I thought to myself, what's so complicated about the cause of death? Could it really be undetectable?
Suddenly, a surge of excitement hit me. Could it be—the "Northern Blade" struck again?
"Take me there, now!" I shouted.
"Alright, follow me," Huang Xiaotao nodded.
We took the elevator to the fourth floor of the hotel. Several cops stood in the hallway. There, squatting, was a chubby man wearing oversized shorts and disposable hotel slippers. Shirtless, he had a thick gold chain hanging from his neck. Next to him sat a young woman wrapped in a blanket, her hands clutching her head, long hair covering her chest.
If a reporter with a camera showed up, this would look exactly like a raid scene on the news.
The cops questioned them. The chubby man looked worried and said, "Officer, we truly care about each other—like Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. It's not what you think."
"Talk is cheap. Show me your ID and driver's license!" the cop barked.
"I don't have them!"
"Who are you kidding? How did you check into this hotel without ID?" the cop sneered.
Wang Dali grabbed me, surprised: "Yangzi, did we walk into a raid by mistake?"
Huang Xiaotao explained that these two had found the corpse. They'd come to the hotel that night, just 'doing their thing,' when the mattress suddenly shook violently. Lifting it up revealed a female corpse underneath. They were terrified and called the police immediately.
When the cops arrived, they treated the two like a john and a prostitute refusing to show their documents. The situation had been tense, and the anti-vice squad was already on their way.
I laughed, "This poor guy's unlucky. Out for fun and runs into this. I bet he's got some serious mental scars—won't get hard for months."
Huang Xiaotao chuckled, "Yeah, who'd expect this just staying at home?"
From her words, I was sure the killer wasn't the "Northern Blade." That arrogant bastard never hid bodies. He'd flaunt them, openly challenging the police!
The chubby man was still arguing with cops as we passed by and entered the room where the corpse was found.
Several officers were busy collecting evidence. Huang Xiaotao said they had gathered a dozen fingerprint samples from furniture and walls, but it was meaningless here—too many guests daily.
I glanced over. The mattress was flipped back, revealing the corpse underneath.
She was slender, fashionable long hair, wearing only a bra and panties. Her skin was unnaturally pale—like white paper.
Her death was gruesome—eyes wide open, hands stiff like chicken claws. All signs pointed to extreme pain before death.
Wang Dali immediately hid behind me. Huang Xiaotao sneered, "Why bring this coward? Here to tie your shoes to ease the tension?"
She clearly remembered when Wang Dali stopped to tie his shoes during a past arrest.
He defended, "I'm Yangzi's right-hand man; he can't do without me."
I sighed and asked Huang Xiaotao, "Has the body been disturbed?"
"Xiao Zhou from forensics just checked with UV light. No touch yet," she replied.
"Any fingerprints?" I asked.
A young officer with slicked-back hair and black-rimmed glasses approached, an air of arrogance about him. "No fingerprints on the body or under the nails, not even skin flakes."
Huang Xiaotao introduced him, "This is Xiao Zhou, forensic expert, solved many murder cases."
Xiao Zhou nodded proudly and looked at me, "You must be Song Yang? Heard you use some ancient method for autopsies. I want to see it."
"Flattery," I replied.
He sneered, "But I bet you won't find anything. This case wasn't done by humans."
His taunt annoyed me. Cops come in all types; Xiao Zhou was clearly competitive. I raised an eyebrow, "You so sure?"
"See for yourself." He waved for gloves.
Two pairs of latex gloves came. Wang Dali and I put them on. I approached the body. Huang Xiaotao offered a light, but I declined.
The corpse's neck had terrifying bite marks—two large black holes.
I poked them; they were deep, meaning the attacker's teeth were long and sharp, piercing through the neck.
"Turn her over!" I ordered.
Flipping the body, I saw no livor mortis—no blood pooling in chest or abdomen.
No livor means the blood had been completely drained. No wonder her face was so pale.
Wang Dali gasped, covering his mouth, "Oh god, not human—must be a vampire!"
He started to retch.
"Don't jump to conclusions before the autopsy," I said.
Xiao Zhou approached. "Detective Song, I scanned with laser and UV. No prints on skin or clothes. Don't waste your time."
I snapped back, "Not finding doesn't mean none exist."
"I've heard about you—last time you found marks with a red umbrella, left Dr. Qin speechless. He slinked away after filing a transfer request. Honestly, Qin's forensic skills are mediocre at best. He relies on seniority to boss people around. He's a disgrace to our unit," Xiao Zhou mocked.
Huang Xiaotao smiled wryly. Xiao Zhou was clearly picking on me. I asked, "You think you're better than Qin?"
"To be honest, I studied in the U.S., specializing in trace evidence, even attended lectures by Detective Lee Changyu. My instruments are top-notch imports. If I can't find it, it simply doesn't exist," he boasted.
I glanced at the corpse. No dead body leaves no trace—even the "Northern Blade" bodies left clues. Xiao Zhou was overconfident.
I decided to humble him.
"You're so blind to American science? Autopsy is about technique—like medicine, the most expensive isn't always best. If a body's been touched, there are always traces," I said.
Xiao Zhou laughed, "Easy to talk. Prove it."
"What if I find something? Want to bet?" I smirked.
"Sure!" He agreed eagerly.
He pointed to the ashtray on the bedside table. "If you find something, I'll eat what's inside. If not..."
"If not, I'll eat the ashtray too!" I shouted.