Jiang Zhengkai's police cruiser rolled quietly out of the Ju'an Estates residential compound.  He didn't notice that behind the floor-to-ceiling windows on the third floor, a young woman stood in silence as she watched him depart.

Two lines of tears streamed continuously down A-Jiao's face.  She could only stand there quietly as she watched Jiang Zhengkai leave.  As a prost.i.tute, she knew her social status placed her at the very bottom of China's societal hierarchy.  She didn't have the luxury to pursue her own happiness, especially not with a cop who had witnessed her violation.  She stood there blankly until nightfall, when she picked up her suitcase and quietly left this home of hers, this familiar city of hers.

The exchange on the intercom wasn't some beautiful misunderstanding.  Since A-Jiao had already decided to leave, she had pre-recorded several messages on the smart intercom system.  They were no more than the traces of a woman whose heart had already left.

Jiang Zhengkai's car arrived in the local police station's parking lot.  He got out of the car and quickly went to Zhang Nan's office.  "Sergeant Zhang, what's the situation been in the alley the last couple of days?" he eagerly asked Zhang Nan as soon as he saw him.

"It's been rather quiet, actually," Zhang Nan replied.  "The number of women working in the alley is a lot lower than before."  He was right.  Prost.i.tutes were human too, and everyone is afraid of dying.  Those women were trying to make money, not get themselves killed.  Even police officers were told to not unnecessarily risk their lives, so there was even less reason for your average citizen to keep working in the face of imminent danger.

"Just as well," Jiang Zhengkai said as he sat down in front of Zhang Nan's desk.  "The fewer of them there are, the less chance that there'll be another homicide, which makes reporting to our superiors a bit less difficult."

"You can say that again!" Zhang Nan nodded.  He leaned over and quietly said, "Ever since this string of homicides, our city's entertainment income has slipped quite a bit."  The two of them had a good laugh at that.  Police officers were people, too, and people like to gossip.  Police officers who don't like to gossip only exist in propaganda movies from the 70s and 80s.

"Alright, it's 8 o'clock.  Why don't we go take a look at the alley?" said Jiang Zhengkai as he looked at his watch.  He checked his gear before gesturing for Zhang Nan to leave with him.  They were soon accompanied by about a dozen other officers from the district sub-bureau and neighboring local stations who were also on their way to the alley.

It was a windless night.  The plain-clothed beat cops patrolled the entire alley before returning to the position where Jiang Zhengkai and Zhang Nan kept watch.  "Inspector Jiang, we looked this entire place over.  There are only about seven or eight women working tonight," one of them reported.

"Good!  Closely surveil every one of them.  Keep tabs on all of the men who enter this alley," Jiang Zhengkai replied before dismissing them.

At the moment, there were very few women in the alley, which meant the number of men coming to the alley was even lower.  After all, a man could satisfy his urges with his own hand.  The vast majority of Chinese men would much rather live like some p.o.r.n-addicted j.a.panese for a few days than risk death for a bit of momentary pleasure.  Patriotism didn't figure much into the equation in this situation.

Three hours went by, and the only men who appeared in the alley were plain-clothed police officers or local residents.  Incredibly, not a single male stranger paid this alley a visit.  Just when everyone thought this would turn out to be another quiet night, the wretched scream of a woman once again pierced the air.  The sound appeared to have come from the direction of a local resident's window, but it was gone almost as soon as it had come.

"Come on, let's go!  Quickly!  Up there!" ordered Jiang Zhengkai.  All of a sudden, at least thirty or forty undercover police officers, both men and women, converged on the building from all parts of the alley.  Apparently, all of the officers of the Ju'an Road Police Station had recently been ordered to take turns doing night patrols of the alley, to keep a watchful eye over and ensure the safety of the prost.i.tutes working there.

Unfortunately, the police were unable to apprehend the killer.  The crime scene was familiar by now: no blood splatters, no signs of a struggle, just the skin-covered skeletons of a man and a woman locked in s.e.x on the bed.

"That b.a.s.t.a.r.d is getting more and more brazen!" Zhang Nan bellowed furiously, having just charged into the room and witnessed the scene on the bed.

"Uh-huh…" Jiang Zhengkai replied as he emotionlessly gazed at the crime scene.  Although there'd been no significant breakthrough in the murder investigations, there was now a striking new development in the kind of victims targeted by the unknown murderer.  It appeared that the murderer no longer attacked only prost.i.tutes and johns, but also regular residents of this alley.

