I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 77: Chapter 75: Fengjiang Clubhouse

”Hey! Sleep God! Wake up! There’s a break in the case!”

As the person in her dream woke up, Su Miaoyi opened her eyes as well.

When she opened her eyes, the first person she saw was Zhuang Yanzheng.

Zhuang Yanzheng was in the middle of draping a blanket over her.

His hand paused when he saw that she was awake.

’Just a moment ago, I casually wrapped a blanket around Lu Zhishen, and he didn’t even stir.’

’But with her, I was trying to be quiet, and she still woke up.’

Woken by the voice from her dream, Su Miaoyi was a bit dazed to suddenly see Zhuang Yanzheng.

She stared at him for a couple of seconds before calling out, ”Deputy Captain?”

Zhuang Yanzheng’s hand instinctively tightened on the blanket. He looked at her and asked, ”What did you say?”

”Huh?” Su Miaoyi was still dazed. She rubbed her throbbing temples. ”Did I say something?”

Zhuang Yanzheng’s lips parted, as if he were about to say something.

Suddenly, Su Miaoyi remembered her dream. She abruptly grabbed his sleeve and said, ”There’s a manager at the Fengjiang Clubhouse, last name Cao.”

”What? What about a manager named Cao?” Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

”He has a tattoo on his arm. He’s the killer.” Su Miaoyi, now wide awake, turned to look at Lu Zhishen. ”Lu Zhishen.”

Lu Zhishen startled awake and looked at her.

”A sketch,” Su Miaoyi said.

Hearing those two words, Lu Zhishen, though not yet fully awake, already had his hand in his pocket, reaching for his pen.

Seeing there was nothing for him to do for the moment, Zhuang Yanzheng pulled the blanket off Lu Zhishen and went to return it.

Su Miaoyi and Lu Zhishen quickly produced a sketch of the man.

They also drew the snake tattoo on his arm.

Su Miaoyi had always thought she hadn’t seen the killer’s tattoo. She’d felt it was just a dark blur.

But that wasn’t true.

She had seen it.

But for some reason, that dark blur had never formed a clear image in her mind.

It wasn’t until the dream that she remembered certain things.

Only then did the dark blur sharpen into focus.

The completed sketch was given to Kang Ting, and it didn’t take long to get results.

Cao Hong. Male, thirty-seven years old. Works at the Fengjiang Clubhouse, currently as a manager.

He had no property or vehicles registered in his name, nor did he have a registered address.

This also matched the name ”Brother Hong” that Sheng Ningxuan had overheard Shao Dong say on the phone.

Just then, they also traced the origin of the Jade Token and the gold chain.

Neither the Jade Token nor the gold chain had any obvious markings, so investigators had to check the jewelry and jade shops in Jiangcheng one by one, which is why it took so long.

The Jade Token had been custom-carved from a raw stone, and the transaction hadn’t been registered under a real name.

However, the master carver remembered the customer clearly: a gentleman with the last name Shao.

The raw stone was of such exceptional quality—the carver hadn’t seen anything like it in over ten years—that the customer had left a deep impression.

They confirmed through the payment account that it was, indeed, Shao Dong.

However, they also found another name.

Cao Hong.

It was written on the outer packaging of the raw stone.

Sellers often do this, habitually writing the buyer’s name on the packaging to avoid any mix-ups.

”The master carver showed us a photo he took back then; it captured the name,” Song Yucheng said, taking out his phone to show Kang Ting.

Kang Ting looked toward Su Miaoyi.

’She was the one who dug up the Jade Token, and she was the one who’d described the face for the sketch.’

Su Miaoyi met his gaze.

Kang Ting ordered, ”We’re going to the Fengjiang Clubhouse.”

”Right.” Song Yucheng went to gather the others.

Su Miaoyi looked from Kang Ting to Zhuang Yanzheng.

”What is it?” Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

”Are you allowed to be part of this investigation? Did you file the request? Go through the proper procedures?” Su Miaoyi asked.

”Why do you think I’m standing here?” Zhuang Yanzheng retorted.

Su Miaoyi said, ”I want to go to the Fengjiang Clubhouse, too.”

