“In terms of procedures, our officer did nothing wrong. You’re free to file a complaint. The officer who called yesterday is my subordinate, and his actions were authorized by me. My name is Mu Yu. Take a good look at my badge. Your complaint is against me, not the officer from yesterday,” Mu Yu pointed to the badge on her chest.

　　“Where can we file a complaint?” Li Cuihua sat up, her face covered in tears and snot. To her, Mu Yu’s words felt like bullying from someone who didn’t understand their rural background.

　　“You can report to the Provincial Public Security Bureau’s Inspectorate General. All police officers fall under their jurisdiction. You can also go to the Procuratorate; they can also oversee us,” Mu’s words were firm and resolute.

　　“Aren’t you all part of the same system? Won’t they protect you?” Zhao Wude helped his wife up from the ground.

　　“What kind of image do you have of the judicial system? I’m just an ordinary police officer, without any background or connections. Who would protect me?” Mu Yu was somewhat annoyed. She wasn’t afraid of being investigated; she was worried about the impact on Qiu Feng. He had just reported for duty yesterday and was still an intern officer. Moreover, she was the one who had instructed him to make the call yesterday, so she had to take responsibility for it.

　　“We want to see Pengcheng,” Li Cuihua, obviously, was not satisfied by Mu’s words.

　　“You can’t see him yet. The forensic department hasn’t issued the autopsy report. Once we have the results, we’ll naturally hand over the body to you,” Mu said, then walked away without looking back.

　　“Bro, I just checked the household registration records. It’s quite difficult to trace based on this name alone,” Yan Yang parked the car by the roadside because they didn’t have many leads to follow.

　　“Shouldn’t we go to the funeral home first? Waiting here seems like a waste of time,” Yan suggested.

　　“Alright. I want to call Mu. Yesterday evening, Zhao Pengcheng’s parents said they wanted to complain about me. I don’t know if they’ve come yet. I need to go back and explain to them,” Qiu Feng hesitated whether to make the call. His master hadn’t given any updates on the situation yet, and he was afraid she might disown him because of this incident.

　　“What did you say? How did you provoke Zhao’s parents?” Yan had a bad feeling. Wasn’t it Zhao’s wife they met yesterday?

　　“Yesterday evening, Zhao’s parents said they disagreed with the autopsy. They said it’s their hometown’s tradition to bury their son whole. I told them that since there were doubts about the cause of death, the police could conduct an autopsy without the their consent. So they want to complain about me,” Qiu recounted the events to Yan.

　　“Then I guess Yu is going to take the blame for you. Don’t worry about it. Let’s go to the funeral home,” Yan started the car.

　　“What? We need to go back quickly to see if she is okay in case she got hurt,” Qiu Feng suddenly felt anxious.

　　“You’re quite clever, but why do you act dumb when it comes to her?” Yan Yang shook his head. Nevertheless, he had to admit that this guy was a loyal apprentice.

　　“She’s my mentor. She’s taking the fall for me. How can I not worry about her?” Qiu Feng watched as Yan Yang drove towards the funeral home, getting further away from the city center.

　　“Then you better keep this loyalty of yours well-preserved. It shouldn’t just be a temporary thing,” Yan advised him.

　　“Are you not going to check on her now?” Qiu felt puzzled. Wasn’t Yan quite concerned about Yu? Why the sudden change?

　　“Don’t worry, I’ve known her for quite some time. She’s more capable of handling these matters than you are. You’ve just started your job, and complaints like these can severely affect your future development,” Yan explained. He had known Mu Yu for many years. Due to her assertive nature, she often rubbed people the wrong way, resulting in numerous complaints. However, she always managed to handle situations gracefully, and others couldn’t find fault with her. Eventually, things would settle down.

　　“But I’m still worried about her. After all, she’s a girl,” Qiu Feng leaned back in his seat, gazing out the window.

　　“If you’re worried about her, then focus on your work and quickly find that Yanfang,” Yan sighed. He hadn’t seen Yu take a liking to anyone in many years. But seeing her attitude towards Qiu yesterday, he felt that she wasn’t as distant as usual.

　　“You’re right,” Qiu Feng nodded.

　　Seven years ago, on that fateful night, he was lucky to escape from that hellish place. But his classmate, Deng Qi, disappeared without a trace since then. Later, when the police raided that village, they only caught Chen San. The couple had long fled, along with Deng Qi.

　　After being rescued, Qiu Feng had nightmares every night. In his dreams, Deng Qi was covered in blood, crying out, asking why Qiu abandoned him and didn’t come to save him.

