Muchuan and Xiang Wan - Chapter 79

Chapter 79: Refined Nose & Cherry Lips

Xiang Wan felt a chill in the heart.

A feeling of chill went down her spine.

Bai Muchuan was a little too late!

And Cheng Zheng—

Ultimately, he did not listen to her suggestion and missed the best time to save Huang He.

It was indeed a pity.

At this moment, Tang Yuanchu and the two detectives who brought the police dog started to get busy in the room.

Mei Xin looked at Cheng Zheng as well as Bai Muchuan. “I’ll start working now.”

“Hm.” Cheng Zheng acknowledged and put on his gloves when Xiang Wan suddenly exclaimed.

“Wait! I have an idea.”

Both Cheng Zheng and Bai Muchuan turned around and saw her suddenly excited face.

Not sure what Xiang Wan had thought of, her eyes were wide-open, flashing with sparks as if she was a little girl who had opened Pandora’s box out of a sudden. That enthusiastic look of hers somehow gave off a supernatural aura.

“What idea?”

Cough! Xiang Wan cleared her throat and regained her composure after realizing the stares of both men.

“Actually, I just wanted to suggest to Captain Cheng whether we can examine the ashes…”

Bai Muchuan used his hand to prop his temples as he lowered his head, not saying a word.

Cheng Zheng chose to be more direct. “In order for the body to be completely decomposed in the fire, the temperature of the furnace is usually around 1,000 degrees. At this temperature, all organic matter would be burned, same for drugs as well… Teacher Xiang didn’t know about this?”

Xiang Wan was already unhappy about the fact that Cheng Zheng had refused to do another autopsy. Now that he chose to reply her so sharply, she returned a not-so-polite awkward laugh.

“I didn’t know that. As you can see, I’m not dead yet. Captain Cheng is so capable as you know so clearly about all these.”

Thinking back of what she said, she seemed to be implying…

Bai Muchuan grunted a laugh, “It’s as if you’re saying Captain Cheng has died before.”

Pffft! Xiang Wan couldn’t hold her laughter.

She was just implying it, but Bai Muchuan said it out openly.

Seeing the two of them echoing with each other, their attitude seemed to be more than friends. However, there wasn’t any trace of any emotion on Cheng Zheng’s face, not even displeasure although both of them had mocked at him.

“The ashes were burnt to fine powder without any value for examination.” He looked at Xiang Wan, unperturbed. “I suggest to Teacher Xiang to watch lesser trashy shows…”

That’s a rebuttal for sure!

She got retorted by a cold-blooded animal called Cheng Zheng.

Xiang Wan rolled her eyes. She was ticked off by his calmness and totally unconcerned attitude.

“At least trashy shows taught me to be compassionate. Well, I would suggest Captain Cheng to take a look if you have time. When you’ve watched more of such shows, who knows if you might be able to cultivate some humanity? That’s a good thing too.”

Cheng Zheng narrowed his eyes.

That night, Xiang Wan was particularly cutting in her remarks.

Every sentence she said encompassed her dissatisfaction toward him.

She was being antagonistic toward him, and Cheng Zheng did not like that feeling. As for Bai Muchuan… he was displeased, even much more than Cheng Zheng.

Be it good or bad, hate or love, if one showed too much emotions toward someone, one would pay special attention to that someone all the time.

Bai Muchuan took a glance at Xiang Wan and patted her shoulder lightly.

“Not everything can be cultivated…”

Eh? Xiang Wan took two seconds to react. He was echoing her words to say that Cheng Zheng lacked humanity.

She was simmering with laughter and wanted to say something when he leaned over and whispered, as if the two of them were having a private conversation. “Feelings, however, can be cultivated,” he said teasingly.

“…”

Feelings can be cultivated?

Xiang Wan did not think that he was trying to flirt.

This was because she saw annoyance on Cheng Zheng’s face, obviously because of Bai Muchuan’s words.

Bai Muchuan obviously knew how to antagonize people, and he was much better than Xiang Wan on that.

“Found anything?” He turned to look at the rest of the detectives, putting on a serious demeanor as if he was not the one who teamed up with Xiang Wan earlier.

“Not yet, Captain Bai,” answered Tang Yuanchu.

Bai Muchuan nodded and said to Cheng Zheng, “Get cracking! Once work is done, you might still have time to go home and watch some television dramas…”

Cheng Zheng took a glance at him, pursed his lips and started to work.

“…”

Xiang Wan looked at Bai Muchuan’s serious expression and felt somewhat amused.

This fellow!

…

Xiang Wan watched how the detectives work.

