Forensic Doctor: Finding the Way Back to the Mystery of Ancient Realms

The night was as dark as ink. The streets of S City were dimly lit, but the lights in the police station were still bright. Xu Youran and Situ Han sat in the office, with the old photo and the anonymous letter spread out on the table. Both of them looked extremely solemn.

"The scene in this photo is too similar to the case in the warehouse." Xu Youran said softly, his eyes fixed on the imprisoned figure in the photo.

Situ Han nodded, frowning. "Yes, and the handwriting issue also makes me uneasy. We must find its source as soon as possible."

Just as the two were lost in thought, a burst of hurried footsteps interrupted their thoughts. A police officer hurried into the office with a nervous look on his face.

"Commander Situ, Inspector Xu, there's a new case! This time, a body was found in an old theater in the south of the city. The cause of death was extremely strange!"

Xu Youran and Situ Han rushed to the scene and saw that the old theater was silent. Only the lights on the stage were still on, reflecting the lifelike shadow play props. In a corner of the stage, a corpse lay quietly, with a distorted face, as if filled with endless fear.

"This... is this a character in the shadow play?" Xu Youran looked at the corpse in surprise and found that its clothes were very similar to those of a shadow puppet on the stage.

Situ Han began to examine the body carefully. He found that there were many small wounds on the body, which seemed to be caused by sharp objects, but they were not fatal. "It seems that the murderer is playing with his life, making him be manipulated to death like a shadow puppet."

The two then conducted a comprehensive investigation of the scene and found some scattered shadow puppet fragments and a thin silver needle, which seemed to have blood stains on it.

As the investigation deepened, the identity of the victim gradually surfaced. He was a retired old shadow puppet artist who had a deep affection for shadow puppetry. After receiving the news, his family was heartbroken, but also angry and puzzled by the murderer's cruel behavior.

"My father has devoted his entire life to shadow puppetry. How could he get into something like this?" The victim's son said with tears streaming down his face and his voice choked with sobs.

Xu Youran comforted him softly, and at the same time asked whether the victim had any grudges with anyone or encountered anything unusual before his death.

"Recently, he was indeed preparing for an important shadow play performance, but according to him, everything went smoothly and he did not encounter any trouble," the victim's daughter added.

Based on the clues provided by the victims' families, Xu Youran and Situ Han began to track down people related to shadow play. They visited several shadow play workshops and troupes and found some clues, but they were all fragmented and difficult to piece together the complete truth.

During the investigation, they met a mysterious shadow puppet master who did not seem surprised by the victim's death, but instead showed a complex emotion. "He (the victim) was too obsessed with shadow puppetry, perhaps this was his fate." The master's words made the two of them feel a chill in their hearts, and they felt that things were far more complicated than they had imagined.

Just when the investigation reached a deadlock, an unexpected discovery brought a turning point to the case. They found a hidden studio in an abandoned warehouse, which was filled with various shadow play props and unfinished works. Even more shocking was that in a corner of the studio, they found a photo that was the same as the one in the victim's home, as well as a weird painting depicting a shadow play scene.

During the intense investigation, the relationship between Xu Youran and Situ Han became deeper. They faced unknown fears and dangers together, and their tacit understanding and trust in each other continued to deepen.

"You Ran, this case is too weird. I feel like we are involved in a huge conspiracy." Situ Han lamented during a late-night conversation.

Xu Youran nodded gently, with determination in her eyes. "No matter how big this conspiracy is, we have to face it together. Because we rely on each other."

The two smiled at each other. The understanding and support that needed no words made their hearts more closely connected.

Just as Xu Youran and Situ Han were about to leave the studio, a gust of wind blew past, gently rolling up a corner of the strange painting. They were surprised to find that on the back of the painting, there was a vague reminder written in tiny font: "Shadow puppetry is not a play, but human hearts are like a play, and the truth is hidden between light and shadow."

"What... does this mean?" Xu Youran frowned.

Situ Han looked at the painting thoughtfully, with a gleam in his eyes. "Perhaps this is the next clue left by the murderer. The shadow play murder case is only part of this serial mystery. We must continue to investigate and uncover all the truth."

The two decided to return to the police station immediately to conduct an in-depth study of this new clue. At the same time, they also had a premonition that as the investigation deepened, they would uncover a more shocking and complicated conspiracy.

Xu Youran and Situ Han finally found a key figure - a man who claimed to be a survivor of the S City massacre during the Republic of China. He claimed that he had important information about the case and was willing to meet with the two to discuss it in detail.

However, at the agreed meeting place, they were attacked by unknown forces. After a fierce battle, they successfully repelled the enemy, but the key figure mysteriously disappeared, leaving behind only a tattered diary and a letter pointing to the clue of "Shadow Play Murder Case Part 1".

"It seems that we are one step closer to the truth, but it is also more dangerous." Situ Han said in a deep voice as he looked at the diary and clue letter in his hand.

Xu Youran clenched his fists, his eyes gleaming with determination. "No matter how dangerous the road ahead is, we must go on together. Because we rely on each other and are the protectors of this city."

To be continued...