　　He dropped out of the boarding school and underwent a year of psychological therapy at home. Yu’s rescue was the greatest support that helped him overcome the trauma. It was thanks to this support that he started focusing on his study again a year later, eventually entering the Police Academy with outstanding results. Yu had been his spiritual pillar for all these years.

　　“What are you thinking about? We’re here.” Finishing parking, Yan noticed that Qiu was lost in thought.

　　“Oh, nothing much, just thinking about the case.” Qiu snapped back to reality, realizing they had arrived at the funeral parlor.

　　Even in the summer, this place had a chilling aura, something Qiu Feng rarely experienced even during his time at the police academy.

　　“You’ll get used to it. As a detective, you’ll be visiting places like this often.” Yan saw Qiu’s expression and recalled his own experiences when he first started, finding similarities between himself and the young man.

　　“Do you ever fear the dark?” Qiu thought about his long-standing fear. Every night, he had to keep the lights on. Even during his time at the police academy, he had to surround his bed with thick curtains and keep a night light on.

　　“What’s there to fear about the dark? Have you been watching too many horror movies? We’ve seen it all – bodies torn apart, dismembered, swollen drowned bodies. It’s all part of the job. You’ll get used to it.” Yan was surprised that the guy was afraid of the dark.

　　“Yeah, I know.” Qiu recognized that it was a psychological issue. He didn’t fear corpses, but he just couldn’t shake the feeling that there was an uncontrollable force lurking in the darkness, ready to tear him apart.

　　“Dr. Zhang, can we take a look? Has the autopsy report come out yet?” Yan, leading Qiu, saw Dr. Zhang hurrying out of the building.

　　Dr. Zhang’s eyelids were tinged with dark shadows, and his face showed signs of fatigue, clearly indicating that he had pulled an all-nighter.

　　“I was just about to head back to the Bureau to find you guys. The report is out. The victim was indeed dumped after death, and the time of death was probably between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. yesterday. The cause of death was cyanide poisoning.” Dr. Zhang was too tired to say more, simply handing the autopsy report to Yan.

　　“So, you mean, Zhao Pengcheng’s cause of death is the same as Lian Liwu’s? Can we merge the cases for investigation?” Qiu suggested.

　　“I think it’s best to go back and discuss it with your mentor and the investigative team.”

　　Qiu Feng’s phone rang suddenly.

　　“Hey.” Qiu Feng saw that the caller was his police academy classmate, Xing Lei, who now worked in the household registration department in Yunyao City.

　　“Yeah, I’ve got some leads on the person you asked me to look into, Yanfang. I think she’s very likely to be Lian Liwu’s wife. Her full name is Shi Yanfang, and they have a son together, who is five years old, named Lian Zihao. I’ll send you her address in a bit.”

　　“Is Lian Zihao attending kindergarten?” Qiu Feng was reminded of something.

　　“Yes, he’s at Xiaohemiao Kindergarten, right across from their residential area.” Xing Lei confirmed after checking the data.

　　“Got it. That’s great news. Thank you so much.” Qiu was relieved to finally have a lead on Yanfang. If she turned out to be Lian Liwu’s wife, then the deaths of these two men were likely related to a crime of passion.

　　“Are you two going for interviews? I’ll take the report back to the Bureau,” Dr. Zhang suggested, knowing they wouldn’t be returning anytime soon.

　　“Okay, we’ll go back and report to my mentor once we’ve found something,” Qiu agreed.

　　“What do you think about Lian Zihao? Is he really Lian Liwu’s son?” Qiu Feng asked Yan while flipping through his notebook, organizing the existing clues.

　　“What do you think? Lian Liwu found out his wife was cheating on him, planned to kill Zhao Pengcheng, but ended up being killed by Zhao and his wife?” Yan speculated, guessing Qiu’s thoughts.

　　“It’s possible. I’ve seen similar cases before. Most crimes of passion occur in families where one spouse is cheating. Either the cheater kills the other, or there’s a retaliatory murder. It’s a situation that no one can bear,” Qiu Feng reasoned.

　　“We don’t have evidence yet. If you can get hold of Lian Zihao’s hair or toothbrush, we can have it tested,” Yan suggested with a smile. Without a search warrant, they couldn’t detain Shi Yanfang for questioning, even though she was related to the victim.

　　“I’ll figure something out later,” Qiu agreed, thinking that coaxing a child shouldn’t be too difficult.

　　They arrived at an old residential area according to the address. The streets outside the community were bustling with activity, vendors shouting about their goods.

　　“We’ll have to park the car here. I don’t think we can drive through, and having a police car around might draw attention. Bro, let’s head to Xiaohemiao Kindergarten first. At this time, Lian Zihao should already be at school,” Qiu Feng suggested, already formulating his plan.