Chapter 46

Su Fuling remembered the underhanded trick Zhao Facai had once come up with for He Li and the others.

Because she only examined people's bodies, Zhao Facai had wanted to exploit the loophole — his idea back then was to have He Li and the others injure themselves once they made money in the future, so that she could help divine which line of work would be profitable.

Su Fuling had refused, of course. For a doctor to encourage self-harm just to tell fortunes would be utterly unethical, no matter how you looked at it. Besides, Su Fuling had no desire to turn herself into some fortune-telling master.

But this time, Su Fuling felt that trick might actually work. To catch a criminal, she was naturally willing to bend a few principles. And there was no need for self-harm either — all it would take was for someone to turn the murderer into a patient.

"Uncle Fa, tell me — when the police arrest a murderer, if the murderer resists, will the police injure him?"

Su Fuling asked Zhao Facai.

Chen Shasha said, "Of course they will. They can't just let the murderer get away. Those cops aren't idiots. They're all armed, too." Even though the brothers in the gang all cursed the police as "the fuzz," none of them dared actually lay a hand on one.

Zhao Facai thought it over carefully. As someone who had cooked up shady schemes himself, he quickly grasped what Su Fuling meant.

Master was going to help that police officer solve the case. Ah, this little master really was a good person.

He hurriedly stood up. "Master, should I go ask that Officer Wang to come over later?"

Su Fuling nodded.

Chen Shasha was baffled. "What do you mean? Why have him come over all of a sudden? Doctor Su, don't tell me you can actually find the murderer."

Su Fuling said, "I'm a doctor — how would I find a murderer? But I can take a look at who has a poor complexion. Just doing a physical exam, that's all."

Chen Shasha: "...You can do physical exams like that?"

Su Fuling smiled and hurried to finish her meal.

Just as Su Fuling finished eating, Wang Sihua came running over.

He'd come before even getting to eat the meal he'd ordered.

"Doctor Su, Uncle Zhao said you were looking for me."

Su Fuling took a sip of tea. "I don't have any mystical abilities — I can't see the past. But as you know, my medical skills are decent. I can give people physical exams."

Wang Sihua: "...Are you saying that by examining me, you can find the culprit?"

"Of course I wouldn't be examining you," Su Fuling said. "Didn't you say there are suspects? When the real murderer sees the police, his emotions will cause changes in his body. By observing the changes in his complexion, maybe I can give you a hint."

Wang Sihua sighed. "It won't work. These people have all been investigated, many times already. They were nervous at first, but now they're full of confidence. Even officers with lots of interrogation experience can't tell them apart."

Su Fuling said, "Expressions can be faked, but the body's internal reactions can't. Police can't read a person's vital signs — a doctor can. Of course, whether you believe it is entirely up to you."

She did want to help, but many things required this officer's cooperation. If he didn't believe her and wouldn't cooperate, then Su Fuling had no way to find the murderer.

Hearing this, Wang Sihua thought of his own experience last time, and of why he had come here in the first place. Wasn't it precisely because, when all else failed, he'd placed his hopes on this possibly real, miraculous ability?

He asked curiously, "Doctor Su, are you really just practicing medicine, not predicting the future?"

"I told you — I'm only a doctor. I only read complexions. But to be more accurate, I'll need your cooperation," Su Fuling said.

Wang Sihua immediately sat up straight. "Please, Doctor Su, go ahead."

"The worse a patient's condition, the more clearly I can see. For example, if the murderer gets injured while resisting arrest, I'll see it more clearly."

Hearing this, Wang Sihua was puzzled. If it had already reached the stage of the murderer resisting arrest, wouldn't that mean the murderer had already been found? What would Doctor Su still need to look at?

Seeing Wang Sihua's bewildered face, Zhao Facai thought the man was truly hopeless. "Aiya, Officer Wang, you just need to promise my master this — when you catch the murderer, if he resists, don't hold back. Let him get a little hurt. My master's a doctor, right? If the murderer doesn't get sick or hurt, what's she supposed to look at? She's not a fortune-teller."

Wang Sihua: "..." Although he didn't understand why it had to be done this way, he did grasp the logic. "When I catch the murderer, I won't hold back. Doctor Su, you might not know — this case is actually from three years ago. The victim was a sixty-year-old elderly man living alone. He was a well-known good man in the neighborhood, but he was brutally murdered and all his valuables were stolen. The killer still hasn't been caught, and his family hasn't had peace of mind all these years."

At the mention of this case, Zhao Facai remembered it too. "So it's that case — and it still hasn't been solved? You police really don't work hard enough. Come to think of it, I actually met the old man. He really was a good person. Came from Southeast Asia long ago to make a living, his wife died young, and he struggled hard to raise a son and a daughter. When his grandson was getting married, he even came to me to pick an auspicious date. In the end, he never got to see his grandson's wedding."

Chen Shasha said, "Master, look at the fine work you do — you even cheat people like that."

