"Great, where's the landlord? We need to talk to him."

This old house is actually quite similar to Li Xiang's situation. Both are old houses rented out. The landlords bought new houses, and the old houses aren't worth much; keeping them is pointless, so they might as well rent them out to supplement their household expenses a bit every month.

When he got a call from the police, he was extremely nervous. If a murder really happened in his house, how could he rent it out in the future?

If word got out, no tenant would dare to rent it.

And if he wanted to sell it, it would be worth even less.

Really unfortunate.

He could only hope it was a false report.

But the first words from the police when they summoned him smashed his fantasy.

"It's basically confirmed this is the primary crime scene. Who did you rent this house to?"

The landlord, a man in his sixties, upon hearing the news, wished for death: "That damned bastard, couldn't find anyone else and just had to target my house. I'm really cursed."

The old man, over sixty, was actually driven to tears.

After wiping his tears a couple of times, he finally said, "I have the rental agreement here. My daughter drafted it for me at the time. I brought it."

As he spoke, he took the rental contract from inside his jacket: "It's been less than a month since renting out this house, and this happens. I never imagined it. That damned bastard."

Rented for less than a month?

Hearing the landlord say this, Li Xiang suddenly had a foreboding feeling. It's likely this house was used by the murderer to kill and dismember the body.

Looking from start to finish, the perpetrator's method was definitely long-planned.

The anti-investigation ability is very strong.

If that's the case, this rental contract might not provide much valuable information to the police.

As expected, after Cao Gang received the rental contract, he immediately checked the ID number on it and found it untraceable, as the ID number was fake.

"This ID information is fake. Did you see this person?"

Cao Gang frowned, understanding that the situation was indeed not simple, but he still inquired about some details.

"Yes, I saw him. He came once to sign the contract, had small eyes, an aquiline nose, a crew cut..."

The old man's hands gestured as he tried to recall details of the person's appearance. After all, the time gap wasn't long, less than a month, so his memory was still fairly fresh.

Seeing the old man remembered quite clearly, Cao Gang immediately thought they could invite a portrait expert from the provincial office to help replicate a suspect's portrait, which would greatly aid their investigation.

"Alright, sir, it's important you remember what the suspect looks like. I'll invite a portrait expert from the province in a few days, and we'll need your assistance to sketch the suspect's appearance at that time."

Up to now, the landlord was the only one who had seen the suspect's true appearance, making him an important witness.

"Hey, Li Xiang, what are you drawing?"

At this point, Mao Ji, standing next to Li Xiang, suddenly heard the 'scratch-scratch' sound of a pen on paper. Turning to look, he saw Li Xiang drawing something in his notebook.

Li Xiang didn't respond to Mao Ji's question; instead, he listened carefully to the landlord's description of the suspect, continually sketching lines on his notepad. Gradually, a sketch portrait took shape in his hands.

"Are you drawing a portrait of the suspect?"

After watching for a while, Mao Ji suddenly realized that Li Xiang's casual few strokes had managed to depict the landlord's described person so vividly, revealing exceptional artistic skills.

His voice caught everyone's attention. Cao Gang was just about to call the provincial experts for assistance when he heard Mao Ji say: Are you drawing a portrait of the suspect?

Who is drawing the suspect's portrait?

Does our team have such talent?

How did he not know?

With these questions, Cao Gang turned around to see everyone gathered around Li Xiang, exclaiming in amazement:

"Damn, that sketch is incredible!"

"Yeah, just a few simple lines can achieve such an effect. Not even someone from the Central Academy of Fine Arts could do better!"

"Li Xiang, did you study art?"

As Cao Gang got closer, he too was captivated by the sketched character: "Isn't this the exact person the landlord just described? Crew cut, small eyes, aquiline nose!"

Excitedly, he pushed through the crowd, took the notebook from Li Xiang's hand, and turned to show it to the landlord.

"Yes, that's him, who drew this? It's so much like him."

Seeing the sketch, the landlord was so excited that his heart shook and hand trembled pointing at it. He couldn't believe the police were this amazing—just a few of his words in casual description, and they had managed to draw the person out so accurately.

In his whole life, he'd never encountered something so astounding.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't believe someone could achieve that.

"Really looks like him?"

"It's practically identical to the real person; it's impressive. In all my years, it's the first time I've seen such an incredible thing."

Cao Gang didn't focus on the excited old man but instead handed the sketch to Zhou Man: "Immediately send this drawing to the city bureau and issue a national investigation notice to locate this person."

"Yes, Captain Cao."

As Zhou Man took the notebook, she too was amazed by Li Xiang's exceptional drawing skills, surprised by his outstanding artistry, truly a remarkable surprise.

"Li Xiang, you're too incredible! Who knew you had such a hidden skill."

"I liked drawing as a kid and learned a bit." Li Xiang smiled, not expecting the hidden skill of Skull Restoration Technique from a side quest to not be used, but instead, its accompanying skill of drawing was showcased.

Indeed, having multiple skills never burdens you.

Because you never know when you might need them.

"A bit? That's a lot!"

"Too modest."

Cao Gang now looked at Li Xiang with growing satisfaction, deeply admiring Feng Da's wise decision from the bottom of his heart.

Feng Da truly recognized talent and brought a top performer into their detective team.

"Li Xiang, this time you've done me a great favor. I was just thinking about calling the provincial portrait experts, asking them to come and help, but you gave me a huge surprise. From now on, in Jinghai, we have our own portrait expert."

"I don't dare call myself an expert; if need arises in the future, feel free to ask for my help."

With the suspect's portrait drawn, the remaining tasks became much simpler.

After issuing the investigation notice, they quickly received feedback from the Jiang'an Police Station officers.

They directly called Captain Cao, stating they knew this person.

This person was named Ma Yongwei, 46 years old, a habitual criminal targeted by authorities, involved in minor thefts and gambling—a figure fitting all those negative descriptions, yet extremely clever. Though frequently in and out of custody, he was so familiar with police procedures he could rival a training officer. Some less experienced officers couldn't handle him at all, causing Jiang'an Police Station much headache.

Once they knew the criminal suspect's identity, the detective team immediately tracked his whereabouts and learned that on April 12th, when the police were investigating the scene, he happened to pass by and fled overnight to Guiyang.

Cao Gang quickly sent an arrest collaboration order to Guiyang police, and soon, Ma Yongwei was captured at a KTV by Guiyang police.

Li Xiang and Mao Ji once again made a trip, traveling to Guiyang and successfully escorting Ma Yongwei back to Jinghai City on April 20th.

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