Soon, the police dog grabbed Xiang Wan’s attention.

…

What a cool dog!

It was a german shepherd with a black back and a huge frame.

It looked really serious when it worked.

Yes, even when it was wagging its tail, it seemed to be different from the ordinary dogs.

Xiang Wan liked it a lot.

She had never had a pet before. Nevertheless, at that moment, she had the sudden notion of keeping a german shepherd as a pet.

If she were to have a dog, she might no longer be afraid when she walked along the dark alley.

She could bring the dog along to get breakfast and no one would dare to approach her easily.

When she was home alone, the dog would keep her company. She need not worry that it would ever betray her. It would definitely be more obedient and understanding than a boyfriend…

She was smiling from ear to ear as her eyes followed the dog to wherever it went.

When it went toward the east, she would look to the east. When it headed to the west, she would follow suit as well.

“Xiang Wan!” Bai Muchuan suddenly called her.

“Ah?” Xiang Wan broke out of her trance and looked toward him.

Bai Muchuan was standing beside Tang Yuanchu and he reached out both arms to her. “Come, help me roll these up.”

“?” Xiang Wan had a confused expression.

Bai Muchuan started to pull a long face, his arms still hanging in the air. “Quick, help me! It’s inconvenient to work like this.”

He was wearing gloves and was unable to roll up his sleeves.

But why did he call for her as if he was sure she would help?

Xiang Wan squinted her eyes and realized that besides herself, everyone else was wearing gloves.

Fine!

She looked at him then went over and rolled up his sleeves.

Bai Muchuan lowered his head to look at her serious little face—she had a refined nose, cherry lips, long and curly eyelashes as well as fair, delicate skin…

Both of them were standing quite close to each other.

His breath seemed to land on her face where she felt itchy.

This kind of feeling made Xiang Wan felt abashed as well as ambiguous.

Huff! She quickly rolled up his sleeves for him and took two steps back as if protecting herself from a plague. “Done!”

Bai Muchuan frowned. “What are you doing?”

“What do you mean?”

“One moment you were grinning at the dog, the next you are so nervous as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

Hurhur! Xiang Wan finally caught something she could use..

“You’re right! I grin when I see the dog, and I get nervous when I see a ghost.”

Bai Muchuan: “…”

He pulled a long face at her. “Do you believe that I’ll ask you to go downstairs to get water for me?”

Sh*t! Xiang Wan was stunned for a brief second then smiled slowly, “Do you believe that I would not bother with you at all?”

With that, she quickly composed herself and walked away to look at the police dog.

…

This was the first time Xiang Wan had come in close contact with the police dog.

In the past, she felt police dogs were a mysterious breed. She was very curious about the way police dogs worked.

Cool! It’s really too cool!

She held her breath as she walked closer to look more carefully at the dog.

“Woof woof! Woof woof woof…”

Not waiting for her to come closer, the police dog barked so suddenly that Xiang Wan let out a scream and took a few steps back, her heart pounding furiously.

Oh my! It’s so fierce!

“My apologies, I just wanted to look…”

She lifted both of her hands and was embarrassed for disrupting their work.

Before she finished her sentence, however, everyone started to get excited and walked over to the police dog…

“Xiao Tian, what did you find?”

“What’s the situation?”

The police dog was not barking at her at all.

The direction that the dog was barking at, was exactly the spot that Sun Shangli had jumped down…

That spot was a huge window that was framed inside the wall.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense.

Xiang Wan’s back went stiff. She clenched her fists as she followed Bai Muchuan to walk to the window.

“Is there anything strange with the window?”

The police dog would not be able to answer that, of course.

Swoosh! Bai Muchuan drew the curtains open.

Outside the window, they could see the fountain in front of “The Palace”.

The fountain was not opened, but the goddess statue at the fountain was there. The dancing gesture looked arrogant and beautiful in the dark, and the slightly lifted face showed an expression that seemed like a sneer…

Of course, at Xiang Wan’s position, she was unable to see the expression of the goddess distinctively.

It was because Xiang Wan had remembered the features of the goddess that she somehow felt that she was mocking at everyone.

Xiang Wan was thinking: Sun Shangli was standing right here that night, dancing on a very tall stool, not having anything on. What was she feeling when she was dancing in front of the men and women in this room?

If the forensics team was accurate in their autopsy report that she did not take any drugs, that would mean she was clear-headed. Won’t her suffering be deeper in this case?

There was sheer decadence within the window. Outside the window was the haughtiness of the goddess.

Sun Shangli was also once like a goddess that had a bright future ahead of her!

