Chapter 11: A Bloody Head

Si Heng stared at the line in the food inspection report stating that human tissue was present, his brows furrowed tightly, his handsome face etched with gravity.

"Brother Heng?" his team member Meng Xiaokai asked curiously from the side, "What does the report say?"

Si Heng lifted his gaze, his eyes sharp. "That Miss Jiang was right."

Meng Xiaokai’s expression changed drastically. "This..."

"I'm going to find the director." Si Heng stood up and strode toward the director's office.

Ten minutes later, Si Heng notified his team for a meeting.

On the other side, Jiang Yuan was sitting in a milk tea shop when she caught sight of a mouse hiding next to a trash can.

She asked in a low voice, "Are you Shu Li?"

Mice all looked about the same, so she could only ask tentatively.

The mouse looked over.

After a few seconds, Jiang Yuan heard the mouse burst into excited squeaks, "You’re the Yuan-yuan that Auntie Shu Li mentioned, the one who can understand our mouse language and is very generous, right?"

Auntie Shu Li—so it was a relative of those two mice from yesterday.

Jiang Yuan: "Yes."

"My name is Shu Guang," the little mouse introduced itself.

Jiang Yuan wanted to say something, but suddenly felt a shadow loom over her from above.

Jiang Yuan looked up in confusion and met a handsome face.

"Captain Si." She raised an eyebrow. "The test results are out?"

She was a bit surprised; she hadn't expected them to be so efficient.

Weren't they suspecting her of filing a false report at first?

Si Heng pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down, raising an eyebrow as he asked, "Why is Miss Jiang here?"

Seeing someone sitting next to Jiang Yuan, Shu Guang quickly hid himself.

Jiang Yuan crossed her arms, her tone languid. "I placed a big order, waiting for it here."

"A big order?" Si Heng pondered slightly, quickly understanding what she meant. He took out his phone and asked, "How much? I'll transfer it to you."

"I paid a three-thousand-yuan deposit." Jiang Yuan didn't stand on ceremony.

Si Heng scanned the code face-to-face and transferred three thousand yuan to her, then stood up, his deep eyes fixed on her. "Miss Jiang, please keep your phone on; we may contact you later."

"Okay." Jiang Yuan nodded.

Si Heng strode toward Old Wang’s Fried Food Shop, two plainclothes officers following behind him.

As the group reached the entrance of the shop, Old Wang happened to be walking out of the back room carrying a basin of marinated meat.

Seeing the three tall, sturdy men, Old Wang paused for a moment, then explained with a chuckle, "Handsome gentlemen, I'm sorry, but the ingredients prepared for today are sold out. If you want to eat, you can come back tomorrow."

Si Heng’s gaze fell on the basin of meat in his hands. "What kind of meat is this?"

Old Wang: "Pork."

"Is that so?" Si Heng stared at him, his eyes filled with scrutiny.

Old Wang’s eyes flickered, and he stopped smiling. "Of course, would I lie to you? You guys should go, don't hold up my work."

Si Heng flashed his badge. "We have received reports from the public that you are murdering people, hiding bodies, and selling human meat."

Old Wang’s face changed abruptly, and he loudly denied it. "I didn't! You're making false accusations!"

Si Heng said coldly, "Cuff him."

Meng Xiaokai took out silver handcuffs and walked toward him.

Si Heng lifted the curtain and walked into the back room. Seeing the dirty and wretched environment inside, he frowned deeply.

He put on a mask and gloves, went to the freezer, and opened the door.

A bloody human head appeared before his eyes.

Si Heng’s expression turned grave as he forcefully slammed the freezer door shut.

Hearing the sound, Old Wang’s heart skipped a beat.

Si Heng had already reached him, his gaze fixed on him like a sharp sword as he asked sternly, "Whose head is that in the freezer?"

"What head? I don't know what you're talking about." Old Wang lowered his eyes.

Si Heng’s face was as cold as frost. "Take him away."

