This case wasn’t completely over since the perpetrator was still at large. Xiaotao and I returned to the city bureau to continue the investigation. After several days of searching, a complaint came from a residential property reporting a rotten odor emanating from an apartment. 

We rushed to the scene immediately, and upon opening the door, we were greeted by a room full of posters, CDs, photo albums, soft toys, and other memorabilia. The owner was a crazy fan of Yi Xi. 

The smell of decay permeated the air. In the bedroom, a female corpse lay on the ground with grey skin, covered in fat maggots and bleeding from the mouth. Several officers rushed into the bathroom and vomited uncontrollably at the sight.

I lit the Snake Bone Incense I concocted some time ago and placed it in a small portable incense burner, fumigating the corpse for a short while. This incense had the effect of expelling insects. When it...