Huang Yu stared at the statue for a while before speaking, "Why does this sculpture look so much like Miss Su?"
Lu Shiyan explained, "The sculptor knew my wife and I shared a deep bond, so he used Wanwan's face as the prototype."
"The color of this sculpture…"
Huang Yu didn't understand art, but he found it very strange.
Most everyday sculptures are made of stone, plaster, bronze, etc., like the gilded statues found in temples.
This one, white with a faint flesh-pink hue and a skin-like texture, was quite rare. At least, he had never seen anything like it before.
"Captain Huang, is there a problem with this sculpture?"
I stood nearby, very anxious, eagerly hoping Huang Yu would discover the issue.
Unraveling the mystery of the sculpture would lead to the cause of my death!
He must find it, I prayed.
However, Huang Yu walked around it, tapped on it, but found nothing amiss.
"Nothing, it just looks a bit special. Let's go inside and take a look."
Before coming, Huang Yu had learned this was my marital home with him. Apart from frequent visits during the renovation six months ago, I hadn't been here much in the last six months.
Even the marital room was decorated by the wedding company and the family servants; I hadn't appeared personally.
Finding clues about me here was already very slim.
Huang Yu and his team searched carefully but didn't gain much.
"Mr. Lu, we'll go check the next location first. Thank you for your cooperation. I'll notify you if there's any news."
"Where will you go next?"
"The primary crime scene. Colleagues from the forensics department have already gone to collect evidence."
"I'll go with you."
Lu Shiyan wasn't thinking about anything else now; he just wanted to clarify the situation as soon as possible, to find out what really happened to me.
Huang Yu initially refused, citing the investigation, but Lu Shiyan repeatedly promised not to interfere, only to watch from a distance.
Huang Yu really couldn't do anything about him. After all, Binjiang wasn't enclosed; even if he refused, Lu Shiyan could go on his own.
The two passed by the statue again. No matter how much I shouted, they couldn't hear.
As the car gradually drove away, I looked at the statue standing in the garden, my mood extremely low. If we missed this opportunity, it might never be uncovered.
I hoped they could find something at the location where I finally fell.
But it had been over a month since my death, and it was by the river. Probably any traces had been washed away by the water.
Arriving at Binjiang again, it was already cordoned off with police tape. The river wind was biting; only police and forensics personnel were by the riverside.
Different from before, this time they conducted an almost carpet-like search of every spot, even exaggerating to the point of lifting every stone to check.
Perseverance paid off. When Huang Yu arrived, a man in a white coat wearing rubber gloves came over.
"Captain Huang, we found something. This should be the primary crime scene."
Lu Shiyan quickly looked over. "What did you find?"
The forensic expert looked at him warily. Huang Yu advised, "Mr. Lu, I understand you want to find your wife quickly, but outsiders aren't allowed during our investigation. Please wait in the car for a moment. I'll inform you when we have results."
Although Lu Shiyan was very anxious, he could only comply with the regulations.
He watched Huang Yu enter within the cordoned area. I followed Huang Yu and heard the forensic expert say in a lowered voice, "Captain Huang, we used Luminol reagent last night. Luckily, the city weather has been good these past two days, no snow. We found significant fluorescence reactions under some rocks."
Luminol reagent reacts with blood. They sprayed the reagent over this area in the dark, making any blood traces clearly visible.
The forensic expert spent the night collecting the scarce remaining blood samples and reconstructing the bloodstain patterns.
Looking at those twisted marks, I remembered that night, clutching my wounded body, running while pressing the emergency contact number on my phone.
How I hoped Lu Shiyan would answer the phone sooner. By then, my strength was failing.
My body collapsed heavily by the water's edge.
That's why the blood in this area was the most concentrated.
Huang Yu looked at the reconstructed bloodstains with a complex expression. The forensic expert said, "Fortunately, it's winter, the river is low, no flooding, just a few snowfalls. Some blood seeped into the sand and stone crevices. The perpetrator probably thought the water would wash it all away, but justice prevails; traces were left behind."
"Have you compared them?"
"Yes, they match the blood sample from the wedding dress. It belongs to the blood from Su Wan's body."
Huang Yu glanced back; basically, the bloodstain pattern extended for dozens of meters.
"She was stabbed over there, then ran here, bleeding profusely along the way."
"That's how it appears currently. Miss Su Wan's weight is close to 50 kilograms. Her total blood volume is approximately 3500-4000 mL. Judging from the knife wound and the distance covered, even if it didn't hit a vital spot, she would have bled to death. The probability of survival is very low."
"What did you say?" Lu Shiyan had barged in at some point.
"Who has a low probability of survival?" Lu Shiyan grabbed the forensic expert's white coat collar, his pupils completely bloodshot.
"Mr. Lu, please do not interfere with our investigation. Please leave."
"I'm not leaving." Lu Shiyan pushed away the officer trying to pull him away.
Huang Yu, seeing him like this, became angry and embarrassed. "Mr. Lu, what did you say over a month ago? You didn't care about your wife's life or death at all. Who are you putting on this deeply affectionate act for now?"
He grabbed Lu Shiyan's black overcoat, pointing at the traces along the path. "Open your eyes and look! That night, Su Wan was stabbed. How much blood did she lose along the way? She couldn't have survived!"
Lu Shiyan looked at the remaining traces on the ground. Although a large part had been erased by nature, the bloodstains left behind were still substantial.
One could imagine how much blood I lost that night.
Huang Yu released him. Lu Shiyan's legs bent slightly, slowly sliding down until he knelt at the spot where I finally fell.
He trembled, reaching out to touch the spot. "Wanwan."
"Mr. Lu, please do not disturb the scene." Someone grabbed his hand just in time.
I saw Lu Shiyan's eyes fill with tears; two streams flowed down. His voice trembled as he explained helplessly, "She called me for help that night... She asked me to save her... She said she was dying…"
Smack! Lu Shiyan slapped himself hard across the face.
"I was right across the river setting off fireworks... I didn't know, I really didn't know... I thought Su Wan was joking…"
As he spoke, he began slapping his own face wildly again.
Again and again, as if he couldn't feel the pain. His whole body shook violently.
Kneeling on the ground with red eyes, he said in a miserable tone, "Su Wan, you're dead... How should I live?"