On the way to the scene, Lin Zhao kept rambling about all sorts of things. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore. I reclined my seat, tuned him out, and went back to sleep.
When Lin Zhao's car finally reached the Peninsula Apartments in the Second Ring area, he parked, and we walked toward the security guard's booth. The guard immediately recognized Lin Zhao.
"Officer Lin, here again, I see!"
Lin Zhao nodded and said, "Just register us, we'll head straight in."
As we walked through the complex, passersby avoided us. Some turned their heads to glance back at us, their expressions tinged with fear.
"Do the residents here all know about the murder?"
Judging by their wary demeanor, this murder had clearly left a deep impact on the community. Fear had taken root, shaking everyone's sense of security.
We reached Building 11, Unit 2, on the fourth floor, outside Apartment 2405. Just as we arrived, the apartment's resident, Ning Manwan, was about to leave. She paused, surprised to see us.
"Officer Lin, who's this?"
Lin Zhao quickly stepped in to introduce me. After a brief exchange, I learned the victim was a college student named Lin Xia. Her father, Lin Huairen, worked at a bank, and her mother, Li Sisi, was a schoolteacher.
Both parents were kind, gentle people, with no history of enmity with anyone. Lin Xia, similarly, was known for her low profile and unassuming demeanor. It was difficult to imagine anyone harboring such hatred as to commit the gruesome crime of flaying her alive.
After Lin Zhao explained this, Lin Huairen and Li Sisi looked at me with skepticism, as if I were some kind of fraudster.
Their expressions left me feeling helpless, but I couldn't let their doubts undermine me.
"Ms. Li," I said, carefully choosing my words, "I know this may seem abrupt, but I'd like you to recount the events of that day for me. Even if you don't believe in supernatural explanations, consider this as cooperating with the police investigation."
Li Sisi's face darkened. "We've already told Officer Lin everything. We've cooperated as much as we can, but after all this time, there are still no results. And now you're telling us it's the work of ghosts? How can we possibly believe that? How can we accept it?"
"Ms. Li," I said gently, "I understand how absurd this sounds. But your daughter was flayed alive in her room. Even if she were completely incapacitated, it's hard to imagine no sound at all being made. You and your husband were in the living room at the time, yet you heard nothing. Do you really think this was the work of a human?"
Lin Zhao, surprisingly patient, handled Li Sisi with a level of tact I hadn't seen during his interrogation of me. Back then, he'd thrown every trick in the book at me, stopping just short of physical coercion. But here, he was the picture of professionalism.
I waited silently as Lin Zhao talked them through it. Only after they agreed to cooperate did I step in.
Li Sisi looked like she wanted to argue further, but Lin Huairen, who had been quiet until now, stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Honey, Officer Lin makes a good point. We were home the whole time and didn't hear a thing. That doesn't make sense."
Li Sisi fell silent, allowing Lin Huairen to recount the events instead.
Unfortunately, his account added no new information. He confirmed that they had heard absolutely nothing from the living room while the crime took place.
"May I see her room?" I asked. I initially intended to refer to it as the crime scene but decided to soften my words, considering the parents' grief.
Lin Huairen nodded and led us to Lin Xia's room. When he opened the door, a cold draft swept out, carrying with it faint traces of malevolent energy.
I'd become accustomed to sensing such energy in recent weeks, and my sensitivity to it had only sharpened. This confirmed my suspicion—it was likely the work of an evil spirit.
The room had been thoroughly processed by the police, so the body was no longer there. To examine it, I would have to visit the coroner.
"Cunxi, have you found anything?" Lin Zhao asked, watching me closely.
I shot him an irritated look. "Do I look like a magician to you? How could I know what happened here just by looking?"
"I only know what you've told me," I continued. "There are certainly strange aspects to this case, but I have no concrete evidence yet to prove it was the work of a spirit. The lingering malevolent energy could have been left by the victim. Let me examine the body."
Finding no further clues in the room, I prepared to leave.
As Lin Zhao and I turned to go, a familiar scent suddenly wafted into my nose. I froze.
It was a floral fragrance I could never forget—the scent of White Bone Flowers.
I spun around and searched every corner of the room, but there was no sign of the flowers.
"What are you looking for?" Lin Zhao asked, puzzled by my sudden behavior.
"Don't you smell that floral scent in the air?" I asked him.
He shook his head, clearly confused.
Could I be the only one who smelled it?
The last time I encountered this scent was in Xu's basement. White Bone Flowers only bloom under very specific conditions: someone must die unjustly, their soul refusing to leave, transforming into a vengeful spirit. Their uncremated body must remain in a dark, damp place, untouched by sunlight, where malevolent energy can gather over time. Yet Lin Xia's room was neither dark nor hidden, and there was no sign of a body.
Could something have happened here long ago?
"Mr. Lin," I asked, "has anything strange ever occurred in this apartment? Suicides or unusual deaths, perhaps?"
He looked surprised by the question but quickly shook his head. "That's impossible. My wife and I bought this apartment when we got married. We would never have purchased a place with such a history."
If it wasn't a naturally occurring phenomenon, there was only one explanation left: the Mother and Son Specters. After the hospital incident, I thought Lu Zhiqiu had dealt with them for good. But if this was their doing, why target an innocent young woman? And where was her skin now?
Lin Zhao and Lin Huairen both stared at me in silence.
I frowned impatiently and tugged at Lin Zhao's sleeve. "Why are you staring at me? Take me to the coroner so I can examine the body. Only then can I draw any conclusions."
After bidding the Lin family farewell, I opened the door to leave, only to come face-to-face with a young man holding a box.
"Your birthday cake delivery," he said in flawless Mandarin, "Happy birthday!"
"Birthday cake?"
Before I could react, Lin Huairen stepped forward to take the box. "Sorry, this cake is for me, not for this gentleman."