While I was rescuing the victim, the suspect Chen Da was subdued by Xiaotao and the guards and they tried to interrogate him. I walked towards them and heard a guard explaining nervously, “I just kicked him a little… I didn’t even use that much strength, I swear!”

“Kicked him a little my ass!” cursed Xiaotao. “You’re going to the police station with me later!”

I asked her what happened exactly. It turned out that after subduing Chen Da, they couldn’t get him to say a single word. One of the guards lost their temper and kicked Chen Da in the stomach, which caused him to fall to the ground. When they checked, they found that he’d already stopped breathing.

I touched Chen Da’s carotid artery and confirmed that he was indeed dead. But the feel of his skin unnerved me. it felt dry and stiff, just like a corpse. I put my ears against his chest and listened. I was taken...