A Psych Case Just Joined the Team Chapter 013

 Black Hand – 01

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Seeing that Xing Zui didn't respond, Qing Ming became even more certain of his own suspicions. He continued asking, "Have you asked Qi Qi's opinion? Did he agree to go to the orphanage? Is he willing to go?"

Xing Zui rested his arm against the car window, propping up his head, while his other hand lay on the steering wheel. His eyes, dark as the night, stared ahead as he spoke lightly, "Do you have a better suggestion?"

Qing Ming's heart sank. "No matter what... we can't send him to a place like an orphanage. He has family, he's not an unwanted child, let alone an abandoned one... he shouldn't be sent somewhere like that..."

Qing Ming's voice grew quieter and quieter, until finally the night breeze slipping in through the window seized the gaps between his words and diluted them, yet it didn't lessen the tension inside the car in the slightest.

Just then, Xing Zui switched hands on the steering wheel and used the free one to give Qing Ming a sudden smack on the forehead. Qing Ming was caught off guard by the slap and glared at Xing Zui, furious but not daring to complain.

"... Senior, why... why did you hit me?"

"My hand slipped, couldn't hold back."

"......"

"Did I ever say I was going to send him to an orphanage?"

Qing Ming kept staring at him. "Then where are you planning to send him?"

"Neither to an orphanage nor to traffickers."

Xing Zui glanced at him and shook his head. Qing Ming's expression flipped 360 degrees in an instant. "I knew Senior was a good person."

The car pulled up outside a detached villa, and Xing Zui knocked on the door. A middle-aged man wearing glasses opened the door, standing next to his wife and a handsome boy. The boy, around twelve or thirteen years old, was of middle school age.

The man spoke first. "Ah, you're here, come in, come in."

"No need," Xing Zui replied, turning around and calling Lin Qi over. Qing Ming let go of Lin Qi's hand and gave him a gentle pat on the head.

"Go on."

Lin Qi's wide eyes looked at the family across from him. The man wore the stern air of a strict father, but there was a touch of warmth in his smile. The woman beside him couldn't hide the compassion in her gaze. At that moment, the boy opposite gave Lin Qi a grin. His name was Fei Yang, and he walked over to Lin Qi.

"Hey, little one, don't be scared, your big brother doesn't bite."

With that, he slung an arm around Lin Qi's shoulders and led him towards the house... As they passed by Xing Zui, Lin Qi grabbed the man's hand and looked up at him... Xing Zui understood what was in the child's heart and lowered his head to meet the boy's innocent gaze.

"You said you wanted to be a police officer when you grow up, didn't you? Then you'd better study hard. Uncle will take you to visit your mom when he has time."

"Uncle Xing, when will Mom come and take me home?"

"Soon."

At that moment, Qing Ming walked over. He crouched in front of Lin Qi, smiling as he said, "Your mom is helping the police uncles with a case at the station. Once the case is over, she'll come and get you, alright? Qi Qi, you'll listen to Uncle and Auntie from now on, right?"

Lin Qi nodded and followed Fei Yang into the house. The man tried to keep Xing Zui and Qing Ming from leaving. "Xiao Wen's just finished making dinner, stay and eat with us."

"It's okay, the maid at home is cooking."

Qing Ming shot him a glance.

Xing Zui patted the man's shoulder. "Thanks."

In the car, Qing Ming asked, "That couple, are they your friends, Senior?"

"Mm."

"I think they'll definitely take good care of Lin Qi."

"Mm."

Qing Ming glanced at Xing Zui, pretending it was unintentional. Sensing that his senior's mood seemed rather good at the moment, he cautiously ventured, "Senior, that... last night... I drank a bit too much..."

Xing Zui didn't look at him and replied flatly, "You remember now?"

"No... I just wanted to give you a heads-up, I really can't drink alcohol, just one drop and I'm drunk, so anything I did after drinking isn't intentional..."

"So it was intentional?"

Qing Ming asked a little sheepishly, "Er... last night I... did I do anything to you that was... a bit... inappropriate?"

Xing Zui didn't reply. After a long silence, he suddenly let out a laugh. "You think I wouldn't be able to fend off a drunkard?"

Qing Ming gave a dry laugh. "Right, haha... So, where are we going now?"

"To buy groceries and cook, I'm hungry."

"Senior, whatever you want to eat, just say it, I can make it for you."

As he said that, Qing Ming's eyes curved into an adorably innocent arc. That smile of his looked even more naive than naivety itself, even purer than pure.

Xing Zui said, "Then tonight we'll have drunken shrimp, beer-braised duck, chicken stewed in baijiu, and red-braised pork in beer."