…

Would she feel that the goddess outside the window was mocking at her?

When the police barged in, she jumped. Xiang Wan felt that she seemed to want to leap toward the goddess statue?

…

Xiang Wan’s mind was in a disarray.

Her brain cells were so active that she felt chilly throughout.

“Xiao Tian! What’s wrong?”

The police dog seemed to get impatient as the detectives hovered around the window.

He was still barking and looked extremely restless as he sniffed desperately in the air. Suddenly, he dashed toward a corner of the wall below the window, trying very hard to dig with his front paws.

The dog’s paws were sharp, and the wallpaper started to get scratches.

Well…

Xiang Wan suddenly had a thought. “Could it be that there’s something strange inside the wall?”

Bai Muchuan had a severe expression; he watched on as Xiao Tian seemed intent on digging the wall. He slowly walked over, patted the dog’s head and stroked its back as an indication for it to quieten down before getting a detective to lead him aside.

“Grab some tools! Dig the wall.”

“Ah?” Tang Yuanchu felt perturbed and asked again, “Now?”

Bai Muchuan squinted his eyes and looked at him from the sideways. “Is there a problem?”

Tang Yuanchu shook his head. “No.”

A detective needed to get their work done fast. They work around the clock as and when necessary, regardless of what time it was.

It was just that…

Tang Yuanchu gave it a thought. “We should at least inform the owner about it and obtain his permission?”

After all, “The Palace” was such an expensive place, what if the owner made them compensate for making holes on the wall?

With Huang He’s case serving as a lesson for them, the detectives were now more careful in their actions.

Bai Muchuan nodded his head in approval and ordered, “Dig!”

Just one word was enough to show his boldness.

Alright, let’s not forget the owner of “The Palace” is his elder cousin.

Tang Yuanchu recalled that and hastily got to work.

A short while later, Tang Yuanchu came back with the manager who brought a tool box with him.

He seemed to be worried. “This wall… is it really alright to make a hole in… this wall?”

“It’s not the load-bearing wall.” Bai Muchuan gave him a look. “I’ll answer to your boss, you need not worry about it.”

“Alright, I got it.” The manager looked relieved, and he stood aside to not disrupt their work.

The next moment, Bai Muchuan handed the tool box to Cheng Zheng. “Such stuff is better left to the forensics team.”

“…”

Digging a hole in the wall was not that simple, but as they had tools, it should not be too much of a hassle either.

The wallpaper was cut and torn apart. Next, the paint and plaster were removed bit by bit…

The hole started to get bigger and bigger, but there was nothing inside the wall.

Xiao Tian was looking menacingly at the wall and started to bark even more fiercely.

If not for the leash, he would surely dash to the wall and dig, or maybe bite.

But what exactly did the dog find in the wall?

The police dog was unable to communicate to people but what was certain was that he would not bark for no reason.

“Continue!” Bai Muchuan could not stand Cheng Zheng working slowly on the wall. “Everyone, dig the wall!”

Many hands make light work.

No one talked. Everyone was busy working on the wall.

The atmosphere was rigid, tense and stuffy. There were beads of perspiration on Xiang Wan’s head.

She held her breath, stood at where she was and stared at the wall.

It was as though the next second, something might pop out from the wall.

Time seemed to be moving extremely slowly.

The walls started to get mottled and scattered from their digging.

Nevertheless, be it inside or surface of the wall, there still was nothing.

“What’s the matter? Xiao Tian?” Tang Yuanchu asked the police dog.

Xiao Tian still continued to bark fiercely. His serious face showed his frustration of being unable to make them understand.

“Could it be that Xiao Tian is just feeling hungry?”

“…”

Someone chuckled a laugh.

“Actually with regards to this case… I wanted to say if we have overthink it to be too complicated?”

“… Exactly.”

“Taking drugs, committing suicide, it’s just something simple…”

“Shut up!” Bai Muchuan stood up suddenly.

There was a sharp, piercingly-cold aura from his handsome face.

Xiang Wan’s heart was in her mouth when she saw him like that.

He turned slowly toward Cheng Zheng and pointed at the bits of the wall that they had dug.

“Take a sample of that for a test!”

…

“Let’s withdraw!”

Everyone packed up and came down from the fifth floor.

In the main hall, the manager and a few waiters had dutifully prepared some drinks and snacks.

“Officers, you’ve worked hard. Please have some food before you go.”

“It’s alright. Thank you!” Bai Muchuan removed his gloves. “We’ve troubled you tonight.”

