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One side was ordinary, while the other appeared devilish.

Parents rushed out of the shop to scoop up their children, apologizing repeatedly, "We really can't take our eyes off them for a moment. Zhu Li, they're just kids, and I apologize for their ignorance."

The parents earnestly warned their children against mocking others, not expecting them to slip up again. They scolded the youngsters and instructed them to apologize to Zhu Li.

The children felt wronged.

"But Uncle Gan also calls him Silly Zhu, Silly Zhu!"

"That's still not acceptable," the parent sternly replied. "Making fun of someone in a song is highly unethical."

Upon understanding this, the children reluctantly apologized one by one.

However, the man had no intention of letting them off so easily. He first surveyed the group of children and started counting, "One, two, three..."

As he counted, a cold sneer escaped his lips, "If there's a next time, I'll skin you all like pigs!"

"Ahh! So scary!"

The children, startled, turned and ran away in panic.

The man wiped the sneer from his face and pulled the cart into the alley, his head down as he exerted himself forward, revealing more of his scarred skin with each movement.

Chu Yuening observed the intense resentment surrounding the man and furrowed her brow.

"His name is Zhu Si," said the lady, "and he's Uncle Gan's son. If it weren't for his condition, Uncle Gan would have retired long ago, given his age."

The lady expressed her regret.

After all, Zhu Si's appearance was truly terrifying. As an old neighbor in the same market, she herself would occasionally be startled by him.

How could anyone possibly summon the courage to do business with someone so frightening?

"But what can you do?" the lady continued. "If Uncle Gan doesn't earn money, how can he live?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Chu Yuening noticed a bewildering, sky-reaching black aura hovering above the market's roof.

Chu Yuening silently recited a spell, suppressing the aura once more. She then glanced at the sun on the horizon.

In a few more hours, the resentment wouldn't dissipate.

The female ghost would turn into a vengeful spirit.

Vengeful spirits lacked consciousness; they killed blindly. Once that happened, there was only one outcome – the disintegration of their soul.

Chu Yuening was infinitely patient. After bidding farewell to Sister Liang, she sat back down on the chair and picked up a newspaper, occasionally glancing at the entrance of the corridor.

She disliked encountering vengeful spirits.

Mmm.

After all, dispersing the soul of a vengeful spirit could be quite exhausting.

At the Forensic Division of Kowloon City Police Station, bright lights illuminated the room as an unskinned, dismembered body from Sung Wong Tai Garden lay on an iron bed.

Doctor Song, wearing gloves, examined the severed limbs and half of the torso before commenting, "The victim's skull had burst, leading to unconsciousness. They were then skinned and dismembered while in that state."

"Doctor Song, the corpse is headless. How do you know she died from a skull fracture?"

All four members of Team D were standing by, each with deep circles under their eyes. The question was posed by Shi Boren.

In the 24 hours since another flayed skeleton was discovered in Imperial Song Garden, none of Team D had slept.

Dr. Song used tweezers to examine a piece of flesh. "The trachea contains blood. It's likely that a heavy object caused the skull to shatter, resulting in blood flowing backward into the throat. When she tried to scream, the blood entered the airways, causing this phenomenon."

As the chunks of flesh were separated, Gan Yizu, with his dark circles, felt his stomach churn again. He stumbled to a trash bin nearby and threw up violently.

Uncle Zhong, also sporting puffy bags and dark circles, shook his head at the remains. "After all these years in Homicide, I've never seen such a deranged killer."

"Cut into pieces, skinless, and headless – even her mother wouldn't recognize her!"

Zhou Fengxu studied the remains, hoping to find any remaining clues. He lifted his gaze. "Doctor Song, please continue."

"Sure," Dr. Song resumed his work, examining the chest and then the lower legs. "The deceased wasn't tall, probably around 1.6 meters. The quadriceps muscles on the front of the thighs are average in strength, indicating a slender build."

As Zhou Fengxu spoke, something clicked in his mind, causing him to frown. "I remember the data from the previous corpse was similar too, right?"

"Both are girls, same height, same build. Could the killer have specifically chosen their victims?"

Shi Boren found the reasoning plausible. "If we infer along this line, the murderer probably isn't very tall or muscular, with less physical strength."

Doctor Song continued, "The wounds on the bodies aren't clean; there are bone fragments. From initial assessment, it could've been a machete or butchering knife, something large. That's why the bones would shatter like that upon impact."

Suddenly.

Dr. Song's forceps extracted a piece of metal from the midst of the debris.

The edge of the metal flashed dangerously.

Zhou Fengxu's gaze was fixed on the fragment: "It could be a shard from a knife. Boren, contact the forensic department and have them examine this immediately."

"Aye!" Shi Boren donned his gloves, sealed the metal fragment in a prepared pouch, and hurried off to the forensic lab.

The four of them rushed back to their office.

Zhou Fengxu scribbled two locations on the whiteboard.

Inspiration Tower and Song Huang Terrace Garden.

Between the two circled sites, there were local markets.

He gazed thoughtfully at the circled marketplaces, awaiting the forensic team's findings.

Four hours later.

A rushed report from the forensics department arrived at Team D's office.

Shi Boren eagerly opened the report, his excitement palpable. "Brother Xu, there's a small logo on the fragment. The forensics team matched it to a specialized pig-slaughtering cleaver."

" Investigate!" Zhou Fengxu capped the marker and tossed it back onto the desk. "Boren, find some colleagues to help. Track down all retailers in Hong Kong selling this brand, and determine how many they've sold, as well as where they were sold."