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Shen Tong felt the same way and continued, "Moreover, it's quite a coincidence that both Wang Licheng and Yang Guangming are not in the museum right now. Perhaps we should visit these two professors at their homes tomorrow."
Captain Lu nodded, "Director Xu has always been cautious. With his hired professors getting into such trouble, especially with strange tattoos on them, this news could potentially affect his research topics and reputation. As for visiting Wang Licheng and Yang Guangming... we might as well try our luck tomorrow."
After returning to the inn, night had fallen, and most guests had already returned to their rooms. Only a few regulars remained in the lobby, sipping tea and chatting. The two had a simple dinner before heading back to their rooms to rest.
Lin Mingchang's room was on the second floor, facing the street, where he could faintly see the flickering lights of fishing boats on the Yangtze River outside his window. He organized the scattered information from the past few days in his notebook—Zhou Zijun's fall, the tattoos and pinholes on the corpse, Chu Jian's research, The Whisper of the Yellow Swan, and the mystery of the three individuals... These keywords seemed to have some hidden connections, but it was difficult to piece them together into a clear lead.
Lin Mingchang tossed aside his notebook, intending to rest when he suddenly heard a soft knock on the door, followed by the voice of an inn attendant: "Mr. Lin, there's a phone call for you downstairs."
Who could be calling at this hour? Lin Mingchang wondered as he hurried downstairs with the attendant. He picked up the receiver and said, "Hello, who is this?"
"It's me, Lu Wei." Captain Lu's urgent voice came through the line. "Something has happened! Professor Wang Licheng from the Three-Person Research Group is in trouble! Two hours ago, he was found drowned by the riverbank!"
Early the next morning, Lin Mingchang and Shen Tong quickly had breakfast at the inn before getting into Captain Lu's car headed for Pu Ai Hospital. Wang Licheng's body had already been sent there for an initial autopsy.
Shen Tong gazed out at the still-drowsy streets through the car window, still shocked by the news he had just heard. Captain Lu looked exhausted; dark circles hung under his eyes, clearly indicating he hadn't rested much last night. He rolled down the window, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and began to brief Lin Mingchang and Shen Tong on the case: "Wang Licheng's time of death was around 8 PM last night; he was discovered by a vendor near the riverbank close to the dock. This vendor sells three-flavor tofu skins at the dock and was heading home around 9:30 PM when he initially thought he saw a piece of driftwood floating in the river. As he got closer, he realized it was a body lying face up. It scared him enough that he immediately ran to report it to a nearby patrol officer."
Lin Mingchang leaned closer to the front seat, resting his hand on its backrest. "What was the scene like? Were there any clues?"
"There were no signs of struggle or fighting at the scene. Only Wang Licheng's footprints were found by the riverbank. When he died, he was dressed neatly; his wallet, identification, and watch were all intact. There was even a round-trip tram ticket stub to the Experimental Institute in his wallet."
Lin Mingchang frowned. "What did the preliminary autopsy reveal? Was there anything similar to Zhou Zijun's case?"
"I have to tell you both; this is truly one of the strangest cases I've ever encountered! Wang Licheng also had tattoos like Zhou Zijun's on his body, and I specifically checked—there were pinholes in his ears too. However, after examining him, the forensic doctor found water and silt in his lungs and concluded that Wang Licheng drowned. What do you think? Isn't it bizarre?"
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