"Tenlong Auction House is owned by the Shangguan family, managed by Wan Chunhui." Liang Ge's answer was as concise as the information he provided.
"Thank you."
Lu Fei memorized the name and carefully put away the few thin pages of information. This was the only clue left by his grandfather over the past three years.
"May I ask, how much is the investigation fee?"
"Well…"
Before Liang Ge could answer, Xie Yao interrupted, "No need. I've already paid for it. I promised to help Shopkeeper Lu find his grandfather, and I intend to keep that promise."
Lu Fei said, "This is my own matter; how can I let Miss Xie spend money for me?"
"It's what I should do! It was wrong of me to hide the news of my grandfather's death before; you must let me make amends!"
Determination filled Xie Yao's pale face.
"Besides, Liang Ge is one of us, so this small amount of money is no trouble at all!"
"As expected, girls grow up and side with outsiders," Liang Ge said with a helpless smile. "No payment needed, Shopkeeper Lu, but I do need a favor."
"What kind of favor?" Lu Fei was curious, unsure how he could help a private investigator.
"Not long ago, there was a gruesome case in Antique Street. The owner of an antique shop suddenly went mad and killed his wife and children. Evil Pawnshop is on that street, so you should be aware of this case," Liang Ge said.
"I know," Lu Fei nodded.
"According to the police investigation, the antique shop owner and his wife had no conflicts and were usually loving. His financial situation was good, with no reason to kill his wife for insurance money."
"Moreover, the method of killing was so blatant and brutal that it left no sign of concealment."
"The strangest part is, even though the evidence was irrefutable, he claimed that he didn't kill them; they killed themselves."
"Was he just making up such an absurd story to avoid responsibility, or was there more to the death of his wife and child?"
Lu Fei knew the truth behind the case but couldn't understand why Liang Ge was bringing this up.
"But just two days ago, he suddenly confessed and even asked to be executed quickly, as if he had a sudden change of heart."
"Such a drastic shift makes one wonder if there is something more going on. I found out that two people visited him during that time."
With that, Liang Ge's tired-looking eyes scrutinized Lu Fei.
Lu Fei exchanged a glance with Tiger and said, "Yes, it was us. Tiger used to work for Boss Liang. It's only reasonable for him to visit after what happened."
Could it be that Liang Ge had secretly investigated Boss Liang's case and discovered their knife retrieval, leading to leaked information?
"Liang Ge, what do you mean by this? You don't suspect Shopkeeper Lu of being involved in the case, do you? Shopkeeper Lu is not that kind of person!" Xie Yao glared at her cousin in dissatisfaction.
"Yao Yao, don't misunderstand."
Seeing his sister defend Lu Fei so fiercely, Liang Ge looked resigned and explained, "I mentioned this to Shopkeeper Lu because I once encountered a similarly bizarre case that remains unsolved to this day."
He took a deep drag from his cigarette, a conflicted expression crossing his face.
"I was once a staunch atheist, but that case made me question my beliefs."
"That case also happened in Antique Street."
Lu Fei couldn't help but ask, "What case?"
"Seven years ago, the owner of an antique shop was found at home, skinned alive and bled to death," Liang Ge squinted his eyes.
"I was still in the police force then, and this case was mine. The gory scene is still vivid in my memory."
"The case was so severe that the team gave it the utmost attention. But in the end, we were all dumbfounded; every piece of evidence indicated that the victim was the perpetrator."
"In other words, he had skinned himself."
"Every weapon, mark, and even the autopsy report confirmed this."
"But strangely, we never found his skin at the scene."
"We investigated for a long time but couldn't find any leads, so the case was ultimately ruled a suicide."
"I often wonder, what is the limit of human tolerance for pain? What kind of person could skin themselves alive?"
"The autopsy report confirmed he had taken no anesthetics."
Liang Ge exhaled deeply.
Even after seven years and leaving the police force, he couldn't forget the impact that case had on him.
Lu Fei and Tiger gasped.
Ordinary people would wince for ages over a cut finger, let alone peeling off their skin.
Xie Yao's face turned pale as she rubbed her slender arms and moved closer to Lu Fei.
Lu Fei suddenly remembered that when the incident at Boss Liang's house occurred, someone on Antique Street had mentioned a similar skinning case.
He asked, "Liang Ge, do you think there's more to this case?"
"Although all evidence pointed to suicide, the victim wrote a 'save' character on the ground before dying, possibly crying for help, contradicting his suicide."
Liang Ge lit another cigarette to steady himself.
"And the fact that his skin disappeared without a trace raises serious doubts. I don't believe he willingly killed himself but was forced."
"But I couldn't find any evidence, and everyone said I was overthinking."
"Maybe the victim had severe mental illness, leading him to such extreme self-harm."
He chuckled self-deprecatingly.
"Perhaps because I thought about it too much, after the case was closed, I often dreamed of a blood-drenched man without skin."
"So I started looking into old cases and, surprisingly, found two more skinning suicides."
"Though the times and locations differed, and there was no connection between the victims, they all died the same way—skinned themselves alive."
"And the skin always disappeared."
"And most importantly, each case occurred seven years apart!"
Under his messy hair, Liang Ge's once-drowsy eyes gleamed sharply.
"The same death method, such a regular time interval—it can't be a coincidence! I suspect there's an invisible, beyond-reason killer at work!"
The horrifying nature of the cases made everyone's scalp tingle.
If his suspicion was correct, this "killer" was terrifying indeed!
Lu Fei said, "You're worried the skinning case will happen again?"
"Exactly. This year marks the seventh year!"
Liang Ge took a deep breath.
"If we don't catch this killer, there will surely be another victim!"
Lu Fei swallowed and asked, "What exactly is this killer?"