"......"

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A new month arrived as expected, but the one unexpected thing was the rain that had fallen for an entire week without pause. It wasn't as lingering as spring rain, nor as light as summer showers, and it lacked the austere chill of winter rainfall. It carried a hint of melancholy, clinging to Dang City with a sense of reluctant farewell.

In the centre of Dang City sprawled a street known as Neilan Street, famous as a city that never slept. It only came alive at night, its signature being lavishly coloured neon lights. The lighting on the dance floors was dimmed, a hazy ambiguity filling the space... It's a murky swirl where all sorts of people pressed up against one another, twisting and turning to the extravagant, fast-paced electronic music. At any moment, desire and lust threatened to erupt...

Tonight, too, was destined to be far from peaceful...

At nine in the morning, the office at the city police station was shrouded in a sluggish, lethargic atmosphere. Perhaps it was the result of the continuous days of rain, this kind of damp weather always seemed to sap one's energy.

"Has the Dragon King come to Dang City for a holiday this month or something? Who knows when His Majesty plans to leave?" Xie Xun complained, slumped over his desk.

Qing Ming turned round and said, "Who knows? I'm almost out of clean underwear."

Xie Xun: "I've been wearing the same socks for three days. Judging by the way things are going, I guess I'll be wearing them another three or four..."

Cui Jingfeng: "I've got a whole box of socks, I'll bring you a few pairs tomorrow, save the rest of us from being poisoned by your foot odour."

Xie Xun pressed his palms together in a grateful gesture, expressing his heartfelt gratitude to Cui Jingfeng for coming to his aid in his time of need.

At that moment, the door to Xing Zui's office opened.

"There's a case, get ready to work!"

A simple sentence instantly lifted everyone's spirits. Strangely enough, by the time they left the police station, Qing Ming noticed that the rain that had been falling in the morning had actually stopped.

When the group arrived at the scene, forensics were already collecting evidence around the body and at various points throughout the crime scene. The forensic pathologist was also conducting a preliminary post-mortem.

Xing Zui first walked a circle around the body. The location was the back alley of a bar, a dead-end alley blocked off by a wall, with no surveillance cameras in sight. Near the mouth of the alley was a puddle of vomit, soaked in rainwater. Around twenty metres from the corpse lay a single woman's high heel.

Qing Ming walked over to the body and gave it a once-over. It was a female corpse with a bare upper body, and her top had already been placed in an evidence bag by the forensics team. He crouched down and began carefully examining each part of the deceased's body...

Mu Sen, who was working nearby, glanced at him and said, "Looks like this isn't your first time out in the field?"

"To be precise, it's the third time."

"Not bad, you might not be the worst batch Xing Boss has trained."

Qing Ming replied smugly, "Back when I was at university, I used to eat all my meals while watching all kinds of gory videos. The first time I was on-scene for a case, it was a male corpse that had been soaking in water for four days and was severely decomposed, exhibiting signs of gigantism... That scene, the psychological impact. Not quite top-level, but compared to those below, I'm more than sufficient."

At that moment, Xing Zui walked over.

Qing Ming got down to business. "Fang Lai just checked, the deceased was twenty-six years old, worked in sales at a cosmetics company, lived alone, and her family's already been notified. The report was made by a bartender from the bar, he came to take out the garbage around six in the morning and found the body, then reported it immediately. The bartender said he saw the victim in the bar last night. We pulled the bar's surveillance footage and confirmed that she left around half past midnight."

Mu Sen had also finished his preliminary examination. He stood and reported, "Time of death was between one-forty and two o'clock in the morning. Preliminary judgment indicates that the cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation. When the body was found, her upper body was exposed. There was a piece of clothing beside the body, likely belonging to the deceased. There were clear strangulation marks on the neck, but no fingerprints, the killer was likely wearing gloves to commit the crime. Additionally, we found a small amount of male semen under the victim's armpit. However, the victim's lower body was intact, with no signs of assault. No skin tissue or fabric fibres were found under her fingernails either."

Xing Zui murmured thoughtfully, "Even with the rain, it shouldn't have completely washed the victim's fingernails clean. That leaves only one possibility, the killer was wearing a raincoat when he committed the crime... Looks like the killer did not act impulsively."

Sensing something, Xing Zui took out his phone and made a call to Cui Jingfeng, instructing him to pull the records of all known offenders in the vicinity.

Once work at the scene had mostly wrapped up, the body was placed into a body bag and transported back to the forensics department for a more thorough autopsy.

Just then, Qing Ming walked over. "Senior, Blindy's got a lead."

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: July 4, 2025 by Angel

Edited: August 21, 2026 by Angel