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She stepped into the humble pigsty, entering that storage room.

And never emerged again.

The more Zhu Si recalled, the louder his laughter echoed. With the knife in hand, he fiercely slashed against the spine, tearing flesh and skin apart.

"Ahhhh!" He writhed on the ground in agony, yet the blade seemed to have a will of its own, digging deeper into his buttocks. With both hands, he tried to pull the torn skin apart, and soon it detached from his body.

"Ahhhhhh!"

Zhu Si's breaths were faint, his eyes fixated on the approaching knife. He pleaded, "No... Please don't..."

Just like those two girls back then.

With force, the knife pressed down upon his neck.

A head tumbled and rolled to the entrance of the toilet.

The entrance was now empty, devoid of any presence.

In no time, hurried footsteps echoed in the vicinity.

Just as Shi Boren stepped on the skull, he caught sight of it and, with a roar, pulled Gan Yizu in front of him for protection. "A head! A head!"

Following his gaze, Gan Yizu saw blood splattered across the bathroom tiles, and the water from the bathtub had spilled out, washing over the freshly peeled skin. Zhu Si's muscle-laden limbs were submerged in the bloody water.

"Gah—" Gan Yizu couldn't hold back and, feeling weak, turned around to use Shi Boren's T-shirt as a makeshift trash bag. With a retch, he vomited uncontrollably.

Zhou Fengxu and Uncle Gan immediately entered the bathroom, carefully maneuvering around the blood to carry the unconscious A'Zhen out.

With his hands cuffed, Uncle Gan saw the horrifying scene in the bathroom, and all his strength seemed to drain from him. He slumped onto the floor, staring at Zhu Si's unblinking head.

Their eyes met, and the question lingered in the air. "How could this happen... Ah Si... You've always been obedient since young. Why did you do such a thing?"

The old man, with his head full of white hair, covered his face and wept.

If only they hadn't sent Zhu Si for skin grafting, would this tragedy have unfolded?

He had already regretted his actions.

Not far away, Chu Yuening watched as the Hummer drove past, and the black aura hovering above the warehouse vanished in the next second.

Only then did she slowly recite the liberation incantation.

Afterward, two invisible specks of golden light rose from the location of the warehouse.

As the evening breeze blew, Chu Yuening listened to the chirping of grasshoppers and tapped her neck. The golden light disappeared with her movements.

She gazed for a long while before retracting her gaze and said softly, "Good deeds accumulate merit, ensuring a fortunate rebirth in the next life."

The two girls were willing to expend their soul energy to save A'Zhen's life. In return, Chu Yuening was willing to expend her merits to secure them a chance at reincarnation.

Both of them carried great merits that would make countless others envious of their perfect next lives.

But...

That was only for their next lives.

She mused that given a choice, no one would willingly seek another life after death.

The wail of police sirens pierced the night sky, and news reporters, upon hearing of the solved case involving human skin, swarmed to the scene.

A ribbon of yellow caution tape cordoned off the area, starting from the pigsty.

The journalists gathered outside the perimeter, frenziedly snapping photos of the two female severed heads reported by the forensic team.

The entire major case unit, witnessing such a grim sight, sat alongside the stench-filled pigsty. Though filthy, the sty seemed almost sanitized compared to the atrocities that had taken place within the warehouse.

Shi Boren's vest was being relentlessly pushed by the pig's snout. Impatiently, he shoved the hog's nose away from the food. When the pig still refused to budge, he resorted to slapping it.

"Finish your feed, finish it! Keep pushing, and you'll end up as a golden roasted pig on the table!"

The pig that had been feeding near the fence, perhaps hearing its fate as a roasted suckling pig, finally decided to leave.

Zhou Fengxu recollected the ashes he had seen amidst the blood, constantly rewinding the camera footage in his mind. Yet, the person he had expected to see was nowhere to be found.

Even Zhu Si seemed oblivious to the presence of another individual at the scene.

Zhou Fengxu was all too familiar with the origin of that ash. Back then, when he had been shot, the yellow talisman that had saved his life had turned to dust the moment it was taken out.

"Brother Xu, is there something new you've discovered from watching the footage repeatedly?" Gan Yizu was full of questions. How else could he explain Brother Xu's persistent scrutiny of the camera?

Zhou Fengxu didn't divulge the matter of the talisman ashes. He switched off the video display and tossed the camera over. "From Chen Tang's testimony, there's a video inside showing Zhu Si committing murder. We can first ask the victims' families to identify the body based on the victim's appearance."

Shi Boren caught the camera firmly but dared not play the tape. "There are two victims, but only one video. It must have been recorded after the first killing, for the second time around."

Uncle Zhong, recalling the gruesome scene, couldn't help lighting a cigarette as he asked in distress, "The case may be solved, but how do we write the report? If we don't do it properly, our superiors will be on our backs in no time."

"Yes, the higher-ups are already keeping a close eye on this individual case, and Inspector Lu is constantly pressing for updates," Gan Yizu expressed with a troubled look.

Although he is a new police officer and inexperienced, he is well aware of the importance placed on the human skin case by the higher-ups. Especially since the case was not solved for a while, Inspector Lu came to the D team's office every day, not to urge Brother Xu, but to question the new rookie, Gan Yizu, about the progress.

The human skin case was so horrifying that it unsettled the hearts of Hong Kong citizens. Coupled with several unsolved major cases in the police department, the residents of Kowloon City had lost faith in their law enforcement.

At this moment, there was an urgent need to apprehend the culprit on camera to reassure the public. The citizens eagerly awaited the capture of the perpetrator, anticipating a public denouncement and a venting of their collective anger.

But for now.

A person... has passed away.

Like a firecracker poised to explode, suddenly fizzling out.

"Describe the killer falling to their own blade? Or perhaps the murderer lost their mind, flaying themselves alive?" Shi Boren grasped his hair in distress, instantly turning his mane into a disheveled mess.

"The culprit didn't submit to punishment but met death instead, without the Royal Police's authority being showcased in the process. This has affected Inspector Lu's promotion; crushing us is as effortless as squashing ants."

"File the report accurately," Zhou Fengxu said without concern, his gaze turning profound. In this moment, he felt that it was just as well for the murderer to face justice by experiencing the same manner of death as their victims.