I contemplated my options, weighing the pros and cons of each choice. In the end, I decided to find Zhang Qinghai first! 

Listening to my suggestion, Zhao Wuyang hesitated. “I’ve contacted him many times, but there’s no trace of him.” 

“Your method was ineffective; let’s see if mine works!” I opened the drawer and took out a pen and a small paper, asking Zhao Wuyang to write down Zhang Qinghai’s address for me. 

Zhao Wuyang sounded resolute as he said, “I want to go with you guys.”

It was rare that he showed such bravery, so I didn’t reject him. 

Li Mazi was watching sister Aoi Sora on the computer while Zhao Wuyang and I were speaking. I called him, and the three of us hurriedly departed. 

Zhang Qinghai stayed in an area on the 4th Ring Road of Wuhan. The neighborhood was in the process of getting demolished when we arrived. Due to this, the surroundings were filled with the roars of engines and vehicles. 

Li Mazi scanned the area, whispering in my ear, “Little Brother Zhang, this is quite a dangerous place to be. There are many opportunities to kill someone or steal from them. Let’s stay alert. Perhaps this guy’s a spy from the Longquan Villa.” 

I shot him a glance. “We’re in broad daylight, and we’re living in a society with laws. Anybody who kills or steals in these conditions doesn’t want his life anymore. Besides, I have you to guard me, don’t I?” 

Li Mazi was still worried. “We must keep our guard up against the Longquan Villa.” 

I smiled, shaking my head. “You have the brain of a pig, and you’re reminding me of this! If Zhao Wuyang was from the Longquan Villa, how could he not know who Zhang Jiulin truly is?” 

Li Mazi thought that this was reasonable, so he stopped talking. 

The residential area where Zhang Qinghai lived was made up of apartment buildings that were developed last year. There weren’t many families living here, and the sections around the apartments hadn’t been planned yet. The path had a few bumps here and there. It was a little challenging to find his unit, but Zhang Wuyang eventually stopped and told us, “This is it.” 

We took the elevator to the fourteenth floor. Zhao Wuyang pointed at the door of an apartment. “That’s the one.” 

He went forward and knocked on the door. Yet, after waiting for quite a long time, no one answered. Zhao Wuyang sighed. “See, it’s the same thing as before. I last came here a few days ago. There’s no one inside.” 

“How many times have you been here?” I asked him curiously. 

“One time. Three days ago, after learning of Xue Peng and Xiao Sisi, I asked for a day off and came here to find Zhang Qinghai,” answered Zhao Wuyang. 

Did Zhang Qinghai also get the news and ran away in fright? 

However, he wasn’t the one who skinned the victims. Why should he need to flee? 

I shot Li Mazi a glance. “Master, it’s your turn.” 

Li Mazi looked at me dumbly. “What?” 

“Open the door!” 

Li Mazi’s face changed. “Little Brother Zhang, who do you think I am? I’m a righteous businessman. I can’t just go around picking locks!” 

“Don’t talk nonsense. Open the door now. If you continue to babble, I’ll chop you up.” I stared at him maliciously. 

“Little Brother Zhang, lately, you’ve been too cruel to me. You keep talking about hitting and killing me,” Li Mazi mumbled as he walked forward.

He took out a ring-shaped needle from his clothes and started to fiddle with the lock on the door. After a moment, the door opened with a short click from the lock. 

Zhao Wuyang was still watching us dumbly when Li Mazi pushed the door open. 

As soon as the door sprung open, a pungent stench hit our faces. Li Mazi and I immediately pinched our noses, but as Zhao Wuyang was still in a daze, he wasn’t so lucky; he had already taken in two breaths. He grabbed the anti-theft door, vomiting. 

Li Mazi took a slight sniff. He was startled and turned to look at me. 

This stench was familiar to Li Mazi and me. It was the smell of a decomposing body!

It seemed Zhang Qinghai was gone. 

I ordered Li Mazi with a look. I would go in first, and Li Mazi would be my backup. Carefully, we entered Zhang Qinghai’s apartment. 

It was a new apartment with similarly new appliances; it had two bedrooms and a living room. There was only one gray sofa in the living room, which made the area look empty. The two bedrooms were transformed into one bedroom and one study room. 

