Chapter Fourteen: Who Is Missing Here?

Everyone had returned to their rooms. Fang Nian booked a room on the second floor at the front desk, carried the woman inside, and gently laid her on the bed. As her bloodstained clothing was no longer wearable, before returning, Fang Nian had borrowed a light purple sweater from the girl in the couple and even asked her to help the woman change into it.

By the time everything settled down, it was already 8 p.m. Fang Nian sat in a chair, watching the woman who still lay on the bed.

Truth be told, she was rather pretty.

“All right, enough pretending. I know you’ve been awake for a while. Get up and let’s talk.”

After a moment, the woman opened her eyes timidly and looked at Fang Nian.

“Officer, I know I was wrong. I won’t ever do anything like this again. Please have mercy—just let me go.”

Fang Nian was at a loss; up until now, he had no idea where to begin. And now, with this line from her, he was even more unsure what to say. It was as if he had traveled through time again, his soul inhabiting the body of a stranger.

Still, from the way she spoke, it seemed he had arrested her. He must have locked her in the trunk, and on the way to some destination, the car accident had occurred, triggering everything that followed.

Fang Nian realized she must hold some clue, perhaps even something that would reveal his own identity. He reached behind his waist for the handcuffs he’d discovered earlier and set them on the table, his tone lowering.

“Letting you go isn’t out of the question, but it depends on your cooperation. If you tell me what I want to know, maybe I’ll consider letting you off.”

At these words, a flicker of excitement passed through the woman’s eyes, but she quickly reverted to a meek and deferential demeanor.

“Will you keep your word?”

“Of course.”

“All right, actually it’s like this…”

But before she could finish, a woman’s piercing scream echoed through the hallway.

Fang Nian’s body tensed, and he bit his lip.

“So, it’s finally here.”

With that thought, Fang Nian quickly cuffed the woman to the radiator in the room.

“Don’t move. Wait here for me.”

With that, he rushed out.

The corridor was already crowded with people. Fang Nian edged his way through.

“What happened?”

The bald proprietor recognized Fang Nian and hurried to explain.

“Officer, you should take a look. Someone’s dead.”

Fang Nian was startled. He looked up to see, on the landing between the first and second floors, the young man from the couple sitting with his back against the wall, his head drooping, eyes wide open and staring ahead, mouth agape as if he’d seen something terrifying.

“What happened?” Fang Nian asked.

The young man’s girlfriend was already in tears. At his question, she tried to compose herself enough to answer.

“Just now…I called him. I said my stomach hurt and I wanted…wanted some brown sugar water. I waited in the room for over twenty minutes and he still hadn’t returned, so I went to look for him…and then…oh…”

Fang Nian frowned, crouching to examine the man’s wound.

“He was stabbed in the chest with a sharp blade, straight on. From the angle and force, the killer is clearly a professional. That’s why he died without making a sound.”

At this, panic swept through the crowd.

“A killer? That’s impossible!”

“Yes, there are only a handful of us staying here tonight. How could there be a killer among us?”

“My boyfriend is a good person. He doesn’t have any enemies.”

“What about money? Could it have been a robbery?”

“Maybe. You should check if his wallet’s still there.”

“Would he have brought his wallet just to fetch some water?”

“Not necessarily…”

“All right, enough,” the doctor who had treated the injured woman in Fang Nian’s room suddenly shouted.

“Quiet, everyone. I know…who the killer is.”

Instantly, the corridor fell silent, everyone stunned by the doctor’s words.

“Doctor, you can’t just say things like that,” someone protested.

The doctor pulled out a cloth, removed his glasses to wipe them, then put them back on with a confident air.

“Boss, when I was helping that woman in the lobby earlier, wasn’t everyone in the inn present?”

The bald proprietor nodded.

“Yes, all registered guests were there.”

The doctor nodded, his tone taking on the gravity of a detective.

“There are ten people in total in this inn: myself, the owner, the father and son, Yellow-Hair and Red-Hair, this young lady and the deceased gentleman, the officer, and his girlfriend.”

At this, the doctor’s gaze swept eerily across Fang Nian.

“So, everyone, who’s missing?”

At the doctor’s words, everyone turned to look—and realized only Fang Nian’s supposed girlfriend was absent.

Fang Nian’s heart skipped a beat. He turned to look at the doctor.

“I think you’re overthinking it. She and I have been together in our room the whole time. She’s never left my side—how could it be her?”

As if expecting this reply, the doctor smiled slyly.

“Really? Officer, there’s no need to hide anymore. Just tell us—who is that woman?”

Fang Nian was caught off guard by the doctor’s sudden change in demeanor.

The doctor grinned.

“Fine. I’ll say it. That woman isn’t your girlfriend at all—she’s a suspect you apprehended.”

“A suspect?”

“Yes. When I was treating her, I noticed marks on her mouth from tape, and ligature marks on her wrists and ankles. What kind of person treats their girlfriend that way?”

“Furthermore, when I examined the corpse, I found the murder weapon was a military knife, standard police issue. And under the victim’s fingernails were fibers from a light purple sweater. If I’m not mistaken, Officer, didn’t you borrow a sweater like that for your so-called girlfriend?”

At these words, nearly everyone turned to Fang Nian, their eyes questioning.

Fang Nian could have cursed. It was clear he’d been set up. From the moment he entered the room until now, the woman had never left his sight. How could she have committed murder elsewhere?

But the doctor spoke with such certainty that there was no way to explain.

“Yes, I admit we’re not a couple. She’s the suspect I apprehended. But we were together in the room the whole time—she never left my sight. How could it be her?”

The doctor’s strange smile returned.

“Officer, are you sure she was in your room?”

“Ah…”

Fang Nian’s heart leapt. Before he could say another word, another scream rang out from the end of the corridor. Instinctively, everyone rushed toward the source, the end of the second floor—the very room Fang Nian had just left.

As the crowd pushed inside, they were stunned: Yellow-Hair was dead in the same manner, right there in Fang Nian’s room. The woman Fang Nian had handcuffed to the radiator had vanished, leaving behind only a pair of cold, empty handcuffs.