Zhao Facai said, "I was fulfilling his wishes. People like them believe in the old almanac; if I didn't do the reading, someone else would. I was doing a good deed."

Su Fuling waved a hand to stop their bickering, then asked Wang Sihua, "How many suspects are there? I need to examine these suspects. Can you arrange that?"

"..." Wang Sihua thought about it and figured it should be fine.

Zhao Facai said, "Master, does the exam cost anything?" Then he asked Wang Sihua, "Officer Wang, isn't there a reward for providing you leads? My master's reward can't be shortchanged."

Wang Sihua said, "There is indeed a bounty. Three thousand Hong Kong dollars. If Doctor Su can give me a lead, I'll file the application."

Su Fuling hadn't expected there'd be a bonus on top of everything.

This case really must be hard to crack.

Su Fuling said, "Let's go. We'll see when we get there." Whether the case could be solved was what mattered most.

This time, the sharp-witted Zhao Facai was brought along by Su Fuling.

On the way, Su Fuling learned about the suspects from Wang Sihua. One was the old man's neighbor, who had been unemployed for years. One was a pork vendor at the wet market who'd had conflicts with the old man and lived downstairs from him. And one was a friend of the old man who had visited him that day — according to people in the building, the two had gotten into an argument.

These three either had motive or opportunity.

Although they suspected it was one of these three, they couldn't determine which. The unemployed neighbor said he'd been sleeping at home that day; no witness could confirm he was telling the truth, but there was also no evidence he hadn't been home.

The pork vendor had family vouching for him, but that couldn't be fully trusted — after all, besides his family, no one else could confirm it.

The friend said the old man had been fine when he left, but since it was nighttime and the building had no streetlights, no one had clearly seen whether he'd actually left.

In short, there was no evidence proving their innocence, and no evidence proving any of them was the killer. So the case had stalled.

But compared to other cases, this one still had some hope — at least there were suspects. So every time cold cases were reopened, this one was prioritized. Even so, it had dragged on for years.

Su Fuling asked, "How did the old man die?"

Wang Sihua glanced at her. "Doctor Su, maybe you shouldn't hear about this. I'm worried it'll frighten you."

"I've probably seen more of the world than you have." As a doctor, what hadn't she seen?

Zhao Facai said, "I know. It was even in the papers back then. He was held down in water and suffocated, but they say he had quite a few wounds on his body. Our street talked about it a lot back then."

Wang Sihua nodded. "And those wounds were inflicted after death."

Su Fuling wasn't frightened hearing this, only saddened. Who could be so cruel to an elderly man — breaking in to rob him, and then treating an old man with such brutality?

Their first stop was the bookstore where the old man's friend worked. In the tiny secondhand bookshop, the fifty-something owner was playing chess against himself.

Seeing Wang Sihua arrive, he sighed. "Of course I hope you find the killer soon, but how many times must I say it — it wasn't me. The reason I argued with him that time was because he took back a move. You don't believe me, do you? He was a good man, but he had a rotten habit — he loved taking back moves."

Su Fuling glanced at him. He really wasn't the mission target.

"Let's go."

Wang Sihua: "..."

Though he didn't know why Su Fuling suddenly wanted to leave, since she'd said so, he could only go along with it — after all, he was the one who'd invited her to help. He said to the suspect, "If you think of anything, remember to let me know."

The bookstore owner nodded perfunctorily.

Wang Sihua hurried after Su Fuling. "Doctor Su, what's the situation?"

Su Fuling looked at Wang Sihua. "Are you sure that once I find the murderer, you'll give him a beating? You're not lying this time, right? If you can't do it, I can't help you find the murderer."

Wang Sihua knew he'd been dishonest last time and left a bad impression on Doctor Su. This time he immediately promised, "Of course I can do it. Doctor Su, I swear on this uniform of mine."

Su Fuling said, "Good. Let's go, then. Anyway, I didn't see anything in his complexion."

The second stop was the pork vendor. The pork seller was brawny and was in the middle of chopping meat for a customer. Seeing Wang Sihua, his face darkened. "Officer Wang, I have a business to run!"

When Su Fuling saw the mission target symbol above his head, her heart jumped. She was just about to have Wang Sihua persuade the man to let her take his pulse when — perhaps because he was irritated — the man, while chopping meat, went and cut his own hand.

Su Fuling: "..."

The man didn't take such a small injury seriously. Su Fuling said, "Uncle Fa, bandage that up for him. That wound needs to be wrapped quickly, or it'll easily get inflamed and infected."

Zhao Facai had come out carrying his medicine kit. Hearing this, he immediately took out some ointment. "Come, come — our clinic's secret ointment. It stops bleeding. You sell pork for a living; you can't have your blood dripping into the meat — that's unsanitary."

"..." With an annoyed look on his face, the pork vendor let Zhao Facai bandage his wound.

Su Fuling earned 1 merit point, and the symbol on the man disappeared.

Su Fuling: "...Let's go."

Wang Sihua followed behind. "Doctor Su, you really can't see anything at all?"