Most of the time, he was polite and courteous. Even though they had come to “The Palace” for work, they had indirectly made the employees stay up together with them. He was certainly not one of those selfish and good-for-nothing wealthy spoilt brats.

“It’s nothing, really.” The manager sent them out with a smile. “I hope we can resume operations soon…”

Bai Muchuan glanced at him. “Do make adjustments according to the guidelines!”

“Yes, we will.”

…

The light rain had not stopped. The air outside was much fresher than inside the building.

Xiang Wan stretched herself. “Oh my, why did I feel that I’m alive again!”

Earlier when she was on the fifth floor, she had felt slightly out of breath.

“In that room, somehow, I get a feeling of fear that I have stepped into a murder scene?”

She remarked in a joking manner, but subconsciously, her eyes were looking at the tall goddess statue at the fountain.

In the dark, the goddess still had that expression.

Suddenly, Xiang Wan felt her heart skip a beat and was somewhat terrified. She quickly retracted her gaze and looked at Bai Muchuan. “I feel that my direct psychological response is worth referencing…”

“That’s simply your own psychological hint!” Bai Muchuan snorted, “Stop your self-hypnosis or you won’t be far away from Zhan Yuan. Sooner or later, you’re going to become a scammer like him.”

“…”

Psychological hint, self-hypnosis.

What he said did make some sense. Due to the subconscious hints in her mind, she would constantly try to reinforce her thoughts and would find everything to be a problem. When that happens, she might talk non-stop about it. Take for example the goddess statue, it was just an ordinary statue, but because of her psychological hint, she would feel the expression scary and eerie…

Ain’t all these just her thoughts?

Xiang Wan took a deep breath and laughed. “Okay, you’re right this time.”

Bai Muchuan took a look at her.

At this moment, everyone proceeded to get into their cars.

Naturally, Xiang Wan had prepared to go in the same car as him.

Bai Muchuan helped to shield her from the rain and opened the door for her.

“Let Tang Yuanchu send you back.”

What about you? Not going back?

Xiang Wan thought that inside her head, but she did not ask. Instead, she just smiled.

“Thank you!”

…

Tang Yuanchu followed Bai Muchuan’s instructions and sent Xiang Wan right to the doorstep of her rented apartment. He only left when Fang Yuanyuan woke up to open the door for her.

However, when Fang Yuanyuan saw Tang Yuanchu’s back view, she was shocked.

“D*rn! Xiang Wan, you’ve got another target?”

“Hush!” Xiang Wan dashed in immediately, wishing she could have covered Fang Yuanyuan’s mouth. “Don’t talk nonsense! People are going to joke about it.”

“Hey, isn’t that guy…”

“What are you thinking about?”

Xiang Wan closed the door by giving it a kick with a leg as she gave Fang Yuanyuan a glare.

The house was filled with warm lights, and the familiar sense of home swarmed towards her.

Even though this was a rented apartment, it was her home for now.

Xiang Wan heaved a long sigh of relief when she came home. She pushed her luggage aside, threw her bag on the sofa and gave Fang Yuanyuan a bear hug.

“My darling, I’m back. Quick, call me Sis, I’ve brought you nice food…”

“Oh please!” Fang Yuanyuan wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Where did you go earlier? You smell! Go have a good wash.”

“Okay, Little Fangzi[1], go fill water in the bathtub for this lady!”

“Huh? Scram!”

The two of them jested around happily as if the happy moments had come back again.

Xiang Wan took out the snacks she bought from the capital and placed them on the coffee table before she went for a bath.

When she came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her head, she realized that Fang Yuanyuan had brought all the snacks into the bedroom. She was sitting on the bed, eating the snacks piece by piece. But, she looked quiet and weary.

Xiang Wan stopped moving at that instant.

She suddenly wondered how Fang Yuanyuan had spent her days during these two weeks that she was not around.

“Yuanyuan.” Xiang Wan furrowed her eyebrows. “You haven’t been eating well? You’ve lost a lot of weight!”

Fang Yuanyuan rolled her eyes casually and offered her a snack. “I’m on a diet! It’s not been easy for me to slim down.”

Do people lose weight like this?

Xiang Wan puffed a sigh, rejected the snack and sat on the chair to blow-dry her hair.

“You… do you know you’re torturing yourself?” Xiang Wan suddenly remarked.

The loud humming sounds of the blow dryer covered Fang Yuanyuan’s soft sigh in response.

“I’m not torturing myself. I just… miss him sometimes.”

Xiang Wan’s hand that held the blow dryer suddenly tightened. She got reminded of Huang He who was being detained, but she found herself not able to say those words to Fang Yuanyuan that she had been keeping inside her heart.

