"So, what do you guess happened after they went to Huangshan?" Zhang Hemei asked, her large eyes fixed on me.

I'd seen things like this countless times, so I replied flatly, "Didn't you just say it yourself? It was the woman’s last trip, so naturally, she was murdered along the way. What's there to guess?"

Zhang Hemei leaned in. "How was she murdered?"

"Well, that's hard to say. There are many ways to harm someone. On the way to Huangshan, the man had opportunities to harm her at any time or place. For instance, throwing her off the train, or pushing her off a cliff, or poisoning her food—too many possibilities. If I told you everything I know, it would take three days and three nights."

Zhang Hemei gave me a thumbs-up. "As expected of a police officer; you can talk about such things without batting an eye. You must have extremely rich experience."

I quickly waved my hands. "Don't talk nonsense. I've never done any of that. Those are things criminals do; I just mentioned two examples."

Zhang Hemei flashed a playful smile. In the dim light, she bore a slight resemblance to Xiao Xuan, and the alcohol rushing to its peak suddenly made me disoriented. In a haze, I felt like the person in front of me was Xiao Xuan, and this was just one of her pranks.

Fortunately, Zhang Hemei spoke then. Her voice was sharp and clear, completely different from Xiao Xuan’s, immediately pulling my senses back to reality. I bit the tip of my tongue; the sharp pain brought a measure of sobriety.

Then Zhang Hemei said, "But what he did this time, you would never guess. Because he still loved the woman, he wouldn't use those methods to hurt her. In his eyes, the woman was as beautiful as a fairy from heaven; how could he let her shatter into pieces?"

Zhang Hemei lowered her voice. "What happens next is absolutely terrifying; you must not be afraid."

I looked at her feigning mystery and chuckled. "If you're scared, I don't mind lending you my shoulder."

Unexpectedly, Zhang Hemei actually leaned over. She rested her head gently on my left shoulder and kicked off her shoes, pulling her feet up onto the seat, curling them tightly behind her thighs, as if some unknown, terrifying creature lurking in the darkness beneath the seat might suddenly attack her beautiful legs.

Her hair smelled lovely, just like the fragrance at the International Xiyuan Villa. I felt awkward. "Don't scare me; hurry up and tell me."

Zhang Hemei glanced down, as if truly afraid something might leap out from under the seat, before continuing, "The two bought train tickets just like before and traveled to Huangshan. Upon arrival, they retraced the exact route they had toured years ago, visiting every scenic spot again. Along the way, the man continued to dote on the woman, caring for her meticulously, but she seemed utterly indifferent, urging him daily to finish the trip quickly."

I let out a dry laugh. "There’s truth to the saying: 'The most venomous heart belongs to a woman,' it seems."

Zhang Hemei ignored me and kept talking. "Ten days passed, and the woman’s family eagerly awaited her return to end this unfortunate marriage, but they never saw her. When the man returned alone, he calmly told the family that the woman refused to separate from him but also wouldn't defy her family's wishes, so she wouldn't be coming back for the time being."

I frowned. This was clearly a murder case, but the killer's composure was chilling. To face the deceased's family so calmly suggested his inner world was icy, completely devoid of normal human emotion.

Zhang Hemei continued, "The woman's family, naturally, wouldn't believe him and immediately reported her missing, demanding that the Public Security Bureau investigate her whereabouts. After the police got involved, the man continued his work and life as usual, showing no sign of panic. After a period of investigation, the authorities found nothing suspicious about him whatsoever. But that, precisely, was the most suspicious part: a living person vanished, and her husband acted like nothing had happened."

I started to feel a bit bored; this type of case was too common. Killing someone off-site and destroying the evidence often made investigation difficult for a long time.

"There was a Detective at the precinct at the time who was convinced the man was the killer. Even after the official investigation halted, he continued to investigate the man covertly. He later discovered the man suffered from chronic stomach issues and frequently visited a doctor. So, he approached this doctor to inquire about the patient's condition. The doctor told the detective that the patient's stomach problems were caused by consuming rotten food, and the doctor found it strange because while eating spoiled meat occasionally is normal, this patient had an episode every so often, which was unusual."

A faint unease stirred in my stomach. Just then, Zhang Hemei added, "After discovering this anomaly, the detective secretly broke into the man's house but found nothing. So he broke into the man's workplace instead, and there, in his locker, he found a small piece of spoiled meat stored in a freezer box."

I suppressed the rising alcohol and said casually, "You’re not going to tell me that piece of meat belonged to the woman, are you?"

