The Devil Doctor's Spicy Love
Chapter 149: Murder at Crimson Moon hotel

Chapter 149: Murder at Crimson Moon hotel

Wan Guanting was sprawled on the bed with his right arm partially hanging off the bed and his left arm fully spread out on the bed on the other side.

The crew assembled in the room, everybody blankly staring at the director’s dead body. He was all happy and alive until a few hours ago, so nobody could process what just happened.

Xin Manchu was the first to break the ice. "Wait this is a joke, right?" He asked, looking around the group.

"We left his room around what? Two in the morning? He was drunk but still alive, right? So how the hell did he kick the bucket within these few hours?"

Nobody had an answer to that unfathomable question.

Meng Rin could hardly get her voice out. "How...How is he dead?"

Chow Mey stared at the dead Wan Guanting, dazed and lost. Dong Haoyu’s voice brought him out of her stupor.

"This is ridiculous. I think he is just dead asleep. He had too much to drink last night."

Xin Manchu asked, "Yufei. Your room is adjacent to his, right? Did you not hear anything?"

He was himself overwhelmed and paralyzed to witness a dead body in front of him and the director’s at that.

"I didn’t really..." Yufei vacantly whispered.

"Hey, I am talking to you!"

"Manchu," Bai Caishen sternly said from behind them, "Everybody is already shocked. Don’t terrify them any further. Also, having adjacent room doesn’t mean much."

"How come you are so chilled with everything?"

"I am not chill."

"Doesn’t really look from your face," he sneered.

Bai Caishen didn’t bother to respond.

The pale attendant said, "I-I thought the same that he must be sleeping. But his lips looked blue and odd..."

Guo Juan gulped and with some courage, she stepped closer. "It looks like blue shade lipstick.."

"It’s not lipstick."

A white coat fluttered in the air and the devil took the center stage with his hands in his pockets. Just his aura made his presence feel known.

Jia broke through the crew and asked Juan to step back. "Please don’t be near the body until the investigation is complete. You should all be outside so as to not disturb the scene."

"I-investigation?" Shan’s eyes widened. "Why an investigation?"

"Wan Guanting has died. There will be standard police procedures. I have already informed the bureau here. The team is already on their way. Please head outside."

The crew did so as told while Meng Rin asked, confused. "But you are a cop too. You won’t be investigating?"

"My jurisdiction is in Beijing, Miss. Meng. I won’t have formal authority here, but I will be sure to assist them."

Jia supported her weight on her crutch and stepped closer to the bed. The blue color was visible on the lips and the tips on the fingers.

"Asphyxia," Mingshen said, observing the state of his body. "He died by suffocation."

That made even less sense to the already jarring situation before them.

Dong Haoyu asked from outside, dumbfounded, "Suffocation from what? He is sleeping on the bed."

Mingshen didn’t see any strangulation marks nor any signs on his neck so that was ruled out.

"Did he have asthma? Or any breathing related problem?"

"No," Bai Caishen answered. "Director Wan had no health issues. At least not that we know of."

Meng Rin said, "In fact, he always boasted of his healthy body. He regularly worked out and he talked about it a lot. I am sure he would have told us if he had a major health concern."

Jia asked, "So he was fine until two in the morning, and everybody can attest to that because that’s when you left his room?"

They nodded silently.

And he has no health concerns either...

Mingshen’s eyes followed Wan Guanting and thinking of something, he started sifting through the pillows. There were three more pillows apart from the one which Wan Guanting had used.

Mingshen turned the second pillow and his brow arched. He turned towards the attendant and asked, "Was there always a tear here?"

Jia peered in and found the pillow cover’s fabric was slightly torn off around the center.

The attendant sniffled and gave it a look. "No. Impossible. We don’t let any torn pillows or blankets or any broken things be in the room for the customer. We are very mindful about that. Anything broken or torn is immediately taken for repair. The other attendant, Lingling, who was in charge of setting this room ready for Mr. Wan, also confirmed that everything was in order."

Jia bent and ever so slightly lifted his blue discolored fingertips. Thin strands of white fiber were stuck to his nails. She looked up at Mingshen and nodded.

He smiled. "Then that confirms that he was suffocated. It wasn’t a natural death. He was murdered."

—-

"Let me in."

The Supervisor and in-charge of the case from Tianjin Public Security Bureau headed in with a stern and rigid countenance. His team quickly took charge of the situation and he came out a few minutes later.

Lei Honghui, a man in his early forties threw a squinted stare at the drama crew. "Who was the one to make the call?"

Jia limped forward. "I did."

He gazed at her with scrutiny from head to toe. "Are you part of the drama crew?"

"No. I came here separately for a vacation."

"I expected somebody from the crew would have called."

"They were in shock. Understandable. They rushed inside the room as soon as they heard the news. But I made them leave. The scene is intact."

Lei Honghui blinked. "Are you connected to the police force by any chance?"

"I am Song Jia. I work in the Beijing Public Security Bureau."

"No wonder you knew the protocol," he nodded. "Thank you for the assistance."

"Mr. Wan has died from asphyxiation. Somebody suffocated him with a pillow. There are cotton fibers present in his nails too," she crisply gave him an update.

His eyes slightly widened. "Wait, how do you know that?"

Her brow twitched. "Somebody told me..."

Mingshen chuckled and loudly said from her back, "You should also introduce who that somebody is."

She tried to keep up her smile. "Dr. Yang Mingshen. He is...the forensic investigator who helps me with my cases back in Beijing."

"That sounded like such music to ears, Spicy~ How about you also go ahead and tell just how much you adore working with me?"

She glowered. "Keep quiet!"

Lei Honghui pinched his brows together. "You should have left that upon me. I appreciate you managing the situation here but anything more than that wasn’t necessary."

She stared at him. "I am a cop, Supervisor Lei and a crime has happened before me. My work instincts kick in faster than anything else."

"Fine. But I will take it from here," he said roughly, "So please continue with enjoying your vacation."

Jia was about to say that she wouldn’t mind helping with the investigation, but he already left towards the crew to talk to them.

"Aww Spicy won’t be able to play police-police anymore~"

Her eyes narrowed at Mingshen, who was amusing himself with the chaos.

"What? I can see how badly you want to be a part of it but alas. This is not Beijing. And that," he craned his neck to look at Lei Honghui, "is one cold cop. He doesn’t like you. I wonder exactly where did you hit his nerve?"

"I don’t mind. He is a cop. A fairly senior one at that. He knows what to do."

His eyes gleamed mysteriously. "Well, one can only hope."