Li Xin didn’t go straight to the Mira Gambling Hall, but checked the ti and went to the second victim’s house instead. It was the owner of a flower shop in South Area Three, a couple’s business, and the deceased was the thirty-six-year-old female owner.
When he found the man, the flower shop was operating as usual. Sitting inside was a woman in her twenties, trimming flowers, who imdiately bead when she saw Li Xin, "Sir, what would you like? We have all sorts of flowers here, and if you have special needs, we can customize for you."
The woman wasn’t particularly stunning but youthful, enthusiastic, and very talkative. Hearing the voice, the owner also ca out from the inner room. His gaze towards the young man wasn’t friendly, but seeing Li Xin’s clothes, he quickly showed a smile.
"Sir, what brings you here?" the husband enthusiastically asked.
"I want to understand more about your wife’s mysterious death case."
"Ex-wife, that was a long ti ago." The man frowned, seemingly unwilling to discuss it.
Li Xin looked at the man with a not-quite-smile, "Routine procedure, please cooperate."
The man awkwardly smiled, "Lily, look after the business, I’m going to discuss sothing with the gentleman."
The young woman scrutinized Li Xin’s uniform, her gaze lingering on his backside, and responded with a light "Oh."
Inside, it was relatively simple; the room wasn’t big, packed with things, "Sir, sorry, the place is small. She’s a bit jealous, please ask quickly, the past is the past, and I don’t want to delve into it."
"Were you there when Mrs. Mary died? Were there any special occurrences during that ti?"
"I went to restock, found her collapsed in the inner room when I returned, without any signs of struggle. We’re just a small household, barely maintaining this little business, without any conflicts with others. Mary didn’t talk much, a quiet woman who liked to tend flowers." The man thought for a bit, initially unwilling, but seed a bit remorseful and scared.
"How long were you married? How did you et?" Li Xin asked.
"More than half a year, roughly seven months to be precise. Mary was very beautiful and gentle, sigh, how could she suddenly encounter a monster? Sir, is the monster still around? I’ve been startled awake frequently at night lately."
"How did you et your current wife?" Li Xin continued asking, looking intently at the man.
"Introduced by a neighbor; her husband died a long ti ago—peacefully, peacefully, in his eighties... this... sigh..." The man felt a bit embarrassed but not overly.
"Have you been to the Mira Gambling Hall?"
"Mira Gambling Hall? Where could soone like afford to go? No, no, just heard it’s quite spectacular."
Li Xin wasn’t there to gossip, asked a few other questions, then left. As he departed, the woman continued staring at Li Xin, and once he’d gone, she was dragged into the room by the man, followed by a brief indulgence.
After walking for over ten minutes, he arrived at a major street intersection; evening had fallen. Li Xin waited a while until finally spotting a carriage; leaning against its side, the killer’s ans were quite deft. For dealing with ordinary folks, many hidden ability users could accomplish it—such a broad skillset, might even be done by the Fallen.
Checking the files, the earliest victim was also a month ago, already buried. The file only contained photos and autopsy reports, conclusions from several other Night Patrol teams, all suggesting similar to the Fallen’s subtle feeding.
"Aunt Fei, I’m back." Entering, changing shoes, Li Xin shouted towards the second floor.
"Focus on your howork!"
Lin Fei’s voice ca from upstairs, then she ca down, "Change your clothes, wash your hands, dinner’s ready, eat first."
When Li Xin changed and ca out, the table was already set with utensils and steaming hot dinner.
"Kathy is coming over this weekend, you can’t work overti." Lin Fei ntioned ahead, not needing to ask. From Li Xin’s expression, it’s clear he was starting to investigate cases.
"Okay, do I need to prepare so ingredients?" Li Xin grinned, his mind still stuck on the case, having managed two out of more than a dozen dossiers in one day, and those two were relatively easy.
"Yes, Kathy specifically requested your cooking, and she wants a feast." Lin Fei replied.
"Aunt’s demands are quite high." Li Xin loved Lin Fei’s braised pork—perfectly balanced between fatty and lean, flavorful but not greasy, with just the right chew, each piece about the sa size, looking appealingly tasty.
"Say it in front of her."
"Haha, I wouldn’t dare; she’s my boss’s boss, the big boss. I must cling to her, to live a leisurely winning life."
"You speak so glibly, where’d you learn this? Did you make unruly friends in Hedan?" Lin Fei served Li Xin another bowl of soup, with minimal liquid but plenty of ingredients.
"Aunt Fei has sharp eyes, that guy’s na is Simmons, slick and notoriously unruly, so I ca back." Li Xin said, "It’s delicious!"
"Eat more, finish it all, you’re still growing, need to eat more." Lin Fei, watching Li Xin eat with relish, felt reassured, "Next ti if you co ho late, let know ahead... Forget it, say it when you can."
"I can say, by the way, where’s Justin? Isn’t it living here?" Li Xin asked.
"No, should it be living here?"
"Yeah, it’s my ssenger now. If I’m late from now on, I’ll let it send a ssage; we won’t keep freeloaders." Li Xin comnted, noting its tendency to wander around, "Oh, this guy eats everything, don’t spoil it."
Lin Fei laughed, "Alright, I understand, Justin, a good na."
"I nad it." Li Xin smiled smugly, insisting the na sounds nice, far more cultured than Qi Badao.
Lin Fei watching Li Xin’s proud face couldn’t help but chuckle too, "I’ll supervise Xueyin, call if sothing’s up."
"Aunt Fei, there’s sothing—I wrote a novel, want to try getting it published in the Citizen Daily; all in the family, would Editor sir be kind enough to accommodate?" Li Xin grinned, seemingly indicating Kathy hadn’t ntioned this upon returning since Lin Fei hadn’t brought it up.
"Can you really write novels?" Lin Fei looked at Li Xin, surprised, "I thought the typewriter in your room was for Night Patrol to relay ssages."
"It’s a typewriter, not a telegraph machine. Haven’t you noticed my literary talent?" Li Xin pouted in dissatisfaction.
"Alright, once you’re done, give the manuscript. I’ll seriously recomnd it to the editorial departnt—just write it well, whether I get mocked or praised depends on your talent." Lin Fei smiled while clearing the table, aware of Li Xin’s secret abilities, initially shown in the Underground City, impressed enough at Hedan, though Kathy hadn’t said much, she sensed Li Xin did well there.
Li Xin returned to his room, swinging his arms, determined to pull off sothing remarkable, determined to surprise Aunt Fei.
After tidying up the table, Lin Fei heard Li Xin’s room crackling like fireworks, unable to resist shaking her head, knowing writers deliberate endlessly, sotis pondering even a single sentence for a month. Yet, his process seed more like practicing finger skills, no, akin to her cleaver skills for minced at.
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