She was in a daze and recovered when she felt a somewhat scalding pain in her scalp.

She turned to look at Fang Yuanyuan. “Stop eating, go back to sleep. When you’re asleep, you won’t think so much.”

“Hm.” Fang Yuanyuan put away the snacks. She washed her hands and brushed her teeth before going to bed.

When she got up the bed, she turned around and back-faced Xiang Wan.

The night was now quiet.

Even the humming sounds of the blow dryer could not bring away the chilly feeling of loneliness.

Xiang Wan knew that Fang Yuanyuan had not fallen asleep, but she didn’t know how to comfort her.

When she finished drying her hair, she lay beside Fang Yuanyuan and picked up her mobile phone.

There was a message that was sent 30 minutes ago from Bai Muchuan.

“I’m in the office waiting for Cheng Zheng to finish with his testing on the sample. Do rest early!”

Xiang Wan looked at each and every word of the message.

She took a long time to look at it and edited her reply several times.

Finally, she deleted everything and only replied with a word—”Okay”.

The night seemed long. She was unable to fall sleep.

Xiang Wan’s mind was in a state of confusion after going to the fifth floor of “The Palace”. The scenes of the goddess statue when she looked down from the fifth floor window kept flashing by in her head.

Since she could not sleep, she decided to write about the details of the case in her mobile phone.

Maybe it was because she was writing her story based on a real case, and in addition to having been to the “crime scene” earlier, the experience and conjectures she formed had simulated her brain so much that she realized the speed of her fingers could not keep up to the speed of her brain.

This can’t do, I have to write all these down using the laptop, Xiang Wan thought.

When inspiration arrives, it can’t be stopped.

She got out of bed, carried her laptop to the living room, and sat on the sofa. Then she wrote whatever she had thought earlier.

As she had a lot of ideas, it was a smooth process for her. When she finished writing, it was already around three o’clock in the wee hours.

Xiang Wan checked her work before she uploaded the chapter and published it. When all these were completed, she went to bed.

This time, she had peace of mind and was able to get a good sleep.

When it was early morning, she was awakened by the shrill ringing tone of her mobile phone. She was so irritated that she wanted to cuss.

“You better have a very good reason to explain the reason of your call, or else…”

The one who called was Bai Muchuan. “Xiang Wan!” His voice sounded dead serious and had successfully gotten her to listen. “We have a major discovery! However, since you didn’t want to know… Then, bye!”

“Eh? Don’t!”

Xiang Wan immediately sobered up.

However, it was too late. She could only hear the hateful sounds of the disconnected call.

Bai Muchuan had hung up the phone!

What the! This guy!

Xiang Wan was peeved. She scratched her head in dismay. She didn’t really want to call back, but she lost control of her finger. Tap!

“Hello Detective Bai, what’s the major discovery? Quick, tell me about it!”

Bai Muchuan’s unhurried voice had a hint of fatigue. “Oh? Beg me then?”

“…”

This fellow!

Xiang Wan gnashed her teeth and decided to use a soft, mushy voice that even she would get goosebumps all over.

“Detective Bai, I beg of you. Tell me about it, please.”

“…”

Bai Muchuan could really be disgusted by that. Maybe?

There was a short pause and he puffed a breath that sounded like relief.

“I feel glad that I haven’t eaten my breakfast.”

“So?” Xiang Wan’s eyebrow were raised.

“So, come out and eat with me. We’ll talk over breakfast.”

“Okay, that makes sense.” Xiang Wan felt it was amusing. “I haven’t had my breakfast too.”

She had adopted a healthier routine recently, so it was time for her to get up and eat.

“Where are you?”

“Hurhur!” Bai Muchuan chuckled a laugh. “At the breakfast eatery near your neighborhood together with Cheng Zheng.”

Oh! Cheng Zheng is there too?

That means they have worked for one whole night without sleep?

Xiang Wan suddenly felt his earlier laugh didn’t sound quite right. There was a chilly feeling to it.

“I want to find out for myself what’s so different about the taste of breakfast here,” sneered Bai Muchuan, as if he was suggesting something.

Breakfast is just breakfast. What’s so different about it?

Xiang Wan felt that the brain of this guy must have malfunctioned.

Nevertheless, seeing him work so hard to serve the people, she did not want to antagonize him.

“Yeah, the taste is really not bad. Wait for me, I’ll be right there!”

[1] form of address used in ancient times for the eunuch with ‘little’ at the front and ‘zi’ at the back. The centre name would be different for every eunuch for differentiation.