chapter 3

On the day I accepted the commission, I received the Case Files-a thick stack, substantial in weight.

I didn’t have time to think much and immediately began reviewing the files.

I started with the statement from the person who reported the case.

The informant was named Chen Kang, a student of the Victim, He Tianxing. He was a junior, about to enter his senior year, and had chosen to stay on campus during the summer to work on a research project.

At 3 p.m. on July 13, 2012, Chen Kang, unable to contact his teacher for two days and feeling concerned, visited He Tianxing’s home with a classmate from his group. They knocked on the door but received no response.

They then noticed that the trash at the door had started to smell, as if it had been left there for two days.

Chen Kang said that Mr. He was very tidy and would never leave trash at the door for so long, nor would he go out without taking the trash with him. Therefore, Mr. He must still be at home.

Worried about He Tianxing’s safety, Chen Kang called a Firefighter to pry open the door.

Upon entering, the Firefighter noticed the smell of a corpse inside-which meant that what Chen Kang thought was the smell of garbage was not entirely from the trash. When they opened the bedroom door, they found He Tianxing’s body lying supine on the bed. Due to the hot weather, decomposition had already begun.

Chen Kang was so frightened that he collapsed to the floor and then called the Police.

This was how Chen Kang discovered the body and reported the case.

The Police asked Chen Kang about He Tianxing’s character and whether he had any recent conflicts with others.

Chen Kang said that Mr. He was a very good person, cared about his students, was responsible at work, and was a workaholic. Sometimes he could be a bit stubborn and meticulous, but it was always about the work, never personal, and he hadn’t had any recent conflicts with anyone.

The Police asked if He Tianxing had shown any abnormal mental state recently.

Chen Kang said everything seemed normal, at most a bit anxious, probably due to the pressure of the research project.

The Police asked who else lived in He Tianxing’s home.

Chen Kang said his father, a retired teacher who was seriously ill and had been hospitalized for some time.

The Police pressed further: were there any other family members?

Chen Kang said he hadn’t heard of any. Then, as if remembering something, he added that Mr. He used to have a girlfriend, and they were about to get married, but they suddenly broke up a month ago.

The Police immediately asked if Chen Kang knew the reason for the breakup.

Chen Kang said he didn’t know.

From this statement, it was clear that He Tianxing’s student did not know about his younger brother, He Tianying. However, the father and the Ex-girlfriend were mentioned, which would be set aside for now.

I then looked into the Victim’s information.

The Victim, He Tianxing, was born in 1978 in Xishan County, Chengzhou City. He was the top science scorer in the city’s 1997 college entrance exam, achieved significant academic accomplishments during his undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral studies, and after earning his PhD, he returned to my alma mater to teach. He also founded a company outside the university. He was murdered on July 11, 2012, at the age of only 34.

In the frontal, bareheaded photo, He Tianxing appeared gentle and refined, looking every bit the scholar. He seemed familiar to me, and after staring for a while, I suddenly realized-it was him.

Although we weren’t in the same department, I had some impression of this teacher. He was popular among students for his good looks, and a gossipy classmate had once pointed him out to me from afar.

Such an outstanding young teacher, so full of promise, now appeared in the Crime Scene Investigation Report in a shocking state.

The Crime Scene Investigation Report showed that He Tianxing died a miserable death, lying supine on the bed, with multiple soft tissue contusions all over his body, an open wound on his forehead, and cyanosis and swelling on his face.

There was a closed, ring-shaped ligature mark on his neck, appearing as irregular, pale, linear traces. The cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation.

There were clear signs of a struggle in the bedroom, and Beer Bottles were scattered on the floor.

It was inferred that during the crime, the perpetrator pinned the Victim to the bed and beat him, pulled his hair and slammed his head against the bed corner, and finally strangled him with a Soft Cloth Strap.

However, the Soft Cloth Strap was not found at the scene. As the Murder Weapon, it was missing.

I read the report again carefully and found something even more outrageous-

Before his death, He Tianxing had also been sexually assaulted, with a Beer Bottle used in the act.

This was truly unreasonable. It was far beyond what I could comprehend.

Did the perpetrator do this out of desire, humiliation, or some special fetish? The logic behind such behavior was worth investigating.

I couldn’t bear to read further and felt genuine sorrow for Mr. He Tianxing.

Next, I read the second statement, which was taken by the Police on the day He Tianying was brought in.

The information provided by He Tianying was very limited, summarized as follows-

The criminal suspect, He Tianying, born in 1981, now 31 years old, from Xishan County, Chengzhou City, did not finish junior high school, and currently rents an apartment at Unit A, Room 302, Building 11, Nanhuan New Village, Old Town District, Chengzhou City.

After being released from prison two years ago, he worked for half a year at Xishan County First Machinery Factory before quitting. He is currently unemployed, and his source of income is his brother.

After the basic information was collected, the Police asked further questions, but He Tianying remained silent and never confessed.

In this statement, He Tianying mentioned that his income came from his brother. This was corroborated by the Bank Statement obtained by the Police.

Since He Tianying’s release from prison, his brother had transferred him living expenses every six months. The amount was not large, just enough for half a year’s living costs. It seemed his brother treated him fairly well.

To further verify the relationship between the brothers, a more direct method would be to check their Communication Records.

However, in the past two years, these brothers had not left any text messages or call records. The few contacts they had were from two years ago, and the samples were both sparse and outdated, with nothing unusual in content.

They didn’t even have each other’s phone numbers saved. This was also very strange.