Jiang An stood by the sink for a long time, the icy tap water flowing through his fingers, yet unable to cool the turbulent questions in his mind.

His gaze unconsciously drifted towards the shutter door in the corner.

Jiang An clearly remembered the couple's words: no car at home, their son working in another city.

At this moment, an illogical detail kept magnifying in his mind.

If there is no vehicle, how does one explain the faint wheel tracks in the yard?

Even if someone needed to turn around, why would they deliberately drive into this secluded farmhouse compound?

Jiang An's fingertips unconsciously tapped the sink, droplets splashing onto his uniform sleeve, leaving dark traces.

When he shifted his gaze from the shutter door to the courtyard ground, a new discovery made his pupils contract—the cement ground was smooth and clean, with no sign of tire marks.

"Mr. Jiang, what are you daydreaming about?"

Wan flicked water droplets from his hand and walked over, "Try these grapes to calm yourself down, fresh indeed!"

He chuckled and joined him, "Let's go, head over together."

Under the grapevine, the ripe fruits hung like clusters of amethyst, twinkling invitingly among the green leaves.

But Jiang An ignored these delicacies, his entire attention magnetically locked onto that mysterious shutter door.

Countless possibilities flashed through his mind.

Could a crucial vehicle be hidden behind the door?

Or perhaps more important evidence?

What troubled him most was why the couple chose to conceal vehicle information?

Even ordinary people, as long as they abide by the law, why need to hide from the police?

Back at the courtyard's tea table, Wang Yang and Chen Biao were chatting pleasantly with Li Changhe.

Li Changhe's wife was busy, the steam rising from the teapot blurring the fine wrinkles at her eye corners.

"Mr. Li, your lifestyle is truly enviable."

Wang Yang took a bite of the crispy twist, golden sesame seeds sticking to his mouth.

"Flowers and fruit, tea and scenery, this is true pastoral poetry."

Chen Biao chimed in, lightly tapping on a rock, "Indeed, this rock landscape has the charm of a Suzhou Garden."

"Mr. Li must have spent some effort managing this place?"

Li Changhe laughed and waved his hand, "We're farmers, we don't understand these things, just put together randomly."

"The harvest hasn't been good these past two years, villagers are tightening their belts to get by, I just find joy in the struggle."

He said, refilling tea for everyone.

Jiang An quietly observed everything, the teacup in his hand turning round and round.

Wang Yang picked up his teacup, gently turning it, his gaze slowly moving over the slightly old room furnishings, finally landing on Li Changhe brewing tea.

"Mr. Li, I see your house is well kept, do you and your wife usually live here just the two of you?"

Li Changhe paused slightly while pouring, nearly overflowing the cup.

He raised his head, the wrinkles at his eyes set deep under the light. "Yes, that's it."

His voice was a bit hoarse, his gaze drifting to a family portrait hanging on the wall, "I have a son working in the provincial city, busy with work, only able to come back for New Year."

"You live a truly divine life."

Li Changhe put down the teapot, "I wouldn't call it a divine life."

He sighed, his gaze deepening, "It's all for a meal, we are practical people, facing the earth with backs to the sky, living this way all our lives."

After saying this, perhaps feeling the topic was too heavy, he quickly picked up the tea tray and invited, "Come on, everyone have some tea. This is Longjing my cousin brought back from Hangzhou."

Then, Li Changhe carried the teapot to the always silent Jiang An, courteously pouring tea for him, "Mr. Jiang, you try some too."

"Mr. Jiang, from your accent, you don't seem like a local of Chuan City."

Wang Yang quickly chimed in, "Mr. Jiang and the team are experts from Jiangcheng, specially assisting us in investigating this case."

"Oh?"

Li Changhe's eyebrows slightly raised.

"That shows Jiangcheng truly supports our criminal investigation work in Chuan City."

"Certainly."

Wang Yang nodded with a smile, unknowingly missing the sharpness that flashed in Jiang An's eyes.

Li Changhe slightly restrained his smile, his expression becoming solemn, "I see how tough your work is as detectives."

"This case has dragged on for so long, is there really no clue?"

His voice suddenly dropped, "It's pitiful when you think about it, the body just hanging on the tree, yet..."

He stopped halfway, as if realizing he had said too much.

Wang Yang sensitively noticed the anomaly, quickly shaking his head, "The killer is very cunning, handled the scene cleanly, didn't leave any valuable clues."

"That's why we've specially asked the Jiangcheng Criminal Investigation Team to assist."

Next, Li Changhe asked gravely, "I wonder if today's thorough search yielded any suspicious vehicles?"

Beside him, Chen Biao sighed, "The situation isn't optimistic."

"But, I believe the net is tight, the killer will eventually be caught, it's just a matter of time."

While Chen Biao spoke, Jiang An noticed Li Changhe's hand holding the teacup suddenly trembled slightly, causing tiny ripples in the tea.

This subtle movement flashed by, yet it was precisely captured by the ever-observant Jiang An.

Still, he remained silent, merely fixing his gaze sharper, like an eagle eyeing Li Changhe's every move.

Li Changhe seemed to sense the atmosphere was somewhat off, especially Jiang An's prolonged silence making him uneasy.