Chapter 273 - 164: Cold Case: ’The Vanished Person’ (Part 1)

Xu Huo was a little taken aback but said nothing.

"Let’s go take a look inside."

The three of them went inside.

The decor was still relatively stylish, a sort of minimalist luxury. And since so few people were around, there weren’t many signs of wear and tear.

The complex was divided into sections, and this was Unit A.

The victim’s apartment was in Building 1 of Unit A. He lived in Apartment 2 on the first floor.

They opened the building’s main door and went up two short steps.

A front door covered in police tape appeared before them.

Several yellow paper talismans were also stuck to the surrounding frame.

"Sigh. There are too many superstitious people. With all the ghost stories going around, I’m guessing that’s the real reason the property values have plummeted."

Li Jianye sighed and tore off the police tape.

While he was at it, he also peeled the yellow talismans off the door.

The papers had markings on them, looking just like the talismans in Chinese vampire movies. They were likely posted by a resident to suppress the bad luck of the murder house.

CREAK—

He pushed the door open and they went inside.

A wave of stale, oppressive air washed over them, carrying the smell of rot.

And mixed in with that mustiness was the faint, lingering smell... of putrefaction.

A very light, very faint stench.

Xu Huo stopped, looking up to survey the room.

The apartment’s furnishings were decent enough: a photo album, a large-screen TV, a sofa, an air conditioner.

But now, the room was caked in dust, as if a long-sealed coffin had just been pried open.

Even the light filtering in seemed to pass through a sepia-toned lens, washing out any sign of life. It was as if...

...the entire apartment was ’dead’.

"After forensics collected their evidence, they did a partial cleanup of the areas with the strongest odor. The rest was left as is."

Li Jianye said, pulling on a surgical mask as he entered. He pointed to the dried bloodstains on the wall and floor.

The blood had long since dried, looking like splatters of dark paint.

They covered the walls in a fine spatter.

On the floor, a large, irregular patch of brownish, coagulated matter looked as if a puddle had evaporated, leaving behind a nauseating stench.

Bits of desiccated flesh were still visible on the floor.

Xu Huo crouched down. Countless maggot casings came into view.

"The wife’s name is Liu Li. By the time she called the police, the victim, Qin Zhong, had already been dead for five days," Zhao Shui explained.

"During that time, she acted like a normal person—going to work, coming home with groceries. The whole time, the deceased was lying right here on the floor. She did nothing, not even when his body began to breed maggots."

"Then one day, her mind was no longer numb. She pulled out a knife, hacked at the corpse several more times, and only then did she finally call the police."

The floor was littered with the empty pupal casings of the maggots that had once squirmed and multiplied within the corpse’s flesh.

Dead flies were scattered everywhere.

Xu Huo, however, paid this no mind.

His eyes shifted, searing the scene into his memory before he headed for the bedroom.

CREAK—

He gripped the dust-covered doorknob and gave it a slight turn.

The door swung open.

Inside, he saw a clothing rack. A wedding dress hung from it. The gown, once pure white, was now veiled in dust. It had hung there silently in the dead-still room for months, waiting for this door to finally be opened again.

"The police bought this as a replica of the original exhibit. The actual evidence, including the black outfit, is in police custody."

Li Jianye said, pointing to a very sexy outfit inside the wardrobe.

This was also a replica purchased by the police based on the original.

Xu Huo opened the wardrobe and examined the clothes, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

The outfit consisted of a skirt—a stretchy, hip-hugging type.

There was also a pair of silk stockings and high heels.

’From this,’ Xu Huo thought, ’if we assume the deceased, Qin Zhong, didn’t buy these for his wife...’

’...then the probability that he was having an affair is extremely high!’

"Do you have photos?"

Xu Huo asked, looking at Li Jianye and Zhao Shui.

"Yes."

Zhao Shui nodded and pulled several photos from the satchel he was carrying.

Xu Huo took them.

The photos showed the two outfits, looking identical to the replicas in the room.

The only difference was...

...the wedding dress in the photo was disheveled and heavily creased.

And on the dress, there was a very distinct... semen stain.

Yes, the dried residue of male bodily fluid.

The stain was located right at the crotch area, where it would be if someone were wearing it.

"We ran a DNA analysis and confirmed the semen stain belongs to Qin Zhong."

"That’s what confirmed our theory that the victim was likely having an affair," Li Jianye explained.

"So, the running theory is that he bought this other outfit"—Xu Huo gestured to the stockings and high heels—"for his mistress."

"But he never got the chance to give it to her. Instead, the mistress came here, put on Liu Li’s wedding dress, and slept with Qin Zhong."

"And that’s what ultimately led to Qin Zhong’s murder."

’It seems the main conflict was something that had been building up for a long time,’ Xu Huo mused. ’The wedding dress was just the fuse that lit the powder keg.’

’The stockings and high heels aren’t that important, but...’

"But why is the outfit still here?"

Xu Huo frowned, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

"Why is this outfit still here?"

"If there’s no mistress, then he must have bought it for Liu Li. But if he bought it for her, it makes no sense that it would just be left in the wardrobe."

"That leaves the second option."

"There was a mistress, and this outfit was for her."

"And judging by the wedding dress, the mistress was here in the apartment. So why didn’t she take the outfit with her when she left?"