Perhaps it was because the headlights were too bright; the cat meowed twice at the enormous vehicle before sprinting away. Restarting the car, Wu Shuang continued on her way. Although she didn't believe in superstitions, she felt agitated due to the cat's appearance. Her foot pressed harder on the gas pedal, propelling her off the deserted road.

The car suddenly jumped onto the main road, startling the vehicles that had been preparing to cross. Seated inside, Wu Shuang was also startled by the sudden leap over the ditch; if not for her habit of tightly gripping the steering wheel, she might have caused another traffic accident.

Facing the curses from the startled drivers, she understandingly pursed her lips. If it were her, she might have gotten out of the car to confront someone directly.

A low, gray wall appeared before her. The police car she had been following was already parked nearby. Wu Shuang got out of her car and entered the North District police station. It was indeed bustling; even as it approached eight or nine in the evening, the lights were still brightly lit. Since when had this place become so diligent?

The North District was a peculiar place—referred to both as Yanjing's slum and its academic quarter. Two extremes occupied the district's two ends, separated by a lake that divided cultural layers, each side wistfully looking at the other.

From the center of Yanjing, one could take the highway to the slums of the North District, but to reach Academic City, one had to travel on the main road. Upon closer inspection, it was truly ironic.

However, to get from the slums of the North District to Academic City, one could only walk, whereas the opposite direction could be traveled by car. This was due to early planning intended to build both ends into colleges, but the poor occupied most of the land. Bulldozing would displace a large number of people, and to prevent a major incident, this piece of land was preserved.

Pushing through the crowd gathered to watch, inside the police station's hall lay a body wrapped in straw matting, surrounded by whispering onlookers. Director Zhao, who had last welcomed her, was squatting by the mat, muttering unrecognizable words, while the crowd kept growing. Wu Shuang found a corner to sit in casually, refraining from approaching Director Zhao, listening instead to the hushed discussions, noticing the police outside her the were absent from inside.

"Do you guys know? The deceased was the lover of that old madam, rumored to be a crime of passion." A woman nearest to Wu Shuang was knitting a sweater, nudging another woman beside her with her elbow, a skein of yarn tucked under her left arm. Wu Shuang admired the woman's ability to talk passionately while keeping her eyes locked on the corpse and simultaneously swapping needles in her hands, multitasking effortlessly.

"Is that so?" The poked woman giggled behind her hand. "It's possible. Men who've had flings with that old madam are plenty; how could someone like Ah San attract that old witch's eye? Such a shame losing a life over it." She burst into laughter.

"I'm sorry, did you just mention Ah San?" Wu Shuang hesitated to interrupt, but she did hear Ah San's name come up in the conversation.

The knitting woman turned to see a young, attractive woman behind her. Her gaze noticeably changed, scrutinizing Wu Shuang as she rolled her eyes before returning to her knitting. Feeling inexplicably despised, Wu Shuang sighed at her reaction.

"Is the deceased named Ah San?" Wu Shuang patiently asked again, this time the knitting woman fully turned to face her.

"Who are you? You seem unfamiliar, not a local. Why are you asking about Ah San? Are you his sweetheart?" The woman shouted with no regard, spitting as she spoke, some splashing onto Wu Shuang's face. She took a tissue from her bag, wiping the spots, frowning deeply. Seeing this, the woman got even more incensed. "Oh dear, what are you pretending to be? Think you're so clean? You're all ridden anyway. Now your man's dead, what do you want...?"

Unable to listen any longer, Wu Shuang sprang up from her seat and stepped forward, towering over the woman. Towering over her, Wu Shuang stared down. "Say one more word, and I can sue you for defamation and slander. Get you locked up for a couple of days."

"Oh my, my!" The woman was even more excited, ignoring any propriety; she handed her yarn to the other woman and placed her hands on her hips, prepared for a fight. "Sue me? Do you know who I am? You want to sue me? Let me tell you, shameless woman—my son works at this police station. You want to see if I can get him to lock you up for two days?"

"Lock me up? What's the charge?"

"Why would my son need a reason to arrest someone?" The woman seemed quite smug. "Just a word from me, any charge will do."

