Lin Dongxue curiously asked, "What are you doing with a pillow?"

"To investigate the case. Let's go back to the forensics lab." Chen Shi stood up and went outside.

The two returned to the bureau and ate a simple meal nearby. Considering the suspicious nature of the case, Lin Dongxue immediately applied for a case to be opened. This time, Lin Qiupu still allowed Lin Dongxue to lead the task force, but the assigned staff was limited. There were only Xu Xiaodong, Little Li and Old Zhang beside her. Chen Shi could also count as a staff member.

Lin Dongxue opened a simple project meeting to debrief the members about the case.

"...The situation is like this right now. I don't know why the deceased was killed, but there is a high probability that the murderer is inside the hospital..."

Chen Shi added, "Those inside of the hospital refers to the people who stayed in the hospital that night."

Lin Dongxue felt that this was not a big case this time. They should be able to find out who the murderer is and what the motive was once they sorted out the interpersonal relationships within the hospital.

Peng Sijue came in and announced, "The autopsy is finished. The time of death is indeed around 4:00 in the morning. The deceased doesn’t have signs of sexual assault. In fact, she’s still a virgin. The direct cause of death is a blow on the lateral cranium. It should be caused by a blunt instrument. The deceased has broken a nail on her left index finger. You can go to the scene to look for it. Maybe there are traces left on it by the murderer."

Chen Shi said, "I have a pillow here. You can take a look at it using the iodine testing method."

"Is it related to the case?"

Chen Shi said with a mysterious smile, "I don't know if it’s related, but there should be surprises anyway."

Peng Sijue showed a face of defeat. "I can’t do anything about you." Then, he took the pillow handed to him by Chen Shi and they went to the lab together. Peng Sijue clamped the pillow with the clips, hung it in a sealed box, and implemented the iodine method with alcohol at the bottom.

The iodine vapor continued to spread in the box. Just like a ghost film, a face slowly appeared on the pillow. The expression was that of a painful one as well.

Lin Dongxue was surprised. "What’s this?"

Chen Shi explained, "This is a pillow used by an old man who died last night. I accidentally found that there were bleeding points in his pupils. I suspected that he was forcefully suffocated and murdered. I asked the head nurse to change the pillow. It was indeed as I thought!"

The pillow was pressed on the face of the old man and the oil on his face remained on the pillow.

Chen Shi said, "It may not be related to the case. Do you want to check it out anyway?"

"Let’s check!" Lin Dongxue confirmed. "Any killing must not be tolerated."

"It is also a coincidence that the other party is someone I happen to be acquainted with. I’ll go and find him. I’ll let you handle the hospital side of things.” Chen Shi took a picture of the pillow.

"We can probably guess what the situation is. The other party will now rush to cremate the body. You guys need to quickly retrieve the body. Without the body, they won’t be found guilty." Peng Sijue said.

"I’ll go right away. Send over some help for me. I can’t get the body alone.”

Chen Shi left with an intern coroner. He called Xue Chengyi and told him he needed to find him. Xue Chengyi said, "I’m really sorry but I’m at the crematorium. My father is preparing for cremation."

Chen Shi probed, "Boss Xue, isn’t the whole funeral process done a bit in haste?"

"A lot of relatives came from other places, so they want to go back to work after quickly conducting the funeral.”

"Wait a minute, don’t cremate the deceased yet. I’ll be arriving soon.”

"Understood."

Chen Shi was worried that Xue Chengyi was not going to keep his word and called the funeral home of Long'an City. He said that the police requested that the cremation of the elderly’s remains be halted.

When they arrived at the funeral parlor, Chen Shi saw a group of friends and relatives crying in front of a box. The host of the ceremony said empathetically, "Although Old Man Xue has left us, his voice and smile will remain in our hearts forever!"

Xue Chengyi and his wife were amongst the relatives and friends. They were crying and mourning as well. Chen Shi was so angry that he couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

He stood here and waited for the ceremony to end. Xue Chengyi walked over and said, "Sorry, the staff urged me to finish it, and there are so many relatives and friends waiting. I couldn’t do anything but cremate my father.”

"You don’t think you conducted everything too quickly?"

"Officer Chen, are you doubting me?" Xue Chengyi observed Chen Shi's look.

Since matters were like this now, they could only find ways to collect other evidence. Chen Shi smiled. "Nothing, nothing... I just wanted to pay my respects to him!"

"Thank you so much."

Chen Shi went to the box and bowed. The filial sons and grandsons on both sides bowed back to him. Chen Shi wondered if this deed was done by Xue Chengyi alone, or by the husband and wife. Did his brother and sister know?

He also had a bold conjecture. Does Xue Chengyi killing his father have anything to do with the death of the nurse? How can I prove this connection?

Xue Chengyi came over to shake hands with Chen Shi and handed over a cigarette. He said, "If Officer Chen is okay with it, would you like to come to the restaurant and have a meal with us?”

Chen Shi took out his mobile phone and transferred Xue Chengyi a gift of 500 yuan. He said, "This is just a representation of my thoughts to you and your family."

"Don't dare to accept! I don’t dare to accept it!" Xue Chengyi fiddled with his mobile phone and returned the money.

Chen Shi pressed his hand. "If you don’t accept it, I won’t come to have a meal with you."

"Then, excuse me. Did you drive? Do you want to come on the bus with us or will you drive over?”

"I’ll go on the bus!"

"Okay. There are other relatives and friends to say hello to, so I’ll talk to you later."

"You’re busy, so don't worry about me."

Chen Shi’s face held a smile and Xue Chengyi walked away. As he left, he and his wife whispered a few words to each other. The wife glanced at Chen Shi’s eyes, so Chen Shi thickened his skin and waved at her. The wife forced a polite smile back, but although the skin smiled, the meat did not[1].

Chen Shi went back to the little coroner and apologized. "Sorry, leaving you all alone. Are you going to go to the dinner party with me or will you head back directly?”

"You need to provide a monetary gift for the dinner party, right? I can’t afford it.”

"Then you drive my car back and tell Captain Peng that the body was burned by them. Also, tell him that I’ll collect some other evidence.”

"Brother Chen, you need to be careful." The little forensic doctor took the car keys and left.

Being forced to participate in the funeral, Chen Shi actually looked very calm and kept saying hello to everyone. He chatted with Xue Chengyi’s brothers and sisters and understood that Xue Chengyi's father had esophageal cancer. It was already in the late stages and according to the doctor, he only had a few months left to live.

He was already over eighty years old, so he had a good run already. This was why the relatives didn’t show too much grief.

As for Xue Chengyi's economic situation, his younger brother said that Xue Chengyi's clothing business had been flourishing. There were three houses in the family and he often helped his younger siblings financially. This time, as his father was sick, he was also the person who paid for all the medical expenses.

Afterwards, everyone went to the hotel by bus. On the road, Chen Shi was checking the progress on Lin Dongxue’s side.

They spent an afternoon searching from the grass to the ward that the deceased fell from. Finally, they found the broken nail with some blood on it. They weren’t sure if it was from the deceased or if it was from someone else, so it was sent back to identify.

The more Lin Dongxue understood the situation, the more she felt that the doctor was the most suspicious. She asked him to go to the bureau on the grounds that he needed to assist with the investigation.

1. An expression that means that it was a very fake and forced smile.