Ten Thousand Soul Banner: Deceased, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?
Chapter 45 Clues

Chapter 45: Chapter 45 Clues

Not every student who graduates from the police academy is proficient at sketching.

So Xia Baokun directly made a phone call, summoning a police officer from the criminal police team who is skilled at sketching.

Accordingly, based on Jiang Xiyue’s verbal description, he quickly sketched out the portrait.

"Does it look like this?"

The police officer responsible for sketching handed over the completed portrait to Jiang Xiyue.

On the sketchbook, there was a young girl with delicate features, timid eyes, slightly furrowed brows, and even the action of her unconsciously pursing her lips, all depicted vividly as if seen with his own eyes.

"Yes, that’s her, you’ve drawn it exactly like the person I saw," exclaimed Jiang Xiyue delightfully.

Then a hand reached out from the side and snatched it away.

Jiang Xiyue turned her head to see it was Xia Baokun, who was carefully examining the sketchbook in his hands.

Chief Guan, also curious, came closer and upon seeing Yin Xingyue’s face, he remarked sentimentally, "She looks very young, I wonder whether we can find her in our police records."

Hearing this, Xia Baokun glanced at Chief Guan, as his statement clearly hinted at sympathies toward Jiang Xiyue.

"Why don’t you have someone check if there really is such a young girl?"

Xia Baokun handed the sketchbook to Chief Guan.

In fact, Xia Baokun had already dismissed any suspicions towards Jiang Xiyue without needing Chief Guan’s intercession.

Because just recently, he had called the forensic doctor and confirmed the time of the victim’s death. At that time, Jiang Xiyue was on duty outside, not only was there body camera footage but also traffic surveillance from various places, all showing her presence, so it was impossible for her to be the murderer.

However, this made things even more unexplainable. Could there be a problem with the surveillance?

But right at the moment when Jiang Xiyue was narrating for the sketch, they had also checked the surveillance and found no issues.

Thus, Xia Baokun was more inclined to believe that Jiang Xiyue knew the murderer and was in collusion, but what would be the purpose?

Moreover, he had subtly dismissed this possibility in his mind, not because he believed in Jiang Xiyue, but because she was the daughter of Jiang Haitao, and it seemed unlikely that the daughter of Jiang Haitao would knowingly commit a crime.

If this was not the case, then the only explanation left was that it was all just Jiang Xiyue’s imagination and discovering the corpse was merely a coincidence.

Such cases are not unheard of in reality; various coincidences coming together can lead to unbelievable perceptions.

Xia Baokun couldn’t help but feel a headache.

It wasn’t long before Guan Xueming rushed over excitedly with some documents.

"There really is such a person?" Xia Baokun expressed in astonishment.

"Yes, have a look." Guan Xueming handed over the documents to Xia Baokun.

Xia Baokun scanned them briefly, then also showed a look of surprise.

"She’s dead?"

"Yes, she committed suicide by jumping off a building a month ago."

While saying this, Guan Xueming also pulled out his phone and found the news report on the incident.

This revelation reminded Xia Baokun, as the serial killings seem to have started a month ago.

Could it be a vendetta triggered by the death of this young girl named Yin Xingyue?

With this thought, Xia Baokun hurriedly flipped through the documents again, only to find a police report.

Yin Xingyue’s mother had reported her stepfather missing two days ago.

Upon further examining the documents, it became clear that Yin Xingyue’s social circle was simple - apart from her mother, she only had a grandmother living in the countryside.

If it was a vendetta, her grandmother’s age would definitely not allow for such actions, but if it was her mother, then her mother must have had an accomplice.

And why a vendetta? Could it be due to some childish...

The case seemed to gradually become clearer.

"Xiao Jiang insists it was this young girl who reported the crime, but the girl has been dead for over a month. Could it be her ghost coming to report the crime?" sighed Guan Xueming.

At this moment, he was also starting to lean towards the idea that Jiang Xiyue had mental issues. If not, then she must be lying. But why would she lie? What could she be hiding?

