Biyi

The shadow domain shattered.

The demons that had descended from the Abyss were eliminated, and those that had arrived prematurely were also wiped out.

Following the arrival of numerous police officers and medical personnel, the victims at the scene were quickly provided with treatment.

The matter seemed to have reached a conclusion for now.

However, Jiang Xun, who was receiving treatment alongside Old He, could not help but recall the reminder the succubus gave before leaving—things were not over yet; everything had only just begun.

Thinking of the succubus brought back the scenes of her effortlessly tearing apart that Elite Demon.

Then he thought about how such a dangerous existence was likely still wandering nearby.

And then he realized that he had just forgotten to report this matter…

“Wait, why did I not report it just now?”

At this thought, Jiang Xun, who had recovered much of his spirit through a potion, sat up abruptly from the bed.

The movement was so sudden that it startled Old He next to him.

The bald man, who had been very listless due to the spiritual backlash, was jolted awake by this.

He stammered: “C-Captain, are you okay?”

“Something is wrong, something very important.”

Cold sweat broke out on Jiang Xun’s forehead.

He quickly realized that he had clearly been influenced by the succubus’s power just now.

It was not just him; everyone else had been influenced as well!

After all, if he forgot to mention such a major event, that was one thing, but the fact that no one else asked a single question was far too strange.

“This will not do…”

The youth immediately wanted to get out of bed.

Although that succubus looked strange, her ability to easily slaughter an Elite showed her danger.

Letting such an existence wander freely would surely cause some kind of chaos.

But just as he endured the pain in his abdomen to sit up and before he could even put on his shoes, he suddenly froze.

Old He, watching him transition from terror to daze, swallowed hard and suggested with great concern: “Captain, how about you get your mental state checked too?”

However, Jiang Xun did not respond.

He propped his hand against his forehead, his expression somewhat pained.

Because he suddenly forgot what he had wanted to do just now!

His mind had inexplicably gone blank.

This feeling was exactly like those times when one wants to grab something, but after walking a few steps, they suddenly realize they forgot what they were looking for, leaving them staring blankly.

Jiang Xun was in a similar situation now.

He felt as if a piece of wood had been stuffed into his head, and his thinking ability was rusted.

Fortunately, other movements soon interrupted his thoughts.

“Captain, we found Yu Fu!”

An Ye pushed the door open and entered.

His words instantly drew all of Jiang Xun’s attention, so he no longer obsessed over what he had just forgotten.

Inside the heavily blockaded villa.

Jiang Xun led An Ye to the second floor.

As they approached the bedroom, they smelled a pungent scent of blood.

There were quite a few people in the bedroom, but most were staff members in special protective suits responsible for gathering information at the scene.

The only person he recognized was the girl with long black hair, code-named Pearl.

When the two stepped into the bedroom, their gaze was immediately drawn to the corpse beside the girl.

“…Yu Fu?”

Looking at the youth in the pool of blood with his chest torn open, Jiang Xun could not help but exclaim.

Hearing the commotion, Pearl, who was examining the details of the corpse, looked up at them.

She spoke slowly: “Yes, his body showed signs of demonization. The cause of death was having his heart gouged out in an instant, but the heart is nowhere to be found.”

As she spoke, the girl pointed not far away.

The place had collapsed, but traces were still visible.

“And other human tissues were found on the bed over there. Very little remains. According to the identification, they belong to Yu Fu’s wife, Shen Xiaoya.”

“As for the cause of death…”

Pearl paused slightly, then turned to look at Yu Fu, whose eyes were bulging and face was contorted.

After a moment of silence, she spoke: “Judging from the bite marks remaining on the human tissues and the flesh and blood stuck between Yu Fu’s teeth…”

“Yu Fu ate his wife?”

Behind Jiang Xun, An Ye’s voice was filled with surprise, as this truly shattered common sense.

Pearl nodded expressionlessly: “Yes. However, traces of demon power were also detected in Shen Xiaoya’s flesh. So the situation at the time was likely that Yu Fu fed his wife demon blood first, then ate her, and was finally killed by an unknown person who took his heart.”

While the girl introduced the situation, Jiang Xun also personally examined the corpse.