Jiang Zhengkai carefully examined the skeletons, then checked beneath the victims' bed, followed by an examination of the same s.p.a.ce in the apartment unit immediately above this one.  However, his search turned up nothing unusual, and he wasn't able to acquire any new leads.  Furthermore, he did not experience the presence of an icy chill like he had before.

"Alright, everyone's dismissed," Jiang Zhengkai announced.  He took one last look at the crime scene before turning to look at Zhang Nan.  "Sergeant Zhang, please hand over any doc.u.ments you have on this household to Wei Xin tomorrow and have her bring them to me."

"Yes, sir," Zhang Nan replied, before ordering his subordinates to cordon off the crime scene.

Jiang Zhengkai descended the stairs to the ground floor, got into his police cruiser, and drove out of the alley.  When he pa.s.sed by Ju'an Estates, he stopped his car and parked outside the compound's front gate.  From here, he had a clear view of A-Jiao's window.  It looked dark inside her condo, clearly a sign that no one was home or that its occupant had already gone to sleep.

He lit a cigarette inside the car and gazed at the window while he smoked.  He didn't know what he was hoping for.  Perhaps he was hoping for a miracle; namely, that the light inside that condo would suddenly turn on, and a young woman would appear in front of that window to smile or wave at him.

He parked the car there for about ten minutes before he drove away from the compound and back to his home.  It was in an ordinary residential community, and he lived in an ordinary two-bedroom apartment.  The interior of his home was more or less clean.  The only thing uncomfortable about his apartment was the cold temperature inside.  Perhaps that was because it was usually empty.

"Honey, I'm home," Jiang Zhengkai said quietly as he entered.  He didn't bother turning on the lights.  After all these years, he could literally navigate his apartment with his eyes closed.  He knew exactly where everything was, which he demonstrated by deftly walking around the apartment's furnis.h.i.+ngs in the dark.  Besides, the only person who was going to move around the furniture was himself.

"How was your day?"  It was still Jiang Zhengkai's voice in the darkness.  Perhaps his wife was already asleep?  It was early in the morning after all.

"Alright, I'm tired.  I'll be going to sleep now.  Good night," said Jiang Zhengkai.  He walked inside one of the bedrooms, and before long, there was the sound of rhythmic snoring.

The next morning, Wei Xin went straight to the Ju'an Road Police Station to retrieve the doc.u.ments Jiang Zhengkai had wanted, before reporting for work at the sub-bureau.  She brought the case file to his office.  "Inspector Jiang, may I enter?"  She saw him sitting in his chair with brows furrowed and a cigarette in his mouth.

"Oh, hey, come on in, Wei."  Jiang Zhengkai beckoned her to enter as he immediately went about putting out his cigarette.  "Hehe, I've been a bit stressed out lately, hence the cigarette.  I hope the smoke doesn't bother you too much."

"Don't worry about it.  My dad smokes at home all the time," Wei Xin said with a smile as she walked into his office.  "Here are the doc.u.ments you requested."

"Great, thank you.  No other discoveries on Sergeant Zhang's end?" Jiang Zhengkai asked as he grabbed the doc.u.ments and started to review them.

"Not yet," Wei Xin replied shaking her head.  "The two victims last night were both ordinary residents in the alley.  Neither of them had a criminal record."

"Really?" Jiang Zhengkai asked, continuing his careful review of the case files.  Indeed, the male victim was a middle school teacher, while the female victim was a nurse.  It looked like this one was going to be an unsolved mystery as well.  He sighed and looked up at Wei Xin again.  "What did their neighbors have to say about them?"

"Well, everyone said the man was kind of dull, but the woman had quite a temper," Wei Xin recalled.  "But all of their neighbors claimed that the two of them had a pretty good relations.h.i.+p, and there wasn't any altercation last night.  They did mention that the main was a bit whipped by his wife."

"Alright then," Jiang Zhengkai closed the case file and looked at her.  "How about this?  You go to the school and hospital where the victims worked and gather more information about their work history and interpersonal relations.h.i.+p.  See what their colleagues have to say about them.  Hopefully that will turn up some useable leads."

"Got it, Inspector Jiang," Wei Xin acknowledged.  She got up and was about to leave the office when she suddenly turned around and said quietly, "Inspector, you do know that smoking is bad for your health."

Somehow, time always manages to fly away without one ever noticing.  Wei Xin spent three full days investigating the couple who had been killed in the latest homicide.  Finally, on the fourth day, her full investigation report found its way onto Jiang Zhengkai's desk.