Upon hearing this, Xia Baokun suddenly turned to look at Guan Xueming, his face bearing an expression of shock and uncertainty.

The next day at work, Yin Xingyue suddenly ran over, her face wearing a strange expression, and said to Shen Siyuan, "The police have arrested my mother."

"Why did they arrest her? Did she commit a crime?" Shen Siyuan asked curiously.

Yin Xingyue shook her head. "I don’t know."

Before Shen Siyuan could continue, she added, "I don’t want to deal with her."

One ought not to advise benevolence to others if they haven’t experienced their hardships.

Moreover, Shen Siyuan knew about Yin Xingyue’s background and the problematic role her mother played in it.

Thus, he naturally wouldn’t lecture her about filial piety or anything like that.

He then asked, "What about your uncle? Have you found him?"

"No."

Hearing this, Shen Siyuan frowned, thinking to himself, her stepfather is missing, her mother arrested, could it be that her mother killed him?

But why, was it due to a guilty conscience?

Shen Siyuan couldn’t unravel the complex issues and decided not to ponder further; after all, the police were there to handle these matters.

Indeed, the police were burdened, and Xia Baokun felt like his head was about to explode.

After a day and night of hustling, they had also clarified quite a few things.

Firstly, vengeance due to Yin Xingyue’s suicide was ruled out. Among the three victims, two had children who attended different schools with no interaction with Yin Xingyue, and the remaining victim had no children at all.

Jiang Xiyue’s suspicion was also thoroughly excluded, although both their names contained the word ’Yue,’ they had no relation whatsoever; it could all just be a coincidence.

Moreover, the suspicion on Jiang Xiyue’s mother was also ruled out, however, the police obtained an essential clue from her.

It turned out that several victims, along with Yin Xingyue’s mother, Yang Xuejiao, and stepfather, Fang Yunlou, all attended the same school in the past, belonging to the Cotton Mill Staff School.

Since the cotton mill had long closed down, and the staff school no longer existed, this increased the difficulty of their investigation.

Xia Baokun suspected that Fang Yunlou’s odds were slim, and they were just waiting for the murderer to notify them to collect the body.

The thought infuriated him. What did they take the police for? This was a provocation against the Bin Hai police system.

Additionally, there was the issue with Jiang Xiyue. Even though she was cleared of suspicion, she insisted that she had seen the deceased Yin Xingyue, and he could not ignore it because she was the daughter of Jiang Haitao.

Thus, he came here to an old residential house. From outside the courtyard, one could see many plants and flowers.

Xia Baokun finished his last cigarette, stubbed it out with his foot, then approached and knocked on the courtyard door.

"Is anyone home?" Xia Baokun asked with a hint of respect.

The courtyard door was quickly opened from the inside, revealing a girl about eighteen or nineteen years old, her face delicate and her hair adorned with silver hairpins, a distinctive style of the Li Clan.

"Who are you looking for?" the girl asked, blocking the doorway.

"Is your mother home?" asked Xia Baokun.

The girl, on hearing this, immediately turned around and shouted into the house, "Grandma, someone is looking for you."

"Who is it?" An elderly voice came from inside.

"It’s me, Xia Baokun." Xia Baokun quickly replied loudly.

After a brief silence, the person inside seemed to recall who Xia Baokun was and then said, "Mei, let him in."

Upon hearing this, the girl then opened the door wider and led Xia Baokun into the courtyard.

The courtyard was filled with blossoming flowers, vying in beauty.

Walking down a small path, they reached the main hall where in the center, there was an altar with a "Pao Longkou" — in the language of the Li Clan. In Chinese, it would be called "Hercules," a deity revered like Pangu is in the Han culture, highly esteemed among the Li Clan.

ps: In this novel, unique dharma exists, involving Cultivators, but all fail to achieve significant spiritual power, possessing only minor inherited abilities, thus it is safe for everyone to consume.