Siheyuan came through and sent Jia Zhang to prison

One of them rubbed his hands, which were numb with cold, his fingertips icy. He felt a chill run down his spine: "Something's not right. It's too quiet. Let's go up and check it out!"

Without pausing, the two rushed up the stairs, the old stair treads thumping under their feet. The sound echoed through the empty stairwell like the beating of a drum, making one's heart tighten. The short sticks in their hands were so hard they were burning hot, their knuckles turning white.

When they finally reached the door of the second-floor room, panting heavily, they pushed it open with a creak. The two men were instantly terrified—the room was empty except for Liu Li, slumped over the table, a dagger embedded in his back, its black hilt pointing upwards like a menacing symbol. Blood soaked through his dark silk robe, dripping down the edge of the table and staining the paper beneath it—a gruesome sight. His eyes were wide open, as if bulging from their sockets, as if he had witnessed something terrifying before his death. His lips were slightly parted, but his body was already cold and stiff as a stone.

"What...what happened?" One of them slammed into the doorframe with a thud, nearly collapsing to the ground, his voice trembling like a leaf. The other person panicked as well, frantically scanning the room—the windows were tightly shut, the latches were locked, and the door was bolted from the inside; they had had some trouble pushing it open earlier. They couldn't see a single person, as if the murderer had grown wings and vanished into thin air.

The two men, Liu Tao and Li Hua, were both police officers working for Liu Li. Liu Tao was deathly pale, his lips trembling, his hands gripping the hem of his clothes so tightly that the fabric was wrinkled. His mind was blank—they had come with Liu Li to this hideout to "broaden their horizons" and learn how to deal with people in the underworld, but they never expected that their boss would die so mysteriously after only standing guard downstairs for a short while.

This is no small matter. With Liu Li dead, who will be held accountable for this mess? If the higher-ups investigate, the two of them, as the ones guarding the door, will likely be the first to be pushed out to take the blame, and it's uncertain whether they'll even live to see tomorrow.

Li Hua was slightly calmer than him. He forced himself to walk to the table, his fingers trembling violently. He reached out and then pulled back, hesitating for a long time before daring to check Liu Li's breath and touch his neck. It was ice-cold to the touch, without even the last bit of warmth left. He finally withdrew his hand dejectedly, his voice hoarse, as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper: "No breath... completely dead."

Liu Tao suddenly looked up at him, his eyes filled with fear, tears welling up in his eyes: "What do we do now? We don't even know who did it!" Before he could finish speaking, Li Hua glared at him fiercely, his eyes like knives.

"Are you crazy?" Li Hua lowered his voice, his tone fierce, spitting as he spoke into Liu Tao's face. "Have you forgotten what we do? Hurry up and search, see if anything is amiss. The murderer can't just vanish into thin air! Search the window cracks, under the bed, everything thoroughly!"

The two exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with panic and helplessness. They could only grit their teeth and start searching the room. But apart from the gradually stiffening corpse, the room was as clean as if it had been specially tidied up. There wasn't even a single suspicious footprint left, and the teacups on the table were neatly arranged, as if nothing had just happened.

The wind howled outside the window, like a woman's weeping, rustling the tattered paper pasted on the windowpane with a swishing sound, as if someone was lurking in the shadows, their laughter sending chills down their spines. Li Hua's hand, gripping the short stick, was sweaty; only one thought occupied his mind: this place is eerie, we have to get out of here!

Li Hua squatted in a corner deep in the alley, his brows furrowed in a deep frown. The cigarette between his fingers had burned to the very end, the embers burning his fingertip, causing him to flinch in pain before belatedly throwing the butt on the ground and grinding it under his foot. Liu Li's death was truly bizarre—lying beside a pile of garbage, his face showing no sign of pain, as if he were asleep, but his eyes were wide open, staring straight at the night sky above, exuding an indescribable chill. The scene was excessively clean; there were no signs of a struggle, not even a single suspicious footprint. He and Liu Tao were just low-level officers at the local police station, usually dealing with neighborhood disputes and petty theft; they had never seen anything like this before.

He glanced at Liu Tao beside him. Liu Tao's face was as white as a sheet, his lips were trembling, and he could barely hold the flashlight in his hand. The beam of light was swaying violently against the wall. He was obviously more flustered than he was.

“This is beyond our ability to handle.” Li Hua stubbed out his cigarette, his voice filled with exhaustion from staying up all night and barely concealed tension. “Let’s go find Captain Zhao. Only by handing it over to the team can we have a plan. If we keep dragging this out, things will get even more difficult once it’s light and there are more people around.”

Liu Tao nodded repeatedly, as if grasping at a lifeline. He hurriedly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, the beads of sweat trickling down his cheeks and gathering into a small drop on his chin before "plop" landing on his clothes. "Okay, I'll go right now! Hua Zi, you keep an eye on things here. Don't let anyone in, and don't touch anything on site. I'll be right back!"

Li Hua responded in a muffled voice, watching Liu Tao stagger away, his steps so hurried he almost tripped on the steps. He glanced up again at the dark alley, the walls on both sides peeling and crumbling, moonlight filtering through the gaps in the overhead power lines, casting several crooked shadows on the ground. Liu Li's body still lay not far away, his faded jacket blackened by the grease from the garbage heap, his wide-open eyes like two bottomless pools of icy water, sending chills down one's spine.

Liu Tao ran all the way, his leather shoes clattering on the bluestone pavement. By the time he rushed into the police station compound, mud splattered all over his trousers, and his hair was soaked with sweat, sticking to his forehead. It was late at night, and only a few windows in the office building were still lit. Zhao Lei's office was on the third floor, at the far east end, and the glow of his desk lamp stood out conspicuously in the darkness.

He slammed open the half-closed door, panting like a broken bellows. There he saw Zhao Lei slumped over a table piled high with case files, one hand supporting his head, the other clutching a red pen. His eyes were bloodshot, and the dark circles under them were so deep they looked like he'd been punched. The enamel mug beside him was empty, with a layer of brown tea stains on the bottom. Cases had piled up recently, and everyone in the team was working non-stop. Tonight was Zhao Lei's turn to work the night shift, and judging by his appearance, he'd probably been up all night.

"Team... Captain!" Liu Tao's voice was choked with sobs, and he could barely speak.