’Going today, while the police are investigating, would be the safest time.’

’I want to see if I can remember anything.’

’The memories from the dream are too fragmented.’

’I don’t know what exactly happened inside the clubhouse, or what happened after.’

Zhuang Yanzheng looked at her and nodded. ”Let’s go.”

Su Miaoyi then turned to Lu Zhishen.

”I’m not going. If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back. I can check on your brother while I’m at it,” Lu Zhishen said.

”I appreciate it,” Su Miaoyi said.

”No problem.”

...

They went to the Fengjiang Clubhouse together.

However, Cao Hong was nowhere to be seen.

The new manager told them that Cao Hong had resigned a week ago.

Kang Ting requested the surveillance footage from a month ago.

But it couldn’t be retrieved.

All the surveillance footage from a month prior, from the pool to the entrance, was corrupted and completely irretrievable.

When asked why, the new manager claimed to know nothing about it.

The manager appeared completely cooperative and agreeable, but in reality, he was just giving them the runaround.

Su Miaoyi was getting a firsthand look at just how difficult this clubhouse could be.

’They’re perfectly polite, but when you ask them anything, they suddenly know nothing.’

She looked around as she walked through the clubhouse.

She was trying to jog her memory, but everything seemed unfamiliar.

Even when she passed the outside of a private room that looked just like the one in her dream, nothing came back to her.

A short while later, Jiang Junrui arrived.

Upon seeing Kang Ting, he put on the air of someone greeting an old friend.

”Captain Kang, long time no see. Has my clubhouse caused some trouble again? I hate to bother you with a personal visit,” Jiang Junrui said, his eyes drifting toward Su Miaoyi.

Su Miaoyi looked back at him.

Kang Ting explained the reason for their visit.

Jiang Junrui said, ”I have no idea what happened. Cao Hong was doing great work, and then he suddenly resigned. I even offered him a raise, but it wasn’t enough to make him stay. What’s wrong? Is he in some kind of trouble?”

”He’s involved in a homicide case,” Kang Ting stated.

”Is that so?” Jiang Junrui’s expression remained calm; he didn’t even bother to feign surprise. ”Then I know nothing about it. Everyone has a private life. He was my subordinate, but it’s not like I could watch what he was doing twenty-four hours a day. Wouldn’t you agree, Captain Kang?”

Kang Ting remained silent.

Jiang Junrui then turned to Zhuang Yanzheng. ”Young Master Zhuang, transferred to Jiangcheng, have you?”

”I wouldn’t be here if I could help it. I can’t be bothered dealing with your kind,” Zhuang Yanzheng said, his lips curling into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

Jiang Junrui laughed. ”My kind is the easiest to deal with. If you don’t believe me, just ask Captain Kang. When have I ever been anything but fully cooperative?”

Zhuang Yanzheng looked as if he’d just heard the joke of the century.

Jiang Junrui didn’t say anything more to him, instead turning his gaze back to Su Miaoyi. ”You came all the way to Jiangcheng without telling me? I would have liked to show you some proper hospitality.”

Everyone’s eyes immediately fell on Su Miaoyi.

Especially the officers from the Jiangcheng City Bureau.

Su Miaoyi smiled faintly and replied with an ambiguous statement, ”Some experiences are unforgettable enough the first time around. I have no desire to go through them a second time.”

Zhuang Yanzheng watched Su Miaoyi as well.

Jiang Junrui smiled at her. ”See? I knew you were lying to me.”

Su Miaoyi said nothing.

Kang Ting asked again, ”What happened to the surveillance footage in the clubhouse?”

”I heard a guest lost some jewelry about a month ago. They were trying to find it by reviewing the footage, but someone must have messed up and deleted it all,” Jiang Junrui explained. ”Captain Kang, I can have my people give you that guest’s information. You can send your officers to ask them about it.”

”Where does Cao Hong live? The company must have his address on file, right?” Kang Ting pressed.

”Go pull up Cao Hong’s file,” Jiang Junrui said to his assistant. ”Everyone, please, have a seat while we wait. It must be difficult, investigating a case on such a cold day. Have some tea to warm yourselves up.”

...