Boss Yu, who had turned back into a young man, lay on the ground in a distorted posture.

Extreme pain was etched on his pale face.

In those gray eyes, there seemed to be a lingering, unshakeable anger and resentment.

Because his chest was wide open, his blood was everywhere.

The corrosive blood had burned the surroundings beyond recognition.

Even the floorboards below could not withstand it, still emitting strange sizzling sounds, proving that his time of death was not too long ago.

Jiang Xun fanned the air near his nose to dispel the choking smell.

He looked around but found no other clues, so he stood up to observe the surroundings.

At the same time, he spoke: “According to what you said, there are four questions now. First, why did Yu Fu feed his wife demon blood? Second, why did he eat her? Third, who killed Yu Fu? And fourth, why was his heart taken?”

Among these four questions, the last two were the key.

Because regardless of what Yu Fu wanted to do, he and his wife were now dead.

But the person who killed Yu Fu had vanished without a trace, and their purpose… was unknown!

“Maybe it was a kind-hearted passerby who was dissatisfied with Yu Fu’s evil deeds and chose to act bravely.”

Pearl told a dry joke.

Unfortunately, no one at the scene laughed.

Jiang Xun, however, was thoughtful, as he instinctively thought of that succubus who was powerful in an abnormal way.

Could it have been her?

With a demon’s personality, it was entirely possible to kill Yu Fu on a whim after being dissatisfied with his deeds.

But the succubus’s previous behavior was far too strange.

Sometimes harmless, sometimes bloodthirsty, sometimes simple, sometimes enchanting; it was truly incomprehensible.

So, if she did it, why did she intentionally take Yu Fu’s heart? And if it was not her, then who was the killer?

The strange deaths of Yu Fu and his wife made the already clear situation seem shrouded in mystery again.

While Jiang Xun was deep in thought, An Ye, who was also observing the scene, pushed up his glasses and suddenly said: “Could it be related to the person who provided him with the ritual knowledge?”

The person who provided Yu Fu with ritual knowledge?

The young man’s words drew everyone’s attention.

Jiang Xun raised an eyebrow and did not answer immediately.

There was no doubt that Boss Yu had the support of a special existence.

After all, whether it was constructing a ritual or summoning a demon, very professional knowledge was required.

Forget ordinary people; even most ability users could not figure it out.

Only those who frequently came into contact with evil powers or demons themselves would have the corresponding knowledge reserves!

So someone must have given Yu Fu the help he needed, otherwise, he could not have completed the ritual.

But Jiang Xun’s previous suspect was the Eye Hunter.

However, An Ye’s words made sense. Thinking carefully, the possibility of another Demon Rider being involved behind this was not small.

“Are there any other traces left at the scene?”

After pondering for a while, the youth looked up at Pearl.

But the girl wearing the eye patch shook her head decisively: “No. If it were not for Yu Fu being killed and his heart missing, we would not even know a third person had been here.”

“Then that is a problem…”

Whether it was the succubus’s doing or another Demon Rider, at least some clue was needed as a breakthrough point.

Otherwise, if the trail went cold, mere guessing would be meaningless.

But the killer had indeed left no useful clues, and Jiang Xun was helpless about it.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, his gaze scanning the room back and forth, hoping to find more suspicious spots.

And then…

“Hmm?”

The man’s movement paused inexplicably.

Under the somewhat puzzled expressions of the others, he suddenly walked toward the seat by the window.

To be more precise, his target was the small table in front of it.

Jiang Xun walked to the table by the window, where a storybook that was not too thick was lying.

The book itself was quite ordinary, just a normal book, so it had not drawn any attention earlier.

Until the youth reached out and picked it up.

His gaze fell on the cover of the storybook. It was an abstract drawing that looked like a child’s scribble.

The picture showed two birds flying side by side, but each bird had only one wing on either the left or right side.

They served as each other’s wings, flying toward the blue sky.

“This is…”

“The Biyi Bird.”

Looking at this strange yet familiar storybook, Jiang Xun was slightly dazed.

He felt it was strange because although he had heard the story of the Biyi Bird, he had never looked into it in detail.

And he felt it was familiar… because he had seen an identical storybook not long ago!

During the initial investigation of the missing necklace case.

