After discussing matters with several people in the group chat, Qin He stood by the window for a while. She was exhausted after a busy day.
Waiting and uncertainty were the most trying times.
Her phone rang next to the computer. Qin He picked it up and saw an unfamiliar number.
"Hello," Qin He answered.
A low, magnetic voice came from the other end.
"He'er, it's Gu Qishen."
Qin He pursed her lips. "Is there any new information regarding Mingxue and Ranran's cases?"
"Not yet. I'm calling just to tell you not to worry too much. Everything is under my control, and I absolutely won't let anything happen to them."
Qin He massaged her temples. "This matter is likely more complicated than we think. You investigate from your end, and I'll share any clues I find with you."
At a time like this, she had no interest in thinking about anything else.
Fortunately, Gu Qishen didn't say much more. After telling her to take care of herself, he hung up the phone.
Qin He washed up, changed her clothes, and went out.
After leaving the Qin residence, Qin He immediately called Qin Yun.
The call was answered quickly.
"He'er, what is it?" Qin Yun's voice sounded chaotic.
"Brother, where are you now?"
After a pause of more than ten seconds, the noise on the other end of the phone subsided a bit.
Qin Yun's voice was deep.
"I'm having dinner with a friend who knows some people working at the police station. I'm trying to see if they can get us a copy of the evidence materials."
"Brother, I suspect that same group is responsible for this."
"That group?"
Qin Yun paused for a second.
"You don't suspect the people who stole the Wanfang Lun, do you? Their objective was that book. What does it have to do with Xue'er and Gu Ranran?"
Qin He's lips tightened. "I'm not sure, but the traces were handled too cleanly. Doesn't that remind you of our previous car accidents?"
If it weren't for the string of car accidents, she might not have noticed anything unusual!
That group kept creating disturbances to throw the Qin family into chaos.
Qin He hesitated, her brows furrowed.
If these people could go this far, why weren't they taking more drastic measures against the Qin family itself?
If it were them, they dared to kill Xiang Mingjun, so they should have the courage to attack her.
Could it be that killing her would have too significant an impact? They feared being investigated?
Qin He rubbed her temples; her head ached terribly.
To counter these people, they had to unlock the secret of the Wanfang Lun.
It was only two o'clock in the afternoon. Qin He closed the window, drew the curtains, and walked back into the room.
She considered ancient techniques. Some methods could hide other content within the text of a document.
Perhaps the book, Wanfang Lun, held something else?
Qin He immediately logged onto a search engine and began her research.
By five-thirty in the afternoon, Qin He quietly left the Qin residence and drove towards Qingcheng University.
There were many mobile vendors outside the entrance of Qingda University. Qin He, dressed in casual clothes, blended in with the students coming and going, not appearing conspicuous.
She casually sat down at a small stall. Students around her were discussing Xiang Mingjun's death.
Xiang Mingjun, Mingxue, Gu Ranran—
These three were quite famous at Qingcheng University. Now, with one dead and the other two taken away by the police, it had sparked endless speculation.
"My dad works at that police station. I overheard him on the phone yesterday saying they already have the evidence!"
Qin He's brow furrowed upon hearing this.
The news had already spread like wildfire!
She sat at the stall for a while, listening to several versions of the case, before getting up and entering the Qingda campus.
Within Qingda, people passing by Qin He occasionally mentioned Xiang Mingjun's name.
"It's so scary. I'll never dare to go near Swan Lake again!"
"Mingxue and Xiang Mingjun seemed to be in a good relationship. How could something like this suddenly happen?"
"I heard Gu Ranran was also arrested by the police. Do you think it was a love triangle? Like Xiang Mingjun cheated on Mingxue with Gu Ranran, and Mingxue, driven by love and hate, killed Xiang Mingjun?"
"What love triangle? You're just guessing. I heard Gu Ranran was an accomplice!"
"Didn't Mingxue and Gu Ranran always have a good relationship? Maybe Xiang Mingjun was the one who cheated, and Mingxue wanted to kill him in a fit of rage, so she roped Gu Ranran into helping her?"
"Who knows? Anyway, Xiang Mingjun's family background was very ordinary. Mingxue and Gu Ranran are both well-known daughters of wealthy families. Perhaps they would dare to do anything, with their families backing them."
The discussions continued, and Qin He's brows furrowed. She walked from the main road to a smaller path.
"Excuse me, student, do you know how to get to Swan Pond?" Qin He stopped a passing girl.
The girl looked at Qin He with surprise and pointed in a direction with a somewhat peculiar gaze.
"Thank you," Qin He nodded gratefully.
Along the way, she asked a few more people. Under their strange and peculiar glances, Qin He reached the last path leading to Swan Pond.
She remembered there was only one small path leading to Swan Lake. She was now following the route Gu Ranran and Mingxue had taken that day.
At a fork in the road, Qin He paused. It looked very much like the intersection Gu Ranran had described where she and Mingxue parted ways.
She narrowed her eyes and observed the surrounding small trees and bushes. This area of scrubland was quite secluded within Qingda. There was no one around, and it was eerily quiet.
Qin He sighed inwardly and continued further. There were no surveillance cameras along the way until she reached two L-shaped buildings. Swan Pond was located between them.
She looked around.
These two L-shaped buildings were likely disused by Qingda. It was late autumn, and the Swan Pond area looked particularly desolate. The police had finished their investigation, but no one dared to come near the area.
Qin He walked to the edge of the pond and observed it carefully.
As the police had stated, judging by the old water marks, the water depth should have been about 1.2 meters. However, there was no water in the pond now. It had likely been drained by the police to collect evidence.
Qin He looked at the deep green moss in the pond. If an injured man fell in, it would be difficult to climb out with such a slippery bottom.
Qin He sighed. She still hadn't found any clues.
She turned to look at the L-shaped buildings. There were some surveillance cameras inside, but they were all directed towards the corridors. These two buildings had not been used for a long time, and even the red indicator lights on the cameras were off.
Qin He frowned and pondered for a while.
Before the incident, this area would have been frequented by young couples.
On her way here, she had noticed some faint footprints in the nearby woods. There were quite a few of them.
As for fingerprints or other traces by the Swan Pond, the police had already investigated and found no obvious clues.