The study room had all kinds of books. The curtain was half-closed, allowing a little light into the room. 

Crumpled papers and trash were scattered across the floor. A twisted corpse laid in front of the laptop wearing dirty pajamas, the horrible smell wafting from it. This person must be Zhang Qinghai. 

I moved closer and found that Zhang Qinghai’s face was skinned. The wound had bled hard, leaving a puddle of blood on the desk. His face was now a mess of torn flesh, and the veins from his sockets stuck to his eyeballs. The scene looked extraordinarily terrifying.

Although I’d seen many frightful sights before, I couldn’t help but take two steps backward. 

No matter what, Zhao Wuyang was a doctor. After his anxiety subsided, he recovered and asked from the door, “Did he die?” 

“Yes,” I nodded. 

Checking the corpse or the time of his death wasn’t my specialty. I had to ask Zhao Wuyang to come in and take a look. 

“I-I don’t dare.” Zhao Wuyang answered shakily. 

As Li Mazi was already annoyed and restless, he scolded him, “There are two living men standing here with you, what are you afraid of? You’re a doctor, right? When you were in school, you must have seen more gruesome things than this! Hurry, come here. If you keep dawdling, we won’t care what happens to you anymore. If your face gets peeled off, don’t push the blame on us.” 

Zhao Wuyang wanted to cry but had no tears. “I really don’t have the courage. I’m scared. Don’t force me.” 

Li Mazi snorted. “Who's forcing you? Anyway, are you coming here or not? If you’re not coming, we’re leaving. You can’t have your cake and eat it, too…” 

Just as I was about to intercede, Li Mazi blinked, muttering to me, “This fellow is such a scaredy-cat. I have to take this chance to cure his bad habit. Otherwise, it may affect his future later!” 

Although this method was a bit cruel, I had to admit that Li Mazi was right. This trait of his would hold Zhao Wuyang back for his entire life. If Li Mazi corrected the issue, it would be a great deed. 

That was why I shut my mouth and turned aside as if I hadn’t heard anything. 

Under Li Mazi’s continuous urging, Zhao Wuyang took small steps toward us. He craned his neck to take his first look at the corpse. Immediately, he freaked out, shrieking.

I couldn’t blame him, though. Zhang Qinghai’s death was exceedingly frightening, especially his skinned face. The veins on his face were like a horrible spider web sticking onto his pink-red, exposed flesh. 

I comforted Zhao Wuyang. “Don’t be scared. He’s already dead. If you can, please check and tell us how long he’s been dead. If you can’t, we have to get out of here as soon as possible and report his death to the police.” 

Zhao Wuyang took a deep breath, his face as white as a sheet of paper. He gritted his teeth. “I’m okay. I can do it.” 

He avoided Zhang Qinghai’s face and simply checked the other parts of the body. “Without proper tools, I can’t tell the exact time of this death. However, I’m guessing it’s more than one week since his death. You can see the lividity all over his body.” 

“All right,” Li Mazi interrupted impatiently. “Do you think we’re on some crime TV show or something? Keep it short.” 

Zhao Wuyang jerked back in fright, shutting his mouth. 

Zhang Qinghai died at his desk. What was he doing right before his death? 

I studied his posture. Both of his stiff hands were held up as if he was holding something. 

I suddenly remembered the mirror in Zhao Wuyang’s story.

I got it now! 

Before Zhang Qinghai died, he was admiring the mirror. He courted his death this way. 

I hurried to rummage around the room, even searching under the desk and the bookshelf underneath. However, I didn’t find the bronze mirror. 

After Zhang Qinghai died, where did the mirror go? 

It couldn’t have just vanished into thin air, could it? 

Or did Zhang Qinghai lose his mind and imagine that the mirror was still in his hands? Was this the way he was positioned with both hands holding something up? 

I couldn’t figure it out for the moment. Li Mazi waved at me. “Little Brother Zhang, this room smells horrible. We should get out of here.” 

Zhao Wuyang nodded as if he had just received some wonderful news. “Yes, yes. We should leave!” 

Then, supporting himself with a hand on the wall, he wobbled out of the study room.