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Yang Zhi Kui was momentarily overwhelmed by pain, feeling somewhat deranged until Old Shao slapped him awake, allowing him to communicate normally with others. It was at this moment that Yang Zhi Kui realized he had overlooked many details. When he first saw Zhu Liang, Zhu Liang was dressed, but now when he returned, Zhu Liang was completely naked.
Everyone understood that Yang Zhi Kui had hidden Zhu Liang in the funeral home, a fact known only to him. When Jiang He received a lead from the Criminal Consultant and rushed to the scene with his team, it was indeed true that Zhu Liang was not wearing any clothes. This meant that after Yang Zhi Kui left, someone had gone to the crematorium and taken Zhu Liang's clothes.
Who could that person be? Jiang He already had an answer in his mind.
Li Erdan had a mild case of Necrophilia; he liked to collect clothing from corpses and likely enjoyed touching the bodies themselves. He was the most familiar with the Refrigerator. He would know which compartment had been tampered with. That night, he discovered the body and stripped it of its clothing.
But if that were the case, he should have noticed the large wound on the corpse's abdomen.
"What was she wearing?" Jiang He asked Yang Zhi Kui.
Yang Zhi Kui replied, "She was wearing a short-sleeved shirt with a cat design on it, a red bra underneath, and below she wore..."
"I understand," Jiang He interrupted, already arriving at his conclusion.
Just from the descriptions of those two pieces of clothing, Jiang He confirmed his suspicions. He had seen that shirt on Li Erdan's bed before; as long as that shirt was in Li Erdan's home, everything else fell into place. This meant that around one o'clock that night, after Yang Zhi Kui left, Li Erdan had gone to the crematorium.
Moreover, Li Erdan had fled in the early hours two days prior; based on the timeline, he must have stripped the clothes off before fleeing. By nine o'clock that morning, Li Erdan needed to be at work, which meant he likely fled sometime between two and nine o'clock.
But where exactly did Li Erdan go? That remained a question.
The case had circled back to Li Erdan since his disappearance; the clues formed a closed loop. Everyone understood that Li Erdan was a key figure in this case. Before any new leads emerged, they needed to apprehend Li Erdan first.
Jiang He felt a vague hypothesis forming in his mind, but it was already past two in the morning, making further investigation difficult.
Jiang He suggested they revisit the crematorium, and only then did they leave Old Wang Auto Repair.
As they were about to leave, Yang Zhi Kui grabbed Old Shao's hand, tears streaming down his face. He pleaded with Old Shao to capture the murderer and avenge Zhu Liang.
Old Shao looked at Yang Zhi Kui and said, "Even if you don't, it's our duty. Don't worry, the killer won't escape."
The group descended the stairs and noticed that Yang Zhi Kui's house was still lit. They wondered what he was doing inside.
Inside, Yang Zhi Kui stared at a ring under the light, feeling as if half of his life had left with Zhu Liang. His tears had nearly dried up as he blankly gazed at the ring. He was torn between living a life of blissful ignorance or confronting the bloody reality before him.
In less than half an hour, the car stopped at the intersection of Qingchun Road.
They got out and followed the gap in the wall that Yang Zhi Kui had mentioned. After a short detour, they indeed found a breach in the wall, just as Yang Zhi Kui had described. The gap was quite large, enough for two people to walk side by side.
Jiang He stood before the opening but did not enter immediately. Instead, he used a flashlight to illuminate the fallen bricks. Just as Yang Zhi Kui had said, the collapsed bricks resembled several steps, neatly resting beneath the wall. Jiang He crouched down and put on gloves.
He pressed down on one of the bricks; it didn’t budge. He picked up a few bricks from the top and set them aside, repeating this process several times before standing up.
"Let's go in," he finally said to the others.
The bricks were stable enough for them to ascend. They climbed onto the wall, which was about a meter high. Inside the breach, there was a stone platform where Jiang He stepped down comfortably. Once everyone had descended, Jiang He began examining the stone platform.
It was indeed a stone platform, a relatively high one. From this Stone Platform, it resembled those stone benches found in parks where people could take a brief rest. Jiang He looked around with his flashlight and walked a few steps along the wall's base until he spotted another similar Stone Platform not far away.
Under the beam of his flashlight, he noticed that beside this Stone Platform was a stone table engraved with a Chessboard design. It seemed that this crematorium had once been a large factory with areas for rest and recreation. Now, however, the stone table was covered in dust. One Stone Platform was here; another should be near the Go Board on this side.
Yuan Jun looked at Xu Yiman, who nodded and said, "If you have it, there is indeed a possibility."
Jiang He shook his head. "Earlier at Old Wang Auto Repair, I carefully observed that ring. From the outside, it looks like a crescent moon, but the inner edge has a claw. In other words, Yang Zhi Kui was right; that ring must be a couple's ring, with two of them."
Jiang He picked up the female corpse's hand, observing it as he spoke. "Look at the ring finger of the female corpse. After death, the skin loses its elasticity, so once it sinks in, it's hard to restore the protrusion it had when alive."
Xu Yiman walked over to Jiang He’s side to take a closer look. Indeed, Jiang He was correct; however, in the dark environment illuminated only by a flashlight, Xu Yiman couldn't see clearly and hadn't expected Jiang He's observational skills to be so sharp.
She leaned down to examine it carefully. Zhu Liang's ring finger was indented where the ring had pressed against it, confirming that the ring had indeed been on Zhu Liang's finger.
But now the ring was missing.
"Where could that ring have gone?" Yuan Jun exclaimed in surprise.
"There is only one possibility!" Jiang He said. "Someone took the ring."
Everyone fell silent. Who would take the ring that Yang Zhi Kui had placed on Zhu Liang's corpse? How did they know that Yang Zhi Kui had put a ring on Zhu Liang? This was all a mystery hanging over them.
However, for Jiang He, he felt that the truth was about to reveal itself. His mind had already pieced together many fragments of the puzzle; he just needed one more piece to connect them all.
With this thought, Jiang He set Zhu Liang's hand down and said to everyone, "First, we need to find Li Erdan."
"Where do we look?" Yuan Jun scratched his head.
Jiang He closed the refrigerator and addressed everyone. "I think we need to pay Wang Da a visit. Li Erdan and Wang Da are both Hearse Drivers; they spend the most time together. If I'm not mistaken, Wang Da must know where Li Erdan likes to gamble."
"Do you think Li Erdan hasn't left?" Old Shao asked Jiang He.
Jiang He nodded and replied to Shao the Elder, "Li Erdan probably hasn't left. Even if he took those Jewelry, he would need time to sell them. Where would Li Erdan go first after getting the money? Who would dare to touch a dead man's belongings?"
"The casino!" Old Shao declared firmly.
Jiang He nodded in agreement with Shao the Elder, "That's right, Li Erdan has a serious gambling addiction."
Yuan Jun added, "For a gambler, the casino is indeed their refuge. But why would he go to Wang Da's house? Would he know?"
Jiang He addressed everyone, "He should know. When we were at Li Erdan's house, he provided us with a lot of information."
At this point, Old Shao spoke up, "Yes, Wang Da seemed very welcoming. He would answer our questions and even those we didn't ask. If Li Erdan is still in Dragon City, then this ring is likely something he took. With this ring, he could gamble again."
"The most dangerous place is often the safest place," Old Shao said lightly as he tapped his forehead. "There's no time to waste; let's head to Wang Da's house now."
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