Chapter Four: Half of a Woman’s Corpse

When she said this, not only was An Changpu, who had been sitting quietly on the side, stunned, but even Cheng Feng was taken aback. Cheng Feng might have only been surprised, but An Changpu felt not only surprise but also a baffling sense of frustration and gloom. From the moment he met this policewoman named Qin Ruonan until now, the total time they’d spent together hadn’t even reached three hours. He had done nothing to offend her, yet now she was inexplicably requesting to be reassigned to a different partner, as if he had somehow wronged her.

Was it because of that single remark he made to her on the way back earlier?

An Changpu frowned, feeling deeply aggrieved. Still, he was a grown man and couldn’t afford to appear petty about it. “Did I do something earlier that made you feel offended?” He didn’t intend to make a fuss, but there was always a reason for things. Working with a partner on a case couldn’t be forced; if Qin Ruonan insisted on changing partners, he wouldn’t try to stop her. But he still wanted to understand why she seemed to reject him.

His question was perfectly reasonable, and Cheng Feng, after hearing it, also turned his gaze toward Qin Ruonan.

Qin Ruonan’s cheeks flushed slightly. She cleared her throat in embarrassment and said, “You didn’t offend me. I just think our personalities don’t match, and we’re not suitable for working together. That’s all.”

“Have you known me for long?” Hearing this, a sudden anger welled up inside An Changpu. In all the years he’d been working—though it might be an exaggeration to say he was universally liked—at least no one had ever said his personality was incompatible with theirs. Now, to be so abruptly labeled by a stranger he’d just met—it was hard for him to accept. “We haven’t even known each other for a few hours. How do you know what kind of person I am? Can you read minds?”

Qin Ruonan’s face grew even redder. She didn’t respond to him but turned instead to Cheng Feng. “I’m sorry. I stand by my request.”

Never before had An Changpu felt so stifled and frustrated. He was so angry he could barely speak, staring at Cheng Feng, waiting for his decision.

Cheng Feng looked at him helplessly, gestured for Qin Ruonan to sit down, and then asked An Changpu, “Did you two have any conflict just now?”

“No! If anything, I simply reminded her to pay attention to her tone when speaking with the person who reported the case,” An Changpu replied truthfully.

Cheng Feng asked for more details about what had happened. After listening, he glanced at Qin Ruonan, who turned away with a complicated expression, refusing to respond.

“In fact, the way you both handled things earlier was actually a very good example of teamwork. Didn’t either of you notice?” Cheng Feng thought for a moment, then smiled. “Qin Ruonan’s words might have angered the person who reported the case, but they also successfully shifted their emotions, making them temporarily forget their fear. An Changpu then took the opportunity to comfort them, so you managed to complete the questioning quickly and efficiently. From my point of view, although your personalities do seem quite different, you actually complement each other well in your work.”

Qin Ruonan was about to say something, but Cheng Feng raised a hand to stop her.

“All right,” Cheng Feng said, his face turning stern as he glanced at his watch. “Let’s not waste any more time. I don’t have the energy to play kindergarten teacher and mediate between squabbling children. Since we have a direction for the investigation, let’s move quickly.”

An Changpu nodded to Cheng Feng, stood up, and left the office first. Qin Ruonan, looking awkward and hesitant, stood frozen for a moment, but seeing the firmness in Cheng Feng’s expression, she could only nod and follow An Changpu out.

For the rest of the day, An Changpu and Qin Ruonan did not exchange a single word. Qin Ruonan had seemed disinclined to speak with him from the beginning; now, with his pride bruised, An Changpu saw no reason to make any effort to break the ice either. Still, their division of labor was tacitly understood—whenever one started a task, the other would take up the rest. Despite the lack of communication, their work proceeded methodically and without issue.

Under this tense atmosphere, they worked side by side for three or four days, yet the case showed little progress. They had checked all reports of missing men throughout City C, but found no relevant records. They even extended their search to migrant workers and students in the city, but found nothing there, either.

The search along the riverbank upstream was equally fruitless—not even a trace of a limb, let alone another half of a corpse, could be found. This outcome caught everyone by surprise.

Meanwhile, Tian Yang and Mo Dou privately questioned An Changpu more than once, trying to figure out what he could have possibly done to offend the newly arrived female colleague so thoroughly on her first day that she would go to Cheng Feng to request a transfer. An Changpu was at a complete loss for words.

In his spare moments, he often tried to recall every detail of their brief encounter that morning, but no matter how he racked his brain, he simply couldn’t figure out what had upset Qin Ruonan. Unless she was so petty she couldn’t even tolerate a bit of advice—in which case, if she was so unprofessional, he really didn’t care what impression she had of him.

There was, however, one thing that did bother him: over the following days, he gradually realized that, while Qin Ruonan was undoubtedly stubborn by nature, she was always polite and courteous with everyone else she worked with. Despite being new, she quickly earned a decent reputation among her colleagues. Yet with him alone, she was not only cold and distant but seemed to go out of her way to avoid him. Even when An Changpu attempted to break the awkward silence between them, he could clearly sense her evasion, as if this icy distance was exactly what she preferred.

Since joining the police force—including over a year spent on peacekeeping missions abroad—An Changpu had encountered his share of difficult situations, but he now felt that Qin Ruonan was by far the most challenging issue he had ever faced.

Of course, he could only lament his predicament silently to himself. Tian Yang and Mo Dou, busy with their own investigations, showed no sympathy; on the contrary, they seemed quite entertained by his discomfort.

After three days of fruitless searching along the river upstream, the police had no choice but to call off the operation. Forensic pathologist Zhao’s autopsy on the half-male corpse was complete: the victim had been killed and then severed at the waist with an axe. Death had occurred approximately twenty-four to thirty-six hours prior, and the body had been dismembered long after death—the blood in the vessels had already coagulated. Because only the lower body had been found, the cause of death could not be determined.

Dr. Zhao also conducted a bone age test to estimate the victim’s age, concluding that the man was roughly around fifty, give or take two or three years.

This finding significantly narrowed the scope of An Changpu and Qin Ruonan’s investigation and made the task somewhat less daunting.

On the fifth day, just as they were still busy searching for missing men around fifty in City C, a new case drew their attention.

Downstream along the river, a group of laborers, hired by a private contractor, had sneaked in at night to dig up stones from the riverbed to sell. But while excavating that evening, they unearthed a corpse.

What was even more shocking was that the remains they uncovered were not those of a man, but half of a woman’s body.

An Changpu and Qin Ruonan were both taken aback. Could this case be more than just an ordinary homicide and dismemberment? Was it, in fact, the work of a serial killer?