Zhang Hemei nodded. "That’s right. After the case was cleared up, it was proven that the spoiled meat was indeed the woman’s. On the way back, the man had laced the woman’s food with a large amount of sleeping pills, causing her to die peacefully. He then preserved her body. But he wasn't a professional, and his preservation methods were crude. Since he kept the entire corpse intact, including all the organs, small parts of the body would rot periodically. So, he would cut off the decayed portions and eat them. That way, the woman would never leave him."

My scalp tingled. What a perverted monster, doing something so repulsive it was utterly heinous.

Zhang Hemei’s voice grew increasingly eerie. "The whole truth of the case came out, but strangely, they never found the woman's head in the end. According to the man's confession, he had eaten the entire woman; even in death, he would be with her. But the woman’s family didn’t believe him. They strongly demanded the Public Security Bureau compel the criminal to hand over the deceased's head for burial. A person isn't a dog; it's impossible to eat every single bone. But until the very end, the man never surrendered the woman’s head..."

Zhang Hemei’s head rested tightly against my shoulder, her eyes fixed on the dark area beneath the seat, as if the woman's head were hidden there. I could feel her body trembling, and I instinctively reached out, intending to stroke her hair comfortingly, but halfway there, I snapped back to reality and abruptly withdrew my hand. "It’s just a story, didn't you say so?"

Zhang Hemei looked up, her bright eyes right in front of me. "In all the cases you’ve handled, have you encountered anything more horrifying than this?"

I sighed. "Do you know what the most dangerous animal in the world is?"

"Humans."

"Since you know, I don’t need to elaborate, do I?"

We both fell silent. The private room became utterly quiet, and the darkness seized the opportunity to invade our souls, allowing fear to spread rapidly.

My arm was beginning to ache from being pressed down by her weight. When I moved slightly, we both realized how close we were and involuntarily shrank back.

This Zhang Hemei now was not the silent woman in black from International Xiyuan, nor the unrestrained bar girl, nor the willful, eccentric little imp from moments ago. She had become someone else again.

Her anxious gaze darted around. Her skin, white as jade, seemed fragile enough to crack with a light scratch from a fingernail. She was like a wounded little bird, desperately needing a safe nest.

As a man, I felt a natural urge to protect a frightened woman, and I truly wanted to soothe her anxiety, but I couldn't do so right now.

Suddenly, an idea popped into my mind, appearing and disappearing like a phantom: Perhaps I should call You Qiaolin over right now.

This strange woman was completely devoted to You Qiaolin for a reason. He must have a way to control her—perhaps not a concrete method, but he surely possessed whatever she needed, including a sense of security.

My hand moved involuntarily toward my pocket. The instant my fingertips brushed the cool metal casing of the phone, a faint spark shot through my brain via the nerve endings.

I suddenly felt a sense of unease, and a question abruptly surfaced: Why did she tell me this story?

Was it merely to draw closer to me, to seduce this handsome, upright man? I didn't think it could be that simple.

Recently, I had been completely overwhelmed by the Ou Jinglan series of murders—a string of cases that were all terrifyingly bizarre and spine-chilling. It was because of these cases that I had begun to suspect You Qiaolin. And now, she was telling me another murder case that was equally terrifying and bizarre...

My brain was in chaos, like someone stirring my very gray matter with a spoon, so scrambled that I couldn't engage in any deeper thought.

Zhang Hemei flinched, her two snow-white feet completely hidden behind her thighs, and her body tilted slightly off balance toward me. But I was so immersed in my confused thoughts that I didn't notice at all.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you’re scared?" Zhang Hemei's voice whispered near my ear.

I snapped out of my deep contemplation. "No, I was just thinking, where on earth did that man hide the woman's head?"

For some reason, my voice sounded hoarse, startling even myself.

Zhang Hemei was also slightly flustered, but she instantly reverted to her previous demeanor, playfully winking at me. "I see you’re a bit twisted too."

I sighed. I was indeed a twisted man, even more twisted than the one-in-a-million lucky individual; perhaps the only one in the entire world!

"Heh heh, you forgot my profession. If it were me, I would certainly find it."

"Really? Then you must be a very excellent police officer?"

"Excellent isn't the word, but I’m definitely a passionate officer, natural adversaries to criminals, like cats and mice."

Having said that, I suddenly wanted to end this gathering quickly. Although the person opposite me was an alluring beauty, and I genuinely wanted to learn more from her, I had a vague feeling that the story she told was not that simple. I needed to calm down and think.

