Chapter 35: The First Crime Scene

Cut off the beginning and end, finally reaching the core phase… Yu Dazhang raised an eyebrow and asked further:

“Have you spoken with her parents about the situation?”

“When they came to the police station to file the report, I asked them in detail,” the officer said slowly.

“That day, Zhang Yan got home from school unusually early, so they decided to cook her something special.”

“They went to the market at two in the afternoon and got back home around three.”

“After cooking, they waited but she never came home; when they called, her phone was turned off.”

“It wasn’t until nine at night that they finally concluded something had happened to her and came to file the report.”

Yu Dazhang carefully weighed his words while his mind raced.

Could Zhang Yan really have been abducted right outside her home?

Otherwise, how could her parents have seen nothing?

As Yu Dazhang thought, he recalled the surveillance footage.

The video showed Zhang Yan disappearing around the corner at 2:12 p.m.

She could have reached home in two minutes after that.

If she had truly returned home, even if she stayed less than an hour, she would have called her parents before leaving again.

The problem lies between 2:12 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.

Yu Dazhang’s brow tightened further; he felt something was just out of reach, flickering before his eyes.

Closer…

Right there, right there!

He suppressed his excitement and turned to the officer beside him:

“Didn’t they say anything else?”

“That’s all they said at the time,” the officer replied, but his face showed deep thought—he was clearly struggling to recall.

After a moment…

“I remember now—they came back once more!”

Yu Dazhang, afraid of interrupting, said nothing, simply watching him silently.

“It was three days after Zhang Yan went missing,” the officer recalled.

“They came to tell me… that Zhang Yan had returned home that afternoon.”

Seeing him pause, Lu Zhongxin couldn’t help asking:

“How could they be sure Zhang Yan had come back?”

Yu Dazhang immediately slapped his master’s arm, signaling him not to interrupt the officer’s train of thought.

When listening to someone recount events, it’s best to let them finish before asking questions.

Interrupting mid-flow often causes them to forget what comes next.

Sometimes they even forget what they were saying altogether.

You’ve all heard this saying… Hey, where was I?

Familiar, right?

Because it happens all the time.

Fortunately, the officer was only in his twenties—still in the prime of focus and memory.

He paused only briefly, then spoke quickly:

“According to Zhang Yan’s mother, on the morning Zhang Yan went missing, she had cleaned her daughter’s room.”

“She regularly tidied her daughter’s room, so she knew exactly where every item was placed.”

“After Zhang Yan disappeared, she was too anxious and fearful to clean for several days.”

“But on the third day, overwhelmed by longing for her daughter, she entered the room to look at her photos.”

“She found that items in the room had been moved, and the neatly folded quilt on the bed bore indentations—as if someone had rested their head on it.”

“So Zhang Yan’s mother concluded her daughter had definitely returned home.”

That’s it… Yu Dazhang immediately formed a new judgment after hearing this.

As the officer described, Zhang Yan had indeed returned home.

She stayed briefly, then left again—for somewhere else…

No!

Yu Dazhang suddenly recalled a phrase from the officer’s account.

The folded quilt had pressure marks!

That meant Zhang Yan came home intending to rest—so she wouldn’t have left again so soon on her own.

And then…

Even if she had left, how did she evade all surveillance and exit the residential complex?

Or rather… how did the killer move her?

“I know!” Yu Dazhang suddenly stood up, eyes gleaming at Lu Zhongxin:

“Master, I know where the crime scene was!”

The three in the room froze at Yu Dazhang’s sudden action. Lu Zhongxin stared blankly at his disciple:

“W-where?”

“Quick, let’s go—to Zhang Yan’s house,” Yu Dazhang urged as he headed for the door.

“I’ll explain on the way.”

Seeing the officer didn’t follow, Yu Dazhang waved him over:

“You know the address—could you come with us?”

On the way.

Lu Zhongxin drove, glancing at Yu Dazhang beside him:

“Can you explain now?”

Before getting an answer, he turned again—Yu Dazhang was staring blankly ahead.

“I’m talking to you!” Lu Zhongxin raised his voice.

“Oh, wait,” Yu Dazhang snapped back to attention, turning to the backseat where Qian Cheng sat:

Please... collect 6...9...books....!

“Qian Ge, contact the Technical Division—send them over to Zhang Yan’s house with forensic tools.”

“Got it,” Qian Cheng replied, then frowned, puzzled:

“You mean Zhang Yan’s house is the primary crime scene?”

That idea was too bold… Qian Cheng muttered inwardly.

She was killed in her own home, then her body moved—could anyone seriously conceive that?

How did the killer get in during daylight?

Why didn’t Zhang Yan scream for help?

Why didn’t her parents notice anything afterward?

It doesn’t add up!

What none of them expected was Yu Dazhang’s calm, definitive reply:

“You’re right.”

Qian Cheng jumped, quickly denying:

“I didn’t guess anything—it was you who said it!”

This could be a trap—he wasn’t taking the blame.

“Just call them,” Yu Dazhang said calmly.

His tone suggested real confidence.

After contacting the Technical Division, Qian Cheng hung up and looked toward Yu Dazhang:

“The chief and team are on their way—don’t you dare be wrong.”

He was part of the special task force too—if this turned into a fiasco, he’d be humiliated along with him.

Yu Dazhang ignored Qian Cheng’s complaint and spoke calmly:

“Since we’ve confirmed Zhang Yan returned home, my deduction can’t be wrong.”

“The pressure marks on the quilt mean she lay on the bed—she had no intention of leaving soon.”

“And she didn’t inform her parents before leaving.”

“These two facts prove she left the house against her will.”

The three in the car listened silently to Yu Dazhang’s analysis, too stunned to interrupt—there was nothing they could add.

These details were overlooked by them, yet they were the most easily missed.

“Think about this…” Yu Dazhang paused, then asked:

“Why didn’t Zhang Yan’s parents realize she’d returned home until three days later?”

The car fell silent.

After a moment, Lu Zhongxin spoke:

“Didn’t we already hear? They were too distraught to clean for those three days, so they didn’t notice anything moved in her room.”

Yu Dazhang said nothing, falling quiet.

Lu Zhongxin waited a while, feeling uncomfortable all over, and couldn't help shouting:

“Just speak up!”

Yu Dazhang sighed:

“Master, we should step outside the existing framework and look at this matter objectively; we can’t let others’ thinking lead us.”

(End of Chapter)