He was starting to wonder whether he really was a drowning man clutching at straws. What was the point of following Doctor Su around like this?

Su Fuling said, "Anyway, I didn't see anything."

Finally, they arrived at the building where the old man had lived.

The old man's flat had already been sold, and new people had moved in. Even though a crime had happened there, for many people, having a place to live mattered more. But the new occupants didn't like police constantly coming by to look around, so the door they'd left open for ventilation was promptly shut the moment they saw Wang Sihua.

Wang Sihua looked embarrassed, then knocked on the door across the hall.

The one who opened it was a pale, flabby middle-aged man who clearly didn't get much sun.

The moment Su Fuling saw him, she activated her scan. He wasn't the mission target.

"Officer Wang, why are you here again? I just fell asleep. Can't you people stop bothering me? Moving in here was the worst luck!" the man grumbled.

Wang Sihua was about to speak when Su Fuling said, "Let's go."

Wang Sihua: "..."

The suspect slammed the door shut with a bang.

Wang Sihua said, "Doctor Su, you really didn't see anything?"

Zhao Facai found it strange too — his master had never missed before.

Su Fuling was pondering the same question. If this Officer Wang hadn't lied, then when she found the real murderer, the murderer would get beaten — and in that case, this shouldn't be the result.

It could only mean none of these men was the killer — the murderer was someone else?

"Could it be someone else?" Su Fuling asked.

Wang Sihua: "...We've considered that possibility, but no unfamiliar faces were seen during the original investigation. The neighbors on the other floors all had alibis. Of course, there's always a chance. If that's really the case..."

Then it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"Then I'm sorry — I truly can't see anything."

Zhao Facai, of course, didn't think his master wasn't capable enough. "Officer Wang, you'd better go back and look into other possibilities. A doctor treats patients — but they have to be actual patients first, right?"

Wang Sihua sighed. "Forget it. I was overthinking it. I shouldn't have tried to take a shortcut."

Su Fuling said, "You were just anxious to find the killer, that's all."

The three of them were about to head downstairs when a door on the second floor suddenly opened. A middle-aged man was emptying trash into the bin by the doorway. Seeing it was Wang Sihua, the man paused, then said gratefully, "Officer Wang, you've come again. Thank you for caring so much about my father's case. If the killer could be found soon, I truly wouldn't know how to thank you all."

Wang Sihua hadn't found the killer and felt he'd let the victim's family down, so at that moment he didn't quite know what to say.

He only introduced the man to Su Fuling. "This is Mr. Bao. He's... the old man's family."

Su Fuling nodded, then asked with concern, "Mr. Bao, your complexion doesn't look too good. Are you feeling unwell?"

Mr. Bao immediately waved his hand. "Not at all. I'm perfectly fine."

Su Fuling looked at the mission target above his head — the man really was a mission target. She'd instinctively turned on her scanning function while watching Officer Wang talk to people. And the man's complexion really was poor, so Su Fuling knew she wasn't mistaken.

"Mr. Bao, I'm a doctor. Let me take a look at you. It's just taking your pulse."

She'd spent the whole day working on this case without finding a single mission target. And now the only mission target turned out to be the old man's son.

Su Fuling didn't understand criminal investigation, but having found a target connected to the people in the case, she had to rule him out first. And if the checkup turned up an illness, she could warn him. The man had already suffered enough; if she could help, she would.

But Mr. Bao said, "There's really no need. There's nothing wrong with me at all. Officer Wang, if you don't have anything else, I'll head back inside. I have to go to work soon."

Zhao Facai said, "What's the rush? Officer Wang still needs to ask you about the case's progress — right, Officer Wang? And while we're at it, our Doctor Su can take your pulse. She means well."

Wang Sihua also thought that since there were other possibilities in the case, he might as well learn more from the family. "Yes, I'd like to ask about some other leads too."

The man thought about it, glanced at Su Fuling again, and only then reluctantly said, "Fine. But I don't have much time — I still have to get to work."

The group entered the flat. A photo of the old man still hung in the home, looking very new — it had clearly been well cared for.

The man lived with just his wife, who was a factory worker and ate lunch at the factory at noon.

"My son doesn't live with us — he bought a place elsewhere. What a pity his grandfather never got to see his own grandson's wedding," Mr. Bao said, wiping his eyes.

Su Fuling quietly took his pulse. After five minutes, just as Mr. Bao was growing anxious to leave for work, Su Fuling withdrew her hand. "Mr. Bao, you have an injury — an old injury. You need to get it treated, or it'll keep causing you pain."

Hearing this, Mr. Bao immediately stood up and smiled. "I'm not injured. I'm perfectly fine. Doctor, you must be mistaken."

Su Fuling frowned, certain she hadn't misread it. Besides, an old injury like his should cause pain — so he himself must know about it. Why deny it?

It couldn't be that she'd seen wrong. The system shouldn't make mistakes — so why was he denying it?

Su Fuling activated the detection function.