As they walked out of the fried food shop, several uniformed police officers immediately stepped forward to enforce the law and sealed off the shop.

The onlookers were all full of curiosity.

People from the surrounding shops stretched their necks to get a better look.

Jiang Yuan sat in the milk tea shop next door, her face fair and elegant, her long, thick, wavy black hair draped over her chest, making her skin appear even whiter and more luminous.

She tilted her head to watch Old Wang being shoved into the police car, her gaze calm, hiding her merit and fame.

As she withdrew her gaze, she happened to meet a pair of dark, deep eyes.

Si Heng gave her a slight nod.

Jiang Yuan raised an eyebrow and stood up to leave.

The system notification sound suddenly rang out.

[System 009: Congratulations to Miss Jiang for completing the hidden task: Find the murderer. Reward received: Aquatic Dictionary.]

**

On the afternoon of the 3rd, Jiang Yuan got into Fu Xiaoxiao’s luxury car to go to the suburbs for a hot spring.

The black Porsche sped along the highway, and pure white snowflakes fell softly, decorating the branches on both sides of the road.

Jiang Yuan was talking to Fu Xiaoxiao when her phone suddenly rang.

It was an unfamiliar number.

She pressed answer.

"Miss Jiang." The voice on the other end spoke first.

Jiang Yuan blinked. "Captain Si?"

"It's me." Si Heng stood by the window, looking at the snow outside. "The person Wang Zhixin murdered was his wife."

Jiang Yuan assumed this was the standard procedure for informing the reporter of the case's outcome.

She said softly, "I see."

Si Heng spoke again: "He claimed his wife was having an affair, and that she not only demanded he keep it a secret but also required him to pay for her lover's living expenses every month."

Jiang Yuan frowned. "He's lying."

"Does Miss Jiang know the reason?" Si Heng asked.

Jiang Yuan suddenly realized she had spoken out of turn.

She was just a customer; how could she know what happened in Old Wang's family?

Jiang Yuan gripped her phone a little tighter. "I don't know the reason, it's just an intuition."

"Why would you have such an intuition?"

"..."

Jiang Yuan went silent.

Si Heng wasn't in a hurry, waiting quietly for her answer.

Jiang Yuan pursed her lips and adapted what the mouse couple had said: "I went to the shop to buy something once and heard the owner constantly scolding his wife. It seemed to be because the owner was sexist; they only had one daughter, and he wanted to take the family's money to buy a house for his nephew, but his wife didn't agree."

Fu Xiaoxiao was driving, and upon hearing this, she immediately retorted, "Is he sick? Doesn't his nephew have a father? Why use his money?"

Jiang Yuan sighed: "I thought it was ridiculous too, which is why it left such a deep impression on me."

"I see." Si Heng’s tone was much gentler. "Thank you, Miss Jiang."

"Is there anything else?" Jiang Yuan asked.

Si Heng: "Nothing else."

"Then goodbye."

Jiang Yuan hung up the phone, and Fu Xiaoxiao began to press her for details.

Jiang Yuan didn't hide from her that she could understand some animal speech and told her the whole story from start to finish.

"Holy crap!" Fu Xiaoxiao was stunned. "Baby, you are so cool! Can you understand tigers? Let's go to the zoo in a couple of days!"

Jiang Yuan wasn't sure. "Tigers are felines; I don't know if they share the same language family as cats."

"We'll know if we go try! And you're so bold—hearing that from two mice and actually running to the police station to report it!" Fu Xiaoxiao exclaimed while driving.

Jiang Yuan raised an eyebrow: "I didn't think that much at the time."

She had never thought that animals would lie.

At 3:30 PM, the car drove into the hot spring resort villa area.

Fu Xiaoxiao had booked in advance and drove straight to Villa No. 6.

As soon as she got out of the car, she excitedly pulled Jiang Yuan to look for animals. "Are there any stray cats around here? Hurry and show me your superpower!"