A man and a woman, husband and wife, then the man killed the woman and hid her body, which remained unfound until now.

There seemed to be something familiar in this narrative, but I couldn't recall what it was no matter how hard I tried. I raised my glass again, downed the rest in one go, and prepared to take my leave.

Surprisingly, Zhang Hemei made no move to stop me; perhaps she was genuinely too drunk.

Just as I pushed the door open to leave, Zhang Hemei called out from behind, "If you remember later, let me know."

I froze at her words and turned back. "Remember what?"

Zhang Hemei showed a chilling smile. "Remember where the woman's head is hidden."

At that moment, I saw her two fair legs dangling in the air, swaying gently, blindingly white.

The sight of those fair legs made me dizzy. Even after exiting 'The Noble Lady,' my vision remained a blur of white. I felt confused, unsure if Zhang Hemei had actually asked that question or if it was another hallucination.

Between delusion and sobriety, my brain began to operate in an unusually accelerated mode. Suddenly, it hit me: I knew what she intended to convey with that story.

A wife killed by her husband, her flesh eaten, her bones hidden in an unknown place. That meant the woman was missing, right?

All the alcohol I had swallowed instantly turned into cold sweat, soaking my clothes. I stumbled, nearly falling, and scraping a large patch of skin off the wall as I steadied myself, yet I felt no pain.

She was talking about You Qiaolin!

You Qiaolin’s wife was missing. She wanted to tell me that You Qiaolin had consumed his wife and hidden her head somewhere no one knew.

Suddenly, You Qiaolin’s gold-rimmed glasses, bright enough to serve as a mirror, flashed before my eyes. Through the lenses, I saw a pair of ferocious and cunning eyes. He was picking up a scalpel as thin as a cicada’s wing, expertly dissecting a corpse with practiced ease, until finally, only a skull remained!

Perhaps his skill with a blade had long since reached perfection, making him a contemporary master of butchery, but he had hidden it flawlessly. Everyone thought he could do nothing more than slice open a dead body’s abdomen.

At some point, another doubt opened up like a viper's eye: If this was true, why tell me all this?

Was it out of fear, or for some other reason?

My mind spun like a windmill. Although I wasn't carrying my weapon now, I was still a homicide detective at heart, and Zhang Hemei was exploiting that fact.

I immediately pulled out my phone and scrolled through several numbers but hesitated for a long time, unsure who to call. I was currently a police officer on leave, suspected of mental instability. Would anyone believe what I said?

After long deliberation, I pressed a button and slipped the phone back into my pocket. I felt utterly dejected, like a horse with grass dangling in front of its nose—so close, yet so unattainable—and the most agonizing part was being unable to discard the longing in my heart.

Just then, my phone rang. It was Elder Jiang. I knew things might be turning around. I answered immediately and heard Elder Jiang say, "Wang Lei, this is my fault. Take a proper leave, and I hope you can return to work soon."

A wave of relief washed over me, immediately followed by a sharp tightening: Xiao Xuan had truly been kidnapped for the second time!

That damned wretch! I swear I will drag you out and tear you to pieces!

"I want to end my leave immediately!" My voice rose, eager to tell him about Zhang Hemei.

But Elder Jiang's voice extinguished my impulse. "No, your current state isn't suitable for work. Wait a while longer."

Elder Jiang hung up. I didn't know what to feel; they still thought I was sick, they still didn't believe me! A surge of self-abandonment quietly spread through my body.

Still, I sent Elder Jiang a text message, hoping he would re-investigate the disappearance of You Qiaolin’s wife. That was the only thing I could do right now. Although I wished I could miraculously save Xiao Xuan like Spider-Man, I couldn't!

Without the powerful technical and investigative backing of the police force, I was merely an ant. I didn't even have the ability to protect myself, let alone rescue my loved one whose whereabouts were completely unknown?

Now, the only chance before me was to wait for that guy who loved to play games to find me again. When I once more became a pathetic pawn under his control, I would have a chance to save Xiao Xuan and drag that bastard out of the eighteenth level of hell!

So, starting that day, I waited every day, living in a state of drunken stupor. But strangely, no matter how intoxicated I became, I remembered that bizarre and eerie story. It clutched me tightly like an octopus, its countless suckers holding me firmly, preventing me from escaping the drunken dream.

However, I truly couldn't grasp the story's meaning. Was it meant to conceal something, to reveal something, to prophesy, or was it simply just a story?