At Professor Zhou’s house.

“A coincidence?”

No, it was definitely not a coincidence.

Jiang Xun expressionlessly flipped through the storybook in his hand. Everything was normal until the last page.

In the corner, there was an extra line of elegant fountain pen handwriting—[They are born together, they die together.]

While he was silent, the others also noticed something was wrong.

“Is there… something wrong with this book?”

Pearl walked over and looked at the storybook in the man’s hand.

She had naturally checked this thing just now, but it was just a very ordinary book. There were actually quite a few similar books in the cabinets here.

She had not suspected anything was wrong with it before, but Captain Jiang Xun’s troubled expression indicated that this book not only had a problem but a very big one!

Under Pearl’s puzzled gaze, Jiang Xun closed the book and placed it back on the table, letting out a soft breath: “If I am not mistaken, this book was likely left by the person who killed Yu Fu.”

“Hmm?”

The girl became even more confused.

The specifics were a bit complicated, and Jiang Xun did not know how to explain it for a moment, so he shook his head decisively: “Let me confirm some things first.”

With that, he looked at An Ye, who was also somewhat puzzled.

“Xiao Ye, call the police station. I need to know the status of Professor Zhou Liangcai’s body!”

“Professor Zhou?”

An Ye was a bit surprised but did not ask further. He immediately called the police station upon receiving the order.

He quickly got news after the call was connected.

Since Professor Zhou had no living relatives, the school should have been notified to handle the funeral after his death.

However, because the situation was a bit special, the body was currently stored in the police station’s cold storage.

Jiang Xun did not hesitate at all after receiving the news.

“Tell them to check the cold storage and see if the Professor’s body is still there… no, tell them not to go near the cold storage. You and I will go back; we will confirm it personally!”

After saying that, the man turned and left with An Ye.

Pearl was left standing there, feeling a bit bewildered.

After leaving Yu Fu’s residence, the two quickly headed to the parking lot.

When passing the fountain plaza, they could see that it was filled with numerous medical tents.

Those who had been affected by the ritual earlier were currently receiving treatment inside.

The reason for not taking them to the hospital had been explained before.

Although the ritual had been destroyed and even the demon had been killed, it was unknown if there was lingering pollution in these survivors’ bodies.

To prevent the accidental spread of pollution, they could not leave the area for now.

However, the authorities had not completely restricted their personal freedom, only their departure from the manor; they were not required to stay inside the tents.

Therefore, the plaza looked quite lively.

Of course, it was only in appearance.

After all, they had just escaped from the brink of death, and there were many casualties, some of whom were likely their friends.

So the mood of the people in the plaza was not very high.

By chance, Jiang Xun caught sight of Su Mian sitting on a roadside chair, chatting with a friend.

Su Mian, who was talking to Qi Chuan, also seemed to sense someone’s gaze.

She suddenly stopped and looked up. After a slight daze, she revealed a smile: “Oh? Officer Jiang?”

“Yeah. Are you and your friend okay?”

Although he had urgent business to handle, Jiang Xun still chose to approach and ask a question upon seeing Su Mian.

Faced with his concern, the girl’s smile grew even brighter. She shook her head vigorously: “We are fine. But someone actually poisoned the venue; it is truly terrifying! And with this happening, I wonder if it will delay tomorrow’s classes…”

“It will probably be delayed for a few days.”

Jiang Xun smiled.

The silver-white long hair that swayed along with Su Mian’s head made him feel a bit dizzy.

He instinctively felt something was off, but he could not find what it was.

What was going on?

Forget it…

“Alright then, you two get some rest. I have things to do, so I will not chat more.”

“Goodbye, Officer Jiang.”

“Goodbye.”

The man left after speaking. The girl sitting on the chair watched his back until he disappeared before retracting her gaze.

Beside her, Qi Chuan, whose face was slightly pale, was also looking in the direction Jiang Xun had left.

He said with a sigh: “This Officer Jiang clearly does not have a girlfriend!”

“Hmm?”

Su Mian looked at the young man beside her with some curiosity.

“How do you know he does not have a girlfriend?”

“It is simple. Every time I meet him, he looks so busy. Where would he have time to date and get a girlfriend?”

“That makes sense.”