The male victim's name was Zhu Yuping.  He was a physics teacher at a local middle school.  He was described as dutiful and honest, and although he taught a subject in the sciences, he was also quite fond of traditional Chinese calligraphy, and so had very beautiful handwriting.  Therefore, every Chinese New Year, all of his colleagues and neighbors would ask him to write them blessing scrolls that they could paste on their doors and windows.  He was well-liked, and no one who knew him spoke ill of him.

The female victim's name was Yin Zhumei.  She was a nurse at the local general hospital and the wife of Zhu Yuping.  She was also beautiful, clever, and competent, although she did have a bit of a temper.  Nevertheless, she excelled at work, so everyone in her department spoke highly of her positive att.i.tude and enthusiasm.  The only negative aspect about her that Wei Xin was able to dig up was a rumor that she was romantically involved with a surgeon named Yu Di.

"Yu Di, surgeon…"  Jiang Zhengkai turned things over in his head as he read the report.  Could it be that this Yu Di was the serial killer?  He looked up at Wei Xin.  "This Yu Di, what s.h.i.+ft did he have on the night of the murder?"

"It was his day off," Wei Xin replied.  "I also compared his work schedule with the other murders, and it looked like he was off on the days of the other murders as well."

"Is that right?" Jiang Zhengkai asked.  However, he still had some doubts.  Yu Di might have had a motive to kill Zhu Yuping and Yin Zhumei, but what about the previous murders?  What would his motives have been for those?

"Should we bring in Yu Di?" Wei Xin suggested as she looked at Jiang Zhengkai's expression.

"Which s.h.i.+ft is he on today?" asked Jiang Zhengkai.

"He's on the night s.h.i.+ft today," Wei Xin double checked her notebooks before answering.

"Alright, you and I will go to the hospital tonight to take a look at this suspect of ours."  Jiang Zhengkai decided it would best not to take any actions that would alert the suspect.  Therefore, he wanted to visit the area himself, to see just what type of person this Yu Di was.

When it was time for dinner, Wei Xin returned to Jiang Zhengkai's office and quietly knocked on the door.  "Inspector Jiang, it's time for dinner.  Want to join me?"

"Uh, yeah, sounds good," Jiang Zhengkai replied as he got up from his chair.  "Alright, let's go grab some dinner!"

"What do you like to eat?" Wei Xin asked with a sweet smile.  "I'm good with just about everything.  How about I buy you a bowl of noodles?"

"Noodles?"  Hearing that word took Jiang Zhengkai's mind back to another time and place.

"Uncle Cai!  Can you get us two bowls of hand-cut noodles?"

"Well, I'm back, aren't I?  And I missed you too, Uncle Cai!"

"So you're saying every time I bring a man, you're going to pay for my meal?"

"Uncle Cai!  Did you see that?  He stole all of my flour paste…"

"Inspector Jiang?"  Wei Xin waved her hand in front of Jiang Zhengkai's face.  "Inspector Jiang, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I… I'm okay.  Let's go!" Jiang Zhengkai said, as his train of thought returned to the present.  It had been a long time since he'd last seen A-Jiao.  Humans are peculiar animals.  When A-Jiao had been with him, he'd all but ignored her, but now that she was gone, he found himself constantly thinking about her.  In fact, a part of him felt as if he had lost the most precious thing in his life.

Under Wei Xin's guidance, Jiang Zhengkai walked into an authentic Taiwanese noodle shop.  The waiter politely led the two of them to a table.  They sat facing each other on a pair of soft-cus.h.i.+oned chairs.  The entire place had a very warm and gentle ambience.  Even the music being played gave off a soft and velvety feeling.

"What will you two guests be having tonight?" the waiter asked.

"Give me a bowl of hand-cut noodles!" Jiang Zhengkai crisply answered without even looking at the menu.

"Sorry, sir, but we don't have hand-cut noodles here," the waiter replied.

"Oh, I see," Jiang Zhengkai said with a frown, before looking over at Wei Xin.

"Inspector Jiang, do you eat cow tendon?" Wei Xin quickly came to the rescue.

"Yes," Jiang Zhengkai nodded.

"In that case, give us two bowls of cow tendon noodles: half tendon, half meat," Wei Xin placed the order with the waiter.  "And also, give us a side of seasoned beef, a side of seasoned tripe, and a side of squid b.a.l.l.s."

"Very good.  Anything else for you two?" the waiter asked after writing down Wei Xin's order.

