Chapter 683: Face?

"Captain Cao, there's a big problem with him!"

On the other end of the phone, Liu Dayou's voice was very solemn, which made Chen Xiao immediately take it seriously.

"What problem? Focus on the key points!"

"The divination I did for him before was something I couldn't understand, but after thinking it over, I realized that Captain Cao's hexagram carried a meaning of yin and yang."

"I told you to focus on the key points. Even if I could understand what you're saying, I don't have the time to think about these things."

Liu Dayou gave a wry smile, "Yin and yang could be understood as positive and negative or good and evil. This suggests that Captain Cao might not be a completely pure detective."

As soon as he said this, Chen Xiao's gaze froze immediately.

He didn't like having to be wary of detectives while investigating a case.

But he was also very aware that not everyone in any circle could be a good person.

Chen Xiao always took Liu Dayou's divination seriously, so he dared not be careless.

However, Liu Dayou apparently had more to say.

"The second layer of meaning, which also derives from the yin and yang hexagram, is life and death."

"Captain Cao's hexagram has the possibility of 'nine deaths, one life.' If he can survive great danger, then Captain Cao's future will be smooth sailing."

After listening, Chen Xiao asked cautiously:

"So you mean if Captain Cao is a mix of good and evil, then the evil side dominates. But if the hexagram concerns life and death, does it mean Captain Cao is about to face a death situation?"

"Yes, but the hexagram has distinctions of yin and yang, so there may be other extensions. It's just that my skills can't fully comprehend them yet."

After a moment of thought, Chen Xiao said, "Alright, then go study his hexagram well. If you need anything, just let me know."

"Okay, Brother Chen, I'll do my best."

Chen Xiao acknowledged with a sound and hung up the phone.

When it comes to hexagrams, Chen Xiao had long understood that it's hard to find a direct meaning.

The meaning contained within a hexagram requires the interpreter to decipher it.

After ending the call, Chen Xiao didn't mention it to Qin Fei.

Because compared to him, Qin Fei was more familiar with Cao Xiuyuan.

Sometimes the more familiar you are, the harder it is to believe what kind of person the other is.

Moreover, Liu Dayou's hexagrams didn't have a very specific meaning, and his abilities fluctuated.

Sometimes hitting the nail on the head, sometimes entirely unrelated.

Chen Xiao casually explained Liu Dayou's call to Qin Fei, and they continued walking in the corridor.

After observing the corridors on two floors in a row, when entering the fourth floor, Chen Xiao again stopped Qin Fei:

"Captain Qin, have you noticed that the configuration of the corridors here, even the appearances, are extremely similar?"

Why did Chen Xiao bring up appearances?

Appearances include the aging state of the wall paint and the layout of shoe cabinets placed by each household in the corridor, all nearly identical.

Qin Fei nodded emphatically, "I noticed it too, they are indeed almost identical."

"But the residents here come from all over the country, neither relatives nor friends. How did they manage such coordination?"

"If we have to answer this question, then there's only one answer, and that is that the landlord has a strong sense of management for the entire building." Qin Fei replied.

Chen Xiao nodded, tacitly agreeing to Qin Fei's conjecture.

But after a moment of thinking, Chen Xiao continued, "Why do you think this building needed surveillance?"

"I noticed earlier that the external appearance of the building and the internal do not quite match."

Chen Xiao's eyes gleamed with a light smile, "Captain Qin is observant as well. The outside indeed seems much older, while the inside is relatively newer. Simply put, I suspect the interior of this building has been uniformly renovated."

"Very likely, and that might be why surveillance was installed during that renovation, perhaps for a low-rent surveillance answer?"

Chen Xiao did not reply, but his expression already conveyed his thoughts to Qin Fei.

The two continued to head upwards.

They passed the fourth floor, the fifth floor, and reached the sixth floor.

Since the incident, the whole building had been sealed off, so there were no residents currently.

The original occupants had long been relocated elsewhere temporarily by the police.

Qin Fei took out a key and opened the door to the crime scene.

The door had a sign showing the room number: 603.

This room faced south.

Upon opening the room, Chen Xiao immediately recognized the bloodstains left by the deceased Yuan Keyu on the floor, as well as the various numbered markers left by the police at the scene.

But Chen Xiao didn't rush to experience the process of the victim being harmed; he first walked straight to the window.

Although the police records clearly documented every trace found by Cao Xiuyuan, and Cao Xiuyuan excelled at discovering traces.

But after Liu Dayou informed him of this information, Chen Xiao felt it necessary to be cautious of Cao Xiuyuan.

Standing in front of the window, Chen Xiao activated the Power of Capture, beginning to meticulously observe the window.

As recorded in the files, under the Power of Capture, the window didn't show any signs of prying, meaning it hadn't been opened since the day it was sealed, not for many years thereafter.

After inspecting the window, Chen Xiao began to observe the room further.

The police found numerous footprints in the room.

But many of those footprints were left by prospective tenants viewing the apartment.

After Yuan Keyu rented this room, he did not conduct a thorough cleaning; he merely arranged some furniture simply.

So, the footprints in the entire room were not of much reference significance.

After a thorough observation, Chen Xiao finally arrived at the desk.

The wooden chair in front of the desk was already soaked with blood, and the blood on it long dried, turning dark red.

Chen Xiao carefully examined the bloodstains and the scuff marks on the ground from the deceased's struggle during strangulation.

From the scuff marks, it was clear this was indeed the primary crime scene.

Since it was the primary crime scene, Chen Xiao's prior suspicion that Yuan Keyu might have been killed elsewhere was entirely wrong.

Eliminating that possibility completely, Chen Xiao's mind turned once again to solving the locked room mystery.

He squatted on the ground, his gaze fixed on the bloodstains, but in his mind, he pictured Yuan Keyu's flayed skin.

He pondered:

[Yuan Keyu was strangled to death, then someone cut an opening at the top of his head and slowly peeled off his skin.]

[From the autopsy of the deceased, it is apparent the killer was rough and not skilled when tearing off the outer skin.]

[Moreover, he must have taken protective measures; otherwise, the footprints on the floor would reveal which were the killer's.]

[Since there was an awareness of protection, and combined with the act of peeling skin after the murder, this behavior likely has a specific meaning.]

[But what reason could there be for the killer, after the murder, to peel the skin off the top of the deceased's head bit by bit?]

[Starting from the top of the head, could it be understood as first tearing off the deceased's face?]