"The blood analysis result is out!"

"That blood belongs to Jiao Yan!"

The speed of the blood analysis was much faster than Chen Xiao had anticipated.

This indicates that the authorities also place great importance on this case.

After all, a near-family annihilation case has never occurred within the Dongzhou area.

This counts as the first one.

Regardless of speed, what’s truly important is the result.

Jiao Yan’s blood appeared on an unraveled suit in Madman Zhang’s stove.

This, for the case, is quite significant information.

However, over the phone, Lin Xi asked a question:

"Chen Xiao, do you think the appearance of the suit is deliberate, or did it really not burn completely for you to discover it?"

Chen Xiao had indeed pondered over this question.

But he truly found it in the stove, and when discovered, that small piece of suit was lodged inside.

If he hadn’t been meticulous enough to reach in and inspect at that time, it would have been hard to find.

If the intent was to direct all suspicion toward Madman Zhang, there was no need to hide the suit so discreetly.

"I can’t give a definitive answer, but now we can roughly infer some possibilities."

"One: there’s not a lot of twists and turns; considering Madman Zhang’s profile, the murderer is him!"

"Two: if the suit was placed in the stove by someone else to burn, then it’s possibly not because of me, but rather from the beginning, Madman Zhang entered his line of sight. In other words, he designed the disappearance of Madman Zhang from the very start, just coincidentally when you and I arrived."

Lin Xi could hear the subtext in Chen Xiao’s words.

"You mean to say, he had already formulated a very comprehensive plan to confront the police from the outset?"

"Yes, no distinct motive features, a clean crime scene, the placement of the victim’s body, a swift method of organ removal—all of this now seems like artwork he’s presenting to the police!"

At this point, Chen Xiao paused, then continued:

"In Jiao Yan’s room, I found a work authored by Teacher Wang, titled ’Before and After People.’ The theme of the work is portraying the behaviors of various people before and after others, hence through that work, I believe the murderer’s act of organ removal is echoing Teacher Wang’s work."

"Only by taking a person’s heart out and holding it can one determine what kind of heart the person truly has. And now, the information left by the killer is both truth and falsehood, reality and illusion; thus, I suspect the information he left requires us to discern."

Upon finishing, Chen Xiao didn’t receive an immediate response from Lin Xi,

and Han Zai, beside him, also fell silent at this time.

After about a minute, Lin Xi asked another question:

"If so, why is his target the Jiao Guoxuan family? And why leave Jiao Yue?"

"If assuming the first possibility, do you think Jiao Yue has a reason to survive?" Chen Xiao asked in return.

The first possibility he referred to is trusting his perception, believing that Jiao Yue made no mistake.

Madman Zhang’s profile is the murderer’s profile!

And it’s precisely because Madman Zhang once had a daughter, and when she had an incident, she was also of a similar age, that Jiao Yue survived!

"I understand, and if we deduce that Madman Zhang is the murderer based on this, then all of it indeed makes sense."

After stating this, Lin Xi ended the call.

She had many tasks to handle, especially finding Madman Zhang and identifying any potential links between Madman Zhang and the Jiao Guoxuan family.

Chen Xiao set down his phone and sat side by side with Han Zai on the riverbank.

Han Zai: "Xiaoxi was right, why target the Jiao Guoxuan family?"

"Jiao Guoxuan was very wild and high-profile, willing to turn against anyone for profit. Wei Rong became the third wheel, climbing to the top, equally possessing flaws. As for Jiao Yan, from her mother Si Ru, Jiao Yan would disguise herself in front of her parents."

"But undeniably, she’s the only one in the new Shenghuang Textile management who still had a bit of conscience. She’s not bad, or perhaps it’s merely because she and Qiao Zhiyuan have been close since childhood."

"Hmm, possibly... However, the work you mentioned earlier, I think I saw on her desk. The books on her desk, I remember correctly, were hardly ever read, right?" Han Zai inquired.

Chen Xiao nodded: "Indeed, they were hardly ever read; I believe those books were more for display. But what I’m most curious about now is how Jiao Yan acquired that work. The author is my teacher, and the book’s publication was the peak of his life’s luck and talent."

"The work is very niche; for people of our era, it’s not found in major bookstores. So, now I have a suspicion, could it be Madman Zhang who gave Jiao Yan that book?"

Upon hearing this, Han Zai pondered briefly, then brightened up.

But then, Chen Xiao already dialed Wang Dahe’s number.

"Hello, Teacher Wang, I have another question; does Madman Zhang know about your works?"

"I’m not sure, but after I published ’Before and After People,’ he was still very clear-minded, had no family misfortune. But Madman Zhang loved literature too; in the first two years of his madness, he often picked up newspapers from outside, and even when he visited others’ homes, if people pitied him and offered food, he’d refuse, asking for books and newspapers instead."

"Did he ever give anyone books?"

"Yes, he used to give me newspapers, crazily pointing at news and teaching me to recognize words."

The person saying this was Wang Jun.

It must be that Wang Dahe enabled the speaker function, and Wang Jun was beside him.

Upon hearing this response, Chen Xiao’s confidence in his suspicion strengthened.

After a couple more words, Chen Xiao hung up and called Bai Xinghu.

"Dr. Bai, do you recall anything about Jiao Yan during her bone fracture treatment? For example, did anyone gift her books?"

Chen Xiao asked Bai Xinghu, only for Bai Xinghu to ponder a while before replying:

"I really don’t remember, it wasn’t now, back then I had many patients daily; remembering her name was difficult enough."

Seeing no recollection from the other side, Chen Xiao ceased further inquiry.

Setting the phone down, Chen Xiao silently watched the flowing river for quite a while.

Han Zai stood up, gazing at the river surface with a long sigh.

Chen Xiao glanced at him and said, "Teacher Han Zai, actually in my current mindset, I have a bold suspicion; could you help me articulate it?"

"Alright, go ahead."

"We’ve now suspected Qiao Zhiyuan, Madman Zhang, and I even consider Xiong Nan problematic. So, do you think it’s possible they’re all the murderers?!"

Upon hearing this, Han Zai’s eyes widened once more!