"Oh, is that so!" Wu Shuang chuckled softly. "Then please, summon your son to arrest me."

The crowd that was initially watching the dead body all turned in unison towards them. Compared to watching a dead person, this seemed more interesting; there was something to watch when living people argued.

When the woman saw more onlookers gathering, she glanced smugly at Wu Shuang with slanted eyes. "Just you wait, my son is currently handling a case, you'll be in for it soon."

Wu Shuang smiled. The best way to deal with this type of woman is to keep silent. However, the woman didn't see it that way. In her eyes, Wu Shuang's silence was a sign of surrender and fear, which only spurred her to talk incessantly.

"What's all the arguing about here? Don't you know this is a police station?" A man holding a police hat walked in from outside, ushering the people crowding around the police station to leave as he entered the lobby. Wu Shuang glanced over at the voice. She hadn't seen this person before. The last time she came with Xiao Sun and the others, there was only Director Zhao. She hadn't paid much attention then, just felt it was odd that a district police station seemed to have so few people, but it turned out there were others.

"Son!" As soon as the woman heard the voice, she began yelling without even turning her head. "There's someone here looking for Ah San, she looks like his mistress, if not a suspect. Come and see."

What?! Wu Shuang's face, which originally had a smile at the corners of her mouth, immediately turned serious upon hearing the woman's shout. However, this shout from the woman set off a series of chain reactions, making the gaze fixed on Wu Shuang switch from a spectacle-watching mode to one of disdain and suspicion. Never having been subjected to such vexation, Wu Shuang raised her eyebrows.

"Who are you? How come you're here?" The person speaking was the police officer who had been driving the crowd away, and he was holding his hat while his round eyes scrutinized Wu Shuang. "I know almost everyone who lives around here, and you're not one of them. Who are you?" He asked suspiciously yet politely, pointing at Wu Shuang.

"I..."

"Ah!" Another voice interjected. Director Zhao pushed through the crowd, wanting to join the commotion, and hurried over when he saw Wu Shuang surrounded. "Captain Wu, how did you end up here? I was about to call you— we've found Ah San, he's right there on the ground." His casual tone made it seem like a person dying here was as ordinary as a mouse's death.

"Hmph!" Wu Shuang snorted coldly, shifting her gaze to the woman who had been speaking with her mouth agape. "I've recorded everything you said just now, and it will be used as evidence in due course." Upon hearing this, the woman's legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground, howling and crying.

Ignoring the woman, Wu Shuang approached the police officer holding the hat, sizing him up with the same scrutinizing gaze. "Is that woman sitting on the ground your mother?"

The police officer was stunned, looking at his director's courteous demeanor towards this woman, starting to question her identity. Would he get into trouble if he spoke carelessly?

"Is she or isn't she?!" Wu Shuang sharply asked again, prompting the man to nod and then shake his head repeatedly. "Based on what that woman said just now, I will assess your behavior at work. I hope you are mentally prepared."

The City Police Department, as the highest police authority in Yanjing, holds enforcement rights over police stations in various regions and has the authority to investigate any unreasonable or unethical acts.

"Captain Wu, this is a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding," Director Zhao hurriedly appeared with a smile, pulling aside the police officer still standing foolishly.

"Ah San is dead, what's the cause of death?" Wu Shuang remained indifferent to Director Zhao's smile and moved through the crowd to stand next to the mat. "Unauthorized personnel are prohibited from entering restricted areas. Since when did an enforcement area become a marketplace?" Rarely showing her official authority, Wu Shuang spoke coldly.

Even if the North District is poverty-stricken, civil servants still draw a state salary and ought to give something back in return. Yet, as things stand now, the issues are far worse than she imagined. Just from what the woman said earlier, there may have been quite some under-the-table bribery happening.

This realization was not something Wu Shuang wanted to discuss now, determining she would report the issues to the new director back at home and document them for further instructions. She quickly shifted her focus to the body, pulling out white gloves from her bag to avoid leaving fingerprints.

Removing the mat, she was still shocked by the scene underneath. What kind of deep-seated grudge did this person called Ah San create with someone to die so unjustly? (To be continued. If you like this work, you're welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with recommendations or monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.