"Oh right, give me a bowl of fermented flour paste," Jiang Zhengkai spoke up again, after seeing Wei Xin had finished placing the order.

"Sorry… we don't have fermented flour paste either," the waiter awkwardly answered Jiang Zhengkai.  "My apologies, but we're a Taiwanese-style noodle joint."

"Wait, what?  Taiwanese don't eat flour paste?" Jiang Zhengkai asked the waiter in shock. He reached over and gulped down a mouthful of water from a gla.s.s on the table.

"That's right," the waiter nodded.  He sheepishly added, "Also, that water there is used to rinse tableware… but don't worry!  That water's clean!"

"Okay, okay!  Just go already!"  Wei Xin saw the weird look on Jiang Zhengkai's face and lost no time in sending the waiter away.

"Motherf.u.c.k!  Maybe I like drinking rinsing water!" Jiang Zhengkai cursed as soon as the waiter had left.  He proceeded to chug down the entire cup of water.

"Inspector Jiang!  That water's…" Wei Xin started as she watched Jiang Zhengkai down the entire cup. She nervously yelled, "Not clean!  Waiter, waiter!  Give us two cups of orange juice!"

"Ai!"  Jiang Zhengkai looked at the empty cup in his hand and forcefully threw it aside.  However, in the gla.s.s's reflection, he felt as if he could see A-Jiao's face.  She was already convulsing with laughter.  "Haha, you idiot!  That's rinsing water!  Haha!"

"What's wrong, Inspector Jiang?"  From across the table, Wei Xin looked at Jiang Zhengkai staring blankly at an empty cup.  She nervously laughed and asked, "Are you not feeling well?"

"No, I'm fine," Jiang Zhengkai regained his composure.  "I'm sorry for making a fool of myself.  It's just my first time in a Taiwanese noodle shop," he said with a shrug.

"So you prefer hand-cut noodles?" Wei Xin asked Jiang Zhengkai, her cheeks blus.h.i.+ng.  "Inspector Jiang, you shouldn't always eat street stall food.  That food's not clean.  You'll get sick if you eat too much of it."

"Yeah, you're right," Jiang Zhengkai rigorously nodded his head.  However, there was another girl's voice whispering in his ear. "Did you used to be a kindergarten teacher or something?"  A sly smile soon spread across his face.

At around 10 o'clock that evening, Jiang Zhengkai parked his car outside the hospital where Yu Di worked.  He looked at Wei Xin sitting beside him.  "When we go in," he said softly, "I'm going to pretend to be a patient.  I'll try to figure out a way to get Yu Di's fingerprint or hair sample."

"Understood, Inspector Jiang," Wei Xin replied.  A split second later, Jiang Zhengkai grabbed a hold of his left thumb and pulled on it with all his might.  A crack sound came from his hand as he successfully dislocated his thumb.

"Inspector Jiang!" Wei Xin yelled nervously.  

He just waved his hand.  "Let's go!"  By now, cold sweat had already appeared on his forehead.  d.a.m.n, it hurts like h.e.l.l!

The two of them were successfully admitted to the emergency room.  They walked in the direction of the emergency surgery call room, but as they rounded the corner, they heard the sound of a man and a woman frolicking inside the call room.  Mixed in with the noises was the woman softly calling for help.  The call room's door then suddenly flung open.

Jiang Zhengkai quickly pulled Wei Xin back, and the two of them hid behind the corner for a while.  They soon heard the sound of footsteps down the hallway, which grew fainter and fainter.  Clearly, the people who had come out of the call room were walking in the opposite direction.

"Inspector Jiang, that's Yu Di right there," Wei Xin quietly whispered to Jiang Zhengkai as she pointed out the male doctor walking in front of them.  The man looked to be about 5'9", and was well-proportioned, at least when viewed from the back, but was definitely not muscular in any sense of the word.  He held the female nurse's hand in his own, and her body twisted back and forth as she followed Yu Di down the hallway.  However, she kept making quiet laughter and playful calls for help.

"Come on, let's follow them," Jiang Zhengkai said softly.  He paused to pop his thumb back into its socket.  With things developing the way they were, there was no longer a need to feign injury.  The more important thing right now was to find out what those two were up to!

Yu Di and the woman next to him obviously did not catch on to the fact that they were being followed.  The two of them arrived at the hospital's pharmacy, laughing all the way.  Soon after they entered the pharmacy, the door closed behind them with a soft click.