!"

Even before the police arrived, she immediately called the hotel owner to give a full report on the truth behind the hotel's haunting, the hidden murder case, and the entire process of Shen Jingshu's intervention and assistance to the police in solving the case. The owner was both surprised and ashamed, and immediately instructed Xiao Gao to withdraw the reward from the hotel's public account to formally thank Shen Jingshu.

Xiao Gao immediately took out his phone, proactively added Shen Jingshu on WeChat, and transferred 100,000 yuan as a reward without saying a word.

"This is a thank-you gift specially prepared by the boss. It's just a small token of our appreciation. Thank you for your hard work, Master."